Class Note 1992
Here are updates from two more classmates who have served our country in the military.
Gretchen (Roush) Jackson wrote: “I was commissioned in the Army through Dartmouth ROTC at graduation and had an educational delay in my service obligation to go to law school. I entered the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps in 1996 after completing law school and passing the bar. I spent more than 10 years on active duty, stationed first at Fort Hood, Texas, then Heidelberg, Germany, and finally at the Army JAG School here in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was an amazing experience working alongside true patriots from around the country! I left active duty as a major in 2006 and joined LeClairRyan as a civil trial lawyer in our Charlottesville office. It was fantastic to see my fellow ROTC cadets at our 25th reunion—Josh Stein, Kevin Cranmer, Celia Corkery and Tanya Schierling. In July I took my son, Brady (age 12), for his first trip to Europe and showed him my all-time favorite places in Germany and Switzerland from my Army days.”
Kathy O’Rourke wrote: “I spent 20 years on active duty in the Air Force from 1994 to 2014. I deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. I am currently living the dream as an administrative judge with U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals in D.C. I live in Arlington, Virginia, with my son, who is a freshman in high school. My daughter is a freshman at the University of Rochester.”
Abike James-Enakhimion and Nicole Baptiste-Okoh celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association (BADA) in September.
Nicolewrote: “It was invigorating and inspiring to return to Hanover after 23 years to attend with my very close friend and fellow classmate Abike. I was thrilled not only to connect or reconnect with other attending alums, faculty and staff but also to meet and mentor some of the current students. After receiving my doctorate in biological sciences at Columbia University and leaving academia, I have been enjoying a quieter and more flexible life as a freelance scientific editor. I currently live in N.Y.C. with my husband and three daughters, ages 17, 14 and 11.”
Abike wrote: “I returned to Hanover after 24 years to attend. The return brought back so many warm memories. Nicole and I reminisced on many of our experiences from our Dartmouth days. Although we were the only ’92s in attendance, we sat on the bench outside of Baker and remembered the hours we had spent there with our classmates and besties Jillian Lusaka and Tandiwe King Kone when we were at Dartmouth. I had the opportunity to reconnect with Professor Norman, who is now an emeritus prof and was my thesis advisor. We also connected with several current students and I was so thrilled to see that the intrinsic amazing qualities of Dartmouth students remain intact. I currently live in a suburb just outside of Philadelphia with my husband and three children. I am a obstetrician-gynecologist on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where I see patients, train residents and teach medical students.”
Our ’92 leadership also convened in September for Class Officers Weekend. Many thanks to Anne (Blakely) Hammer for serving as our president for the next five years. And congratulations to Kyle Huebner for his well-deserved Treasurer of the Year Award! Samir Desai and John McWilliams, our new vice presidents of leadership, and Tom Paganucci, our webmaster, also attended.
Anne returned to Hanover in October to carry the 1992 banner in the Homecoming parade with Tom and Jeff Owens, whose daughter just joined the class of ’21. (Newsletters with photos: 1992.dartmouth.org/news.)
—Kelly Shriver Kolln, 3900 Cottage Grove Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403; (920) 306-2192; dartmouth92news@gmail.com
