79 l reunion 2014, June 6–8 l Class Secretary: Mary G. Raftery, 16 Hobart St., Westerly RI 02891, mgraftery@gmail.com Class President: Janice E. McLean, 15 Bristol St., Worcester MA 01606, janmcle@charter.net The Alexandria (Va.) Gazette Packet noted a serendipitous African connection between Marcia Call and her stepdaughter. Marcia was a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1980–82. She was posted in Kibututu, a village north of Goma. That happens to be where her stepdaughter, Sara Rich, now plans to volunteer, working with teachers in the Magunda School in Goma. One of Marcia’s program guides in the 1980s, Murutamanga Kabahita, now a teacher at the Potomac School in Alexandria, learned about Sara’s plans but didn’t know her stepmother was Marcia. After they all made the connection, Murutamanga was invited to a reception for Sara last January in Virginia.... Baltimore lawyer, civic leader, and Bates trustee Dana Petersen Moore gave “a poignant but often humorous review of racial run-ins over her 52 years,” The Daily Record noted in a February story. Speaking to a sold-out audience at Center Stage in February, Dana “set the record straight for anyone who has ever wondered about her race,” the newspaper article said. “Like her parents, husband, siblings, granddaughter, and, on this evening, like her shiny jacket and high-heeled boots, she’s black. Not white, as police officers have identified her on speeding tickets. Not Samoan, as a law partner in Baltimore once guessed. Black.” Her talk was part of “Across the Divide: Stories about Race in Baltimore,” a co-production of the Stoop Storytelling Series and the city chapter of the Open Society Institute. Dana, a litigator at Venable LLP who chairs the Baltimore City Board of Ethics, was the first of 10 people to regale and educate the predominantly white crowd with true tales of how race has affected their lives. She told the Record that her participation in the program was an “amazing experience” but, much like answering questions about her racial identity, a struggle. After accepting the invitation to speak, “I almost didn’t do it.” She had never discussed such personal matters in such a large, public forum. “I don’t do a lot of talking about me. I don’t lead with myself. I’m hired to represent companies.” Dana’s story began with her family origins in Topeka, Kan., where her dark-skinned father, who would become the U.S. Marine Corps’ first black general, and her light-skinned mother, a housewife and activist, grew up. “That’s a place where race really matters,” she said, referring to the 1954 landmark segregation case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Her father’s military career took her all over before she eventually settled in at Bates. “There was never any question about how you were going to get your hair done,” she said of black women students at Bates. “You didn’t.” At Washington and Lee’s School of Law, “the rules kept you safe,” she said, explaining that she did not mix with white men and only cautiously associated with white women. “It all changed in 1982 when I moved to Baltimore,” she said of the majority African American city. Dana said her 3-year-old granddaughter, Sylena, had the epiphany that has eluded so many adults and plainly announced that her grandmother is, in fact, black. She now carries a voice recorder, just in case Sylena says it again. “The next time somebody wants to talk to me about my race, they’ll hear Sylena.”
80 l reunion 2015, June 12–14 l Class Secretary: Christine Tegeler Beneman, 105 Spurwink Rd., Scarborough ME 04074, cbeneman@ maine.rr.com Class President: Mary Mihalakos Martuscello, Apt. 12B, 410 E Sixth St., New York NY 10009 Jim Amaral, founder and president of Borealis Breads, took part in a Bates career panel in February on pursuing a rewarding career that reflects your
passion.... Sem Aykanian is the new head football coach at Ashland (Mass.) High School. “It’s a dream come true,” Sem, an assistant coach for about 15 years, the past four as defensive coordinator at The Rivers School, told the Milford Daily News. A real estate attorney in his hometown of Marlborough, he was a fullback and linebacker at Bates. “From playing in the NESCAC at Bates, he understands the importance of student-athletes,” said Ashland athletic director Jim Adams. “Being a student comes first at Bates. That’s really important to me.”... The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council presented its annual Innovative Leadership Award to Cubist Pharmaceuticals CEO Michael Bonney (see feature story on page 26). The award specifically honors industry executives who support community-based organizations and science education to prepare the future workforce, and who have fostered the creation of a positive work environment. President Hansen introduced Mike, who is a Bates trustee, at the Boston event, noting that his style and ability reflect a liberal arts skill set: “seeing around corners, building bridges, and embracing contradictions and conflicts with generosity .”... Maria Ferraro Crotty’s two children are at Bates, Gina ’11 and Kevin ’13.... Mark Hurvitt, after two years as school superintendent on Vinalhaven, is superintendent of Union 93, which comprises Blue Hill, Castine, Brooksville, Penobscot, and Surry. Oldest daughter Hannah will be a sophomore at Smith.... WCSH-TV interviewed physical therapist Kurt Jepson before he went off to work with the U.S. ski team at the Winter Olympics. He had worked prior Olympics and World Cup events but didn’t think he’d be going to Vancouver, until some athletes specifically requested his service. “There’s definitely a bond that develops, and a trust factor, that goes both ways,” he said. “The thrill of being at this level of competition, around these athletes, is certainly the fun part for me.”
