NMH Magazine 2019 Spring

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Northfield Mount Hermon Caroline Leonard carolinecleonard@gmail.com Hi, everyone. Our class has a Facebook group called “NMH 1995.” If you aren’t yet a part of it, please send in a request to join; we’d love to hear from you! We have a big reunion coming up in a year and it’ll be a good way to stay in touch and make plans! • I had the pleasure of hearing from one of our class parents, Ralph Bledsoe ’79. He is living in Andover, Mass., and shared, “Life in Andover is settling back to normal for most after the Columbia Gas Company caused a manmade disaster by incompetently increasing the gas-line pressure 12 times [the] normal [rate]. I woke up from a nap hearing sirens everywhere, as fire trucks from 20 surrounding towns and cities searched for fires to put out. All citizens were standing in every street because no one knew if their house or business was going to blow up or catch fire as 90 buildings in Lawrence, North Andover, and Andover already had. The gas leaks killed many pet birds in homes, as if in coal mines. All streets were blocked with traffic for many hours in every direction, as everyone tried to leave Andover at once. While in my fifth year teaching at Andover High School across the street from my home, I find the attitude a bit different from my time teaching at NMH or Phillips Academy. Instead of teaching fellow Hoggers from around the world, I am teaching neighbors from my community, many of whom are from around the world.” • Jake Kheel was married in May 2018 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where he lives and works. Jake said he “was fired up to have two Hoggers in attendance at my wedding — Dan Furlong ’94 and Kahlil Lozoraitis ’94. Mark Labouchere [was] also invited but was booked at an education conference.” • Marcus Woodson and his wife, Rashelle, welcomed their son, Graysen Kirk, on May 3, 2018. They are living in Pleasanton, Calif. • After three years in Northern California, Judy

From left: Caroline Leonard ’95, Jocelyn Leary Lavallo ’95, and Laura Astor Mauldin ’95, with their children during a 2018 visit to Sebago Lake in Maine.

Tong moved back to New York City. While in California, she reconnected with Heidi Geis ’96, Kate Norman ’96, and Win Walker, “but somehow never quite met up with Sky Greenawalt. And I was able to visit my bestie, Valerie Beckwith ’94, in Southern California more regularly. I’m back at the New York Times covering local news again. I wonder how long I’ll be here this time.” • Marce Mallett Houston is doing well and is busy as a teacher for 6- and 7-year-old kids in Louisiana. • Jack Buckley lives in Asheville, N.C., and would love to get coffee with anyone who may be passing through. • Kelley Moffat wanted a change of scenery and moved to Truckee, Calif., last year with her partner. After getting divorced eight years ago, she had left northern Virginia to move to Snowshoe, W.V., to wait tables and ride downhill bikes for a summer, and she ended up staying for five years. During that time, she also started ski patrolling. She continues to ski patrol in winter and works with mountain bikes and trails in the summer. Last winter, she started drum lessons and learned to play ice hockey. Kelley said, “One of my biggest regrets is never joining the ice hockey team at NMH. I have fond memories of my time at NMH.” • Karin Cooley Sanieski said she had a fun, cozy winter in New England with her husband, Kevin, and their son, Lexi. • Ari Dagan got married in early December 2018 to Kelley King and had a baby girl in February. He lives in Brookline, N.H., and is running Carpet Center, his family floor-covering business in Nashua. Ari continues to play bass and has done a few gigs with a metal band called Mucklers Circle. They had a show at the Hampton Beach, N.H., Casino Ballroom, where they opened for Danzig. Sadly, it has not been all good news. Ari said his father recently passed away and his brother, Sam Dagan ’91, who is a lawyer in San Diego, came home for the funeral. Ari wrote, “I’ve been back to NMH a few times to run the Pie Race and won a pie [in] two out of the three races. Hopefully, the jogging stroller we got will get me back on the path to running form again.” • Carolyn Kuan was awarded the prestigious Smith College Medal in February at the College’s Rally Day. Congratulations, Carolyn! • Megan Gibbons is an associate professor of Spanish at a small, rural state college in West Virginia. She teaches half time and spends the other half on international education initiatives for both her college and the state’s consortium of higher-education institutions. One of the best outcomes of this work was receiving a Fulbright research grant that allowed her to transplant her family to Oviedo, Spain, for five months in 2017. Megan

Northfield Mount Hermon Summer Session June 29 to August 3, 2019

Earn credits to advance in school. Build skills and accelerate academic progress. Sample boarding school life or come as a day student.

nmhschool.org/summer One Lamplighter Way, Mount Hermon, MA 01354 413-498-3290

summer_session@nmhschool.org

has also traveled to China, Costa Rica, England, Ireland, Mexico, and Thailand. She said, “It’s an ever-changing adventure ride that keeps me on my toes. It also helps confirm for my daughter, who will be 6 years old soon, that the world awaits her and needs her to want to do her part to make it better. The international travel has made it a bit harder to fit in domestic travel. We haven’t been back to Northfield in several years, but we hope to fix this and arrange a New England trip in the near future. Many friends and family are still in Boston, Providence, and the Hartford area. My husband’s family is spread out through Europe and the United Kingdom; it was great to be closer to them while we were in Spain. I enjoy reading about everyone else, either through notes or in the Facebook group. My best to all!”

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Northfield Mount Hermon Patrick Davis patrickdavisknows@gmail.com

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