What’s shaking, Class of 2013? Somehow it still feels like graduation was just yesterday and yet, this year’s graduating class came to Hood the fall after our graduation…

Dallas Tolbard graduated from pharmacy school this past May and is now a practicing pharmacist in Richmond, V.A; Teany Meehan started a new job as a human resources generalist with ARK Systems, Inc. in Columbia, M.D.; and Geoff Huntoon is now a software developer at Mosaic Power in Frederick.

Kellie Duncan is living in Queens, N.Y. and is the family relations associate for Oasis Day Camps; Blair Starnes has relocated to the Boston area and is a lab supervisor at the Boston Veterans Affairs Research Institute; and Ian Ivory is living in Germany and working on his masters in cognitive science. Kimi Brunot Humphreys is working as a Career Adviser in the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Career Development Center; MJ Swicegood is an evaluation manager at Lonza in Walkersville, M.D.; and Kathy Lee is a Slot Tech II at Maryland Live Casino. Katie Techtmann Lamont is a learning support teacher at Paradise Elementary School; Casey Dunn is working for Washington County Public Schools; and Kate Adams Anthony is in her fourth year as an elementary school teacher and will be completing her masters degree in May. Ashley Birdsell Lewis has returned to Hood as an adjunct professor in the business department; and Nicola Sussman is in her second year of grad school in the reading specialist program at Hood and is a proud aunt to her first nephew. Elaheh Eghbal is the marketing manager at Zerion; Nick Temple has been sworn into the Maryland bar and is clerking for Judge Pamela J. White; and Gina Bonomo celebrated her first anniversary working with the Howard County Government and recently bought a home in Baltimore.

There are many engagements and marriages to celebrate, too! Blair Starnes is engaged to Matthew Dykeman and is looking forward to a 2017 wedding; Ashley Birdsell Lewis and Billy Lewis finally tied the knot in October; and MJ Swicegood and Geoff Huntoon were married in September. Alektra Daniels White married Winston White in August; Kimi Brunot Humphreys married Brian Humphreys in May; and Karen Crum is engaged to Tyler Nicklas and is looking forward to her October 2017 wedding. Katie Techtmann Lamont married Justin Lamont in June; Casey Dunn was married in October 2015 and is expecting her first child in March 2017; and Meg Turcios is expecting her second child in April.

Continue to rock on, Class of 2013. Cheers!

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen of 2003!

First off – a few new homes! Erica Smith writes that she purchased a single family home in Beltsville, MD recently.

Also, Erin Dooley has moved to a new home as well. Her new address is 12 Elm Ave, Rockledge, PA 19046.

And, a few pieces of exciting professional news as well! First, JJ Bell-Godfrey writes that she was recently promoted to Assistant Controller for Mattress Warehouse. She’s also planning on sitting for her CPA certification in the spring, at which time she’ll become the sole Controller there.

Also, Rebecca Morse writes that she has a new role as the Director of Research Training, Institutional Review Board Chair, and Associate Professor at the Institutes for the Psychological Sciences. She has two thanatology publications coming out in the near future: Morse, R.S., Hoch, T.A., Freeman, T.R. (2016). Grief and Developmental Disabilities. In Harris, D. L., & Bordere, T. Promoting social justice in loss and grief. Amityville, NY: Routledge. and McCord, J., Morse, R. (in press). Seasons of Love: Measuring a Child’s Life after Suicide. In Cox, G. & Stevenson, R. (Eds) Children, Adolescents and Death: Questions and Answer. Baywood Press.

Keep the exciting news coming, everyone! You can email me, update your information through the Hood Alumni site, or find us on Facebook!

