Class Note 2007
Issue
January-February 2023
Greetings from N.Y.C., ’07s! It was an honor and joy to put these notes together and I’m psyched to keep the energy flowing from our reunion last June. Some great updates in store.
Brent Butler shares, “In September I ran into an old ’07 friend while attending the Creative Arts Emmys. I was there for Norm Macdonald’s Nothing Special—which, it turns out, is very special, and not only because it is his last. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s on Netflix and your mom will forgive you messing up her queue for this one. Norm is and will always be the greatest. So I’m at the Emmys and who do I see at the table next to me? Producer, director, and English major Alice Mathias, whose show, I Think You Should Leave, is pound for pound the funniest sketch show going. It was a magical night and if memory serves, we each lost to either the Super Bowl halftime show or Adele, both tremendous comedies. (Bonus congratulations to ‘Casual Thursday’ ’08, Owen Parsons, for his writing win on Last Week Tonight.)”
Jonathan “J.” Lesesne shared that “On September 27 about 17 Black Dartmouth alumni were able to gather at our first post-pandemic new normal Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association (BADA) event. To say that the last 30 months (yes—two and a half years!) have been taxing on a global and personal level, particularly with respect to the complex social aspects of humanity, would be the understatement of the decade! Nevertheless, Brian P. Sylvester ’05 and I were able to resume our pre-pandemic roles as BADA representatives for the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) region. The event, ‘Cocktails and Conversations,’ took place on the terrace of Brian’s law firm with food and beverages for all the attendees to leisurely enjoy. This event was truly a great opportunity to share war stories about everyone’s individual experiences since March 13, 2020. It even drew in some surprises, as a couple of alumni had recently moved to the DMV area from elsewhere and were able to reconnect with classmates not seen in 14 years. With the classes of 2005 and 2007 at the BADA DMV helm again, we look forward to enjoying new tales of Hanover and beyond at future events. Stay tuned.”
Yuki Kondo-Shah chimed in from the foreign service life: “My family and I moved to London in August. I’ll be working as the deputy spokesperson at the U.S. embassy until 2025. I’m so excited my older daughter attends the American School, where Erica Jones ’08 is in a leadership role. We arrived just in time to attend the Dartmouth ‘Give a Rouse’ event at the British Museum with current foreign study program [FSP] students, alumni, and Professor Wohlforth. Was so wonderful to think about the 2005 London FSP!”
Eric Trautmann married Yoanna Pumpalova in Ithaca, New York. Class of ’07s in attendance included James Austin, Owen Cadwalader, Danny Hundert, Linden Mallory, Mikey Sinnott, Jeff Bate, Jen Swanda, Nate Raines, Charlie Guthrie, Pete Cooch, and Giancarlo Nucci,and that doesn’t include the wide swath of alumni from ’04 to ’08 because it would exceed my word limit! Attendees took a hike through Ithaca’s gorges, a run through Cornell campus, and had a ceremony and reception at the beautiful rustic farmers market and a post-wedding dip in the river behind Eric’s childhood home. Congratulations, Eric and Yoanna!
—Sam Routhier, 543 W 122nd St., Apt. 25B, New York, NY 10027; samrouthier@gmail.com
Brent Butler shares, “In September I ran into an old ’07 friend while attending the Creative Arts Emmys. I was there for Norm Macdonald’s Nothing Special—which, it turns out, is very special, and not only because it is his last. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s on Netflix and your mom will forgive you messing up her queue for this one. Norm is and will always be the greatest. So I’m at the Emmys and who do I see at the table next to me? Producer, director, and English major Alice Mathias, whose show, I Think You Should Leave, is pound for pound the funniest sketch show going. It was a magical night and if memory serves, we each lost to either the Super Bowl halftime show or Adele, both tremendous comedies. (Bonus congratulations to ‘Casual Thursday’ ’08, Owen Parsons, for his writing win on Last Week Tonight.)”
Jonathan “J.” Lesesne shared that “On September 27 about 17 Black Dartmouth alumni were able to gather at our first post-pandemic new normal Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association (BADA) event. To say that the last 30 months (yes—two and a half years!) have been taxing on a global and personal level, particularly with respect to the complex social aspects of humanity, would be the understatement of the decade! Nevertheless, Brian P. Sylvester ’05 and I were able to resume our pre-pandemic roles as BADA representatives for the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) region. The event, ‘Cocktails and Conversations,’ took place on the terrace of Brian’s law firm with food and beverages for all the attendees to leisurely enjoy. This event was truly a great opportunity to share war stories about everyone’s individual experiences since March 13, 2020. It even drew in some surprises, as a couple of alumni had recently moved to the DMV area from elsewhere and were able to reconnect with classmates not seen in 14 years. With the classes of 2005 and 2007 at the BADA DMV helm again, we look forward to enjoying new tales of Hanover and beyond at future events. Stay tuned.”
Yuki Kondo-Shah chimed in from the foreign service life: “My family and I moved to London in August. I’ll be working as the deputy spokesperson at the U.S. embassy until 2025. I’m so excited my older daughter attends the American School, where Erica Jones ’08 is in a leadership role. We arrived just in time to attend the Dartmouth ‘Give a Rouse’ event at the British Museum with current foreign study program [FSP] students, alumni, and Professor Wohlforth. Was so wonderful to think about the 2005 London FSP!”
Eric Trautmann married Yoanna Pumpalova in Ithaca, New York. Class of ’07s in attendance included James Austin, Owen Cadwalader, Danny Hundert, Linden Mallory, Mikey Sinnott, Jeff Bate, Jen Swanda, Nate Raines, Charlie Guthrie, Pete Cooch, and Giancarlo Nucci,and that doesn’t include the wide swath of alumni from ’04 to ’08 because it would exceed my word limit! Attendees took a hike through Ithaca’s gorges, a run through Cornell campus, and had a ceremony and reception at the beautiful rustic farmers market and a post-wedding dip in the river behind Eric’s childhood home. Congratulations, Eric and Yoanna!
—Sam Routhier, 543 W 122nd St., Apt. 25B, New York, NY 10027; samrouthier@gmail.com