Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2018 November/December

Class Notes, 2018 November/December

November/December 2018

Summer is wrapping up as I write this, and it is time again to share news of our classmates. I always feel nostalgic at this time of year and wish that I were returning to Ithaca for another amazing year at Cornell. Something about the crisp fall air here in Maine evokes memories of moving into dorms and starting new classes. We heard from three classmates this time. Please consider dropping us a note to tell us a bit about your life, your family, your work, or whatever inspires you.

Michelle Travis has published her first children’s book, My Mom Has Two Jobs. The book celebrates working moms, and their work both inside and outside of the home. On each page, children proudly describe how their moms care for them in a very special way, while also making the world better through their careers. The book highlights moms in a wide range of professions, including a teacher, an engineer, a police officer, a doctor, a secretary, a dentist, a firefighter, a nurse, a lawyer, a waitress, a military sergeant, a veterinarian, and a pilot. Michelle is a law professor at the U. of San Francisco School of Law.

Debra Etelson-Mayblum told us about the first annual Cornell Alumni Shabbat, held at a synagogue in New Rochelle, NY, in July. Alumni-led, the service ended with a prayer sung to the tune of our Alma Mater. In attendance were Debra, Eric ’81 and Liz Meller Alderman ’83, Jayne Gilbert Peister ’88, David Shechter ’95, and Caroline Fox ’95. Joelle Vlahakis’s oldest, Olivia Angsten ’18, graduated from Cornell in May. She is pursuing a PhD in archeology at Stanford next. In addition to being a mom of three (she also has two boys, 18 and 14), Joelle is a passionate advocate for palliative medicine in Sarasota, FL. She is hoping to start a fellowship in Florida to train doctors in hospice and palliative medicine, at which Joelle will teach. Lastly, she shared that her roommate, Melissa Raksa, who she met at Mary Donlon in 1987, is the godmother to her younger son, John.

I am amazed that this year my son is 10 and heading into fifth grade. I’ve enjoyed connecting with many of you on Facebook and elsewhere, and I truly love to see the back-to-school pictures each year, so keep them coming. Feel free to send me any updates that you’d like me to include here in this column as well. Wendy Milks Coburn, wmilkscoburn@me.com; Lori Woodring, lori.woodring@yahoo.com; Joe Marraccino, Joe.Marraccino@wfafinet.com; Tim Vanini, lavanooche@icloud.com. Online news form.