Sprin 2023 Class Letters

Class of 2015 Spring Class Letter

Dear classmates,

As we usher in the spring of 2023, there are two exciting developments on the horizon coming to you from Kenyon: the announcement of our 20th president later this summer and planning for our bicentennial in 2024. The alumni-led presidential search committee has assembled input from alumni and others in the Kenyon community into a leadership profile that outlines the qualities sought in Kenyon’s next president. For the latest on the search, visit kenyon.edu/presidentialsearch. As for the bicentennial, a call for proposals is underway! If you have an idea for a special project for the College’s 200th birthday celebration, you can apply for funding by emailing bicentennial@kenyon.edu.

In other college news, Oden Hall — named for Kenyon’s 17th president Robert A. Oden, Jr. (from 1995-2002) — opened in the spring as home to faculty from sociology, political science, history and philosophy. Anthropology is also represented with a dedicated laboratory space and Kenyon’s Center for the Study of American Democracy will also call Oden Hall home. Oden contains more than 50 offices for faculty, is fully accessible and houses a 280-seat auditorium, bridging the gap between the capacities of Rosse Hall and the Community Foundation Theater. I hope you get the chance to check it out in person next time you’re on the Hill!

In preparation for the bicentennial, members of Alumni Council have been busy working on an update to the Kenyon Songbook, which can now be viewed online at kenyon.edu/songs. Are you ready to warm up your vocalizers and get ready to burst into one of your favorite Kenyon tunes? This fifth edition of “Songs of Kenyon” continues a 166-year effort by the College and Alumni Council to both preserve and carry on Kenyon’s tradition of song. Published in 1859, 1866, 1906 and 1957, the first four editions chronicle the songs that defined generations of Kenyon students. The songs chosen for this edition were selected “because they both unify us in our past and point us towards our future.”

Speaking of unifying, alumni are also actively connecting on the CDO’s Kenyon Career Connections group on LinkedIn. It’s a space to share career-related opportunities and resources or promote career and continuing education discussions to the Kenyon community. I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already!

I hope many of you participated in the College’s recent “Kenyon FunDay” to support today’s students via the Kenyon Fund. I enjoyed seeing the fun photos come in from regional events around the country, as well as watching the funds come in for today’s student over the course of the 36-hour giving challenge. There’s still time to make a gift if you missed the festivities! Visit kenyon.edu/funday to make your gift and join in the fun(d).

Up next for many Kenyon alumni is Reunion Weekend May 26-28, which should be a celebration to remember, as always. Then on to our yearlong bicentennial celebration! There will be lots of opportunities for alumni like us to participate, so stay tuned. I hope you will carve out some time to make it back to the Hill to celebrate our alma mater’s big 2-0-0 in whatever way feels meaningful to you. 

With such warmth,
Edgar (Eddi) Arceo

P.S. Scroll down to find the 2015 class notes.

Upcoming Events for Alumni

Save the date for these upcoming events for alumni taking place online and on the Hill.
  • Virtual Alumni Town Hall
    Our Reunion Town Hall with Acting President Jeff Bowman and others will take place Thursday, May 11 via Zoom.

  • Reunion Weekend
    All alumni are invited to join us on the Hill May 26–28.

  • Homecoming Weekend
    Join us for athletic competitions, festivities and alumni volunteer meetings on the Hill Sept. 29-30.
Visit kenyon.edu/alumnievents to register for the events above and view our full alumni event calendar.

Class Agents

Class agents are your connection to campus. To learn more about becoming one, contact Assistant Director of Student and Young Alumni Giving Abigail Rose via email.

• Edgar Arceo
• Claire Brautigam
• Rachel Hall
• Kevin Pan
• Isobel Rosenberg
• Dan Semelsberger
• Hannah Shank

Class of 2015 Spring Notes

Avery Anderson 
Avery (he/him) shares that he is “Finally going to set down roots in Colorado. This spring I finish my PhD at OSU, and I start as an assistant faculty at the University of Colorado College of Nursing over the summer. Anyone in Denver, hit me up!”

Edgar Arceo
On December 16th 2022, I booked a one-way solo ticket to Argentina, anticipating (eagerly hoping) Messi would get it done in Quatar on the 18th. Needless to say, the ensuing two weeks in Buenos Aires remain an outstanding blur… However, on the way back, I serendipitously ran into Kenyon crush, Julieta “María” Guzman (again! We ran into each other in Colorado in February of 2022), and caught up on life during our flights’ layover. Special times. This summer, I’ll pack up from Pasadena and return to Ojai, California, where I’ll teach psychology at The Thacher School– and, undoubtedly, be the primary instigator of community pick up soccer games. I’ll also attend two KC weddings, in North Carolina and Massachussets. Lastly, @Lewis Williams-Gray ’14, Andrew Parmelee ’14, and Alistair Flynn ’14, ‘no chanse luv.’

