Class Note 1987
Issue
May - Jun 2018
I love hearing about the changes and challenges of life we all are experiencing! Tina (Uhlrich) Peters’journey has taken some unexpected turns. After law school, her “summer thing with a German guy” in Washington, D.C., turned into a marriage several years later, followed by a move to Berlin. “That year of German language I did on a whim senior year? Most career-relevant thing I did at Dartmouth,” Tina said. These days Tina is an attorney at IBM in Philadelphia and has “enjoyed the changes and challenges” of her legal career. Tina, her husband and their three children (a daughter at Wesleyan and two teenage sons) visit Germany regularly and enjoy spending time outdoors.
Shannon Daniels (previously known as Tom), an elementary school principal in Swampscott, Massachusetts, announced via a heartfelt letter to the school community in February that she is transgender. “I have struggled with gender identity since I was in elementary school,” Shannon said in the letter. This past fall things changed: “I let myself imagine the possibility of being completely honest with myself and those around me. I can now say it: I am transgender. For me, that means I identify as both a male and a female, and I plan to move toward presenting myself and identifying as female.” Shannon pledged to “keep an open line of communication with all faculty, staff and families” during her transition, and suggested that families explain to their children that it is “important that we accept everyone as they are.” In a separate letter, the Swampscott Public Schools superintendent encouraged the school community to support Shannon and expressed her personal admiration: “I applaud Principal Daniels and admire the courage, honesty and transparency that come through in the letter you received.” I agree!
On the same note of caring and compassion, Stacey (Wolff) Savas is leading the launch of the ’87 Compassion Network, which puts classmates undergoing challenging life events in touch with fellow ’87s with professional or personal knowledge in that area. The current focus is to provide support for classmates and family members who are undergoing a serious health crisis. Read more about the Compassion Network in the newsletter and on the ’87 website, including how you can help or how the Compassion Network may be able to help you.
Stacey and class vice president Sarah Woodberry meet regularly for lunch. Sarah has had her own life “twist”: After a career in publishing, she is the executive director of the Darien Foundation, a charitable organization that provides grants to public schools, emergency responders and local nonprofits. Last fall Sarah also was appointed to the DAM editorial board, which has allowed her to combine her “passions for Dartmouth and for journalism.” Sarah stays in touch with local ’87s including Bethamy Aronow, Alice (Toole) Baldwin, Nigel Ekern, Chris Thompson and Jon “Zebo” Zonis, and encourages anyone passing through N.Y.C. or Connecticut to “give a shout” so she has yet another reason to organize an ’87 gathering.
—Laura Gasser, 746 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121; marcklaurag@aol.com
Shannon Daniels (previously known as Tom), an elementary school principal in Swampscott, Massachusetts, announced via a heartfelt letter to the school community in February that she is transgender. “I have struggled with gender identity since I was in elementary school,” Shannon said in the letter. This past fall things changed: “I let myself imagine the possibility of being completely honest with myself and those around me. I can now say it: I am transgender. For me, that means I identify as both a male and a female, and I plan to move toward presenting myself and identifying as female.” Shannon pledged to “keep an open line of communication with all faculty, staff and families” during her transition, and suggested that families explain to their children that it is “important that we accept everyone as they are.” In a separate letter, the Swampscott Public Schools superintendent encouraged the school community to support Shannon and expressed her personal admiration: “I applaud Principal Daniels and admire the courage, honesty and transparency that come through in the letter you received.” I agree!
On the same note of caring and compassion, Stacey (Wolff) Savas is leading the launch of the ’87 Compassion Network, which puts classmates undergoing challenging life events in touch with fellow ’87s with professional or personal knowledge in that area. The current focus is to provide support for classmates and family members who are undergoing a serious health crisis. Read more about the Compassion Network in the newsletter and on the ’87 website, including how you can help or how the Compassion Network may be able to help you.
Stacey and class vice president Sarah Woodberry meet regularly for lunch. Sarah has had her own life “twist”: After a career in publishing, she is the executive director of the Darien Foundation, a charitable organization that provides grants to public schools, emergency responders and local nonprofits. Last fall Sarah also was appointed to the DAM editorial board, which has allowed her to combine her “passions for Dartmouth and for journalism.” Sarah stays in touch with local ’87s including Bethamy Aronow, Alice (Toole) Baldwin, Nigel Ekern, Chris Thompson and Jon “Zebo” Zonis, and encourages anyone passing through N.Y.C. or Connecticut to “give a shout” so she has yet another reason to organize an ’87 gathering.
—Laura Gasser, 746 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121; marcklaurag@aol.com