swivel on their branches if he drew too close, and then some bizarre plants like the Elephant’s Foot, which happened to be in bloom during his visit. In addition, the Malagasy people were particularly friendly, with many children screaming “Salut, Vazaha” (Hello, White Man!) and waving at Gary whenever they saw him with deep curiosity. He also traveled by taxi brousse throughout Madagascar — an experience in and of itself. There were no private buses or drivers as he had the “full-on” experience of how Malagasy themselves travel. Gary commented that he felt very lucky, as he was traveling through Charles de Gaulle airport the week before the Paris attacks. As for work, he had his best year yet with his translating and interpreting business. He is slated to teach a Spanish/English interpretation course in May 2016 at the local university, IPFW. Thanks for sharing, Gary! (See a photo of him in this issue’s “Colgate Seen” sidebar on pg 57.) Take care, and stay well! David: 773-281-8152; daschreiber13@gmail.com
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Reed Strathdee Lewis PO Box 5203 Snowmass Village, CO 81615 Greetings from Snowmass Village, CO! It’s been years, but most of you know me from my exploits during SPW and Senior Week ’96 and as the artist of our class shirt (and the ’95 and ’96 SPW shirts). First, a thank you to Monique Rucker, who preceded me in this editor position! I’m putting this 1st official column (Amanda Peel Crowley and I did a guest column at some point during Kelly Connelly’s tenure) together in just under 13 hours since receiving the honor of carrying the torch of all updates 1996. Allison Russell Weder and Matt Weder live in MI with Abigayle, 12, and Easton, 8. Matt recently coached goalie (crazy, huh?) Easton’s team to the state championship. Heather Plourde writes in that she, Jon Dolan, Robin Nelson, and Kim Stafford attended the March wedding of Zed Adams and Rebecca Childers. Zed and Rebecca met in LA and live in NYC, where he is a tenured professor at The New School. Also in NYC are Mike Richman and husband Sean Kanousis, who just moved slightly further ‘uptown’ from their old digs in Audrey Sperano DiSpigna’s neighborhood (the Village). In addition to teaching, he has been creating some pretty cool artwork and has ‘no daughters to report.’ Robbie Grossman apologizes for not having made it to the 20th, but has been representing at the Alumni Council meetings throughout the year. He’s still in Atlanta, having moved from consulting to corporate life a few years back where he works on McKesson’s corporate human resources team. The newfound time has been terrific as he’s spending lots of time with Kim and their son, Jaryd, 4. In MD, Andrew Fried bought his own dental practice in 2014 after 11 years in a group practice. His oldest of 2 daughters was Bat Mitzvahed in Sept. Kelly Longfield reports she was an American living in London, got married to Meredith Keiser Roddy’s cousin, and is now British living in NYC. No longer on the Phish Tour (she worked for the VT band in the late ’90s), she tours Sesame Street, Peppa Pig, and Thomas the Train with son Wade, 2. From DC, Deb Litman and Julie Fetter added Dylan Pierce to the clan, joining big brother Jaden, 3. From Pasadena, Molly Foran Yurchak received her MA in English lit from Middlebury last summer and celebrated by having openheart surgery last Nov. She is back to teaching HS English and trying to take life a little more slowly. Lynne Werkerle and John Steiger added
Merrill in Nov, joining Nate, 12, and Ingrid, 9. In PA, Catherine Moore Grzybek is still working as an environmental consultant, has 2 boys, and also holds down the family business, Zukay Live Foods, with husband Scott. Check out Jacob’s Raw Krauts and Tonics. Nazma Muhammad Rosado writes: “My husband, Michael (UConn), and I are in the process of moving from Chicagoland to the Boston area with our 4 kids. I just accepted a new position at EMD Serono (Pharma) and am actively looking for a home in the area. We’re hoping to connect with New England friends and hockey families! Our 10-year-old just won state in IL, and we’re hoping to find him a great program in MA.” Jill St Clair Ambrose lives in McLean, VA, and is a digital advertising and marketing consultant. She has 2 kids, 11 and 8, and is currently coaching her daughter’s lacrosse team. Her daughter also plays on the same soccer team as Michelle Birgeneau Blake’s daughter. Not surprisingly, Michelle has 4 daughters who all play soccer. Michelle lived across the hall from Jill in KED so they enjoy seeing their girls play sports together. Jill spoke to Kelly Grant, who lives in SC with her 4 kids and is a doctor. Robin Catlin Colhoun is living in Boulder, CO, and has 3 kids and works in finance. On the international scene, Tashfin Baloch reports he is well in Islamabad, Pakistan, though he has been mostly based in Milan, designing