2002

Megan Mills
619-988-0462
meganrhiana@gmail.com

I hope this column finds all the class of 2002 doing well after a warm and relaxing summer. I’ve got a few updates from classmates around the country and I am thrilled to share that our Hood family has grown by a little bit. Melissa Spade Cristler and her husband welcomed their first child, Charlotte Emily Cristler on November 2, 2015. Maggie Laabs Piccone and her husband welcomed their second son, Finley David Piccone, on May 25 (his due date).  Louise Shoemaker Stephens, M.S.’06 and family relocated to Boise, Idaho after her husband accepted a job opportunity. She is continuing to teach secondary special Ed in the local school district and they bought a house in April so it looks like they will be staying for a while. In an entrepreneurial spirit true to her Hood roots, Kim Hart and her husband and started a company called Beach Bites which allows folks to order food from their favorite Ocean City, MD restaurants and have it delivered to them right on the beach!  There is a free app called Beach Bites people can download or they can order through our website: www.beachbites4U.com.  If you’re visiting Ocean City, MD this summer, check it out!  In addition, she started a performance company called BMoreMusical. They put on a few performances each year in Baltimore, the next show is in early October 2016 so be sure to check out BMoreMusical.com for tickets and more information. My family and I just wrapped up our first year here in Hawaii, so if you ever find yourself headed to the islands, drop me a line, I think we’re finally at the point where we can offer tourist advice!

Megan Mills
619-988-0462
meganrhiana@gmail.com

Hello Class of 2002! I hope that wherever you are, the warm summer weather is brightening your days! Some big changes are ahead for my family as we are in the process of making a big move from London to Hawaii. But it looks like I’m not alone and a few more of us have change to celebrate! Congrats to Melissa Carter who has rejoined the Hood community as an adjunct professor of chemistry, teaching Chem 100. What an honor to be back on campus in a whole new capacity! Wedding bells will be ringing once again this summer as Kim Hart will marry Brandon Davis June 27, 2015 in Baltimore. I’m sure it will be a gorgeous day with a few 2002 Hoodlums in attendance!  Lindsay Eyzaguirre and her husband Antonio Paterniti welcomed their baby boy Ethan-Sebastian on December 1, 2014. In addition to her new role as mother, Lindsay is working as a molecular epidemiologist at the Institute of Human Virology of the Univ. of Maryland Baltimore. Maggie Laabs Piccone and her husband welcomed their son Vincent Gary Piccone on September 28, 2014 (12 weeks early). He came home from the NICU on December 20 (1 day before his due date) and is doing great! As always, it’s a pleasure getting to share your news, if any of you find yourselves in Oahu, please be sure to get in touch!

Hello Class of 2002!

I made it through my first London winter and my family and I are now basking in a glorious English summer. (i.e. dropping everything and running outside anytime we see the sun shine!)

This past spring Louise Stephens (Shoemaker) and her husband enjoyed a quick trip to my new city and they had a blast sightseeing and catching a premier league football match! We didn’t get a chance to meet up this trip, but if anyone else makes it over here look me up, I’d love to see you and share a cuppa!

Mandy McHugh (Stevenson) recently made a move too, she is now stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and she and her husband are living in Dayton, OH.

In addition to all this moving about, I’m excited to share that many congratulations, both personal and professional, are in order for our classmates as of late.

While still running her own company, Tina Wells is now the Academic Director for Wharton’s Leadership in the Business World Program. Additionally, Tina’s fifth book in the Mackenzie Blue series was also released on June 23.

Kim Hart was recently engaged, and she and her fiancé, Brandon, are planning to be married on June 27, 2015. Asheley Walters (Frere) married her husband Jeff on July 10, 2014.  Maggie Piccone (Laabs) married David Piccone on March 15, 2014 in Chestertown, MD.  They honeymooned in Costa Rica and are thrilled to share that they are expecting the arrival of their first child in late December 2014! Tina Bolly (DiTizio) and her husband, Joseph, and 2 year old daughter, Natalie, just welcomed their newest family member, a baby boy, Logan, born on June 16, 2014.

I hope everyone had an excellent summer and got to enjoy some sunshine surrounded by friends and family. I look forward to hearing from you in the next few months and getting to share more updates in our next issue!

Greeting Class of 2002 and Happy New Year!

