Class Note 1998

Hello, fellow ’98s. It is a privilege to write my initial Class Notes. A big thank-you to my predecessor, Jeff Beyer, on five years of stellar updates and for helping me transition to class secretary. For me the past few years have been full of transitions. In 2015, after living in New York and New Jersey nearly all my life, I moved from N.Y.C. to Nashville, Tennessee. Feeling somewhat disconnected in my new home, I reached out to other ’98s in the South to ask what brought them here and to find out what is going on in their lives.

Neeta (Raghavan) Vora moved from Boston in 2012 when the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill offered her a job as a maternal fetal medicine-geneticist. In this role she researches the application of new genomic technologies to diagnose pregnancies with prenatal congenital abnormalities. She also sees patients with high-risk pregnancies. Neeta, along with her husband and two sons, ages 7 and 9, lives in Chapel Hill and enjoys tennis, hiking, and going to the beach. Neeta’s family also travels frequently: In July they visited Iceland and Belgium. Laura Guogas also moved from the Boston area to work at UNC-Chapel Hill. She has now settled in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area and works at Biogen, a biotech company that focuses on treating neurological diseases. She and her husband have two kids, ages 4 and 7. Laura enjoys the outdoors, including rowing, running, and gardening. Taking advantage of outdoor activities year-round is a common refrain among ’98s in the South.

Fellow Tennessean Abigail Roberts has been in Chattanooga since 1999, working at the McCallie School, an all-boys private boarding and day school. Six years ago she transitioned from teaching to its college counseling office. Abbie has taken part in activities such as remodeling homes, getting certified as a master gardener, and playing Ultimate Frisbee. She met her husband at a Frisbee tournament and was married two years ago in her hometown of Gilmanton, New Hampshire. Abbie also attended this summer’s reunion, and was especially thrilled to see Clair Jones. Former Tennessean Jessica (Schefter) Devin wrote in to say that after nearly 20 years in Nashville, she recently relocated to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Nathan Cook moved back home to Lexington, Kentucky, in 2000 to take a job in software engineering at Lexmark, where he has been ever since. He married last year and became a step-father. Nathan writes that now, with twin middle-school daughters, he feels caught up with his classmates. Along the way he has traveled extensively. Highlights include a road trip through Mexico to Belize, traveling by road and ferry to Juneau, Alaska, mission trips to Haiti for earthquake relief, and a “soul-searching trip across the country.” Traveling has allowed Nathan to stay connected to his classmates: Two years ago he visited Erica Thrall and Allison (Ahart) Geving.

David Walthall, by contrast, has roamed far from the South. The Alabama native has spent most of his time post-Dartmouth in Italy, where the University of Siena just offered him a tenured position. There he teaches a variety of courses ranging from contemporary political rhetoric to English for the wine trade. David commented on the strong sense of place and history he has felt in Italy, the South, and New England, too. In Italy he continues to lead historical and cultural tours and would love to help Dartmouth folks coming his way.

Twenty years after graduation, I am thrilled to have a reason to reconnect with classmates. Regardless of where you are these days, I would love to hear from you.

—Gabe Galletti, 4000 Utah Ave., Nashville, TN 37209; galletti@gmail.com