Hello Class of 2016! It’s been almost six months since we gathered together on the quad for Commencement. We all have experienced a lot of exciting change since graduation. Scott Poole got a job as an Art Teacher with FCPS and will be starting graduate school at Hood. Sara Eckard is serving as a Team Leader for AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region. Rob Millar is a recent homeowner and is attending graduate school at the University of Maryland. Shelley Hynson is a teacher at the Goddard School in Columbia, MD. Tracy Forcino moved to Monterey, CA and is completing a Veterinary Technician Certification. Cody Haas is working as a Software Engineer with American Electronic Warfare Associates. Kirsten Roy is the Accounts Payable Coordinator at Hood and is pursuing her MBA at Hood. Jane Blankenship is pursuing her MSN and working at FMH and Kaiser Permanente as a RN. Sienna Bronson is working as a Mathematics Instructor at Mathnasium. She is preparing to apply to graduate programs. Katie Misuraca is working as an On-Air News Reporter with WHAG-TV in Hagerstown. Olivia Lacher has moved to Williamsburg, VA and works giving tours at the Jamestown-Yorktown. Allen Paxton is attending The University of Iowa College of Law. Lew Dean is working as Securities Analyst at Wells Fargo in Gaithersburg, MD. Caitlyn O’Neil is teaching English in South Korea through the TaLK program. Erin Murray is working with AmeriCorp NCCC Southwest region. Yan Karavai is attending graduate school at Hood and working at Wells Fargo Corporate Trust as a Mortgage Backed Securities Analyst. Hannah Thompson is working as a Production Assistant with National Geographic Channels in Washington DC. Noel Jones is pursuing a masters in Industrial Psychology at the University of Baltimore. He is also work as a graduate fellow and the University’s Schaefer Center for Public Policy. Laura Lokey is working for the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce where she is in charge of the Marketing & Communications Department. Audra Pieranunzi is working at the Army Audit Agency at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Lydia Emory Is teaching English in Spain through the Fulbright Program. Destani Jameson is working as a Program Specialist at American University School of Public Affairs. She is also attending American University for a Masters in Public Administration. Richard Hershey graduated BOLC and getting deployed to the Middle East. Amber Bonnette is working at the Department of Corrections and will start Training Academy soon. Joseph Denicola finished his first semester in the Complex Biosystems PhD Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Justin Riley is working as a Kindergarten Special Education Teacher at Deep Run Elementary School in Howard County, MD. Katelyn Sims is working as an Elementary Special Education Teacher for Carroll County Public Schools. Lyly Tial has been working full-time since January and got married in October. Kimberly DeShazor is a night Charge Nurse on medical surgical floor at FMH and works with nursing students at Hood. She is also pursuing her masters in Leadership/Education from APUS. Mary Horabik has interned at James Madison’s Montpelier, volunteered at Jefferson Patterson Park, Alexandria Museum of Archaeology and visited Crow Canyon Archaeology Center. She is currently interning with the National Park Service. Ashlee Metzger is attending graduate school at Shenandoah University for the Physician Assistant Program. Nichole Beck is working as a Legal Assistant for a law firm in Frederick and Montgomery counties. Elizabeth Vasquez is working as a Teacher and will be starting a Masters Program in Special Education in the fall. Jonathan Bullard-Sisken is working as an Emergency Department Technician at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Tatyanna Hunter is working at Nordstrom. She plans to move to Los Angeles, CA next year to pursue a fashion correspondent career. Elizabeth Palena is working as a Teen Librarian for a public library and substitute teaching in her hometown. Justin Fox is working at Georgetown University as a Program Coordinator for Summer and Special Programs. Ian Jenkins was on the campaign trail with Hillary for America as an Advance Associate. Natalie Peake moved to San Diego, CA. She gave birth to her daughter, Lorraine, on November 27. Connor Asman is working as a Direct Mail Loyalty Marketing Associate at Healthy Directions. Brooke Wallace is working as a Kindergarten Teacher for AACPS. Samantha Slick is pursuing her masters in Clinical Counseling at Hood. Ana Filipovic works for TalentCMO as a Digital Marketer, serves on IHA board, and is recently engaged. Ammarah Spall I started a full-time job as a research associate at the Navy Medical Research Center after graduation. I will be starting medical school next fall and continuing my dream of becoming a physician. Owen Rosier is working as a Software Developer in Columbia, MD. Caitlin Clark is working as a Technical Recruiter at ALTEK. She also adopted a dog. Kathryn Jones is working at U.S. Pharmacopeia as an Associate Lab Technician. Aubrey Fetters is starting graduate school at California University of Pennsylvania to earn a MEd in Special Education/Autism Track and has a graduate assistant position. Elliot Tombs is leaving in April to serve in the Peace Corps in the Republic of Georgia. Zach Payne is working as an Administrative Assistant at PlanVest Financial and studying for the Series 7 Exam. Krista Schline is a Mental Health Coordinator/Psychiatric Rehabilitation and plans on applying to graduate schools. She also purchased a new car.

