Ekene Okonkwoaguolu is seeking the help of the Dartmouth community. After carving out a promising future for himself, he is now on dialysis due to Alport’s syndrome. This autoimmune disease rapidly deteriorates kidney function. With a seven-year waiting time for a deceased donor, Ekene faces a dire situation where his body may not hold out for the organ he desperately needs.

Ekene is seeking a living kidney donor, someone willing to give the gift of life and hope. A living donation carries numerous advantages, including the ability to proceed quickly, higher survival rates for the recipient, and a safe, minimally invasive surgical procedure for the donor. Rigorous medical testing ensures the donor’s fitness and overall health for the donation, and all related medical expenses, travel, and time lost at work are covered.

Ekene and his family ask the Dartmouth community to share his story and, if possible, explore the possibility of becoming a living kidney donor. More information can be found on the “Ekene Needs a Kidney” page on Facebook.

Joby Bernstein is running for U.S. Congress to represent California’s 16th District. This district includes parts of the South Bay region of northern California, including Palo Alto, Mountain View, and parts of San Jose. Joby is running his campaign while pursuing a joint M.B.A. and master’s in climate science at Stanford.

Joby decided to run because he realized government policies need the most work to tackle climate change quickly. He explored climate investing but concluded that investing was not moving the needle fast enough.

Joby feels his platform will particularly resonate with constituents of his district. Even though his district is one of the most climate-interested in the whole country, the other candidates are not strong advocates for solving climate change. Joby’s other priorities are improving America’s education and immigration systems.

Joby has experience with politics. He spent freshman summer in Washington, D.C., as part of the Rockefeller Center first-year fellows program. He also volunteered in state policy while living in Utah and San Francisco. At this point Joby is campaigning full time and has a full campaign staff. California will hold a “jungle” primary on March 5, when all candidates will be on the ballot and the top two candidates will move on to the general election. Joby welcomes your help. Reach out to him via his website if you would like to share your support.

In terms of lighter Dartmouth interests, Joby happened to be my freshman year roommate in the Fahey dorm. Looking back on Dartmouth, Joby misses the friends, swim team, DOC and outdoor activities, and academic opportunities. Joby also caught up with our freshman floormate Spencer Blair in Budapest.

Eric Chen, 24036 Wintergreen Circle, Novi, MI 48374; echen027@gmail.com

Emma Hartswick and Dan Finch got married this past June with many fellow ’17s in attendance. Emma graduated from Harvard Medical School this year and has begun her residency in pediatric medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital on the leadership in equity and advocacy track. In the past few years Emma has also been involved with community development initiatives such as advocating for affordable housing and protections for people experiencing homelessness. Dan graduated from Tufts Medical School and Heller School of Business with an M.D./M.B.A. plus multiple research awards. He is now a resident in orthopedic surgery at Tufts.

Mercedes de Guardiola recently published a book, Vermont for the Vermonters: The History of Eugenics in Vermont, based on research she began during Sophomore Summer. After turning that work into her senior thesis, she published her first article with the Vermont Historical Society and later testified in front of the state legislature. Arriving full circle, Mercedes gave a talk at Dartmouth this past October. Eugenics is the pseudo-scientific field of selective human breeding that rose to prominence at the turn of the 20th century in Great Britain, was enacted in various forms by the majority of American states, and became the foundation of Nazi Germany—with Nazis modeling laws and policies based on what succeeded in America and elsewhere.

The book examines how failing systems of healthcare and public welfare, coupled with preexisting beliefs on human worth, exploded into support for eugenics at the turn of the 20th century and led to state-supported policies of family separation, sterilization, and institutionalization.

Professionally, Mercedes is a communications manager at Luminary Labs, a strategy and innovation firm in New York City. She helps develop and run open innovation programs for government clients and private foundations on topics such as Lyme disease diagnostics, geomagnetic data collection, and vaccine innovation.

Mercedes also volunteers for the New York Junior League, where she oversees the large-scale restoration and on-demand volunteer programs. Previously, she chaired the Playground Improvement Project, overseeing the restoration of St. Nicholas Park and Seward Park. She loves living in New York City and feels fulfilled in giving back to the community.

Reflecting on Dartmouth, Mercedes is most grateful for the caring and inspiring professors that pushed her to explore her interests. Dartmouth also instilled that learning is a lifelong pursuit. Mercedes’s favorite memories at Dartmouth were a sunrise hike to the tower during senior fall and the class bonding during Sophomore Summer.

Eric Chen, 24036 Wintergreen Circle, Novi, MI 48374; echen027@gmail.com

Since graduation Richard Shen has been living across the pond. Rich spent the first two years after graduation at the University of Cambridge studying machine learning and machine intelligence. His master’s program continued his passion in machine learning, which he initially explored at Dartmouth.

After graduating from the University of Cambridge, Rich began working in London to tackle the problem of driverless vehicles. He enjoys the technical and complex nature of the work, and he is optimistic that driverless technology will break through in the roughly 10-year timeframe.

Overall, Rich enjoys living in England. He has been comfortable living abroad because he found a nice community of friends through his work. His coworkers often hang out outside of work, possibly because many of them are expats as well. Rich also described a form of detachment being abroad because he is less directly tied into the pressures and comparisons that might arise when living in the United States.

Rich is grateful for the opportunity to live abroad. By experiencing a new culture, he has a new perspective on what can be considered normal or not normal. Rich particularly appreciates the Brits’ emphasis on free time and leisure. Compared to the United States, he feels a slower pace of life and more appreciation of craftsmanship. Rich also felt that moving abroad was a form of starting over since he did not know anyone in the United Kingdom before he moved.

Rich experienced the outburst of the Covid pandemic while in London. The United Kingdom was strict about Covid lockdowns in the initial six months but became less strict through time. It was during Covid that Rich became close with his community of friends, since others were likewise seeking community during those uncertain times.

When reflecting on Dartmouth, Rich most appreciates the friends he made in Hanover. His fondest memory was of staying in a cabin by the river just before graduation. At the cabin Rich and his friends chatted around a campfire and reflected on their time at Dartmouth. Rich is grateful that he and his friends took that moment to sit back amid that period of transition.

Eric Chen, 24036 Wintergreen Circle, Novi, MI 48374; echen027@gmail.com

Niranjan Ramanand recently went on a trip to Argentina. After graduation Niranjan considered the premedical track but veered toward writing software. He’s been living in Falls Church, Virginia, where he has a close community of friends.

Charley Ren recently moved to New York City. Charley enjoys the New York food scene compared to past places he has lived. Charley has been improving his cooking skills, and he also started playing volleyball. A few months ago Charley made a trip to Shanghai, China, to see his family. He felt sick and jetlagged after that trip, so he has been putting more attention on rest and well-being.

John Martin moved to Atlanta to teach computer science at Georgia State University. He says that, in certain ways, teaching is both more demanding and more rewarding than software engineering. John continues to enjoy playing volleyball, at the expense of his knees and shoulders. John is currently taking a sabbatical from teaching, and he has been learning about machine learning in his free time. A highlight during his time in Atlanta was reaching a sugar-induced euphoria at the Coca-Cola museum.

Matthew Jin recently bought a home in Fall City, Washington. Having grown up in Hanover, Matthew appreciates the relative ruralness of Fall City. Matthew enjoys the pleasures of home ownership, including a community-wide legal dispute with the homebuilder over sewage allocation.

Eric Chen, 24036 Wintergreen Circle, Novi, MI 48374; echen027@gmail.com

In January Mackenzie Carlson completed her Ph.D. in bioengineering at Stanford University. She took a celebratory vacation in Italy with her family and is excited to stay at Stanford Medicine as a postdoc in the department of neurology.

Noah Manning and Angela Cai were married recently, after meeting way back in their “Writing 5” course. Several ’17s attended their wedding, including Sam Libby, Ariel Klein, Katelyn Pan, Alexandra Minsk, and Jane Cai ’13 (sister of the bride).

Lastly, Ian Speers and Robert Halvorsen have founded a company together, Pacto Medical. Pacto Medical is introducing a compact syringe that lowers shipping and storage costs and reduces the environmental impact of single-use syringes.

The duo met during freshman year when they were living in French Hall in the River Cluster.

Ian received inspiration for Pacto Medical during a fellowship with Americares, a nongovernmental organization focused on disaster relief in Africa and the Middle East. During his fellowship Ian saw the challenges related to logistics and healthcare in low-resource rural settings. Specifically, he noticed supply-chain challenges were compounded by poor design.

At Dartmouth Ian was an anthropology and psychology double major. He was involved with the Dartmouth Coalition for Global Health, Medlife, the Dickey Center, and Dartmouth EMS. He also worked part time as an emergency medical technician in an ambulance in Vermont.

After Americares Ian received an M.P.H. at Harvard. During his graduate studies Ian had access to resources that enabled him to start Pacto Medical.

At Dartmouth Robert was involved with Frisbee, the Dartmouth Entrepreneurship Network, and the Digital Applied Learning and Innovation (DALI) lab. After graduation he received a master’s in human-centered design from Carnegie Mellon. He then worked in engineering consulting, then at Amazon, bringing consumer products to markets. Robert’s engineering training at Thayer gave him an interest in physical product design, which led him to partner with Ian on pre-filled syringes.

If you are interested in compact syringes or would like to catch up generally, Ian and Robert invite you to visit the Pacto Medical website and reach out!

Eric Chen, 24036 Wintergreen Circle, Novi, MI 48374; echen027@gmail.com

Greetings, ’17s.

I am Eric Chen. I am taking over for Dorian Allen as class secretary. Thanks to Dorian for the hard work and precedent he set in this role.

The goal of the Class Notes is to highlight what ’17s are up to. If you are interested in catching up, please contact me at echen027@gmail.com.

Today’s edition features some Fahey 2 freshman floormates: myself, Tim Tadros, and Julian Bonorris.

I’ll start with reflection from myself. After graduation I worked in consulting in New York City. During those two years many of my closest friends in New York were Fahey 2 floormates, including Kathy Li and Susana Kwon. I also ran into Ana Ramirez in Brooklyn once and I visited Josh Tseng-Tham and Spencer Blair in Boston.

Desiring a change in scenery, I moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, to work at a logistics startup. I spent the first six months in Jakarta learning about Southeast Asia, trucking, and frequenting futsal and 11-v-11 soccer.

When Covid began I chose to stay in Indonesia and work remotely. I motorbiked around the Indonesian archipelago chasing surf. Prior to Covid, I tore my ACL playing futsal, so I eventually returned to the United States for surgery.

While in Asia I visited some members of my computer science culminating project team: Edrei Chua in his hometown of Singapore; Chi Pham in her hometown of Hanoi, Vietnam; and Junmo Kim in his hometown of Daegu, Korea.

After returning to the United States I lived in Dana Point, California for the beaches and surf. Now I am living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, near my hometown of Novi, while I figure out what is next.

Currently I am in El Salvador with my Fahey 2 floormate, Tim Tadros.

At Dartmouth Tim was a philosophy and computer science double major. His favorite place on campus was the river and he also enjoyed playing basketball and hiking. Highlights included hiking “The Fifty” and leading a preorientation trip.

