Erika Giaimo Chapin
31 New York St.
Dover, NH 03820
erika.chapin@unh.edu
Kyle Courtney finally responded to my series of e-mails requesting information, and he had a lot to say. First, he’s working at Harvard Law School and lecturing to graduate students on intellectual property and copyright law at Emerson College. He’s also working on his master’s degree in library and information science at Simmons College in Boston. His wife, Sheila Elledge Courtney, left Chubb Insurance for a managerial position for all of New England with AIG Private Client Group. As a master’s degree student in Emerson’s organizational and corporate communication program, she heard her husband lecture in one of her courses.
The Courtneys bought an 1870s farm house in Hanover, Mass., last summer; however, Kyle said he needs to get a serious riding mower to cover all of the acreage they own!
Rick Oppedisano wrote that he has been living in Charlotte, N.C., since 2000. A number of classmates attended his wedding in the fall. Brian Daly ’97 served as best man and guests included Kim Ranney ’97, Nick Paradis, Allan Michaels, Craig Fear and Amy Rinciari. Aftab “Joe” Datta wrote that he received his M.S. in chemistry in 2002 and his MBA in 2005. He married in August and spent his honeymoon in England, Portugal and Norway. Joe and Yulia live in Washington, D.C., and Joe works in Alexandria.
In other wedding news, Brian Whitacre married Jill Stecher ’00 in September. Their wedding was a reunion of two Mary Washington classes with a guest list that included Ben Phelps, Kevin Byrne, Justin Mink, Erik Bursch, Craig Gillan, Mike Prensky and Jason Fusaro. Also, John Langan ’00, Burt Burroughs ’00, Wes McIntyre ’00, Dave Love ’00, Brendan Madigan ’00, Kelly Coffey ’00, Brian Turner ’00, Leah and Jeremy Powers ’00, and Andrea Shaw ’00. Brian earned his Ph.D. in applied economics from Virginia Tech and is serving as a visiting professor there. He has several interviews lined up for tenure-track positions at universities around the country. In addition, he won five of the six natural bodybuilding shows he competed in this year. Brian noted that all that time in Goolrick finally paid some dividends. He’ll compete professionally next year against the best natural bodybuilders in the world.
Leslie Mills Kimball met up with friends Laura Babb Currier and Marissa Buono Guillen at Jenna Cassidy’s engagement party. Jenna, who lives in Newport Beach, Calif., met her fiancé through her job at ESPN. Her wedding is scheduled for July.
Ginger Vaughn married Mark Victoria in November, and they moved into a new home outside Philadelphia. Kelly Sutton Russell served as her matron of honor and Amy Fromm was a bridesmaid. Ginger and Mark are expecting their first child. In other baby news, Alyson Andrews Ramsey and husband Peter are expecting their first child this spring.
Adrien Snedeker is planning to move to Kodiak, Alaska, to be with her boyfriend, Adam. She told me she’s really looking forward to the 24 hours of darkness next winter. Scott Mulligan became a true bionic man with his prosthetic legs as a result of a tragic car accident he was in several years ago. Scott is progressing well and is now working at Life-Link International, a company that makes backcountry ski equipment and avalanche safety gear. He and wife Laura welcomed daughter Sarah early last year. Lee Mebel moved to Denver, and she extends an open invitation to all alumni to attend their permanent housewarming party. Lauren Dwyer Lowther and her husband, Brandon, also relocated to Denver. They are putting the finishing touches on their home, and Lauren is telecommuting to her graphic design position in northern Virginia.
Laura Letchworth is a music therapist at NYU Medical Center and is working on her master’s degree in public health at Hunter College. She released a CD titled In Little Dreams, inspired by her pediatric patients. Lina Marunas and Nicole LeVangie traveled from Boston to attend her CD release party in New York City in October. Laura also reports that Erin Rodman has moved back East to D.C. to teach film and that Larissa Lipani Peluso lives in Ashburn, Va., with her husband and son, Anthony. Sean Tuffy continues to send us postcards from his trips around the world – he was recently in China, Montenegro and South Africa. He’s based in Dublin, with State Street, a financial services company. He said that former fellow Sons of Liberty Mike Cirami, Eric Kloss and Ed Kriete are doing well. Mike recently received his CFA and lives in Boston. Eric is also in Boston, and Ed works for Wells Fargo in San Francisco.
Caitlin Jenkins moved from D.C. to Buffalo, N.Y., to work on her master’s degree in art conservation. Mike “Pasta” Paolino relocated to Rhode Island with his wife, Diane, to work in financial planning. He is thrilled to announce that he passed his Series 7 exam in November, so we all should feel comfortable trusting him with our investments.
As for us, Deacon continues to work on his M.Ed. in counseling and hopes to finish his program in May. Since January, the University of New Hampshire has entrusted me to work with freshmen and sophomores in helping them make academic plans and career goals.
Thanks to those of you who sent your updates. It’s always great to hear from you!