Elliot Cromer
Elliot continues performing with The Wyldman Show at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. Five years into it! He is also looking for an affordable apartment or house in Yellow Springs, OH to live in with his 5-year partner Jules. Let him know if you've heard of a 2-bedroom 2-bathroom availability. Working creatively with fellow ’15 alum Adam Zaremsky is rewarding as well. They wrote and performed a 2nd all original sketch comedy show E + A's Big Dumb Show to great success and laughter. Book them for your next birthday party/wedding! Elliot has fond memories of all his fellow alums and hopes they are all doing spectacularly. “See ya at the 10-year reunion if not sooner!”

Logan Ernst
I will be finishing up my last year of Anesthesiology residency at Ohio State this summer and will be moving with my wife Hannah and our dog Summer to Boston for a year while I do one final year of training in Critical Care Anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Kerry Kennedy
John Murphree and Kerry got married in Buffalo, NY, this past November, nearly 10 years after their first late-night conversations in Hayes Hall. Many loved ones from Kenyon were in attendance, traveling from near and far (as close as Cleveland to as far as Hawaii, Paris, and Prague!). They are newly living in Long Beach, CA--please give a shout if you are ever in town!

Mary Frazier (Greene) Lind
Mary Frazier and Peter Lind welcomed their son, Anders, in September. They are enjoying life in Chicago as a family of 4 (Willa the Weimaraner is not to be forgotten!).

Wes Manz
Remains in Atlanta - 6 years strong - surviving the second year of orthopedic surgery residency at Emory. Fantasizes daily about moving to the Mediterranean coast of France to take cooking classes.

Hector Marrero
Iggee H.M. and I welcomed our first child, “Little Fatty”, and soon we will celebrate 100 days with him. The boy drinks heavily and often keeps us awake. He has doubled in size over the course of his first two months and is beginning to speak in grunts and coos. I am split within myself wishing both that he would be grown and independent, and on the other hand wishing he would never change. God bless you all.

Thomas Mattes
I'll be graduating from UC Berkeley Law in May, taking the California Bar exam in July, and then moving to DC in the Fall to start work as an antitrust attorney with the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition. I'm especially excited because I'll get to see old friends on the East Coast, so text me, call me, dm me on LinkedIn (sorry). Otherwise, I'll be in touch!

Colin McMahon
Recently bought a house and moved to Berkley MI outside of Detroit. Keeping busy in residency for emergency medicine in Detroit.

Olubusola Olukoya
Busola would like to offer a public thank you to Edgar Arceo for updating us all on the presence of her summer science 2014 crush Sam Justice in Boston. Due to Edgar's update in the Spring Class Letter of 2022, Sam and Busola were reunited and began an unexpected romance with Sam visiting Nigeria that October to meet Busola's parents! They have seen each other every day since their return from Lagos barring Busola's conference and social travel calendar. Busola reports that the fifth year of graduate school is where the money (i.e. data) is and the suffering of the past four years could very well pay off for her. She is still determined to be the next Sheryl Hemkin but in a small liberal arts college near a decent surf break. In her free time, she is balancing the emotional demands of her fellow PTSD warrior cat, Hercules, with Sam's newfound love of Korean dramas and preparing for what she hopes will be the year she finally learns to surf.

Isobel Rosenberg
After 5 years in the same DC studio apartment (and at the same DC consulting firm), I finally made big moves about 10 minutes down the same street and moved into a Logan Circle apartment with my boyfriend, Josh (a Haverford alum, so he fits in seamlessly with our weird liberal arts vibes), over the summer! In keeping with the theme of same but different, I also started a new job at Slalom Consulting in May. Both the cohabitation and the new job are going really well! I have loved catching up with so many friends at the ongoing stream of Kenyon weddings in 2022 and I can’t wait to continue the trend in 2023!

Janie Simonton
Janie has finally met Jack, Kerry Kennedy and John Murphree's dog.

Anna Taylor
Savoring my new bad dragon while honing my interest in pee also I AM PREGNANT (spiritually). acab and tysm!

Alex Urist
Alex is currently living in Brooklyn, NY, and leading up business development for XCharge North America, a manufacturer of EV Charging solutions, a company he helped to create.
Read notes from the Class of 2014 and the Class of 2016.
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Help make our class notes even better in the next class letter, submit a note at any time via kenyon.edu/class-note-form.
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