Kenyon Class of 2007 Fall Class Letter

Dear classmates,

We know you look forward to this letter to learn about what’s going on in our classmates’ lives; we’re also excited to share some of the news from the Hill this year:

This semester, 12 members of the Class of 2026 were able to enroll as the direct result of donor support for the Kenyon Access Initiative (KAI), a vital scholarship effort to increase access for low-income students. We aim to enroll 50 students each year through KAI, in addition to other robust financial aid. To further support all students, the College increased the budget for the Student Success Fund — emergency grants for which any student can apply.
 
Chalmers Library in the West Quad has quickly become a hub for student connections day and night. Its neighbor Lowell House, home to admissions and financial aid and named for Pulitzer Prize winning poet Robert T.S. Lowell IV ’40, is also now open. Oden Hall, future home to social sciences and named for former president Robert Oden, will open for instruction next year. The 261-space underground parking garage for visitors and employees — with EV charging, naturally — is already helping to ease congestion in the Village without disrupting the beauty of Gambier we all remember so fondly.

This year students will also soon have access to a dining option in “downtown” Gambier, when Peirce Express opens in a space under the Gambier Deli. (Shout out to all who remember eating in Gund Dining Hall!) This space will also be home some evenings to a student-run bar known as Flats, helping to provide a non-residences nightlife option. Look for more about both of these in an upcoming issue of Kenyon News Digest.

I hope you’re now feeling wistful about our own time at Kenyon. I invite you to turn that nostalgia into action with a gift to help make all this possible! Gifts to the Kenyon Fund can be directed toward enrolling the next high-achieving group of students through the KAI, broader scholarships and financial aid efforts, athletics, one of the College’s many green centers and more. Please consider making Kenyon students a philanthropic priority this year by giving online at gift.kenyon.edu.

I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing the news from the College this fall. I have certainly enjoyed hearing from those of you who submitted class notes for this letter (see below). I encourage folks who haven’t updated us with one recently to consider submitting a quick life update for the next batch of notes in the spring.

Thank you!
Lisa Hamer

Reunited and it feels so Kenyon

Reunion Weekend 2023 
will take place in Gambier May 26 - 28

Along with special programming for the 50th Reunion class on May 25, we’ll be celebrating milestone reunions for classes that end with 3 and 8, as well as K80s, Peeps and Chamber Singers. 

All alumni are invited to return to the Hill for Reunion Weekend, especially those celebrating a reunion beyond their 50th. Registration details will be emailed in early 2023. If you think we may not have your most current info, please share your up-to-date email and phone number with us at updateinfo@kenyon.edu. (We can’t invite you if we can’t reach you!)

We are so excited to reunite with you! See you soon.

Save the date for Reunion Weekend

Upcoming Events for Alumni

Save the date for these upcoming events for alumni taking place online and on the Hill.
  • The Center for American Democracy's Midterm Elections Panel
    Hear from alumni experts at this free, virtual event Tuesday, Jan. 10 from 7-8 p.m. ET.

  • Spring Giving Challenge
    Our annual 36-hour online giving challenge will take place Wednesday, April 26 - Thursday, April 27.

  • Reunion Weekend
    All alumni are invited to join us on the Hill May 26-28.
Visit kenyon.edu/alumnievents to register and view our full alumni event calendar.

Class Agents

Class agents are your connection to campus. To learn more about becoming one, contact Associate Director of Annual Giving Isabelle Rivers-McCue via email.

• Margaret Fuchs
• Lisa Hamer
• Will O'Keefe
• Samantha Ley

Class of 2007 Fall Notes

Margaret (Niehaus-Sauter) Fuchs and Andy Fuchs welcomed Madeline Margaret Fuchs in August. Big brother Henry is delighted and we are slowly figuring out how to care for two children at the same time! We continue to live in Shaker Heights, just outside of Cleveland, OH.

