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| 00 | Hello, Class of 2000! I'm thrilled to write my first column for our class. Being a columnist is right up my alley, since I am finishing up a master's degree in mass communication from the U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.My other exciting news of late is that last year I married Christopher Weld.We live in Vicenza, Italy, where Chris is a captain in the US Army and works with the 173rd Airborne Brigade.We love exploring Italy, but we're currently spending time in different parts of the world. Chris is serving in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and I am spending time with friends and family in New York. The New York Times recently chronicled Angela Yu's search for the perfect apartment in NYC, an experience that I'm sure many of you are all too familiar with. Happily, Angela and her fiancé found a great apartment in Battery Park City and are now focused on wedding planning, another task many of us are quite familiar with. The Times also reported on Allison Dunloy's May 21, 2005 wedding to David Shaw '99 in Bedford, NY. Allison is a product manager at Fiduciary Trust Company Int'l and a chartered financial analyst. Another recent bride, Allison Byers Horner, headed to beautiful Maui for her nuptials on February 12, 2005. Allison is currently living in Texas and started her master's in physician assistant studies at the U. of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Allison also reports that she and her husband just bought their first home. Nancy Poon recently married Brian Eng '99 at a winery in California. She rode the dot-com boom and bust in Silicon Valley and is currently a project manager at QuinStreet, her fifth job in as many years! In April, Jessica Levy Christoferson started her own business in Exeter, NH. She runs an upscale retail flower shop called Cymbidium Floral (www.cymbidiumfloral.com, 603-772-1300). Jessica provided the flowers for several Cornellians' weddings, and recently got married herself. Jane Erica Feinson Coulter happily shares that after working in marketing and public relations for five years, she's enjoying life as a stay-at-home mom. Erica says, "Life is peaceful for a change, and I delight in seeing the world through the eyes of my baby." Ari and Nancy Gross Mayerfield are also new parents. The couple welcomed Hannah Kate to the world in July and are looking forward to another Cornell graduation for the Mayerfield family in 2027. Nancy and Ari live in Tel Aviv, Israel, where Ari attends Sackler School of Medicine and Nancy is a senior consultant in the transfer pricing department at Ernst and Young. Also enjoying life abroad is Jenelle Berrien Piscitelli. She and her husband Nicholas, ME ORIE '91, moved with their daughter to Barcelona, Spain, where Nicholas accepted an assignment with Alcoa for several years. The family plans to do a lot of traveling while living abroad! Several of our classmates headed back to school recently. Arriel Atienza served in the Navy, which brought him from Maine to Seattle via Virginia, Florida, Colombia, Panama, San Diego, and San Francisco. He is studying for his D.O. at Western U. of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA. Anthony Cooper is another military veteran returning to school. Anthony spent four years in the Army as an officer with the 3rd Infantry Division. He was deployed to Bosnia, Kuwait, and Iraq. Anthony is married with a son, Anthony Wayne Cooper III, and is currently a medical student at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Azais Manalich-Elguea has spent some time on both sides of the classroom since graduating. She pursued a master's degree in global economy with a concentration in environmental policy at the U. of Pittsburgh. In January, she became a professor when she accepted a position as the official institutional researcher of Carlos Albizu U. She is also teaching statistics in the undergraduate department of the university. Azais is currently applying to PhD programs in ecological statistics and conservation policy. She also reports that she fulfilled a teenage dream in August when she bid on and won charity tickets to an Alanis Morissette concert that included a backstage pass and a picture with the artist. Azais says the experience was the most emotionally charged and surreal ten minutes of her life! Jared Friedmann recently completed a clerkship term and reports that he will return to the litigation department at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York. Lauren Kohn is also working in the legal arena and recently relocated to Atlanta to take a job with King & Spalding LLP. She plans to live with Jeff Dayton, who is currently finishing the first year of his pediatric residency at Emory. Lauren shared that both Dina Koss and Lauren Thal recently received MBA degrees. Lauren also keeps in touch with Kristin Bovalino, who is busy working at Schulte, Roth & Zabel as an attorney, and Gwenn Krasner, who works for Morgan Stanley. I look forward to helping share your news. Keep those updates coming! -- Christine Jensen Weld, ckj1@cornell.edu; and Andrea Chan, amc32@cornell.edu. 01 | Happy holidays, Class of 2001! We hope that you're all doing well and enjoying the holiday season! Here's some news from your fellow classmates. Congratulations to Jen Brown and Larry Goldman (both class officers), who were married on May 21, 2005 