Class Notes

A Year in Review: 2005

by Dorothy Jones-Davis, 1998 Class Secretary

Winter 2005

Greetings 1998!  I hope that everyone is having a wonderful winter, and that everyone continues to have a wonderful and prosperous New Year.  Over the holidays, I had a chance to catch up with two of our classmates – it was a real treat to see Mijha Butcher and Karen Schlowsky-Fischer. 

As many of you know, Karen’s husband became chronically ill with lymphoma last year, and unfortunately passed away on October 17, 2004.  Karen has been extremely strong throughout this difficult time, and has started a young widows group. (If there are any young widows in the class, she asks that you contact her.)  She was extremely grateful to our class for all of the cards, visits, calls, sympathy, and contributions that were made to her and Mark.  My husband and I had a lovely time visiting Karen over Thanksgiving; she was a delightful tour guide around her town of Hoboken, NJ.  She is managing well, but asks for our continued thoughts and support.

During my visit with Mijha, she relayed to me the details of the wedding of Tene Bagley to Kareem Raymond on July 3, 2004 in NY.  She remarked that “Tene was a beautiful bride, and the wedding was lovely.” Juderns (Judy) Exceus was also in attendance at the wedding.

In other wedding news, Caroline Hamar married Keith Birch on April 24, 2004 in Sydney, Australia.  Caroline and Keith now reside in Sydney, where Caroline works for Westpac Banking Corporation.  On June 19, 2004, Gretchen Buck married John Murcott (BA Tufts, ’90, MBA Maryland ’95) in New Fairfield, CT with bridesmaids Laura Manies (’95), Hannah Shay Chanoine (’97), and Marney Parker (’98).  The couple took a 3-week honeymoon to Australia and New Zealand, and currently is living in Manhattan, where Gretchen is pursuing her MBA in marketing at Columbia Business School.  And, on October 2, 2004, Cassidy Waskowicz married Peter David Greenberger at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Cassidy is currently an associate at the law firm Hunton & Williams in NY.

In other exciting news, I received word that classmate Jamie Kiffel is starting her own business importing handmade shawls from a village in India.  She reports that she started the business after observing the farmers at work during a recent visit to northern India. Jamie remarks, “Farmers spend the entire dry season hand-embroidering these amazing works of art.”

Recently, classmate Emily Harvey was recently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study how geographic information systems can be used as an analytical tool for improved management of buffer zones around protected bioregions of Interior Atlantic Forest in Paraguay.  Emily has been busy after graduation, as an environmental educator for two years in the Peace Corps in Paraguay, and now as a graduate student at Clark University in Environmental Science and Policy. Her project will examine the strategies and priorities of three conservation organizations and the landowners in and near the buffer zones. 

As always, keep the news coming! Peace and love to all…

Fall 2005

Fall is here, and as the season changes, I find that our classmates are sharing news of exciting changes in their lives.

Bianca Camac married Mark Robert Bell II on May 22, 2004 in Atlanta, GA. Attending her wedding were Nora Culver, Anna Ford Halverson ’99, Kathyrn Carlson ’99, and C.A. Webb ’97. Bianca had an exciting year, as she also graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and started her residency in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University.

Lindsay Bigonness sends word of a beautiful wedding she attended, that of classmate Amy Chiappetta.  Amy married Cory West on July 24, 2004 in Chesapeake, VA.  Fellow alums in attendance included Lindsay, as well as Rachel Greenberger ’00, Jennifer Dorantes, Gwen (Stead) Hart, Gagan Khera, Mala Shah, Laurie (Straus) Skantze, Deborah Bander, and Amy’s little sister, Sarah Chiappetta ’01.

Kristin Lambert married Sam Hendler (Princeton '98) at his family's home outside of Baltimore on May 29, 2005, and she sends word that Wellesley women were there in force! Clare (Cummings) Hallinan, Ida Liu, Skye Drynan, Jennifer (Weaver) Kondracki, Lorraine Hanley, Asma Hasan '97, and Kristin’s mom Shirley (Best) Lambert '67, were all in attendance. Kristin sends updates on some of our classmates: “…Clare is working as a compliance officer at Goldman Sachs…. and Skye is a VP in the Credit Suisse Asset Management Group. Jen and I live across the street from each other in Boston so we hang out a lot… and I am starting my second year with Bain and Company. Lorraine just moved to Boston, and is wrapping up her dissertation.”

Keisha Champagnie is proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Aidan Kadinshoare Champagnie-Ellington.  Aidan was born on August 24, 2004 in Kingston, Jamaica and weighed 8 lb., 6 oz.  Keisha reports that she and Aidan are enjoying the sunshine in Jamaica. Happy 1st Birthday, Aidan! 

Finally, it seems we have quite a contingency of alums in the North Carolina area, studying at Duke University. Cynthia Liu sends word of a mini-reunion, where she, Christine Murashige ’97, Yvette Ross ’97, Eunice Chung ’02, Sara Dietschi ’00, and Melissa Moynier ’99, were all in attendance. 

A couple of last minute “secretary’s notes”: First, let me apologize if your submitted news does not make it into the magazine issue directly following your submission. You do an awesome job of reporting to me, and often I cannot fit all of the news into a given issue. Please bear with me, and I promise, I’ll write up your news in the first issue that I can. Also, if you have a hard copy photo that you are submitting with your update, please send it directly to Jen Garrett c/o Wellesley Magazine, 106 Central St. Wellesley, MA 02481-8203, to expedite picture processing (just don’t forget to let me know that you sent it to her so that I can accompany your picture with text in the appropriate issue!).

