Class Note 1992
Issue
September-October 2021
Our 30th reunion committee doesn’t want anyone to miss out on the big plans! Visit alumni.dartmouth.edu/update-your-information and make sure you’re receiving all class of ’92 email (see “subscription management” in your profile).
Dartmouth recently launched a directory of small alumni-owned companies at dartgo.org/smallbusiness. In the last column I mentioned Anna Adachi-Mejia’s coaching business—she delivered the keynote speech at the New Hampshire Public Health Association’s annual meeting in April.
Also included in the directory: Pimsiree Bryant co-owns Westford China (westfordchina.com) and Military Art China (milart.com) with Matthew Bryant ’91. Their Contoocook, New Hampshire-based company offers custom screen printing of ceramic and glassware (and a discount for Dartmouth alumni).
Based in Hyderabad, India, Darshan Bhatia’s company DVB InvenTek designed an ICU ventilator in response to the Covid-19 crisis. His other firm, DVB Design and Engineering, is India’s leading tool-and-die manufacturer.
Congratulations go out to Yoshiko Herrera, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was awarded the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award this spring.
Melaura Wittemyer was one of the winners of our Engage ’92 drawing, which recognized classmates who replied to our survey about supporting others during the pandemic. She wrote: “It is probably premature to reflect on this crazy past year and half. But I do know we all learned a lot and we will carry these lessons forward. I’d say No. 1 is humility. For primary care docs, the first few months of the pandemic were chaotic, as we were some of the few providers still seeing patients in person—by that I mean in clinic, not emergency department and in-hospital, providers. We had no idea what we were doing, what PPE to wear or not wear, how to advise our patients. We just went on our best guess and clinical acumen and tried to keep up with ever-changing guidelines and the unknown. What was most effective was being there, listening, letting people know we cared. I most valued my experience in the Oregon Health & Science University respiratory clinic, where we primarily saw uninsured, undocumented workers with Covid who were terrified with their symptoms but wanted to keep working so they could support their families. My experiences pale in comparison to what my colleagues went through in New York City and other hard-hit cities. And, of course, many of us have struggled with our kids in high school and college, navigating the less-than-ideal landscape of virtual education. Let’s just hope they gained some grit from all this disappointment. My patients have suffered so much this year from loneliness and isolation. I know many of our virtual visits are just times for them to talk to a human—we don’t do much from a medical perspective! So there you go—take care of others, your family, friends, and community—but don’t forget yourself.”
There have only been three authors of this column since we left Hanover in 1992, and the one who worked the hardest, keeping us connected for those first five years with just snail mail and a landline, was Jessie Levine. After a courageous battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Jessie passed away June 26. There isn’t enough space here to include all the tributes by fellow classmates—including a lovely elegy by our 1997-2012 class secretary, Mike Mahoney—so please visit the “In Memoriam” section of our website (1992.dartmouth.org/memoriam).
Jessie wrote in her first Class Notes (September 1992) that she’d volunteered to serve as class secretary because she was anxious about losing touch with classmates. Her gift for connecting with people turned out to be an incredible superpower.
—Kelly Shriver Kolln, 3900 Cottage Grove Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403; (920) 306-2192; dartmouth92news@gmail.com
Dartmouth recently launched a directory of small alumni-owned companies at dartgo.org/smallbusiness. In the last column I mentioned Anna Adachi-Mejia’s coaching business—she delivered the keynote speech at the New Hampshire Public Health Association’s annual meeting in April.
Also included in the directory: Pimsiree Bryant co-owns Westford China (westfordchina.com) and Military Art China (milart.com) with Matthew Bryant ’91. Their Contoocook, New Hampshire-based company offers custom screen printing of ceramic and glassware (and a discount for Dartmouth alumni).
Based in Hyderabad, India, Darshan Bhatia’s company DVB InvenTek designed an ICU ventilator in response to the Covid-19 crisis. His other firm, DVB Design and Engineering, is India’s leading tool-and-die manufacturer.
Congratulations go out to Yoshiko Herrera, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was awarded the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award this spring.
Melaura Wittemyer was one of the winners of our Engage ’92 drawing, which recognized classmates who replied to our survey about supporting others during the pandemic. She wrote: “It is probably premature to reflect on this crazy past year and half. But I do know we all learned a lot and we will carry these lessons forward. I’d say No. 1 is humility. For primary care docs, the first few months of the pandemic were chaotic, as we were some of the few providers still seeing patients in person—by that I mean in clinic, not emergency department and in-hospital, providers. We had no idea what we were doing, what PPE to wear or not wear, how to advise our patients. We just went on our best guess and clinical acumen and tried to keep up with ever-changing guidelines and the unknown. What was most effective was being there, listening, letting people know we cared. I most valued my experience in the Oregon Health & Science University respiratory clinic, where we primarily saw uninsured, undocumented workers with Covid who were terrified with their symptoms but wanted to keep working so they could support their families. My experiences pale in comparison to what my colleagues went through in New York City and other hard-hit cities. And, of course, many of us have struggled with our kids in high school and college, navigating the less-than-ideal landscape of virtual education. Let’s just hope they gained some grit from all this disappointment. My patients have suffered so much this year from loneliness and isolation. I know many of our virtual visits are just times for them to talk to a human—we don’t do much from a medical perspective! So there you go—take care of others, your family, friends, and community—but don’t forget yourself.”
There have only been three authors of this column since we left Hanover in 1992, and the one who worked the hardest, keeping us connected for those first five years with just snail mail and a landline, was Jessie Levine. After a courageous battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Jessie passed away June 26. There isn’t enough space here to include all the tributes by fellow classmates—including a lovely elegy by our 1997-2012 class secretary, Mike Mahoney—so please visit the “In Memoriam” section of our website (1992.dartmouth.org/memoriam).
Jessie wrote in her first Class Notes (September 1992) that she’d volunteered to serve as class secretary because she was anxious about losing touch with classmates. Her gift for connecting with people turned out to be an incredible superpower.
—Kelly Shriver Kolln, 3900 Cottage Grove Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403; (920) 306-2192; dartmouth92news@gmail.com