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. Cornell family alumni in attendance included Larry's dad Jerry Goldman '72 and Larry's brother Michael Goldman '04, who served as the best man. Marissa Antoinette and Brooke Schneider were bridesmaids, Greg Rubenstein and Adam Sloyer were groomsmen, and Jon Bernstein and Scott Valins were ushers. Other classmates at the wedding included Ben Brucker, Liz Axelrod, Dan Ruff, Peter Diamond, Ben Rubin, Matt Resnick, and Eric Kussin. Other Cornell friends in attendance included Eunice Shatzman '49, Ed Schechter '73, MBA '74, Jenna Mitchell '06, and Andrew '97 and DebraWeissman '96. A double congratulations to Angie Hunter! She graduated with an MD degree from the U. ofWashington School of Medicine on June 4, 2005. She began her residency in family medicine at Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura, CA. The other great news is that in May 2004, after she returned from her ob/gyn rotation in Anchorage, AK, her boyfriend of nine years (all throughout her Cornell years) proposed marriage on their anniversary. They wed on May 7 in their hometown of Lacey,WA, the day after their ten-year anniversary. The happy couple honeymooned in Maui for a week. Bridesmaids included Kate Bledsoe and Ivy Bigelow. Andrew DeJohn was a groomsman. Also in attendance were Elise Ferer, Theodore Kim, and Nadia Liu (currently at Cornell). Congratulations to Dr. Angela Sparks! Congratulations also to Annie Pomeranz and Chris Stambaugh, who were married last September on Lake Tahoe. In attendance were Annie's brother David Pomeranz '04, Annie's sister Leah Pomeranz Bernthal '98, Chris's brother PJ Stambaugh '98, and classmates Susannah Mrazek, Nick Fash, and Josh Kulkin. Another congratulations to Steve McBrady and Kristine Cash, who were married on May 28, 2005 in Washington, DC. After a honeymoon in the British Virgin Islands they returned to D.C. to clerk for the summer before their final year of law school. Steve and Kris were thrilled to have Steve's classmates Peter Bowen, Andrew Sachs, Jamie Carmody, MPA '02, and Jake Kramer, plus James McBrady '99 and Adam Sills '02 as groomsmen in the wedding! Congratulations to David Peterson, who was promoted to project engineer at S E A Consultants Inc. (Scientists/Engineers/Architects) in Cambridge, MA. David has worked at S E A and has proven his value at the company by working on diverse projects. He has been involved in the development of comprehensive wastewater management plans, water treatment plant chemical feed systems upgrades, hydraulic modeling for water distribution systems and wastewater collection systems, and wastewater pumping station evaluations. David is an active member of the Water Environmental Federation and the New England Water Environment Association. Josh Blackler checks in to tell us that he started grad school as part of the inaugural class of the Paul F. Harron Television Management Program at Drexel U. He is now living in the Philadelphia area and still dating Sandra Cheever '02. He'd love to hear from people passing through Philly, and is looking forward to reunion next year (has it already been five years?!). Josh can be reached at joshua.blackler@gmail.com. Megan Kell is now in her second year of getting her MBA at Berkeley. During the summer, she worked for Accenture doing health strategy consulting in San Francisco. During the summer, she frequently ran into Cari Varner, who is a graduate student at the U. of Michigan and an intern at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. Mariana Niell let us know that she is getting a master's degree in genetic counseling at Brandeis U. Another classmate getting her graduate degree, Sophie Aiyer is attending Johns Hopkins U. and getting her PhD in public health. And Lyndsay Wegman has now moved to New York City, where she continues to work for Bank of America. And as one last piece of news . . . our 5th Reunion is coming up! Mark your calendars--June 8-11, 2006. Get psyched! The Class of 2001 class officers wish all of you a happy, safe, and healthy holiday season. Let us know what you have been doing recently and what the future holds for all of you. E-mail us at classof2001@cornell.edu. From Trina and me, all the best and keep the news coming! -- LaurenWallach, LEW15@cornell.edu; Trina K. Lee, TKL6@cornell.edu. 02 | It was so unbearably hot last summer in New York City. Thank heaven I missed it. I returned in mid-August from chaperoning 31 15-year-olds around the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Hawaii. Yes, I know, but somebody had to do it, and being the self-sacrificing martyr that I am, I knew I had to take one for the team. I climbed a 50-foot tree and jumped onto a flying trapeze, water-skied in Tahoe, summer-snow-skied in Whistler, and managed to accidentally whack a Hawaiian sea turtle in the head while snorkeling (sorry,Myrtle!). Seeing Pearl Harbor was overwhelming, and something I feel extraordinarily grateful to have done. And of course, there's being around those hormonally charged, adolescent, socially un-filtered teenagers on summer vacation. Since graduation Ryan Horn, MPA '04, has continued his conservative activism by working as "a consultant, ghostwriter, and researcher for a Washington-based political action committee."He also continues his journalism part-time as both a freelance writer and at RyanHorn.com. Recently, Ryan has also stepped into the business world by working the Hamptons