Rhea Bel-Jon Calkins and Steven still love life in the mountains of Mexico.  She is now one of the cat advocates at the local shelter and is enjoying finishing their home and urban garden.  For Rhea, it was quite a Hood year.  In March, Margery Berringer-Schuran ‘74 and Billie Ellen Weise ’74 came down to visit Steven and Rhea in San Miguel for a week of soaking in the town, talking, laughing, and walking.  In August she was so thrilled when Cheryl Cuddeback and Pat Kidd ’74 joined them in New York for a great event celebrating her father’s life.  Cheryl being the Queen of Queens knew just the place for them to meet, even if only for a short time.

Biggest news from Ann Wiggins Ely is they have a new granddaughter: Mom is their youngest daughter– Jennifer.  Madelyn Parker Ely was born November 2, 2016, 5 lbs. 15 oz., and 18.5 inches.  Mom and child are doing very well.  They are smitten and very in love with their third granddaughter.

Dory Barrows Smith retired from teaching high school – FACS Child Development.  She will miss the amazing students that she got to work with, but not grading papers on nights and weekends.  She plans to sub at the high school part-time and travel with her husband, Steve, on his monthly business trips.  She hopes to have more time for reading books strictly for pleasure.  They are planning vacations to Cape Cod, Norwood NY and New Orleans.

Anna Kluth Vonlinderberg is alive and enjoying life in Fenwick, Delaware.  They enjoyed doing some major sections of the Great Loop with their son and his family on their boat this year, where they experienced the rust belt first hand as they traveled from the C and D Canal to Cleveland, then rejoined to head south from Chicago to St. Petersburg.   She’s leaning back and enjoying holiday festivities this month just like the rest of us.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.  I remain busy working for the same consulting firm marketing and designing retirement programs to be administered by our staff.  Still struggling with nerve pain caused by my spinal cord injury; trying different treatments throughout the year in search of relief.  I would be interested in any treatment options you may recommend. Wishing you, your families and friends the best!  Debbie Page Rath

ELSIE LYON HINKHOUSE:  It’s been a sad time for me having lost my husband Jim on December 31.  He had been in the hospital with pancreatic cancer but was determined to come home on December 30, our 54th wedding anniversary.  He passed on at home with family caring for him that day and night.  I moved to Morning Star, a senior living facility, the end of February.  It is located close to my daughter Amy, son-in-law Rich and two wonderful grandchildren who all keep me involved.  I have many activities including DAR, PEO, bridge clubs and activities at Morning Star.  Boise, Idaho continues to surprise me with beautiful weather as it is located on a high desert and it rarely has very cold temperatures and little snow.  But there are great ski resorts an hour or so away which keep my grandkids and their parents skiing on weekends.  I’ve been to Sun Valley and Bogus Basin to watch them ski.  Wishing all of my wonderful classmates a great holiday season and all that is wonderful in 2017.

