Maxwell (Jennifer) Love: I’m in Iowa City and am in a good place in my life and am happy. My girlfriend and I just adopted a dog, an approximately 10 year old Akita with a healthy(?) predilection for drooling on everything and eating Spam.
Laura (Witek) McDonald: I have worked at the same school, Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School in Joplin, Missouri, since graduating from Kenyon, first as a science/math teacher and coach, and for the last decade or so as the Head of School and College Counselor. What is even stranger to me than coming up on our 25th reunion is the fact that my son is graduating from college this spring, Oberlin College, in fact. While I was not able to recruit my own son for Kenyon, I did just send one of my students there this fall. Below is an excerpt from an email I received from her about a month ago, which brought back so many fond memories from the beginning of my Kenyon journey, most notably making friends on the volleyball team.
"You were right! Kenyon is a perfect fit. It’s beautiful here, and I’ve already made many friends. My classes this semester are so interesting too. I’m taking Don Quijote (a 300 Spanish that’s slightly over my head, but only for now), Sculpture I (my most intense course, somehow), Early Latin American History (my professor has the most interesting takes and sources), and English 103: Quests and Adventures. I faced yet another fear on arrival to Kenyon and joined the new Beekeeping Club (founded in the Spring 2021 semester). It’s been so much fun, and I’m learning a ton. I hope classes are off to a good start there too, and I can’t thank you enough for suggesting Kenyon."
Elizabeth (Boon) Carrico: My husband and I are still chemistry professors at Stony Brook University on Long Island. The University is largely in person (with masks and vaccine mandates) this semester, so our lives are starting to seem a little less unusual (although zoom is clearly here to stay!). Our three children are also back to school, in person (our oldest just started junior high and our youngest just started kindergarten), and keep us busy with soccer, piano, cello, scouts, dance, gymnastics, etc... I am looking forward to reconnecting with some of you in Gambier next spring.
David Overton and Katherine Steuart continue to reside in Tacoma, WA. Their three children Caroline 13, Henry 11, and Elizabeth 9 all attend the Annie Wright School just down the street. Summers are spent between Orcas Island, their farm on the Key Peninsula and the tennis court. The fall brings goose, duck and deer hunting along with the sausage they all become.
Barbara Kakiris: It is truly a pleasure to be coordinating Reunion again--our 25th!!--and we have such a fantastic committee. We've already met and are actively planning so be ready for us to start contacting you and encouraging you to get involved. I had a very fun visit to Martha' Vineyard in August when I stayed with Nicky Dreyfuss and David Seaman, and we spent quality time with Meg (McDonald) Higgins, Liz Witham, Jorie (Gibbons) Widener and their families. Meg has named her flock of chickens after us and Jen (Woodbridge) Braatz, so I was sure to get a picture of me holding my namesake. My only regret was that due to Hurricane Henri, the Skillet Toss at the Ag Fair was cancelled and I was not able to win my age range competition as I'd planned (yes, I was competing despite Nicky's protest that I would throw out my shoulder or otherwise injure myself). My BU brothers visited Cleveland recently and it was so good to connect with Butch (Robert) King, Levon Sutton, Kenyon Warren, Jamion Berry, and Terry West. We spent an afternoon laughing and catching up, and I beat all of them handily in a new card game that Butch taught us. I think we may have a rematch at reunion. Finally, I look forward to visiting my dear Karin Boerger in Boulder soon.
Larae (Bush) Schraeder: Hard to believe our 25th reunion is upon us. Some days it seems we left the hill only yesterday. I continue to live and work in Columbus. I haven't left my full time position in Data & Analytics at Nationwide but I am continuing to practice law evenings and weekends at my own boutique Estate Planning and Elder Law firm (not so creatively named) Schraeder Law. We weren't in the market for another pet, but when my client's son was tragically murdered, we adopted his cat. I have jokingly said that I should amend the intake paperwork for new probate clients -- "Did the deceased have any pets? If so, please know my household is currently operating at our quota!" He's been a nice addition to the household, but what a strange twist of fate. My husband and I joined several of you in the "I've-now-lost-a-parent" club, and so that aspect of adulting hasn't been much fun, but life goes on and we're trying to cherish even more our loved ones that remain. Hoping to connect with several of you over this next year at reunion festivities.
