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wn “little cherub,” infant daughter
Amelia Rose. He’s proud, too, that he
can draw so deeply on his Swarthmore
experience for every facet of his life.
“Swarthmore fosters diversity,
intellectualism, multiculturalism, and
community service,” Goldberg says. “It
was a great place for me to learn.”
In addition to its performances,
Cherub Improv also provides
leadership and team-building
workshops for companies and
individuals of all ages, with the key
takeaway being—when it comes to
helping others on the stage, or in life—
always say, “Yes!”
Goldberg’s happy he took the plunge
as he sees what he and his friends
created: a well-established force for
good, now in its 11th year, that has
been featured in The New York Times
and The Wall Street Journal.
“We’ve come so far—we have
systems in place, a fixed schedule, a
board of directors,” he says. “Lots of
brilliant people are involved, every
one dedicated to bringing healing and
happiness through laughter.”
FALL 2018
/ Swarthmore College Bulletin
61
class notes
to helm the production of SaintSaëns’s Samson et Dalila for his
Metropolitan Opera debut.
In an article written after
attending the World Economic
Forum’s annual summit in
Davos, Switzerland, Cori Lathan
describes her family’s personal
journey to love, support, nurture,
and celebrate their transgender
child, from research and learning,
to confronting discrimination
head-on, to galvanizing support
from their daughter’s school,
doctors, All-Star Cheer Gymnast
community, and the community
at large (bit.ly/CLathan). They
are proud advocates for both of
their LGBTQ+ daughters, who are
thriving. Cori also reports that
support from the Swarthmore
community has been great—from
fellow classmates to old friends
who are on their own journeys with
gender-expansive families.
Keith Reeves was on set for
the taping of “Everyday Racism
in America,” an MSNBC townhall event exploring ingrained
prejudices and bias.
Dawn Porter focuses on the
tragically short life of Robert
Kennedy in her four-part
docuseries, Bobby Kennedy for
President, available on Netflix.
The series explores the changes
in Kennedy’s outlook and political
beliefs after the death of brother
John F. Kennedy in 1963, and
delves into his brief race for the
White House in tumultuous 1968,
with a nod to today’s divided
America. “With all the political
upheaval America is living
through,” Dawn says, “we all felt
that there was no better time to
study Bobby Kennedy’s life and
legacy. I’m honored that Netflix
entrusted me with a story of this
scale.” Dawn joined the faculty of
UC–Berkeley’s Graduate School
of Journalism, where she teaches
production, is lead adviser to
documentary students, and is the
documentary program’s interim
director for 2018–19.
Before closing, let me circle back
to our 30th Reunion. I mentioned
feeling in my youth that I’d never
reach such a milestone. I realize
not everyone reached it, so I
want to acknowledge our late
classmates. Laura Cleland, David
62
Swarthmore College Bulletin /
FALL 2018
Coates, Mamiko Kawai, Erika
Berson Lange, Ken Reeves, and
Marguerite Simpkins, you are not
forgotten.
Till next time.
1990
Jim Sailer
jim.sailer@gmail.com
Greetings! I attended reunion
for a day this year, played catch
with Chris Johnstone on Swat’s
incredible new baseball field—with
its own version of the “Green
Monster”—and made a quiet
visit to the bench memorializing
Jennifer Nolan. The campus is as
gorgeous as ever, and there is a
new, very large bio-engineeringpsychology building that is
reshaping campus’s northwest
corner. Quite a change!
Kai Campbell continues his
sterling career in academic
administration as provost and
dean of Knox College in Illinois,
following senior appointments
at Morehouse and Swarthmore.
Danielle Moss Lee, chief of staff to
the president of the New York Civil
Liberties Union, was appointed to
the board of the New York Women’s
Foundation. Congrats!
It’s great to hear from Emily
McHugh, who published her first
book, which was five years in the
making: The Little Girl’s Guide to
Entrepreneurship: What I Know
Now That I Sure Wish I Knew Then.
“The book is semi-autobiographical
and distills the essence of
entrepreneurship. It’s for anyone
who seeks to understand the
vicissitudes of entrepreneurship,
lessons learned, and strategies for
success.” The book is available on
Amazon and Casauri.com.
Matt Peron was appointed chief
investment officer of City National
Rochdale, a division of City
National Bank. Way to go!
Congrats to Phil Weiser, who won
a tough, close Democratic primary
for Colorado attorney general in
his first-ever run for elected office.
He will face the GOP nominee in
November. Good luck!
Jonathan Shakes lives near
Seattle but enjoyed experiencing
campus vicariously the past few
years by mentoring Yanyan Ren
’18, who started graduate studies
in computer science at Brown.
Jonathan volunteers for nonprofits,
including a performing-arts family
camp, Caz Northwest, that enables
him to inflict his nerdy, loudsinging, bald-guy shtick on younger
generations.
Jong Yoon has lived in the Bay
Area for more than 20 years,
raising a family and pursuing his
academic psychiatry career. (He’s
been on Stanford’s faculty for 16
years.) Jong and his wife have
two children, 15 and 12, and are
just beginning the college-search
process with their elder child. Jong
doesn’t see as many ’90ers as he
would like but keeps in touch with
members of other classes.
Deb Van Lenten Jagielow is
busy. “With 10-year-old twins, our
family life is filled with baseball,
lacrosse, and soccer practices and
games. The inconsistent weather
in Connecticut means our cars are
stocked year round with folding
chairs, sunscreen, bug spray,
sweatshirts, and blankets, which
all could be used in one weekend
of competitions. We were fortunate
not to be hit by Connecticut’s
tornadoes in May, though blocks
north of us had major damage and
our local state park will likely be
closed through fall. School was
extended until June 26 (yelp!) due
to closings; it’s pretty miraculous
how quickly they got roads cleared
and power back around here.
Counting our blessings.”
Our featured update is from
James Parchment:
“I’ve worked at S&P Global
Ratings for 12-plus years and really
like it—it’s a good mix of finance
and research. I visit Swarthmore
and Haverford each year to speak
with students about careers in
finance, and I’ve been successful
at getting a few to launch their
careers at S&P.
“I live and work in lower
Manhattan, so I am still an island
boy, but the Manhattan beach is
very different from those of my
childhood.
“With work requiring more energy
and attention each year, I try to
focus on planning vacations that
refresh my connections. I went to
Cuba and (back to) Jamaica with
a friend and my sister; I visited
the Seychelles with relatives; and
I try to visit Florida when I can
with Todd Schiff ’91 to see David
Malaxos and his wife.”
Thanks for all the great updates!
1994
Kevin Babitz
kevinbabitz@gmail.com
The big Swattie in the news
in Greater Washington this
year has been former FBI official
Andrew McCabe. Andrew isn’t
a Swattie himself, but you know
that when you saw the headline
“McCabe Steps Down,” you were
thinking about coming downstairs
to get your reserved reading.
Closer to my home in Silver Spring,
Md., there have been green signs
everywhere for Darian Unger ’95’s
state delegate candidacy. A small
step toward #ninetiesswatties
ruling the world!
Shulamit Shapiro Babitz ’97 and I
celebrated a number of milestones
this year. Three of our children—
Nati, Elisheva, and Maddie—
graduated from kindergarten,
elementary school, and middle
school, respectively, and our eldest,
Rebeccy, took her first AP exam
this spring. I write from our annual
summer trip to Israel, where, inter
alia, it is always a marvel to see
how the typical 19-year-old wakes
up much earlier for military or
national service than I did for class.
Don Easley reports that, after a
short stint in the NBA’s D-League,
riding the pine for the Santa Clara
Karichs, he ended his dream of
playing professional hoops and
joined T. Rowe Price Investments
in Baltimore. Don is now a portfolio
manager, coming upon his 20th
year at the firm. Don and wife Tara
have four kids, ages 17 to 10.
Our family visited Aaron “Neal”
Feuer, his wife, Channi, and his
eight children in New York in April.
SPOTLIGHT ON …
RACHEL GUY SCHUCHARDT ’94
Rachel and youngest
daughter Marguerite in
December 2017
All of the kids are as talkative as
Aaron was in college, which creates
quite an atmosphere in the Feuer
household. Aaron is an executive
compensation attorney for Cravath,
Swaine & Moore.
Looking forward to hearing from
classmates near and far. Less than
a year until our 25th Reunion!
1996
Melissa Clark
melissa.a.clark@gmail.com
Gerardo Aquino
aquinonyc@yahoo.com
Jerusha Klemperer writes: “About
10-plus years after everyone else, I
had a baby, June, about a year ago!
She enjoys regular visits from her
future best friend, Hallie, daughter
of Will Craig and Laurie Gerber (in
addition to other Swattie aunties,
uncles, and cousins).” Jerusha
left her job at the organization she
co-founded, FoodCorps, to help
launch the rebranded FoodPrint
(foodprint.org), a resource on
cooking, shopping, and eating
more sustainably.
Dom Sagolla and partner Persiana
had a baby boy, Wilder. That makes
three for Dom, counting sons
Leo, 10, and Ansel, 7. Dom is now
product director at Bionic, creating
In the spring, we profiled Read ’93 and Rachel Guy Schuchardt ’94,
the parents of 10 children and grandparents of two. Read responded,
but Rachel (understandably) was too busy. Happily, she found time
to add her voice to the mix, despite a schedule of “homeschooling,
musicals, bardic dinners, etc. It is a zoo around here.”
“The average American marries at 29 and has 1.4 children,” says
Rachel. “Swatties have never been average, and I think we have
a responsibility in this area to mindfully and soberly consider
opening our hearts and homes to more children than this. There is
nothing in this world more valuable or more lovely than the human
person. Move the decimal place!”
+
CONTINUED: bulletin.swarthmore.edu
a startup/venture capability for
large enterprises.
Cristy de la Cruz got married
last September and is “enjoying
the adventure (the second time
around) after letting go of being
single, which I had thought was
a firm commitment for me.” She
welcomes Swattie feedback on her
blog, meximinnesotana.com.
We received our first-ever update
from Andrew Medina-Marino!
After Swarthmore, he completed
a molecular neuroscience Ph.D. at
Caltech and then joined the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence
Service office, where he trained
in epidemiology and outbreak
investigations. Seven years ago,
he immigrated to South Africa,
where he lives with partner DanielDuncan Rheed. Andrew is head of
research for a South African NGO,
and conducts research on HIV and
tuberculosis (bit.ly/AndrewMM).
Nazanin Moghbeli took a leave
from her cardiology practice in
Philly and moved to Paris with
her husband and three kids.
She immersed herself in art—
making paintings and soaking in
exhibitions—and hosted many
visitors, including Ruth Gauchman
Blatt and family. Nazanin and
family headed back to the U.S. this
summer.
Jason Adler was the officially
endorsed Democratic candidate
for the 35th House seat of
Connecticut’s General Assembly.
