Heather Gert: I am the new Head of the Philosophy Department at UNCG. What a time to start that job!!
Rolf Pendall: I just started my third year as professor & department head of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Thanks to the efforts and goodwill of my colleagues and students, our department made an unbelievably fast and effective transition in March 2020 to remote instruction. Between mid-March & mid-August, the university developed and deployed an efficient system that administered over 420,000 tests in just its first 3 months. I'm grateful to be part of this community.
Jon Han: Marilyn and I are excited that our son David will be graduating from Kenyon in the spring! David has had a great experience, including connecting with incredible faculty mentors, just like the great professors we had when we were on the Hill just a few years ago!
Elizabeth Honea: I became a grandmother this past February - very exciting and very surreal, as I don't feel old enough to be a grandparent - and I'm looking forward to presenting my grandson with some Kenyon swag!
Zali Win: Zali was recently named chair of the inaugural board of trustees of Parami University in Burma/Myanmar. Parami (parami.edu.mm) is the first private not-for-profit residential liberal arts college in the country. "We found a 60-acre spot for the campus in a bamboo and teak forest about 30 miles away from the vices and temptations of Yangon. We're finishing up the campus master plan, developing the curriculum, and raising money to fund the endeavor in anticipation of accepting our first 80-student class in the fall of 2022. Let me know if you'd like to donate a dorm or a classroom... you can be our Lady Rosse or Lord Gambier." He continues to be active with the Philander Chase Conservancy and lives in NYC.
Cynthia Frost White: Almost 40 years after we met, fellow classmates Carolyn Lackey Knopp, Bill Knopp, Pam Sweet Blau, Bennett Blau and I met for a week of new adventures in Northern Massachusetts and the central coast of Maine. Masks in hand we reminisced about classes and old friends, and made new memories hiking hills, the rocky coast, and vying to beat one another in ping pong and other games. Each evening was spent just like many evenings at Kenyon, and each morning we swore we wouldn't do it again, but we did! Nothing has changed but a few lines on our faces!
Jeff Bell: Colleen ’85 and I used the pandemic to explore our home state of Washington with car trips to the Palouse, the Olympic National Forest, the Hood Canal, and Mount Rainier. LegalShield, the business I have the honor of running, has grown powerfully in the face of social injustice as well as a heightened awareness that every citizen should have equal access to legal services. (Note to editor: Diversity is our greatest strength, and acceptance of everyone must be a universal commitment.)
Susie Lloyd (Miller): Hello friends, I hope everyone is doing well. I am happy to report that my girls and I are all healthy. COVID made a mess of the spring and Abby and Caroline both missed out on their senior semesters and college graduations. That was rough. Imagine not having our senior spring - that would have been bad. The girls are following in their parents' footsteps. Sarah '17 is teaching history at the Gilman School in Baltimore; Molly recently moved from Minneapolis to Philadelphia and is looking for a job; Abby is doing some teaching here at Peddie and living at home - much to her dismay; and Caroline is living in Kansas City, MO teaching preschool for Teach for America. So far, so good.
I am still at Peddie doing Admissions. I have to say doing everything virtually is not my thing, but champions adjust, or at least learn the ropes. I am happy to report that Liz Honea Buckles and her husband, Greg, moved to NJ last year. Liz is teaching at the Lawrenceville School while Greg is Lawrenceville's Director of Enrollment Management. Liz and I get together every other week for dinner and laughs. Those dinners are the highlight of my weeks. We laugh until we hurt, and it is much cheaper than therapy. I highly recommend hanging out with Kenyon friends.
Be well and keep in touch people. We need each other now more than ever.
Amy Sziklas Durrett: Mac Durrett, '81, and I are happy to report that we have become grandparents! Our daughter, Caddie Durrett, '12, brought Halil Frazer Eroglu into this crazy world on April 10, here in Atlanta. Being Grammy and Grampy has been a real delight and we are having way too much fun with our new roles. Our small risk management consulting business continues to grow and, who knows, maybe our Halil will one day join the team, if we don't drive him insane with insurance business talk first.....
Lynne Ruess: Chris and I have been home in Hawaii since March 11. We went to Tasmania on a hiking trip with our daughter Anna Deryck ’20 during Kenyon's spring break and then the world changed. As we began traveling from Australia to return to the US, Anna was notified that the Kenyon campus was closed for at least another week. Soon we learned the remainder of the semester and her graduation were to be online - not what we had hoped for her.
The three of us have been making the best of continuing lockdowns at home in Honolulu. My daily work as a pediatric radiologist hasn’t changed as I’ve been working remotely for 10 years, but the no travel and now six + months on island is a record for me - and for Chris, who also typically travels fairly frequently working for the US Navy. Anna, now ’stuck’ at home with her parents, is working as a vet assistant at the only 24/7 emergency animal hospital in Hawaii, one of the few businesses other than grocery stores that has remained open. She learned about the job opening from one of the veterinarians there - also a Kenyon alum! We are happy to have her at home for a while. We miss seeing our son, Sean ’18 who started a master's program at U of Cincinnati in anthropology this fall. This time last year I was heading to Gambier for parent weekend… the good ‘ole days… Lynn Ruess K’84 P’18 P’20 and Chris Deryck K’84 P'18 P’20
Anne Rock: I'd like to give a shout out to bicycles for keeping me sane during the multiple disappointments, banalities, and tragedies that marked 2020. Having NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling League) and Outride (Riding for Focus) programs at AIM Academy, where I also teach English, helped me and my students cope with the unrelenting digital landscape as well as a tragic loss to our community. Sam Ozer, AIM '20, was struck and killed by a car on Father's Day on his way home from his summer job building bikes.
Jenny Burwell: Living in the Atlantic Bubble in Nova Scotia, Canada makes me feel very fortunate. Love this area and encourage anyone to come visit when possible. My shop and gallery Jenny Jib just had its 18th anniversary and it’s hard to believe how quickly time passes! Best to everyone, hopefully will get to the next SAIEW!
Ben Barnett: Ben is still practicing law (remotely) at Dechert LLP in Philadelphia. He and his wife Missy live on and operate a horse farm in Unionville, PA. “I spent the last three plus years working on a criminal investigation in France and the UK so the pandemic and resulting travel restrictions have been a real change. Our biggest Kenyon news is that our daughter Anabel ’23 is a sophomore living in splendid isolation in Leonard (of all places). It has been great to be back to Gambier multiple times in the past two years and we hope to join the next 1984 reunion.”
Steve Behrendt: Steve still resides in Wellington, New Zealand, teaching history at Victoria University of Wellington. He is on sabbatical in 2020-21 working on various 18th century Liverpool history and slave trade projects, his research appearing on www.slavevoyages.org and www.liverpoolmaritime.org. COVID ended his sabbatical plans to conduct research in the USA and UK!
Kristen Richardson: Starting my second year on Alumni Council, and really enjoying getting to know more alums as we work on ways to support the College and its students. If you have any questions about Council or want to raise an issue, don't hesitate to contact me! You can also visit the Council page on the Kenyon website: kenyon.edu/for-alumni/alumni-networks/alumni-council.
