Class Note 1995
Issue
July-August 2023
My younger daughter, Kristi, and I were up on campus and I was delighted to take her into the newly renovated (and now fully accessible!) Dartmouth Hall. I was even more delighted to see so many ’95s on the donor wall and point out all my classmates who helped make this beautiful renovation possible.
What inspired our classmates’ generosity? Lou Spelios notes:“When I saw the plans for Dartmouth Hall, I felt a deep sense of excitement and obligation. It’s where I ventured outside my comfort zone to learn Russian, attended numerous lectures, and also where we congregated as alumni volunteers to brainstorm about the College and future engagement. It defines ‘sense of place’ for me in Hanover.” For Rose Hughes, “I associate Dartmouth Hall with the German department and my major. The professors in that department had a huge impact on my time at Dartmouth and my life after. I dedicated my donation to my parents, whose hard work and sacrifice allowed me to attend my dream school!”
Tamara Busch recalls a “freshman fall ‘Philosophy 1’ final exam in the large basement room, where we were squeezed in like sardines with those little foldout desks that make airplane trays seem massive!” She recently spoke at the Dartmouth women’s summit in New York about estate planning. Tammy moved to her hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut, around the time of the pandemic, and her two girls are now 7 and 4. “I’ve done a good job brainwashing them to love winter, and they say they’re sad when the snow starts to melt. We even took our first ski trip together this past winter, and now they too keep talking about going back to Canada!”
For Wendy (Jastremski) Smith, “It’s just iconic Dartmouth, is all. I miss those simpler times!” Wendy recently traveled to Houston with her town’s high school robotics team that she mentors. Her son is a sophomore on the team, which competed in the FIRSTRobotics world championship.
While on campus I ran into supporter (and Alumni Council president) Laurie Shapiro and her family attending admitted students weekend with their daughter, Ella, who will be a ’27. Congratulations! They live in Larchmont, New York, where “Jon works in finance while I’m doing independent consulting in the recruiting space. We have two older kids in college (a Cornell ’23 and Trinity ’26) so empty-nesting is on the horizon.”
Erica Ruliffson wasinspired to give for two reasons, “As a Spanish and Latin American major, I spent a lot of time there and have fond memories of great class discussions in Dartmouth Hall. And the fact that the effort was led by and funded by a broad group of Dartmouth alumnae … what an incredible opportunity to make our mark and celebrate the women of Dartmouth.”
Abbey Nesius Ahearn contributed “in honor of all of the strong, smart, inspiring alumnae I met while a student or in the years since, most of whom are making significant contributions to their communities, their professions, or society at large. Most buildings are named after a single individual (usually a man) or family and, while there are any number of Dartmouth women who are deserving of their own building, I thought it was cool to have a building—perhaps the College’s most iconic—honoring Dartmouth women collectively. It was symbolic to me of all that we have fought for and accomplished. I can’t wait to take my own daughter one day so she can endure me getting all teary-eyed and trying to find the single seat that I donated—ha ha!”
Keep your news coming!
—Kaja (Schuppert) Fickes, 2 Bishops Lane, Hingham, MA 02043; kaja.k.fickes.95@dartmouth.edu
What inspired our classmates’ generosity? Lou Spelios notes:“When I saw the plans for Dartmouth Hall, I felt a deep sense of excitement and obligation. It’s where I ventured outside my comfort zone to learn Russian, attended numerous lectures, and also where we congregated as alumni volunteers to brainstorm about the College and future engagement. It defines ‘sense of place’ for me in Hanover.” For Rose Hughes, “I associate Dartmouth Hall with the German department and my major. The professors in that department had a huge impact on my time at Dartmouth and my life after. I dedicated my donation to my parents, whose hard work and sacrifice allowed me to attend my dream school!”
Tamara Busch recalls a “freshman fall ‘Philosophy 1’ final exam in the large basement room, where we were squeezed in like sardines with those little foldout desks that make airplane trays seem massive!” She recently spoke at the Dartmouth women’s summit in New York about estate planning. Tammy moved to her hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut, around the time of the pandemic, and her two girls are now 7 and 4. “I’ve done a good job brainwashing them to love winter, and they say they’re sad when the snow starts to melt. We even took our first ski trip together this past winter, and now they too keep talking about going back to Canada!”
For Wendy (Jastremski) Smith, “It’s just iconic Dartmouth, is all. I miss those simpler times!” Wendy recently traveled to Houston with her town’s high school robotics team that she mentors. Her son is a sophomore on the team, which competed in the FIRSTRobotics world championship.
While on campus I ran into supporter (and Alumni Council president) Laurie Shapiro and her family attending admitted students weekend with their daughter, Ella, who will be a ’27. Congratulations! They live in Larchmont, New York, where “Jon works in finance while I’m doing independent consulting in the recruiting space. We have two older kids in college (a Cornell ’23 and Trinity ’26) so empty-nesting is on the horizon.”
Erica Ruliffson wasinspired to give for two reasons, “As a Spanish and Latin American major, I spent a lot of time there and have fond memories of great class discussions in Dartmouth Hall. And the fact that the effort was led by and funded by a broad group of Dartmouth alumnae … what an incredible opportunity to make our mark and celebrate the women of Dartmouth.”
Abbey Nesius Ahearn contributed “in honor of all of the strong, smart, inspiring alumnae I met while a student or in the years since, most of whom are making significant contributions to their communities, their professions, or society at large. Most buildings are named after a single individual (usually a man) or family and, while there are any number of Dartmouth women who are deserving of their own building, I thought it was cool to have a building—perhaps the College’s most iconic—honoring Dartmouth women collectively. It was symbolic to me of all that we have fought for and accomplished. I can’t wait to take my own daughter one day so she can endure me getting all teary-eyed and trying to find the single seat that I donated—ha ha!”
Keep your news coming!
—Kaja (Schuppert) Fickes, 2 Bishops Lane, Hingham, MA 02043; kaja.k.fickes.95@dartmouth.edu