As we formally mark the 20th June since (most of us) left our undergraduate days behind us, I imagine it is dawning on many of our classmates (myself included) that we have been in each other’s lives for well more than half our existences. The working world, higher degrees, growing families and other unavoidable indicators of adulthood continue to mount—and yet many of us keep in touch as if we were still down the hall from each other in our freshman-year dorms. So while reportable news from the class is a bit on the lighter side this go around, quite a few ’96s have been waxing nostalgic in recent weeks and reflecting on the connections we even still today maintain.

I had the pleasure of meeting up with two of my oldest and dearest Dartmouth friends within just a few weeks of each other. I was able to meet up with Keli’i Opulauoho during a work trip to New York in late February and Rose Lee when she and her eldest son, Grant, made their way down to Atlanta for a national chess tournament in March. Both visits were cut far too short due to schedule restrictions and work schedules, but it was as if not a day had passed since we all met each other during our first few days in Hanover. It’s amazing how just a few hours with an old friend can reinvigorate the soul!

And speaking of a couple of people forever linked by their Dartmouth experience, I am elated to pass along news of the newest arrival in our extended ’96 family. The world got a little brighter on April 20 when our own David Mattingly and Marybeth Mattingly welcomed daughter Éile into their family. The now family of seven resides in Dover, New Hampshire, and word is that Éile is quite loved by her four elder siblings (whom Marybeth reports are all doing quite well in second, fourth, sixth and 10th grades, respectively!). Though a few sleepless nights of child rearing again await them in the months ahead, the couple is also quite busy with their “day jobs” in the world of academia. Dave is a physics professor at the University of New Hampshire and Marybeth splits her time between management of a research program at the Carsey School of Public Policy (also at UNH) and consulting for the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. Congratulations to the entire Mattingly clan on its newest arrival and well wishes for sleep, tranquility and happiness as the household readjusts to having a little one again!

Please keep those updates coming, and all the best for a relaxing summer ahead!

—Garrett Gil de Rubio, 1062 Middlebrooke Drive, Canton, GA 30115; ggdr@alum.dartmouth.org