While I hope we can connect in person in Gambier next May, the class letter is an excellent chance to catch up with one another. My family has just relocated back to the United States from Buenos Aires, Argentina. After ten years abroad with the State Department, it was time to come home for a bit, and we purchased a house in Vienna, VA. Reverse culture shock is real. Moving from small international schools to huge Fairfax County Public Schools has challenged my three daughters (12, 12, and 10). We've bloomed where we've been planted before, so wish us luck and visit if you are in the D.C. area.
Heather Emerick
Kate Blanchard reports: For a mix of reasons, I decided to "retire" from my job as a professor at Alma College in 2021. I am taking a year-long sabbatical to regroup ((and figure out what I want to be when I grow up), till our kid graduates from high school and we can move to the Twin Cities to be near elderly parents in 2022. Shout-out to all my peeps in the sandwich generation!
Amy Haid says: Wishing all dear Kenyon friends well and the warmth of Autumn cheer upon you! All is well in Columbus Ohio, where my daughter is now 12 and fully vaccinated! Hurrah! She’s thriving in her all-girls school - now a middle school kid with stepped up homework and in the Fall play. We are planning fun travel to Copenhagen, Denmark over Christmas and delirious with visions of Nordic Christmas markets and a visit to Kronborg - the “Elsinore” of Hamlet fame. I continue with my 20+ year career as a Securities attorney with a large financial and insurance company - (translation - not as compelling as being an author or professor…or most things really, but it’s a pretty good life). Much more exciting are evenings by the fire pit under the stars, reading great works of Lit (read War and Peace last year - good time to tackle that one!), and traveling all I can (hiked in Mt Rainier National Park for a week this summer). I’m really stoked to see as many of you as possible at REUNION (eh-hem -30- really?!?!) on the last weekend of May 2022 so reserve that weekend NOW. We are going to plan some great mischief and I’m angling to get some special fun organized for the class of 1992. So get ready to make mirth on and off the Middle Path and act like we are 20 again (although we still ARE in our minds, right?) on May 27-29, 2022.
Amy Mayer says: I am about to hit my 20-year anniversary at my current job where I manage financial systems and integrations. I have two kids off in college and one at home. My oldest son is at Georgia Tech, and I am very excited that my daughter Mia has started at Kenyon - class of 2025! She is a triple legacy; after me and her grandfather - Neal Mayer '63.
Lainie Thomas reports: What a year! I'm sure everyone has an amazing story, and I'd love to hear what my classmates have been up to and how you've all coped. I'm still in Manila, the Philippines (year #12), but we've shed all 4 kids to the US so they can study in person, as the Philippines is hosting the world's longest lockdown, and kids here are still not allowed outside and are expected to attend classes on TV (although private schools use the internet).
One unexpected silver lining is that I've been able to attend so many more events, now that everything is online and distance doesn't matter (although there will always be a lot of time zones). I've attended reunions of my high school class, my cohort of Peace Corps volunteers, and my graduate school class. I've attended weddings and funerals that I would have missed if it hadn't been the time of COVID. I guess this is a short way of saying that my laptop is a way more interesting place to be than usual, and I hope that the Kenyon Class of ’92 will be able to assemble online for at least part of our reunion. Stay well, friends!
Josh Rupright says: It's been a bizarre 18 months but we've been making the best of it. My daughter Finley is in her sophomore year at Kent doing sophomoric stuff and my son Griffin is in 5th grade at Cathedral School here in SF and enjoying his role in the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men & Boys. Mabel Dog joined our family earlier this year as well. We have regular Kenyon alum good times here in SF with locals Alex Kriney, Laurie (Hessen) Pomeranz '90, Josh Danson '94, Lisa Busby, Kristen Holzer Fischer, Matt Fischer '91, who else? Visitors are welcome in SF - just ask Peter Feldman '90, Louis Moravec, Smitty, Pete Mitchell '89 and other alums who've come to crash with us. Annie makes a mean pancetta/rapini pasta and the bar is always open. We've been spending as much time as possible in our little house in Sherman, CT - including an epic cross-country SF-to-CT family road trip this summer. Spent QT with Rich Thompson, Franklin Staley and Adam Feldman out in the Hamptons. Golf and pool-side refreshments in Wilton, CT with Tim Walker and Paul Chadwick '93. Golf and steak dinner in White Plains/Westchester with Richie Mathes '89. Sandy Spadavecchia '89 and his daughter and dog crashed with us in Sherman and brought his mobile carpentry and chainsaw studio which we put to work building outdoor benches and clearing fallen trees. Just me and Mabel Dog on the return road trip CT-to-SF featuring several Kenyon alums including CC Rider James Ratchford '90 and crash-hosts John Mensch (Rheinbeck, NY), Bill Gregg '91 (Cleveland, OH), Smitty and David Amador Huertas '91 in Santa Fe. This is fun to share and I encourage others to chime into future Class Letters. Cheers, -Josh
Alise (Shuart) Barrett says: My family and I successfully moved this summer to Painted Post, NY. We are enjoying our new community. I have been busy officiating field hockey & job hunting. Look forward to seeing everyone in May!
Jim Carlone reports: I am now in my 26th year of teaching math at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is my alma mater. My school has done a very good job with covid protocols to keep our students and teachers safe, which I greatly appreciate. My son, William, is in 7th grade at school with me. It is a blessing to have him so close. Also, this year for the first time, I am teaching the son of one of my former students! So this means two things: first, I have taught generations of students, and second, I am older than dirt! Hope everyone is happy and safe and doing well.
