Hey folks. It’s a short column this month -- so make sure to send in your news!
Julie Tallman and Chris Rhodes ’97 were engaged last July and are planning a wedding in Hanover on July 31 this year. From all accounts, the proposal was a sneaky one (involving a complex plot of camping with relatives), but the plan came together nicely with the big question at Occum Pond. Karen Ho is also engaged to a fine gent, Will Cobbett, from her new hometown--Montreal. Karen and Will were engaged in early November and are planning a September wedding in Witchita Falls, Texas.
Melissa Nagare was married to Ben Rich, a University of South Carolina alumnus, in October in San Francisco. The couple met in Tampa but then moved out to California, where they currently reside, in December. There were a number of ’99s in attendance at the ceremony, including Karen Ho (bridesmaid), Julie Tallman (anyone see a trend here?), Jennie Hume, Ada Añon, Liza Tedesco, Victoria Dahir, Lauren Cornella, Carolyn Wang, and Vanessa Berberian.
Amy Stone Altizer and husband, Jay Altizer (Tuck ’00), welcomed their first child, a daughter, into the world on December 26, 2003. Mary Grace arrived three weeks early, weighing 5 pounds and 13 ounces, and was delivered by Dr. Walter Evans (Class of 1975). Amy has a great picture of mom, dad, baby, and doc all in Dartmouth apparel, but unfortunately can’t print it here; email her for a copy!
Ben Guaraldi wrote me a while back with an update on a bunch of ’99s and their goings-on. I think I may have reported some of this, but bear with me here (I’m on the road for work). Anyway, Ben writes, "I'm well and living in Somerville, MA, likely to move soon to a Quaker intentional community on Beacon Hill. I'm a self-employed computer programmer, mostly writing web applications, looking to move into economic modeling or graphics filters. The ’99 I see most these days is (surprisingly) Marty Vona is still working on Mars rovers, but hopefully soon he'll come back east and work on his PhD (at MIT). He likes the weather in LA, but misses...I don't know what he misses. Maybe public transit? Jenn Mui is studying landscape architecture at UPenn, pulling all-nighters making crazy models of gardens and parks. Adam Bulbulia is teaching at a Waldorf school in Ukiah, CA and studying capoeira.
Nate Huckel-Bauer has the coolest jobs, I think. He gets paid to (1) walk through the woods, and (2) distribute household appliances to folks who need them. He's probably going to law school next year. Andy Butterworth and Sean Taylor work together at Credit Suisse First Boston (in New York) and are doing stand-up, improvisational and television-show comedy. They run a website with a bunch of other former Jacko folks where one can submit humorous pieces and vote on other comedians’ work as well. It's called Big Green Democracy. It's still getting going, but check it out: http://www.biggreendemocracy.liveserver5.com.
Alex Lavin has left New York City, perhaps to move out west somewhere. Mia Hockett is finishing a degree in Public Health Policy. And, last but not least, Nancy Bloomfield is still doing great things with Cover. "I hope someday soon to be in some sort of small co-housing development in New England, with a Sudbury Valley School close by. If that sounds like a nice dream to you, let me know. Peace."
That’s it for now. Hope everyone makes it up to Hanover for reunion. Cheers.
Seth Kelly,
seth.kelly.99@alum.dartmouth.org