Class Note 1985
Issue
September-October 2022
For this column I reached out to a few foreign study program (FSP) Toulouse, France, trip mates to walk down memory lane and reminisce about our incredible trip abroad in winter 1983.
Jonathan Rubens remembers being ready for a completely different experience. Our Toulouse adventure gave Jon a taste of the kind of travel that he continues to seek, namely finding chances to learn about a new place, its people, and its culture. When not daydreaming about travel, Jon’s San Francisco law practice represents entrepreneurs, tech startups, investors, and family businesses. Jon and wife Barbara’s two sons are now graduates of the classes of 2020 and 2022. Jon on occasion sees classmates Scott Liebman and Lori Bamberger (also in Mill Valley) and Steve Mermelstein (Silicon Valley).
Ed Simpson, living in Ridgewood, New Jersey, has fond memories of playing on a rugby club team in Toulouse, which he says cultivated his lifelong passion for playing rugby internationally. After graduating Ed spent more than 15 years playing rugby all over the world, including Australia, Uruguay, Zimbabwe, England, France, Scotland, and Canada. Ed and Mark Caron cofounded the Ridgewood Rugby Association, which fielded a U19 team that won 2015 and 2016 New Jersey Division II championships. Ed and wife Karen have launched all four of their kids and now have a cockapoo puppy with the intriguing name Moose.
For David Hamilton, our term studying in Toulouse was a pivotal point where access to art, architecture, history, and literature made the whole idea of “liberal arts” come into focus. David’s experience awakened his intellectual curiosity, benefiting his 35 years working on the business side of creative industries. He currently leads sales for Hearst Magazines’ Elle Decor, House Beautiful, and Veranda. In the pandemic David and his husband, Adam, retreated to a quaint village in northwest Connecticut that reminds him of Hanover.
Our trip mate with the most direct connection between FSP Toulouse and his current life is Steve Mines. Steve has his own consulting business serving as conference and court legal interpreter in Austin, Texas. Toulouse was where Steve added French to his existing proficiencies in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.
Keith Goggin was looking for an adventure far from the cold Hanover winters and found it in the southwest corner of France like the rest of us. He recounts showing up in Toulouse that winter knowing only Eleni Daskalakis Henkel and quickly building bonds with Jon, Ed, David, Steve, Diane Bergstein, Risë Norman, Stephanie MacDonald, and yours truly!Now retired, Keith and wife Elisabeth are considering where they want to spend their leisure time when not home in eastern Pennsylvania.
My own FSP Toulouse experience came full circle in summer 2019 when neighbor Scott Hylton, his wife, Laurie ’88, and their teenage daughters generously opened their home to host the great-granddaughter of my Toulouse host parents for a two-week immersion in life in New England. My foreign study experiences with Dartmouth fostered connections that last a lifetime and for which I will always be grateful.
—Rebecca Blake Osborne, 42 Olive St., Newburyport, MA 01950; (603) 381-4164; rosborne29@comcast.net
Jonathan Rubens remembers being ready for a completely different experience. Our Toulouse adventure gave Jon a taste of the kind of travel that he continues to seek, namely finding chances to learn about a new place, its people, and its culture. When not daydreaming about travel, Jon’s San Francisco law practice represents entrepreneurs, tech startups, investors, and family businesses. Jon and wife Barbara’s two sons are now graduates of the classes of 2020 and 2022. Jon on occasion sees classmates Scott Liebman and Lori Bamberger (also in Mill Valley) and Steve Mermelstein (Silicon Valley).
Ed Simpson, living in Ridgewood, New Jersey, has fond memories of playing on a rugby club team in Toulouse, which he says cultivated his lifelong passion for playing rugby internationally. After graduating Ed spent more than 15 years playing rugby all over the world, including Australia, Uruguay, Zimbabwe, England, France, Scotland, and Canada. Ed and Mark Caron cofounded the Ridgewood Rugby Association, which fielded a U19 team that won 2015 and 2016 New Jersey Division II championships. Ed and wife Karen have launched all four of their kids and now have a cockapoo puppy with the intriguing name Moose.
For David Hamilton, our term studying in Toulouse was a pivotal point where access to art, architecture, history, and literature made the whole idea of “liberal arts” come into focus. David’s experience awakened his intellectual curiosity, benefiting his 35 years working on the business side of creative industries. He currently leads sales for Hearst Magazines’ Elle Decor, House Beautiful, and Veranda. In the pandemic David and his husband, Adam, retreated to a quaint village in northwest Connecticut that reminds him of Hanover.
Our trip mate with the most direct connection between FSP Toulouse and his current life is Steve Mines. Steve has his own consulting business serving as conference and court legal interpreter in Austin, Texas. Toulouse was where Steve added French to his existing proficiencies in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.
Keith Goggin was looking for an adventure far from the cold Hanover winters and found it in the southwest corner of France like the rest of us. He recounts showing up in Toulouse that winter knowing only Eleni Daskalakis Henkel and quickly building bonds with Jon, Ed, David, Steve, Diane Bergstein, Risë Norman, Stephanie MacDonald, and yours truly!Now retired, Keith and wife Elisabeth are considering where they want to spend their leisure time when not home in eastern Pennsylvania.
My own FSP Toulouse experience came full circle in summer 2019 when neighbor Scott Hylton, his wife, Laurie ’88, and their teenage daughters generously opened their home to host the great-granddaughter of my Toulouse host parents for a two-week immersion in life in New England. My foreign study experiences with Dartmouth fostered connections that last a lifetime and for which I will always be grateful.
—Rebecca Blake Osborne, 42 Olive St., Newburyport, MA 01950; (603) 381-4164; rosborne29@comcast.net