Class Note 1995
Issue
September-October 2024
Are you among the more than 2 million people who have watched Roger Federer’s Commencement speech for the class of 2024? If not, I highly recommend it! He delivered some solid life lessons through tennis metaphors: “Effortless is a myth….It’s only a point. Life is bigger than the court.” I watched it with my teenaged daughters but realized there were lessons in it even for a 50-year-old such as myself. Check it out!
I put feelers out to some classmates for the advice that they might give to graduating seniors heading out into the world. Not a lot of responses, I’m afraid, but Daisy Florin did chime in with advice that has stuck with her for 20 years: “When my youngest was a toddler, we were hanging with another toddler buddy. His mom was trying to lose weight and she told me she was going to start throwing out whatever food he left behind instead of eating it herself. She said, ‘I decided I can be the garbage can or I can let the garbage can be the garbage can.’ ” Words of wisdom indeed.
Evelyn Brady wrote in, not with advice, but with some news. “We are officially empty-nesters! Ashleigh ’21 is currently at Harvard Graduate School of Design studying architecture and now Nicholas will be attending UNC Charlotte to study mechanical engineering with a motor sports concentration. With all my free time I’m becoming more involved with the Delaware Democratic Party and was selected to represent Delaware as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer.” After the election Evelyn and her husband, Drew ’96, are looking forward to quieter days. (Anyone want to share their advice for the empty-nest transition? That could be valuable to many of us in the years ahead!)
Congratulations to Alison Cook on the publication of her new book, I Shouldn’t Feel This Way. The book delves into guilt and self-sabotage, providing a path to “untangling conflicting emotions.” A psychotherapist, author, and online educator, Alison has published three books and hosts a weekly podcast, The Best of You.
Sadly, the bells of Baker Tower ring for another of our classmates who has passed away. Gonzalo Lira died in January at the age of 55. May he rest in peace.
—Kaja (Schuppert) Fickes, 2 Bishops Lane, Hingham, MA 02043; kaja.k.fickes.95@dartmouth.edu
I put feelers out to some classmates for the advice that they might give to graduating seniors heading out into the world. Not a lot of responses, I’m afraid, but Daisy Florin did chime in with advice that has stuck with her for 20 years: “When my youngest was a toddler, we were hanging with another toddler buddy. His mom was trying to lose weight and she told me she was going to start throwing out whatever food he left behind instead of eating it herself. She said, ‘I decided I can be the garbage can or I can let the garbage can be the garbage can.’ ” Words of wisdom indeed.
Evelyn Brady wrote in, not with advice, but with some news. “We are officially empty-nesters! Ashleigh ’21 is currently at Harvard Graduate School of Design studying architecture and now Nicholas will be attending UNC Charlotte to study mechanical engineering with a motor sports concentration. With all my free time I’m becoming more involved with the Delaware Democratic Party and was selected to represent Delaware as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer.” After the election Evelyn and her husband, Drew ’96, are looking forward to quieter days. (Anyone want to share their advice for the empty-nest transition? That could be valuable to many of us in the years ahead!)
Congratulations to Alison Cook on the publication of her new book, I Shouldn’t Feel This Way. The book delves into guilt and self-sabotage, providing a path to “untangling conflicting emotions.” A psychotherapist, author, and online educator, Alison has published three books and hosts a weekly podcast, The Best of You.
Sadly, the bells of Baker Tower ring for another of our classmates who has passed away. Gonzalo Lira died in January at the age of 55. May he rest in peace.
—Kaja (Schuppert) Fickes, 2 Bishops Lane, Hingham, MA 02043; kaja.k.fickes.95@dartmouth.edu