BRENDAN R. O’REILLY died Sept. 5, 2005, of injuries sustained in a biking accident in Prescott, Ariz. He was 20. At Wesleyan he studied chemistry and French and was the recipient of the CRC Award for outstanding work in chemistry during his freshman year. Survivors include his parents, Brian and Gail O’Reilly, a brother, and a sister.
This time around we tried to do something a little different for the class of 2007. As the call for class notes came out around Thanksgiving, I asked my fellow ’07ers what they were thankful for over the last year. We got great responses, but far too few of them! Next time around I look forward to knocking it out of the park.
To start, I am thankful for my beautiful wife and family. I am thankful that my friend Thomas Bendon is getting married this summer and was fortunate to see Hooter Glidden, Jared Ashe, Julian Canzoneri, and several others during travels the last few weeks.
Deirdre Salsich has had a great year and is thankful for a number of things “1) I passed the New York Bar Exam; 2) I have a fabulous job with New York State United Teachers, the public school teachers’ union as a labor and employment attorney; and 3) I love my neighborhood in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and that so many Wesleyan people are nearby! Last but not least, I am so thankful that my sister, Mairead Salsich Viegas ’04, married a wonderful guy, Bob Viegas, on Nov. 23.”
Grace Nowakoski is thankful for America’s interstate highways which allowed her and her fiance, Jeff Diteman, to switch coasts this October, trading Portland, Ore., for her hometown of Putney, Vermont; for four good years in Portland, the wonderful community of people they left behind, and the friends they’ll always keep; for snow, and stacked firewood and a woodstove to burn it in; for Thanksgiving with her family.
Tess Amodeo-Vickery is thankful for finding her true passion in song writing and the Wesleyan music mafia (she plans on giving you all a call when the time is right).
Doug Rubenstein sent this my way “I’m thankful for my lovely wife, my family, my cool kick ass dog, my health, my amazing friends and my new pilot that I shot.” Best of luck with the pilot, Doug!
Lauren Smith scored an invitation to the White House Harry Truman bowling alley—and was kind enough to invite her pals Jesse Young ’06, Seth Samuels ’06, Molly Gaebe, and Margaret Dickson. The final score of the game remains unknown…but they are all winners.
Thanks again to all who wrote. I can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store for Wes 07!
Victoria Belyavsky and Jesse Bardo
wesleyan2007@gmail.com
December 1, 2010
