| Kenyon Class of 1997 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.) 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.) 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.
Thank you and stay well!
Sincerely,
Barbara Kakiris
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.
• Elizabeth Boon Carrico
• Barbara Kakiris
• Maxwell Love
• Ed O'Malley
• Kelli Schrade
• Larae Bush Schraeder
• Terry West
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Colette Battle: It's been a long time, but I felt compelled to offer a hello to my Kenyon family -- given these days and times. I pray that you and your families are well. I'm still in my hometown (Slidell, Louisiana) working on Climate Change. My family remains displaced in the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area since Katrina (15 years ago). I'm no longer married and no kids -- but I've got several youngsters in the family to love on and boss around from time to time. My job is to ensure that they all know where they come from and most importantly - how to peel shrimp and crawfish. This year has been crazy as I continue to move upward professionally, I'm clear that my success is connected to the mistreatment of people on our planet. I'm still running my law & policy non-profit to fight for climate justice and racial justice across the five Gulf South states (TX, LA, MS, AL, FL). In addition, I'm now in the leadership of the Movement for Black Lives and will be anchoring their climate agenda. Every day I wake up ready to fight for a better world. Every evening I pray that we get a little more time to make things right. Down to talk climate with whomever is ready. Sending love to my Kenyon family.
Lindsay Burke (Buchanan): I continue to practice law with Covington & Burling in Washington DC (now from my home office in Virginia while overseeing our three kids' virtual schooling in the next room). As an employment lawyer advising many of the world's largest companies, I've been at the center of employers' responses to #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and the coronavirus pandemic. It's been a busy and exciting time.
Tim Cook: Dear Class of 1997, 2020 has been quite a year. Things are going fairly well for us here in Annapolis, on the South River and on the Chesapeake Bay. My sign business (signcraft.biz) is going well, and this year, we celebrated our grand opening of our medical cannabis dispensary Waave Cannabis (mdwaave.com). Finally, I am putting that Kenyon education to use, having an economic degree, and now owning multiple businesses. Last summer we were able to spend a month living in Nocelle, Italy, which was nice, and this summer we just hung around Maryland. I keep in touch with some people from Kenyon, using Facebook and email. Would love to hear from more of you. Find me on facebook @djtimcook.
Adrienne Czechowski (Misheloff): What should have been a celebration rich year has not been so much but we make the best and move on. Our son, Ezra (19) graduated from high school and has started this fall at Washington State University in a special and new program called ROAR for students with special education and learning disabilities. Our daughter, Sophia, turned 16 in June, and is in her junior year of high school and I am no longer able to help with homework--way beyond my pay grade! We have lived in Sammamish, WA which is just outside of Seattle, for the last eight years and have loved every moment of it. I am a confectioner for an iconic Seattle candy shop and enjoy playing with chocolate and sugar every day. Aaron Czechowski, '98 has been with Microsoft for 13 years and is currently a technical writer -- we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this year. I do get down to San Jose, CA about once a year to spend time with Susannah Greenwood and it is like we have never left school. We hope that our daughter will carry on the Kenyon tradition and look forward to returning for a campus visit.
Barbara Kakiris: I moved back to Cleveland and am settling into my job as Deputy Chief of Staff/Senior Director of Presidential Initiatives at Cleveland State University. Starting a new job less than two weeks before the state shut down was a challenge, but I managed to pack up and sell my Gambier house and am searching for somewhere here. I’ve cherished keeping in good touch with Nicky Dreyfuss, Meg (McDonald) Higgins, Liz Witham, Jorie (Gibbons) Widener, Jennifer (Woodbridge) Braatz, and Karin Boerger during this pandemic—we’ll see each other through. Can’t wait to see you all in person, during times when I can hug you tightly. I want to congratulate Lizzie (Pannill) Fletcher on her re-election as Houston’s Congresswoman in District 7—I am so excited for what she’ll do!! I’d also like to give Jamion Berry a shout out for the launch of his new face apparel company ExecuMask (execumask.com)—what a way to take advantage of a relevant, current opportunity—please check it out! I’m hoping to be named to Kenyon’s Board of Trustees for a term beginning in 2021 and look forward to our next reunion, that with all luck will be in-person. Sending you my love and hopes that you and yours are safe, healthy, and well. I miss you.
