I am writing this column in June, right smack in the middle of commencement season, so I would be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shout-out to classmate Shonda Rhimes. At Dartmouth’s 2014 Commencement ceremonies on June 8, Shonda was presented with an honorary doctor of arts degree and delivered the main address to the graduating class. She did a fantastic job, so if you haven’t had a chance to listen to her speech, you can look it up on YouTube. That got me thinking—we have a number of classmates whose children are already in or finishing their own college educations! So I reached out to a few of them to get their updates.


Amy Arlin and husband Dan Foster ’93 live in Avon, Connecticut, and will soon have an empty nest! This summer their son Robin will finish up his bachelor of fine arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art, with a major in interactive art and design. Daughter Maggie just finished high school and is headed to Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, this fall to study the sociology of language and theoretical linguistics.


Before moving to the East Coast Amy and Dan lived in Washington state, where they spent a lot of time with Lara (Dilg) and Sean Nolan and their two children. Lara and Sean still reside in Bellevue, Washington. After eight years as distinguished engineer and chief architect of Microsoft HealthVault, Sean’s enjoying a little time off this summer before starting his next adventure in technology. Lara still does some costuming and also spends a lot of time with assorted fabric and fiber arts. Daughter Alex is a junior at Pomona College in Pomona, California, majoring in media studies. Lara says that visiting Pomona gives her flashbacks to Dartmouth: “Pomona reminds me a lot of Dartmouth in a newer, gentler era—or maybe it’s just laid-back California.” Son Connor is a senior in high school and is looking for a college with a great outdoor program and skiing. Sound familiar? They’d be wondering what an empty nest would be like if it weren’t for the dog, who is far more dependent than either child ever was!


I bumped into Deb (Van Winkle) Dulsky at a Dartmouth alumni event here in Connecticut this past spring. Deb recognized me because it turns out that she and I work in the same office building! Deb and her husband, Mark, live in Westport, Connecticut, and she provided the following update: “We recently saw Tracey Cushing Gilliam and her clan for a long overdue dinner in Bronxville, New York. She is godmother to my son Adam, who is headed to Williams and will play baseball for them (class of 2018!). We’ll be headed back to Dartmouth shortly with Jack, my younger son, for a visit. Maybe this son will end up there!”


In June I participated in a Dartmouth on Location program in New York City, “Macbeth, Kenneth Branagh and Peter Saccio.” After a reception and discussion with professor Peter Saccio, the assembled group attended a performance of Macbeth, starring acclaimed actor Kenneth Branagh in his first New York stage appearance. By chance I ran into Jay Matson (accompanied by wife Meg Sommerfeld ’90 and their two children) and Peter Caress, all of whom were visiting New York from the Washington, D.C., area. It was a wonderful event, so be on the lookout for an upcoming Dartmouth on Location event in your area!


—Sara Burbine Potter, 108 Hillcrest Road, Fairfield, CT 06824; sara_burbine@yahoo.com