Class Note 1996. Recent months have seen many ’96s reconnecting in places far and wide—sometimes unexpectedly! Kristen Calcagni Johnson advised keeping “eyes open since you never know when you’ll bump into a ‘96!” While skiing at Sugarbush in Vermont for the first time in 20 years, she thought she recognized a familiar face; after a double take, she yelled out “B.J.?” only to be returned with a “Kristen?” What followed was an impromptu mini-reunion at the base of Lincoln Peak with Brendan “B.J.” Grattan! Quite serendipitously, Kristen also thought she recognized a face in a car driving down the road near her home. Again, a quick double take revealed it was Brian BarryandKristin Pierce Barry!
I experienced my own unexpected ’96 moment in the closing days of February, when Holly (Weaver) Johnson and I randomly found ourselves in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at the exact same time; Holly and husband Lloyd Johnson ’93 were visiting their son for a University of Alabama fraternity parent weekend, while my wife and I just happened to be at our daughter’s sorority parent weekend.
Another impromptu ’96 reunion occurred in February at the Long Island, New York, home of Sonia Novoa Frantz’s in-laws. Sonia and husband Greg Frantz enjoyed quality time at the gathering with her “awesome brother-in-law” Derik Davis (husband to Sonia’s sister Rosalba). When ’96s are literally family every gathering is a mini-reunion, and they celebrated again at Sonia and Greg’s son’s bar mitzvah in March.
On her own literal journey of ’96 reconnection late last year was Rebecca (Oettinger) Feder, after she and husband Russ dropped their youngest son off at college. She had a once-in-a-lifetime trip across Peru thanks to freshman-year roommate Daphne Monie (who sought her out as a travel partner); spent an afternoon catching up with Trudy Muller in San Francisco; found quality time (and a long hike) staying with Tyler NewbyandLaurel (Smith) Newby and family; enjoyed a laugh and story-filled dinner with dear friend MichaelStrahs; visited Brian Hill and wife Melissa in Cleveland; stayed with Jessica Neyman and partner Jeff Johnson in Houston; and grabbed dinner in Houston with Chris Langan (in-town mentor to her son at school there). Lastly, she had a Halloween “overnight” with Soraya (O’Brien) Jollon and daughter, who were on an East Coast college tour. In Rebecca’s words, “My cup is full. Go Big Green!”
Seeking ’96 reconnection after a big life change was Tim Chow, who relocated from his longtime home in the Hamptons to sunny Miami. “When my Hamptons house first went into contract, I was feeling nervous and unsettled.” But some special friends immediately started planning a visit to help transform his anxiety into excitement. Hadley Mullin, Dan Kalafatas, and Doug Asano and wife Alexi came to Tim’s rescue and celebrated his new life in Florida. Not long thereafter Tim met up with local couple Gwyn Prentice and Andy Atterbury; though it had been 20 years since they last saw each other, from “the first smiles and hugs it was like no time had passed at all.” Lastly, Tim and Meghan Smith Harrison met up in Miami to celebrate her birthday in late March.
Koraly Perez-Edgar, professor of child studies, said she had a “fantastic time” rejoining Aliza (Waksal) Pressman on her Raising Good Humans podcast. In this second episode together, the child development specialists focused on the role temperament can play in shaping the parent-child relationship.
Sending kudos to Louis Chang, voted a “Top Doctor” by Baltimore Magazine alongside his “incredible [neurosurgery] colleagues” at Johns Hopkins Medicine, and to Josh Dines, orthopedic surgeon with the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York for the past 19 years, for his 12th straight year on the Castle Connolly “Top Doctor List,” representing the top 7 percent of all practicing physicians, embodying excellence in clinical care as well as interpersonal skills.
—Garrett Gil de Rubio, 1062 Middlebrooke Drive, Canton, GA 30115; ggdr@alum.dartmouth.org