Tag: 2008

John McNeil has been writing science fiction stories for the past few years—visit johnmcneil.me/writing—and is happy to share that his story, “Decision Trees,” was published in the March/April 2024 issue of Analog Science Fiction & Fact.

Marianna Foos writes, “Xue Sun and I did not see the Northern Shrike that was hanging around Middletown in February, but we tried really, really hard and it was really, really cold.”

And finally, I am looking to step back from the role of Class Notes secretary after nearly 15 years. I’ve loved being the first person to hear of all the exciting doings of our class and exchanging emails with old friends and acquaintances. Perhaps someone else from the Class of ’08 is willing to step in? If so, please email me!

Lucia Pier lives in Los Angeles. Last fall she was organizing with local groups to advocate for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. She signed the alumni letter calling on Wesleyan to divest from companies that profit off Israel and its ongoing war in Gaza. Other classmates have also signed this petition, including Jessie Spector.

Lauren Goldman writes: “I am finishing law school on December 15, 2023, at City University of New York School of Law.

            “I have enjoyed spending time with Aleya Brahmachary, Rashida Richardson, and Adit Shah in New York last fall. Last summer, I studied in London at Queen Mary University of London, where I was lucky to see Caroline Janin, Armando de Moura Palha Filho, and Tara Moore.”

Fifteen years after graduation, Shivani Kumar lives in Los Feliz with her partner and two pups. She drives a Honda Accord, uses an electric toothbrush twice a day, has a gynecologist, and pays someone to do her taxes. She changes her air filters once a quarter. She has labeled boxes of “winter clothes” and “spare cosmetics” and her vegetables and fruits are stored separately. Her prescriptions are on autorefill, and all her socks are in pairs. And somehow, with zero intention, she has found herself working in commercial real estate (and even more surprisingly, she is loving it). Basically, Shivani is crushing adulthood. She’s even made a friend or two. If you’re in the LA area, she would love to see you, her fellow Wes alumni, and catch up. You can call or text: 914.649.6575, but please tell her your full name as she almost certainly will not remember you. There’s a 97% chance that you are lost in a blur of college memories that have been twisted and diluted by the Wesleyan lore in HIMYM. Please don’t be offended. But definitely include your full name.

Ben Crane writes, “This year I had two books published: a queer heist thriller, A Man of Lies, and an all-ages graphic novel adventure, Cosmic Cadets: Contact!, which I created with my partner, Mimi Alves (they/them).” 

Kate Krems started as an assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in July. She’s enjoying working to promote economic competition in her new role and being out of the billable-hour grind is a plus, too!

Ben Smyser has been elected to counsel at Finn Dixon & Herling LLP, focusing on corporate finance. He currently lives in Pelham, New York with his lovely wife Elanor and two wonderful daughters, Naomi and Hazel.

Nicole Gray is living her “best” (i.e., best given some unfortunate circumstances in 2022) life in Los Angeles. She is currently working as a social scientist for the FDA Center for Tobacco Products. She will soon be adopting two cats.

Emma Komlos-Hrobsky writes, “I had a baby! My husband and I welcomed our daughter, Paloma Lyra Hicks, in July. She charms us with her passion for her toes, acrobatic rolling, and what may be the world’s most perfect belly button. I returned to my job as senior editor at Poets & Writers Magazine in January and do my best to not ask my coworkers if they’re getting cranky and need a nap.”

Sally Rosen Phillips is working as a vice president of creative at This Machine Filmworks, a production company founded by director R. J. Cutler. Her work focuses on development of documentaries. In September, Sally and her husband Eric welcomed their first baby, Hope. Along with their Lagotto Romagnolo, Enzo, the family resides in Los Angeles and enjoys weekly Thai food delivery from Pa Ord Noodles. Thanks to Thai Gardens’ introduction many years ago, pad see ew remains a staple of the order.

It has been an amazing 12 months for Patrick and Andrea Senat. They got married in New York City and gave birth to Malcolm Barack Senat.

Correction: In the last issue I wrote that  “Maya (Bass) Bery” welcomed her first child. Maya Bass and Maya Bery are two different individuals. My apology to them both and a hearty congratulations to Maya Bery on her first child!

I was lucky enough to attend the fabulous wedding of Zoe Holder and Ben Kornstein in November, joined by Katie Poor, Sage (Trombulak) Ruth and Sam Ruth. Zoe has deep roots in Wes culture, as both of her parents are alum and her siblings studied at Wesleyan as well. Wes faculty even made an appearance! We danced the weekend away with the reckless abandon of our 19-year-old selves, thankful to be together after many years and thankful that we have a little more common sense than we did when we met as freshmen!