Eric Newman: I am adjusting to life in Cincinnati as a stay-at-home-dad while Lora Ballinger Newman pursues a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Cincinnati. I’m also adjusting to life as a quarantined travel writer who doesn’t travel! I’ve decided to focus the travel writing portion on Iceland, at least for now. Over the summer I published a children’s picture book; it is based on the true story of children in Iceland who rescue thousands of baby puffins (pufflings) every fall. That book, Lundi the Lost Puffin, just won a silver medal for the (second) best children’s eBook at the annual Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. I also started a podcast called Iceland With Kids. Let me know if you want to hire me as your tour guide to visit Iceland in the summer of 2021! Hopefully.
Langley Partridge (Douglass): Hi everyone! All’s well for us here in CT! I am still an Emergency Medicine doc in the South Bronx, so needless to say this past spring was a trying time, but fortunately my family and I are staying healthy and well despite the COVID numbers we have seen. Doug continues to do a fantastic job working from home as an environmental consultant, with all the myriad of added tasks during the quarantine and now with remote learning for our 7 and 9 year old kids. We are hoping you are all well!
Greta Scharnweber: What a year 2020 has been for all of us no doubt! I say that in solidarity with all my classmates, as we all juggle the isolation, overwhelm associated with caretaking and working/schooling online, coupled with gratitude that I have a relatively stable job in these challenging times for humans on earth, let alone in the United States. I spent the 2019-2020 academic year in Washington, DC to be closer to the Department of State, which sponsors the program I direct at the Institute of International Education (IIE)--The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program. I've been doing that for the past 2.5 years and there has not been a dull moment, even more so now that the pandemic has thrown enormous challenges in Fulbright's path. My husband, two kids, and now a pandemic puppy named Frida and I spent the summer forgetting about Covid at our home in Woodstock, NY before finally returning to our beloved New York City. While things are not the same here now as when we left for our year in DC, it is good to be home.
Larae Schraeder (Bush): 2020 has been an extra crazy year for my family. In early February I nearly lost my mother who went into septic shock after getting listeria food poisoning. Because she was a single mom, we were an especially tight "pack" when I was growing up. I kept thinking she wouldn't have left me at the hospital unable to advocate for myself so I essentially lived at the hospital with her (way back in the pre-Covid days when that was possible!). Then I lived with her for several more months after her discharge in March to minimize her time in a facility. I will never forget her awakening to discover that a pandemic had gripped the world while she slept unaware! This summer I moved back to my house, thankful that my husband and cat remembered me. I've continued to stay at home and to work remotely for Nationwide Insurance as a Director of Data & Analytics. My adaptation to grocery delivery happened in no time flat which means I only venture out for my side hustle as an estate planning and elder law attorney. There just aren't too many non-face-to-face ways for a client to sign a Last Will and Testament in Ohio. I continue to serve as an Alumni Trustee on Kenyon's Board but "zooming" to my Kenyon volunteer commitments has taken on a new meaning. My shoes haven't missed Middle Path's mud, but I do miss the days when "zooming" to Kenyon meant allowing only 50 minutes instead of a full hour to drive from Columbus to Gambier! All in all, I'm busy but have welcomed that my days feel a little less "rat-race-ish" because I'm not jotting from place to place. I welcome the return to a more rat-racy normalcy, but for now I remain mildly impatient yet appreciative.
Dwight Schultheis: I'm just trying to live my best COVID life these days. Both kids (5th and 6th grade) are doing virtual school this Fall which has made working from home... exciting. We caved to pressure from the kids and got a puppy in early October (a 5lb Cavachon). Very different than our previous dog who topped the scales at 90 pounds. One of the reasons we chose a small dog was to prevent 'counter surfing'... ironically, the new puppy has already found her way up by jumping from chair to chair. I started a new job at CVS Health about a year ago working in Corporate Strategy. One of our big projects this year has been the launch of CVS's national COVID testing at more than 4,000 locations. Apart from work and family, I’ve done my fair share of binge watching and would recommend Ozarks, The Bureau, and Hanna. Both kids have celebrated virtual birthdays during the lockdown - Netflix Party with Zoom going in parallel. Looking forward to moving on from COVID!
