Class Notes, September/October, 2005

Saturday November 12, 2005 Category: Archives Permanent Link

Greetings, ‘Sixers! I hope this column finds you well. Tell me if you have recently experienced this thirty-something dilemma… I recently was walking around my apartment and wondering if it was still, for lack of a better interior design term, too “college.” There are no posters of rock stars, pithy inspirational sayings, or the periodic table. No overstuffed Seventies couches, dying ficus trees, or well-worn industrial carpeting.

I’ve also managed to graduate from IKEA—woo hoo! However, I still haven’t quite gotten my feng shui on. I have things to sit on, there are several pieces of art and tapestries thoughtfully hung on the walls, and I do vacuum once in a while, but the place still has that not-quite-lived-in feel. I would venture to say that maybe it’s “shabby chic” (is that still in, by the way?), but if any of you folks with a hankering for design want to write in and give me a few tips, I’m all ears. Otherwise, I’ll still wait for one of those myriad home design shows to come knocking on my door. Thanks for letting me share my most recent existential dilemma. Here are your Class of ‘96 notes.

Andy and Jessica Brief received a very special anniversary present this year: daughter Jordana Ivy was born on January 2, 2005. Andy, Jessica, and Jordana reside in New York City, where Andy is completing his residency in orthopedic surgery at NYU, and Jessica is an elementary school teacher. Gina Saline Accordino recently wrote,”Here’s one from me. After moving from apartment to apartment in NYC, Tom and I finally moved out to the ‘burbs. We bought a house in Chappaqua, NY, and honed our manual labor skills doing renovations. We planned on finally moving in on January 17, but instead we went straight to the hospital, as Julia Mary Accordino had other plans—our little bundle of joy arrived early! We had lots of fun moving into a new house in snowstorms with a newborn—especially when the heat went out and the pipes burst. Ugh! Now that things have settled down (and Julia’s been sleeping through the night), we have had a chance to enjoy our beautiful baby girl! It’s so weird, though… new house, new baby—we feel way too grown up!”

David Rickell is an area VP with Waffle House Corp. and resides in Spartanburg, SC, with his wife Kate. Dave and Kate welcomed a baby boy, Charles Elliott, into their family on March 1, 2005. Kate wrote, “He’s a big, healthy baby; Terry Koza has nicknamed him ‘Touchdown Charlie’ and is encouraging Dave to start conditioning him for Big Red football.”

Shoshana Sperber Baskind and husband David ‘93 welcomed Jacob Philip into the world on March 15, 2005. Shoshana might have had the ultimate experience in new-mom training: she received her doctorate in child clinical psychology from NYU in 2003. She is now working as a school psychologist in Marlboro Township, NJ, in addition to seeing children and families in private practice. Hannah Alessandra Quigley was born to proud parents David ‘95 and AngelaWhitehead Quigley. And just in the nick of time for the column, Ilana Preuss Susskind and husband Hadar welcomed daughter Ana into their family on July 3, 2005. Ilana,Hadar, Ana, and new big brother Yoav live in Takoma Park, MD. Congratulations to all of our classmates on their new arrivals!

Becca Schader provided us with some great column news. She writes, “I am still a writer/producer for HBO, and they are keeping me as busy as ever. I finished last year by working on the ‘Six Feet Under’ and ‘The Wire’ campaigns, and begin this year by promoting the show ‘Carnivale’ (which stars another Cornell alum, Carla Gallo ‘97!). However, the best thing to happen at HBO this month was learning that I had won a gold medal for my ‘Sex and the City: A Farewell’ show at the New York Festival 2005 (an international competition for the promo world). The best thing to happen to me this year—by far—is that the new magazine I work for hit the stands with Jennifer Garner as our first cover; I’m the entertainment editor for a new college magazine called Co-Ed Magazine, which is now available at more than 1,000 college bookstores (including Cornell!), in addition to places like Wal-Mart, Target, and Borders, etc.” Becca recently got a chance to catch up with many of her old friends during her 30th birthday party in January. ‘Sixers Elizabeth Rand, Christina Cellini, MD ‘00, Gail Rosenberg Deutsch, and Susanna Klein, plus Marc Levin ‘95 and Elise Rosenberg ‘93 all helped Becca ring in her fourth decade.

On a closing note, I just want to make sure that everyone is sufficiently fired-up for our 10th (that’s right, count ‘em, TEN) Reunion, June 8-11, 2006. It’s a fantastic chance to experience Cornell from somewhere besides the confines of Mann Library (oh, I’m just kidding!). Reconnect with friends, visit old haunts, and remember that special time in life—pre-mortgage, pre-parenthood, pre-responsibility in general. (And if you, like me, anticipate still having to show your ID at the door of your favorite C-town spots, just remember that at our advanced age, it’s a compliment.) Looking forward to seeing you in Ithaca!

Courtney Rubin, cbr1@cornell.edu
Sheryl Magzamen, slm1@cornell.edu
Allie Cahill, AlexandraCahill@aol.com