Class of 2013

Hello, ’13s.

Before we get to this edition’s updates, we wanted to reiterate once again how great it was seeing some of you earlier this year for our first-ever fireside chat with Dartmouth professor David Blanchflower with our very own Annis Sands as moderator. We hope you all enjoyed it and we’re looking forward to hosting similar events in the future.

With that, let’s get to this edition’s life updates. Maya Herm wrote in to say that—aside from being supremely thankful for the class executive committee and their support in making the fireside chat happen—she’s now been in London for a full year! She’s been able to see fellow ’13s Lawrence Anfo-Whyte, Stoian Nedlechev,and Robbie Maycock so far. Kelsey Byrd just made the move to Portland, Oregon, and started working full time as a product manager at Microsoft on its tech for social impact team, where she has reconnected with Ali Oberg. If there are any other Dartmouth alumni working at Microsoft or living in Portland, reach out to them! After living and working in Michigan since graduation, Michael Ouyang has moved to warmer climates in Jacksonville, Florida. Moving about 1,000 miles for a new job during the pandemic was quite an experience, he says, but he is settling in and looking forward to catching up with any alumni in the area.

Benji Kessler finished his Ph.D. in environmental science, policy, and management at UC Berkeley, where he studied vision and behavior in different webless spiders. Since then he founded Joy Tutoring (joytutoring.com), through which several other ’13s are tutoring, including Amy Van Scoyoc, Milo Johnson, Frances Davenport, Maddie Lesser, and Robin Costello. Joy Tutoring is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, operating remotely, and accepting new students!This past October Nick Valentini got engaged to his girlfriend of almost two years at Pyramid Point near Traverse City, Michigan. They met in his final year of medical school while she was working at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and they will be getting married in spring 2022 in Maine—congratulations! Luisa Sperry is finishing her internal medicine residency at Mount Sinai in N.Y.C. this summer and will be staying there for another year as a palliative care fellow. After that she plans to do further fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine. She and Michael Adelman ’10 also finally gave in to pandemic pressure and are getting a puppy this spring!

Last but not least, Jessica (Gagner) Binnington shared that she recently illustrated her first children’s book, titled Georgie Shark and COVID-19. Aimed at helping to explain the pandemic in a simple and approachable way, the story details things such as hand washing, wearing masks, and the emotions surrounding staying distant from family and friends. Jessica developed the book alongside friend and Canadian physician Dr. Stephanie Liu (also known as “Dr. Mom”). The book is available through Liu’s website and blog bydrmom.com. Huge congratulations, Jessica!

That’s all for this edition—thank you all; stay well and safe!

—Aly Perez, 104 Ivy Drive, Apt. 8, Charlottesville, VA 22903; alyp625@gmail.com