This year the Dartmouth Asian Pacific American Alumni Association (DAPAAA) is celebrating its 25th anniversary and hosting a yearlong series of events, including an on-campus reunion on May 3-5 in Hanover. With this in mind, we caught up with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) identifying classmates for this round of notes.

Dieu-Thi Nguyen shared, “Beautiful chaos. I never thought these words would go together until I became a mom. I experienced the greatest blessing of my life when I became a mother to two beautiful girls (Lily, 2, and Violet, 4 months). Having kids has taught me to live in the moment, embrace chaos, and learn about the world through the curious lens of my children. I am fortunate to have a supportive family that helps me to balance work and family life. I am a practicing internal medicine physician in northern Virginia. It is a privilege for me to take care of patients with racially and culturally diverse backgrounds. In particular, it is a joy for me to speak Vietnamese when providing care for the many non-English speaking members of the Vietnamese community in northern Virginia. As a Vietnamese American I have been able to utilize my cultural background to connect with patients in a unique way, from educating them about managing chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol to discussing culturally sensitive topics such as end-of-life or hospice care with a delicate approach that respects the dignity and cultural wishes of the patients and their families. My patients have become my second family as we navigate periods of triumph and tribulations of life.”

Anna Sian relocated from N.Y.C. to Hanover with a hunger for opportunities promoting diversity and inclusion. Seeking to immerse herself in the AAPI community and culture, she was thrilled to discover professor Woon-Ping Chin’s enlightening classes on Asian American literature, history, and culture. Guided by Nora Yasamura, assistant dean of student life and advisor to Asian and Asian American students, Anna navigated Dartmouth’s AAPI organizations and coalitions, engaging in projects such as mentoring trans-racially adopted Asian children in the Upper Valley area. She now oversees marketing for Spotify’s podcast and audiobook creator tools and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and toddler Inez.

Jenny (Wang) Blair writes, “The past few years have been a whirlwind of exciting changes! My husband and I relocated back East from San Francisco, welcomed two amazing kids, and I switched careers from marketing to product management. Many of the friends I made at Dartmouth have been an anchor during these dynamic times. Thanks to Jen Wilbur for helping us navigate the New Jersey suburbs, Annie Bennett and Linzi Sheldon for girls trips to look forward to, and Jena Akin for adding to the many reasons to visit Montana.”

Chris Chan chimes in, “It was so great to catch up with so many ’07s at the 15-year reunion a couple summers ago. Blair Burgreen and I have been in Pittsburgh for the last five years, which is nuts because we never thought we would live here and it feels like yesterday. But we absolutely love raising our family here. Felicity (7) and Emmett (4) keep us incredibly busy but during the last couple of years we’ve been able to emerge from the fog and make family trips to spend time with Nicole (Mahr) Cannizzaro, Arielle (Rodman) Langer, Melina Marmarelis, and Lou Williams.”

Thanks Anna, Chris, Dieu, and Jenny for your contributions. Next issue we’ve got a guest notes collector, our newest class executive committee officer: Kathryn (Funderburk) Kumf!

—Sam Routhier, 543 W 122nd St., Apt. 25B, New York, NY 10027; samrouthier@gmail.com