Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 1991 November/December

Class Notes, 1991 November/December

November 1991

Here we are, past our first Homecoming as alums. It was great to see everyone who came back and to see some of my favorite spots in the whole world. As undergrads, I don't think many of us understood why all of the alumni kept coming back to campus. That perception has changed (at least for me) a great deal in the last six months. Well, enough sentimentality. On with the news. Craig Galloway is already feeling the effects of the real world. While at Cornell, Craig was a brother at Sigma Nu and co-founded the "Absolutely Cornell" T--shirts. He's now training in technical sales with Vickers Inc. and writes with a problem that I'm sure many of us share--how to meet people "when you're not in a college atmosphere and you know nobody." If anybody has advice for Craig and the rest of us, send it. It should make for an interesting column.

Things seem to be settling down for our class. Ariane Schreiber writes that she is an intern at New Jersey Congressman Toricelli's office after spending over five weeks in northeastern Europe with Eric Bluman this summer. Considering how many of our classmates traveled in Europe this summer, I'm surprised that the only one I saw during my 6-1/2 weeks was fellow Big Red Band member Kevin Rugg. We had a chance meeting at the train station in Tours, France. Ariane also writes that Eric, Kate Guernsey, and Oona Lim are all at the U. of Buffalo medical school. Their days are tiring, even after four years as premeds on the Hill.

Medical school seems like a popular option for our classmates. Cynthia Johnson is at Cornell Medical College, while former Cornell Chorus member Maryellen Goodell writes that she is attending Duke's medical school. Joining her in that part of the country are Amy Lawrence, who's working for Westinghouse in Charleston, NC., and Julie Voveris, who's also working for Westinghouse, but in Sumter, SC. News of the latter two comes via Jennifer Leeds, who's at graduate school in the medical microbiology department at the U. of Wisconsin, Madison. Jennifer also writes that she "would love to find other Cornellians in Madison and surrounding areas." Many other people wrote similar requests. The Cornell Clubs, which exist in most areas of the US, provide excellent opportunities for getting together with other alumni and enjoying a variety of activities. If you're not sure of how to contact the Cornell Club in your area, the Office of Alumni Affairs can help you. Call (607) 255-2390.

Several classmates want to train future generations of Cornellians (otherwise known as teach). Liza Jones, a Delta Delta Delta sister, is interested in teaching at a private school. Suzette LaMothe is teaching prekindergarten in Houston after spending the summer in Los Angeles at the Teach For America training institute. Her students may be a little young to be impressed with Cornell, but there's always hope for the future.

Other classmates continue to be involved in the academic world by continuing their studies. Amy Epstein is at the U.of Pennsylvania law school, and Fotene Niforos is also at Penn, studying government administration. We'll have to schedule some sort of get-together in Philadelphia for the Cornell-Penn football game on Nov. 23, with so many classmates there. I know I'll be there for the game.

Some final news comes from Alan Chien, who's working for GE in Utica, NY. He says that he's in GE's Edison engineering program, which will pay for him to earn his master's degree at RPI over the next three years. Alan writes with news of two others: Ron Yu is working at LSI Logic in Milpitas, Cal., while living at home in nearby Cupertino, and Rich Hung is still at Cornell, pursuing his master's degree.

This month's contributions to the "Quote Corner" come from Amy Morris and Ruby Wang. Amy was undoubtedly referring to Cornell's vaunted diversity when she wrote, "Before I came to Cornell, I didn't know anyone from Long Island." And Ruby summarized many of our feelings when she said, quite simply, "I miss Cornell."

That's this month's pleasure reading. Please note my new address, so you can send me lots of mail, and take care until next time. *Howard Stein, 239-9D1 Leonardtown, U. of Maryland, College Park, Md. 20742.

