| Kenyon Class of 1998 Fall Class Letter
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Dear classmates,
Lately, I know it can seem like good news is in short supply. So as I sat down to write this class letter, and started to make a list of the many positive updates I had to share with you, I felt a welcome sense of gratitude for our alma mater. Even during the most challenging of years, Kenyon has remained a bright spot and a point of connection and positivity for its community.
In-person instruction just wrapped up for the approximately 950 first-years, sophomores and international students who studied on campus this fall, numbers intentionally kept low so no one would share a room. (Yes, it took a pandemic for a freshman to score a North Campus Apartment for one. Can you imagine? I wonder what first-year experience you would trade for this.) The College developed clear COVID-related policies and protocols that included regular testing for those on campus and the implementation of the “Kenyon College Commitment,” a personal pledge developed in cooperation with the student council that emphasized the well-being of the entire community. Life on campus looked a bit different as Kenyon adapted its many facilities to ensure safe access to dining, athletics, research and more.
In addition to adaptations for on-campus instruction, juniors and seniors and members of the faculty discovered new ways to learn and teach remotely. (Yes, it took a pandemic to make sweatpants acceptable classroom attire for even the professors. I must admit to purchasing a couple of pairs of “dress sweats” myself) Check out our new faculty notes section to hear how your favorite faculty members dealt with the shift to Zoom classes, virtual office hours and online assignments.
Our alumni community has shifted to meet the challenges of 2020 with an equal degree of innovation — organizing and attending virtual events, connecting with current students and new graduates as volunteer mentors, and giving back during June’s record-breaking online giving challenge, Kenyon Together. And, though it was heartbreaking to see Reunion Weekend 2020 postponed, we’ve shifted our focus to Reunion Weekend 2021. Planning is underway and, if conditions allow, it could be the biggest alumni gathering in Kenyon history! (We’ll be sharing more details in the months to come, as all alumni will be invited back for the festivities.)
Yes, good things are happening at Kenyon and that is why I support it year after year with a gift to the Kenyon Fund — to keep the good news coming. I give to bolster the student emergency assistance fund, which helped dozens of students get home when the spring semester unexpectedly went virtual. I give to make it possible for the College to award more in financial aid this year, when many families’ budgets are strained. And I give to help fund new scholarships like the Kenyon Women’s Annual Scholarship and the Lowry Annual Scholarship for underrepresented students, which was announced just last month along with the renaming of the Kenyon Athletic Center to honor Emeritus Trustee William E. Lowry Jr. ’56 H’99. Scroll on to read full details on this exciting piece of Kenyon news!
During challenging times like these, alumni support is more critical than ever. Join me in making your gift to the Kenyon Fund at gift.kenyon.edu to ensure good things continue to happen on the Hill this year, and in the years to come.
I hope to see folks on the Hill sooner rather than later.
Stay safe and be well,
Jonny Nicholson
P.S. Scroll down to read our fall class notes.
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| Introducing the Lowry Center & Scholarship
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William E. Lowry Jr. ’56 H’99 was the first Black student in the nation initiated into Beta Theta Pi, was student body president and captained the football, basketball and baseball teams. He went on to serve in many volunteer roles at Kenyon, including as trustee. In honor of Bill’s accomplishments and impact at Kenyon, the Board of Trustees decided to rename the Kenyon Athletic Center in his honor.
Recognizing his legacy, Board Vice Chair Joseph E. Lipscomb ’87 has created an endowed scholarship in Bill’s name to help bring more underrepresented students to Kenyon. Anyone can make a gift to the annual fund portion of this scholarship, or one of many other scholarships at Kenyon, and provide an immediate benefit to a current student.
Support currents students now with a gift to scholarships
Despite a challenging year, the College remains committed to continuing to meet 100% of students’ increased demonstrated need, with donor support. Every dollar you give goes directly to support students this academic year.
Consider giving today in support of:
- Hannah More Scholarship for first generation students
- Kenyon Women’s Annual Scholarship for female students
- Lowry Annual Scholarship for underrepresented students
- Pope Memorial Annual Scholarship for students from urban Ohio public school
And, of course, you can make a gift to the Kenyon Fund’s scholarships and financial aid designation, which supports the education of every single Kenyon student.
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| Upcoming Virtual Events for Alumni
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You're invited to join us this winter at these free events for alumni.