Alisoun (Davis) Bertsch: Hey friends, health and peace to all. We have our first kid looking at colleges. (I am choosing Kenyon all over again. He is looking at large schools.) Our kids are in school (win). Hoping 11 can get vaccinated soon. The most interesting thing here (besides trying to discern what the heck we are all living through and how to flow with it) has been taking the death doula course through the University of Vermont. Coincidentally, a close family member is at the end of life. She said the other day, “gosh I didn’t mean to give you such context for your studies.” It has been amazing. If anyone else is dealing with end-of-life matters, my deep support. Also, shout out to Professor Rhodes for his Meaning of Death class and for being way ahead on this work. Best tip so far, you wonder?…keep paying attention to your senses, turn toward suffering, and look for the gifts that come with the difficulty. Love and support to all.
Ed O'Malley: All is well with Meagan '96 and myself here in New Jersey. We've weathered these unusual times quite well, and have been using our boat quite a bit. We also recently traveled to the Grenadines, our first airline travel since March 2020. Hope all is well with you!
Levon Sutton: Hello to all my wonderful friends and Kenyon Alumni! This year has been a healthy combination of busy, stressful, and AMAZING! During the first half of the year, I spent most of my time working from home and preparing our home of 16 years for the market. With that, we purchased and went to closing on our new home in early July and was under contract on our old home around the same time. Talk about perfect timing! The family is settling into the new home and we are looking forward to opening the house up to family and friends around the upcoming holidays. If you are ever in the Owings Mills, MD area, don’t hesitate to give me a shout and we can grab a meal or a drink nearby. I’m also happy to report I completed my oral examinations for ordination in January and I am “officially” a provisional elder in the United Methodist Church. I’m looking forward to our formal commissioning ceremony later in October where the bishop will install me along with other clergy candidates and ordinands. Additionally, I was reassigned to Grace United Methodist Church in July as the associate pastor after serving 4 years at Emanuel UMC in Catonsville, MD. The congregation has welcomed me and my family (wife Adrienne and daughters Simone & Charlotte) and I am looking forward to serving in this appointment for the years to come.
Life continues to be filled with many activities and I am taking much care to balance all of the balls in the air! Over the summer, the college tapped me to serve a 3-year term on Alumni Council and I had the great privilege of traveling back to Gambier for the fall meeting. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed not to have the opportunity to stay at Barbara Kakaris’ home as she has left the Hill and returned to Cleveland. Even worse was the fact that there was no room in the Kenyon Inn!!! Turns out, this year saw an increase in enrollment along with a handful of “super seniors” who will be completing their course work in December. All of these happenings resulted in the college scrambling to find space for all of the students on campus with some of the Kenyon Inn rooms being “converted” to two-person rooms for sophomores. I will say though that the Mt Vernon Inn was a very quaint place for a VERY short stay!
I also used this September fall travel to Ohio to take advantage of a short visit to Columbus where I was able to hang out with Terry West and Kenyon Warren who flew in from Texas! We had a great opportunity to do a three-course meal that was paired with bourbon tasting followed by some even more “tasting” back at Terry’s home. This was followed by a trip up to my hometown of Cleveland where several Kenyon 97 alumni live. BIG shout out to my homie Robert “Butch” King for driving 3 hours round trip from Cleveland to Gambier to pick up a brother. Along with Terry, Kenyon, Butch, Jamion Berry, Wayne Albertyn and of course, Barb, we spent the remainder of the weekend enjoying each other’s company. Some of us also took in a Sunday afternoon game where the Cleveland Browns handed the Chicago Bears an impressive “L” during week 3 of the NFL regular season. The highlight was listening to many Chi-Town loyals (including some of our own “stow-aways”) heckle us with the phrase “Bear Down, Bear Down” leading up to the game. Those heckles ended as the Browns handled the Bears royally.
It was a great weekend all around and just reminded me of how special and sustaining our bond has been off the Hill.
