Tag: 2011

Exciting updates from the Class of 2011!

Tim Dodds reports, “It’s been a crazy and fun year of notables in D.C. After finishing my master’s in June from UPenn, I rewarded myself with a heli-ski trip to New Zealand, only to come back broke, but with a rescue puppy. I’m looking forward to repping the Wes jugg squad as the head lacrosse coach at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Virginia, and building on their #10 national finish from last year.”

Jared Gimbel is in Brooklyn, developing his first video game, Kaverini: Nuuk Adventures, as a co-production with Appetizer Mobile. The game, set in contemporary Greenland, is scheduled for release in 2017 or 2018.

Jon Sheehan, along with other Wes alumni (Sean Corlett ’07, Kim Wittmer ’01, Jacalyn Lee ’79, Molly Steinfeld ’15, and Noel De La Rosa ’01), participated in College Awareness Day at the NYC Department of Education in January.

Steve Hauser and fellow football teammate Nick Seara both married their longtime girlfriends last year with several Wes alumni attending these special events. Congrats!

Jennifer Cheng writes, “I’m still in Salt Lake City, working on my PhD. in neuroscience at the University of Utah. Every now and then I have time for less important things, like climbing and sleeping.”

And, last but not least! Devon Hopkins is moving to Brooklyn after living in D.C. since graduation. He is the new director of content marketing for CARTO, a software platform for creating data-driven maps.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2017!

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Class of 2011, I hope you all are well. Lots of exciting news from our classmates including weddings, graduations, and graduate school!

Both Leah Coe and Rebecca Friendly got married! Leah writes, “I got married on Aug. 20 to Tom St. Marie in Milwaukee, Wis. Rhee Soo Lee (she officiated the wedding), Jill Reynolds ’12, and Jaime Bonner ’12 were there to celebrate with us.”

Rebecca Friendly graduated from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business with a master’s in social entrepreneurship. She then joined Age of Learning as the communications and public affairs specialist, and is focused on driving the social impact aspect of their mission to help children build a strong foundation for academic success. In July, she married her longtime boyfriend of 10 years.

Joella Jones reports, “I started a new job in May as the communications and Web manager at the Heyman Center for the Humanities and the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at Columbia University.”

Congratulations to Marshall Johnson who defended his PhD in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin in July. “My research focuses on planets around stars more massive than our own sun. I have now moved to Columbus, Ohio, where I am a postdoctoral fellow at Ohio State University.”

Jamie Thabault graduated from the University of New England in Portland, Maine, with a bachelor’s in nursing this spring. She is now working on a cardiac progressive care unit at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington and enjoying the beginning of an exciting and challenging new career!

Alicia González-Gross is excited to have begun her MSW studies at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Alicia hopes to work as a bilingual social worker for Chicago Public Schools upon completing her degree.

Corrina Wainwright writes, “I moved to Boston to start at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the Health Policy and Management program.”

From Reunion Chair Joe Giaimo, “On behalf of the Reunion Committee, thank you to everyone who donated to our class gift in 2015-2016 and to everyone who made the trip back to Middletown for Reunion and made it a huge success. It was great to reconnect, be on campus, and see some familiar faces. We successfully raised $7,163 from 208 donors (30.45 percent of our class), which was 41 donors and $1,500 more than 2014-2015. We hope we can keep up this trend into next year! Lastly, a big thank you to all of our volunteers who help with getting classmates to contribute to the class gift every year, help with career mentorship of undergrads and young alumni, who interview prospective students, and who are involved in many different ways across campus!”

Thanks for the updates!

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

So great to see so many of you at our 5th Reunion. It was a huge success, with more than 300 members of our class making an appearance! Thanks for those who contributed this cycle; the class is really up to some great things!

Margaret Aldredge writes, “I just graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU with a master’s degree in art history. I will also be getting married this summer and look forward to seeing several Wes alum at the wedding.”

Allie Lynch and Ross Shenker both finished their first years of graduate school this past May. Allie is getting her MBA at University of Virginia Darden School of Business and will be working for Microsoft in Seattle and exploring the West Coast this summer. Ross reports, “I just completed my first year at the University of Louisville for my master of fine arts in acting. I was fortunate enough to work with the casting director at the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville this past semester. This summer I will be the education director at Timberlake Playhouse in Northern Illinois.”