tourism industry with DonaldWhitehead '64, president of Harbor Resorts Inc. Ryan also wrote to tell us that Jason Minard graduated with distinction from the U. of Miami School of Law and took the New York State Bar in July in preparation for a new job at Drake, Sommers, Loeb, Tarshis, Catania, and Liberth PLLC in Newburgh, NY. He will focus his practice on real estate and business law. Sean Esmende writes, "After working in genetics research at Stanford U. since graduation, I'll finally be a medical student at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine. It's great to finally be closer to my home in sunny San Diego!"Matthew Lowenbraun moved back to the NYC area--from Pittsburgh, PA, to Jersey City, NJ--to take a position in the consumer products division of L'Oreal. Congratulations to Sarah Graham, who was selected by Halloran & Sage LLP in Connecticut because she was the First- Year Honor Scholar through the honors program at UConn School of Law. She is working with a handful of different lawyers in the litigation and transaction practice groups researching and drafting for attorneys. Sarah has also had the opportunity to sit in on a few client meetings and depositions during her internship. Matt Braverman writes, "On the weekend of June 18, Joel Haenlein and Kelly Criddle '04 were married at Sage Chapel. Fellow 2002 graduates (and residents of Donlon 3 and 202 Eddy St.) Laura Chipkin, Stephen Enochson, Chris Foster, Adam Krauszer '01, Joanna Lai, Chris Maher, Jonathan Meer, Colin Murchie, Jeffrey Siddiqui, Andy Zilch, and I traveled across the country to wish them well." "Hello, Class of 2002!" writes TomManatos, who resides in Bethesda, MD. "I thought you would want to hear about two CU '02 weddings that occurred within two days." On July 2, 2005, Tom was in Andrew Luria's beautiful wedding in Santa Barbara, CA. Andrew and wife Alyssa met in Eureka, CA, a year and a half ago when Andrew was starting out his sportscasting career. The two now live in Santa Maria, CA. "The next day," Tom continues, "I attended Luke Vernon's wedding to Brie Doyle in Lyons, CO, just outside of Boulder, where the couple currently live." Luke and Brie were introduced four years ago by Allie Gunter. The Vernon wedding was full of '02ers, including A.J. McGuire, Miky Kuo, Jesse Capel, and Ryan Cheesman, and '01er Brendan Roche. Sounds like you had a busy 4th of July weekend, Tom! -- Carolyn Deckinger, cmd35@cornell.edu; or Elizabeth Richards, elizabethlauren_richards@yahoo.com. 03 | Hey, Class of '03! As you read this, the leaves are turning to their fall colors, but here in Seattle, as I write this, we're all still enjoying the dog days of summer. I'm sure many of us are reminiscing about our college days when we had summer vacations to enjoy. We have two couples who did take advantage of the summer weather--to celebrate their weddings. Johanna Hartnagel and Aaron Birkland '02 tied the knot back in June right where they met--Ithaca. Now they've moved up to Syracuse. Johanna writes, "I start my PhD work at Syracuse U. this fall in the field of instructional design." Michelle Newton wrote, "I left New Jersey for sunny California about two weeks ago. Joey and I took a seven-day trip and logged over 3,500 miles in a sexy yellow Penske moving truck.We stopped in good old Rapid City, SD, on the way and Joey proposed that night." So after completing their drive cross-country (and that mid-country proposal), Michelle and Joseph Clement celebrated their wedding in late August on Lake Tahoe. They now live in Los Angeles. Congratulations to the new couples! Congratulations are also in order to Greg Andeck. Having completed his master's degree at Duke U., Greg just moved north to Boston. He writes, "I began my first REAL job at Environmental Defense. I specifically work on the Corporate Alliance team, where we partner with leading Fortune 500 companies to create value while protecting the environment. Needless to say, this is a great opportunity for me personally and professionally. I can think of no other city that has the incredible history and charm of this place; my bedroom apartment looks out onto Fenway Park (Go Sox!)." Sounds like a great fit! Well folks, that's all from this coast for now. If you're in Seattle, let me know. I've finally been here long enough to be able to show folks around. Please continue to send your updates to me and Sam as often as you can! -- Sudha Nandagopal, sn58@cornell.edu; and Sam Buckingham, swb9@cornell.edu. 04 | Wedding celebrations! Congratulations to our newlyweds! Allison DiMartino and Justin Morgan were married on July 3, 2005. They are living in Boston. Allison is attending law school at Boston U. while Justin is working in software. Allison writes, "We met during orientation week in the fall of our freshman year, when we both lived on the fourth floor of Class of '22.We were dating by Fall Break that year, so we were able to share all of our Cornell experiences. Then, on May 24, 2004, less than a week before graduation, Justin proposed at Stewart Park.We got married at the Fox Hill Inn in Brookfield, CT. Two of the bridesmaids, Steff Hilts and Jen Howard, were also residents of the fourth floor of '22 during our freshman year." Our next couple met sophomore year in their Psychology 265 class. On August 7, 2005, Tessa Montijo married Jeremy Riley in Tucson, AZ. Tessa currently attends the James E. Rogers College of Law at the U. of Arizona, while Jeremy