I do hope that all is well with everyone. Stay in touch!

Summer 2005

Hi Everyone! I hope that you are all having wonderful summer adventures, and for those of you (like me) who no longer have a “real” summer vacation, I hope that you are able to take a cool break every now and then.

A few of our classmates have already begun their adventures. Renee (Sobelman) Fittler sent me an email from Australia, where she has just completed her graduate studies in Editing and Publishing and where she has begun her new job as a circulation analyst. Renee currently works with John Fairfax publications, publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia’s oldest newspaper) and the Australian Financial Review.  In February, Renee traveled to Africa, visiting Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Renee emails that the highlights of her trip include visiting Victoria Falls, camping under the stars in the Kalahari Desert, and sandboarding down the Namibian sand dunes at speeeds of up to 50 mph! Renee also held her first solo photography exhibition at the Art Lounge in Syndney, and sold a dozen photographs.

Jennifer “Jenny” Woo, is adventurous in her own right, in Hong Kong, where, as president of Hong Kong’s swankiest department store, she has transformed the business from “frumpy to fabulous.” The Spring 2005 issue of Time Style and Design (a Time magazine supplement) states that the store boasts a martini lounge and chillout CD bar as a few of its ammenities. It also bills the store as “unquestionably the most mod retail space in Asia”.  Way to go Jenny!

Embarking on the adventure of parenthood are Cady (Alpert) Burstein and her husband Jeffrey (MIT ’97), who welcomed their daughter, Melissa Lena Burstein, into the world on March 22, 2005. Little Melissa (Wellesley 2021?) weighed 6 lbs, 6 oz., and was 18.5 inches. Congratulations to Mom, Dad, and Baby, who are all doing well.

Me, I am to embark on an adventure as well. On July 15-17, 2005, I will be participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk in Michigan. I'll walk 60 miles over the course of three days with thousands of other women and men. My goal is to raise at least $2100, as the net proceeds of the walk will support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment through the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. I've never done anything like this, so it ought to be interesting!  Stay tuned for an update and check out class e-notes and our Yahoo group for pictures!

Speaking of our class e-notes.. Just a reminder to use our class e-notes to post pictures of children (which the magazine cannot publish), pictures of yourself or other alums, life happenings and anything you’d like to share with the class.  Sometimes it’s hard for me to get all of the class news into one column, so the e-notes are a great way to make sure your important life events get announced.  Stay safe and keep being the wonderful women you are!

Spring 2005

Hello 98!  Spring is in the air, and with it comes news of a season of growth, as many of our classmates send news of recent nuptials, blessed births, and worldly travels.  Keep the news coming, ladies!

Nicole Clouse sends word of her marriage to David Danese (MIT, ’99) on August 14, 2004 at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, TN. She remarked, “Angelica Bernal, Jasmine Guillory (’97), and Simi Patnaik (’97) were all-star bridesmaids.”

On July 10, 2004, Catherine Cloniger was wed to Kristopher Koontz, in Kannapolis, NC. Several ‘98ers served as bridesmaids: Lian-Marie Holmes, Ashley Dumas, and Sarah Dysken.  Catherine remarked that Carolyn (Osterwalder) Collignon, who is living in Brussels, Belgium with her husband Sebastien and new son Lucas Florent Max (born January 9, 2004), could not be there in person, but was there in spirit.  The day before the wedding, Catherine received a surprise phone call from Carolyn, who joined Liam, Ashley and Sarah in serenading her with a song that they had written, entitled “The Wellesley Bunch” – sung to the tune of “The Brady Bunch”.  I know who will be developing our class cheer at the next reunion! 

Carolyn has been combining motherhood with part-time graduate studies. She has one more year to go before becoming a clinical psychologist, hoping to work with the large English-speaking expatriate community in Brussels.

In more “mommy” news, Aly Mayry Severance (1998) is proud to announce the birth of daughter, Claudia Mayry, on August 12, 2004.  Somchay (Xayarath) Edwards is proud to announce the birth of daughter, Priscilla "Lily" Meiying, on January 23, 2004. Christine (Hrul) Johnson is happy to announce the birth of daughter, Astrid Eleanor, on January 4, 2005. Christine would like to connect with other ’98 moms out there. Perhaps a 98 “mommy mini-reunion” is in the future?

In academic news, we have two reports of class travelers. Abigail McCarthy is just coming to the end of a 24-day-long research cruise in the Pacific. Abigail updates, “During the cruise I collected tissue samples from fish we caught for contaminant analysis. The analysis will examine chemicals that accumulate in top pelagic predators. Not only did I spend a lot of time working on the inside of some of these big fish, I also learned to cut sashimi and got to eat a lot of it too. I was thrilled to be able to participate in this cruise, and I plan to incorporate these data and other similar data into my PhD work- after I finish my master's thesis. One thing at a time!” Away in Paraguay for a year on a Fulbright is Emily Harvey, who was awarded the prestigious fellowship to work with non-governmental organizations in Paraguay to develop ideas to protect waterways and forests through the use of the geographic information system. Emily graduated with a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Clark University, focusing on the impact of people on the climate of the Yucatan, just a few days after she left for Paraguay.