Maddy Harrington writes, “I was sorry to miss Reunion; it looked like a ton of fun. I stayed in D.C. that weekend for my law school graduation. This summer I’m prepping for the bar and if all goes well I will be working in NYC in the fall”

Christopher Ceccolini is thrilled to announce that he and his partner, Jordan Gratch ’13, are moving to Boston this fall to pursue their graduate careers. Chris just completed his master’s degree in psychology at Columbia University, and is starting his PhD in counseling psychology at Boston College. There, he will be working with Dr. Paul Poteat, researching the effects of gay-straight alliances on LGBT youth mental health and resilience, in Massachusetts schools. Jordan will be starting his law degree at Boston University, and the couple will be living in Brookline, right off of Beacon Street!

AJ Chan married Hilary Burke ’10 at Wesleyan in the Memorial Chapel with a beautiful reception on Andrus Field on June 11, 2016. Lots of Wes alums were in attendance to help them celebrate the special occasion.

Lauren Mandell was selected by the Millenial Trains Project to join their 2016 journey in August from LA to Detroit. She will be implementing her project, Deal Her In, in the five cities where the train stops: igg.me/at/deal-her-in-2. You can also follow her journey @deal_her_in.

After spending the last three years at Facebook working across product, analytics, and partnerships, Alison Cies recently co-founded Decovo, an online destination for art and design, with her husband, Henry Mori. Alison writes, “If you’re an artist, designer, or maker and are interested in having your work featured on Decovo, please reach out to us. We’d love to hear from you.

Thanks again to everyone for making our first Reunion such a success and keep the contributions to class notes coming! Go Wes!

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Hi, Class of 2011! Looking forward to seeing everyone at the five-year Reunion, May 20–22, 2016! Hard to believe it’s already here!!

Natalie Unger reports: “I’m loving becoming an SLP (speech-language pathologist) in Northwestern University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Getting my M.S. in August and moving to the mountains. Hoping to make it to Reunion!”

Jeremy Bazinet finished a scientifically fruitful research assistantship in the lab of Michael Greenberg ’76 at Harvard Medical School in 2015. Since then he has moved to Seattle, where he has begun his PhD in pharmacology at the University of Washington.

Laura Geronimo writes, “I arrived in Puerto Rico three years ago and got involved in grassroots groups fighting to improve conditions for cyclists in the car-dominated city of San Juan. From there I was recruited into a bike-share startup, and then a reputable planning agency, where I now work on transportation planning and climate change adaptation strategies, among other projects. Meanwhile, the bike share start-up is gaining momentum. Though nothing is on paper yet, we recently learned that the project has been approved by the Municipality of San Juan. We are tying up the financing of the project and in negotiations with potential investors, and if all goes well, we hope to launch this summer or early fall. It is a very exciting project, and I feel lucky to be working in a team of young Puerto Ricans passionate about alternative transportation options that could have far-reaching social, economic, and environmental benefits for the island.”

From Ian Coss: “I am in my second year of grad school and just finished an audio oral history project on Boston radio; it’s up now at radiocontact.org. Also, Kelsey Tyssowski and I finally got married!”

Camila Rodriguez, a 2L at Columbia Law School, will be a summer associate at Paul Hastings in New York City. Donovan Arthen is touring Eastern and Western Europe, singing with the world music ensemble, Northern Harmony.

Kim Prosise’s alter ego, Ember Flynne, is a full-time circus artist with Boston Circus Guild, performing aerial acrobatics and fantastic feats of flaming daredevilry (Thanks, Prometheus!) for events and original productions. Kim also works as a freelance travel and lifestyle writer and recently adopted a fluffy tabby cat named Merlin.

Elizabeth Gauvey-Kern writes, “I was recently on NY Star of the Day of Fox 5 NY, youtube.com/watch?v=Ergd12Jv3e4. I’m also releasing six singles with accompanying music videos. You can find them on Spotify and iTunes. Looking forward to Reunion and seeing what everyone else is up to.”

