Class of 2019

Hey, ’19s!

As I’m writing this, it is May 1 and I have been social distancing for about seven weeks. I hope by the time this Class Notes column appears in your mailbox or your inbox we will have returned to some form of normalcy. Throughout these difficult times there’s been a blessing: being able to utilize technology to stay connected with ’19 friends. I asked the class to share how they’ve been staying connected with other ’19s in this time. I also asked whether anyone has picked up some new hobbies or skills given the extra time that some of us have.

First off, I’m sharing information on an important cause, with the hope that ’19s can help out. Michael Sun is the national logistics coordinator for MedSupplyDrive, a nationwide volunteer group delivering personal protective equipment donations to healthcare workers. Every donation counts, he says: “Each day I receive requests from nurses, doctors, and hospitals asking for even a box of gloves, not to mention masks and gowns.” If you want to help, you can donate through medsupplydrive.org or contact Michael at mjsun97@gmail.com.

Alice Hsu, who has been working as a chemistry teaching science fellow at Dartmouth, shared with me a screenshot of a Zoom gathering she was having with Jian Dong, Arvind Suresh, Josephine Kalshoven, Heather Flokos, and Joe Leonor. Alice and her friends have been sharing dinner recipes and have been playing Jackbox, Codenames, and other games that have an online interface.

Charlotte Berry reported that she and Abigail Buckley, Caroline Gonzalez, Amanda Royek, Sophie Montgomery, Monika Gabriele, Ellen Smalley, and Paulomi Rao have been working tirelessly on their synchronized swimming choreography.

Regan Gore wrote in, “Since social distancing, I’ve really been enjoying being back in Baltimore and spending more time with my family. My mom and I were avid bakers before this, so we’ve been spending our extra time together trying more challenging recipes and working our way through Great British Bake Off reruns. It’s also been fun catching up with other ’19s as we all have a little more time in our schedules now for Zoom happy hours!”

Monik Walters shared, “I have been social distancing in the comfort of my Brooklyn apartment with my roommates and while working from home. I am really lucky that I have their company in the midst of all this, but I still miss Dartmouth besties. We have been keeping hope alive with frequent group FaceTime calls and by using the multiplayer feature on a lot of gaming apps. However, dealing with different time zones, work schedules, and environments means I have a lot of time left to myself.” Monik began working at ViacomCBS at the beginning of February. Monik says that with extra time on her hands and motivation and desire to create at an all-time high, she started working on a YouTube channel. She is planning on launching this YouTube channel in May. We look forward to seeing your videos, Monik!

Casey Vaughan was recently admitted to the master of behavioral and decision sciences program at University of Pennsylvania and is enrolled in the program for the upcoming fall semester.

Elise Higgins moved to New York this past fall and is the development assistant for operations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Before lockdown she was enjoying exploring the Met exhibits and meeting up with friends at the Dartmouth club.

I hope that you, your families, and your friends stay safe! As always, if you have class notes to share, send them to dartmouth2019classnotes@gmail.com.

—Morgan Lee, 417 Grand St., Apt. D1705, New York, NY 10002; morganwlee@gmail.com