Lesley Tsina is writing for the
Flintstones reboot, Yabba Dabba
Dinosaurs, on Boomerang and the
ThunderCats reboot, ThunderCats
Roar, on Cartoon Network. Both
premiere in 2019.
Vijay Toke, a litigator in San
Francisco, joined the intellectual
property group at Pillsbury
Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
Chris Hourigan and family were
delighted to have a visit from Paul
Krause and family this spring. “The
best friends from freshman year
still have a lot in common, just 26
years later,” Chris writes.
I, Melissa, still work at
Mathematica Policy Research and
enjoy life in Princeton, N.J., with
my husband and two kids, ages
8 and 10. As always, thanks for
sending updates!
1998
Rani Shankar
rani_shankar@yahoo.com
Amita Sudhir
amitasudhir@gmail.com
We’re fresh from the 20th Reunion
and still on a Swattie high! It feels
like yesterday we were students
there—especially when walking
around campus with the Philly
summer in full effect and under the
Sharples tent. We missed those
who weren’t there but had a great
turnout overall. There were so
many conversations I, Rani, wanted
to continue and people I didn’t get
to catch up with properly. Let’s
plan to see each other again at the
25th and, in the meantime, stay in
touch. Speaking of: Amita and I are
passing the baton to another pair of
class secretaries. It’s been a good
run these last 20 years, so this is
our swan song—we’re ready to fly.
Many thanks to Rachel Breitman
and Shirley Salmeron, who have
volunteered to take over.
As I write, baby Nico, 8 months,
crawls at my feet begging to be
held. He was born Oct. 28, 2017.
Sister Tabby, 4, and my partner,
Mark, and I are thrilled Nico’s here
and are still a little sleep-deprived
(at least I am!). This year, we
moved 1.5 miles down the road to
Ridgewood, Queens, and now enjoy
more space and quiet.
Larry McDowell reports: “Though
unable to make it by reunion, I was
delighted to have Dan Attig visit me
in Brooklyn during an all-too-rare
trip stateside from Australia. Then
a few weeks later, on July 6, my
husband, Sam, our son Idris, 4, and
I were thrilled to welcome daughter
(and little sister) Eudora Esther
Eren, named for my best friend
Emre Eren ’99,” who tragically died
last winter.
Julie Falk planned to attend
reunion but “I ended up being too
pregnant to fly. Edith Renee was
born June 15. Zach Kramer ’94 and
I have two older children, daughter
Susanna, 12, and son Marlow, 9.
We’ve been in Portland, Ore., for
12 years. I am in my ninth year as
executive director at Bitch Media.
I hope to attend our 25th Reunion,
but if you find yourself in Portland
before then, please let me know!”
Also on the West Coast, Justin
Hall launched bud.com, a California
benefit corporation delivering
recreational cannabis. Justin is
co-founder and CTO, and lives in
San Francisco with his wife and
their daughter, 2. Dan Gallant was
named to the Fulbright Specialist
roster and had two op-eds about
social media ethics and strategy
published in The Wall Street
Journal (bit.ly/DanGallant).
Switching writers: I, Amita, had
an eventful year that included
FALL 2018
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63
class notes
living three blocks from the
Charlottesville, Va., park where
the 2017 white supremacist rally
occurred, and then being called in
to take care of patients in the ER
after a car drove into a crowd of
demonstrators there. This made
me particularly appreciative at
the reunion of being on a campus
where no buildings need to be
renamed, since they were named
after abolitionists in the first place.
Maurisa Thompson received a
creative writing MFA from UC–
Riverside in 2016. She has a Walter
Grant from We Need Diverse Books
to complete a children’s novel.
She is also working on a poetry
manuscript and teaching high
school English in San Francisco.
Giridhar Srinivasan lives in
D.C., working on infrastructure
investments in emerging markets.
He and wife Maya have two kids
under 5, which explains why
they “live in a playpen and are
chronically tired.” Despite this, he
found time to lead a dads’ group at
his son’s school, discussing how to
be a more effective parent. Giridhar
would be happy to share the
curriculum—“Swarthmore seminar
forever!”
After some soul searching
following a traumatic car accident,
Vincent Jones sought ways to have
less stress—and Citizen Jones
Travel, a bespoke travel company,
was born. Julian Haffner is running
for Maryland state delegate. Rachel
Breitman and Cat Laine continued
their trend of annual Swattie
vacations, attending Montreal’s
jazz festival. They invite others to
join them for Newport Jazz Fest
next summer. Kelli Tennent Griffis
moved from northern Virginia to
La Jolla, Calif., where husband
Eric is starting as director of the
Nikon Imaging Center at UC–San
Diego. Jennifer Sorowitz and
Seth Rosner welcomed daughter
Isabella Rose Rosner last October.
They happily live in Whitestone,
N.Y., and Jennifer is an associate
veterinarian in a small general
practice in nearby Levittown.
It’s been an honor and a pleasure
keeping up with everyone’s news
for the past 20 years. We look
forward to sending in our own
updates!
2000
Michaela DeSoucey
mdesoucey@gmail.com
Emily Shu
emily.n.shu@gmail.com
Hard to believe many of us are
turning 40 this year! We have lots
to report from our class.
Katalyn Vidal very happily became
Katalyn Vidal Loveless after
marrying Charles Loveless in a
beautiful May ceremony. Joining
them to celebrate were Jeannie
Gallego, Kim Foote, and Viviana Del
Prado. The couple honeymooned
in Spain, France, Italy, and Ireland
in July.
Kim was awarded a 2018 NYC
Emerging Writers Fellowship from
the Center for Fiction. Jeannie was
promoted to Diversity Management
Unit chief with NYC’s Department
of Education. Her daughters’ school
community in Brooklyn organized
to send supplies to the students
of Domingo Massol in Adjuntas,
Puerto Rico, many of whom are still
without electricity, water, and/or
homes. Jeannie encourages us to
remain engaged with community
service, awareness campaigns, and
donation efforts for Puerto Rico.
Christina Lutz was named to
Chicago Lawyer magazine’s top
40 attorneys under 40. She saw
George Flaherty and Anna Chirinos
Archer in May as part of her
husband’s birthday celebration.
In Sioux Falls, S.D., Hugh Weber
joined the national board of AIGA,
the professional association for
design. He spoke to the group’s
Philly chapter this summer and
brought his family to Swarthmore’s
campus for the first time.
Brendan Nyhan was named a
2018 Carnegie Fellow and is joining
the Ford School at Michigan as a
professor of public policy. He and
his colleagues published a Knight
Foundation white paper about
political echo chambers and how
people see information they don’t
agree with more than we think.
Tenure time for several of us!
Dan Kraut was awarded tenure in
Villanova’s chemistry department,
where he is the new graduate
program director. Paul Dickson
received tenure in computer
science at Ithaca, where he lives
with wife Kathryn and kids Elyse,
6, Seth, 4, and William, 2. Laura
Brown was awarded tenure in
computer science at Michigan
Technological University and
celebrated with an amazing and
delicious two-week trip around
Peru with Jen Pao ’01. Jacob Krich,
who researches highly efficient
solar cells, received tenure at the
University of Ottawa. He and wife
Patti have been “taking advantage
of an amazing program to directly
sponsor refugees into Canada,
increasing the total number of
refugees resettled in the country.
We have welcomed nine so far,
and looking at the current policies
to our south only makes the work
seem more important.”
Shalini Ayyagari is an assistant
professor of music at the University
of Pittsburgh. She, husband
Andrew, and new baby Amir are
moving to India for a year for her
to work on a documentary about
music-making on the India–
Pakistan border. Samira Mehta
writes: “I wrote a book! Beyond
Chrismukkah: Christian-Jewish
Families in the United States,
published by the University of
North Carolina Press.” Samira
lives in Philly’s Mount Airy
neighborhood.
Desiree Peterkin Bell taught
urban communication as a guest
lecturer at Penn this spring.
Jocelyn Kea Manigo completed
her first semester as director of
West Chester University’s Learning
Assistance and Resource Center,
where she oversees undergraduate
tutoring and academic coaching.
Marissa Colston lives and works
at Westtown School as director of
diversity and inclusion, and is an
active member of the Swarthmore
Black Alumni Network.
Lars Jan discussed Slow-Moving
Luminaries, his latest large-scale
installation at Miami’s Art Basel,
CLASS NOTES SONNET
This year, I’ve written sonnets every day
(with one or two exceptions), which I post
on Facebook. Many Swatties write to say
they like the verses, so I’ve had the most
supportive, random contact with a range
of Swat alums, including people who
had never talked to me. But it’s not strange —
it’s natural that our tiny, weirdo school
64
Swarthmore College Bulletin /
FALL 2018
would foster warm connections many years
away from camping in Crum Woods, McCabe,
the black box, Sharples brunch, the joys and fears
of being young. We’re somehow still the same:
we seek out one another’s work and art,
then offer feedback, using mind and heart.
—CATHY MULLER ’00
LAURENCE KESTERSON
ALUMNI PROFILE
“I am fundamentally an urban human being,” says Talia Young ’01. “My interest in fish,
and in living sustainably, is anchored in the city.”
CASTING A WIDE NET
She’s hooked on providing local, fresh fish
by Kate Campbell
AS A CHILD, Talia Young ’01 didn’t
spend much time near the ocean.
“I grew up in New York City, which
is to say I did not have any relationship
with wild fish,” she jokes. “But I was
always interested in the environment.
I spent a lot of time trying to convince
people to recycle paper and help save
the rainforest, but eventually began to
wonder about the economic and social
factors at play.”
At Swarthmore, she had a chance
to apply ecological theory to research
while studying invasive green crabs
in the Plum Island Sound estuary
outside Boston. The internship through
the Marine Biological Laboratory
Ecosystems Center in Massachusetts
was a turning point.
“That was the moment I got hooked
on salt marshes and the magic of those
places that lie between the land and
the sea,” she says. Now a postdoctoral
fellow at Princeton’s Department of
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Young has masterfully combined
her biology background, passion for
working with diverse communities, and
commitment to sustainability to create
Fishadelphia, a local, innovative—and
mobile—seafood program funded by
grants from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Local Food Promotion
Program and the David H. Smith
Conservation Research Fellowship.
“It’s heady and terrifying to be
an entrepreneur,” says Young about
the community-supported fishery
program she developed and launched
in February. But it’s working, thanks
to the help of her project partner,
Tasha Palacio, and their high-energy
colleagues: 28 middle- and high-school
students at Mastery Charter Thomas
Campus, a South Philadelphia school
where she once taught biology.
“Our model was to have an
environmental education program
where we also got to work on
leadership, team-building, and
business development skills,” says
Young. “The students we’re working
with are the loveliest group of young
people and are central to our success.”
And mentorship from Swarthmore
professors continues to be an
important part of her professional
trajectory: “Sara Hiebert Burch ’79 and
Rachel Merz have both been invaluable
mentors and cheerleaders for me, for
this project, and in general.”
