This year, as vernal months give way to those of autumn, the winds of change blew ’round the girdled earth for many ’96s. Semicentennial birthday celebrations abounded and many ’96 families grappled with the emotional onslaught of sending young ones off to college.

Rebecca (Oettinger) Feder marked several milestones this fall. First, she and husband Russell joined Tyler Newby, Laurel (Smith) Newby, and Brian Hill and wife Melissa for a 50th birthday celebration in Glacier National Park. “There is something magic about the people you met freshman week at college being there as you go through life. Loved hiking, rafting, eating yummy food while drinking huckleberry sangria, listening to live music, and sleeping in tent cabins but mostly just catching up in a meaningful way and a lot of laughing. So grateful for the past 30 years plus five days.” Weeks later Rebecca would drop son Brandon off for freshman year at Penn State University.

Arctic adventures were popular this year. Tim Young and partner Eric Erickson enjoyed an adventure-filled Norwegian fjords cruise, including those of Flåm, Nordfjordeid, and Sognefjord. The cruise made its way to Tromsø (the northernmost city on Earth) and Nordkapp (the farthest site one can reach in Europe). Suzanne Leonard and family also spent time in Norway, traveling to the fjords in Lærdal in August. Ilana Davidi Reeves, husband Dan, and sons also took in Arctic wonders, traveling in a rented camper van across southern Iceland. Bookended with some time in Reykjavik, the family swam in natural geothermal pools; toured springs, geysers, waterfalls, and volcanic craters; and saw seals, puffins, and Arctic foxes. Sharon (Spatz) Alexander and family cruised around Alaska (including Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau, and flying tours of Denali Park), all while enjoying time together before son Bryce ’27 started sophomore year in Hanover.

Kristen (Carlone) Hurley and husband Michael headed to Spain and Italy by way of a Mediterranean cruise; they spent their first few days in Barcelona (touring the Montserrat Basílica and La Sagrada Família) before sailing over to Rome, Florence, Pisa, Palo, Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri, Italy. Kristen Havens and husband Keisuke also enjoyed an Italian journey—taking in Roma, Florence, Venice, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast. Kimberly (Koontz) Haring and her sons took a Croatian cruise, soaking up precious moments before son Tommy started his freshman year at Bucknell University. Brendan Doherty, wife Robyn, and family traveled across England—including Bath, where the couple got engaged 23 years prior. Derek Shendell and wife Margaret traveled to Paris to take in 2024 Olympic tennis matches, including the now-legendary match between eventual gold medalist Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

In Olympics-adjacent news, Travis Horton relayed that wife Annie Soutter set three New Zealand Masters swimming records (in the 1,500-meter, 800-meter, and 400-meter free) in early August, all while parenting five kids and teaching new courses as part of the faculty at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

In class mini-reunion news, there was an unexpected ’96 reunion in August at airport baggage claim in Cape Town, South Africa; upon landing, Eliza (Barry) Riker and Heather (Morein) French discovered they had been on the same 19-hour flight from New Jersey. Katie (Shutzer) Brennan and Elizabeth (Coleman) Chen experienced a similar surprise when they found themselves boarding the same 10-hour flight in the spring. Erika Meitner was delighted to see Shervyn von Hoerl at her mid-August poetry reading in New York at the Bryant Park reading series. Anh-Thu Cunnion, Scott “Wendal” Reeder, and Elizabeth (Manheim) Ades enjoyed a weekend get-together at Lake Champlain, New York. Maura Kelly and boyfriend Jason met up in August with Tiernan Sittenfeld and husband Darren.

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