GENIE (EUGENIA) SMITH DURLAND:  I just got the reunion materials from Hood and wish, as always, that I could go. Now, in our retirement, it’s too expensive and in the past it seems we were always too busy. In our 80s, Bill and I are still in pretty good shape and active. At the moment are spending our time participating in rallies and marches protesting the bogus election of Trump and meeting locally and nationally with peace and justice groups we’ve long been associated with to work on how to deal with what may happen next. Enough of that.  Personally, we have (between us) 8 children, 17 grandchildren and 3 great grands. Our youngest son (the ours in the yours-mine-and-ours) lives in Denver with his fiancé and two little boys; we see them often and are now considering moving to Denver from Colorado Springs to be closer to them and our daughter, Julia, who lives in Boulder with her three children – Carlton, a Chef; Amber, who works three jobs trying to save enough money to go to Thailand for training in massage therapy and acupuncture and Logan, a high school senior. Julia is a special education teacher at Boulder High. We also have a daughter, Fadwah Halaby, who is a certified nurse-midwife with her own independent practice in south Florida; she lives in Delray Beach and practices in Boca. She has six kids, all grown and is the grandmother of our 3 great grands who live here in Colorado, near us. If I went on with details about all our children and grands, this would be about three pages long, so I’ll stop there. Also personally, I keep busy editing Bill’s writings. He has published two more books in the past three years and has written ten plays, nine of which have been produced before appreciative audiences here in Colorado Springs and Denver. That’s about it. Wish I could see all who come to the reunion, but it doesn’t look like it’ll happen unless I win the lottery or some such thing.

SUE WINTER SMITH:  I will send whatever I can dredge up which isn’t much because not much is happening. We are still living in Issaquah in a retirement apartment home. We like it here even though it isn’t our home of so many years. It’s different but has many advantages, one being I don’t have to cook dinner anymore or vacuum or clean the bathrooms. We just returned from two weeks in Hawaii with friends. We were on the island of Kauai which is my favorite. The weather was perfect; temperature was upper 70’s, low 80’s. Ideal! We returned to upper 40’s, rain and wind and I am freezing. We will spend Thanksgiving with our son and his family here in Issaquah. His children are our youngest grandchildren, CJ and Erica. We will see our oldest, Aislinn, when she is on her way home to Ellensburg from college at Western WA. She is doing her student teaching this year and will graduate in June. The program at Western is very intense and they turn out superior teachers. Number two granddaughter, Brynn, is a sophomore at Evergreen college. She intends to be a writer and will be a very good one. Her sister, number three granddaughter, Ari, will graduate from HS in June. She is in the Running Start program and attends Skagit Valley Community College as well as HS. She graduates on a Friday and the next day Aislinn will graduate from Western. Fortunately they are in close proximity so we can go to both. A couple of weeks later we will have all the family here to celebrate our 60th anniversary. This is a lot of rambling, but there you have it. Do with it what you will. Thanks for doing this. I do like to hear about everyone, but will not be at the reunion. It’s too far and too much going on then.

ANN LARKIN:  After replacement of both shoulders and one knee I hope for a surgery free year ahead. I have cut back on some activities, but remain active in church, AAUW, DAR and my quilt group. I also enjoy the Detroit Symphony coffee concerts and am looking forward to my granddaughter’s graduation from medical school in May.

BARBARA THOMAS YINGER:  You already posted info about our trip to the Amazon in Brazil and areas beyond – that was last March.  So everything else is status quo.  The main thing I’d like to say is that I hope to see as many of our class as possible at the reunion.  None of us know for sure how many years we can keep doing this, so my thing is to take each chance for a visit that we can make now.  Hope to see “you”.  How could I have forgotten to mention that Bob and I celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary Aug. 19, 2016.  Our children, Laura and Scott gave us a dinner with extended family at an elegant restaurant in Frederick.