Lauren Greene and Ben Van Horrick and their three kiddos Benji (8), Miriam (5) and CJ (1.5) are moving to Okinawa, Japan. Ben completed the Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) course at Fort Leavenworth, KS in May. As part of his MMAS degree he wrote a 97 page thesis about Marine Corps operations in Marjah, Afghanistan. Ben is back on active duty with the Marines and will be serving at Camp Courtney on Okinawa for three years. They plan to travel in Seattle the week of October 6 before heading overseas.

Samantha Ley:
In April, Matthew Zaremsky and I welcomed identical twins Maya and Juno. Older sisters Ellie and Rowan are excited to be helping out with the babies! Matt also got tenure and is now an Associate Professor in the SUNY Albany math department.

Emily Martyn: Ed Hourigan ’05 and I welcomed our second daughter, Rose, in September 2022. Big sister Eliza is now 4 years old and rocking her Montessori preschool experience. Herbie, our old 90lb pit bull, is a lap dog who hogs the bed. We're still based in Brattleboro, Vermont, and after my FMLA I'll return to my job as Certified Nurse-Midwife at the local hospital-- now in my seventh year of helping others meet their babies.

Ira Ochs and his wife, Claire, are the delighted (if somewhat exhausted) parents of a six-month old, Amy Cordelia Redfield Ochs. They live in Austin.

Kathryn Peterson: I have spent the last fifteen years working in elementary education, with a specialization in urban teaching. I work closely with at-risk and refugee populations. After seven years in the classroom, I have recently switched positions to work, for the last two years, as an elementary school administrator and K-6 Instructional Literacy Coach. I live and work in a vibrant community in downtown Detroit, MI. I spend most of my weekends traveling across the state to be with my long-time boyfriend/partner, who lives in Grand Rapids, MI. We love to travel all over and enjoy everything our beautiful state has to offer. I recently attended the wedding of Amy Loria with my brother, Mark Peterson ’08 and Joel Jablon.

Eduardo Rodriguez:
This Fall I'm returning to full-time work after spending these last pandemic years juggling teaching and caring for our son, Felix. He turns 3 in October, and just entered full-time preschool. I'll be working as a lecturer at the University of Vermont, where my wife, Emma, also works leading the Office of International Education. We are expecting a sibling for Felix in February!

Sarah (Brieschke) Ryan: Hi friends! It was wonderful getting back to Gambier in May for Reunion Weekend and seeing many of you, though always too briefly. My family (husband, daughter, and son) still lives in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor area of Michigan. I am at the same company but changed positions to scale back at work in 2021 to make more time for school driving and family life, and have been extremely thankful for the ability to do that. Living near three university campuses, it's great to have the feel and energy of college life around us but it also reminds me of how special the people and place of Kenyon are to me. I'm sure there's more alumni around here than I realize, so feel free to send a FB note or email if you're ever heading this way and it would be great to say hi!

Stu Schisgall: We're excited to announce the arrival of our son, James Schisgall. Mom and James are doing well. Now we have to figure out how to manage 2 under 2.

Lauren (Zenner) Steele: John Steele and I moved back to SoCal in 2020 and are now living in northern San Diego with our two kiddos (5 and 2). I grumble about the constant 70-75 degree weather conditions and pine for jacket weather and snow, but we're otherwise happy to be here. Some of you may remember our dog, Bailey, who was a presence at Kenyon in our junior and senior years. He died in April at the ripe old age of 16.5, having spent the greater portion of his last years happily lounging in the sun and generally enjoying a peaceful senescence.

Lisa Hamer is still a public defender in Taos, New Mexico, where she lives with her partner Ifeanyi Okeke and two pups. After three re-sets, they are wedding this coming fall of 2023. They are excited about ski season, and as always welcome visitors to their side of the mountains.
Read notes from the Class of 2008 and the Class of 2006
Support Kenyon
If you missed the chance to share your news for this letter, you can submit a class note online.

Class Listing

Kenyon is grateful to the following donors for their generous support of the College, including the Kenyon Fund, during the 2021-22 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.