After graduation Tim pursued a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of San Diego. His Ph.D. thesis was titled “Sleeping Networks: A Computational Model and Algorithm for the Role of Sleep in Learning and Memory.”

While in San Diego, Tim learned to surf, visited Mexico, and played basketball (but rest assured, he still can’t dunk). Growing up in Kansas (“Rock Chalk, Jayhawk”), Tim found relief in the beaches and weather of San Diego.

After completing his Ph.D. Tim took the summer off to travel. He studied Arabic during graduate school and used that knowledge during a trip to Egypt and East Africa. On that trip he hiked Kilimanjaro, attended safari, and surfed in Tanzania.

Currently, Tim lives in San Francisco and works as a data scientist at Lyft. He chose to work in industry over academia because he could work on similarly interesting problems with higher likelihood of impacting the world. At Lyft Tim works on mapping algorithms.

In San Francisco Tim lives in the NoPa neighborhood. He enjoys biking through the hills and completing the daily crossword on his bus commute to work.

Tim and I also called our Fahey 2 floormate Julian Bonorris, who is playing a poker tournament in Florida.

If you’d like to read other editions of the Class Notes, check out our website. And we’re always posting fun things on Instagram and Facebook! If you are interested in catching up, please contact me at echen027@gmail.com.

Eric Chen, 24036 Wintergreen Circle, Novi, MI 438374; echen027@gmail.com

Haley Reicher recently published a new book, The Lodge: Celebrating a Century of Dartmouth College on Mount Moosilauke, with coauthor and classmate Olivia Powell. Chachi Riesco, Molly McBride ’14, and Regina Yan ’19 contributed original artwork. The book is available for purchase online and in person at Still North Books in Hanover or in person at the Lodge starting in spring!

In 2022 Haley also started a master’s program at the University of Pennsylvania toward her nurse practitioner and midwifery licenses. She now lives in Philadelphia with boyfriend Anka Tezcan ’15 and friend Amy Ren ’15 and is excited to explore her new city!

After graduation Olivia was finally able to fulfill one of her Dartmouth dreams: working the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. With a crew of mostly fellows ’17s (hello, Chachi Riesco, Kristina Heggedal, Doug Phipps, and Eliza Rockefeller!), she spent fall 2017 helping to break in the newly renovated building. Although their season was cut short by a wicked Halloween storm, Olivia maintains that her time on Moosilauke was one of the best experiences of her life. So when she learned that Haley was writing about the lodge, Olivia was excited to reach out.

As a writer and artist, Olivia had been freelancing as an editor, documentary producer, videographer, and more. In 2018 she moved to London to earn her master’s in digital storytelling, combining her passions for writing, storytelling, and immersive design. In London she staged a prototype performance of With words that don’t exist, a virtual reality theater musical piece she later workshopped with Liza Couser at the 2021 VoxLab.

Covid-19 brought Olivia back to the States and shortly after returning she and Haley connected about the lodge book. During the next couple of years they worked together to bring across the finish line the immense amount of work Haley had done interviewing, researching, and writing. Meanwhile, Olivia became a collaborator with the digital storytelling lab at Columbia University, continuing the experimental storytelling work of her master’s. Today she lives near Boston with her pup Lupin and continues to work with both the lab and Liza.

Tara Simmons, 441 East 12th St., Apt. 3G, New York, NY 10009; tsims2612@gmail.com

And just like that, my tenure as the secretary for the class of 2017 has come to a close. Every month I request recommendations for who to feature in the Class Notes. For my last edition, I am highlighting the individual who you nominated the most frequently: Dorian Allen, me! I know it may come across as narcissistic, but I’m giving the people what they want!

Since graduation I have moved a lot; it’s been chaotic, but I have consistently had an amazing community of Dartmouth alums to support me.

In Minneapolis, 2017-19: Two weeks before I was supposed to start working at Unilever in my home state of New Jersey, my boss told me he needed me to backfill a role in Minneapolis. The move was scary, but I learned so much from it. I learned how to use Excel, manage up, and navigate the skyway. Although Minneapolis felt new, I benefited from the familiarity and comfort of the Dartmouth community. Heather Lucas (née Laedtke) was my “Minneapolis mom”; she introduced me to new people and took me to new places such as the North Shore with Maddie Wall ’16 and Rebecca Butler ’15.

In New York City, 2019-20: After a year and half in Minneapolis, I moved back east to work at a tech startup, Collibra. Being closer to home was refreshing, but I was better equipped to thrive in New York because of the independence, resilience, and social skills I developed in Minneapolis.

All my highlights in New York involve the Dartmouth community. I landed my job by cold-calling Michelle Rosen ’00; she connected me to recruiters, and after I began working, she consistently stopped by my desk to check in. Other highlights include hosting my housewarming party, where I was reunited with George Neidermayer, Graham Rigby, and Kim Son, and celebrating Jack Long’s achievements at the Tribeca Film and TV festival. I also had numerous unforgettable dinners with Amy Sun, Timo Vaimann, Maddie Dunn, Dave Harmon, and Jorge Siwady.

In Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, 2020-21: When the pandemic began, I moved into my family’s home in Martha’s Vineyard…but without my family. I spent more than a year working remotely and house-sitting for my parents. During this time I learned how to cook (my specialty is a figgy balsamic pork chop), discovered hidden gems on the island, and watched every franchise of Real Housewives. Although I was essentially alone on a deserted island, I never felt lonely. I frequently facetimed Liz Klein and had visitors, such as Kira Farris, Joby Bernstein, Dave Harmon, Regan Plekenpol, and Graham Rigby.

In Lyon, France, 2021-22: Last fall I took a risk, left my corporate job, and became an English teacher in France. I taught classes at a professional high school that focuses on food and hospitality. I had to master a foreign language, learn about French gastronomy, and command the attention of 200 teenagers who think (know) they’re cooler than me. Again, many Dartmouth people supported me. I am grateful for my rocks Kira Farris and Liz Klein, who I spoke to nearly every day, and for Dave Harmon and Taylor Yamahata ’18, who took multiple flights to reach my small city.

Now, as I sit in my studio apartment in Lyon, I can’t help but wonder, where would I be without my ’17s? You picked me up when I was down and cheered for me when I succeeded. Thank you for inspiring and supporting me with every step I have taken since graduation.

Dorian J. Allen, 3 Rue Jacquard, 3ième étage, Lyon, France 69004; dorallen@comcast.net

Let’s give it up to Apoorva Dixit, who has been booked and busy this past year, starting and growing a podcast, attending law school, and so much more.

Apoorva launched They Knew Which Way to Run, a podcast on the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. Apoorva was born on Bhopali soil scarred by methyl isocyanate—a poison leaked by an American factory that killed 10,000. Yet, the first time she heard of the tragedy was sitting in a social studies class 8,000 miles away in Memphis, Tennessee. Motivated to understand why, she returned to Bhopal as a Fulbright scholar. She spent nine months with gas survivors of every religion, class, and caste to understand what it means to survive a disaster. Each disaster creates a new class of inequities, and time erases evidence of the violence that caused them.

Apoorva says that building this podcast required arduous research, complex storytelling, and emotional resilience. Creating the podcast has helped her heal and process her time in India and her birthtown’s legacy. She’s thankful for her great friends who helped make the art, music, and website to accompany the podcast, such as Amy Zhang, who made the podcast logo.

Listen to They Knew Which Way to Run wherever you get your podcasts or on theyknewwhichwaytorun.com. Apoorva releases episodes every three weeks. If you get a chance to listen to the podcast, reach out to Apoorva! She loves hearing about people’s different responses to the podcast!

As if building They Knew Which Way to Run wasn’t enough work already, Apoorva is also a J.D. candidate at Duke University School of Law. She’s interested in pursuing civil rights work after law school and this summer she will intern at the Boston public defender’s office.

Next, congratulations to Ellen Kim and Pat Xu, who tied the knot in April! We love a Dartmouth love story!

Ellen and Pat met during a freshman mixer at the Choates and became fast friends. During the next few years they got to know each other through walks around Dartmouth’s golf course, rock climbing at Rumney, and takeout from Tuk Tuk. Although they lost touch toward the end of their time at Dartmouth, Pat visited Ellen a year after graduation and they quickly reconnected. After dating for two years, Pat proposed to Ellen back at the same golf course they stargazed at during freshman year.

Ellen and Pat got married in Dallas. The celebration had a rustic theme and one of their friends officiated the ceremony. The reception included an avocado bar and contra dance. They also had a welcome dinner at Ellen’s family home, which featured Texas BBQ, open fires, cornhole, and pong.

After the wedding, Ellen and Pat went to Spain and France for 10 days and toured the Basque and Andalusia regions. They hiked a few miles of the northern Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, marveled at the Alhambra palace in Granada, and strolled through the Mosque-Cathedral in Córdoba. They also had a delicious tasting menu in San Sebastian that included pigeon and four dessert courses.

Now Ellen and Pat are back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Ellen is working on her Ph.D. and Pat works as a software engineer. This summer they look forward to attending our five-year reunion, taking a trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, playing volleyball, and hosting and cooking for friends with the Korean BBQ grill they received as a wedding gift.

Dorian J. Allen, 3 Rue Jacquard, 3ième étage, Lyon, France 69004; dorallen@comcast.net

Teachers have had some of the most complex jobs during the pandemic, so I’m honored to celebrate Sarah Epstein! Sarah teaches government and economics at a high school in the Bronx and is the school’s social studies department chair. She loves her job, appreciates how passionate and engaged her students are, and is grateful to teach subjects that are applicable to her students’ lives.

After teaching remotely for a great period due to the Bronx’s high Covid transmission rates, Sarah is happy to be back in the classroom. Although the learning and teaching conditions are much better, she recognizes that both the students and staff are working through the trauma of Covid. She asserts that this year has required a lot of empathy. Sarah says that teachers, “often feel like counselors more so than teachers because of the constant need to be a strong support system for students. Building relationships with the students is the best part of the job, but the challenges of the last two years have made teaching really draining. Everyone is balancing classroom teaching, administrative responsibilities, being there for students, communicating with parents, trying to keep everyone safe with Covid precautions, and continuing to work in high-risk environments.”

Let’s give it up to Sarah for persisting throughout the pandemic and supporting the minds, well-being, and safety of our youth. We appreciate you, Sarah! When Sarah is not teaching, she likes to Peloton and kickbox, cook new recipes, and take walks in Central Park. She also spends ample time with fellow ’17s, Emily Castle, Gabby O’Donoghue, Sam Guiry, and Josh Pearl in the city.

