Class Note 1991
Issue
March - April 2026
Class Note 1991. Greetings, ’91s.
I, Sara Burbine, am filling in this month with news from my fall trips to Hanover. I once again made the trek to Homecoming, my 37th by my count (I have missed only two since arriving on campus in 1987). I was joined in the annual Dartmouth Night parade by a small but mighty group of 1991s: Joe Bachman, Geoff and Kristy (Patterson) Bronner, Vincent Carter, Joo Choi, Jeff Spencer, John Sun, and Greg Tamkin. I also saw Brook Seeley on campus that night. The bonfire was canceled this year because of the extreme dry conditions in northern New England, replaced by a light show and DJ in the center of the Green. The ’29s seemed to enjoy it, but it just wasn’t the same. Insert “back in my day” comment here.
The following weekend I was back in Hanover for the Dartmouth Arts Weekend Celebration, commemorating the reopening of the Hopkins Center for the Arts after the $124-million renovation. Class of ’91s played a major role in the weekend’s festivities, with most of the members of the board of trustees in attendance. Jake Tapper moderated a fireside chat with Shonda Rhimes and Mindy Kaling ’01. Unfortunately, that event was oversubscribed, so I ended up watching from the overflow space in another building.
I chatted with classmates Jeff Blackburn andAnne Fleischli Blackburn at a reception celebrating the rejuvenated Top of the Hop. Jeff and Anne made the lead gift to renovate the space and the results are incredible. Personally, I have many fond memories of studying there in one of the comfy chairs while looking out over the Green and listening to piano music performed by a random student who happened to sit down at the instrument. Be sure to check it out the next time you’re on campus; there is now a bar that will serve coffee during the day and beer, wine, and mocktails at night.
Tricia Paik was also in town for the celebration, and she and I had a chance to catch up while walking the perimeter of the Green. Naturally, we took a selfie with Baker Tower in the background. Tricia is the director of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, a position she has held since 2016. In the small world department, my brother is the director of Mount Holyoke’s observatory, so he and Tricia know each other. It’s a little weird when your worlds collide.
In personal news, after 30 years working in financial services, I retired in 2024. Since my husband and I were no longer working, we decided to move out of high-paced Fairfield County, Connecticut, and relocate to lovely Niantic, located in the southeast corner of the state. Retirement is awesome—I highly recommend it.
Please send in your updates! Have you gone on any Dartmouth alumni trips or traveled with or to visit fellow ’91s? We want to hear about it!
—Tracey Cushing Gilliam, P.O. Box 131, Manchester, VT 05254; (917) 951-1472; tragilliam1@gmail.com
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More of 1991 Class Notes
I, Sara Burbine, am filling in this month with news from my fall trips to Hanover. I once again made the trek to Homecoming, my 37th by my count (I have missed only two since arriving on campus in 1987). I was joined in the annual Dartmouth Night parade by a small but mighty group of 1991s: Joe Bachman, Geoff and Kristy (Patterson) Bronner, Vincent Carter, Joo Choi, Jeff Spencer, John Sun, and Greg Tamkin. I also saw Brook Seeley on campus that night. The bonfire was canceled this year because of the extreme dry conditions in northern New England, replaced by a light show and DJ in the center of the Green. The ’29s seemed to enjoy it, but it just wasn’t the same. Insert “back in my day” comment here.
The following weekend I was back in Hanover for the Dartmouth Arts Weekend Celebration, commemorating the reopening of the Hopkins Center for the Arts after the $124-million renovation. Class of ’91s played a major role in the weekend’s festivities, with most of the members of the board of trustees in attendance. Jake Tapper moderated a fireside chat with Shonda Rhimes and Mindy Kaling ’01. Unfortunately, that event was oversubscribed, so I ended up watching from the overflow space in another building.
I chatted with classmates Jeff Blackburn andAnne Fleischli Blackburn at a reception celebrating the rejuvenated Top of the Hop. Jeff and Anne made the lead gift to renovate the space and the results are incredible. Personally, I have many fond memories of studying there in one of the comfy chairs while looking out over the Green and listening to piano music performed by a random student who happened to sit down at the instrument. Be sure to check it out the next time you’re on campus; there is now a bar that will serve coffee during the day and beer, wine, and mocktails at night.
Tricia Paik was also in town for the celebration, and she and I had a chance to catch up while walking the perimeter of the Green. Naturally, we took a selfie with Baker Tower in the background. Tricia is the director of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, a position she has held since 2016. In the small world department, my brother is the director of Mount Holyoke’s observatory, so he and Tricia know each other. It’s a little weird when your worlds collide.
In personal news, after 30 years working in financial services, I retired in 2024. Since my husband and I were no longer working, we decided to move out of high-paced Fairfield County, Connecticut, and relocate to lovely Niantic, located in the southeast corner of the state. Retirement is awesome—I highly recommend it.
Please send in your updates! Have you gone on any Dartmouth alumni trips or traveled with or to visit fellow ’91s? We want to hear about it!
—Tracey Cushing Gilliam, P.O. Box 131, Manchester, VT 05254; (917) 951-1472; tragilliam1@gmail.com