Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 1995 May/June

Class Notes, 1995 May/June

May 1995

I must say my curiosity was definitely piqued upon receiving a certified letter from Guayaquil, Ecuador, and I quickly jogged my memory trying to remember any forgotten correspondences in that section of the world. The letter was from classmate Guillermo Alban, a native of Guayaquil, and he was writing about his whereabouts and goings-on. Guillermo startled everyone by becoming a full-time professional bullfighter shortly after graduation! He wrote saying he had watched his first bullfight when he was 3 years old, and in his late teens he took part in amateur fights. In the summer of 1991 Guillermo started to fight in small towns in Mexico, and in June 1992 he had his first formal appearance in Mexico City. Since then, he has fought 31 times in formal presentations in Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador and has received 27 ears, a symbol, he writes, of a job exceptionally well done. In 1993, Guillermo was named best rookie bullfighter. Congratulations, Guillermo, and tow, tow!

In another part of the world, Suzanne Way is in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan working as a program coordinator for the Soros Foundation. She is living with a Kyrgyz family, and reports how interesting it is for her to experience life in post-Soviet culture. Suzy adds that she plans to continue traveling across to China and Japan, and has tentative plans to return to her native Seattle around May.

On the domestic front, Kenneth Mark wrote about where some classmates have been spending the past four years. Kenny and Joe Barbagallo, Scott Harrington, Eric Holbrook, Michael Miranda, Seema Mital, and James Chen have been studying hard at SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse and are all eagerly anticipating their MD degrees.

The wedding announcements have been accumulating quite steadily. Laurie Ceglowski sent news of her marriage to Frank Fronhofer II in a surprise ceremony on a mountaintop in Rupert, VT. She wrote that somehow they managed to get both immediate families to hike to the top, and the justice of the peace met everyone there. One adventure was followed by another--their honeymoon was a six-week, 2,300-mile trip through Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah on a tandem bicycle! Upon their return, they had a reception with family and friends. Cornellians attending included Denise Bouck Russo and David '89, Andrea Collerius '90, Jen Tauras Twining and Mike '90, D. Sheldon Brown '68, Bill Peck, Danford Bouck '65, Bill Eberle '47, Bob Ceglowski '93, Sue Ceglowski '88, Jean Blume Ceglowski, DVM '67 and Gene '58, DVM '67, C.J. Ceglowski, Grad, Lloyd Miller, DVM '67, and Andrew Miller '94. Laurie is working as a CPA in Manchester, VT and lives in Salem, NY.

Therese Duane married Jeffrey Tessier. Therese is in medical school at SUNY, Buffalo. Scott Deutchman married Stephanie Wise. Scott received his law degree from the U. of Pennsylvania and is an associate with Hogan & Hartson in Washington. Lori Oscher married Eric Friedman. Lori is a swimwear designer with Nicole Miller. Wyatt Gotbetter, MPA '92 married Deborah Waldorf. Wyatt is now director of clinical services at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged in Boston.

I had the privilege of dining with Jennifer Tenser and Stephen Weinstein in Manhattan recently. Jennie is still working at Foote Cone Belding/Lieber Katz, and has been promoted to account director. Stephen is working at a direct-marketing company called Wonderman and continues to work in his area of expertise of media planning.

In other industry news, Amy Hillsberg Herzog has been named group supervisor and director of media relations for Minkus & Dunne Communications in Chicago. Amy manages the firm's media relations programs and supervises all activities within its consumer affairs, real estate, and business/ professional services groups. Kevin Yam is an interface analyst at Apache Medical Systems Inc. in MacLean, VA. Jacob Swiller is a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in Washington, DC, and Susan Sarkis is a business analyst at Thomson Financial Services in Boston, MA. Well, that's all for now. Happy spring to you all, and k"

Well, that's all for now. Happy spring to you all, and keep the news coming. *Melanie Bloom, 315 E. 85th St., #2C, NYC 10028.

June 1995

Hello again from lovely Ithaca. As I write this, we have just had a last-minute reminder that it is still winter, but as you read it, summer will be fast approaching. And the start of summer can mean only one thing--Reunion! While our first Reunion is still a year away, it is not too early to start planning to attend, or even to help with the preparations. Our Reunion chairs are Jeff Weintraub, who is just finishing up at Cornell Medical School, and Dorine Colabella Scher. Watch this space in future months for more information about arrangements for what promises to be a fantastic weekend for all!

Among classmates who have maintained close ties to Cornell is Nicole Bisagni, who moved to southern Florida after graduation and is now working for Cornell's Southeast Regional Office. Nicole writes that Tammy Blum and Sumaya Elashry have also moved to south Florida. Tammy is working at the Miami Airport Hilton, while Sumaya is in human resources at the Neiman Marcus in Bal Harbour. Nicole also mentioned that Deb Wengel is studying at George Mason U.'s law school in Washington, DC.

David Chang is working as a corporate auditor for General Electric, along with classmate Oliver Ewald and Cornellians Matt Monaghan '89 and Amanda Hecht '92. David has not been sitting still, though, as he has been assigned to work on a joint venture in Shanghai, China. Allison Wilke is another international classmate; she completed her master's degree in Middle Eastern studies from Oxford U. last year and is now working on her doctorate there. Gregory Stoller had been working at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, but returned to the US last fall to attend business school at Harvard. Perhaps he'll run into Sabine Vinck--she is attending Harvard's Graduate School of Education after spending a year in Paris. Michele Fox also received additional education in the Boston area, completing her MS in physical therapy from the U. of Massachusetts-Lowell this past fall.

Medical school has been a popular course for our classmates, including Donna Kessler at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, John Wigneswaran at Tufts, and Stephen Schwartz at New York U. However, law school seems to be the champion among our classmates, judging from the number of News and Dues forms which report on legal education. Stephen Shimony and Martin Schmelkin both graduated last year. Stephen attended Hofstra and rewarded himself with a backpacking trip to Europe after taking the bar exam. Martin chose to jump right in to his profession after graduating from law school at New York U., starting as an associate in labor and employment law at a New York City law firm. Ann Pierce also attended NYU law school, and expects to graduate this year.

Christina Guerola is also to graduate from law school this year, at George Washington U. Christina spent last summer working for the National Organization for Women's Legal Defense Fund in NYC. Ariane Schreiber is back on the Hill, attending the Law school, while Matthew Hammond has left Ithaca to attend law school at Washington U. in St. Louis. Matthew had been working as a supervisor for Cornell Dining and Catering. Lauren Rosenblum is also back in school, attending Columbia U.'s law school.

Of course, there are many other fields of study, and classmates are doing a pretty good job of covering them, as well. Betsy Tam Greene attends Columbia part-time, working toward her MA in organizational psychology. Catherine Reese is finishing up veterinary school at Tufts U., while Elysa Serber is in the MBA program at Duke. Constance Anderson has finished her MA in French literature at the U. of California, Berkeley. And finally, Denise Norby El-Soufi is working toward her PhD in Near Eastern studies at Princeton.

I look forward to seeing many of you at our first five-year Reunion next year. If you are interested in helping out in any way, please get in touch with me and I can put you in touch with either Jeff or Dorine. *Howard Stein, 600 Warren Rd., #3-2D, Ithaca, NY 14850; telephone (607) 257-3922.