jewelry for a French company. He travels to and spends time in Dubai and London frequently. As for me, I’m enjoying life in the mountains, running the Daly Bottle Shop, Grain Fine Food, and 81615 T-Shirt and Gift all here in Snowmass Village. It’s great seeing folks when they are in the Aspen/Snowmass area, so please give a shout if your travels bring you to this part of the world. This past winter, I was able to ski or dine with Lisa Browne Stanson, husband Jason, and their extended family; Rachel Rothman O’Connell and husband Ryan; Blake Harper; Jason Whitt; Dan Derman ’94; Doug Halvorson ’94; and Noah Wintroub ’98. By now, Reunion 2016 is a memory, so stay tuned for the fall issue for those updates. Until then, keep living life, meeting up with each other, and doing great things! LYS! Much love, Reed Reed: 970-618-7809; rstrath96@gmail.com
1997 Amy McKnight Fazen 68 Pine Crest Road Newton Center, MA 02459-2118 Amy: colgate1997news@hotmail.com
1998 Carmella Alvaro 611 Valley Drive Durham, NC 27704 Angela Chongris reports: “In 2013, I married my amazing wife, Emily Shields (OH State ’04. Our wedding was in her hometown of Ithaca, NY. Go, ’gate; beat Cornell. We live in Durham, NH, and although it’s not Colgate, we love being in a college town. Our family, including black lab Walter, just got a little bigger on 11/4/15 with our newest addition, Riley Elena Shields, Colgate future class of 2038! Go, ’gate!” Michele Ballard also writes: “I finally got over to the other side of the state to see Angela Chongris’ baby, Riley, what a cutie! My 2 kids have been keeping us busy with hockey. Speaking of hockey, I also attended one of the ECAC playoff games at Dartmouth when they were playing Colgate, and guess who the assistant coach is — Mike Harder ’97! I remember going to watch his/
Karen Alley ’12 at Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, during International Summer School in Glaciology
Keeping tabs on Antarctic ice shelves
One of the biggest concerns of global warming is rising sea levels that threaten to destroy coastal ecosystems. A new study published by Nature Geoscience, for which glaciologist Karen Alley ’12 was lead author, is shedding light on one of the major contributors: the weakening of large chunks of ice called ice shelves. Just as flying buttresses support Notre Dame, ice shelves help hold ice sheets in place, explained Alley, whose research was recently highlighted in the Washington Post. When warmer water compromises the ice shelves, the glaciers that are behind them will flow more quickly into the ocean, leading to rising sea levels. With a large percentage of the world’s population living close to sea level, rising ocean levels are a huge concern. “It’s important to understand whether ice shelves are stable now and whether they will be in the future in order to predict sea level rise,” she said. Alley, a geology major at Colgate who is now pursuing her PhD at the University of Colorado Boulder, specifically studies channels that are carved into the underside of ice shelves as fresh water melts from the bottom of a glacier. By examining satellite imagery taken over the last 10 years, Alley and her colleagues noticed that one of these channels, located on the Getz Ice Shelf in West Antarctica, was growing quickly — cutting into the base at a rate of about 10 meters per year. In another location, imagery revealed that the Getz Ice Shelf has begun to fracture at the junction of two channels. “This was alarming, because it was telling us that these channels could contribute to ice shelf collapse, which, in turn, could lead to increased sea level rise in the future.” Going forward, Alley will be examining satellite images from the last two decades to learn more about how fast the Getz Ice Shelf is changing, and hopes that this research will prompt the glaciology field to keep a closer eye on ice shelves. “This will help us get a sense of how important ice shelves really are,” she said. — Allison Curley Marin ’04
their games back in the day.” Shiyana Valentine writes: “I’m surprisingly still living in Orlando and doing partnership development for the Orange County Library System. My husband and I gave birth to a baby boy, Kellan Adrian Valentine-Williams, on Jan 30. His uncle Adonal Foyle was one of his 1st visitors and is threatening to turn him into a basketball player. No other Colgate sightings for a while as
we’ve been in hibernation preparing for — and now getting to know — Baby K.” Speaking of Adonal Foyle, he published a book. “Released last June, Winning the Money Game: Lessons Learned from the Financial Fouls of Pro Athletes offers essential financial management advice for athletes, their families, and the fans to help them protect and keep their wealth. It currently has a 5-star review on Amazon!” News and views for the Colgate community
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