A few hundred miles to the west, we have the magnificent Milwaukee Moriah Morton! Moriah moved to Milwaukee in 2018, and she loves it there. Since Moriah grew up in Lebanon, New Hampshire, the small city life suits her well. Moriah earned a spot on Milwaukee’s semi-professional basketball team and played with the team for two years. She coaches basketball for the Milwaukee School of Engineering and since Milwaukee has a rich basketball community, she still plays from time to time. Life as an athlete doesn’t have to end after college! Additionally, Moriah and her husband, Ben, have started a lovely life together in Milwaukee. The couple had an intimate garden wedding last summer with their immediate family. They welcomed their daughter, Vera Genesee Hebl, on April 14, 2021. Moriah says that parenthood has enriched and changed her life. Moriah and Ben also operate a bar in Milwaukee’s beer district near the Fiserv Forum. Moriah runs marketing, social media, and graphic design for the bar. She is thankful that Dartmouth’s studio art program was multidimensional because her education enables her to handle many areas as a small business owner. Shout-out to Moriah for being an outstanding mom, wife, entrepreneur, athlete, alum, and so much more!

Last but not least, congratulations to Ashley Sissell, who earned her master’s in biological and environmental engineering from Cornell! After graduating in December 2021, Ashley moved to Virginia to work as a project engineer for Wetland Studies and Solutions. Her colleagues have been wonderful and many of them graduated from the same Cornell program, so they have similar experiences and deep passions for environmental restoration and nature-inspired civil infrastructure design. Even when she is not at work, Ashley expresses her love for plants! She has an indoor garden and experiments with some new challenging plants. She also enjoys exploring nearby state and local parks, then finding post-hike local vineyards and wineries and breweries.

Dorian J. Allen, 3 Rue Jacquard, 3ième étage, Lyon, France 69004; dorallen2017@gmail.com

Have you heard of Superkids? Superkids is an education nonprofit based in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay, that focuses on literacy and life skills for at-risk youth in rural Paraguay. And do you know who is on the board of Superkids? The jovial Josh Perez! Josh served as a community health volunteer in the Peace Corps in Paraguay from 2018 to 2020. He lived in a rural village called Maria Antonia. During his time as a volunteer, he saw three bridges get built, potable water extended to the last 40 percent of the town, an adult soccer league form, and a municipal guitar and dance school get up and running. He also taught chemistry, physics, English, sex ed, and even Zumba.

While on a trip to Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, Josh ran into the founder of Superkids. Inspired by the organization’s mission, Josh joined as a board secretary and now he serves as the co-president. After his experiences as a teacher and community builder in Paraguay, he is thrilled to support its education system. Check out Superkids’ website to learn how you can support the organization!

The next wonderful ’17 we have is Kang-Chun “K.C.” Cheng, who has been doing some amazing photojournalism in Nairobi, Kenya. K.C. has been in Nairobi since 2018; she first went to Nairobi to visit Nekesa Masibo. This is K.C.’s first time living in a city (she grew up in New Hampshire), but she has found many communities that make Nairobi feel like home.

As an environmental photojournalist, K.C. researches, reports, writes, and photographs for her own independent stories. Using her background in ecology, she focuses on stories about community-based natural resource management and conflicts between land-use and conservation. She uses photography as a tool to aid the story-telling process and shoot in the documentary fashion.

One of K.C.’s greatest achievements so far is working with Bloomberg Markets on a piece about mangrove restoration on the Kenyan coast. She’s also enjoyed working with Mongabay, Christian Science Monitor, and Earth Island Journal. If you’re looking to get prints for your home, office, etc., check out K.C.’s work at https://kang-chun-cheng.format.com/store. Let’s support this wonderful ’17!

Last but not least, congratulations to Terren Klein for being named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in the education category. Forbes recognized Terren for his work with College Pulse, which you probably used while at Dartmouth way back when. College Pulse is the leading research and analytics company focused on today’s college students. College Pulse makes it easy to understand undergrad students. At the core of its solution is the American College Student Panel—an online community of more than half a million students from 1,500 universities in all 50 states. College Pulse’s data powers a suite of data products that provide actionable insights to different customer segments (product/marketing teams, academic researchers, and university leaders).

College Pulse has had some outstanding achievements through the years. For instance, its data has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and more. Terren’s favorite part of the job is the people he gets to work with, including Jake Gaba ’16, Carter Bastian, and Robin Jayaswal ’18 (cofounder and chief technology officer). If you work for an organization that cares about college students in any way as a source of talent, consumer group, voter, student, or really in any way, connect your marketing, research, or product teams to College Pulse.

Dorian J. Allen, 3 Rue Jacquard, 3ième étage, Lyon France 69004; dorallen2017@gmail.com

Happy New Year and happy holidays, ’17s! Can you believe it’s 2022 already? We graduated nearly five years ago! For this edition of the Class Notes, you’ll learn about two ’17s who just couldn’t get enough time in the classroom and decided to return to school recently.

First up is Sarah Guinee, who is in her second year at the University of Virginia School of Law. She has loved her experience at UVA so far and feels fortunate to have fellow ’17 Megan Ong on campus with her. Prior to law school, Sarah worked on First Amendment issues in various capacities, concentrating on issues ranging from press freedom to protest rights. She is pursuing a J.D. so she can amplify her impact on these issues as a legal advocate. During Sarah’s first year, she earned the Democracy Summer Fellowship Award, which is a grant that helps fund summer public interest work. Last summer she interned at the Brennan Center, which is a legal nonprofit aiming to strengthen American democracy. Sarah’s work focused on the relationship of national security and law enforcement to our ability to self-govern. She appreciated the opportunity to work with brilliant, like-minded people on issues she cares about deeply. In 2022 Sarah looks forward to returning to the West Coast while trying something new. In the summer she will work at both a nonprofit and a law firm in southern California. While in SoCal, she plans to spend plenty of time with her homie Morgan Finnegan, who is in her first year at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

Next we have Timo Vaimann, who is in his second year at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Timo is majoring in business analytics because numbers are cool, but his favorite course so far has been on negotiations; he hopes to use his newly acquired skills to negotiate lower rent on his future apartment when he moves to San Francisco with Amy Sun after business school. Although he loves Wharton and enjoys not having to attend 6 a.m. practice before a full day of classes (Timo was on the varsity swim team at Dartmouth), Timo affirms that Dartmouth is superior to Penn! He can feel lost on campus without “Foco” and the plethora of chocolate chip cookies. Luckily, our class is represented heavily at Wharton; the Big Green GroupMe is poppin’ and he frequently spends time with classmates Jared Tagen, Sarah Han, and Kevin Zhang. In 2022 Timo looks forward to our five-year reunion.

This past summer Timo moved to California to intern at the Duckhorn Portfolio, one of North America’s largest luxury wine producers. The company is headquartered in Napa Valley and produces a portfolio of premium wines. Duckhorn loves duck puns, which inspire the names for most of its “ducklings,” or brands (Decoy, Migration, Paraduxx, Goldeneye, Canvasback, etc.). At Duckhorn Timo was part of the finance “flock,” focusing on merger and acquisition opportunities. He asserts that working for Duckhorn was an amazing experience, not only because of the perks—of which there were many, all involving wine—but also because he had opportunities to learn about wine and finance. When he was not at work, Timo enjoyed exploring the West Coast and hosting many Dartmouth friends in the wine country. Highlights include driving along Highway 1 and watching Joby Bernstein win the Trans-Tahoe relay swim with the Olympic club team.

Congrats to Sarah and Timo on all of their academic and professional feats!

Dorian J. Allen, 33 Tuckernuck Ave., Oak Bluffs, MA 02557; dorallen@comcast.net

It’s about time…it’s about time to listen to Rebecca Asoulin’s podcast, It’s About Time! In this science series Rebecca interviews experts with all sorts of backgrounds. Tune in to hear from sci-fi writer Ted Chiang, cultural critic Brittney Cooper, and composer and performer Jerome. It’s About Time appeals to just about everyone. Do you feel like you don’t have enough time? Are you at a transition point in your life? Are you interested in psychology, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, history, physics, or philosophy? If you answered yes to any of those questions, It’s About Time is perfect for you! Every episode offers tangible steps for handling challenges such as avoiding procrastination and taking time to slow down and savor meaningful moments. You can listen to It’s About Time on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Aside from being a podcast extraordinaire, Rebecca has been quite busy this past year. She worked as a producer and engagement editor for The Christian Science Monitor. She traveled for three months, including a five-week road trip from Jackson, Wyoming, to Los Angeles with Graham Rigby. This fall Rebecca is excited to move to L.A., but will only be a stone’s throw away from her hometown of Santa Monica.

Next, congratulations to Raphael Sacks, who got engaged to Josie Yalovitser ’18! Raphael popped the question while on a sunset dinner cruise in Aruba this summer. He’d like to give a special shout-out to the boat crew that set up a beautiful table with a view, brought champagne and flowers, and even arranged for the onboard singer to perform some Sinatra. Raphael and Josie met right before graduation in 2017 in the backyard of Sigma Delt; he was playing in a pong tournament and she was dying her friends’ hair in the backyard. It’s been history ever since!

Raphael and Josie have been living in Burlington, Vermont, since August 2020. Raphael and Josie love Vermont’s beautiful scenery and abundance of activities. They frequently go on sunset walks on the Lake Champlain boardwalk, hike, ski, fish, and explore the Burlington brewery scene. Last fall they adopted a bilingual Siberian Husky named Shurik; yes, you read that right—Shurik responds to commands in both English and Russian! Shurik loves the snow, so Raphael hopes to try skijoring with the pup this winter.

Dorian J. Allen, 33 Tuckernuck Ave., Oak Bluffs, MA 02557; dorallen@comcast.net

Wow! We have another entrepreneur in our class to celebrate! We’re giving a big shout-out to our very own Jacob Siwicki’s company, Siwicki Fitness!

Siwicki Fitness (siwickifitness.com) provides live virtual fitness classes three times per day, six days per week, and an on-demand program. Jacob offers high-intensity, cardio, sculpting, yoga, and strength classes. He runs his program via Zoom, so he can connect with his clients no matter where they are, inspire them, monitor their form to prevent injury, and hold people accountable with a schedule as needed. Every day there are new workouts filled with laughter, motivation, and music, so you’ll never get bored. His site also offers meal plans and great merchandise, including an adorable onesie for the babies in your life!

Jacob has been dedicated to his health for as long as he can remember. When he was just 5 years old, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, so his parents were adamant about him maintaining a proper diet and remaining active. His commitment to his health and well-being helped him become an all-star athlete; he played football at Dartmouth. After graduation he became a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor. He worked at both Equinox and Lifetime Fitness and was ranked in the top 1 percent of group fitness instructors globally, servicing more than 20,000 clients. He continues to prioritize his health so he can be the best husband to his wife and best father for his two children, Jacob and Aviana.

When the pandemic began to reach the United States, Jacob’s dedication did not falter. Gyms closing did not mean that physical and mental health should become less of a priority! He wanted to keep people moving, inspire them to remain healthy, and engage with the community. He began streaming online workouts for free and after just four months, he had hundreds of clients, so he ended up licensing his own virtual fitness company, Siwicki Fitness.

No matter what your fitness level or goals are, you should book a class or check out his workouts at siwickifitness.com or his Instagram, @siwickifitness!

Dorian J. Allen, 33 Tuckernuck Ave., Oak Bluffs, MA 02557; dorallen@comcast.net

Wow! The ’17s are making major life moves these days! So many congrats in order!