Emily Brackman informs us, “I am in my third year of my PhD in clinical psychology at Fordham University in New York and just completed my master’s thesis and received my MA. I’m researching the associations between interpersonal experiences (for example, bullying) and non-suicidal self-injury and suicide. As a psychology extern, I’m conducting psychotherapy at Harlem Hospital Center and am moving into the dissertation stage of my doctoral program.”

From Susie Howe: “I bounced around after graduation from the corporate world to a spice shop to working at a horse farm, but I think I finally found my calling. After completing my master’s degree in secondary education during the summer of 2015, I am finishing out my first year as a high school Latin teacher at Loyola Academy near Chicago. I also ran a local horseback riding summer camp the last three years and I look forward to another summer at the barn!”

Jess Rebekah Friedman writes, “I got married in October to Nick Church. We’re living in Atlanta, Ga., and I’m continuing to teach middle school English at a expeditionary learning STEM school called Amana Academy.

Yael Chanoff reports, “I just went to Sundance with a film I worked on as a researcher. It’s called Audrey and Daisy. Otherwise, I am still a freelance writer in the San Francisco Bay Area.”

Joella Jones is the program coordinator at the Columbia University Maison Française—maisonfrancaise.org/events—in charge of special events.

And finally from Joe Giamo and Brittany Richard in University Relations: “We look forward to Reunion. If you haven’t done so please get your gift in to contribute to our Fifth Reunion Class Gift. The fiscal year ends June 30, 2016! Thank you for your generous support to continue to make the difference for students receiving a Wesleyan education!”

See everyone May 20–22, 2016. Happy Fifth Reunion, Class of 2011!

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Lots of exciting news from the class of 2011!

Laura Heath and Allegra Stout ’12 report, “We’re thrilled to announce that we are getting married! We got engaged in August and are planning our wedding for late 2016 or 2017. We have been living in a cooperative house of 11 people in Boston since Allegra’s graduation. Laura is pursuing her PhD in archaeology and teaching in the writing program at Boston University. Allegra works as a community organizer at the Boston Center for Independent Living, a disability rights and services organization.”

Isabel Magowan graduated from Yale’s MFA photography program in May. Over the summer her works were shown at Danziger Gallery in NYC and Regen Projects in LA. She’s based in Brooklyn, N.Y., where she continues to make video and photographic works. Isabel’s work can be found at isabelmagowan.com”

Elana Scudder Gaines writes, “Mike and I are still loving New Orleans! He is finishing up law school and I have been working hard on expanding my invitations, stationery, and graphic design business, Elana Klein.”

Jared Gimbel just finished his degree in Modern Jewish Studies at JTS. He now works as a translator and teacher of Germanic languages in the New York area. His new tabletop adventure game series, Kaverini, was released in August to public acclaim, with installments either published or being planned for Flanders, Antarctica, Austin, Krakow and Papua New Guinea (among others) and a video game iteration of the series on the horizon.

Eliza Gordon writes, “I started a new job this year as the bilingual reading specialist/instructional coach at Brooke Elementary, still in Austin, Texas. This is my first year out of the classroom after teaching for the past four years and it is quite a change! I am also in my second and final year of my master’s degree in educational administration through the Principalship Program at The University of Texas at Austin (UT). My new role has already been a great learning experience, as I move towards becoming a principal, although I do miss the classroom very much.”

The former Tamar Charles reports, “I recently got married to Derick Beresford ’13. I’m now Tamar Beresford.

From Katie daCruz, ”This past September Andrew Kneynsberg ’09 and I got married in Newport, R.I.”

Becky Eidelman writes, “In March of this year I became engaged to Todd Rosenthal ’10. I now work at the New England Board of Higher Education as the project coordinator.”

Eli Kendall is living in Boston and is in the last year of the social work program at Boston College. He spent a great weekend in Rochester visiting Chris Doucette with Aaron Melendez, Emily Kodis, and Hannah Robinson.

