Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 1992 March/April

Class Notes, 1992 March/April

March 1992

As you read this, spring is probably just around the corner. Of course, spring will come earlier for some than for others, as Jeffrey Wooten could probably tell us. Jeffrey is working for GE in Daytona Beach, where later this month he'll be joined by several hundred thousand of his closest friends from colleges across the country. Kathryn Pierson is also enjoying the warmer climes, working for Tishman Hotel Corp. in Orlando. Kathryn writes that she saw Peter Boksanski, who's working for S h e l l O i l in New Orleans . Christopher Martin is in the Navy near Orlando, while Mary Finch finished her Navy training in Norfolk, Va. before starting at NAVFAC, Centreville Beach, in Ferndale, Cal. Robert Williams is a bit farther down the coast from Mary, living in Burbank.

Of course, some classmates are still in the sun-drenched Northeast, probably still wearing boots and mittens. Exciting news comes from New York City, where Alexandra (Misita) was married to Neil Napolitano on Dec. 15, '91. Alexandra is a teacher in NYC, and wrote with news of other classmates. Iris Lev, Saskia Monteiro, and Scott Burglechner are all working in NYC, while Brian Rabinowitz is in medical school there. Paul Joseph '90, BS Ag '91 is in Ithaca, where he still conducts the PM bartending course that many of us remember so well. Of course, someone has to be different, and Alexandra writes that Amy Silbert has moved across the country to Portland, Ore. Thanks for the letter, Alexandra, and congratulations.

Congratulations are also in order for Alisa Alma, who was named a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow as a graduate student in public policy analysis at the U. of Rochester. This fellowship program is administered by the US Dept. of Education at approximately 40 institutions each year. Other classmates still in school include Lisa Chew, in the three-year design program at the NY School of Interior Design, and Thomas Lee at Emory law school in Atlanta. Richard Soviero writes that he's studying physics at the U. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, while Cassius Drake writes that he "decided I don't like engineering" and is now in a premed program at the U. of Houston. It evidently wasn't being overworked that chased Cassius out of engineering!

Robert Roller is also in Houston, working as an engineer at GECO Geophysical. The south also lays claim to Pia Napolitano, who's working for AT&T in Alpharetta, Ga., and Marcus Scholz, who's an engineer at GE Appliances in Louisville, Ky. Samantha Waterston writes that she's an applications analyst with Mobil in Fairfax, Va., where she might run across Luisa Santiago, an employee-relations advisor there. Linda Dienavs is working at Europ Assistance in Washington, DC, while Pamela Eaton is an assistant manager at the Bayard House Restaurant in Chesapeake City, Md.

Continuing on this month's cross-country voyage brings us to the Pacific Northwest. Elizabeth Briskin has moved to Portland, Ore. (maybe she'll see Amy Silbert), which she writes is "rainier than good old CU. "Robert Kubarek is an engineer with Boeing in Seattle, which brings us back to Philadelphia, where Helen Chou is an engineer with Boeing Helicopter. Last on our agenda is the Boston area (it's one of my favorite cities). Elizabeth Ochester is membership coordinator for the Appalachian Mountain Club there, while Bonnie Macintosh is working at The Faxon Co.in Westwood. Susie Skoglund is a mechanical engineer at R.W Beck & Associates in Waltham, and Eapen Chandy works in Boston at Wellington Management Co. as a systems programmer.

As we move out farther into the "adult" world, a thought from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland might be appropriate to close this column. "And the moral of that is--Oh, 'tis love, 'tis love, that makes the world go 'round!" Until next time. *Howard Stein, 3909D Leonardtown, U of Maryland, College Park, Md. 20742.

April 1992

While Jennifer Gray was pictured in The Houston Post teaching her class of second graders, and Greg Bagley was traveling around Europe training as a foreign area officer with the US Army, Alarik Myrin was cattle ranching in Colorado, Nicole Ryan was working on the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce publication, and Steven Walton was studying for his master's in mechanical engineering at Caltech. Let's face it. Even though we are undergoing some rough economic times, the youngest alumni class seems to be faring well in both the business world and in continued studies.

