Wayland Alumni News and Notes

ANNE BLANCHARD GASCOIGNE `53 writes that she is “just enjoying retirement in Arizona and Michigan, playing Bridge, Euchre, pool, and participating in a hand chime group.”

CHARLES ALTIER, JR. `61 is “living reflectively with my wife, Barbara, between Bay Island, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.”

Glacial Lake Cranberries owned by Mary Brazeau Brown `70

MARY BRAZEAU BROWN `70 and her family businesses, Glacial Lake Cranberries and Honestly Cranberry, were featured in a mid-February segment of the Emmy Award winning public television program, Wisconsin Foodie. Viewers learned about the production and harvest of cranberries as well as Mary’s innovation to produce delicious, unsweetened dried cranberries for snacking and cooking. Mary and her businesses were previously featured in the November 2017 edition of Greetings.

JEFF HAWLEY `75 recently changed jobs in October after working for the same employer for 23 years. He writes, “Also, I moved to Southern California after living in the Bay Area for nearly 28 years. We just finished a six month remodel of our house. In the spirit of Sol Wolfe, I try to play as much tennis as my knees will allow. Southern California has the best weather in the country – snow is highly overrated.”

John McConnell `82

JOHN MCCONNELL `82 appeared live on Fox News national coverage of the State of the Union address. McConnell, the former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, is a consultant in Washington, D.C.

SCOTT MILLAR `82 shares on social media that he was selected as one of a few Kansas State undergrad researchers to present his research at the State Capitol in an annual recognition of undergrad research at Kansas universities. He is also evaluating which of two top-ranked programs to pursue his Master of Social Work degree.

MICHELLE (MIKKI) HEBL `87 was interviewed as part of an expert panel on the National Public Radio program A-1 which aired on January 31. The episode, entitled “The Year After ‘The Year of the Woman’” highlighted the presence of new women in the U.S. Congress and increasing influence of women in government.

Oculogica EyeBOX received FDA authorization.

Oculogica, a company founded by DR. UZMA SAMADANI `88 and directed by DR. ROSINA SAMADANI `85, recently learned that their product EyeBOX was granted marketing authorization by the federal Food and Drug Administration. The instrument tracks patients’ eye movements and issues a score that helps to determine whether the patient might have a concussion. It eliminates the need for athletes to undergo a baseline concussion test at the beginning of a season. Wayland athletes participated in clinical trials of the device.

ERIK BRANDT `91 is in his 23rd year of teaching English for St. Paul Public Schools. Recently he helped design a new curriculum for a literature course. He is also still a musician and performs regularly with his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet.

Free Solo takes home an Oscar!

And the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature goes to JIMMY CHIN `92 for Free Solo. The 2018 film, directed by Chin and his wife Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, profiles rock climber Alex Honnold performing a free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival last August and won the “People’s Choice Award: Documentaries” at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

ERIN LAMM WILSON `02 writes “I just launched my own family law practice after being a partner at a firm for ten years. I assist clients with litigation, mediation and parenting coordination. I love what I do and I’m excited to own my firm now.” She and her husband, Bryan, have two children, Ava (age 5) and Brecken (age 3).

GRAHAM BLEHART `14 is finishing his pilot training with ATP at the Saint Petersburg International Airport in Florida.

LAURA PETERSEN `14 is currently a Latin teacher at Sandusky City Schools in Ohio.

KHRISTIAN JONES `17 writes “I am currently preparing to enter my last year of college in my LLB Law program. I plan on subsequently pursuing my master’s degree which is a nine month course, here in the U.K. I look forward to returning to Wayland for a visit in the near future.”

CRISTINA MARTHA `18 is currently attending Waukesha County Technical College for criminal justice with pre-training into the law enforcement academy.

SUSANA YEPES NAGY `18 is studying medicine in Colombia.

YENA CHUNG `18 is a freshman at Oberlin College, and writes that she’s thinking about majoring in Sociology.