Class Note 1987. As I write this, I have just returned from a trip to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, to attend the wonderful fifth annual Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association summer gathering. Our class was well represented, and I was excited to reconnect with Tracey Salmon-Smith, Tim Parker, Peter Murane, Anne Kubik, Crystal Crawford, and Hermann Mazard.
I recently caught up with my freshman-year roommate and BFF Ann (Suchoza) McDonough. Ann has spent the last 12 years living in Stratham, New Hampshire, and pursuing her dream career in teaching. After several years in special education teaching literacy intervention, three years ago she returned to the regular education classroom to teach eighth-grade English language arts. As an indication of what a “literature nerd” Ann is, at her suggestion we met up at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, to see the exhibit Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick. It was quite quirky! In her free time, Ann travels to Florida to visit her daughter, El, who is pursuing a career in tourism. Ann’s master plan is to join El in Florida when she eventually retires, as she is pretty done with shoveling out from New England snowstorms.
Exciting news of Drew Desky has also found its way to me. Drew continues to have great success with Drew & Dane Productions, the theater, web series, and film production company he cofounded with his husband, Dane Levens. Drew & Dane recently announced it will be leading the development of Mr. Holland’s Opus, a musical adaptation of the 1995 Oscar-nominated film. The company is also producing the new Broadway musical Just in Time, starring Jonathan Groff, as well as the Tony-nominated revival of Gypsy, starring Audra McDonald.
I have some additional updates to share from our class mini-reunion in Boston in May. Bill Davenport is living in Worcester, Massachusetts, with his wife of 32 years, Shelagh, three adult children, and four dogs (rescues), which, he says, poses a nightly challenge in getting a good couch spot for 90 Day Fiancé or Married at First Sight. Bill is currently building a startup in the proxy voting space called proxyanalyst.com. His goal is to develop a service to help other retail investors become better informed and more engaged regarding proxy votes.
Kathleen Joyce currently spends half of the year in Gainesville, Florida, with her partner, who is a professor in the college of health and human performance at the University of Florida. The other half of the year she is in West Hyannisport, Massachusetts, spending time with her huge family and great friends. Kathleen is very much enjoying running Alta Properties, the real estate investment company she started 18 years ago. Daughter Anna started her doctorate in clinical psychology in D.C. in August, and son John is in N.Y.C. following in Kathleen’s footsteps in the commercial real estate world.
—Lisa Snyder, 430 Ward St., Newton, MA 02459; dartmouth87classnews@gmail.com