2007
Annual Fund Total: $18,740  
Class Participation: 29.80%

Bexley Society

Donors of $2,500 to $9,999
Jessica McCormick*
Robert J. McGuire*
Emily A. Plocki*

Kenyon Society
Donors of $1,000 to $2,499
Jessie Cintron 
Erin M. Ellingwood*
Alexis N. Minana*

Kenyon Society
Donors of $1 to $999
Emily Allen Cowles*
Lindsay M. Allen*
Anonymous
Emily R. Atkinson 
Willow A. Belden*
Melinda Bennett Nguyen 
Adam F. Birka-White*
Robert T. Blum 
Adrienne D. Boris*
Brittain H. Brantley*
David D. Cicetti 
Laurel E. Clark 
Charles T. Cottingham 
Nicholas J. Coyote 
N. Yana Davis 
Jeffrey M. Delozier 
Kyle S. Donnellon*
Rebecca R. Eckart*
Lacey A. Einstein-Curtis 
Sarah M. Eisner*
Karen E. Fainstein 
Chris Fennell*
Matthew R. Fideler 
Kimberly B. Fisher*
Molly E. Flanagan 
Andrew F. Fuchs*
Margaret M. Fuchs*
Terrell Fuller 
Rebecca Gladen 
Lauren E. Hauser*
Kelly M. Henry*
Kjersten L. Hild 
Cori Hirai*
Erin W. Jacobson 
Geetha Kannan 
J. MacLaren Kelly*
Lee Kennard*
Stewart H. Kerns*
Lisa King*
Alexandra E. Kittle*
Katharine L. Knarreborg*
Michael R. Krantz*
Juliana M. Kunz 
Kristin V. Kvernland 
Christopher B. Laco*
Annie E. Lambla*
Melissa Levo*
Mike Lewandowski*
Samantha J. Ley*
William C. Lippert 
Alexandra G. Lodge*
Adam S. Lucas*
Nelie G. Lynch*
Laura Machado 
Emily H. Margolis 
Richard E. Marinos*
Emily C. Martyn 
Christopher M. Matthews*
Brendan I. McCarthy*
Sara McClusky 
Robert D. McMillan*
Andres E. Millan 
Amy E. Moody*
Paul R. Morway*
Julia Murillo 
Elizabeth A. Narducci 
Claire E. Navarro 
Elizabeth C. Nickitas 
Charlotte Nugent*
William F. O'Keefe III*
Kaitlin E. O'Malley*
Lauren C. Ostberg 
Sarah B. G. Pekdemir*
Julia Plonowski Gunther 
Anne T. Pomeroy*
Kathryn Q. Radtke 
Margaret E. Rieley*
Peter Robbins 
Eduardo M. Rodriguez*
Douglas D. Roj 
Jesse C. Rosenbluth 
Eileen E. Ryan*
Sarah E. Ryan 
Shana R. Scogin*
Calloway B. Scott*
Shannon Selerowski 
Andrea R. Shinbach 
Charles R. Sloan 
Jason C. Smith 
Elizabeth Stanton 
John W. Steele IV 
Lauren Z. Steele 
Marc W. Steiner*
Lilly Stolper*
Amy Strieter 
Elizabeth E. Stubbins 
Benjamin F. Taylor 
James A. Taylor 
Sarah P. Teczar*
George L. Ten Eyck IV 
Katie A. Thadi*
Aaron P. Tracy 
Elizabeth R. Trenga*
John N. Trujillo 
Nicole Van Der Tuin 
Tatiana S. Volochkovich*
Mary Claire R. Walsh*
Todd B. Walters*
Robert R. Warnock IV 
Nancy H. Weindruch 
Katherine A. White*
Matthew C. Zaremsky*
Kimberly L. Ziegler*
Anna Zimmermann Jin*

George Wharton Marriott Society
These alumni have included Kenyon in their estate plans or have made other planned gifts.

Robert J. McGuire '07
Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022