I’m also looking forward to another wonderful opportunity to reconnect with fellow alums as we prepare for our upcoming reunion year. It is hard to believe we’re celebrating 25 years since we left the Hill in May! Hope to see many of you back as well!!
Kelli (Stebel) Schrade: Hello Classmates! I hope this note finds everyone well and enjoying the fall. I spent most of the summer trying to get outside as much as possible. I even bought a new bike - my first since about 1991! I am trying to keep up with our son, who is now 11, 5 feet tall, and can ride faster than I do. That probably doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who's seen me ride a bike, as I pretty much resemble something out of Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure with a big red beach bike. On another note, I've had much fun connecting with our reunion committee over the past month. A lot of emails flying back and forth as well as a really fun Zoom call. Can't wait to see you all in person next May! You'll be hearing more about reunion in the coming months and should be our best yet
Mandy (Mason) Gadrow, like the rest of the world, has had a rough 20 months or so, but has so far come through with her health and most of her sanity intact. Her husband (Patrick) and children (Liam, 11 and Colin, 10) are also still alive and kicking, to her endless delight and gratitude. The entire family spent as much time as possible outside this summer, resulting in hundreds of photographs of remote hiking trails, dozens of poison ivy rashes, and one overambitious vegetable garden that they reluctantly share with the local deer and rabbit populations. Singing indoors still isn't safe, but curling season starts soon, so at least some (masked) fun will be had this winter. Hope you are all faring well; perhaps we'll all meet again next May!
Kerry Sheldon: My son is about to turn 13. Nearly as tall as I am and far better looking, Jack is all about skateboarding, fashion (he has a very particular aesthetic), and ink-based art. What he's definitely NOT about is school. I felt panic and grief about that for a long while, because 1) I *loved* school and could not imagine a world in which one did not love school, and 2) I've been acculturated to believe that school is the best (-slash-maybe-only??) path to a thriving adulthood. Now, though, I'm over that completely. Now, I view my role as shielding his creative, independent spark from the cold winds of rigidity, standardization, and compliance that school (now) and life (later) will blow his way. Sure, I'll make sure he also gets the academic basics down. But mostly I'm staying focused on what's most important, which is my kid's heart, not his grades. (Though I still definitely bribe him for good grades, because as my mother taught me, "if you look and act respectable, you'll get away with a lot more." Thanks, Mom, for being a covert radical.)
Briana (Beacom) Schulte: Our family of three is hanging in there in Seattle as we continue to adapt to all the changing and challenging demands of this time. We have all been really fortunate: able to continue working (coaching rowing over Zoom was a stretch for me!), continue learning (our second grader is patiently tolerating my unskilled efforts to teach math, grammar, literature, "all the things" except rowing, which is the thing I'm best qualified to teach), and continue trying to create great stories while doing good in the world.
Jennifer Churchill: Elsa (my beloved Swiss Shepherd) and I continue to love living the lake life in Nisswa, Minnesota and we will be celebrating 5 years since I returned to my birth state this November of 2021. Living in a remote and rural area provided many unexpected blessings during the last 18 months as my travel was eliminated for work in 2020. I developed a deepened appreciation for where I live and nurtured my interest in more outdoor hobbies including fishing, golfing, cross country skiing and open water swimming (yes, I still love to swim as much as I can). While travel for work was eliminated, my executive coaching practice continued to grow, yet change in ways that were also unexpected. Helping my client leaders adapt, evolve and find their own resilience during a very challenging time was humbling and I continue to feel honored to serve them as we are all learning through this time in our world. While my work is mostly virtual, I am gearing up to get back on the road very soon. And most importantly, I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the Reunion next spring!
Shannon (Pierce) Cullins: It's our 4th year living in the Pacific Northwest and we are still loving it and all of the great outdoor adventures at our doorstep. I live on Mercer Island - just outside Seattle - with my husband, Brian, and kids Graham (12) and Neve (7). We've taken some great road trips in the last year and a half (Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming) and have settled into a semi-normal routine with school, work and life again. If you're in the PNW, please look me up!