Kerry Sheldon: I write this note with more than a twinge of survivor's guilt, but my company, Bridgeport Consulting, continues to thrive despite the pandemic. We're quite aware of our privilege in being uniquely equipped for remote work; in fact, the "new normal" of Zooming has unlocked new clients for us geographically. Feeling very grateful for that. Other good news - to my enormous surprise, our son Jack reports that virtual learning is going fine. I can't imagine how that can be true (he's just starting middle school, which we all know is - pardon the language - a shit-show even in the best of circumstances) but I take him at his word (while, of course, Reaganesquely verifying with his teachers behind the scenes). My husband and I recently purchased a biggish parcel of woods + prairie about 20 minutes from our house - a dream of ours for some time - so we have easy camping/hiking/x-country skiing a stone's throw away. Having a place to gather around a bonfire will be particularly helpful in the coming months, I think. Meanwhile, we are bracing for impact as the election approaches, and doing everything we can to ensure the republic survives the present administration's dark and accelerating slide into authoritarianism. Volunteer, vote, speak out, and - depending on how things go - be reassured that there's 30 acres near Ann Arbor where you can join me in organizing for the revolution.
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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.
1997
Annual Fund Total: $31,241
Class Participation: 24.93%
Philander Chase Society
Donors of $10,000 to $24,999
Jeffrey R. Romph*
Amy L. Rowland*
Bexley Society
Donors of $2,500 to $9,999
Larae Bush Schraeder
Thomas Dodge*
Lora Newman*
Kenyon Society
Donors of $1 to $2,499
Mona S. Abdallah*
Stephanie E. Adams
William H. Bardel
Brian W. Bartlett DDS*
Timothy C. Bator
David A. Beck
M. Brian Becknell*
Debbie Becknell*
Elizabeth C. Belanger
Jamion L. Berry*
Alisoun D. Bertsch*
Karin M. Boerger*
Elizabeth Boon Carrico*
Lincoln Brown*
Lindsay Buchanan Burke*
J. Daniel Cho
Stephen E. Collins*
Nita Cornelson*
Kathryn A. Cunin
Louis J. D'Amico Jr.*
Gregory A. Davis*
Amy Diehl Crader
Sarah E. Diehl*
Nicole M. Dreyfuss
Rachel M. Engelke*
Ryan H. Engle
Elizabeth P. Fletcher*
Nora K. Flood*
Zoe Foster Gadgil*
John F. Furniss III*
Marjorie Gibbons Widener
Jonathan E. Hartmann*
Sarah J. Heidt*
Onna B. Houck*
Adam Hunter Howard*
Derrick E. Johnson MD*
Rita D. Kahng*
Barbara L. Kakiris
Robert C. King
Robert G. Knott III*
Stephen J. Lannen*
Matthew B. Lavine*
Jennifer H. Louden
Maxwell Love*
John E. Luebering II*
Ngoc Luong Charvet*
Gianna M. Maio*
Amanda Mason Gadrow*
Brian S. McCormick*
Charlotte S. McGlothlin
Danielle B. Messer D.D.S.*
Anna M. Niceta de Palazzi*
Stacey D. Nichols*
Edwin C. O'Malley*
Elizabeth Palomaki Lazowski*
Matthew Pawlicki*
Sarah H. Pawlicki*
Thomas W. Pettus*
Ginevra Stirling Ranney*
Sarah P. Raymond*
Edward T. Rhee*
Amy E. Rich*
Kelli A. Schrade*
Dwight K. Schultheis*
Pierce E. Scranton III*
David P. Seaman Jr.
Annick F. Shen
Michelle Slattery*
Christina E. Smith Reckamp
Stacey Streeter
Levon D. Sutton
Vuoch Tan Minnich*
Kate Traeger*
Kirsten M. Tychonievich*
Joseph E. Vallotton III*
Kathryn A. Veraldi
Lizabeth K. Vitellaro
Kenyon A. Warren
Laura M. Weber*
Elisabeth B. Weed*
Terry J. West Jr.
Abra Williams*
Jennifer Woodbridge Braatz*
Derek S. Zurn*
George Wharton Mariott Society
These alumni have included Kenyon in their estate plans or have made other planned gifts.
Elizabeth A. Pannill Fletcher
Kelli Schrade
Vuoch Tan Minnich
Alison A. Tidmarsh
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Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022
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