Normally seeing our classmates’ names written on a bathroom wall would be cause for concern, but when the bathroom is in EBA’s and the names are on a framed Epsilon Kappa Theta (EKT) “We Will Survive” T-shirt, it becomes the stuff of a column! 


Chantell Dalpe wrote that six of her EKT sisters try to get together every year. Susan Warhover, Jo Cline, Kelli Whealan, Paulette Salmon, Cheryl Flick and Chantelle recently met up in San Diego, California. Kelli lives there with her husband and two kids, ages 10 and 7. “Kelli arranged a surfing lesson for us. None of us, except Kelli, had ever been on a surfboard before. It was so fun! Paulette surprised us with the news that she is pregnant with her first child, a daughter, due in the fall. ‘Flicka’ and her husband and 2-year-old son live in San Francisco, where she works for KPMG. Jo is an attorney, living in Delaware with her 8-year-old daughter. I am an obstetrician-gynecologist living in Syracuse, New York, with my husband and two sons, ages 7 and 9. Despite our geographic separation the friendships we formed during our years at Dartmouth have remained strong. We cherish these times we spend together to catch up, support each other, laugh and play.”


Pam (Brockmeier) Armstrong is living in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and “watching the world go by” with her son James (3). “His sibling is due to greet the world in the next few weeks and will likely be swaddled like a burrito when I sit down to read this issue of DAM. Any other news in my life kind of pales in comparison to that right now.” Laurie (Sedillos) Vander Veen and her husband, Ken, live in Pacific Palisades, California, with their daughter Grace (8) and son Jake (5). “I’m trying to decide if I should get back into teaching now that the kids are both in school full time. I love southern California but I miss my Dartmouth friends!” 


Lisa Mortell wrote from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, where she was with her husband, Jake ’94, and their sons Will (8) and Owen (6). “My family is still living in Denver and enjoying the Colorado life of skiing in the winter and mountain biking, hiking and camping in the summer. This fall I am launching a practice as an independent fundraising consultant while still working part time at Kent Denver School, where I have been in various capacities since 1998.” Lisa saw Connie (Trumbull) Eyster and her son Birch (2) at the festival; Connie’s husband, Brian Eyster, is the director of marketing for Planet Bluegrass. 


And finally, Vanessa Levesque wrote: “I’m in the midst of studying for my comprehensive exams, which start next week, but this is as good a study break as ever!” After graduation Vanessa spent three years in Uganda as a Peace Corps volunteer, did a quick stint in Papua New Guinea with World Wildlife Fund, got her master’s and has since been working as a natural resources planner. Two years ago she decided to go back for her Ph.D. from the Sustainability Solutions Initiative at the University of Maine: “All research is based on stakeholder-identified problems and is tackled by interdisciplinary teams, with the aim of promoting ecological and economic well-being of the state. It consumes way too much of my time, but I love working on a team-based, solutions-driven effort. And when I’m not being a student I really enjoy living in Portland, Maine, and taking in all that this state has to offer.” 


Keep your news coming!


—Kaja (Schuppert) Fickes, 116 Newbury St., 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02116; kaja@alum.dartmouth.org