Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2001 November/December

Class Notes, 2001 November/December

November/December 2001

Greetings to everyone in the class of '91! Being one of the new correspondents, I am taking my first shot at writing the column, so please, bear with me. For all of you who made reunion, I hope you had a great time and have already made plans to be there again in '06 to help our class break even more reunion records. I was there in spirit, but in body, I was getting settled into my new job as an attending physician in pediatric emergency medicine in Fayetteville, NC. Nothing will keep me away the next time around. Any Cornellians in NC: feel free to drop me a line, as it gets lonely this far south of Ithaca.

But enough about me. Laura German wrote to tell us she finished her PhD in cultural anthropology in May 2001. She also mentioned that she ran across Web-guru Bob Baca biking in Athens, GA, no doubt while competing in the world famous Tour de REM. EIizabeth Baum Schnelzer recently passed her exam to become a licensed clinical social worker, but loves being a stay-at-home mom to daughter Pauline, who turned 2 this past May. She also noted that classmates Alex, PhD '96, and Amy Lawrence Flueck came to visit in Virginia with their baby Ian. Jokes Elizabeth, "We went to bed much earlier than we used to in those college days."

Kellie Kalbac finished law school at the U. of Kansas in 1994 and currently is living in the Mojave Desert on Edwards AFB where her husband Najeeb Ahmeed graduated from Air Force test pilot school last summer. Allison McMorris graduated from San Diego State U. with a master's in educational technology and is working at Pyxis making "really cool training programs" on video and DVD. She met up with JoAnn McDermott for dinner in Laguna Beach, CA. JoAnn is working hard at Lucasfilm in San Francisco. Allison writes, "Life is getting better and better! I'm trying to start my own side business and learning how tough it is to stay focused and manage all the pieces of the puzzle."

Our class knows no borders. Geoffrey Moskowitz met wife Madelaine Eberli while studying for his MBA at NYU, then moved to Moscow where he is an investment officer with Delta Capital Management. Charlie McCall is another Class of '91 ex-pat in Europe who has worked in both France and Spain over the last four years for the Haworth Corp. Finally, Elizabelh Voulieris Kassinis and husband George '90 are in Nicosia, Cyprus. Elizabeth is program advisor for the US Agency for International Development. Elizabeth and George welcomed the birth of their daughter Zoe Lindsay in September of 1998.

Others in the Class of '91 also wrote to announce the arrival of future Cornellians. Liz Mirabile-Levens and Doug Levens '92 are the proud parents of Peter James, born in May 2001. Robert Leung and Elaine Chiu had their first child, Ryan Thomas Leung on Nov. 17, '00. David, ME CS '92, and Joanna James Beitel '92 had son Zack in May 1999. Laura Hubbert DiCarlo and husband David had their second son, Sam, on June 4, '00. Older brother John turned 3 on August 3. Caryn Cooperman Davis wrote to tell us that daughter Jillian Dyanna was born last October and Jillian's sister Jordan Ariel will be 4 in December, Julie Pearlman Schatz and husband Matthew '90 welcomed their second child, Brooke Jennifer, on May 16, '01, while David O'Connor and wife Catherine announced the February 2001 birth of daughter Lindsay.

There was no shortage of marriages to report. Melissa Muller Rayworth married a Penn State graduate (no ones perfect), Edward Anthony, this past April. Both work for the Associated Press. Gregory Shuck tied the knot with Maura Conyngham in Chapel Hill, NC, on Oct. 28, '00. Greg owns the Carolina Brewing Co., which has already benefited greatly from my presence in the South. Todd Merkle married Sarah Gallagher '92 on June 24, '00. In attendance were Class of '91 alums Eric Dominguez, Robert Arelt, MEE '92, Stephen Bayne, Brad Grimm, Randy Christner, Barry Schubmehl, Joanne Maurno, Juliette Merer, and Elysa Serber. If you were there and not listed above, blame Todd's handwriting. Suzanne Osman wed Karl Maier on June 9, '01, in Florham Park, NJ. Finally, Lynn Schechter married Issam El-Zahr on Jul 8, '01, with Sheri Appel '90, Beth Morchower Douek '92, and Deborah Lu '90 in attendance.

Lastly, in news of classmates moving on and up, Katherine Miller Eskovitz checked in to report that she has joined the law firm of Boies, Schiller, and Flexner after a stint as a criminal prosecutor with the US Attorney's Office in Connecticut. She recently caught up with classmates Maria Ortiz, Lori Attanasio Woodring, Lauren Gallagher Heil, Jana Pompadur Kierstead, and Jodi Rogoff Gonzalez at the December 2000 wedding of Kim Seibert in Palm Beach, FL. Stephen Weinstein moved to Atlanta to take a position with J. Walter Thomspon as a partner and account supervisor after ten years with Ogilvey and Mather Advertising. Shelly Stuart says she is working on staff at a TV series and close to selling a feature film screenplay. Isabelle Kagan started a second postdoctoral position with the USDA-ARS this past November. Isabelle writes: "I'm working with plant allelochemicals (natural plant repellants) and having a blast." Hmmm, not much to do in Oxford, MS, Isabelle?

That's about it for this column. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Keep the info and news corning. See y'all next time. *Dave Smith, 210W. Summerchase Dr, Fayetteville, NC 28311; tel., (910) 822-1766; e-mail. docds30@yahoo.com or rds27@Cornell.edu; Corinne Kuchling, 1740 NE 86th St., #209, Seattle, WA 98115; tel., (206) 318-8743; e-mail.ckuchlin@Starbucks.com; and Nina Rosen Peek, 171 E. 89th St.. Apt. 6F, NYC 10128; tel., (212) 722-4569; e-mail, npeek@vollmer.com.