Class Note 1983
Issue
January-February 2025
Happy holidays, ’83s! One of our new favorite ways to remain connected has been the “D83 Discussions.” October’s virtual event was led by Alix Casler, “Living Genuine, Brave, and True: Queer Identities and Allyship.” She shared her journey of raising three happy and fulfilled LGBTQ+ children in Orlando, Florida. Following the massacre at the Pulse nightclub, Alix as a pediatrician served as a pediatric resource to the LGBTQ+ community. Present-day Alix is director of medical affairs at Merck, a proud (corporate) supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. Alix shares insights on being an ally at Merck and beyond. “I always want to help families understand a little bit more and help parents become allies and advocates for their kids.”
Earlier this fall, on the cusp of the release of Jean Korelitz’s highly anticipated thriller, The Sequel (an actual sequel to her bestseller The Plot), Jean was the featured author for the office of alumni relations’ virtual Dartmouth book club. She discussed her recent book, The Latecomer, with professor of English and creative writing Alexander Chee. Jean shared, “People who know me have told me the novel is like traveling through my brain because they recognize all the signposts.” If you missed this event, you can view the video at the Dartmouth website under “Dartmouth Book Club with The Latecomer Author Jean Hanff Korelitz ’83.”
Speaking of signposts, the photo essay by Rob Strong ’04, “The Adventure Starts Here: First-Year Trips” in the November/December DAM inspired us to reach out to some of our classmates for their memorable moments from their freshman trips. First up, Anne Blanchard recalls “Geoffrey Apthorp and trip leader Davin Mackenzie ’82 building a sail out of jackets and other clothes so that our canoes could sail down the length of Lake Aziscohos in Maine instead of paddling.” Peter Larsen says it was “the right touch to get ready for the larger Dartmouth experience. Always a big Dr. Seuss fan as a child, I enjoyed eating the green eggs and ham at Moosilauke.” Deb Ellsworth writes, “My strongest memory from my freshman trip—canoeing—was that my beautiful, new sleeping bag somehow didn’t make it to Hanover. I was sad; my mom had spent a small fortune buying it for me, but more importantly, I was really, really cold that first night. Thankfully, we all kind of bundled together on a stony beach. I know that I was rescued by my new (now longtime) girlfriends with some kind of snuggle/sleeping bag sharing, which otherwise was a great experience.” Sam Reckford recounts that his group “was very fit and we climbed Mount Washington and then raced across the Presidential ridge to secure spots in the bunkhouse that night. And then a few of us decided to run up and down Moosilauke and on the way down I kicked an immovable rock, broke my big toe, and spent freshman week on crutches. It was a major inconvenience, but a great conversation starter.” Our next column will include Part II of freshman trip stories. Send in your evergreen stories on this rite of passage.
—Wendy Nelson Kauffman, 101 Four Mile Road, West Hartford, CT 06107; wnelsonkauffman@gmail.com; Shanta Sullivan, 1541 North Sierra Bonita Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; shantaesullivan@gmail.com
Earlier this fall, on the cusp of the release of Jean Korelitz’s highly anticipated thriller, The Sequel (an actual sequel to her bestseller The Plot), Jean was the featured author for the office of alumni relations’ virtual Dartmouth book club. She discussed her recent book, The Latecomer, with professor of English and creative writing Alexander Chee. Jean shared, “People who know me have told me the novel is like traveling through my brain because they recognize all the signposts.” If you missed this event, you can view the video at the Dartmouth website under “Dartmouth Book Club with The Latecomer Author Jean Hanff Korelitz ’83.”
Speaking of signposts, the photo essay by Rob Strong ’04, “The Adventure Starts Here: First-Year Trips” in the November/December DAM inspired us to reach out to some of our classmates for their memorable moments from their freshman trips. First up, Anne Blanchard recalls “Geoffrey Apthorp and trip leader Davin Mackenzie ’82 building a sail out of jackets and other clothes so that our canoes could sail down the length of Lake Aziscohos in Maine instead of paddling.” Peter Larsen says it was “the right touch to get ready for the larger Dartmouth experience. Always a big Dr. Seuss fan as a child, I enjoyed eating the green eggs and ham at Moosilauke.” Deb Ellsworth writes, “My strongest memory from my freshman trip—canoeing—was that my beautiful, new sleeping bag somehow didn’t make it to Hanover. I was sad; my mom had spent a small fortune buying it for me, but more importantly, I was really, really cold that first night. Thankfully, we all kind of bundled together on a stony beach. I know that I was rescued by my new (now longtime) girlfriends with some kind of snuggle/sleeping bag sharing, which otherwise was a great experience.” Sam Reckford recounts that his group “was very fit and we climbed Mount Washington and then raced across the Presidential ridge to secure spots in the bunkhouse that night. And then a few of us decided to run up and down Moosilauke and on the way down I kicked an immovable rock, broke my big toe, and spent freshman week on crutches. It was a major inconvenience, but a great conversation starter.” Our next column will include Part II of freshman trip stories. Send in your evergreen stories on this rite of passage.
—Wendy Nelson Kauffman, 101 Four Mile Road, West Hartford, CT 06107; wnelsonkauffman@gmail.com; Shanta Sullivan, 1541 North Sierra Bonita Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; shantaesullivan@gmail.com