Jennifer took Teach for America's intensive six-week training session during last summer, which included five weeks of student teaching in "some tough Los Angeles schools," before heading for Houston. S h e said teaching is most important to her right now. Thanks for the great article, Jennifer, and congratulations!

Before traveling through Europe, Greg moved with his wife and son to Bonn, Germany, where he attended a language and cultural program at the Goethe Inst.; when Alarik is not cattle ranching, h e is managing a ham depot and doing some private accounting consulting; and Nicole also wrote that she is living in Washington, DC with classmates Scott Peppet and Anne Dettelbach.

Several classmates chose the path Jennifer took and are now teaching in various parts of the country and the world. Laura Fricke is at New Canaan County School in Connecticut, and Benjamin Rayer is teaching elementary grades at Minnie Gant School in Long Beach, Cal. Roberta Matern wrote that she is a substitute teacher at a school in Chinle, Ariz., while Fernando Alonso is a teacher at the Baldwin School of Puerto Rico. Students who opt to live overseas for a short period of time seek the popular job of teaching English to the natives. Kimberly Moy just returned home to Hawaii after having taught English at a university in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Suzy Rosenblatt is an assistant English teacher at a high school and junior high school in Nagasaki, Japan. Suzy added that her job is sponsored by the JET program and recommends the program to Cornellians who are undecided about the future and would like to live in Japan for a year to teach English.

Other classmates who wrote about continued studies certainly span the length of the globe, as well. Laura Panko is working on her PhD at the U. of Chicago, where she will also be doing a paleontological research project. Laura reported she has "been running into Cornellians on a regular basis." Also in the Chicago area, Andrew Kossoff is in the Northwestern U. master's program for direct marketing. He wrote that he sees both Elizabeth Bunta--on Northwestern's campus, as she studies for her master's in public relations--and Tim Fischer, Andrew's fraternity brother, who is working in Chicago. Christine Boness is studying law at the U. of Pennsylvania with 24 other recent Cornell grads and Sangjoon Baek is in the PhD program in physics at Penn.

At the U. of Vermont medical school, Ted Mason earned honors in gross anatomy. Kristin Bohnenberger is pursuing a dual master's degree in higher education/student affairs and human resources at Ohio State. She added that she is an assistant hall director in one of the university's undergraduate residence halls. Maria Ortiz is studying law in her hometown in Puerto Rico, and Kana Muraki is in Tokyo, continuing her studies in Japanese. Serving in the hospitality industry are a host of classmates: Michelle Schall is at the Kahala Hilton in Honolulu, while in California Craig Vaughan is a hotel manager at Four Seasons Gift Hotel in San Francisco. Anne Hellwig is public relations manager at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, and Carla Johnson is in chef training at Real Restaurants in Mill Valley. At ARA Leisure Services, Maria Cleaveland is a beverage manager in Phoenix, and Helena Lange is a banquet manager in Dallas. And at two Ritz-Carlton properties Liz Ronayne is in human resources in Washington DC, while Laura Kubiak is in Atlanta.

Despite a December article in The New York Times "Campus Life" section regarding Cornell's study of students who chose to transfer out of Engineering, Class of '91 Engineering graduates have indeed proven successful in the engineering business world. Paul Mason is a cost engineer at Turner Construction Co. in Los Angeles, and Laura Brickmeier is an engineer at Xerox in Webster, NY, while Tracey McGrath is an engineer at Procter & Gamble, and Garrett Grega is a process engineer at Mobil.

More wedding bells for classmates. Sharon Pelosi was married in Sage Chapel, and Kathleen Chard attended the wedding of Diane Ellis and Tim Hanson. Please keep us posted. *Melanie Bloom, 128 E. 85th St., Apt. 4B, NYC 10028; (212) 744-4531.