81 l reunion 2011, June 10–12 l Class Secretary: Katherine Baker Lovell, 6 Elston Dr., Downingtown PA 19335, cklovell@verizon.net Class President: Robert L. Jobrack, 32 King Georges Grant, Fredericksburg VA 22405, jobrack@aol.com Chris Adams teaches Spanish and coaches track and cross-country at Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass., where he works with Steve Sughrue ’86, Ann Lovely ’07, and Virginia Larsen ’03. Remarried, he and Kathy have three children.... Kathy Baker Lovell’s household grew by one boy, a German exchange student, then dropped by one as her oldest child headed to Europe. “Spent a great weekend at Bates last September visiting Leigh Graham ’82, and showing Eric (17) the campus. So much has changed, but so much remains the same.”... Susan Collins Lloyd-Rees says kids are busy with school and sports, and parents both employed: “No complaints.”... Leslay Correll Schecterson works at the Univ. of Washington doing cell and molecular biology. She hikes whenever she can.... Chase Curtis’ eldest, Bryan, graduated from the Univ. of Pennsylvania. “One down, three to go!”... Brad Fenn is still in Hopkinton, Mass., working for JPMorgan Chase. He started the college visit routine for the second of two daughters.... Gary Paul Gilbert serves as a marriage ambassador and community ambassador with the Empire State Pride Agenda, the largest LGBT lobby group in New York state working to promote marriage equality, gender expression nondiscrimination, and dignity for all students. He is married to Murdoch Matthew.... Sam Hardy now works at VMware, commuting downstairs. With the youngest of three kids in college, he and his wife love being empty nesters. Daughter Jeanette ’08 started a teaching job in Chile shortly before the earthquake struck but the Santiago hostel where she was staying was barely affected. She moved on to Valparaiso, where several of her Bates classmates were living.... Kate Hickson finished an M.A. at Middlebury that she started in 1982. She teaches high school on Nantucket and escapes to the Caribbean whenever she can.... Don Hill graduated
from Bates in 2009, a week before his son graduated from high school and two weeks before his 50th birthday. He had support from James Reese and David Haines. “I am grinning even now as I think of how great it felt to finally march through the Quad as a graduate!”... Cynthia Hobbs is in Jamaica on a three-year assignment with the Ministry of Education and the national Early Childhood Commission. Her twins are 3, and Dylon is 5, so she gets handson practice with early childhood development at home.... Rob and Judy Dolan Jobrack, in Fredericksburg, Va., have two sons in college and two at Stafford High School. Judy is president of the PTSA, and Rob is the boys’ soccer coach.... Scott Keenen is back with Oilfield Services, still in HR but now in San Antonio. His three kids are thriving.... Betsy Kennedy, recently divorced, works full time at a nursing and rehab center in Madison, Wis. Mom to Annalisa (10) and Nicholas (8), she returned to dancing (folk) and yoga and has been cancer-free for more than 20 months.... Linda Kutrubes is busy as an equine veterinarian in Orange County, N.Y. She makes time for competing and training her horses, as well as yoga and husband Joe.... Valerie Lasserre Hammer enjoys her work as manager of a trade association and spends more and more time in Brussels lobbying. Mother of three daughters, “I am still a (not so) swinging bachelor.”... Sue Lovett’s pet-sitting business became so busy that she started booking herself to ensure a few days a month at home. She also works as a certified home health aide out of Beverly, Mass.... Writing an op-ed in the Lewiston Sun Journal about national healthcare legislation, Dr. Nancy Madsen Cummings suggests that while “no one likes more taxes and fees,” U.S. citizens already pay a variety of hidden fees related to medical care, “to pay for those who pay nothing, and to make up the shortfall because Medicaid and Medicare don’t pay the full cost of care they purchase on behalf of their enrollees.” Nancy, an orthopedic surgeon in Farmington and chair of the Maine Medical Assn.’s executive committee, argues that raising new revenues to “subsidize coverage for those who cannot afford its full cost, and requiring the purchase of such insurance, is a fairer and more rational way to pay for care.” Nancy was named to the Ethics Committee for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.... Minoo Malek Saghri is at home with twin boys (13). Last summer, Bates roommate Beatrijs Stikkers-Muller sent her son, Quentin (then 14), to live with Minoo’s family and participate in a sailing program with one of her boys in Westport, Conn. Beatrijs and the rest of her family joined them for a short reunion at summer’s end. The two Batesies hope that Minoo’s boys can experience Beatrijs’ family life and the Netherlands some day.... Ken Mayberg is a teacher in the Trenton, N.J., schools. He performs on the hammer dulcimer, does a lot of world traveling, much of it on a bicycle, and is a volunteer in his community.... Brian McBride and Mary Ellen Bell spent a few afternoons pondering time off from the job and their next career moves. Brian, wife Lucy, and son Liam had brunch with John Walker and his family in San Francisco. Besides seeing several ’81ers at the Bates Outing Club’s 90th anniversary kickoff, Brian and a group of Smith Hall North friends had a great weekend in Bethel skiing and catching up.... Jean Monahan and Lilah (10) live in Salem, Mass., where they particularly enjoy the Wiccan harvest festival that takes place on Halloween not far from their house. Jean reconnected with Mark Hurvitt ’80, who lives with his family in Blue Hill, Maine.... Chair of the Lincoln County effort to keep Maine’s gay-marriage law in 2009, Kate Pennington says it was tremendously rewarding to be a part of the campaign even if it was ultimately unsuccessful. Her daughter is at Earlham College.... George Rose was inducted into the Massachusetts Track Coaches Hall of Fame. He coaches girls cross-country at Sacred Heart Academy in Kingston, Mass., and was previously at Notre Dame Academy in Hingham. He says: “I have been fortunate to have had great kids that made me look good.”... Kim Smarling Weber and Jack became empty nesters SUMMER 2010 Bates
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