Margot Boyer-Dry reports, “I’m still at betaworks and also publishing a culture newsletter called Lorem Ipsum. It’s super Wesleyany-—pop culture on top and sociology underneath—and people can find it at loremipsum.wtf.”

Donovan Arthen informs us, “I am in the Republic of Georgia, working as a sommelier and getting ready to import natural wines to the U.S.”

Last but not least an update from Joe Giaimo: “Our 5th Reunion is right around the corner. Registration opens in March and rooms go quickly, so do not wait to sign up. Our goal is to have at least 374 of us back to celebrate five years! If interested in participating in the Reunion committee, please contact Brittany Richard, assistant director of the Wesleyan Fund, at brichard@wesleyan.edu.”

So great to hear from so many of you this round! Look forward to seeing everyone in May for our 5th year Reunion! Wow!

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Class of 2011, hard to believe but our Fifth Reunion is less than a year away! For those of you who don’t know, Reunion and Commencement weekend is May 19–22, 2016. Please be looking for information via e-mail on how to register! Hope to see you all there!

Updates from our class: Ivan Maulana reports, “I’ve just graduated from Texas A&M with an M.S. in geology, and am starting work as a petroleum geologist with an exploration and production company in Singapore.”

Alex Bean writes, “Its been a fun final year at Dublin School in New Hampshire! I had a unique opportunity to coach the snowboarding team at Dublin School and we ended up winning a Lakes Region championship for the first time in school history in our Slopestyle competition. Although I will miss Dublin dearly, I am excited about my next move as the director of institutional giving at the School of the Holy Child in Rye, N.Y.”

Devon Hopkins is enjoying the muggy D.C. summer, continuing to run the marketing team for EveryAction, a nonprofit CRM platform. He will be traveling to Italy and Croatia this summer with Emma Lewis, Katie Colasacco, and Allie Rowan, and is looking forward to Henry Kiely’s wedding in August!

Maryann Platt is moving back East from UC, Irvine, to finish her PhD at Columbia. “See you soon, Manhattan!”

Ross Shenker writes, “After working professionally as an actor and director for a few years, I will be attending the University of Louisville in the fall for my M.F.A. in acting. I will teach a theater appreciation course in the first year and introduction to acting in the second and third years for undergraduates as well.”

Guangshuo Yang informs us, “We have celebrated the successful conclusion of a year-long program on local history with a live performance in Pittsfield, Maine. As the co-leader of “Local & Legendary,” a local history initiative funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Maine Memory Network, I have been volunteering with local residents, schools, and NGOs in an effort to raise communal awareness of local memory. We collected and digitized local artifacts related to the Civil War, organized book panels, brought in speakers, established QR-imbedded history boards, and restored some war-related sites in town. It’s been a fun and rewarding ride for me, particularly as an outsider.”

Amanda Faraone writes, “I’m working at One Story (one-story.com), a literary nonprofit in Brooklyn, and just finished my MFA in fiction at Brooklyn College. In July, I’m getting married to Alex Anthony ’10, who is finishing his PhD in philosophy at Rutgers.

Last but not least, Eliza Jane Gordon accepted a position as a bilingual instructional coach and reading specialist at Brooke Elementary School in Austin. She is halfway finished with her graduate program at the University of Texas, where she is working on her master’s in educational administration in the Principalship Program. Eliza will graduate the same weekend as our Fifth Reunion!

As always, keep the updates coming! Looking forward to seeing you all back on Foss Hill very soon!

Updates from the Class of 2011!

Todd Keats writes, “This Feburary I visited Sun Valley, with Anthony DePietto ’11 and Adam Kaiser ’13 to play with the St. Nicks Hockey Club of NYC in a senior men’s hockey series against the Sun Valley Suns. A 119-year-old franchise and perennially one of the country’s best elite squads, the St. Nicks brought our usual fleet of ex-NCAA Division I and III college and minor league hockey veterans. We swept the weekend series 9-0 and 6-2. Anthony finished the weekend with two goals and one assist, Adam dished out two assists. In addition to the hockey, we also had a great time on the slopes and, of course, at the local watering holes (especially Grumpy’s).

