Skidmore College - Scope Magazine Spring 2019

42 SCOPE SPRING 2019 Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWri- Mo). The ceremony was an interest- ing mix of pagan and Jewish tradi- tions and was held in my mother’s backyard in Newton, Mass. We were not able to plan a fancy honeymoon, as both of us came down with bronchitis. Luckily, we had taken a pre-honeymoon trip to NYC the week before. A highlight was seeing “Springsteen” on Broadway. We look forward to returning for Elton John’s farewell tour this fall.   Melissa Weintraub gaudier@icloud.com ’88 David M. Boon has been promoted to senior director of investments for Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. He lives and works in Chicago. In March, Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh received an honorary doctorate of Divinity from Hebrew Union College at the Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was “thrilled” to be there with husband Robert and son Noah, as well as members of the Temple Emmanuel community. Ritsuka Watanabe Mastroianni and husband David became grandpar- ents to baby Theo Jachinma Pius- Nwagwul last summer. Ritsuka was present at the magical event! They stayed in Seattle to support her daughter Sasha while she finishes her Naturopathic Medical Degree. Ritsuka’s other daughter, Kailina, graduated from the Seattle Institute of East Asian Medicine last August. To celebrate, the family took a trip to Victoria, Canada, and enjoyed seaside yoga, Thai massage and some memorable days. Kailina now practices in Fremont, Calif. For more information on acupuncture, visit artemisacupunctureandherbs.com. Victoria G. King vking1@comcast.net ’89 REUNION ’19 Our 30th reunion is right around the corner, May 30 to June 2! There’s still time to register; go to skidmore.edu/reunion. It’s going to be epic! In January, I accompanied my son, a high school junior, to Skidmore’s Ju- nior Admissions Workshop. My cous- in, George Anderson ’90 , attended with his son five years ago and said it was “wonderful.” It was great to be on campus again and see Skidmore through my son’s eyes. Campus looks beautiful and has so much to offer. Scribner Village is gone, replaced by the amazing new Sussman Village. Some of the older buildings have been repurposed; others seem unchanged. Downtown is so impressive! The small-town feel is still there, as are old haunts like Gaffney’s and T&L. Others, like Mabou and Barclays, have been replaced with interesting new shops and restaurants. Come to reunion and see for yourself! Last summer, our family spent time with Vinca Jarrett and husband Richard Hassman watching whales off the coast of Gloucester, Mass. We caught up with them again in winter in Cambridge for dinner and a play. Vinca produced her first feature film this year, “Swing Away.” She and Rich are doing well in Massachusetts and travel the world for work and pleasure.  Saratoga-area pianist and teacher Maura Hennessy Hall earned a fourth-degree black belt in Taekwon- do last year. Maura was tested by her son, Patrick Hall, a fifth-degree who opened P.R.I.D.E Taekwondo School. A 2018 Collegiate Taekwon- do bronze medalist, Patrick is a colle- giate and USAT all-American athlete and National Team quarterfinalist on the Cortland University team. Maura was well prepared by son Brian, a fourth-degree and seasoned coach. Judy Fisher-Sadoff has lived in St. Louis, Mo., for the past 16 years. Son Max is a junior at Lindenwood Uni- versity and Hana ’23 is a freshman at Skidmore. Sadly, Judy lost her beloved mother and big brother last year — another unexpected journey. She has since returned to the family weekend home in Woodstock, N.Y. Her late father named the 18-acre es- tate on Overlook Mountain “Arcady” (Greek for paradise). Judy has plans to get lost in its woods to “unplug, rejuvenate, maybe create,” a project she calls “Arcady 5.” Let’s stay connected. See you in Saratoga! Cindy Urick newyearsbaby67@yahoo.com ’90 Planning for Reunion 2020 is soon to begin! We’re looking for new volunteers to help create a theme and a schedule of great activities to mark our 30th. Our goal is to get as many classmates as possible back on campus. If you’re interested, please email me. We’ll be meeting in Saratoga in July for official reunion planning sessions. Even if you can’t be there, we’d love to hear from you. Ken Freirich has served as CEO of Health Monitor Network, a national leader in patient engagement, for the past 14 years. Previously, Ken was CEO of TransLocal Health Corp and president of InteliHealth. For fun, Ken plays drums in a rock-and-roll band called MedROCK (medrock- band.com) . He is inspired by the students who participate in the busi- ness plan competition he started at Skidmore. (Read more in this issue.) I was saddened to learn we lost two classmates last year; Amanda Yelen died Sept. 15 and Andrew Flamm died Nov. 23. Andrew’s good friend Reet Das ’88 directed me to an online tribute at reetdas.com/Flamm.html . Our condolences go out to Amanda’s and Andrew’s friends and families. Dana Metes danametes@yahoo.com ’91 After almost two decades in education administration, most recently as director of admissions at SUNY Purchase, Stephanie Jones McCaine ’91 is now guiding young people toward higher education as director of middle school admissions at the Harvey School, a private college preparatory academy in Katonah, N.Y. An advocate for fostering student success, she is a founding board member of the Amani Public Charter School, a board member of The Center for College & Careers and chair of Bedford Community Theatre. Brewster Jennings is a hovercraft pilot who offers tours of Ketchikan, Alaska, every summer. To catch a video of him in action, search for “hovercraft tour” on vimeo.com. You can also contact him at Brew@ Frontier.net. Timitra Rose is assistant principal of Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School in the City of Albany School District. Rose started out teaching primary grades at Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology and the Montessori Magnet School. In the late ’90s, she launched a consulting career at Houghton Mifflin Co., developing teacher training curricula in academic content areas and classroom management. Timitra spent four years as a project coordi- nator in the Office of Curriculum, As- sessment and Educational Technol- ogy at the New York State Education Department. In 2015, she returned to her roots, working directly with students, teachers and parents as a public school administrator. Heather Santmire Denkmire heather@grantwinners.net ’92 Amy O’Leary joined the National Association for the Education of Young Children as president of its governing board. She previously served as director of Early Education for All. Amy is also an adjunct professor at Boston University and Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. She is a member of the Massachusetts Early Literacy Expert Panel and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care Advisory Committee. C L A S S N O T E S