Congrats to our entrepreneur Melanie Brown. Last year Melanie and a former Boston Consulting Group colleague launched Weat, a platform where customers can buy food and home goods from the restaurants they love and trust—starting with meal kits. As indoor dining came to a halt in New York City, Melanie wanted to help small businesses generate revenue while also creating unique experiences. Weat allows restaurants to offer their delicious food through easily accessible, experiential, and high-quality restaurant meal kits. The kits even include staff-curated playlists and chef tutorials. Restaurants now have the ability to enter customers’ homes on their own terms. Weat has been crushing the game and even earned recognition from Forbes earlier this year.

Now congrats to Chris Aguemon, who has been making loads of life changes recently. In 2019 Chris moved to San Francisco to work in private equity at TPG (Texas Pacific Group) Capital. While at Dartmouth Chris participated in U.S. Army ROTC, and he continues to serve our country while balancing the demands of his private-sector job. Chris is a commander for a signal company with more than 150 people reporting to him. He enjoys this work as a commander because he can use his technical skills and train in the field with troops. This summer Chris and his group will head to the Middle East for his first deployment. He is nervous and anxious, but excited. Thank you for your service, Chris! The ’17s are grateful for and proud of you!

Another congrats goes to Yingna Wang, who completed her master’s of public health at Harvard. After graduating Dartmouth Yingna worked as an associate program coordinator at a pediatric hospital in New York City and noticed a lot of gaps in our healthcare system. She realized that if she wanted to continue working in public health, she needed to learn more about the healthcare system from policy and systems-level perspectives. In 2019 she began studying health policy at Harvard. She is particularly interested in payment systems and healthcare financing to develop equitable and effective health systems. Despite the fact that half of her program has been over Zoom, Yingna has enjoyed her experience at Harvard; she’s learned a great deal about health policy and the healthcare system and has met some wonderful classmates. One of those classmates is fellow ’17 Regan Plekenpol. When she is not in class, Yingna enjoys testing new recipes in the kitchen, reading, and listening to loud music.

And our last, but certainly not least, congratulations are for Kelsey Kittelson, who got engaged in the fall! Kelsey’s bae is a Tuck ’17 and the two met on campus during her junior winter. He popped the question in beautiful Stowe, Vermont, and even arranged for Kelsey’s friends Freya Jamison (the future maid of honor) and Zachary Shank to be there to celebrate. She and her fiancé also bought their first house in Oakland, California, and are very excited to have outdoor space, a gas stove, and an extra bathroom. True luxury! This summer Kelsey looks forward to going to Massachusetts to see her family; this will be her first time seeing her grandmother in more than a year and her grandmother’s first time seeing the ring!

Dorian J. Allen, 33 Tuckernuck Ave., Oak Bluffs, MA 02557; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

 

At the time that I was writing this edition of the Class Notes, the College was considering cutting funding for off-campus programs by roughly 45 percent. I have been thinking about my foreign study program (FSP) experience a lot recently (mainly because I have been cooped up in my childhood room for a year and am yearning for human interaction) because the 10 weeks of my FSP were such a formative time for me. I want all future Dartmouth students to have opportunities to go on off-campus programs and bond with their peers for decades and centuries to come. So I asked a few ’17s to share a few words about their experiences during their off-campus programs. Here is what they had to say.

“I basically learned French there fluently. I had taken it for six to seven years in a classroom setting up to that point and was still very shy about speaking. The sink-or-swim environment of a foreign country really helped with this and the program itself was amazing—I learned so much about Paris and food and culture. The professors did a great job taking us out on excursions and introducing us to locals (I still keep up with a friend I made this way). And it was academically rigorous, we had to spend hours in the Louvre for a project, there were presentations every week, it was a great mix of work and play,” says Ksenia Ryzhova, FSP Paris.

“The FSP I participated in was my first time to Europe. To say it was a life-changing experience would be an understatement. I learned so much about myself, my peers, and, of course, cultures different from my own. You can only learn so much at your desk in Dartmouth Hall and through your computer screens. When I studied in Paris, my French skills grew exponentially because I had to live and breathe French culture every day. My knowledge of history and art history deepened because I could see, touch, and feel the historic sites right in front of me. Ironically, when I was away from Hanover and lived in the bustling city of Paris, I had the opportunity to get to know my classmates in a smaller setting. All of us were embarking on an uncomfortable, enlightening, and beautiful journey together, allowing us to form unbreakable bonds and unforgettable memories,” says a classmate who asked to remain anonymous, FSP Paris.

Dorian J. Allen, 33 Tuckernuck Ave., Oak Bluffs, MA 02557; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Congratulations Lotanna “Lota” Ezenwa for commissioning as a second lieutenant of the U.S. Marines Corps! What an amazing accomplishment! Lota completed the officer candidates’ school at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, where he was evaluated in academics, leadership, and physical fitness. Based on Lota’s outstanding performance, the platoon commander recommended that Lota commission into the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant. In 2021 he looks forward to completing his next phase of intense training.

Lota’s experiences at Dartmouth helped intensify his interest in civic duty and joining the Marine Corps. After researching and studying the national security issues surrounding technology in “Introduction to Computer Science,” he realized that the most valuable thing he could do for the community would be to not only foster an interest in mathematics and systems science but also bring that interest to an area where it can be most usefully employed. At Dartmouth he double-majored in mathematics and engineering sciences and then finished the B.E. with a concentration in systems engineering. He was also involved in the rugby and powerlifting clubs, Sigma Nu, and Tabbard.

After graduating, Lota moved to Chicago to work at the proprietary trading firm WH Trading, LLC; his main focuses were options on corn, wheat, bitcoin, and interest-rate futures. In May 2020 he joined Bank of America as a contractor in the global market risk analytics department, where he developed applications that modeled the bank’s risk exposures under extreme market conditions. Market volatility around the time of the initial worldwide Covid-19 response created ample opportunity to test, recalibrate, and adjust those models. While in Chicago Lota has been spending time with Will Young and Kia Amirkiaee ’19. He and Will were freshman roommates in Fahey-McLane, so they do a lot of reminiscing!

Congratulations, Lota, best of luck with your next phase of training, and thank you for your service!

Dorian J. Allen, 33 Tuckernuck Ave., Oak Bluffs, MA 02557; dorian.j.allen.17@dartmouth.edu

Shout out to the outstanding Orestis Lykouropoulos, who has been living it up in Seattle. Although originally from Greece, Orestis has been living on America’s West Coast since Commencement. He works at Amazon as a software engineer on AWS Transcribe, which uses AI to recognize speech in many languages and transcribe it into text. At Dartmouth Orestis took a language processing course, which combined machine learning and linguistics, so this team has been the perfect match for his computer science skillset. Although he is a master on the computer, Orestis is not a one hit wonder; he is also a magnificent musician. He is a talented violinist and even wrote his thesis on contemporary classical composition as part of his major in music. Since being in quarantine he’s been doing a lot of reflecting on his priorities and interests, so he’s been spending time hiking, climbing, and sailing and now is getting more involved with music and musical composition again. A career in music could be on the horizon. Best of luck with everything, Mr. Jack of All Trades!

On the other side of the globe, congrats to Emmanuel Hui, whose company, Moogene, went public on the Korea Exchange! Emmanuel founded Moogene in 2016 as part of his senior fellowship with Sam Kim ’15 and Sam’s uncle. Moogene does gene editing and gene therapy, so it can do things such as genetically reverse hair loss, overcome chemotherapy resistance in colon cancer, and more. Emmanuel said that launching the company was not as glamorous as it sounds; it required lots of hard work and rejection. He did more than 300 pitches before a Korean investment bank in Silicon Valley eventually showed interest. Moogene officially went public on June 24, 2020.

After relinquishing some of his responsibilities in the company, Emmanuel took about five months off from work and moved to Hong Kong (where he grew up) to relax. He has since joined a private equity firm, Sagamore, where he serves as a biotech expert overseeing about 600 biotech companies. In his free time he likes to sail, amateur dance (he was in Sugarplum at Dartmouth), and play video games. Oh yeah…he is also the voice to a jingle on a local Hong Kong radio station!

Congrats, Emmanuel! Keep up the great work!

Dorian J. Allen, 33 Tuckernuck Ave., Oak Bluffs, MA 02557; dorallen@comcast.net

This summer the Dartmouth administration decided to cut five varsity sports: men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s swimming and diving, women’s swimming and diving, and men’s lightweight crew. The decision deeply hurt hundreds of athletes, past and present.

In this edition of the Class Notes, I am sharing the voices of some of the ’17s who participated in the affected sports. Quotes have been modified for length and clarity.

From Amy Sun, women’s swimming and diving: “My team was my family, my first friends, my shoulders to cry on, and my group hug after we crushed a workout together. It wasn’t like we had much in common, in fact many of us had nothing in common. It was the sport that brought us together, and together we became the best versions of ourselves.

“My relationship with swimming evolved dramatically during my time at Dartmouth. Freshman year I was obsessed with swimming. Senior year I was the opposite of that. But throughout my time at Dartmouth I was immensely grateful that swimming provided me with an anchor while I explored, developed other facets of my identity, and became multidimensional. As someone who has trained intensely since the age of 10 and competed at national and international levels, my sport was all I knew before college. But at Dartmouth, that’s where I learned I am so much more than my sport.”

From Jeff Lang, men’s golf: “In life, you fail. You work as a team. You look for ways to make your mark. You try to develop a strong work ethic and continuously practice to develop expertise in your chosen area, whether it be finance, fashion design, academia, or otherwise. You receive critical feedback at every turn. You build relationships.

“It’s no coincidence that all of these tenets of life are also core to sports. While playing golf at Dartmouth, I failed—a lot. I learned to work with different types of people. I learned about society and the world around me. Be respectful of everyone, check my privilege, tip my waiter or waitress, have goals, ask thoughtful questions. I built relationships —with my coach, team, alums, competitors—that will last a lifetime.

“I would argue sports are one of the greatest teachers in life. Dartmouth touts experiential learning as one of its greatest strengths, but taking measured steps to attack competitive sports, one of the greatest experiential learning tools out there, doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

From Joby Bernstein, men’s swimming and diving: “Dartmouth swimming redefined my definition of character and community. The pain I shared with my teammates in the pool made it easier for us to share our struggles outside the water. The team was my home, my confidant, and my soul. It gave me confidence to lead the team—in my lane or as a captain.

“Beyond the anger and the insult of Dartmouth’s biased and opaque decision to cut swimming, comes the real question of what Dartmouth do I really stand for. To have character and to be a part of a community requires commitment. Dartmouth made a commitment to the current 53 swimmers and divers who chose to attend Dartmouth over competing offers and scholarships. Swimmers never take this commitment lightly; despite the hours in the pool and the gym, we push to exceed expectations and become campus leaders inside and outside of the pool. We found ways to make it work. By breaking agreements and avoiding community discussions, the administration has failed to deliver the community and commitment to students it boasts about. This commitment can’t be broken in a day. We won’t stand to see it happen.”