Moon Herrick reports, “I’m in NYC, working to navigate the health insurance system for clients of the AIDS Services Center during the week, and teaching yoga and Brooklyn Boulders on the weekend. On the side, I’m communication manager for CapraCare, a nonprofit based in Haiti.”

Jared Gimbel returned from Germany and is living in NYC, studying at the Jewish Theological Seminary’s grad school. In addition to designing his upcoming game “Kaverini,” he also teaches Scandinavian languages as a personal mentor.

Katherine McDonald is living in Oakland. Having just completed her master’s in music composition at Mills College, she is now recording her first album while continuing to collaborate with Bay Area dancers, filmmakers, and musicians: katherine-e-mcdonald.squarespace.com.

Arielle Hixson reports, “I just started a job as a reporter for Channel One News: channelone.com/reporters/.” Lindsay Ballard writes, “I’m in my first year of medical school at Florida International University in Miami and had a Wes reunion with Eleni Healey and Margaret Aldredge in NYC.”

An update courtesy of Joe Giaimo: “Our Wesleyan football team finished 7-1 this fall for the second time in a row. First time that has happened in 66 years! Congratulations, Cardinals!”

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Moon Herrick just finished her work with the Harlem Children’s Zone in June and is now working in New York City for the Allied Services Center. Her responsibilities include connecting HIV-positive people to medical insurance and care. She has also gotten involved in the WAPPS LinkedIn group and was meeting regularly with alums to plan the October 9th event!

Elizabeth Hunter Gauvey-Kern just released an E.P. You can find it on iTunes, Amazon or Spotify. Search Elizabeth Hunter.

Devon Hopkins reports “I’m excited to be joining NGP VAN as the new director of inbound marketing. NGP VAN powers the digital campaign tools for every Democratic committee and most Senate, House, and down ballot races.” Devon is still living in DC and loving it. He recently enjoyed a trip to Chicago to visit Christian Hoyos ’11 and Lauren Goldstein ’11.

Margot Boyer-Dry has been in Brooklyn for the last year-and-a-half and has recently started as head of marketing at Poncho, a betaworks company. She reports, “Every day is a blast.”

Jourdan Hussein, Rudisang Motshubi, and Sandy Yudhistira ’12 just had a mini-reunion in one of the biggest malls in Southeast Asia, Grand Indonesia, in Jakarta. Rudi, who originally hails from Botswana, sailed all the way from Thailand to come down south. They had a fun catch-up and delicious Indonesian meals.

Jen Liebschutz states, “After three years of working for nonprofits in Cambodia, I am excited to live in Cambridge and start my master’s in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. I’d love to connect with other Wes alumni in the Boston area!”

Jamie Thabault is heading to nursing school at the University of New England in Portland, Maine. She also plans to run the Philadelphia marathon with Corinne Duffy and Amanda Baker!

Joe Giaimo took a new job at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., as the executive director of the Maroon Club for Athletic Development. He includes, “Wesleyan was very good to me as an undergrad and employee. I was able to finish my master’s, be a part of a NESCAC/Little 3 Championship football team, and am looking forward to this next challenge. I’ll miss Middletown!”

Thanks for the updates!

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Thanks for the updates this round. Take a look at what our class is up to!

Terrance Agbi, who is pursuing a master’s degree at the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, just got featured in NYU’s student spotlight. Check out the article at engineering.nyu.edu/news/2014/02/06/student-spotlight.

Also in New York is Josh Smith. Josh is living in Brooklyn and making a massive amount of music with an all-star team of friends and collaborators. For the past two years, he has also been secretly posing as Michael Rosen in order to write silly updates on his own behavior for the Wesleyan magazine. He has been having a great time doing this and he sincerely hopes no one finds out.

Alex Bean recently relocated from working in the advancement office at the Windward School in Los Angeles to the Dublin School, a small private school deep in the boonies of New Hampshire near the Keene area. She is serving as the director of annual giving, an advisor, and a dorm parent! Alex is hoping to make it to campus this spring at some point while in the Conn. area.