Watching the Class of 2002 Facebook page it seemed this fall was full of great things for many classmates. It was a pleasure seeing people use to page as a resource for speeches, travel and even fundraising for our alma mater! This fall was an eventful one for my family and I as we relocated from San Diego to London.  We’re still getting acclimated to our new neighborhood and slightly cooler weather, but loving every moment of life here so far.  If anyone is thinking of taking a European vacation be sure to look me up I’d be happy to play London tour guide! Despite our crazy move and having spotty internet access and no computer for two months I managed to get an email sent out to all of you and happily received some first time updates from a few classmates. Kim Hart lives in Baltimore City and received her MBA from Loyola University in 2008. She works in Corporate Branding & Communications for McCormick & Company.  Last year she opened McCormick World of Flavors in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the Company’s first flagship retail store and continues to oversee the store from all aspects. She takes a break from all that “business” by staying active in artistic endeavors by performing in local productions, singing for special events, and dancing whenever and wherever she can find the time!  Congratulations are in order for Holly Barker Haynes who married her husband Brian on August 16 in Beaufort, SC.  The two are living in Cartersville, GA and Holly where Holly works for Redbox. Nuptials are also ahead for Maggie Laabs who got engaged in September and will be wed in March of 2014. I have no doubt many of her Hoodlettes will be in attendance! Finally, Debbi Berry Householder and her husband recently became homeowners when they bought their first house in Pasadena, MD. I hope everyone enjoyed a joyous holiday season with friends and family and that 2014 brings you more of the same!

Happy New Year class of 2002! It is hard to believe that it has been more than 10 years since graduation, but seeing pictures of classmates at the 10-year reunion certainly made it hit home. There have been a lot of moves, promotions, degrees and more for all of us in that time and I am excited that as the new class reporter I will get to share all of those things with everyone reading. I, Megan Mills, currently live in San Diego with my husband and our three children, Christiana, 6, Gavin, 5, and Bryony, 2. I love my work in nonprofit development at the San Diego Food Bank, but I am looking forward to our next U.S. Navy adventure sometime in summer 2013.

Maggie Laabs started a new job in June as an associate director of marketing at CEB in Arlington, Va. Rika Hudson is in Memphis, Tenn., working as an academic adviser for communication majors and just finished her master’s degree in Romance languages and literature, with a concentration in Spanish. Damina Notnagle works as a K9 officer for Customs and Border Protection at Washington Dulles International Airport and has been with customs for going on 10 years now. Gina Dillman and her husband welcomed their third child, Colin Michael Dillman, on March 15, 2012. Big brother Caleb and big sister Ava adore him. Melissa Carter bought the lovely little house she now calls home in Thurmont, Md., in December 2011. She loves the place and is coaching soccer with Catoctin Youth Association in an attempt to give back to the community.

Melissa Spade continues to support communications efforts for The Nation’s Report Card. She and her fiancé recently purchased a home in Arlington, Va., and are planning their May wedding. Mandy Stevenson McHugh is a federal agent with the U.S. Air Force, and has just started an assignment as a full-time student of Mandarin Chinese. She is married to Jacob McHugh of Danville, Pa., and they currently live in Monterey, Calif. Marie Rachel Carter Ballman was married to Shane Ballman on Oct. 8, 2011, in Luthersville, Ga. The wedding came to life with an aviation theme from save-the-date luggage tags, passport ceremony programs, boarding passes as escort cards, and a first dance to Sinatra’s Come Fly with Me. Everyone had a blast!

Kate Shank Buckley finished her doctorate in biology at The George Washington Univ. and is currently working at the Univ. of Toronto as a postdoctoral fellow studying the evolution of gut immunity. Patricia Reagan is in her fifth year as an assistant professor of Spanish at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va. She is author of a new book about contemporary Latin American literature, The Postmodern Storyteller, and was also awarded the Thomas Branch Award for Excellence in Teaching in May 2012. Tricia was excited to see “Aunt” Denise Robinson Simms for dinner in July and her children, Sarah (age 13) and Liliana (age 5). She loved seeing “Aunt” Rita Zaledonis compete in the Pink Power Triathlon in Richmond, Va., in August 2012. Tricia also ran her fifth marathon in Richmond as did Tammy Snyder Rall ’84, whom she met at last year’s Richmond Marathon. Tricia can be contacted at patriciareagan@rmc.edu.

Samantha Hall Oravec moved back to Walkersville, Md., in 2009. She wears many hats these days, mostly as a stay-at-home-mom to Oscar (age 6) and Henry (18 months). In addition to her duties as mom, she also works part time for Frederick County Public Schools as a substitute teacher and continues to teach American Sign Language classes at venues throughout the county and baby sign classes for parents and their younger children. She meets as often as possible with Bridgett Byrne Bassler ’06, M.A.’09, C’06 and Stacy Nelson Wright ’99 for play dates (and “mom’s night-out” scrap-booking.) Dyneisha Felder ’02 is working as a program manager for the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine overseeing a program located at the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center. She has completed her master of business administration degree as well as a master of science degree in project management. When not working everyday with Tele Tarpeh ’02, she enjoys cruising and reading the latest bestsellers. For more updates throughout the year, be sure to join the new Hood College class of 2002 Facebook group.

Class Reporter: