Kenyon Class of 1996 Fall Class Letter

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. Because I work on the Hill, I can speak from experience how well I think Kenyon is doing dealing with the challenges of 2020.

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. Singles for all! 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. 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 regarding the special celebrations we are planning for our milestone reunion this year.)

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. See below for 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,

Chris Ellsworth

P.S. Scroll down to read our 1996 News and Tidbits.

Introducing the Lowry Center & Scholarship

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.

Make a Gift

Upcoming Virtual Events for Alumni

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

Visit kenyon.edu/alumnievents to register and view our full alumni event calendar.

Class of 1996 Fall Notes

Jessica Banks:

Still in London, UK and growing roots. No kids but have a Kundalini Yoga studio (JOY, 2.5 years old) and a meditation app (JOY Meditation, 6 months). The app is a basic prototype for a much bigger, more dynamic version currently in the early stages of development. Tech wizardry is not my area of expertise - thankfully it is for my partner on this project - but it's been an interesting journey exploring the potential for tech to support mental health and wellbeing. It's been a while since I've seen anyone from the class of '96. Hoping to reconnect in person or online soon!

Paul Bonvallet:

I continue to teach organic chemistry at the College of Wooster and I'm very glad to have recently finished my term as department chair. I'm still Chief Reader of the AP Chemistry program. Nobody ever knows what that means, so I tell people that I write and supervise the scoring of 160,000+ AP exams across the world, which is pretty close to the truth. And I'm still married to Carrie Swan (Bonvallet)! Our daughter started college this fall. We thought that the hardest work was behind us after she earned a soccer scholarship in a Division I program, but then the global pandemic hit. We're rolling with it as best we can. Our son is an active high school athlete and drummer in the band; he's got talent, but I'm not sure whether it came from me. We still take the family to Gambier from time to time and hope to stay in Ohio for many years to come.

Cat Broadhead:

I wanted to thank everyone in our class who has reached out to me and supported me over these last few years. I am still working hard on NeoHear.com and living in Palm Beach Shore, FL in the winter. I spend summers in the woods of Northfield, MA, where I will be holding wellness retreats next year. Visitors are welcome at either place!

Christopher Ellsworth:

Life on the Hill is some different this semester, but so far so good as they say. I can report that Kenyon has done a wonderful job dealing with the dumpster fire that is 2020. The students are also stepping up to the challenges and that all adds up to a little normalcy. Hope to see everyone this coming May for the big 2-5! Be well.

Jamie Lyn Smith-Fletcher:

Things are going well: Ohio Arts Council selected my forthcoming novel for an Individual Excellence Award; some friends and I launched BreakBread Literacy Project, a new magazine for young creatives; and my short story collection, "Township" is forthcoming from University of Wisconsin Press in late 2021.

John Koepke:

Olivia and I continue to reside in the Chicagoland area. Down to two kids at home (Grace -16 and Josh-11). Our oldest (Matthew) graduated HS and is making a run at junior hockey with the Utah Outliers in Salt Lake City.

Jessica Orenstein (Sukov):

After swearing my entire life that the only time I would leave Cali, would be for college and NEVER again, I find myself relocated to Southeastern Connecticut. Despite COVID, we bought a home sight unseen, drove across the country (without having secured jobs) with 3 dogs, and here we are, loving it! And doing great. SO good to be able to see seasons again!

Joellen Perry:

After spending nearly 15 years in Europe, I've moved back home and couldn't be happier. My daughter and I are in LA, where I'll be the global head of public affairs for SAP. Looking forward to lots of good tacos!

Shannon Galvin Szymikowski:

Paul and I brought home our daughter on May 23rd. Our adoption will be finalized in November 2020. Keira has brought so much joy to our lives.

Read notes from the Class of 1995 and the Class of 1997.

New this year! Read notes from faculty.

Support Kenyon

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.

Class Listing

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.

1996

Annual Fund Total: $47,358

Class Participation: 48.13%

President's Society

Donors of $50,000 or more

Aasem G. Khalil

Philander Chase Society

Donors of $10,000 to $24,999

Samie Falvey*

Joshua T. Radnor*

C. Michael Weaver*

Bexley Society

Donors of $2,500 to $9,999

Nicholas J. Angelides*

Cerelle C. Centeno*

Jill W. Myers

Eric S. Newman*

Kenyon Society

Donors of $1 to $2,499

Anonymous (2)

Kevin H. Aepli*

Mark A. Allison

Alexandra Baker Shrake

Christian L. Ball*

Felicia Bonanni Wray*

Carrie Bonvallet*

Paul A. Bonvallet*

Kathryn Born MD*

Justin D. G. Brennan*

Catherine L. Broadhead*

Dorey A. Butter

Shanon M. Connolly*

Elena M. DiMuzio*

Rebecca Dougherty*

Darren S. Eisenhauer*

Christopher C. Ellsworth*

David B. Flora*

Matthew J. Friedman P'22*

Christopher S. Frisby*

Shannon P. Szymikowski*

Lesley G. Gibbs*

Andrea E. Glosser*

Douglas S. Green Jr.*

Jamie Griffith Macy*

Mark F. Haggarty*

Nicole E. Hardy*

Sara R. Hauck*

Christian T. Haugsby*

Ann Marie Healy*

Stephanie M. Hill*

Lauren Johnson Pilgrim*

Reverdy P. Johnson*

Daniel J. Keats

Gerald Kelly

Meghan A. Kenny

Matthew R. Kerr*

Delia A. Kloh*

Kathryn A. Knudson*

John A. Koepke

Ashley Kolbe

Todd D. Krugman

Emily Kunze

Susan F. Kyle

Lisa A. Lambert

Kenny Logan*

Sloan M. Magliery*

Thomas J. Magliery*

Margaret C. Maloney

Sarah Mann*

Mark M. McGunagle*

Melinda McMartin Isler

Silvia L. Mercado Masters*

Makiedah A. Messam

Greta Meussling Faworski*

Sarah E. Michael

Carol Milbury Dube*

Stuart J. Newsome

Gregory S. Nock

Meagan K. O'Malley*

Matthew A. Olins*

Chandana A. Reddy*

Andrew S. Richmond*

Ben G. Robertson IV*

Katherine E. Ryan*

Michael H. Schuermeyer*

Lisa Smilnak*

Jamie Lyn Smith Fletcher*

Michael J. Stern

Stacy L. Strauss

Suzanne Sullivan Ursu*

Nancy P. Swank*

Douglas A. Trafelet*

Brandie M. Wagner

Mark K. Walsh*

Jennifer Wellman Wason*

Sims G. Weymuller*

Jeremy R. Williams*

Andrew Q. Winter*

Andrew P. Wollner*

Danielle B. Wollner*

Taylor M. Wray Jr.*

Anonymous

George Wharton Mariott Society

These alumni have included Kenyon in their estate plans or have made other planned gifts.

Catherine L. Broadhead

Virginia Galloway Cooper

Stephanie M. Hill