Class Notes, July/August 2000

Monday March 01, 1999 Category: Archives Permanent Link

Forget about wearing sunscreen. If I ever have to give a commencement speech, or any sort of advice, it’s going to be this: GET RENTER’S INSURANCE. Now. Do not stop, do not pass go, do not promise yourself you will do it when you take your mental health day off next week to clean your apartment, which is what I did. I came home four days ago to find a pipe had burst and my apartment was knee-deep in water. My new guitar and my favorite (silk) twin set were floating in a muddy sea of clothing, shoes, and old Cornell Daily Suns, now pulpy beyond recognition.

Note to self: Do NOT keep journals in felt tip pen, even though you love it, because felt tip smears when wet in a way that boring ball point does not. OK, I’m done whining. Did I mention that everything I own, except a pair of jeans that happened to be in a plastic bag, is completely ruined? Really, I’m done. But I say all this not for your sympathy, but as my semi-pathetic excuse for not including in this column the people who have been kind enough to send me news, because, to really belabor my point, every piece of paper in my apartment is now unreadable. Which, in the case of old papers and notebooks I never recorded a note in, is probably not a bad thing.

Now, onto the news I’ve been able to scrounge up (hint, hint, and my e-mail address is crubin@washingtonian.com). Leatha Recio-Cruz writes to say that she and husband Johnny Recio welcomed their first son, Johnny Jose (“J.J.”) Recio on Aug. 28, ‘99 . Leatha will be returning to work as a science and math teacher in September.

Dispatch from Beantown: After receiving her DMD from Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Marci Levine, who seems to sign all her e-mails “with a smile,” is off to a dual degree and integrated MD program in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (her first choice), which makes her Class of ‘03 at Harvard Med School.

Wedding Watch: Rachel Effron married Howie Barkin in Manhasset, LI, in April. Jennifer Winter was a bridesmaid. After a two-week honeymoon in Italy, the couple lives in New York City, where Rachel is a business analyst at Time Warner (or should we say, AOL Time Warner) corporate headquarters, and Howie is an equities trader. Lisa Courchaine married Ray Derouin in August 1998 in San Diego , CA. Lisa’s gotten her teaching credentials and a master’s in education, and she’s currently teaching kindergarten for the San Diego city schools. Ray is a deputy probation officer. “We are a couple of dedicated public servants!” writes Lisa.

Here’s some news that didn’t fit into the last column: Jennifer Sullivan is working for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a consultant. Judy Keisler is a human resources business consultant at KPMG. Alvaro Belloso has been working in Holland since early 1999 and has been married for a bit longer (no kids yet, he writes). Alvaro is doing process engineering work for two underground gas storages in the north of Holland . Micah Boyer, BA ‘97, joined the Peace Corps in September 1999 and is stationed in Benin , West Africa . Knowing French is a big plus, but Micah’s still trying to figure out the local scene. You can write him at Micah Boyer, Peace Corps, BP 771, Cotonou , West Africa . Tricia L. Woodard is working at the Breakers in Palm Beach as the retail operations manager, and writes, “If anyone is visiting Palm Beach , please get in touch!” Tricia regularly sees Tricia Loberg ‘95, Kirsten Knipp ‘97, John Bradway ‘94, Stephanie Neild ‘98, and Nila Boquin ‘99.

Maureen (McCafferty), MPA ‘97, and Matthew Stanton, ME C ‘97, were married on Sept. 26, ‘98 . The couple honeymooned in the Greek Isles and are currently living in DC. Matt is a nuclear engineer with the Navy, and Maureen is a program associate at the Council on Foundations, a non-profit grantsmaker association. Cornellians in the wedding party included Patrick McCafferty ‘95, ME C ‘96, Lauren Twitchell, MPA ‘97, Jean-Paul Chaine, Nate Henderson, Eric Andersen, and Mark Gelston.

Panayiota C. “Toula” Kilaras and John Bougiamas were married on Dec. 5, ‘99 in Corona , Queens , with a ceremony in Jericho , NY . Toula is clerking for Judge Nicholas P. Tsoucalas of the United States Court of International Trade in Manhattan , and John is an associate at the Newark law office of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker. Suzette Posada is married to Edwin Gil and living in New Jersey.

— Courtney Rubin, Class Correspondent