Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 1991 September/October

Class Notes, 1991 September/October

September 1991

"All good times must come to an end so that more can begin," wrote classmate John Hodgkins, toward the end of our final semester at Cornell last spring. Now, it's September. Last year at this time we were all getting settled back into a normal routine at Cornell. Grand Course Exchange, buying books, Fun in the Sun, then football games was the usual sequence of events. Has anything changed in Ithaca or at Cornell? Maybe Rachel Teck could tell me, because she spent the summer as a research consultant at Treman State Park; or maybe Richard Haynam, who was head resident for Cornell Summer College. Other classmates will be returning to Cornell this fall semester to continue their studies. Stacey Ries is in the Veterinary College, while Elizabeth Wood is completing a master's in the Cornell education department. Alice Davenport is pursuing her master's inpublic, administration, and Yvonne Driessen is enrolled in the Cornell Inst. of Public Affairs. In the area of engineering, John Floyd and Peter Scimeca are both studying for their master's in Electrical Engineering; Sabine Vinck is studying applied physics, Eric Hannay's interest is operations management, and Christian Loew is seeking a master's in Civil Engineering. Good luck to you all, and please keep us informed!

This past summer, rather than hanging out at the Palms in Collegetown, Europe seemed to be popular as an off-campus hangout for many of our new Cornell grads. Perhaps Karen Schmeidler, Rebecca Warme, Steven Weiner, Scott Berniker, Hallie Goldman, Joshua Berman, Susan Segalowitz, Teddy Goodman, Dave Russ, Beverly Yirenkyi, Adam Black, Anthony Antonucci, Michael Levine, and Pamela Sewell bumped into each other at some point in their travels. If so, please tell us about it.

Wedding bells have already rung for one classmate. Congratulations and best wishes to Eugene Bose who was married on June 1 in San Diego. Eugene, a member of Navy ROTC, will be serving in Japan with the US Marine Corps. Nalini Deonarine will be working for BASF in Geismar, La. in the field of chemical engineering.

Two of our international students, Firuz Hussin and William Chan, both from Malaysia, expected to stay in the US to work. Firuz, a loyal Dragon Day fan, is employed at Fred Thomas Assoc. in Ithaca. William accepted a position with Oracle Corp. in Redwood City, Cal.

If you are looking to invest in a car, talk to Jeffrey Moore who is working at General Motors in Warren, Mich.; if you have news to report in the Syracuse area, contact Anna Chan who is writing for the Syracuse papers: The Post-Standard, The Herald-American, and The Herald-Journal; if you find your business sends you traveling, look for classmates Michael Fisher at Hilton Hotels, Daniel Dammann at Le Meridien San Diego Resort, or Rita Schulz at Embassy Suites in Dallas. History buff Ann Pierce is teaching history at Roland Park Country School in Baltimore, Md., while math whiz Cristos Goodrow will be teaching high school math in Long Beach, Cal. after attending the Teach for America Summer Training Inst. at U. of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Finally, words from classmates themselves in "The Quote Corner." First, a common misconception about Carl Sagan's presence on campus is cleared up by Michelle Lane: "Carl Sagan really is on campus. I know, I worked for him!" Debra McMahon says of her experience at Cornell: "It was better than Cats. I would like to see it again and again"; and Tamara Highsmith adds, "It's been a four-year experience and education, in more ways than one.

Good luck to you who are beginning graduate school and new jobs this month. Thanks to contributors to '91 as an alumni class; we anxiously await your news! *Melanie Bloom, 25293 Bridgeton Dr., Beachwood, Ohio 44122; also Jeffrey Anbinder, 312 Highland Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850; and Howard Stein, 11 Judith St., Plainview, NY 11803

October 1991

Good Lord, it's already October. Lines are probably forming right about now for season hockey tickets. Homecoming lurks nearby, with its promises of football and tailgates. Remember, you're alumni now; you belong back on the Hill for Homecoming. Some of us will have an easier time getting there than others; as Melanie Bloom remarked last month, it seems that quite a few of our classmates have chosen to remain Ithacans, at least for the time being. Mike Shappe started a job with Cornell Information Technologies this summer, which has turned into a permanent position. Jessica Lifland is remaining to finish her five-year undergraduate program, but says she'd still like to be a part of the Class of '91. No problem. Tom Calupca and Joe Youn are both pursuing master's degrees in Electrical Engineering, because Cornell (unfortunately) offers no advanced degrees in road trips.

Some members of the Class of '91 are in graduate programs at other institutions of higher learning. Laura Fricke has started the master's program at the Bank Street College of Education in New Y ork City, while at the same time she is the assistant teacher of a "multi-age" classroom at New Canaan (Conn.) Country School. Peter Miller is studying physics at the U. of Illinois, "the flattest place on earth." Christine Steinmann is attending the U. of Pennsylvania's veterinary school, and Olga Tsoudis is aiming for a PhD in social psychology from the U. of Arizona. Steve Walton is making a brief stop at the California Inst. Of Technology for an MS in mechanical engineering, before heading back east to the U. of Toronto for a PhD in the history of medical technology.

Those attending law school include Tami Wardle at New York U., Julie Pearlman at American U. in Washington, DC, and Andrew Sussman at the U. of Pittsburgh. Future physicians include Eric Gomes at Yale, Doug Skarada at Duke, and Todd Tracy at the U. of Rochester. Jeannette Perez-Rossello, also at Rochester, is in their MD-PhD program.

Many new alumni are already working for a living, despite recession fears that loomed last spring. Holly Geiger is working in human resources for Macy's, while Jennifer Goldstein is an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Sharon Wolfson will be attending grad school part time as part of her training program with GE Aerospace in Philadephia. Kimberly Mansell is doing a dietetic internship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and Mayvelyn Tamayo has begun a management training program with Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield. Jennifer Pinco is pursuing a career in computer animation at an advertising agency in NYC; also in advertising, as an assistant account executive at FCB/Leber Katz Partners, is Jennifer Tenser.

Lisa Dale biked across the country, and is now in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where she hopes to teach for a year or two before going to grad school. Most people know Jackson Hole for the great skiing, but I must recommend to Lisa the pizza place at the KOA campsite, if it's still there; in 1984, it had the only decent New York pizza west of InDiana. Another classmate biking cross-country was Geneva Chong (better known as Viva), who took the popular San Francisco to Seattle to New Hampshire route.

Roommates Edward Goodman and Mike Levine spent five weeks traveling in Europe together early this summer. Others spending time in Europe included Eric Torkelson, Laura W olner, Ina Kurcz, Pallavi Gholkar, and Cecile Belaman. Elizabeth Henry and Catherine McKee also made trips, to Australia.

This is the penultimate paragraph, so it must be the "Quote Corner." Why does Susan Geringer think that Jim Maas (Psych 101) is the best professor at Cornell? "Anyone who can keep 2,000 students silent for 50 minutes is a God." After four years, Neva Flaherty has decided that "those quotes in the "Deskbook" about how hard Cornell is and how much you love it at the end are true." Greg Stoller sums it all up quite nicely: "For a school situated in the middle of nowhere, it's been a damn nice place to be for four years!!"

I agree entirely, and I hope to see you all back here (yes, I'm an Ithacan now, too) for Homecoming, to watch the Big Red football squad run roughshod over Harvard, October 19, and to see old friends and make new ones. Drop me a line to let me know your latest news, before postage goes up again! *Jeffrey Anbinder, 934 Stewart Ave., Apt. 31, Ithaca, NY 14850.