In its pilot season this spring,
Fishadelphia sold seafood to
customers from diverse communities
across Philadelphia, providing 790
pounds of fish—including flounder,
skate, and porgy, as well as squid—
and 3,400 bivalves from New Jersey
fishermen, harvesters, and processors.
Student workers weighed in on
many of the business details, including
how to address their customers, many
of whom do not speak English fluently.
Fishadelphia also held a savory cookoff, where neighbors traded recipes.
Young led group field trips to the docks
and processing plants in New Jersey
where customers and students met the
people who caught and harvested their
seafood.
“Our fishery colleagues are another
important part of this story,” says
Young. “How we connect our harvesters
to our customers helps the students
study the relationships in business—
when they visit the docks, they see it’s a
multimillion-dollar operation.”
Stepping out of the academic role
and into the world of business has
delighted Young, who hopes to expand
Fishadelphia to other neighborhoods
in future rounds.
“I’m super excited,” she says. “It’s
fun to be doing something where all
the domains come together. It’s all we
could have hoped for.”
FALL 2018
/ Swarthmore College Bulletin
65
class notes
with artsy.net (bit.ly/LarsJan).
Check out this Elle article by
Jenny Yang about her experiences
as a stand-up comedian: bit.ly/
JennyYang00. Jenny returned to
Swarthmore for a performance and
discussion last fall.
Kevin Schlottmann has a new
job at Columbia University’s Rare
Book and Manuscript Library
as head of archives processing,
overseeing the archivists that
care for materials selected by the
library’s curation team. Michael
Waddington is program director of
a small osteopathic residency in
Connecticut. He has a daughter,
Penelope, 2, whose favorite stuffed
animal is named “Sauerkraut
Foxamus.”
In May, Nadia Murray (now
Robinson) married Jason Robinson
in an intimate ceremony in
St. Lucia. In January, Miriam
Freedman welcomed baby
Ezra, who joins brother Noam.
Congratulations also to new dad
Cameron McGlothlin! He and
husband Andrea met new son
Matteo in February right after he
was discharged from the hospital,
after they were chosen by his birth
mom in an open adoption. They are
over the moon and sleep deprived.
Cameron works in refugee
resettlement as a civil service
employee at the State Department
(a great program, though struggling
under this administration).
As for us, Michaela started
tennis again as her 40th birthday
present and happily played singles
on a competitive old-lady team
this summer, and Emily found
inspiration in her high school
students’ artwork and writing in
the Bronx, as profiled on Gothamist
this spring (bit.ly/EmilyShu).
Please keep us in the loop with
your news!
2002
Tanea Harris married Joseph
William Dunton on May 11 in Santa
Swarthmore College Bulletin /
2004
Danny Loss
danny.loss@gmail.com
Tanya Wansom
swarthmore2002@gmail.com
66
Barbara, Calif., where they live.
Peter Austin and wife April added a
family member in 2016: Son Jamie
is 2 and largely gets along with
brother Liam, 4. Joanna Brown
welcomed son William Alexander in
March. Her family is happily settled
near Boston.
Christine Crumley Nay and her
family relocated from northern
Virginia to Silicon Valley in June for
her new job at EY. More running,
cycling, yoga, and tennis await!
Andrew Alderete and his
wife moved to Boulder, Colo.
He is continuing his work with
CineConcerts, managing more than
900 film concert performances in
48 countries, through the end of
2018.
Dan Blim wrote from Florence,
Italy, while on a break from doing
archive research on composer
Steve Reich in Basel, Switzerland.
He spent the past year on leave
working on his book as a visiting
fellow at the University of
Rochester’s Humanities Center
but is excited to return to Denison
University and the classroom this
fall.
Sonia Mariano is an urgent care
doctor in Hamilton, New Zealand,
where she surfs a lot and is waiting
for a visa to Australia. She caught
up with Maya Peterson in Santa
Cruz, Calif., when she passed
through for a conference. I, Tanya
Wansom, am having fun raising my
sons (ages 1 and 3) with husband
Chris in Bangkok. As always, I love
hearing from you. Please contact
me to share news or update
your email address to receive my
biannual call for class notes!
FALL 2018
Rebecca Rogers
rebecca.ep.rogers@gmail.com
Family updates! Stephanie Gironde
Best and her husband welcomed
Andrew Robert Best in October
2017. Amir Jaima and his wife’s
family grew Jan. 10 with the arrival
of daughter Somanya. Somanya’s
brother blames his parents for
the diminished attention and
is very sweet toward his sister.
They all moved from New York to
Houston in June. Renuka Nayak
and husband Tony Singh welcomed
daughter Zoya Singh Nayak in
April. Renuka was awarded a
National Institutes of Health grant
of about $900,000 to continue
research on the microbiome’s
impact on rheumatoid arthritis
treatment. David and Jerusha
Rodgers Sinsley welcomed son
Soren in February. The family,
including older son Logan, live in
Seattle where Jerusha works for
Amazon.com.
Rachel Fichtenbaum and
Sarah Langer ’07 got married
in November, with purple-andorange festivities attended by
many Swatties. Friends and family
descended on Somerville, Mass.,
from as far away as Seattle, Los
Angeles, and England. Special
thanks to Maria-Elena Young and
Kate Penrose for offering a toast,
Teresa Kelley ’07 for reciting
one of the seven blessings, and
Max Ray-Riek ’05 for holding the
chuppah and reciting a blessing.
Susan Roth married partner Sonia
and published her eighth romance
novel under the pen name Rose
Lerner.
Artists updates! Collector Peggy
Cooper Cafritz selected Njideka
Akunyili Crosby’s The Beautiful
Ones, #1a to grace the cover
of her book Fired Up! Ready to
Go! Hernease Davis had a solo
exhibition at the Visual Studies
Workshop in Rochester, N.Y.,
drawn from her series “A Womb of
My Own (Mistakes Were Made in
Development).”
In Lancaster, Pa., Emily Alvarez
received board certification and
was promoted to lead art therapist
with the Children’s Aid Society.
She completed a 200-hour yoga
teacher training and enjoys being
a yogi to keep life balanced.
She’s also the proud mom of an
adventurous, wonderful 6-year-old
boy who completed kindergarten
in June.
Kellan Baker co-authored an
article for Scientific American on
the importance of science to the
transgender community.
Adrienne Mackey’s company,
Swim Pony, received a $150,000
grant for a project with the
Pennsylvania Environmental
Council to create a mobile app
that embeds original storytelling
onto the Philadelphia area’s Circuit
Trail network. She’ll oversee
the creative side to create a
GPS-triggered experience where
listeners hear an unfolding drama
as they walk a trail.
Wuryati Morris is back home in
Jakarta, Indonesia, where she’s
working on sustainable fisheries,
an unexpected new passion.
Visitors welcome!
Thanks to Sam Dingman, Morgan
Simon was on the Bad with Money
podcast to discuss social investing
and Swarthmore’s endowment.
Sam has a podcast of his own,
Family Ghosts.
ACLU lawyer Nate Wessler spent
some quality time with Justice
Sotomayor and friends arguing
Timothy Ivory Carpenter v. United
States (cellphone-tracking
admissibility case).
We, Rebecca and Danny, continue
to settle into suburban life in
Arlington, Mass. Danny started as
advising coordinator in Harvard’s
general education program.
Given the earnestness with which
he ticked off his PDC and W
requirements at Swarthmore, this
seems a good fit. Rebecca always
enjoys crossing paths with Swattie
internists at the Society of General
Internal Medicine conference—this
year with Alison Landrey and Anna
Morgan. Rebecca and Alison also
had the good fortune to break
away from the conference for
lunch with fellow internist Katey
McCaffrey and daughter Rose!
2006
Wee Chua
wchua1@gmail.com
Sad news to share: Jeff Billion
died in August 2017 in Seattle.
Zach Zaitlin moved back to Philly
in August 2017 after five years in
his home state of Maine (Portland,
to be exact). Zach teaches
piano, sings in a couple of choirs
(including Mendelssohn Club of
Philadelphia with Caitlin Butler,
music professor Jon Kochavi,
and other Swatties), attempts to
compose music, and is working
at his second Friends school
(Friends’ Central, as assistant
choir director), milking the
Friends–Swarthmore connection
for all it’s worth. He even taught
piano lessons at Swarthmore,
working with students enrolled in
Music 9. In his spare time, Zach
enjoys running, cooking, and
attempting to keep up with the
mass quantities of fur shed by
his two cats, Toni Scratchton and
Ding-Dong.
Jon Greenberg enjoys dad life in
Alameda, Calif. (equal parts hilarity
and destruction). He still manages
to find time to play Frisbee and
was to reunite with old friends and
head to the World Championships
in July as part of Team China.
Two years ago, Abraham Howland
and Jessica Larson moved to
Austin, Texas, where Abe is a
computer programmer and Jess
is a computational biologist. More
recently, they have been racing
each other in sprint triathlons.
Lisa Nelson and Anthony
Manfredi ’07 had baby Peter
William Nelson Manfredi on March
7, joining brother Carl, 3, in St.
Paul, Minn.
Since returning to Pittsburgh two
years ago, Danielle Miller Bond
has transitioned from full-time
academia to full-time engineer with
CPower Energy Management. She
enjoys teaching part time at Point
Park University as well as hiking
with husband Chris.
Adam Roddy’s plant research
garnered media attention (bit.ly/
AdamRoddy1, bit.ly/AdamRoddy2).
Rachel Shorey crunched the
numbers on activism translating
into action (bit.ly/RachelShorey).
Katia Lom’s graduation film
Triptych was screened this
summer at the San Francisco
Jewish Film Festival and the Rhode
Island International Film Festival,
where it won first prize for Best
Experimental Film.
And Arthur Chu was back in the
news, this time the subject of a
SPOTLIGHT ON …
ROMANE PAUL ’10
Romane Paul ’10, a political science and education special
major at Swarthmore who gave the senior speech at the 2010
Commencement (bit.ly/RPaul10), recently addressed another
graduation audience—as Columbia Law School’s J.D. class speaker.
His advice for future graduates? “Remember that there is a part
of the world awaiting your discovery and your creative touch. Trust
your journey.”
+
documentary … where answers
were not given in the form of
questions (bit.ly/ArthurChu06).
2008
Mark Dlugash
mark.dlugash@gmail.com
New York, N.Y.: Anna Mello moved
back to NYC and is teaching
middle-school science at the
Chapin School. She hopes to meet
up with East Coast Swatties.
Jonathan Harris was back in
NYC as a summer associate at JP
Morgan’s private bank. He has one
year left on an MBA at Georgetown
McDonough.
After more than five years in
London, and many miles of travel,
Kyle White and wife Whitney
are moving back to New York in
November. Both are excited to be
closer to family and friends but will
miss being two-and-a-half hours
from Italy!
Working life: Anne Searcy
accepted a position as assistant
professor of musicology at the
University of Miami’s Frost School
of Music.