Dorian J. Allen, 33 Kensington Terrace, Maplewood, NJ 07040; dorallen@comcast.net

Hello, ’17s! I hope you are staying safe and well! As the days start to get cooler and things move indoors, please remember to take care of yourselves, social distance, and make efforts to get your daily doses of Vitamin D!

One ’17 who has been doing a great job of social distancing, soaking up the sun, and conducting productive work is Briana Franklin. After graduation Briana moved back home to Atlanta; however, she has always had a dream of moving to the West Coast. In the fall of 2019 Briana flew out to the Bay Area to attend Afrotech, one of the largest multicultural tech conferences in the United States, and listen to the stories, engage with the Black tech community, and explore some professional opportunities. She even reconnected with some fellow Dartmouth alums such as Isaiah Matthews.

Briana’s trips and networking out West paid off and she eventually pursued an opportunity with Orangetheory Fitness in the Bay Area; however, she’s been spending the majority of her time on her own entrepreneurial venture, the Prosp(a)rity Project. Briana started this initiative as a means for equipping young Black girls and women with the tools necessary for achieving personal, professional, and financial success. Since starting this project she has had a lot of success. In just a few months she gathered more than 1,000 responses on her initial survey to collect data on Black, Native American, and people of color experiences; launched the Economic Empower Fund, a fundraiser aimed at attacking financial inequality through sources such as student debt relief and financial coaching; and brought on two codirectors, including Cori Lopez.

Keep up the great work, Briana! You’re making a real impact!

Dorian J. Allen, 33 Kensington Terrace, Maplewood, NJ 07040; dorallen@comcast.net

Hi, ’17s! I hope you have been staying safe and healthy during these unprecedented times. To brighten up your days, I’d like to share some of the things that our classmates were up to earlier in the year.

I’d like to congratulate Juli Feltrin and Shaun Sengupta on their move to Miami. Juli had been climbing up the ladder at Egon Zhender in New York, but decided to pursue her dream to earn a master’s in real estate development and urbanism at the University of Miami. She and Shaun made the move down to Florida earlier this year. Juli also has close family in the Miami area.

Shaun has always been passionate about auto racing. While in college he was an active member of Dartmouth Formula Racing and studied engineering at Thayer. When he began searching for new positions in Florida, he thought that would be an awesome opportunity to combine his passion for racing with his professional life, since Florida is home to some of the greatest NASCAR events. Shaun discovered the Concours Club, a new and category-disrupting automotive country club in the Miami area, on Forbes and Bloomberg. He took a risk and emailed the president about his interest in racing and engineering. Next thing he knew, Shaun was moving to Miami as the chief technologist for the Concours Club. His role involves business operations, IT management, and more, so his responsibilities are similar to his studies of engineering and systems integrations at Thayer.

Juli and Shaun now live in Miami Springs, which has a lot of open space, so social distancing is much easier there than it would have been back in New York. Plus, when they look out their windows, they see tall and beautiful palm trees rather than their old view of the Battery Park Tunnel. We’re wishing you two the best down in Florida!

Another trailblazing ’17 is Simone Schmid. After graduation Simone pursued her passions of social innovation and education. Simone earned a J.B. Reynolds foreign study scholarship that allowed her to teach at a small school in Kenya. This was an amazing experience for her because she taught the hardest-working and most focused students she’d ever met and they persevered despite challenging conditions. After her time in Kenya, Simone began work as an English teacher in Shenzhen, China. Living and teaching in China presented challenges, but things got easier once she could brush up on the Chinese skills she learned back in high school. Simone also found a strong community at a Protestant church that offers English services in Shenzhen. She went to weekly gatherings and Bible studies, performed in shows, and made great new friends at the church. Now that she is back in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, she can attend her church’s online sunrise services at a more reasonable hour with the time difference. Living back at home has been an adjustment, but she’s getting along well with her parents and her brother. She’s used this time to ramp up her work on the nongovernmental organization she launched with her friend; it will support education and feminine hygiene for disadvantaged youth. Depending on how things progress with Covid-19, Simone plans to begin teaching English in Madrid, Spain, this fall. Wishing you the best as well, Simone!

Dorian J. Allen, 93 15th St., Apt. 3F, Brooklyn, NY 11215; dorallen@comcast.net

Congratulations to Alexandra (Woodruff) and Josh Lange, who tied the knot last July! Alexandra and Josh won the trips lottery: Not only did they get to do the flatwater kayaking trip, but they also met their future spouses! After a terrific trip to the Grant, the two began dating during freshman fall and the rest was history! Alexandra and Josh got married at Rollins Chapel right on campus last summer and had their reception at the beautiful Woodstock Inn. There were a number of ’17s in attendance, including James Howe, who was a groomsman. Now Alexandra and Josh are each finishing up year three of their respective Ph.D. programs at the University of California, San Diego. Alexandra is earning her Ph.D. in political science and has enjoyed her recent opportunities to lead teaching sessions. Josh is studying cancer biology and is excited to finally see results in the lab.

We seem to have lots of ’17s who are continuing their studies in fun and warm places! David Klinges, a.k.a. “Nature Dave,” is pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Florida Gainesville. It’s no surprise that the guy who kept poison dart frogs in his Russell Sage dorm ended up studying tropical ecology and biological conservation in graduate school. He began the program last August and was quickly shipped out to Madagascar, where he analyzed how climate change affects the amphibian community in the Ranomafana and Mantadia national parks. Nature Dave truly had a wild time in Madagascar. He was shooting giant slingshots and lines up to 100 feet in the trees so he could climb the canopies and observe the frogs each night. When he wasn’t climbing the trees in the rainforest, Nature Dave spent time in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, and communicated with the Malagasy locals with his limited knowledge of French. Now he’s back on campus in Gainesville, where he enjoys the community because it’s inclusive and everyone values the outdoors. As much as he loves Florida right now, he looks forward to returning to Madagascar in June to continue his research.

Another world traveler making a global impact is Maieda Janjua. After being selected as a delegate for the Telenor Youth Forum to tackle global health inequalities using technology. Maieda attended the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway. Just this past fall she was in Egypt for the World Youth Forum hosted by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The conference connects people of all ages from around the world to talk about technology, entrepreneurship, the economy, and climate change in the Middle East and North Africa. She met a lot of cool people, including the founder and CEO of Orcas, an ed-tech firm that connects parents in Egypt to local trusted tutors and sitters. She became Orcas’ first product manager and continues to work on projects with the team from her new home in Boston. After returning from Egypt and moving to Boston, Maieda began a new job as a product manager at TripAdvisor. As you can tell, Maieda loves opportunities to work in product management because it is at the intersection of technology and business. When she is not working or attending hackathons, Maieda spends time hanging out with her friends in Boston, including fellow ’17 Yifan “Yvonne” Fang, who is at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and many other Dartmouth alums.

Dorian J. Allen, 93 15th St., Apt. 3F, Brooklyn, NY 11215; dorallen@comcast.net

Congratulations to Clara Wang, who began her master’s program at Peking University in Beijing, China, through the Yenching Scholars program! Clara studied government, public policy, and quantitative social sciences at Dartmouth and she wrote her honors thesis on China’s social media environment, so completing a master’s in Beijing is a wonderful opportunity. She headed out to Beijing in September and is concentrating on law and society, but she is considering a switch to economics and management. Clara hopes to do more research about China’s incredible economic development as well as its technology and education sectors. In her second semester she is taking courses related to China’s history and international development and has received funding to conduct a field study project on education reform in China.

What surprised Clara the most about her program is how it is simultaneously structured and unstructured. She can take any class at Peking University, so she is not restricted by her concentration; however, there are some mandatory courses for the Yenching program. Clara gets a nice balance of structure and flexibility, allowing her to create a curriculum catered to her needs and interests.

Outside of the classroom, Clara teaches swim lessons on the weekends through Peking University’s swim club and is on the Yenching women’s soccer team. Clara was part of R-Ladies prior to her move and is hoping to start a chapter in Beijing. When she first arrived in Beijing in the fall, she met up with a few Dartmouth alums who also participated in the Yenching Scholars program and gave great advice for navigating the city and, most importantly, the cuisine!

Keep up the great work, Clara!

Dorian J.Allen, 93 15th St., Apt. 3F, Brooklyn, NY 11215; dorallen@comcast.net

Congratulations to Alyssa Loyless, who moved out to Cambodia this fall for her Fulbright research grant! Alyssa majored in anthropology with a concentration in archaeology and geographic information systems (GIS). After Dartmouth Alyssa continued her passion for archeology; she earned her master of science in archaeological information systems at the University of York in 2019. While completing her master’s she discovered the Instagram account of Sarah Klassen ’07, who was working on archaeological studies in Cambodia. Alyssa was bold and messaged Sarah, they had great conversations, and the next thing she knew she was working with Sarah in Cambodia. Now she’s out in Sambor Prei Kuk, Cambodia, conducting an archaeological study of peripheral temple sites and landscape analyses using 3-D modeling, photogrammetry, GIS, and remote sensing. While she is in Cambodia she hopes to be able to present some of her research and partake in lectures at the Center for Khmer Studies. In addition to her intensive work, she is looking forward to traveling to the beautiful Cambodian coastline and mountain regions.

Back in the Western Hemisphere, Kristen Hinckley has been working as a researcher for the Peru Ministry of Education. During Kristen’s off term at Dartmouth she worked in Cuzco, Peru, and she knew she wanted to come back to the region after completing her studies. After graduation Kristen was a teacher in Lima, Peru; then she became a researcher at the Education Policy Project in Napo, Ecuador; and now she is back in Lima working at the ministry of education. In her current role Kristen is designing and implementing a study on early childhood education in Peru. This work has allowed her to travel all around the beautiful country to evaluate different learning environments. Although she thoroughly enjoyed her times in the lush jungle, Kristen loves her new home city of Lima because it’s a gastronomical hub and has a very diverse community. She’s made some incredible friends from work, has started playing soccer with her colleagues, and has gotten to know some of the wonderful Dartmouth alums in the area.

Dorian J. Allen, 93 15th St., Apt. 3F, Brooklyn, NY 11223; dorallen@comcast.net

Congratulations to Kaya Thomas and Theo Wilson, who tied the knot back in November 2018! Kaya and Theo got married at the Bellefield Greathouse in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was a very small ceremony with 55 guests, mainly close friends and family. Kaya and Theo now live in Oakland, California.

Back in the spring Kaya began a new role as an iOS engineer at Calm. Kaya chose Calm because she believes in the company’s product and mission. After having worked at organizations such as Apple and Slack, she enjoys working at a smaller company of fewer than 100 people. In addition to her work at Calm, Kaya continues to manage and update her app, We Read Too, which is a mobile directory of books written by authors of color and featuring characters of color. Outside of the office, Kaya has been taking ballet classes and volunteering with Black Girls Code and Hack the Hood.

Additionally, Kaya is continuing her public speaking work that she began at college, when she began giving conference talks about her experiences in the technology industry, the development of her app, mobile accessibility, programming, and more. One of her goals for 2019 was to become an international speaker, and she accomplished this by speaking at three international engineering conferences, one of which she was the opening speaker. iOSCon has already invited her to return to London as a keynote speaker for next year’s conference.

