Hi, ’04s! Happy Fourth of July! We are now in the heart of summer, and I hope the combination of warmer temperatures and vaccines are allowing you to venture out from your Covid bubbles and reconnect with family and friends near and far. With our newfound freedom, I know many of us are looking to shake our Zoom fatigue by completely disconnecting. Before doing so though, please let me provide a couple of updates on our classmates.

Tyra Olstad shared that after nine years of teaching geography and environmental sustainability at SUNY Oneonta, she recently left her position and moved back West to begin working as a geologist at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Tyra is looking forward to connecting with Dartmouth alums in the area as well as hiking and climbing around southern Utah. And to top it off, Tyra’s second book, Canyon, Mountain, Cloud, was released this past May. Congratulations all around, Tyra!

Will Pechter offered that he and wife Nadine celebrated the first birthday of their twins, Ari and Sasha, this past April. And their 4-year-old son, Andy, could not have been a prouder bigger brother! Will also shared that he and Nadine are currently living in Cary, North Carolina, where they both are physicians. When not practicing interventional radiology and primary care, respectively, Will and Nadine can be found hiking through the North Carolina trails with their children and two Labradoodles.

I hope this Independence Day allows all of us to breath a collectively sigh of relief in between our BBQs and beach trips. It’s been a year, but I hope we can see the silver linings in between the rocket’s red glare. Please continue to send those updates and look forward to connecting again in the fall!

—Johanna Thomas, 14 Logan Circle, NW, Washington, DC 20005; johannarthomas@gmail.com