73062_F_Class Notes:Friends 11/27/12 12:46 PM Page 39
Class Notes
FRIENDS GATHERED at Maron Deering ‘99‘s August wedding to Sandy Mayson. From left: Reid Cherlin ’99, Laura Fine ’99, Mike Fine ’95, Whitney Manger Fine ’95, Maron, Sandy, Ellen Weis, Ana Muñoz ’00 and Heather Deering Crosby ’89.
knowing Alec before as the skateboarder that all the Roland Park Country School girls had a crush on when we were 13 years old. I couldn’t have been more excited for them, and I also shed a tear at the beautiful ceremony that took place on the beach with their dearest friends and family. The Friends School prominence was present; it was great to see so many old friends. I’m going to give Reid Cherlin accolades for sending me a deluge of updates and will quote him here, “When I poked around for Class Notes news, Drew Shelton replied from the hospital, where his wife Sarah had just given birth to their new daughter, Anne Elizabeth Shelton. We’re all excited to meet her, and, as Will Terrin suggested, we expect her to follow in her dad’s footsteps by graduating from Friends several years early. Speaking of Will, he’s doing an away rotation at New York Hospital Queens, as he works toward his M.D. at St. Louis University. We’re hoping to get together in New York in late August, with or without globetrotting fellow New Yorkers Tim Sweeney — whose DJ-ing exploits to Ibiza and the like are harder to keep up with than ever — and Chris Condlin, who just took a few months off from his law firm to stage another summer of fun with his son, Nikita.
I guess I skipped over the part where I moved to New York in April and am still covering politics for GQ magazine. I live a block from Ed Chen ‘97, and Ed, Tim, Ian Mills, and I recently organized an outing to a new Baltimorethemed restaurant in Williamsburg. The restaurant was closed, but we had a good time anyway. After running into Laura Fine at Maron Deering’s wedding, major Ravens-watching plans are in the works for fall. Here’s what else I know: Brian Valle is happy and thriving in Washington, D.C., working in real estate development/management; Robert Dietz has a big job at Groupon in Chicago that he seems to be enjoying through the stress; Jeremy Barofsky is going to be starting a post-doc fellowship at the University of Southern California this fall after getting his doctorate in health economics from Harvard; Ben Bodnar is making his way through residency at Yale, and we really, really are going to get together in New York soon. Hopefully, this will coincide with an upcoming show by Greg Binstock‘s band, which is rumored to be excellent. That’s all I got!” I want to personally give Reid a huge thanks for the updates! I promise to cook you dinner anytime at my new house in Baltimore! One more comment from Laura Fine about Maron’s wedding,
“Maron’s wedding was amazing! She was absolutely beautiful and her ceremony was just amazing. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. The band was incredible. Well done, Maron!” I seem to not have too much baby news myself other than a goddaughter who is 5 years old and spoiled by me (please don’t call me “Auntie Mame” yet ), but I absolutely love to know that we have a few more people in our class that have welcomed life into the world. Ben Kennedy is starting a new job in the fall with Transport for London. I also heard from Justin Sussman, who is living in Boston with his wife Amy. We welcome a second child of Rebecca Clemens Mikel! As quoted,” Our big news is that we welcomed Griffin William Mikel (Finn) on May 25, 2012. He joins big brother Hunter, who turned 2 in July. We are still living in Grosse Pointe, Mich., and loving being a family of four, despite the chaos!” And let’s not forget that Pete and Johanna Howe are preparing for their second, and baby bother Cameron is excited for his sister that’s expected in the early fall! Now onto those of us that that don’t have babies or a marriage — don’t get me wrong, it’s hard to organize our 1999 information these days! I have to give props to Molly O’Connor for being the first
to respond to my call for Class Notes, and she has ended up in my college town, Boston. Here’s what she has to say about advancing her degrees: “It was finally time to leave Brooklyn, but I found the closest thing I could find to it, Cambridge, and will begin a master’s of arts degree in social work at Boston College this fall. I’m looking forward to grad school, round two, only this time full-time! I’d love to connect with FSB’ers in Boston.” Next, we have Nick Wilson, who always gives me an update, which is much appreciated! This is the super work he’s studying in his words, “I just got my Ph.D. in sociology from University of California, Berkeley and am beginning a postdoctoral fellowship in sociology and British history at Yale this September.” We have another Ph.D. to brag about, Meagan Ciesla, who recently passed her Ph.D. comprehensive exams and is currently working on her dissertation at University of Missouri. Her story “The Tallest Men, The Broadest Shoulders” was accepted. Charlie Achuff, who is also persuing a degree in higher education, let us know that, “Adam and I moved to Arlington, Va., this summer to attend grad school in Washington, D.C. I’m going to Catholic University for my master’s of art in history, and I will be applying to Ph.D. programs when I finish. So far we love the D.C. area!” As most of you are aware, I have left my position in development at Johns Hopkins and am currently on the job search — I appreciate all the advice, leads and support I can get. On the upside, our classmate Kate Erwin Ward has been promoted into a new position as executive chef of 13.5% Wine Bar in Hampden and Silo.5% Wine Bar in Locust Point. As a Friends alum, she’ll feed you well. Kate and her husband Desmond celebrated their one-year anniversary this summer. I love to hear what’s going on with your lives at anytime — I’m around! XOXO. Ro.
2000. Sammy Williamson slwillia@gmail.com Ana Muñoz is clerking for a judge and living in New York City. She writes that she has been “upping my Quaker pal time, which has been great. I had a fun dinner with Ben Yaster ’01 and Reid Cherlin ‘99 recently; both live the hip Brooklyn life.” She also sees Sima Fried and Craig Hollander and has reconnected with Margo Murray, who recently moved to New York.
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