- Alumni Town Halls with President Decatur
Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. ET and Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. ET
- Five-week mini class with Professor Emerita Pam Jensen
"Democracy & Education: An Introduction to Rousseau's Emile"
Tuesdays, Jan. 5 – Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. ET
- A Celebration of Kenyon Green Initiatives (two-part series)
Wednesday, Jan. 20 and Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. ET
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Class AgentsClass agents are your connection to campus. If you would like to learn more about becoming a class agent, contact Terry Dunnavant at dunnavantt@kenyon.edu.
• John Lawlor
• Brian Mason
• Jonny Nicholson
• Jason Summers
• Stephanie Summers
• Alexandra Whelehan
• Libby Stroyd Windsor
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Kathryn Kerr Fitzsimmons and her husband managed to get a trip in just under the radar in early February of 2020. They enjoyed a week in the spectacular city of Cartagena, Colombia and returned to abysmal cold and gray and COVID shut-down in Michigan. They decided to quarantine/isolate at their cottage on Lake Charlevoix and are still there as of early October and have learned that working remotely has had many benefits-- a lot of time with family over the summer and a slower pace. “My Kenyon Girls (Megan Grannis Blackmer, Ali St. Vincent Von Kennel, Lauren Crossett Weymouth, Kristina Racek Pechulis and Kielty Gallagher Nivaud) and I have enjoyed a number of happy hours via Zoom since mid-March.”
Andy and Ali Von Kennel (St Vincent) are enjoying their 12th year in CT. They celebrated their 20th year of marriage last summer. They report they are surviving Covid with a 15 and 12-year-old. We are very much enjoying having some Kenyon friends local as Kielty (Gallagher) Nivaud moved to CT from CA. They are looking forward to more reunions once travel restrictions are lifted.
Alicia Baker wrote from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, where she just began a new career as a US Diplomat/Medical Provider with the US Department of State. Once she gets over her jet lag and is emancipated from 14-day quarantine she looks forward to learning more about this country and how best to support fellow Americans in this region of the world.
Lauren Weymouth reports she is in FinTech, living in San Francisco with her wife and 4-year-old. Beyond the chaos of 2020, the air quality from constant California fires has been really rough to navigate. The silver lining is hosting Ripple's new podcast, All About Blockchain. It highlights global scholars’ adaptive research and applications being built on chain. Episodes dive into blockchain for good, featuring academics using technology to solve real challenges found in the healthcare, energy, land management and real estate, environmental and agriculture sectors. It is live on most podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify and Google and Lauren would love to get feedback from fellow alumni! “Wishing everyone well and looking forward to in person gatherings in the future!”
Jack Justin Dreher finally graduated in May with his Master's in Human Development Counseling with a Clinical Focus from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College. Since May, Jack has been working as a Clinical/Crisis Counselor with a Dialectical Behavior Therapy practice in Nashville and leading trauma informed workshops on racial and social injustice as well as ways to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in educational organizations. Jack recently started a two-year training in Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and will begin training with the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists next year to become a fully certified sex educator and therapist.
Derek Cooney has recently been named Medical Director for the Upstate Virtual ER and also the Director of Faculty Development for the Department of Emergency Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Along with his wife, Jack opened MedSpa Solutions a little over 20 months ago and they now have three locations. Derek has been working in the field with EMS, Fire, and Police agencies, including working in the ERs throughout the pandemic. Derek has also been named as one of 4 medical advisors for the New York State Health Emergency Preparedness Coalition and providing coverage for the Central New York Region Department of Health.
Torsten Seifert and family continue to enjoy life in North DFW. Torsten's work at Hilti has been busy, helping his sales team adjust to COVID and supporting customers as construction continues thru the pandemic. Soccer has brought some normalcy for dad as coach and son as player. Mid-October all 3 kids are finally back in school in person! Masks are our new normal!
After 12 years in Germany and the UK, Matt Hermann is back in the United States, settling with his wife Katie in Madison, Wisconsin. He's now sharing all the knowledge and experience he gained as a journalist and broadcaster at Deutsche Welle with the next generation as an instructor at UW-Madison's School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In addition to his teaching duties Matt is the advisor for the UW's Certificate in Sports Communication program; he stays connected to Germany through Talking Fussball, his podcast about the Bundesliga. Matt and Katie have spent lots of time at home with their dog and cats during the Covid lockdown - they've kept busy converting their garage into a home gym. “Come by for some squats when the pandemic is behind us!”
After serving as press secretary for Gov. John Kasich, Jon Keeling joined Ohio's chief elections officer, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, as his communication director. Jon still resides in Columbus and is doing his best to balance being a full-time single Dad to two awesome little girls doing virtual schooling while running a comms team in the middle of the craziest election in memory. “Hopefully I can come up for some air on November 4th!”