December 1991

Living and working in New York City, it's absolutely amazing how much Cornell paraphernalia I see, how many Cornell alumni I have met in the business world, and how frequently I bump in to members of the Class of '91! In just one weekend, I saw Jennifer Green, who told me she is now living with Pearl Chizner; Melissa Sherman and Bonnie Leff, who also live together while Melissa is working at Bloomingdale's and Bonnie is at Chase Manhattan Bank; Carrie Richmond and Karen Ginsberg (Carrie reporting she is living in a beautiful apartment building on the Upper East Side and attending New York Law School, while Karen is working at Cornell Medical Center). It was really a nice surprise to see familiar faces from Cornell, not t o mention the people I met for the first time on the day I rode a cross-town bus. The Cornell T-shirt I happened to be wearing gave away my identity to the woman from the Class of '88, who then began talking to the young man from the Class of '84, who then met another woman from the Class of '89, and another from the Class of '81. It was incredible the network formed on the Ma hattan bus through Central Park!

Now, as the December winds blow and the snow falls knee deep in Ithaca, our classmates attending graduate schools are on vacation, while those in the business world continue to work. Catherine Reese wrote in that she is a first-year student at Tufts U. veterinary school in N. Grafton, Mass.; and Rachel Przybyla sent a note informing that she is studying medicine at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. Also at Columbia are Brian Yuh, Tony Magnano, and Wenhaur Wu. Robin Leong is studying at Georgetown law school; Robert Leung and Matthew D'Amore are both at Yale law school; Brian Burriss and R. David Smith are both at Ohio State U., where Brian is studying clinical psychology and David is studying medicine. Leonid Shapiro is attending graduate school at Oxford U.; Francine Simon is studying sociology at Stanford U., while Marc-David Seidel and John Byers are studying at U. of California, Berkeley. David is in the doctoral program, and John is specializing in computer science. Rachel Laiserin is attending the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Meanwhile, different parts of the country and the world are filled with classmates in the work force. The food industry is blessed with Catherine Irish who is at Kraft General Foods in Hoboken, NJ, while Procter & Gamble in Mehoopany, Pa. has employed Tracey McGrath as a process engineer. Judi Germano, former conference coordinator for the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is practicing public relations in the Big Apple at Burson Marsteller Public Relations. Kimberly Brown is working for Xerox in Denver, and Raymond Kemper is working as a leadership consultant for Chi Psi fraternity for one year. He began in July, and as he is working in Ann Arbor, h e will b e taking graduate courses in structural engineering a t the U. of Michigan. I also received news of Darcy Andrew and Tom Spargo, who are working in Japan for the Temporary Center. Coincidentally, a Japanese woman from my office at Japan Broadcasting Corp. in New York City told me upon her return from her travels to Japan that she had met Darcy and Tom.

The Department of the Navy released news about classmates who were commissioned upon graduation from Cornell's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program. During each undergraduate semesters the students completed naval science courses, as well as a full academic schedule that led to a degree. These courses, combined with annual summer training aboard ships and shore installations, served to prepare NROTC graduates for duties and responsibilities of commissioned officers. Congratulations and best of luck to Linda Craugh, Matthew Dorr, Sean Ensign, Mary Finch, Edward Hammond, Christopher Heffernan, James Lewis, Keith Marburger, Christopher Martin, Christina Miske, and Steven Yodowitz. Please keep us posted on your whereabouts!

Unfortunately, news of a tragedy involving a member of our class, as well as a member of the Class of '90 arrived just before the deadline for this month's column. One headline on a news story read, "Investigators probe killings of two former CU students in Arizona," and the subhead: "Couple found shot to death near their car." On September 10, at about 9:00 p.m, Laura Cruz and her husband Bryan Bernstein '90 were discovered lying near Bryan's 1986 Chevrolet Chevette at a rest stop in southwest Arizona about 20 miles east of Yuma. The couple was traveling from Auburn, Ala. on their way to the U. of California, Los Angeles, where they were both going to attend graduate school. Laura died of gunshot wounds at the scene. Bryan was shot in the head and died the next day at Barrow Neurological Inst. in Phoenix. Memorials may be made to the Cruz Bernstein Youth for Understanding Scholarship Fund c/o Vi Cook, 1010 Madera Cir., College Station, Texas 77840.

Ending with something from Quote Corner, a classmate who asked to remain anonymous said, "Although we're dispersed throughout the country and even the world, there still seems to be a bond connection the members of our class." Happy holidays to all, and have a safe and relaxing new year! *Melanie Bloom, 128 E. 85th St., Apt. 4B, NYC 10028.