Patricia Kelly started as a
primary care provider with Kaiser
Permanente in Atlanta and joined
Morehouse School of Medicine as
an adjunct.
Rasa Petrauskaite is getting more
involved volunteering with the
CONTINUED: bulletin.swarthmore.edu
animal-rights organization Direct
Action Everywhere, disseminating
content for newspapers to publish.
Catalina Martinez and Evan
Trager moved to Menlo Park, Calif.,
to start new positions at Stanford.
Catalina is a bilingual clinical
associate for the Stanford Teacher
Education Program, and Evan is
completing a child and adolescent
psychiatry fellowship with the
School of Medicine. Although not
their first foray to the Bay (Yay!)
Area, they have been gone for
several years and look forward to
catching up with friends there.
Celebrations: Leah Handel and
Nathan La Porte celebrated the
birth of second son Felix Clay
Handel on May 8. Big brother
Cyrus enjoys having a new
audience for his goofs, and Leah
and Nathan are adjusting to the
elevated chaos level.
Ethan Giller and Holly Stewart
(Bryn Mawr ’08) excitedly
introduced daughter Avery Helen
Stewart Giller to the world May 10.
Alicia de los Reyes, Andrew
Quinton, and new big brother Paul
welcomed Manuel “Manny” Reyes
Quinton on June 15. The family
enjoyed summer in Seattle.
Ben Bradlow and wife Fenna
Krienen welcomed daughter
Miriam Daphne Krienen on March
18. She is being clothed in handme-downs from a close group of
Boston-area friends, including
several Swatties. After a year
conducting field research between
Johannesburg, South Africa, and
São Paulo, Brazil, Ben is writing
his dissertation on the political
sociology of these two mega-cities.
He also organizes around local
development issues at home in
Somerville, Mass.
Finally, Adam Dalva co-created
and co-wrote a comic novel, Olivia
Twist, which “follows a rag-tag
gang of girl thieves struggling
to survive in a dangerous future
London” (bit.ly/OliviaTwist).
2010
Brendan Work
theworkzone@gmail.com
Thank you for adopting an alum!
Bringing one of these sweet,
obedient 20X Swatties into your
home will be a decision you’ll never
regret. This facility operates on
the generosity of your updates,
so please remember to donate
yours to ensure that every alum is
watered and fed. We are, for the
time being, still a no-kill shelter.
Among our most adoptable and
adorable alumni are our doctors.
Consider the soft, pleading eyes
of G Patrick, who in a yearlong
general surgery residency at
Pittsburgh’s Allegheny General
Hospital has maintained his love
of Latin dancing and added the
West Coast swing to his repertoire;
or the unmatched pedigree of
Benjamin Mazer, who by the
third year of a Yale pathology
residency finally “almost has a
FALL 2018
/ Swarthmore College Bulletin
67
class notes
good answer when people ask
him what pathologists do”; or the
qualifications of Ashley Miniet,
in her last year of an Emory
pediatrics residency in Atlanta.
Do you want to adopt, but
your home isn’t ready for a
doctor? Take a look at this loyal,
housebroken Colin Schimmelfing.
He was an engineering manager
for six months at the education
technology company Clever, then
hopped on a container ship from
Oakland, Calif., to China to travel,
after which he hoped to find work
related to climate change. The
cuddly corporate litigation attorney
in the corner is Shaun Kelly, now
a Connolly Gallagher associate
in Delaware, and that alumnus
behind the crowd of admirers
is Gary Herzberg, a recent
Wharton MBA grad and McKinsey
associate. And that sleek coat
and playful grin belongs to David
Weeks, who moved to NYC last
November to run the company he
started in Beijing six years ago,
Sunrise International Education,
and has proudly joined the Rent is
Too Damn High Party.
Many of our Swatties are
rescues from Ph.D. programs,
where they were subjected to
horrors unspeakable. Take pity on
Julissa Ventura, who finished an
educational policy studies Ph.D.
at the University of Wisconsin–
Madison, or Roseanna Sommers,
a Yale J.D. and psychology Ph.D.
graduate moving to Chicago for a
two-year fellowship at UChicago
Law, where she will teach legal
writing to first-year law students
and research the psychological
and legal complexities of consent.
Have you nothing in your heart
for Simone Fried, still in her
Harvard educational policy
doctoral program, doing improv
comedy on the side and making
rugs out of recycled bedsheets?
Does your conscience not stir
for poor Suzanne Winter, who
began a history of science Ph.D.
at Berkeley shortly after breaking
her fifth metatarsal, requiring
months of home cooking from
Julia Wrobel?
Only a very few of our alumni
have behavior problems. Joel
Tolliver cannot stop wandering to
rural parts of central Georgia to
68
Swarthmore College Bulletin /
FALL 2018
lead expansion for Boys & Girls
Clubs, and Caitlin O’Neil has an
unhealthy addiction to working on
the California state prison budget
and sentencing policy, while doing
capoeira and gardening. The
lovable Jake Ban has a minor tic
in which he has to teach thirdgraders at the San Francisco
Friends School, and Mattie Gregor
MacDonald keeps traveling to New
York to visit Laura Wang and stare
at the Statue of Liberty. But can
you blame them? They just want to
be loved.
Saving an alum lends you years
of companionship and yields lots
of unexpected benefits. If you let
Justin diFeliciantonio of Georgia
into your life, he’ll include you in
his tennis clinics and support your
yoga and meditation program at
the Isha ashram in Tennessee.
Adopt Rachel Bell and she’ll tell
you about the time she watched
the MPR raccoon scale the UBS
skyscraper in Minneapolis in
person. And Alice Evans comes
with beautiful baby boy Moss “Rio”
Evans-Moyer, born to Alice and
partner Lisa Moyer on Dec. 27
and welcomed into a large, loving
extended family.
These fascinating, furry, and funloving friends are ready to step into
your lives, if you’re ready to make
the commitment. For the low cost
of one update every six months
sent to theworkzone@gmail.com,
you can make a difference in the
life of a 20X alum. Please act now.
2012
Maia Gerlinger
maiagerlinger@gmail.com
A lot of movement this time—
people are finishing projects and
leaving cities. It takes courage to
stick with something, but it also
takes courage to begin again.
New England: Kara Stoever
finished med school in the Bronx
and started an OB/GYN residency
in Providence, R.I. Michael Xu
left Beijing’s startup world for an
architecture summer program
in Cambridge, Mass. Elizabeth
Hamilton finished her first year at
Harvard Law.
New York: Dante Fuoco left New
Orleans to train at NYC’s Stella
Adler Studio of Acting. Fabian
Castro is a media strategist at an
ad agency and DJs on the side at
Brooklyn’s House of Yes. He also
runs a record label, HOMAGE,
which released its fourth EP in
July. William Campbell transferred
from NYC to Singapore and would
love for Swatties to reach out!
Natalia Cote-Muñoz finished a
master of public policy at Harvard
and is moving to New York with
David Weeks ’10. “Looking forward
to spending 90 percent of the
salary of the job I don’t have yet
on a closet-size room!” she says,
accurately. Lindsay Dolan finished a
political science Ph.D. at Columbia
and is starting a postdoctoral
fellowship at Princeton’s Niehaus
Center for Globalization and
Governance. I, Maia Gerlinger, left
Jersey City to begin a comparative
literature master’s at Paris’s
Sorbonne University. Anastasia
“Tasha” Lewis has a solo show
this fall at the Philadelphia Magic
Gardens featuring hand-sewn
sculptures. Hanna Kozlowska
wrote a Quartz piece about
fake-news claims that Parkland,
Fla.’s survivors were crisis
actors (bit.ly/HannaKParkland).
Jessie Cannizzaro (pg. 27) was
interviewed by Broadway World
about the filming of Puffs, an
off-Broadway comedy in which
she acts (bit.ly/JessiePuffs). Anna
Shechtman ’13’s crossword puzzles
are now on The New Yorker’s
website (bit.ly/AnnaNewYorker).
Linnet Davis-Stermitz finished law
school and moved to New York to
clerk for a federal judge. “I’m eager
to reconnect with bagels—I mean
Swatties—on the East Coast!”
Linnet also sent updates about
somebody else—so sweet! “You
FOLLOW US!
Facebook and Instagram:
@SwarthmoreBulletin
#SwatBulletin
should give a shout out to Sahiba
Gill’s (a) graduating law school
and (b) somehow also being the
primary author on a 130-plus-page
report about labor abuses at NYU’s
Abu Dhabi campus—i.e. being
completely amazing and inspiring.”
This is what friendship looks like.
Pennsylvania: Dan Ly finished
med school and began a pediatrics
residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital.
Margret Lenfest is in her final
year of Penn vet school. Timothy
Brevart does software development
at Nasdaq in Philly and is a member
of Volunteering Untapped, helping
children and families in need.
Kristen Allen passed her qualifier
exams and finished the second
year of a Ph.D. in engineering
and public policy at Carnegie
Mellon, focusing on pregnant
women’s language to understand
their mental and psychological
risks. She also received an NSF
Graduate Research Fellowship.
Most important, though, she has
a “splendid” cat—and she sent
pictures. Everyone should do this!
Zachary Gershenson graduated
from Penn and is an analyst
specializing in oncology and gene
therapy at SAI MedPartners,
a pharmaceutical consulting
firm. He and wife Karen live in
Harleysville, outside Philly. He
offered to send pictures of his cat
and dog, but did not take the kind
of initiative that Kristen did. Alex
Burka defended a robotics Ph.D.
thesis at Penn and is “plotting his
escape from academia.” Shawn
Doherty Gonzalez completed a
comparative literature Ph.D. at
Rutgers and started teaching in
the Princeton Writing Program.
She lives near Philly. Manuk Garg
works in health care and “spent a
lot of time sipping tea.” John “Wes”
Willison and wife Hana Lehmann
’13 live in Philly. Wes has finished
two years of a master’s of divinity
at Princeton.
D.C./Maryland: Sara Blanco
finished a master of public policy
at George Washington and works
for Running Start, training young
women to run for political office.
Naomi Glassman graduated from
Georgetown Law and also earned
a Latin American studies M.A. She
took the bar this summer before
a human rights fellowship. Elissa
Wong finished a toxicology Ph.D.
at the University of Rochester
Medical Center and now works
at the FDA in Silver Spring, Md.
David D’Annunzio and Emilia
Thurber ’11 married June 2 after
meeting as members of Mixed
Company almost 10 years ago. Jes
Downing was a bridesmaid, and
Alex Israel ’11, Mary Klap ’11, and
Eva McKend ’11 performed readings.
