Sep/Oct 2002

Those of us who made it back to Ithaca for our first reunion had a blast reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. The event was a huge success, thanks in large part to Reunion Chairs Joshua Steiner, MS I '98, Laura Barrantes (who didn't let recent knee surgery slow her down!), Eva Chiamulera, MA '00, and a small army of volunteers. Whether you spent your time at some of the planned activities or charted your own course, you no doubt noticed that a lot has changed on campus in the five years since we collected our diplomas. But looking around the crowd on Sunday morning as we said our good-byes, it seemed like folks had easily slipped back into the comfortable lifestyle we left behind. Not really knowing what to expect, I was pleased to see that two things didn't seem to have changed much: our waistlines and hairlines. Just about everyone looked as good, if not better, than they did in school. I heard about a lot of engagements and upcoming weddings; please remember to send in an e-mail detailing your celebration once you get back from the honeymoon, as we can only print such news after the fact.

Allison Yates (allison-yates@hotmail.com) moved to Boston in spring 2001 and joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, where she works as an internal consultant managing business process improvement and corporate redesign projects. Allison has spent her off-time sea kayaking in Baja, Mexico, and at a yoga retreat with Sonia Talwar Hardaway '96. She reports Christine Buderman Duffy is a guidance counselor at a Long Island middle school, and David Silverstein completed his MFA in writing. Julie Roth (rothj@unr.edu) has spent time in California and Nevada while gaining lab experience as a technician and completing her master's in biology (ecology).Ezra Marbach (emarbach@yahoo.com) and Steven Huang '96 (stevenphuang@yahoo.com) had plans to begin a business in Beijing, China. They encourage anyone interested in partnering with or investing in their company to contact them. After working as a financial analyst for two years, Lisa Waiser Shanken (lisa@nutritionalnurturing.com) went back to school for holistic nutrition and now has her own company, Nutritional Nurturing. Mike Alsko (malsko@thepfisterhotel.com) and wife Gillian welcomed daughter Ella this spring. Mike works as the front office manager at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. Luis Garcia (luis.garcia2@us.army.mil) celebrated the arrival of second child Savannah in April 2001; she joins big brother Jacob. Luis worked as a battalion adjutant for a year and returned to Fort Rucker in Alabama for army schooling. Kevin LaPierre (klapierre@cera.com) was living in Cambridge, MA, and has seen Lynn Stravinski, Matt Elias, Andy Baker, Caben Chester, Jodi Eisner, and Sarah Glovsky. Robertus Prajogi, ME I '98 (robertusp@yahoo.com) has been in NYC since graduating and works for J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management.

Nick Halverson (njh4@cornell.edu) earned his MBA from Indiana U. and is director of sports marketing for FLW Outdoors in Minneapolis, MN. Nick took two months off to travel the world, visiting Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Paris, Prague, Salzburg, Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam, and Greece. Daniel Resnick (resnick11@yahoo.com) planned to graduate from medical school, as did Jose Bravo (jab22@cornell.edu), who in February hoped to begin work on his PhD in human genetics after finishing up at UAG med school in Guadalajara, Mexico. Meanwhile, Joshua Partnow (partnojo@yahoo.com) is in New York in his first postgraduate year at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital. Joshua has seen Paul Schimmeck, Todd Kashdan '96, Rick Barrett, BS Ag '96, and Indra Chandra. Bramdeo Singh (bramdeosingh@hotmail.com) planned to graduate from Ross U. School of Medicine and start an internal medicine residency in July at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (Elmhurst).

Sean Cutler (scutler@telution.com) married Brecken Lesniewski, a '97 graduate of Miami U. (Ohio), in Chicago on July 27, '01. Cornellians in attendance included Darren Adsit, Neil Bizily, Eric Saidel, Tahl Ben-Yehuda Saidel '92, Rob Cunjak '96, and Saif Rathore '96. The couple honeymooned in Bali.

Those of you attending Reunion learned that Sarah Deardorff Carter will be joining me as a co-correspondent. I enjoy writing the column, and although I'm not ready to give it up just yet, I'm thrilled to start sharing the responsibility. Welcome aboard, Sarah!--Erica Broennle Nelson, 334 Fitzwater St., Philadelphia, PA 19106; e-mail, ejb4@cornell.edu. Sarah Deardorff Carter, 903 Handlebar Rd., Mishawaka, IN 46544; e-mail, sjd5@cornell.edu.