Class Note 2014

Hi, ’14s—back again! You may have noticed (but probably did not) that the class of 2014 did not have any updates in the last issue of the alumni magazine. Given the current circumstances, I debated making a virus-related excuse so that you would all excuse my forgetfulness. However, I’ve decided to come clean. The truth of the matter is that these notes are due months in advance. I was actually just busy at John Zahka’s bachelor party down in Miami drinking my body weight in Keystone Light with our classmates Tom Whalen, Preston Suan, and Rahul Raina, which I hope you all agree, is a more than valid excuse.

Before getting to any other updates, I think we have to give a shout-out to all the members of the class of 2014 who work in healthcare and have been on the frontlines of this fight! There are way too many of you to list here right now, but during the coming months make sure to check out the @dartmouth_2014 Instagram, where we will be recognizing their tremendous work during this crazy time! Quickly though, big shout-out to Jayne Caron, who chose to graduate early from medical school this spring in order to join the fight at NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital!

I hope by the time these notes get to your mailbox, things have settled down a bit. Staying safe and sane during this lockdown isn’t easy, but I’ve been very impressed by some of the creative ways the class of 2014 has tried to maintain a sense of normalcy in these difficult times. East Coast correspondent Amelia Acosta has temporarily relocated back to the Midwest, where she continues to promote all of our classmates’ bread-related adventures. Out on the West Coast, our classmate Michelle Khare reached more than 2 million subscribers to her YouTube channel and has endless hours of content if anyone is in need of some entertainment. Down in Texas, Renee Lai has started an art school that is currently offering online “classes that are more rigorous and intellectually engaging than wine and drink places, but less pressure than taking class at a community college.” So if you are interested in checking them out, the website is theartlocal.com and she is on Instagram at @theartlocalatx. With each passing day John D’Antonio gets closer and closer to posting his first TikTok. We can’t wait, John! We will all be watching when you do!

I’m sure there are plenty of updates to the normal engagement/wedding section that I could add to this note but seeing as only Zoom weddings will be taking place for a while longer, I’ll report back on that front later.

Finally, it also seems like everyone is either starting or ending graduate school right now, so congrats to everyone who is either getting ready to start a new chapter or busy virtually celebrating their tremendous accomplishments and hard work! A few quick shout-outs to Kara Dastrup,who will be starting a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at the University of Washington, and Andrew Roberts, who graduated from Columbia Business School. Andrew will be returning home in order to pursue a career dealing hand sanitizer, masks, and toilet paper with dreams of becoming Miami’s newest kingpin!

—George Helding, 1216 W. Addison St., Apt. 2, Chicago, IL 60613; georgehelding92@gmail.com