Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 1998 November/December

Class Notes, 1998 November/December

Hello, again, from Beantown. Another season of hope for the Patriots is well underway, although this Jets fan is still hoping for a Tuna miracle in the Meadowlands. I have a whole new batch of dues cards with all new information on them to pass on to all of you. Of course, when I say "all new," they are all dated mid-June. I always need new information, so write to me... I'll read it.

With more news than space, I will have to condense and cut from the cards I received. Michael Gimbel's name is one I definitely know from freshman year in Donlon. He is doing surgery research at U. of California, San Francisco. Jeffrey Zola, ME EP '92, a fellow Entrepot (remember that place?) employee is working his engineering magic in Portland, OR. Mark Tatum of Cornell baseball fame now works for Major League Baseball Properties as director of sponsorships and marketing in the Big Apple. This after earning an MBA from Harvard. Chuck Lerch is a marketing analyst with J. Weston Walch Publishing. He lives in Portland, ME, and says he "loves it." Jason Wexler is doing a fellowship in endocrinology at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center after finishing his internal medicine residency at U. of Michigan Medical Center. Kim Jordan is a flight surgeon for a couple of Marine Corps aviation squadrons stationed at Cherry Point, NC. She writes that she met Jeff Hyink and M. C. "Mollie" Finch for a fun-filled weekend in Durham, NC. Mollie had just finished a master's program in public policy, and Jeff is a pilot in Jacksonville, FL.

OK, this next segment is solely Massachusetts residents, since I am one. (By the way, you may notice that I sometimes quote you verbatim. I do not want to mislead you and take credit for others' extraordinary writing, as some popular newspaper columnists have.) Chris Eykamp, BS Eng '92, has a mailing address of Arlington, MA, but works for Bechtel in Lima, Peru. Julie Curulla Finn lived in Southie. (That's South Boston to outsiders and those who haven't seen Good Will Hunting.) She wrote that she planned to move--and by now probably has--to Ann Arbor, MI, so her husband can attend U. of Michigan's business school. Julie attended the wedding of Jennifer Hunt in Ipswich, MA, last May. Amanda Butler was also there. Beth Huizenga Shaz is a pathology resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. She finished med school at U. of Michigan. Emily Kramer is catering manager at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston. Alice Michael is finishing up her PhD in clinical psychology at, you guessed it, U. of Michigan. Merit Tukiainen Whirty, MPS HA '91, is at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, working as reservations manager. Can we get an alumni rate? Kris Markussen, MS '93, is working as a consultant in the banking industry in Boston. As I write, I am sitting in Dedham, which means that Kris can't be more than about five miles away from me in Norwood, MA. Brian Touher, BA '92, is a sixth-grade teacher at John Wynn Middle School in Tewksbury, MA. Finally, Kristen Trapp is working for Astra USA in Westborough, MA, as marketing product manager: new products--cardiovascular and respiratory. She is living in Back Bay Boston. Sounds as if she is commuting out of the city, quite the reverse of most.

Next up, those who have mentioned someone I definitely do know. Capt. Matthew Wilkov moved from his position as prosecutor at XVIII Airborne Corps to administrative law attorney for the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC. He was recently married in Pennsylvania. Evan Eldridge and Luisa Santiago were in attendance. Last I knew, Evan was a television meteorologist. Give us an update, Evan! Matthew will leave the Army in January to practice law in eastern Pennsylvania. Kristina Montt traveled to Tanegashima, Japan, to support the launch of the tropical rainfall measuring mission satellite, a joint NASA/NASDA project. She writes that Mike Rodriguez works in Connecticut at Pratt and Whitney since finishing his master's in applied physics. Also, Susan Lipetz has moved to Australia for a three-year stint with her company, William M. Mercer. Don't try the kangaroo! Laura Kenny Kohls, BS '92, attended the wedding of D. J. Ledina and Pia Napolitano in May. She saw Garren Craner, Amy Sachs '92, DVM '98, and Doug Onsi '90. Laura and Stephen have a son, John Tyler Kohls.

Now, those with intriguing careers. Buffy Broncato Blackwell is a US Air Force cryptologic linguistic instructor (Arabic) at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas. She is married with two children. Angelica Allen is a middle-school teacher in New Jersey working on her MA at Seton Hall U. Not content to "just" be a teacher, Angelica had to go and be selected the 1997-98 Sojourner Truth Middle School Teacher of the Year. Congratulations, Angelica. Fern Yocum, BS '92, has completed a three-year term with Mennonite Central Committee in Bangladesh, where she worked as a livestock specialist in research and extension. Joel Letofsky '90 left Nova Scotia to become assistant hotel controller at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, NV. The mom of Vincent Vallejo, BS '92, sent word that Vincent is in Vietnam working for Oracle as business operations director in Saigon. M. Clare Tuma is also employed at Oracle, as finance manager in California. She sees her old Theta roommate, Letitia Todd, often. Judy Zuidema is manager of retail store design at Tiffany and Co., in New York City. Beth Wood, MA T '93, teaches earth science, biology, and advanced biology at Arlington (VT) Memorial High School. Kim DiGiulio is business development manager at Intel in Santa Clara, CA. She writes that Laurel Botsford is human resources manager at Johnson & Johnson research and development lab in San Diego.

Wife Alina and I celebrated the 1st birthday of our son, Conor, in August. Rod Gallagher '90 and Noah Bilmes '88 were there. Back in April, we had taken Conor to Hawaii. I know you are probably thinking that was crazy, but he was an angel. We kept to one island, so as not to disrupt him any more than he already was. I learned that there is nothing like a fresh-picked pineapple. We also took him to see his grandparents in Florida in August. Here I found that I could never live in the humidity of the South. I continue to recommend having children if you can.

Happy holidays. Until next time.--Kevin Lemanowicz, 3 Byron's Way, Franklin, MA 02038.