Class Note 2024. Kieran Norton recently opted for a big change of scenery, moving from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Houston, Texas. In Houston, Kieran has reunited with Nick Hepburn, who moved there earlier this year. After living together in Hanover while earning their master’s from the Thayer School of Engineering, the two amigos are excited to be housemates again at a new bungalow.
Following his graduation from Thayer in the spring of ’25, Kieran promptly left Hanover, inspired by his commercial fishing roots on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to work as a deckhand on a Bristol Bay gillnetting boat. Fed by a network of large river systems in Western Alaska, Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon run. After a banner season on the boat, the FV Salvation, he left for the state’s interior to start a fellowship at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Kieran spent the winter working on energy-efficiency projects and learning the art of Nordic skiing.
Now in Texas, he’s trading the Arctic winter for humid Gulf Coast summers! He has started a new role at Fervo Energy, a company advancing a new style of geothermal power production. He has enjoyed spreading his wings to new areas of the country.
In August, Aspen Anderson—now Aspen Kugel—married Max Kugel in Morrison, Colorado, surrounded by their closest family and friends.
“Max and I met before college while camping in Wyoming and spent much of our relationship long distance while I was at Dartmouth and he was at Colorado School of Mines. Throughout college, even while long distance, we always made an effort to show up for each other’s important moments, including Max traveling to cheer me on at my soccer games. We chose to have our wedding at Woodlands in Morrison for its beautiful mountain setting and because it felt so ‘us.’ Colorado is where Max and I grew up and has played such a meaningful role in our relationship.
“Celebrating this next chapter together was incredibly special, and we were so grateful that several Dartmouth friends traveled to celebrate with us! Having so many people from that chapter of my life—including friends, former teammates, and former roommates (shoutout to ‘Chateau’)—with us in Colorado felt like a full-circle moment. Among all the memories from the day, one of my favorites was our first dance to the song ‘Beneath Oak Trees’ by Dylan Gossett. Anyone who knows us knows how much we love to dance, so getting to share that moment as newlyweds felt especially fitting and made it even more special.”
“We now live in Columbus, Ohio, where I work as a marketing associate at i2G Systems, a growing security integration company, and Max works as a senior manufacturing quality engineer at Honda.”
—Kristin Chapman, 664 Seminole Ave. NE, Apt. 249, Atlanta, GA 30307; (914) 525-9523; kristinjc@icloud.com