Another ’17 superstar is Trevor Knight. After graduation Trevor moved to New York City to work in sales and trading at Citi. While he enjoyed his work and colleagues, Trevor realized that he was not feeling fulfilled artistically; so he decided to leave Citi and pursue a career as a singer-songwriter. Trevor grew up around music and even sang as part of the Dartmouth Cords. Trevor performed at his first open mic night in 2018 and then started writing original music in 2019. While his first performances last year were challenging, he’s improved drastically as a professional artist.

He now does paid shows regularly, and the Parkside Lounge on the Lower East Side has invited Trevor to perform multiple times. Perhaps one of his biggest accomplishments was the release of his debut single, “Giving It Up,” which he wrote and recorded independently, on Spotify this summer.

Dorian J. Allen, 93 15th St., Apt. 3F, Brooklyn, NY 11223; dorallen@comcast.net

Although Taylor Ng took the traditional corporate route after graduation, she recently decided to take a risk and pursue another passion of hers. For the past two years Taylor had worked in as an investment banking analyst at Evercore. She found the job challenging and interesting, and she enjoyed working with her coworkers; however, she decided to hang up the power suit for the time being and pick up her tennis racket.

Taylor had played tennis nearly her whole life, was Dartmouth’s first NCAA singles qualifier, and racked up numerous accolades, including All-Ivy First Team in singles and doubles three years in a row. While working in corporate America, Taylor barely picked up her racket, but when she went to watch the Dartmouth women’s tennis team play in Boston in February, she realized she had unfinished business on the court. Taylor spent this past spring continuing her work at Evercore while training again with her personal coach. In June Taylor officially left investment banking to pursue a career on the professional women’s tennis circuit. She’s been at the gym and on the court every day, and says she has “never felt more passion and conviction in anything my entire life.” She began competing in some regional professional tournaments this summer. Taylor is aware that she has arduous mental and physical work ahead of her, but she looks forward to taking on the challenges and following her heart. Best of luck, Taylor!

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Hello, ’17s, and happy summer! Today I’m talking about the outstanding Oscar Ruben Cornejo Casares!

Oscar is pursuing his Ph.D. at Northwestern University, where he is examining the intersection of immigration, race, gender, and social movements. Oscar wrote his undergraduate thesis on undocumented immigrants in Atlanta, and he carried his lingering questions from this study to his Ph.D. in Evanston, Illinois. He argues that the status and experience of undocumented immigrants are racialized; for example, Latinos primarily learn that they are undocumented when they are children, whereas people who come from other countries often learn through life events such as getting a driver’s license, trying to leave the country, or applying to college. What makes his study unique is the diversity of his interlocutors. Most studies have focused on individuals from Latin America and just one group at a time; however, Oscar interviews individuals from Mexico, Belize, Poland, Korea, India, Kenya, and Ghana so he can analyze the intersection of race and legal status in America. In addition to getting his work published, he hopes to make sure his work is accessible to others in the long run and that it goes beyond the walls of academia. He wants to amplify voices that have been largely neglected or forgotten.

Although his studies take up most of his time, Oscar enjoys running and genealogy. He used to run around Occom Pond at Dartmouth, but now he runs out to Lake Michigan. Oscar became interested in genealogy after participating in the Native American studies department’s off-campus program in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the American Institute of Indigenous Art. He was able to go back to the mid-1700s in some branches.

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

A big congrats to Alisa White,who has been making her mark out in rural Mexico. After graduation Alisa moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to work in environmental consulting. She valued this experience because she strengthened her quantitative analytical skills and got to work on cool projects such as the examination of the impact of air pollution in Santiago, Chile. However, Alisa realized that she did not see herself at a desk long term and wanted to work in the field. She applied for a Dartmouth postgraduate project fellowship and is now conducting a research project in partnership with EcoLogic Development Fund and Fondo Ambiental Regional de la Chinantla, Oaxaca in Oaxaca, Mexico. Alisa researches the viability of carbon-offset programs in rural, forested communities and assists with a National Geographic grant-funded project on community in the Chinantla region. During her time in Mexico she has been living in a home-stay and sharing a room with her 8-year-old host sister. It’s been an interesting change going from living on her own in Boston to living with a family, but she does enjoy getting to play with the kids.

Elise Wien has also taken advantage of the wonderful fellowship opportunities Dartmouth has to offer. Elise applied for a fellowship to continue her play cycle, which will all be around the ’69s; her senior thesis was a play that took place in 1869, and she is working on plays to be set in 1969 and 2069. In order to create a measured oeuvre on life in 2069, Elise traveled to Seattle to research technology and modernity. While she was there, she of course visited her dear friend Daiana Petrova, who works at Amazon. Elise’s writing is not limited to her fellowship. She also has started her “Play-a-week Project,” where she writes a short play each week and posts them to her website. Elise enjoys this because she creates a new masterpiece every week and she can share them with the world. She also started a writing group in New York with Robert Leverett ’16 and Deby Xiadani ’15 to allow themselves and their artistic peers to share their work and provide constructive feedback.

Last but certainly not least is Scott Ortlip, who moved down south last summer. Scott was living in Chicago when a wonderful professional opportunity presented itself last August and led him to Atlanta. Scott now works as an analyst at Stonecutter Capital Management LLC. He loves his job because he wears many hats; his role enables him to work as a data analyst, asset manager, and consultant at the same time. Scott finds it rewarding to make an impact at this Atlanta-based company. It also doesn’t hurt that his new home has some of the best food in the world. Scott loves to eat good meat, but eventually going to steakhouses became a bit too pricey. Consequently, Scott learned how to use a cast iron skillet and experiment with numerous recipes; now he’s an acclaimed cook and runs a food blog named Sear the Steer. When Scott is not at work or in the kitchen, he’s in the great outdoors. He traveled to Canada to summit Mount Eiffel and Mount Provincial Park and then to Colorado to climb the 14,000-footer Mount Holy Cross. Scott is also involved in George Bushcraft and recently got into falconry.

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Happy spring to the class of 2017! I hope you’re ready to roll into the warm months of the year!

Let’s find out what some of our friends have been up to recently.

After graduation Mercedes de Guardiola moved back to her hometown of New York City to work at Lubin Lawrence as a brand strategy consultant. Mercedes has enjoyed building her experience in marketing and brand strategy. In her free time she’s continued to work on her history thesis on Vermont’s eugenics campaigns. Part of it will be published later this year as an article in Vermont History. Additionally, she volunteers with a playground improvement project, where she raises funds, replants at playgrounds, and repaints equipment in the city. When she is not working or volunteering, she loves to explore the city’s many museums and restaurants. She recently went to Bruce Nauman’s Disappearing Acts at the MoMA with Kevin Brotman and she’s been trying out new brunch spots with Rachel DeChiara, Arial Klein,and Sara Trautz ’15. Mercedes spent the holidays with her family and their new dog Leopoldo in New York.

After moving to Texas shortly after Commencement, Elaine Lunsford got right back to New England this past fall. Elaine is working in Manchester, New Hampshire, as a fifth-grade teacher through the AmeriCorps program City Year. Although she did not study anything related to education at Dartmouth (she majored in government and minored in computer science), Elaine’s friend from church and fellow ’17 Yi He recommended the program to her. Elaine enjoys education because she works with and manages people, gets to be creative, and the United States needs more teachers. When she is not teaching, Elaine visits ’17s both in Boston and the Upper Valley. In the fall she was on campus nearly every other weekend for events such as Homecoming and a concert by the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, which she participated in as an undergraduate.

Graham Rigby spent time all over the United States during the back half of 2018. Although a Rhode Island native, Graham moved to Tucson, Arizona, to work as a field organizer on Ann Kirkpatrick’s congressional campaign and the Arizona Democratic Party in the second congressional district. As a field organizer, Graham recruited, trained, and managed teams of volunteers in a rural county to motivate individuals to vote. Graham chose this role because he wanted to make a positive difference in billions of people’s lives and the history of the world by inspiring voters and electing congressional representation in our national political system. After spending Thanksgiving back at home in Rhode Island, Graham drove across the country before arriving at his new job in Wyoming. Along the way he visited his brother and sister-in-law in upstate New York; Preeti Rishi ’18 in Detroit; Angela Noppenburger in Madison, Wisconsin; and Paul Finkelstein ’13 and me in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Now Graham teaches skiing at the Snow King Resort in Jackson Hole, which he considers one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Happy holidays, ’17s! As we start to switch to those 2019 calendars, let’s take a look at what a couple of our classmates have been up to these past few months.

Out in the small part city of Mokpo, South Korea, is ’17’s own Nicole Simineri. Nicole has been out east teaching English since graduation, and she is currently in South Korea as a teaching assistant as part of her Fulbright scholarship. Nicole majored in Asian and Middle Eastern studies and was eager to immerse herself in the culture of South Korea, a country in which she had never lived. Although she did not speak a word of Korean beforehand, she enjoys her role and has formed close bonds with her students. As if working five days a week in a foreign language isn’t tiring enough, Nicole also volunteers for two organizations. She works with the North Korean Defectors Program, which helps children learn English, and the Korea Bridge Initiative, which is geared toward students who cannot afford English preparatory classes for college admissions standardized tests. In her free time Nicole explores her local community in Mokpo and even ventures out to other cities, such as Busan, Seoul, Daegu, and Ginzhu. While in Mokpo, she enjoys free kayaking in the port, going to arcades, and befriending locals and foreigners alike. When she is out of Mokpo, she typically attends cultural festivals. For instance, this fall she went to Andong for a mask festival that showcased traditional mask culture and performance in Korea. Although she adores teaching in Asia, Nicole is considering a change in scenery after the academic year ends, likely close to her family in New York.

Back on the East Coast, rather than in the eastern hemisphere, is Katie Vareika, who is a development associate for the special events team at the Boston Children’s Hospital Trust. Since she is from the suburbs of Boston, Katie is living at home with her family. She says it’s fun coming home and being able to eat dinner with her parents every night. Katie is particularly delighted to be at home because her parents just got an adorable puppy, Ruby.

For those, who didn’t know, Katie is one of the wonderful head agents for the class of ’17. Early in September alums returned to campus for the annual Class Officers Weekend. During this weekend there were speakers, panels, workshops, and social events for the various class officers. On the Friday of her arrival, Katie was relieved to spend a quiet night relaxing in the Hanover Inn and eating her favorite meal from the Hop. However, she received a phone call and was told to take the long trek to the Life Sciences Center for a gala. Quite unexpectedly, Katie learned that the reason she was called over was that the class of 2017 won the award for Class of the Year for all classes 25 years and younger! Although Katie was shocked and wearing jeans during the fancy gala, she went on stage with decorum and represented us well. Additionally, Mercedes de Guardiola won Treasurer of the Year and Elaine Lunsford and Alexandra Pattillo won Class Newsletter Editors of the Year. Thank you to all the class officers for your hard work and for being such a standout team!