Many former Mixed Company
members also attended: Julia
Cooper, Jack Nicoludis, Brenna
DiCola ’11, Will Treece ’11, Nemo
Swift ’11, Julian Thomas ’10, and
Chris Klaniecki ’10. Other Swatties
included Andrew Zimmerman ’11,
Brendan McVeigh ’11, Ben Lipton,
Michael Shin ’11, Aaron Stein ’11,
and Hannah Edelman, along with
Swarthmore men’s soccer coach
Eric Wagner and the bride’s father,
Mark Thurber ’77. And another
wedding! Lisa Shang and Zachary
Weiner honeymooned in Croatia
after getting married in May in
Zach’s hometown, Baltimore, where
the couple moved from NYC. Lisa
completed a statistics M.S. at Texas
A&M and is a senior programmer
analyst for Mathematica Policy
Research; Zach is a financial
adviser for Benjamin F. Edwards.
Also, Zach now knows he has a
sesame allergy.
South: Shiran Shen, a
new assistant professor of
environmental politics at the
University of Virginia, loved visiting
Swat as an external examiner
for the Honors Program and
“(re) appreciated the value of a
liberal arts education.” Christopher
Shea really loves his cats.
Midwest: Angela Meng graduated
from Wharton and will work for
General Mills in Minneapolis.
Adam Hardy is finishing a Ph.D. at
UChicago, and wife Laura RodgersHardy is in the midst of an M.D./
Ph.D. at the University of Illinois.
They are close enough to Linnet
Davis-Stermitz, Chris Sawyer ’10,
and Reid Wilkening ’10 for fairly
regular game nights. Hannah
“Alex” Younger finished an MFA in
Chicago. “My loan exit counseling
advised me that I should get a
$200,000 salary to pay them off,”
she writes, “so I have also learned
that the federal government has
very high hopes for my future.”
Instead, this summer, she taught
children sculpture and fashion
design while doing a residency.
Ozan Ertürk is moving from Ankara,
Turkey, to Lafayette, Ind., for a
Ph.D. at Purdue, and is “happy to
host slumber parties.”
West Coast: Adam Bortner
finished med school in Baltimore
and cross-country road-tripped
before a residency at Family Health
Centers of San Diego. Molly Siegel
is in the second year of an OB/
GYN residency in Portland, Ore.
Joseph O’Hara quit Columbia
Business School to be director of
strategy at San Francisco’s JUUL
Labs. “Basically, I stopped buying
stocks and started selling vapes.”
Jared Nolan and Allie Lee moved
to Oakland, Calif., last summer;
Jared is completing a city-planning
master’s at Berkeley, and Allie
works at a San Francisco startup.
They have a dog named Hatch,
after the chili pepper, as well as an
area D&D campaign with Aaron
Eckhouse, Halleh Balch, and
Andreas Bastian. Arsean Maqami
rejoined WeWork as director of
construction on the West Coast.
Eleanor Glewwe published a short
story in the online teen magazine
Cicada.
Abroad: Brice Jordan is finishing
at the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia
after “daily injera for almost
two years.” He will be in D.C. for
training until May, after which he
will move to Guatemala for his next
post.
2014
third year of a Ph.D. at UChicago.
He is in the Committee on Social
Thought with Danielle Charette.
This summer, he taught/mentored
undergrads of color, as Mellon
Mays fellows from around the
country came to Hyde Park for a
summerlong research program. In
March, he received an honorable
mention from the Ford Foundation
Predoctoral Fellowship, and this
fall he will start his dissertation
proposal, preparing for his research
on theories of love. Congrats, Paul,
and good luck! Anthony Collard will
attend Drexel’s LeBow College of
Business to earn an MBA.
Ammar Dahodwala started a USC
medicine–pediatrics residency in
June. Congratulations! Jake ’13
and Cally Deppen Neely bought
a house in Massachusetts’s
North Shore and, over the
summer, welcomed baby Fiona.
Congrats! Cally is finishing a
master’s in health studies and
has started work in women’s
health. Kate Derosier is working
on a neuroscience Ph.D. at
UC–San Francisco, and she also
adopted a very anxious—but very
sweet—rescue dog. Robert Fain
completed Goucher College’s
postbaccalaureate premedical
program in May and started at
Brown medical school in July.
Before moving to Providence, he
visited Mexico City and the Outer
Banks and used some free time to
get back into triathlon shape to,
hopefully, enter some races. Danny
Hirschel-Burns finished his second
year of a political science Ph.D.
at Yale. He took the last exam of
his life in August! This summer, he
was home in Michigan watching
the World Cup with brothers Tim
’17 and Nick ’21. Sophie Libkind
finished her third year of teaching
middle-school computer science
and started a math Ph.D. at
Stanford this fall. Pendle MarshallHallmark received a Fulbright
to participate in the binational
business program in Mexico City.
Great work!
Eleanor Pratt is leaving D.C.
after four years to start a master
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP,
MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION
Title: Swarthmore College
Bulletin
Publication Number: 0530-620
Date of Filing: 8/27/18
No. of Issues Annually: 4
Mailing Address of Known Office
of Publications and Headquarters
Office:
500 College Ave.,
Swarthmore, Delaware County,
PA 19081-1397
Publisher: Swarthmore College
Editor: Jonathan Riggs
Brone Lobichusky
blobichusky@gmail.com
Average No. of Copies of Each
Issue Published During Preceding
12 Months:
Welcome to another exciting
roundup of our class’s
whereabouts!
Kimisha Cassidy completed a
geography master’s, moved to
Montana, and is now a fellow
with the Society for Wilderness
Stewardship, working with the
U.S. Forest Service to implement a
wilderness-character monitoring
program. Paul Cato finished his
A. Total No. Copies
25,893
B. Paid and/or Requested
Circulation
1. Sales through Dealers and
Carriers, Street Vendors and
Counter Sales
None
2. Mail Subscription
22,826
C. Total Paid and/or Requested
Circulation
22,826
D. Free Distribution Outside the
Mail, Carrier or Other Means,
Samples, Complimentary and
other Free Copies
1,589
E. Total Distribution
24,415
F. Copies Not Distributed 1,539
G. Total
25,954
H. Percent Paid
93%
Average No. of Copies of Single
Issue Published Nearest to Filing
Date:
A. Total No. Copies
25,860
B. Paid and/or Requested
Circulation
1. Sales through Dealers and
Carriers, Street Vendors and
Counter Sales
None
2. Mail Subscription
22,807
C. Total Paid and/or Requested
Circulation
22,807
D. Free Distribution Outside the
Mail, Carrier or Other Means,
Samples, Complimentary and
other Free Copies
1,665
E. Total Distribution
24,472
F. Copies Not Distributed
1,615
G. Total
26,087
H. Percent Paid
93%
FALL 2018
/ Swarthmore College Bulletin
69
class notes
of public affairs at the University
of Wisconsin–Madison. She’s not
psyched about the weather, but
she is excited to live across the
street from Erin Lowe. Roomies
forever! Yena Purmasir completed
a yearlong research internship in
NYU School of Medicine’s World
Trade Center Health Program. She
is trading her Swarthmore garnet
for Harvard crimson as she pursues
a master’s in theological studies,
focusing on South Asian religious
traditions. Yena still actively writes:
This October will see the release of
[Dis]Connected: Poems & Stories
of Connection and Otherwise,
an anthology exploring the
inspirational relationship between
poetry and fiction.
Patrick Walsh is also leaving
D.C., headed to the University
of Illinois–Chicago to pursue a
mathematics Ph.D. In September,
Alison Ryland started at Columbia’s
Quantitative Methods for Social
Sciences program. Riana Shah
interviewed Sampriti Ganguli ’95
for her podcast, Venture Vignettes.
Emma Sipperly graduated from
Northeastern University School
of Law, and upon bar passage will
begin work as an assistant district
attorney for Middlesex County,
Mass.
Sarah Timreck graduated from
George Washington in May with
a master’s in Middle East studies
and is settling into her new role
as program coordinator for the
Armed Services Arts Partnership, a
nonprofit working with veterans in
D.C. and Hampton Roads, Va. She
looks forward to exploring D.C. and
welcomes area Swatties to join her.
Congrats, Sarah!
Heidy Wang started her fourth
year at Albert Einstein College of
Medicine. Cici Zhang is enjoying an
editorial fellowship with Chemical
& Engineering News in D.C. but
hopes to find a full-time science
journalism position this fall. She
had the privilege of connecting
with Corinna Wu ’92, a senior
editor at C&EN.
As for me, Brone, I greatly
enjoyed my third year of medical
school at Temple and just
submitted residency applications
for general surgery programs. I
also participated in a fun-filled,
rewarding medical mission trip to
70
Swarthmore College Bulletin /
FALL 2018
Ecuador. We served indigenous
communities in the Andes and saw
a vast amount of the gorgeous
country. I was thankful to see and
treat unique medical diseases,
learn some of the ancient Quechua
language, and buy many beautiful,
handwoven alpaca sweaters.
2016
Stephanie Kestelman
stephaniekestelman@gmail.com
Z.L. Zhou
zzlzhou@gmail.com
Cosmo Alto moved from his
hometown of Portland, Ore., to
NYC. He is a field service engineer
for Thermo Fisher Scientific,
installing and repairing electron
microscopes for area universities.
He is in the Netherlands for
half a year of intensive training
before heading to Rockefeller
and Columbia to install new
microscopes.
Kara Bledsoe graduated from
the Pratt Institute School of
Information and works at an arts
and culture consulting firm in
Beacon, N.Y.
Sara Brakeman works at the
African Leadership University in
Mauritius, where she is on the
technology team and is product
manager for all student-facing
tech systems. She is living her
best island life: eating coconuts,
stand-up paddle-boarding, and
scuba diving.
Hanyu Chwe spent part of the
summer in Monteverde, Costa
Rica, jamming out and playing
Magic with Daniel Eisler. This fall,
he starts the first year of a network
science Ph.D. at Northeastern
University. (Brennan Klein ’14 is
also in the program.)
Rachel Flaherman spent the past
year in D.C. and was grateful for
the warm company of classmates,
particularly DK13 dormmates Sun
Park (for taking her clubbing and
soothing her existential fears) and
Nicole Walker (for inspiring her to
become a lawyer). Though physics
will always hold a special place
in her heart (and Cornell 2nd will
always be her favorite place), she
starts law school at NYU this fall.
Martin Froger Silva lives in
Berkeley, Calif., and is a video
storyteller for FWD.us, a political
advocacy nonprofit working on
immigration and criminal justice
reform. He enjoys the foggy
weather, the ocean, and hanging
out with Abigail Dove, Shantanu
Jain ’17, and Cappy Pitts.
After two years with AmeriCorps
near Chicago, Olivia Edwards
moved abroad to pursue a master’s
in education at University College
London.
Swarthmore tiny-home-dweller
Nathan Graf was showcased in
AOL’s Dream Big, Live Small (bit.
ly/NathanGraf). Nathan continues
to work toward saving us all from
climate change, one carbon-free
storage unit at a time.
Veda Khadka moved to Boston
after two warm, sunny years in the
Bay Area to begin a microbiology
Ph.D. program at MIT.
