Margie Wallace Gibson is our new VP of community, a sphere that was pretty active this fall. According to Margie: “We had an exciting and busy fall. During the course of eight mini-reunions (planned and impromptu) more than 75 ’88s reconnected. From Hanover to San Francisco; Princeton, New Jersey, to Boston; Cohasset, Massachusetts, to Chicago; and New York to Denver, classmates enjoyed listening to President Hanlon, socializing at restaurants and homes and watching football and hockey. How fun to catch up!” If you’d like to arrange a mini-reunion in conjunction with a visit to your area by President Hanlon, the following are some of his upcoming visits: March 18, Piedmont, North Carolina; March 19, Atlanta; March 24, Miami; and May 12, Minnesota. Or arrange an ’88 gathering for the fun of it—just contact Margie at vpcommunity@gmail.com to coordinate.


Paul Wlodkowski, who has been professor of engineering at the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, since 2002, was recently named a Fulbright scholar to Russia. From January to July Paul, his wife, Alexandra, and their three children will be living in St. Petersburg, Russia, where Paul will conduct research and teach engineering courses in both English and Russian at the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, while the children will attend school in St. Petersburg. According to Paul: “It should be a fantastic cultural experience for all.”


Paul is fluent in Russian, having grown up speaking the language at home, and was an exchange student at Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1988. During that trip Paul met President Reagan after the president’s summit speech at the university. Paul also worked as a translator for CNN during the Reagan-Gorbachev summit.


And, finally, an update from Heather Rogers: “Greetings from the left coast! It’s been a blessed year for me and my family. I was fortunate enough to finish my master’s in education this year at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. I proved my theory correct: If one must get a graduate degree, one ought to do it in Hawaii. It was a spectacular learning experience! My research has served me well, as I am in my fifth year as middle school head at Prospect Sierra School, a fabulous K-8 independent school in El Cerrito, California. My two sons, Dylan and Alejandro, 11 and 8, respectively, attend the school with me, only they head to their homerooms and I head to the principal’s office. My partner, Kathy, and I adopted our boys from Guatemala when they were infants and they are the joy of our lives. For me it is a true gift to watch them grow each day in my work setting and their school environment. Truthfully, it is a gift to work in a school and watch all children grow and thrive! I hope to make an East Coast trip this summer and when I do, Hanover will surely make the list of places to visit. Here’s to blessings to you all in the new year!”


In an upcoming newsletter Dan Estabrook will share his amazing story of finding his birth parents and meeting his half siblings. We’d love to gather other stories about adoption—if you’ve adopted a child, have an adopted sibling or if you were adopted yourself, please email me at d88correspondent@gmail.com.


—Jere Mancini, 34 Wearimus Road, HoHoKus, NJ 07423; d88correspondent@gmail.com