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Let’s give a warm welcome to Ian Speers, who recently returned from Liberia! Since graduation Ian has been working for Americares, a private nongovernmental organization that provides emergency medical needs and promotes healthcare initiatives for communities affected by poverty or disaster. Ian studied global health at Dartmouth, but he wanted a more hands-on experience evaluating global health and emergency responses in Africa. For that matter, he spent six months in Liberia, where he worked alongside a team of eight local experts in global health, supply chain, and medicine. Fortunately, his teammates welcomed him from the get-go, and throughout his six months in Liberia, he became really close with them, meeting their families and even living with an Ethiopian expat. Although the work was strenuous and time-consuming, Ian got involved with the community by spending his free hours at church with his teammates and playing soccer with local students.

This summer Ian moved to Americares’ headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, where he writes proposals for global health programs, implements programs across regions, and coordinates with the regional emergency response team. Although his role is officially located in the United States, Ian will travel periodically throughout Africa and the Middle East to collaborate with teams and implement his programs.

Another international ’17 is Maeve Lentricchia, who completed her master’s in philosophy at the University of Cambridge this spring. Maeve focused on Hellenistic philosophy, specifically Aristotelian thought. She examined the works of Lucretius, a poet from the Roman Augustine period who analyzed atomic restitution and the erratic fear of death. During the next three years Maeve will pursue her Ph.D. at Cambridge and will study the overlap between ancient texts and contemporary issues in philosophy.

Although Maeve spent the majority of the past 12 months studying and applying to various graduate programs, she managed to escape the library every now and then. Maeve is an avid runner, so she often jogged with her friends while gazing at the scenery in the English countryside. She also loves her fellow students and considers Cambridge to be an “intellectual heaven.” She enjoys having a community of global scholars who are interested in the same subjects. Maeve feels pushed and inspired by her peers, but likes that the community is not competitive; everyone is supportive and genuinely interested in each other’s work.

Back on our side of the Atlantic is Caroline King, who matriculated at Georgetown School of Medicine in August. Caroline spent her first post-college year earning her master’s in physiology and biophysics at Georgetown and ultimately decided to stay in D.C. after being admitted to the medical school. According to Caroline, the most surprising thing about the real world is that she’s constantly surrounded by people with similar interests, and it’s a privilege to engage in discussions with wonderful people who share her goals. At Dartmouth she had a diverse group of friends who studied different subjects and have different life trajectories. Since she still spends time with other ’17s in D.C., Caroline feels fortunate to have the best of both worlds.

During the summer Caroline took a course in gross anatomy at Georgetown so she could become a teaching assistant in the cadaver lab in January 2019. After taking this course, Caroline confirmed her interest in a procedure-based specialty such as surgery. She’s had six eye surgeries herself and says her life was absolutely transformed by the procedures that gave her functional control and cosmetic reparations that have enabled her to be her best self; Caroline says, “To do that for others is the greatest gift I’ll ever receive.”

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Congratulations to Matt Herzig and Isabella Caruso for crushing the Boston Marathon this April! Isabella ran a 2:56:18 and placed 40th among the women, and Matt completed the course in 2:27:55 to finish 12th overall. While at Dartmouth Isabella ran with the Dartmouth endurance running team. She also spent the past year on the Hanover Plain working as a teaching science fellow in the chemistry department.

Since moving to Boston after graduation, Matt has been training with the Heartbreaker Running Club and puts in roughly 110 miles a week in preparation for marathons. Matt lives with former Dartmouth track-and-field teammates Corey Muggler and Matt Klein ’16, and he works in the cardiology lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In August Matt will attend the Perelman Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania with fellow ’17 Meghan Chamberlain as well as Kelly Bach ’16 and Patrick Gould ’15. When he moves to Philadelphia, he hopes to find a training group and run the marathon there in the fall. However, before he starts school, Matt and Isabella will go backpacking in Colorado for eight days. They will also head up to the College Grant on the East Coast for some peace and quiet without cell service or electricity for a weekend.

Last fall Lucy Hale spent four months in Belize as a public health intern for a nonprofit medical center. She spent most of her time at a clinic in a rural village in the south of Belize. Lucy has always been interested in global and public health, and she studied these topics as an anthropology minor at Dartmouth. For her first months in Central America Lucy created curriculums in primary schools. On a daily basis she would go out to remote villages in the mountains to teach kids about dental hygiene and nutrition. For her last several weeks in Belize she worked with a holistic education center in Belize City and wrote a piece on disability awareness in schools. Upon her return to the United States, Lucy began work at Hawk Partners, a marketing consulting firm in Boston. She lives with her random freshman roommate and now close friend Blake Hamblett. Lucy enjoys being in Boston because she likes her coworkers, is around great friends, and is close to home (as she grew up nearby). Although training has been difficult, Lucy hopes to keep up with Blake, a former lacrosse star at Dartmouth, in their upcoming seven-mile race.

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

This spring Tyné Freeman was nominated for an Independent Music Award in the “Best Concept Album” category for Bridges. Tyné attended the awards ceremony at the Lincoln Center in New York City, where she was in the presence of renowned judges such as Keith Urban and Norah Jones. Bridges was originally Tyné’s thesis. While she was in Ghana for her foreign study program in the African and African American studies department, she met an artist who wrote a song in Swahili and then asked her to write the second half in English. From there, she reached out to numerous artists she had met during the years to collaborate on her album. Tyné has been nominated for multiple awards for her music this year and is working on an upcoming album with a few producers and artists she met through these awards. In addition to becoming an acclaimed artist, Tyné is continuing her studies and earning a master of arts and liberal studies at Dartmouth. She’s focusing on creative writing and wants to write a memoir about her grandmother, who emigrated to the United States from Jamaica.

Tyné is not the only ’17 woman who has gained renown for her thesis. Julia Dressel was recently published in Science Advances on how technology and racial bias affect the prediction of recidivism. During her junior year Julia approached professor Hany Farid about her interest in technology and its impact on the criminal justice system; little did she know that her work would make such an impact that she would be presenting at Harvard University and be interviewed by publications such as The New York Times. Courts are increasingly using algorithms to predict recidivism and assess defendants’ likelihood of committing crimes; however, Julia’s research shows that the popular commercial risk assessment software COMPAS is no more accurate than individuals with no criminal justice experience. Not only has Julia become a published scholar since graduation, but she’s also a software engineer at Apple. She’s part of a rotational program in Apple’s Sunnyvale, California, office, but has an upcoming project in London, where she’ll be working in technical product management. Right now she’s living with fellow ’17 Dani Moragne. Dani is working in marketing for the app Elevate, a startup in San Francisco. Dani is one of the youngest employees at her company, but after watching all The Lord of the Rings movies, she has plenty to talk about with her coworkers.

After presenting her work at Harvard, Julia met up with Terence Hughes, who’s working in Boston at Artisan Consulting. Terence really likes Boston and goes to Monday night trivia with Chase Shipp, Claire Hern, Jason Auh, Ellis Guo, Grace Miller, and Allison Cartswell. However, Terence is a New York native, so he went to two Red Sox games with Claire and Ellis decked out in Yankees gear. Luckily, their clothing was a conversation starter, and they were not involved in any of the brawls during the game. Back in February Terence went to visit Apoorva Dixit, who is in India for her Fulbright scholarship. The two traveled around the west coast to Goa, Mumbai, and Kerala. In Goa, they went to the beaches and took advantage of the great hiking in the area. Since Goa is fairly touristy, Terence and Apoorva rented mopeds and rode up the coast to find less-crowded beaches. Terence’s favorite part of this region was the food, which is apparently much better than Jewel of India in Hanover. In Mumbai Terence got to spend time with Apoorva’s family, and then in Kerala the two did some more hiking, gazed at the palm trees, and took advantage of the beautiful weather.

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Congratulations to Ksenia Ryzhova and Jake Weidner on their engagement! Jake popped the question while the two of them were in Cape Cod this summer. Jake and Ksenia were out in Massachusetts visiting Bronwyn Lloyd,so they celebrated with Bronwyn’s family that night. Since then, Jake has joined the U.S. Army Reserve. Once he finishes his schooling in Fort Benning, Georgia, he will join Ksenia in New York City where she works in brand strategy consulting. Although work is interesting, Ksenia is applying to various graduate school programs to study medieval history. Ksenia spends a great deal of her time exploring new restaurants and cafes with friends. For instance, she recently grabbed coffee with Roman Huszar and with Kim Son discovered a cafe that serves deconstructed lattes in goblets. In the coming months, Jake and Ksenia will visit Yifan Fang in Japan.

After Commencement, Ali Patillo decided to pursue a career in journalism. In June Ali moved to New York to begin work under Sunjay Gupta, an Emmy Award-winning neurosurgeon and medical reporter at CNN. She produced across a variety of channels, but she is most proud of two long features she wrote: the first one on flow state and the second piece on the lack of diversity in the outdoors. After her time at CNN, Ali began work under Dr. Robin Smith, a physician journalist who is an advocate for regenerative medicine. Ali is planning Dr. Smith’s fourth annual international conference at the Vatican, where experts will examine the societal effects of technological advancements in the medical field. This conference will bring together numerous scholars, professionals in the healthcare industry and interfaith leaders to discuss the ethical repercussions of medical developments. Ali has felt a lot of stress, but she looks forward to interviewing these experts at the Vatican. Outside of the office, Ali has been exploring the international cuisine, thrift stores and art museums in the Big Apple. Even in a crowded city, Ali spends a lot of time with fellow ’17s. She has grown closer to Sofia Rainaldi; the two of them often attend events at the Whitney Museum of Art and wander the city together.

Surprisingly, not every ’17 is on the East Coast! Heather Laedtke is a native to Minnesota and moved back to Minneapolis to become a public affairs associate consultant at Environment Resources Management Group. Heather was drawn to the company because of its emphasis on global sustainability and social impact. She enjoys this particular role because it is client facing, and she has the ability to manage complex projects at an entry-level position. Heather enjoyed the Super Bowl LII festivities since her hometown hosted the big game. She lives and works in downtown Minneapolis, so she was right in the middle of the action. She went to concerts and street fairs throughout the week and during the weekend. ESPN conducted its coverage in the lobby of Heather’s corporate building, so she and her coworkers watched multiple interviews live. Despite the sub-zero temperatures, Heather, Maddie Wall ’16 and I picked up lunch at the food trucks downtown since we all work within two blocks of each other. To celebrate game day, Heather and her roommate Grace cooked a delicious feast and invited their high school friends, coworkers and me to their apartment, which is so close to the stadium that we watched the vintage jets fly above the city during the national anthem.

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Hi, ’17s! I hope you’re ready to fling right into spring! Here’s some updates on what our classmates have been up to the last few months. Back in September Edom Wessenyeleh began classes for her master’s at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which is part of the University of London. During Edom’s first term she took a wide variety of courses spanning from extended epidemiology to health economics. Edom enjoys her courses because the curriculum is interdisciplinary, and she looks forward to solidifying her thesis topic during the upcoming months. After she completes her studies, she hopes to stay in London either doing research or working in health or medicine. Although her academic program is extremely rigorous, Edom stays active outside of the classroom. She began working at a migration collective, where she and a few other Londoners mesh art and activism. Along with her counterparts, she coordinated a six-day film festival in London focusing on migration.