Deborah Krieger became the
full-time curatorial assistant
at the Delaware Art Museum
in Wilmington. She also still
freelances and lives in Philly.
Claudia Lo graduated with a game
studies M.Sc. from MIT and hopes
to move to the Bay Area.
Constance Mietkowski is a senior
business analyst in management
consulting at A.T. Kearney, working
on public-sector projects in the
Middle East. She traveled to
Petra, Jordan, in March with Julia
Wakeford ’19 and Gloria Kim ’19;
to Moscow in April with Gabriela
Campoverde ’15; and to Greece in
June with Pauline Goodson ’14.
Catricia Morris received a
master’s in prevention science and
practice from Harvard. She will
stay another year in Cambridge to
complete her certification.
A’Dorian Murray-Thomas is
still a rock star. She wrote for
Glamour on the eve of the March
for Our Lives: “I believe that the
longtime, decades-old trauma
and resistance of inner-city youth
deserves a louder voice in the
conversation around gun control.
Our very survival is a political act.
Every breath we take is a form of
resistance.”
Molly Petchenik is back on the
East Coast to start at Yale Law
School. Stephanie Kestelman
could not be happier that she can
now drop by Molly’s house in two
hours, rather than six.
Kelly Smemo completed her
second year with AmeriCorps and
College Possible and will start a
master’s in higher education and
student affairs at Boston College.
This summer, she spent two weeks
road-tripping through Canada with
Elaine Zhou. She also returned
to Swarthmore to be a counselor
at the New World Magischola
LARPing camp, with Leonie Cohen,
Nathan Graf, and Emma Puranen
’18. Here’s to all the magic they
made! She and eternal partner in
crime Richard Monari are excited
to have expanded to two podcasts,
announcing their passions for
a very specific band (bit.ly/
KellyRichard).
Jihoon Sung moved to New
Haven, Conn., to pursue an
economics Ph.D. at Yale. He had
lived in Chicago for the past two
years, working for Chang-Tai Hsieh
’91.
Tania Uruchima left D.C. for
Madrid, where she will be a
language and culture assistant at
a high school through next June
(unless she renews her contract
and stays longer!). Tania is super
excited to run around Europe, to
take a breath and rethink her life
and career.
Maria Vieytez received a master’s
in humanities from UChicago and
is venturing into literacy-focused
nonprofit work.
Ciara Williams was named one
of eight up-and-coming black
leaders of the environmental
movement. Ciara works with
Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restored
Spaces Initiative, helping artists,
environmental activists, and
community members improve
public spaces. Follow some of her
work at bit.ly/PhillySustainability.
Alex Zabrodskiy started as a
technology analyst for Goldman
Sachs’s equity derivatives desk
after completing a computer
science master’s at Oxford. He
lives in London with his giant
Siberian kitten, Anyuta, and would
happily meet with any Swatties
who are around.
their light lives on
our friends will never be forgotten
expanded tributes at bulletin.swarthmore.edu
Louise Stubbs Williams ’34
Louise, a birthright member of the
Religious Society of Friends, died July
17, 2018.
Beloved by her large family, Louise
enjoyed golf and played into her 90s.
Vernon McHugh ’36
Jeanne Cotten Blum ’40
Jeanne, a pioneering executive and
civic leader, died May 16, 2018.
Beginning her career at IBM as a
demonstrator at the 1939 World’s
Fair, Jeanne rose to become
personnel director and president of
the IBM Employees Club. She also
raised seven children and endowed
a named Swarthmore scholarship.
Vernon, a World War II veteran
who built a corporate career before
becoming a rural mail carrier, died Sept.
2, 2009.
An avid golfer, Vernon also loved
dogs, especially his dock hound, Snoopy.
Elizabeth Sicard Sita ’37
A world traveler, Elizabeth died Feb. 11,
2013.
Known for her loving spirit, “Biddy”
was dedicated to charity work and her
family.
Jean Abrams Roberts ’40
Jean, who ultimately graduated from
Skidmore, died Dec. 30, 2010.
An editor at the New England
Aquarium, Jean also directed its
volunteer program.
Charlotte Speight ’40
Charlotte, a talented artist and editor,
died April 15, 2015.
The co-author of many books on
ceramics, Charlotte created art for art’s
sake, including dreamlike paintings
with swan imagery.
Philip Lorenz ’41
A top research chemist and passionate
environmental advocate, Philip died
May 14, 2018.
In addition to his distinguished
scientific career—including his 1943
recruitment to the Manhattan Project—
Phil served as a deacon, elder, choir
member, Sunday school teacher, and
volunteer in the First Presbyterian
Church in Bartlesville, Okla. His loved
ones honored his longtime request for
his body to be given to the University
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in memoriam
died June 5, 2012.
A World War II veteran decorated
with the Silver Star and the Purple
Heart, “Red” founded a still-successful
sales agency business and loved to play
golf, read, and volunteer in retirement.
Sally Yocum ’43
Preston Buckman ’41
An insurance executive who was
the son of a matchbox couple and
father of an alumna, Preston died
June 15, 2018.
During World War II, he served
as a medic with the 104th Infantry
Division in France, Belgium,
Holland, and Germany, for which
he was awarded the Bronze Star
and the Purple Heart, and was
invested as a Chevalier de le Legion
d’honneur by the Republic of
France.
of Oklahoma Anatomical Donation
program.
Margery Brearley Ward ’41
Margery, a devoted environmentalist,
teacher, Quaker, and mother of four,
died May 7, 2018.
An avid gardener and naturalist
who, with her husband, restored their
18th-century home of 65 years, Margery
traveled the world and was much
beloved for her hospitality, kindness,
and “always sunny presence.”
Charles Carpenter Jr. ’42
Charles, who ultimately graduated from
Wilmington College, died April 11, 2015.
Beginning as a caseworker, Charles
rose through the ranks to become the
commissioner of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.’s
Department of Social Services.
Philip Pendleton ’43
Philip, who rode the rails across the
country during the Great Depression,
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Sally, who attended Swarthmore,
Barnard, and Smith, died June 6, 2013.
As her loved ones wrote: “She
believed life was to be enjoyed: Dessert
first was always an option for Sally, who
boasted that she never did a sit-up in
her life. Sally was loyal, generous, tough,
and unflappable.”
John Graves ’45
John, who was known as Jack to family
and friends, died May 24, 2015.
A research veterinarian, Jack
traveled the world to help other
countries develop anti-viral vaccines
for livestock.
John Pichtelberger ’45
A Navy veteran who served in World
War II, John died May 14, 2018.
In addition to his award-winning,
three-decade career working for the
Naval Air Propulsion Center—where
he retired as head of his division—John
was also proud of his 1945 title as
amateur light middleweight boxing
champ.
Marjorie Colwell Boardman ’46
Marjorie, who was married to the late
Harry Boardman ’44, died April 2, 2013.
“Marjorie exemplified grace and
beauty while caring more about others
than herself, including many friends,
animals, and those in need,” her loved
ones wrote.
Cay Sawyer Colberg ’46
Cay, a dedicated teacher who loved
sewing, gardening, and politics, died
Nov. 1, 2011.
An advocate for medical education,
Cay donated her body to science.
Yoneji Fukunaga ’46
Yo, beloved by his large family, died
March 10, 2015.
Martin “Ernie” Luther ’46
Ernie, a writer who loved music and
gardening, died Feb. 3, 2016.
George D’Angelo NV
An eminent thoracic and cardiovascular
surgeon, George died Nov. 23, 2014.
Ultimately responsible for mending
more than 7,000 patients’ hearts and
touching countless lives, George was
also devoted to giving back to Erie, Pa.,
where he served as president of the
Philharmonic for six years, founded the
D’Angelo Young Artist Competition,
and supported the Boys and Girls Club
to help create a preschool that bears his
name.
August Giulianelli NV
August, a Navy veteran and mechanical
systems engineer, died Dec. 27, 2011.
Receiving several commendations for
his work on the Apollo Space Program,
August was proudest to be known as
Irene Bany Magaziner ’43
Irene, a compassionate, worldchanging librarian and community
activist, died March 11, 2018.
Described by her loved ones as
“a broad-minded, philosophical
individual with a wonderful sense of
humor who was easy to talk to and
a great listener,” Irene helped form
the Open Space Committee of Upper
Dublin (Pa.) that ultimately ensured
six percent of the township remained
recreational space.
a loving father, devoted husband, and
dedicated friend.
Ronald Hill NV
A veteran who survived the attack on
Pearl Harbor and returned to serve in
the Korean War, Ronald died June 20,
2012.
As a civilian, Ronald built an
impressive career at Martin Marietta as
an assistant subcontract director and
also sang in his church’s choir.
Frederick Schofield Jr. NV
A native Philadelphian, Frederick died
March 13, 2011.
Beloved by his family, Frederick was
also a retired real estate broker.
Robert Shurts NV
A World War II veteran who served in
the Pacific Theater, Robert died May
25, 2011.
Graduating from Lehigh University,
Robert received the school’s
Outstanding Alumni Award in 1998.
natural world. He was a man of
considerable intellect, emotional
constancy, and surprising humor. He
was accomplished in his educational
and professional pursuits: generous in
his contributions to his family and the
communities he called home.”
Janet Gay Nyholm ’47
A creative, faithful life force who lived
in Europe and Israel after graduation,
Janet died March 5, 2018.
After marrying a Danish trout farmer
and artist, Janet moved to Denmark,
where the couple raised five children
in an old farmhouse in the woods. “Like
her husband, Janet was cremated, and
their urns are sat down in a small hill
where long grasses and wild flowers are
blooming near our childhood home,”
Thomas Trafzer NV
Thomas, an engineer whose seven-year
Navy career included stations in Rhode
Island and Hawaii, died July 2, 2012.
Proud of his large family, Tom was
also a world traveler who eventually
explored all the non-arctic continents.
Graham “Pete” Harrison ’47
A former member of Swarthmore’s
Board of Managers who also served as
president of the U.S. Steel and Carnegie
Pension Fund for more than 25 years,
Graham died June 12, 2018.
As his loved ones wrote, “For nearly
95 years, Graham walked the planet
with humility, a strong commitment
to social justice, and deep respect
for the beauty and fragility of the
Robert Bair Jr. ’48
Robert, a Navy veteran who graduated
from Penn State with a degree in
engineering, died March 14, 2011.
An avid fisherman and golfer, he was
also active in the Episcopal Church.
Donna Larrabee Rigali ’48
Donna, a Navy veteran and badminton
champ at Swarthmore and beyond, died
May 30, 2018.
Going for her master’s in library
science when her youngest son entered
kindergarten, Donna built a 35-year
career as a reference librarian and loved
needlework, playing the piano, and
traveling with her family.
Jane Ann Jones Smith ’48
A chemist, lecturer, and half of a Quaker
matchbox marriage, Jane Ann died May
22, 2018.
