Class Notes

A Year in Review: 2004

by Dorothy Jones-Davis, 1998 Class Secretary

Winter 2004

Hello ‘98ers! I hope that everyone had a great holiday season.  In October, your class officers were able to meet at Wellesley for our Alumnae Leadership Council meeting, and we had a blast! Be on the lookout for a newsletter from us in your mailbox this spring.

Justine Firnhaber-Baker recently got married at Houghton Memorial Chapel on July 12, 2003 to Mathew Schwartz (Cornell ’95). Justine was introduced to her husband by Elly Truit ’97, although Justine remarks, “I met her at Harvard, rather than Wellesley!”  Justine is pursuing her Ph.D. in Medieval Studies at Harvard with Alisha Rankin ’97 and Janna Wasilewski ’99.  Elly and Alisha were at the wedding, as was Rebecca Longworth.  Jasmine Guillory '97 was a bridesmaid, and Eden Osucha '95, who was a friend of the groom’s, gave a reading.  Also present were Professor of Music Martin Brody, and his wife Katy Park, past History Professor.  Finally, Drew Foster, Jane (Sydney) Foster '97's brother and Helen Curie Foster '67's son, was also in attendance.  Talk about six degrees of separation! In September, Justine received a Bourse Chateaubriand from the French government to complete her dissertation work in Paris and Toulouse, France.

In another recent Houghton Memorial Chapel marriage, Diane Serritella got married on October 11, 2003 to John Quick (UCLA ’00).  Anita Meraz, Mala Shah, Jamie Matthews ’99 and Sonia Raman, assistant basketball coach, were in attendance. Mrs. Quick tells me she had a wonderful two-week honeymoon cruise through the Eastern Mediterranean.

In baby news, Jessica Windrem-Mayo and her husband Roger welcomed their son, Carson George Mayo into the world on October 1, 2003.  He was born at 8 lbs, 11 oz. in Santa Rosa, Calif., and is a happy, healthy, growing baby.  Jessica remarked, “Although [Carson] won’t ever be an alum, I look forward to introducing him as an enthusiastic member of the extended Wellesley family!

In jobs, moves, and graduate school news, Tekesha “TJ” Barber was recently promoted to International Compliance Specialist from Management Analyst – Legal at BAE SYSTEMS in North America, based in Arlington, Va.  TJ is very excited about her new role; she hopes to travel more and to spend some time in the UK. Cinnamon Stetler recently moved to Vancouver, BC so that she can complete her Ph.D. in clinical psychology.  Another clinical psychology grad student, our vice-president, Gagan Khera, just received a NRSA Predoctoral grant to fund her dissertation research. 

Finally, be on the lookout for “Chicanos in Vietnam”, a documentary by our very own Sonya Rhee that tells the story of Charley Trujillo and several of his Chicano friends in the Vietnam War.  Sonya’s next film project has taken her to Cambodia, where she is researching the work of the Cambodian Project, a project that works to rehabilitate children who lost limbs as a result of stepping on land mines.

Keep the news coming, ladies. I’m eager to hear about any mini-reunions that might have taken place this fall. Holiday parties, Mona Lisa Smile get-togethers, anyone?

Fall 2004

Hello 98ers! I have exciting personal news to share.  On August 20, 2004, I successfully defended my Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan.  I am very relieved to be done with this chapter of my life, and excited to start a short postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.  Recently, I heard from Mary “Molly” Colvin, who is finishing up the writing of her dissertation and about start a program in Clinical Neuropsychology at Suffolk University in Boston, MA.  Molly remarks that she is eager to complete the transition to the new program, and excited to be completed with this phase of her life.

In other graduate news, Sheila Resari graduated in December 2003 from the Boulder College of Massage Therapy. Classmates Christina Thompson, Tara Friedman (Feinberg), and Ann Strini ('99) recently graduated from Columbia Business School with their MBAs. Christina will be joining IRI, a marketing analytics firm, in their New Jersey office, and Tara will be joining Citigroup in New York City. Stephanie Pierce graduated in June 2004 from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design with a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture. Stephanie is now working for a small landscape architecture firm in the Boston area.

Classmate Mahyulee Colatat has been busy since graduation. After marrying her high school sweetheart David Maxwell in 1999, she recently received her M.S. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and will be heading to Bowling Green State University in Ohio to enter the doctoral program for Industrial/Organization Psychology in the Fall.

Classmate Nancy Boren finished a post-baccalaureate premedical program at Brandeis University in May 2003, and will be starting veterinary school at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine this fall.  On Sept 2. 2003, Nancy welcomed her son, Brian Edward Boren Alperson into the world, and has been spending time home bonding with her little one before starting school. 

Finally, there are a few weddings to announce.  Imagine my surprise when I heard from my mother that Wellesley classmate Elise Matefy’s wedding announcement was in my hometown newspaper (I never realized Elise was from Connecticut)!  On August 31, 2004, classmate Elise married Craig Alexander Wisneski (MIT) in Westwardsboro, VT. On July 19, 2003, Rachel Wadsworth Stazi (Wadsworth) married Andrew Stazi.  Attending the wedding were classmates, Meredith Gunlicks, Holly Danzeisen, Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton (Mechanic), Emily Krell and Alicia Peters. On March 4, 2004 Jennifer Parmalee Witt (Parmalee) married Matthew Witt (Tulane Law, ’94) in a small ceremony overlooking the beach in the Bahamas, with only immediate family in attendance. Jennifer reports that one of the more daunting tasks of being married is using both names as her new last name, unhyphenated.  She is soliciting hints from classmates who might have faced similar name change difficulties. Any tips?