works at Raytheon Co. in the contracts leadership development program. Fellow alumni Courtney Grander, Emilia Gianfortoni, Michelle Gottlieb,Matthew Perl, and Jonathan Powers honored the bride and groom by participating as attendants in the wedding party. Send in your updates, anything from stories about your travels, to new endeavors, jobs, or relocations. Also, join the Cornell 2004 Group on both friendster.com and thefacebook.com. -- Vanessa Matsis, vgm3@cornell.edu. 05 | Jessica Hayes, like most Teach for America (TFA) Corps members, is knee-deep in her first year of school. She spent the summer at the Houston TFA training institute, where she found the work "stressful but rewarding." During the week she participated in intense training sessions on teaching techniques, but still managed to spend some time in Houston's Rice Village area. The TFA center ran buses for participants, where Jessica and her co-trainees were able to check out local bars, shops, and even an outdoor symphony. She's currently one of two Cornellians from the 2005 TFA program in Clarksdale, MS. (Lin Yang is living and teaching in Helena, AR. He just started teaching high school math in late August.) While it isn't Ithaca, it has been an enjoyable place. "It's home to the Delta Blues Museum and the crossroads where blues great Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil," Jessica writes. "For the Delta, it is a fun place to live, because there is live music, Southern cooking, a Wal-Mart, and a grocery store." During the week Jessica teaches first grade math in Duncan, MS. "I have 23 active, intelligent, and very far-behind first graders," she writes.While she marvels at how anyone could be behind in first-grade math, after a statistical look it starts to make more sense. "By age 4, children from poor families have heard more than 30 million fewer words than their counterparts from professionals' households," she notes. Jessica is also quick to point out that the average household income of her students is $14,000, and that 75 percent of the families with school-age children are below the poverty line. "On the whole, though, they are your average 6-year-olds--silly, talkative, gullible, easily distracted, serious about learning, usually self-involved, hilarious, and, in groups, very frustrating to deal with," Jess shares. "But I adore them, and I really hope that I can move them forward in their education." Cornell's favorite weatherman, Adam Daum, is also experiencing early mornings with silly, talkative, and self-involved individuals, but instead of teaching, Adam is working in television. He's currently holding down two jobs as a weather producer: one for NBC's "Today" show, and the other for NY-1 news. Since the jobs are both parttime, Adam is able to juggle them. During the day he uses his wit to fashion scripts that we hear on the air. The next time you listen to Al Roker, don't be surprised if he sounds a bit like Adam! Adam also designs the graphics used to illustrate various weather conditions. He's currently living at home, and saving money for an apartment in the city.When he's not working he spends time with his local friends, and assisting with the United Synagogue Youth Leadership, a Jewish youth organization.While he loves his job and his free time activities, Adam secretly pines for the day when he'll be able to step in front of the camera. After weighing various offers from environmental analysis firms on both coasts, Claire Debergalis was snatched up by Haley and Aldrich in Rochester, NY, where she has been since late August. Like the rest of you "real world" folks, Claire spent the summer apartment shopping. She finally settled on a cozy place about a mile away from Rochester's modest nightlife scene.Her summer weekends consisted of searching various decorator holy grails, including garage sale hunts for lamps and coffee tables. Adam Sinovsky has traded in his photographer lens for a job at Philips Electronics. Currently in the company's corporate development program, Adam will be in Corning for the next several months until he is shipped off to another Philips research facility. He's ultimately looking forward to next summer's destination--Amsterdam--where he'll complete his training program. In his free time during the week, he hits the gym, but on the weekend Adam often hits the road, traveling all over central and downstate New York. He also recently installed satellite radio in his car, and highly recommends it for anyone else who is stranded in smaller towns. Finally, Josh Dormont writes with a request for help. Another TFA Corps member, Josh started at an elementary school in NYC this fall, and is highly concerned about the health of his students. "There's this great site called ‘Donors Choose' that lets teachers write grants; people all over the world can fund all or part of them to help out teachers in under-funded schools," he notes."My first grant is for a clean carpet for the kids who have a severe tendency to get sick because there's a lot of filth around. If you're feeling generous, you can donate--or just spread the word to your friends. I'd be amazingly thankful. And for all you lawyerly people, it's a tax deductible gift, so that's pretty cool too" (http://www.donorschoose.org/locale0/donors.php?action=view_proposal&id=25374). -- Matthew Janiga, mwj3@cornell.edu; and Michelle Wong, mrw29@cornell.edu. |
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