We’re having a twin boom in the ’98 class! I heard from Tracy Van Dorpe in July. She and her husband, Phil Drapeau, Tu’05, welcomed twin boys in September 2010. Tracy says, “It’s hard to believe that Henry and John are almost a year already. They both started walking (literally, toddling) in the past few weeks so we’re adjusting to their new mobility.” Tracy, Phil and the boys live in Somerville, Massachusetts. Tracy is on leave from her position as a fundraiser at Harvard, where one of her job perks is working regularly with Nancy Fopiano Conroy. Tracy also reports that her freshman-year roommate Bethany Edstrom has come to visit a few times since the twins’ birth. Bethany teaches English at a Catholic secondary school in Connecticut.


Abby Smith and Dave Hoverman welcomed identical twin boys, Roby and Eli, in May. The twins’ big sisters Sarah Jane and Anna turned 4 and 2, respectively, in August, so Abby and Dave spent several months in “four under 4 land,” as Abby called it, “which has been somewhat insane,” she says. They live in Berkeley, California, and Abby and Dave are consultants in San Francisco—Abby at Bain and Dave at Parthenon. 


And Mark and Kirby Grabowski had twin girls Julia Claire (6 pounds, 11 ounces) and Sylvie Jean (6 pounds, 1 ounce) in June. Kirby says, “Big for twins (as was I)!” The twins also have a big brother, Linus, who is 2 1/2. Mark works at Catterton Partners, a private equity firm in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Kirby is a professor of applied linguistics and a teacher of English to speakers of other languages at Teachers College, Columbia University. Kirby reports, “Like most ’98s we lead very busy lives, but we feel blessed each and every day.”


I also heard from Adam Siegel and his wife, Rachel, that they celebrated the birth of their first child, Clara Violet, on March 11. The Siegels live in Washington, D.C., where Adam practices environmental law at Hogan Lovells and Rachel works as a policy analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Welcome to the ’98 family, Clara!


And finally, this December Andy Smith and his wife, Sara ’03, will be moving to Guatemala for two years to volunteer at Hospitalito Atitlan, with their 18-month-old daughter Rosie in tow! The hospital is located in Santiago Atitlan on the banks of picturesque Lake Atitlan.


Andy writes, “As the largest Mayan community in Central America, Santiago Atitlan is a place where the indigenous Tz’utuhil language and culture still flourish despite increasing influences from the outside world. Victimized during Guatemala’s 36-year civil war, the indigenous Mayan people continue to strive for basic human and economic rights. As the only hospital within two hours, Hospitalito Atitlan serves a crucial role for the health of the community. It is a locally run nongovernmental organization that depends heavily on long-term international volunteers to provide a substantial portion of the medical care. Sara and I spent a month in Atitlan in 2006, had the opportunity to work at Hospitalito Atitlan for two exciting weeks and always dreamed of returning for a long-term stint. I will be volunteering as a staff physician. Sara will be volunteering with the maternal-infant program. We hope Rosie will be making some Mayan friends and learning some Tz’utuhil. To learn more about Hospitalito Atitlan and our mission or to help support our work, visit our website, www.smithsinsantiago.com. We’d appreciate any advice on potential sources of funding available for long-term international medical and service work. Dartmouth visitors or volunteers are welcome anytime!” Thanks for giving us the scoop, Andy, and good luck with your amazing adventure!


—Jo Golub, 851 Indian Rock Ave., Berkeley, CA 94707; jgolub@kvn.com