Born on the high seas on a ship bound
for France, Jane Ann volunteered with
the League of Women Voters, was
president of the East Williston School
District Board of Education, and served
as vice president of academic affairs
of Friends World College until her
retirement.
Roderick Specht NV
Roderick, who served as an ensign on
the USS Fanshaw Bay and later built a
career in food service equipment sales,
died Oct. 12, 2013.
An avid skier, sailer, and camper, Rod
was a member of the First Presbyterian
Church of Cranford, N.J., for 49 years
and was also the assistant scoutmaster
of Boy Scout Troop 80.
her children wrote in tribute.
George Corse Jr. ’48
Edgar Kendall “Ken” Landis ’48
Kendall, a former Swarthmore
vice president and board member
who passionately championed the
performing arts as well as the Scott
Arboretum, died Sept. 13, 2018.
Ken spent his early career with
Citibank, which led the Landis
family to live abroad in Paris, Saudi
Arabia, and Beirut. After earning
an M.A. from Wesleyan University,
Ken joined Swarthmore as its
first vice president for alumni,
development, and public relations.
“Ken is best remembered for his
warmth, sly wit, and persuasive
charms,” said President Valerie
Smith, “all of which he put to
effective use in service to the
College.”
George, who was born and raised in
Swarthmore and served in the Marines
in World War II, died Nov. 27, 2017.
A lifelong devotee of antique cars,
George loved to restore them as well as
to garden, travel, and spend time with
his family.
Mary Fallin Porter ’49
Remembered as “the kindest and most
caring person,” Mary died June 21,
2018.
As her loved ones wrote, “Mary met
the love of her life [Bill Porter ’50] on a
bus on her way to Swarthmore College,
where she graduated with degrees in
psychology and astronomy.” Later in
life, the couple and their four children
loved to travel, sail, fish, and birdwatch.
Dorothy Brodie Clarke ’50
Dorothy, who taught law, served as a law
librarian, and contributed to law school
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in memoriam
Gwendolyn Hamilton Stevens ’50
Gwendolyn, a hugely gifted pianist
since age 6, died July 30, 2018.
Gwen followed up her Swarthmore
history degree with a bachelor’s and
master’s in music from Yale. A devoted
educator who once taught as an
assistant professor at Vassar College,
Gwen also organized two still-thriving
organizations: Patrons for Young
Artists, which sponsors concerts
in private homes, and the Howland
Chamber Music Circle.
Christian, died Feb. 23, 2013.
An active volunteer, John also ran a
private dental practice for more than 40
years in Wayne, Pa.
Dominic Cusano ’53
Dominic, who rose through the ranks
of the Scott Paper Co. to become vice
president of human resources, died
Nov. 20, 2017.
Passionate about history, golf, art,
and his family, Nick was admired by his
loved ones for his affectionate nature
and generosity.
Robert Gumnit ’53
textbooks, died May 17, 2018.
Meeting her husband over crossword
puzzles they worked together in class in
grad school, Dorothy went on to become
a volunteer who gave much of her
time and creativity to Church Women
United, the Girl Scouts, the Barstow
Parents Association, the Swarthmore
College Alumni Association, and Rotary
Auxiliary of Kansas City.
Edwin Ernst ’50
Edwin, who graduated from Lehigh
University, died Oct. 10, 2012.
A decorated Navy veteran, Edwin
served in the submarine fleet during
World War II and later became the
president and owner of a company
serving the banking and library
industries.
John Giles ’50
John, who played varsity tennis at
Swarthmore, died March 17, 2014.
College ties ran in his family: John’s
wife, Marjorie Giles ’50, and daughter,
Laura Giles ’75, were also alumni. His
classmates memoralized him in the
Halcyon as a “history major in honors,
with a penchant for renaissance
court life … paint-stained jeans and
Shakespeare in crum … one of the few
who really understand the art of give
and take in conversation.”
Alan Ward ’50
An engineer and veteran of the Korean
War, Alan died June 25, 2018.
His son, Andrew Ward, a professor
at Swarthmore, wrote of his fond
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Swarthmore College Bulletin /
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memories “of Alan attending and
very much enjoying both his 50th and
60th reunions at Swarthmore. Alan
particularly liked attending the special
lectures, as, like so many Swatties, he
was a lifelong learner.
“Alan was a skilled engineer, avid
reader, world traveler, accomplished
downhill and cross-country skier, and
appreciative of the arts, ballet, opera,
professional tennis, and movies,”
Andrew added. “Above all, he cherished
time with his family.”
An acclaimed epileptologist, public
health advocate, and professor, Robert
died Oct. 15, 2017.
A leading creator of the model for
comprehensive epilepsy care, Robert
founded the National Association of
Epilepsy Centers in 1987 and served as
president for 25 years.
Mary Katherine Yntema ’50
Mary Kate, a mathematics professor
who taught and traveled around the
world, died July 26, 2018.
Dedicated to her Baha’i faith, Mary
Kate also completed a pilgrimage to
Haifa, Israel, and served for several
years as a live-in caretaker of the
Urbana Baha’i Center.
Bruce Graves ’51
Bruce, a scientific glassblower, teacher,
and researcher, died June 26, 2015.
An enthusiastic outdoorsman and
environmentalist, Bruce was also active
in the peace movement.
Margery Davis Romberger ’51
Margery, who majored in biology at
Swarthmore, died July 12, 2018.
Half of a matchbox couple with the
late John Romberger ’51, Margery was
beloved by her large family.
John Henefer ’52
John, a family man and devout
Susan Harvey Houston ’53
Susan, an editor, marketing services
manager, and politically active
Chicagoan, died May 31, 2018.
A longtime Quaker who hosted a
meeting at her house for many years,
Susan also served on many local boards
and was instrumental in saving the
stained-glass windows of the St. James
Cathedral at Quigley Seminary.
Irving Kennedy Jr. ’53
An anesthesiologist who ultimately
cared for more than 40,000 patients,
Irving died June 1, 2018.
Also an accomplished long-distance
runner, Irving loved sailing and
collecting fine art from around the
world.
Eve Anne Johnson Kulberg ’53
Eve Anne, who raised five children and
built a career that included stints as a
dance camp director, art teacher, and
secretary, died March 1, 2018.
Her daughter, Pam, wrote in tribute:
“She will be remembered for her
stories, dancing, teasing ways, teaching
of art, and love of parties. Her ashes will
spread at the Noyes School of Rhythm
arts retreat center where she spent
many summers.”
Andrew March ’53
Edwin Freeman ’51
A dedicated teacher and
practitioner of psychiatric
medicine, Edwin died June 29,
2018.
As his loved ones wrote: Ned’s
“life was full of many passions, and
he had a special gift for creating
community and connecting with
people wherever he went. He was
especially drawn to people who,
like himself, loved to tell stories. He
was always a thoughtful listener
and faithful adviser to friends and
family alike.”
A Navy veteran, author, and professor of
geography, Andrew died July 15, 2018.
As his loved ones wrote: “He will be
remembered as a devoted humanist
who loved nature, language, literature,
and ideas. He believed in nonviolence
and simplicity of lifestyle and found
spiritual comfort in nature, meditation,
and the silent gatherings of Quaker
meetings.”
Roger Sale ’53
Roger, a charismatic teacher,
bibliophile, and author of 13 books, died
May 11, 2017.
An expert in multiple genres of
literature who taught at the University
of Washington, Roger “particularly
relished teaching groups to informally
act out The Importance of Being
Earnest,” according to a tribute his
loved ones wrote that also highlighted
how he “loved digging in his garden, the
smell of rain, and watching sunlight as
it moved across the trees.”
Alan Smith ’53
A distinguished scientist who held
seven patents, Alan died Aug. 3, 2018.
Outside of work, he loved to help his
sons tinker with cars and home repairs,
and enjoyed jogging, swimming, and
restoring antique radios.
Jonathan Fine ’54, H’93
Jonathan, who helped found the
Nobel Peace Prize-winning advocacy
organization Physicians for Human
Rights, died Jan. 17, 2018.
As the Boston Globe wrote: “Over the
past three decades, the organization
has investigated and documented the
medical effects of war crimes and mass
atrocities in more than 60 nations
around the world—in its early days
often with Dr. Fine leading the way,
bearing witness to abuses in places
such as Iraq and South Korea.”
The tribute also quoted patient Jose
Amado, who said, “A man like Jonathan,
the U.S. needs millions like him.”
Leighton Whitaker ’54
A clinical psychologist who also
directed student mental health
services at three institutions, including
Swarthmore’s Worth Health Center,
Leighton died May 10, 2018.
Lee was also “a lover of biographies,
Rachmaninoff, the Ink Spots, sports,
storytelling, and barking out of car
windows at dogs,” his loved ones wrote.
“He will be sorely missed as well by
a lifetime of patients and colleagues,
countless readers, and a world in search
of emotional healing.”
John Clark ’55
An influential pastor renowned for
living his faith, John died May 30, 2018.
After shepherding the Lansdale (Pa.)
Reformed Presbyterian Church for 36
years, John retired to Florida with his
wife, but continued to serve, teach, and
lead, calling his spiritual work “the best
job in the world.”
Julien Gendell ’55
Julien, a chemistry professor and antiwar activist, died June 20, 2018.
Jane Stevenson Heitman ’55
Jane, a longtime newspaperwoman
who spent 21 years as the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch’s daily advice
columnist “Martha Carr,” died May
18, 2018.
The developer of a pilot
preschool program that
later became the Head Start
program in St. Louis, Jane was
passionate about volunteering
for organizations such as the Girl
Scouts of America, the American
Cancer Society, the St. Louis Better
Business Bureau, and the Food
Crisis Network.
One of the organizers of the first
national teach-in held in Washington,
D.C., to protest the Vietnam War, “Julie”
also wrote two chemistry textbooks
that are still in use today and served as a
family services counselor.
Fred Van Arsdel Jr. ’56
Fred, who loved tennis and completed
his bachelor’s degree at Ohio Wesleyan,
died May 5, 2013.
A veteran of the Army Reserves, Fred
flew for Pan Am for several decades,
retiring as captain, but counted his
proudest moments as the births of his
three grandchildren.
Donald Zinn ’58
An attorney in the Bay Area of
California, Donald died March 2, 2018.
Proud that his younger brother and
sister, Karl Zinn ’59 and Sue Zinn
Eisinger ’64, followed in his College
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looking back
in memoriam
Mary Woelfel Poole ’58
Mary, who majored in history at
Swarthmore, died July 16, 2018.
As her son wrote in a tribute for her
loved ones: “She went out on the day
she came in and squeezed in an amazing
82 years in between in which she fell in
love with life and with you all.”
Ann Carter Bohan ’60
A Philadelphia native who lived in
Asheville, N.C., Ann died July 3, 2018.
A “caring, spiritual, and thoughtful”
wife, mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother, Ann “made herself
available to her family and her closeknit circle of friends,” her loved ones
wrote in a tribute. “Her loving and
generous spirit will be missed by those
who knew her.”