Christina Rimelspach sends greetings from Denver. "What a year, huh?” Last December Christina decided to leave social work as her career and dive into something new. “Who knew how difficult that would be just a few months later.” But she has good news, “I got a temp job at Evolve Vacation Rental for the summer and then they offered me FT employment as a Guest Experience Specialist on the Cancellations and Relocation team in September. Thus far, I am loving it!” Christina continues to serve as the President of the Alumni Association in Denver, Colorado, and has also working on the campaign of Brian Mason for DA these past months. Christina has had the pleasure to meet Brian’s adorable children and Campaign Manager/wife Fernanda (via Zoom and social distancing of course). “Hope this update finds you and your family healthy. Cheers from Denver!"
Kate Masley’s highlight this fall was Zooming with fellow classmates and just all-around amazing, badass Kenyon women, Becky "Bee" Oathout Kloepfer, Karen "Babbie" Babb McDonald, Heather "Heath" Doherty, and Shannon "Shanraddie" Conrad.
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If you missed the chance to share your news for this letter, you can submit a class note at any time via class.letters@kenyon.edu.
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Kenyon is grateful to the following donors for their generous support of the College, including the Kenyon Fund, during the 2019-20 fiscal year. An asterisk (*) indicates a donor is a member of the Henry J. Abraham Society for loyal and consecutive giving. An obelisk (†) indicates an individual who is deceased. Please note that as of July 1, 2019 Kenyon’s annual giving societies have changed. Visit kenyon.edu/societies for more information.
1998
Annual Fund Total: $91,656
Class Participation: 22.47%
President's Society
Donors of $50,000 or more
Edward S. Carson*
Philander Chase Society
Donors of $10,000 to $24,999
Jason E. Summers
Stephanie A. Summers
Bexley Society
Donors of $2,500 to $9,999
Graham Burns, DVM, DACVR*
Kenyon Society
Donors of $1 to $2,499
Anonymous (2)
Malcolm G. Auchincloss
Grace L. P. Beason*
Bret A. Berman
Sabrina V. Bertocchi
Robin J. Blume-Kohout
Stephanie K. Blumer
Matthew J. Borowiecki
William I. Brody*
Vanessa A. Brown
David W. Carroll*
Teena Carroll*
Anna Kate Cascio
Cory A. Claffey-Koller*
Michael E. Collins*
Elizabeth M. Conway*
Heather L. Cortes P'21*
Lillian DiGiacomo*
Bryan L. Doerries H'17*
Jack J. Dreher
Anna H. Drejer Teel
Alison W. Duke*
Jessica M. Eisner*
Jennifer E. Engle
Kristin M. Flammer*
Hope C. Harrod*
Susan T. Heimbach*
Jonathan M. Holter
McClain L. Howarth*
Carrie Jadud*
Matthew C. Jadud*
Cordelia A. Jensen*
Kathryn Kerr Fitzsimmons
Christian Kielland*
Robert A. Kletzker
Tracy L. Kramer*
Matthew E. Krebs
Paul K. Lachance*
John C. Lawlor
Joel G. Lee*
John Neil Lindsey*
Catherine L. Marcy
Kate E. Masley
Brian S. Mason*
Ryan A. McDermott*
Karen S. McDonald*
Nathaniel J. McDonald*
Douglas D. McMillen*
J. Ryan Miller*
Robert A. Milt
Sarah B. Mojzer*
Jonathan I. Nicholson*
Mrs. Katherine Niven Morse*
Christine O'Neill
Elizabeth N. Pendleton*
Leah Plunkett Zajac
Walter F. Pratt IV*
Moshe Quinn*
Martha-Elizabeth B. Reed*
Stuart M. Rice*
Christina L. Rimelspach
Emma J. Risley
Karen E. Ross*
David N. Sandman
Emily N. Sattler*
Sean P. Scarboro
Christopher L. Schilling
Rachel A. Schiming*
Ian H. Schwab
Torsten Seifert*
Melanie K. Spratford*
Elizabeth Stroyd Windsor
Peter M. Sughrue Jr.
Sarah Trosch
Deborah C. Watkins*
Alexandra J. Whelehan*
Thomas P. Worrall MD*
Robert T. Zajac
George Wharton Mariott Society
These alumni have included Kenyon in their estate plans or have made other planned gifts.
H. Clay Aalders
Susan T. Heimbach
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Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022
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