Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 1993 January/February

Class Notes, 1993 January/February

January/February 1993

As I write this, Homecoming has just passed, along with its opportunity to see many of our classmates who returned to the Hill. (And, I might add, hockey season is just around the corner!) Among those I encountered over the course of the weekend were (with apologies to anyone I have inadvertently omitted) Matthew D'Amore (studying at Yale law), Class President Tom Murray (working as a law clerk in New York City), Kevin Stark (studying at Case-Western Reserve in Cleveland) and wife Erinn (Gossett) '90, Jason Damaso, Andrea Brunetti, Kevin Rugg, and Rich Kowalczyk.

Some of our classmates, though, presumably could not attend Homecoming because of being out of the country. Kim Seibert is a nutritionist with the Peace Corps in Niger, while photographer Amy McCafferty was planning to be in Italy through the fall and Allison Wilke is working on her master's degree in Middle Eastern studies at Oxford. Prior to going to England, Allison had been working at the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in Washington DC. Greg Stoller is now working at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. He writes that the job is "a lot of fun" and that "the Japanese job market is quite exciting."

Still on the international scene, Jodie Rayburn writes that she took a trip to Italy in April, visiting Milan, Verona, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples. Jodie works as a research assistant at the American Health Foundation in Valhalla, NY. Similarly occupied is Stephen Merz, who holds a like position in Washington DC, and traveled with the Cornell Glee Club to Spain, France, and Switzerland last January. Steve also writes that he saw Kyle Yang at MIT and Karen Cassery at her April 1992 wedding. Congratulations, Karen! Also, Rod Braun took a rather unusual trip with Matt Guest--they spent three months surfing in Indonesia.

On the domestic front, the entertainment industry has claimed several classmates. Jill Weisman is working in film production in her hometown of Los Angeles, where she has seen Rob Williams, Mark Mower, and Marjorie Levy, as well as Rob Fitzgerald '89. Kimberly Oliver is also in southern California, working as an assistant agent with a leading talent agency in Beverly Hills. She sees John Prevost and Christina DePiero '90 frequently. And, on the East Coast, Barbara Wilinsky is now working for a theatrical publicity firm in NYC after having spent three months in England following graduation. Barbara writes that she is working for the same company with which she interned following sophomore year.

Moving on, Howard Wang writes that he spent last summer working at the Kennedy-Krieger Inst. in Baltimore, following his first year at Johns Hopkins medical school. Medicine has also attracted Robin Edwards, who left her job with the City of Plainfield, NJ, to attend Georgetown U. medical school. Robin also writes that she saw Maurice Campbell and Christon Achong at the national conference of the National Society of Black Engineers last March.

New York City continues to have a high concentration of classmates. Among them is Martin Schmelkin, who is attending law school at New York U. and continued his political activity from our days on campus by spending last summer working in the office of legal counsel for the Bush administration. Stephen Weinstein works in advertising at Ogilvy & Mather and attended last year's Superbowl courtesy of CBS Sports. Laura North, an operations manager for EOG Business Center, lives with Lisa Camacho. Stephen Ongchin is an IS analyst with Morgan Stanley and visited Lindel Smith in Japan. Finally, Tom Shields works for The Partnership for Service Learning. The Partnership is a "program in which students and recent grads go to an intercultural setting and study while doing community service." Tom also says that he sees Eric Torkelson (a law student) and Richard Chin (a professional squash player) on a regular basis and keeps in touch with Ian Sutherland.

One comment I read and hear frequently concerns the desire for more frequent get-togethers with classmates. David Chen writes that he and some of his freshman dormmates from Donlon (Mike Brewster, Ed Tarn, Ann Wong, Judi Heichelheim, and Rajiv Kinkhabwala) "get together at a few bars in NYC." This sounds like a good solution--find some classmates or other Cornellians who live in your area and plan informal get togethers with them. These could include dinners, theater events, sporting contests, or just about anything else. Be creative! And be sure to write and let us know about some of your ideas, so that you can inspire the rest of us. Until next time, I am anxiously awaiting more news of the goings-on in your lives. *Howard Stein, 600 Warren Rd., #32D, Ithaca, NY 14850; (607) 257-3922.