Class Note 1996
In marking the two-decade milestone since our matriculation, I’m astounded at how far (and busy!) our collective lives have come.
It hit me during a recent overnight trip to New York when I met up with two of the first people I met in Hanover, spending a few minutes visiting the growing household of Rose Lee (a friend from the minute we embarked on the same freshman trip) and a late dinner with Keli’i Opulauho (whom I met when we visited during our senior year of high school). Though my hectic schedule limited our time, it did not feel as though 20 years had passed—with only talk of kids, work and life to remind us it had! Belated congrats to Rose and husband Bryan on the arrival of their son Dean (joining Grant, 4 1/2, and Hana, 2 1/2).
Such time passed lends itself well to career developments so naturally I have other great news to report! Sara Paisner passed along that she and three partners had founded Blue Ridge Lighting Solutions, which designs and manufactures premium LED lighting fixtures. She said it’s been fun and challenging and she is having a blast. Sara and husband Howard are also busy raising three kids in North Carolina, with their eldest entering first grade this year.
In other ’96 business ventures, Wendi (Potter) McKenna shared that her company Strides Physical Therapy just launched a new infant/child wellness program called Move Play Grow; it provides local parent/baby classes in the San Diego area covering typical child development milestones and red flags, enhancement of bonding and communication and other parent-driven topics. She encouraged everyone to check out moveplaygrow.com (or Facebook/Twitter pages of the same name) and appreciates any “likes,” comments or feedback. Wendi will herself be taking benefit of the program as she and husband Neil are expecting baby No. 3 in October!
Lara (Burgel) Fowler also wrote in with some exciting developments as she and husband Chris Fowler ’97 just relocated from Seattle to State College, Pennsylvania, with their kids Stephen and Elizabeth. Chris accepted a tenure-track teaching job with Penn State’s geography department, while Lara has a joint appointment to teach at the Dickinson School of Law (in the fall) and Penn State Institutes for Energy and Environment (in January). They are “excited to be here, though it is an interesting time to relocate to Penn State”; they welcome visitors and look to connect with area alums.
Also departing Seattle for broader educational horizons is Cameron Turner. Cameron, wife Annie and daughter Tallulah (2) are relocating to Palo Alto, California, in September when he begins his master’s program in statistics at Stanford University. He relays that he is looking forward to getting back in touch with Bay Area ’96s.
While not relocating, Dave Hemmer had great educational news of his own to share: “As it turns out I have recently been promoted to full professor and chairman of the mathematics department here at the University at Buffalo!” Dave has been happily married for 12 years to wife Ginny and they are raising kids Meghan (7), Benjamin (4) and Adam (1).
I leave the last portion of this update to Michele (Bourgoin) Leddy. She just returned to corporate life after spending eight years raising children Charlie (8) and Catie (5). With kindergarten calling, Michele accepted a position as account director leading experiential marketing for Source Marketing’s Chase Visa card business.
She was able to enjoy a few last moments of pre-work fun with Margie (Block) Stineman and Angie (Duff) Tortorella celebrating the 40th birthday of Teddy Johnson ’94. Their kids also had a blast, and Meg (Stineman), Catie (Leddy) and Jane (Tortorella) are all looking forward to matriculating in 13 years!
—Garrett Gil de Rubio, 1062 Middlebrooke Drive, Canton, GA 30115; ggdr@alum.dartmouth.org