Maya (Bass) Bery writes, “My husband Adam and I welcomed our first child, a boy named Raphael Dev, on September 9th.”

Jess M. Jones lives in Philadelphia with her partner, Lindsay Ladd. Jess writes, “I recently brought [Lindsay] for an early Sunday morning campus driving tour and breakfast at O’Rourke’s on a drive home from Massachusetts. I’m an LCSW practicing child and family trauma therapy as well as legal psychedelic-assisted therapy, with a focus on equity and access. I’m also working in research: a phase 1 trial of a synthetic psilocybin analogue for major depressive disorder at a clinical research site in New Jersey and an expanded access site for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD in Maryland. My team in Maryland was recently featured in the Netflix documentary, How to Change Your Mind, which was pretty amazing. I’d love to connect with other Wes alums in the field of psychedelic medicine!”

Janie Stolar is rewatching all of The Amazing Race from season one. Her young cat has periodontal disease and colitis so she’s spending thousands of dollars to keep her alive and is doing so without complaint.

After becoming an author in 2019, Kat Cho hit The New York Times bestsellers list this summer with her third published young adult book, Once Upon a K-Prom (Disney Books).

Lynn Favin is back in NYC after starring in an Equity show with CVRep in Palm Springs, California (January–February 2022). Her performance in Life x 3 was hailed by critics: “Lynn Favin’s ‘Sonia’ is a tigress—a no-nonsense mother, polished professional and a flirt, she is no one to mess with”; and landed her full representation with Buchwald, Eris Talent, and Entertainment Lab. She recorded her 17th character on the Emmy Award–winning animated show Robot Chicken this year and received top billing along with Seth Green and Bob Bergen in Season 11, episode 4. She looks forward to more bookings around the country and creative collaborations with fellow Wes alums.  For more news, visit www.lynnfavin.com.

The Class of ’08 has been working hard . . . at work and at producing the Class of ’43!

Emily Hauck writes, “2021 was a pretty big year for me: my husband (Julien) and I bought a house in Cahors, a small town in southwest France where we’ve been living since 2016; I (finally!) passed the French civil service exam (I work as a fundraiser for the local government); and on November 28th our son George was born!”

Kate Krems gave birth to her third child, Kaya, in May, and now she is attempting to balance being a mother of three children under five with her full-time job as an attorney. After working at her previous firm for two years, she moved to Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch, a DC–based employment law firm, in November. Just to keep things interesting, she and her family will be moving to Newton, Massachusetts, in May. After the move, Kate will continue working remotely for her current firm and will appreciate being closer to her parents for help with childcare (and the beach for more cold-water surfing).

Leslie Prado writes, “We got an Australian cattle dog and named him Kona as inspiration to qualify for the Worlds Ironman in Kona, Hawaii. And most importantly, after two miscarriages in 2020, we were blessed with a baby girl this year, and her name is Valencia Mayu. Feeling extremely grateful.”

 

Stephanie Fungsang and Jeremy Finch ’09 welcomed a son in early 2021. He is an adorable squawking goose.

Danielle Klimashousky married Matthew Barnish (non-Wes) in September 2021 in Cape May, New Jersey. Attendees included Julia Kessler and Becky (Ehrlich) Freiman, and they all had the best time!

Grace Overbeke is cited in All Events In for leading a discussion on “The Many ‘Mrs. Maisels’: A History of Jewish Women Comedians” on January 20. Overbeke is an assistant professor in the theater department of Columbia College with a focus on comedy writing and performance. She received her BA in theater and English from Wesleyan.

Nic Benacerraf recently stepped down from his longtime role as co-artistic director of The Assembly (founded with fellow Wes alums)—though he still serves enthusiastically on the company’s board. He founded a new group called Edge Effect, a “think-and-do-tank” that brings together scholars, scientists, activists, artists, journalists, technologists, (etc.), to dismantle the techniques of mass persuasion in our everyday lives (www.edgeeffectmedia.org/). He writes, “We are building our polydisciplinary network; reach out if interested! Work continues on the dissertation, and on live performances—including the upcoming immersive hip-hop/soul/funk concert: CANNABIS! A Viper Vaudeville.”

Marianna Foos writes, “Geoff Parsons ’88 and I were authors on a gene therapy paper in the New England Journal of Medicine in December. Geoff is an expert in many things scientific, as well as puns and gifs, and is a pleasure to work with. Clearly the fruits of a liberal arts education!”

Those with class notes, please write to your class secretary.