As always, I do hope that all is well in each of your lives, and that if you have any news (or if you just want to say hi), you drop me note at the above address. Continue to stay happy and healthy and in touch!

Summer 2004

Hey ’98!  I bring you greetings from beautiful Treviso, Italy, the site of the wedding of Giulietta Versiglia ’99, and Davide Prete.  Also at the wedding are Tonia Ziegler ’97, Khendra Peay ’99, and Tabitha Smith. Ann Oschendorf also recently ran into Tabitha, who is finishing her Ph.D. program in English at Howard University.  Ann just graduated from Columbia Law in May, and is preparing to move to the DC area to clerk for a judge in Baltimore next year.

In another international wedding, Christine Johnson (Hrul), married Edward Johnson (Williams '98, Harvard Law '05) in the Czech Republic on August 22, 2003. Cynthia Guizzette served as Christine's maid of honor. Christie Sanchez, who was on a mission in Torino, Italy, Jen Hsieh, who was traveling in Europe, Karen Lyter, who was on vacation with her husband in the region, and Kanlaya Phoutinane were all there to celebrate. Christine studied in Poland in her junior year and visited Prague and fell in love with the city. "I have always been thankful for the love and support my friends have shown me over the years and I was over the moon with happiness to have them travel all the way to Prague to be there for my wedding day."

Lindsay Bigoness also has been traveling internationally. She took a break this winter from her job as an arts/entertainment and features reporter for the Old Colony Memorial, a daily newspaper south of Boston to meet up with Farida El-Gammal in London.  Farida is working for JP Morgan in London, and she and Lindsay had a wonderful time catching up.  Lindsay also had a great visit with Amy Chiappetta, who is living near Virginia Beach, VA and teaching high school English. Amy and her fiancé, Corey, bought a lovely new house last summer and are enjoying decorating their new place.

Sarah Stevenson also traveled internationally to Normany, Brittany and Paris, France after a two-year clerkship at the 9th circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.

Locally, Laura Tavares married George Garrett on June 21, 2003, at St. Anthony’s Church in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

In other local news, Tenille Reichert finished her program in communication sciences and disorders and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with her Master’s degree on August 18, 2003. She began her clinical fellowship year with early childhood intervention as a speech-language pathologist. She currently works in Round Rock, Texas, at an in home-based service with children with speech and language delays and disorders.

Well ladies, I hope that all is well in your lives.  Please continue to keep me posted with your news. Remember, you can reach me at the above address, and in addition, please check out our online community class E-notes that can be accessed through the alumnae online community website, www.wellesley.edu/Alum.  Often, there is so much news that I cannot publish it all fast enough, so the website is an excellent forum to quickly let us know about all of your news!

Spring 2004

Greetings, classmates! It was a pleasant surprise to receive several first-time updates; keep them coming!

In news from abroad…

Alice S. Kim is currently in the Netherlands, participating in an exchange program between Washington University in St. Louis and Utrecht University, where she is finishing up her last semester. She plans to finish law school in April, and will remain in Europe for a couple of weeks before her graduation and the Illinois state bar exam.

Shannon Tubbs recently moved to Japan to work with a company called The Peppy Kids Club, that teaches English to Japanese children.  Shannon is quite excited about her new job, and is looking forward to learning a lot as well as teaching!

… and news closer to home…

Carolyn Sosa also recently embarked on a career change.  She’s now a real estate agent in Orange County, California. Recently, Carolyn sold her first house, and comments that her second is not far behind.

In January, Wendy Fung started her own business, Xpressive Writing, after receiving her M.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California. She offers group workshops to promote psychological wellness in non-professional writers of all ages. She also consults for many local firms, writing grants, website content, and media/PR materials. Her website, www.XpressiveWriting.com, is a collaborative website project designed by Janet Si-Ming Lee, who has been freelancing as a graphic designer in Somerville, MA over the last couple years. Janet has been collaborating on website projects with several other Wellesley friends including Symone Diep, Grace Song, and Lorraine Palmer '00 and currently works as a Creative Director with Sissi Liu '99 for a long-distance Voice-over-IP service provider ZipGlobal. She continues to head her Wellesley Alumnae & Affiliates in Multimedia ( http://cs.wellesley.edu/~WAAM ) group to promote creativity and entrepreneurship collaborations between Wellesley and MIT alumni. Despite the busy life she leads, Janet was able to visit Sweden for the first time in December on a family trip to participate in festivities and award ceremonies honoring her Uncle Roderick Mackinnon, who won the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Alice Marwick is currently living in Seattle, WA. After a dot com career, Alice has returned to academia and is working on her master’s degree at the University of Washington in communication, with a focus on internet studies and online community. She is currently moonlighting as a researcher for the gaming startup Infinium, serving as a fellow at the Center for Internet Studies, writing a lot of complicated papers about Friendster, and DJing indierock dance nights around the city (check out her DJ collective at french75.net).Based on the updates I’ve received, it seems like there is a lot of career change and growth happening in our class. As always, we seem to be Wellesley women on the move, and I’m so happy for each of you! Please continue to keep in touch and let me know how you’re continuing to grow, whether it is personally, or in your career.  I look forward to hearing from all you!