Norman Passmore III ’65
Norman, who parlayed his gift for
math into a bachelor’s degree from
Swarthmore and master’s and doctoral
degrees from the University of
Delaware, died May 9, 2018.
Beloved by his family and friends,
Norman also enjoyed running, skiing,
and playing the cello.
Stuart Reasoner ’69
Stuart, whose post-Swarthmore
journey included stints in the military,
television production, news reporting,
and Seneca Foods, died June 2, 2018.
Fascinated by theology and Scripture,
Stuart was a devout Catholic as well as
an avid reader and conversationalist.
He loved opera and animals, giving his
pets names from Greek mythology.
Jeffrey Remmel ’70
A distinguished mathematics professor
at the University of California–San
Peter Euben ’61
A beloved political theory professor
and mentor to generations of students,
Peter died May 28, 2018.
As his loved ones wrote: “His
singular teaching style mixed intense
intellectual engagement and passionate
commitment to political action with a
mischievous sense of humor (bad puns
were a specialty) and dramatic flair that
made ideas—and their consequences—
come alive.”
Robert Hopkins Jr. ’64
Robert, who was deeply loved by his
family and friends, died Jan. 12, 2014.
Bob was also a founding member of
Harvest Bible Chapel in Traverse City,
Mich.
Paul Todd ’64
A paralegal and volunteer who worked
to make wherever he lived a better
place, Paul died Feb. 27, 2011.
Paul received a master’s from
Western Michigan University and loved
softball, skiing, and Anchorage, Alaska,
where he became a community pillar.
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Diego, Jeffrey died Sept. 29, 2017.
A tribute the university wrote quoted
fellow professor Mark Thiemens,
who said: “Jeff was a magnificent
mathematician and scholar, teachermentor, creator of new academic
programs, and administrator. He did
it all. I was fortunate to work with him
every day for more than 15 years and
see all that he was accomplishing. I was
simultaneously astounded and humbled
by Jeff.”
Richard Hegner ’71
Richard, who graduated with honors in
political science from Swarthmore and
was beloved by family and friends, died
May 13, 2016.
Thea Duell ’72
Thea, a regal Renaissance woman,
pioneering lawyer, businesswoman, and
artist, died June 27, 2018.
“She was an incredible cook,
insatiable reader, and had a lifelong
passion for traveling the world,
especially in Italy, where she lived for a
time outside of Florence. It was a time
she cherished,” her loved ones wrote.
“With a fiery joie de vivre and sense of
humor, she was never one to take life too
seriously. Even in her dying days, Thea
had poise, wit, and a timeless grace, as if
from another era. She truly was.”
Lucille Curry Frieder ’75
Colin Wordley ’64
Colin, a programming
entrepreneur and “well-known
Jedi warrior,” died May 28, 2018.
As his loved ones wrote in their
tribute, “He was stereotypically
English and was a soccer coach
and an avid gardener. He gave up
his first love of alcohol to become
a ‘teetotaler’ and was sober for 39
years. He was part of the fellowship
of Alcoholic Anonymous in Delco
where he refined his Force powers.
He was often known to wear his
Yoda shirt at local AA meetings and
say, ‘Do or do not, there is no try.’”
+
A brilliant psychologist and devoted
mother, Lucille died May 15, 2018.
Beloved for her quick wit and sense
of humor, “Sam” enjoyed reading fiction
and spending time with her family,
never missing a celebration or holiday.
Cynthia Kogut ’84
Cynthia, a voracious reader who
founded a one-woman company
specializing in editing medical
literature, died July 11, 2018.
As her loved ones wrote in a tribute:
“An avid folk dancer, Cindy toured with
the Mandala folk dance ensemble at
festivals in Eastern Europe. She was
a skilled pilot and flew whenever she
could.
“Family and friends will miss her
spirited conversations, sharp wit, and
lefty politics.”
to report a death notice, email records@swarthmore.edu
CHRISTIANE MOORE
footsteps, Don came to Swarthmore as a
physics major but, after a year abroad in
England, changed to political science.
Outside of work, he loved spending
time with his family, sailing, playing the
trumpet, keeping up with the Giants,
and listening to Fats Domino.
OCT. 30 MARKS the 80th anniversary
of Orson Welles’s 1938 War of the Worlds
radio broadcast.
My favorite Swarthmore memory is
our 1948 rebroadcast on WSRN. My
freshman roommate, the late Ted Conant
’51, had a 16-inch radio transcription
bootleg recording. “SN” was the center of
all sorts of weird, interesting, and seminefarious activities, so we used it to do
our own broadcast with Swarthmore
inserts. (“From Parrish Hall, I can see the
Chester shipyard cranes by the light of
the flames!”)
Our signal was limited to campus and
Michael’s, the drugstore in the Ville,
through an amplifier and loudspeaker.
But my recollection is that a Chester
Times reporter in Michael’s heard it and
interviewed us for the paper.
We enjoyed what we did, and I don’t
remember any scoldings from the
administration. By that time, they were
used to the high jinks at SN, of which
there were plenty. —KEN KURTZ ’51
FALL 2018
/ Swarthmore College Bulletin
77
spoken word
How has comedy evolved?
If the typical, eternal comic plot is “boy
meets girl” and “boy gets girl,” that
changes dramatically as ideas about
men and women and marriage evolve.
Things like divorce, queer studies,
and feminism have changed the way
comedy gets presented now. It’s much
less often a static story about a man
winning the girl of his dreams.
What comic themes are eternal?
Mistaken identity. People losing
control—like bodily functions—always
seems funny. Pretension and misuse of
power can always be mocked: It’s the
way they’re laughed at that differs, and
whom they’re associated with.
HUMANISM
OF HUMOR
by Elizabeth Slocum
WHAT DOES COMEDY SAY about
society? That’s what students explore
through English 011: Comedy, led by
English Literature Professor Nora
Johnson. A Swarthmore mainstay—
“How long have I taught it? Oh, a
scandalously long time,” Johnson
quips—the class dives into comedic
works ranging from ancient Roman
plays to contemporary Hollywood
rom-coms, engaging in a criticism on
witticisms.
78
Swarthmore College Bulletin /
FALL 2018
Why did you develop this course?
Comedy is something that seems like
it hasn’t changed since the classical
period, yet it’s a sensitive register of
cultures and historical moments.
What topics do you cover?
We follow how comedy works in
different periods and cultures. For
example, Plautus’s The Brothers
Menaechmus, a mistaken-identity plot,
serves as the source of Shakespeare’s
The Comedy of Errors—which is the
basis of a 19th-century American
blackface minstrel parody. So we’re
able to study the same plot over three
wildly different contexts.
We also look at Oscar Wilde; we
read Caryl Churchill’s play Cloud 9, a
gender-bending, rule-breaking critique
of colonialism; and we look at TV—
going back to I Love Lucy to see how
its plot techniques continue on into
new media. Plus, we study a series of
comedic films on remarriage—and ask
why that genre has popped up in the
20th and 21st centuries.
How will today’s comedy be studied
in the future?
It’s a period of intense historical
change, with uncertainties about
the ethics of laughing at “risky”
humor that pushes the limits of
being offensive. What are the social
boundaries? What ties us together?
How does comedy fit into that?
It’s ambiguous politically. And it’s
interesting, because comedy can
seem really liberating, but it can also
be an incredible disguise for deeply
reactionary ways of thinking—about
women, about people of color, etc.
Why’s comedy crucial to humanity?
It provides a finely adapted way of
talking about who we are in this
moment, and who we fear that we
might be—what we think might be
out of control, whether we think our
societies are flexible enough to make
us happy, whether we think happiness
is possible, how we see our individual
desires being gratified, or not, by the
world around us. It allows us to talk
about big questions.
LAURENCE KESTERSON
LAURENCE KESTERSON
What do you find funny?
I really love verbal wit. There are
works that I find funny sometimes
and appalling other times. Funny is a
loaded thing, right? It’s enjoyable. It
can be about communal bonds, and it
can be about communal differences,
too. I may be wrong, but I think nothing
is ever purely funny. It’s always funny
in relationship to anxiety.
in this issue
BEST IN SHOW
44
by Kate Campbell
“The title of my painting is Slow to Shed,” says Martha Harrell Howard ’75. “For accuracy, it draws on my intimate knowledge of miniature
donkeys and this one, Black Knight, in particular.”
DOWELL HOWARD
Hee-Haw
The wondrous world of the
miniature donkey.
MOMENT IN TIME
At a Sept. 20 celebration
hosted by President Valerie Smith,
Gil Kemp ’72 (right) and Barbara Guss
announced their gift to transform
Sharples Dining Hall.
“In the end, a wholly reimagined
Sharples will emerge,” Kemp says, “a
welcome phoenix.”
+
READ MORE: bit.ly/SharplesGift
FALL 2018
Periodical Postage
PAID
Philadelphia, PA
and Additional
Mailing Offices
500 College Ave.
Swarthmore, PA 19081–1306
www.swarthmore.edu
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE BULLETIN
“ALEXA,
MAKE A GIFT TO
SWARTHMORE.”
FALL 2018
RAY YUEN / SARAH LUGER ’97
“DID YOU SAY, ‘TAKE A LYFT
TO SEE THOR’?”
Hey, even a near-omnipotent repository of data gets it wrong every now and then. But you don’t have to!
When you support Swarthmore students, you can make the world a better—and more joyful—place.
lifechanging.swarthmore.edu
SWA-HA-HA
p26
LAST LAUGH
p38
HEE-HEEYORE
p44
Swarthmore College Alumni Bulletin 2018-10-01
The Swarthmore College Bulletin is the official alumni magazine of the college. It evolved from the Garnet Letter, a newsletter published by the Alumni Association beginning in 1935. After World War II, college staff assumed responsibility for the periodical, and in 1952 it was renamed the Swarthmore College Bulletin. (The renaming apparently had more to do with postal regulations than an editorial decision. Since 1902, the College had been calling all of its mailed periodicals the Swarthmore College Bulletin, with each volume spanning an academic year and typically including a course catalog issue and an annual report issue, with a varying number of other special issues.)
The first editor of the Swarthmore College Bulletin alumni issue was Kathryn “Kay” Bassett ’35. After a few years, Maralyn Orbison Gillespie ’49 was appointed editor and held the position for 36 years, during which she reshaped the mission of the magazine from focusing narrowly on Swarthmore College to reporting broadly on the college's impact on the world at large. Gillespie currently appears on the masthead as Editor Emerita.
Today, the quarterly Swarthmore College Bulletin is an award-winning alumni magazine sent to all alumni, parents, faculty, staff, friends of the College, and members of the senior class. This searchable collection spans every issue from 1935 to the present.
Swarthmore College
2018-10-01
reformatted digital
The class notes section of The Bulletin has been extracted in this collection to protect the privacy of alumni. To view the complete version of The Bulletin, contact Friends Historical Library.