Both currently abroad are Jared Gimbel and Benjamin Petrie LaFirst. Jared recently authored his master’s thesis: “From Helsinki to Hania: Jewish Media Narratives About Europe, and Why They Matter Today,” and will spend fall 2014 and the subsequent academic year in JTS’s Modern Jewish Studies graduate program. Benjamin reports, “I am living and working abroad in Austria as an English teacher, and will be moving to Frankfurt am Main this summer to live with my fiancé, Christopher Ulrich Jürgensen, who I met in Regensburg while studying abroad from Wesleyan! We will be getting married in New York this summer, if all goes as planned.”

Kim Prosise adds, “I’m working as a traveling freelance writer and circus performer based out of Boston, Mass. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to visit Wesleyan family around the country and spent two weeks celebrating the New Year with Joey Heller and Gabriel Urbina ’13 in L.A.

Last but not least is Danielle St. Pierre, who has been working as an associate editor at AOL/The Huffington Post Media Company. She has been there since November 2013 and is working on the MarloThomas.com women’s lifestyle vertical.

Thanks for the updates!

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Hope as many of you who could returned to Wes for Homecoming to watch our Wesleyan Football team capture the Little Three Football Title with its win over Williams! Go Wes! As for the Class of 2011, many exciting updates to report!

In California, Bradley Spahn and Maryann Platt have both started PhD programs. Maryann reports, “I moved to sunny Irvine, Calif., to start my PhD in neuroscience!” Bradley is at Stanford, pursuing his PhD in political science.

Terrence Agbi, Jasmin Rahman, and Margaret Aldredge are also pursuing graduate educations. Keep up the good work, class of 2011! Terrance says, “I’m at NYU School of Engineering getting a master’s in management, with a focus on e-commerce and technology management. I’m also working at Dumbo Incubator part time.” Jasmin Rehman writes, “I’m wrapping up my second year of a master’s in social work program at The University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. I’m most likely sticking around Chicago post graduation.” Margaret is working at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens, as a curatorial assistant and just started a master’s program at the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU.

Samantha Pearlman reports, “I’ve been living in Philadelphia since graduation and working as a professional actress. My thesis show, Devotedly, Sincerely Yours, had its post-graduation premiere in the 2012 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. From that production, I was invited to bring the show to the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts at UPenn as part of their By-Local Series this past October. In the next year, I will be performing in assorted plays and musicals in the Philadelphia area, as I relocate to NYC in 2014.”

Mike Rosen has moved from Less Williamsburg to Mostly Williamsburg, where he lives with Myles Potters ’12 and practices such alternative lifestyles as veganism, “dating,” and “work.” He sends hair-related updates: Josh Smith had (for a short time) shaved his goatee whereas Louis Russo has maintained his luxurious locks. Mike performs poetry still sometimes and has, believe it or not, been informed that he looks like Macklemore.

Olivia Parkes says, “After graduation, I worked in London as an archivist for Film Finances, dealing principally with material from post-war British cinema. In November of last year I moved to Berlin, where I applied to the Universität der Künste to study Bildende Kunst (Fine Art). I started the first year of the degree this fall.”

Jared Gimbel finished the one-year fellowship at the Paideia Institute in Stockholm and is now in the master’s program in Jewish civilizations at the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg. In 2013, he founded “Present Presence,” a media initiative focused on showcasing contemporary Jewry throughout the world, and his upcoming master’s thesis focuses on perspectives and portrayals of Jewish life in Finland and in Greece.

Elana Scudder writes, “Mike Gaines and I have recently moved to New Orleans and we adopted a very cute and lovable dog! Mike is in his first year of law school at Tulane and I am busy saving the world, one cake at a time!”

Seth Alter has been self-employed in Boston for a year as a video game developer. After a year of development, much showcasing at festivals such as PAX East, and a successful Kickstarter campaign, Seth released his first game, Neocolonialism, in November (subalterngames.com). Neocolonialism is a Marxist strategy game in which players attempt to extract as much wealth from the world as possible. Seth now spends his days catching up on sleep and planning the next game.

Jon Sheehan reports, “I’m in Virginia working on the McAuliffe campaign.”

Lots of great updates! Keep it coming!

Allie Southam
asoutham@wesleyan.edu