Also across the pond is Shivam Chadha, who moved back to his hometown of London to pursue a job in asset management at JP Morgan. Shiv feels fortunate to work on his team because nearly everyone holds a senior level position, so he feels motivated to produce higher-quality deliverables. When not at work Shiv works closely with the Dartmouth Club of London. Recently he got dinner with Edom Wessenyeleh and Hannah Solomon, also studying London. From their seats at the restaurant, they watched a fire-throwing group that performs on the Thames embankment every full moon. Before the winter holidays Shiv decided to start learning Hindi with Rosetta Stone to enhance his knowledge of the language.

In October Karen Jacques began work as an English teaching assistant for two primary schools in Grenoble, France, which is in the southeast by the Alps. Karen is a part of the program called Teach Abroad Program in France (TAPIF) and works with children ages 7 to 10 years old in 12 different classrooms. Her responsibilities differ among classes; sometimes she works alongside the schoolteacher to produce lessons and assist with pronunciation, whereas in other classes she manages small groups and teaches the lessons herself. In Karen’s free time she explores Grenoble with various other teaching assistants from TAPIF. Like Shiv, Karen has spent ample time with other ’17s in Europe. Tegwyth Alderson-Taber visited Karen in November and then in December, Karen met up with Jessica Link and Josephine Cormier (who is working in Lyon) in Annecy, France. Although he’s spent the majority of the recent months in the United States, Jeff Lang has kept himself quite busy as well. The week after Commencement Jeff and many other ’17 Frisbee players rented a cabin on the Grant. The group thought it would be a good idea because David Klinges’ father and his Dartmouth classmates used to go to the Grant to reconnect. While at the Grant, Jeff, Klinges and their friends grabbed dinner with Klinges’ father and his friends. In the fall Jeff moved to Boston to work at Bain & Co. He enjoyed the firm’s holiday party at the Boston Public Library, which was filled with Dartmouth alums. Since moving to Boston Jeff’s weekends have been filled with playing board games with Chris Loughlin and numerous other ’16s and ’17s. They started with Settlers of Catan, which ended up being a gateway to a lot of weirder and lesser-known games. They’ve become so invested that board games were on the top of their Christmas lists this year.

Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Although it feels like our first snowball fight on the Green was just yesterday, we’re about to turn the page on our calendars to 2018. I wish you all happy holidays and a year full of many more accomplishments.

A few months ago Devyn Greenberg traveled out to Rabat, Morocco, as a new Fulbright scholar. Devyn is teaching English at the National Architecture School, which has been rewarding because the students are talented and passionate about intercultural education. She also works at the Center for Moroccan Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, where she leads design thinking workshops for high school students and adults who are in the process of developing projects. Of course Devyn was prepared to take on this challenge after being a teaching assistant for “Design Thinking” at Dartmouth. Outside of her teaching, she takes salsa classes for fun and goes to jam sessions at a local café with her former host sister from the foreign study program in Fez.

Also in Morocco is Nicole Castillo,who is teaching two English courses at Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tetouan. Life as a professor has certainly been an adjustment being called Professor Castillo by students who are her age and sometimes older, but she loves teaching because the students are respectful and appreciative of having a native English speaker as their teacher. Nicole has been fascinated by the opportunity to live in Tetouan, which is truly a multicultural and multilingual city; one time she found herself in a conversation using six different languages among five of her colleagues.

Our classmates have been keeping busy in the United States as well. Lauren Gruffi spent her summer earning a 200-hour yoga instructing certification in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. In August Lauren and Regan Plekenpol held a charity yoga and essential oils event, where they raised money for Lauren to run the N.Y.C. marathon and for the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Since then Lauren started work at Huron in life sciences consulting and moved to Manhattan with Regan and Mia Steck. Right now Lauren is taking yoga classes regularly, but once she gets settled in the city she wants to teach yoga at homeless shelters and trauma centers.

This September Brian Li moved to San Francisco to begin work as a data operations associate at Flexport, a freight boarding company. He enjoys spending time with his coworkers, most of whom are recent graduates as well, and he had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta for work. Brian lives with fellow ’17 Joby Bernstein and they’ve spent many weekends exploring San Francisco together. During the fall they biked across the Golden Gate Bridge; Joby, who was an avid hiker and a distance swimmer at Dartmouth, moved far ahead of Brian, but Brian learned that he could keep up with the retired athlete once he turned up the gear catch.

Also in the Bay Area is James Thompson, who works as an engineering intern for the Initiation Systems Group in the defense technologies engineering division at Lawrence Livermore National Lab in Livermore, California. He’s had the opportunity to run large computer simulations and appreciates the insight he’s able to retrieve using the lab’s multi-physics hydrodynamic codes. When he’s not in the lab, J.T. spends time camping and with his girlfriend, Audrey Perez. Most importantly, J.T. has had the pleasure of playing with Phi Delt’s esteemed pig Winston, who moved in with his family in Tracy, California. Winston adjusted to the West Coast lifestyle quickly by befriending the Thompson family’s chickens, cooling off in his kiddie pool and eating lots of frozen strawberries.

Dorian Allen, 33 Kensington Terrace, Maplewood, NJ 07040; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Hello, class of 2017! Another congratulations on your graduation. In a few weeks we will have been college graduates for half a year. Not surprisingly, many of our classmates have been doing some magnificent things since June 11.

Jorge Siwady Kattan spent his summer in Montevideo, Uruguay, before returning on campus to finish his B.E. He worked as a consultant that enhances building designs to make them more sustainable. He found this company through his own research of companies in South America since he feels at home in the region. For work he had the opportunity to travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, but once his meetings ended, he went to the local beaches. In his time away from the office Jorge visited colonial towns outside of the capital city and searched for the best local cafes and restaurants, mostly revolving around his admiration for steak and Italian cuisine.

This July Kira Farris began work at State Street in Boston, where she is in the professional development program alongside Paul Ghazal, Kyle Nickerson and 50 other recent grads. Kira is currently in her first rotation in fund accounting and loves her coworkers. She recently moved to the North End with her Chi Delta sisters Sara Winfree and Alyssa Gonzalez and they had their first roommate dinner, where they prepared truffle risotto and garlic tilapia. As a New Jersey native Kira has done a great job acclimating to the Boston lifestyle. She won company box seats for a Red Sox game through State Street’s raffle. Luckily, she received a complimentary hat with the tickets because she’s a die-hard Yankees fan. In her free time she has been training for the CHaD Hero half marathon with Alison Wolf ’15.

Another ’17 who has been spending ample time with Dartmouth alums is Emily Greene. Emily started her summer visiting Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam and China with a former coworker, her family, Ally Benedict and Becca Holland. Out of all the places she visited, she loved Vietnam the most because of its history. Later in the summer she and Katy Sprout went to Memphis, Tennessee, to visit Emma Sisson and the three then drove to the tiny town of Perryville, Missouri, to gaze at the total eclipse. During her time at home in Connecticut Emily studied for exams to transfer her EMT certification to Massachusetts before her big move to Boston with Christiana Johnson. In Boston she’ll be working as a software development engineer for Alexa at Amazon.

Graham Rigby decided to continue his studies this summer and attended the 2017 summer linguistics institute of the Linguistic Society of America with numerous graduate students pursuing Ph.D.s and writing dissertations. Each institute is hosted by a different university and this summer it was held at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. At the institute he took three courses: “Directionality in Language Change,” “Genetic Creolistics and Genetic Linguistics” and “Structure of Hmong-Mien Languages.” He found the program to be a worthwhile experience because he gained valuable knowledge and met young linguists interested in topics that overlap his own fascinations. Outside of the classroom Graham celebrated his 23rd birthday in Boston with some friends from high school as well as Ben Rhutan, Sean Cann and me.

Thanks for reading and please keep me updated on your accomplishments!

Dorian Allen, 33 Kensington Terrace, Maplewood, NJ 07040; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Congratulations, ’17s! We did it! We are now entering the realm of alumni land. We’ve accomplished a great deal during these past four years. We’ve pushed through the hardest of times together and have celebrated each other’s successes. Now my role as your class secretary is to keep you updated on the continued achievements of our classmates.

If you have any information about what you and your friends are up to, please reach out to me (blitz, text, Facebook message, slide into my DMs) and I’ll certainly include the news in the next edition of our Class Notes. We should update each other about all of our achievements, no matter how big or how small, no matter how near or how far. Everything that we do should be celebrated and I’d like to highlight the diversity of our class.

Thank you to all the ’17s who reached out to me about their summer and fall plans. Please continue to inform me of all of your awesome triumphs. Below you’ll see what some of your classmates have been up to.

Liz Klein has been traveling all over the place since graduation. The day after Commencement she visited Bar Harbor, Maine, where she used to go on vacation with her family as a child, but this time she went up north with Cody Bell. The two later spent the Fourth of July together in Little Compton, Rhode Island. Liz will then take her third plane ride ever to visit her sister in San Francisco and travel around the West Coast.

This summer Phoebe Liang is going to China. She will be traveling for two weeks with her mother in Sichuan, Yichang and Shandong. Afterwards, she will attend the martial arts academy in the Kunyu Mountains to learn Wing Chun and Qigong. After completing her studies there, she starts work at Oliver Wyman in New York.

Ryan O’Hanlon will also travel abroad, but with Dartmouth’s heavyweight crew team. They are competing in England at the Henley Royal Regatta, which is the biggest race in the world after the Olympics, so it is an honor to be able to compete for the Big Green again, according to Ryan.

Similarly, Douglas Phipps is staying connected with the Dartmouth community. Doug will be on campus directing the DOC first-year trips program, which is bittersweet seeing some of his closest friends leave campus, but he will have the privilege of welcoming the ’21s in Hanover.

Joby Bernstein is continuing his love of the outdoors as a leader for Apogee Adventures, which is a global outing program for teenagers. Joby departed for Maine directly after Commencement to complete his three weeks of training before traveling out west to lead his two back-to-back hiking trips.

Connor Clark will also move towards the Pacific for a bit of time. Connor was a decorated runner at Dartmouth, and he will take his talents to the University of Oregon. In Oregon he’ll earn a master’s of public administration with a focus on environmental policy while also competing with Oregon’s track and cross-country teams. He is in a two-year master’s program, but will only compete with the team for the first year due to limited eligibility. Of course he will continue to run competitively, but unattached, during his second year in school.

Thanks again to everyone who wrote in. I look forward to keeping in touch and hope we can all reconnect in Hanover for Homecoming Weekend (October 6-7)!

Dorian Allen, 33 Kensington Terrace, Maplewood, NJ 07040; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net

Portfolio

Alumni Books
New titles from Dartmouth writers (November/December 2023)
Fresh Takes
Blogger Ray Padgett ’09 covers the covers.
The Secret Life of the Brain

Michael Gazzaniga ’61 divulges the inner workings of the human mind. 

Gail Koziara Boudreaux ’82
A CEO on the state of the nation’s healthcare

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