NANCY PAUL STIMSON:  I am still alive and well, although have hit the age where my friends are either falling or dying. Have to be careful. We will be going to my daughters in Doylestown for Christmas. February will find me off to South Africa and May will find me in Rome and the Greek Islands. July will welcome my first great grandchild and September will be the wedding on the Vineyard of my grandson. Have to stay healthy for all those events. Am not sure I can make reunion ‘cause that may be a baby shower weekend.  Merry Christmas to all

MOLLY SMITH SPERANDIO:  Nothing new with me.  I’m still upright when I want to be and doing all the things I like to do.  So, life is good!

Carolyn Cantagalli Dumaresq (now retired) checked in from her 15 acre mountaintop home near Harrisburg, PA where she does lots of volunteer work, including doing evaluations for a no-kill shelter for Border Collies; fund-raising for Susquehanna Service dogs; helping Rotary with foreign exchange students; chairing a grant-making committee for a Woman’s fund; teaching agility at a local dog club and showing her four Border Collies in Agility. Christy Lundt Labertus was head coordinator of her mother’s 100th birthday party which took place in August, an event she said was like planning a wedding reception. Though she still works full time, she and her husband travel frequently – they especially like river cruises. After being residents of Anchorage, Alaska for more than 40 years, Jill Stanley and her husband Adam moved to Greenfield, Indiana – where they are “dancing to their hearts content” and basking in the longer, warmer summer. A mini-Hood reunion took place in Bar Harbor, Maine in August. Nancy Roe Hebdon (and Fred) and Martha Mulford Gray (and Guy) drove up from Cambridge, MD while Nancy vom Eigen Rassmussen, Sandra Jung Vrem (and Rick) and Linda Walls Bradley (’70) traveled from the Northwest. This was their first reunion since the death of Linda Stockdale Warren – and still missed from their original group is Christine Herbst Cole. These girls have been getting together since 1979! Meredith Owen Atkinson and husband George took a fascinating 6-week trip from Maine to the Pacific following the Lewis and Clark Trail. Marty Silcox Hankins will be retiring from teaching in June, a career she began in 1969! She took some time off to raise 2 children but started back when her daughter was 3 – she is now married with 2 children of her own. As part of her retirement plan she is now a certified Master Gardner in Carroll County, MD, all the while helping her husband Ken with their pottery business. Pat Warren Carlson and her husband, Mike Ciccarelli, celebrated their 32nd anniversary with a week in Punta Cana, joined by twenty good friends and fellow golfers. Pat returned to three final doctoral dissertations defenses and was “happy to participate in the joy of three successful defenses leading to three more new educational leaders.” Pat and Mike look forward to having all their children and grandchildren with them to ring in the New Year. Margaret Dunkle has been busy in retirement, chairing the Harriet E. Brown Commemoration Task Force, earning the William Donald Schaefer Helping People Award for her effort, and being appointed a trustee of the College of Southern Maryland. Chris Diehl is completing the Fall Semester of teaching at the local Community College, hoping “to help as many as possible achieve their dreams for future vocations.” Jill Windisch Peterson and Craig continue to enjoy retirement after 12 years. They stay busy with volunteer work, committees, bridge, mah jong and travel – including a recent 3-week trip to Australia and New Zealand. They attended the wedding of Jill’s Hood little sister, Fran Heck Darrow’s son in the spring. She also passed on the sad news that our classmate, Linda Nelson Martinez passed away about a year ago. On a happier note, Linda’s roommate Karol Bedyk Strang and Bill became grandparents in September. Son Cameron (and Renny) presented them with James, and according to Karol she is now “captivated by a little soul.” Dave and I, Sayre Roney Steere put our new Tesla to the test in August and drove across country, via the southern route to California and on to Seattle, where we then took our whole family (2 daughters, a son-in-law and 3 granddaughters) on a 7-day Alaskan cruise. A great opportunity for family bonding. We returned to Panama City Beach by way of cowboy country – Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. What a magnificent land we live in! Church commitments, Garden Club projects, fitness (running, yoga and aerobics), and gardening in general keep me busy throughout the year.

Hello 2001ers! Congrats to two classmates who shared their professional and personal achievements after a last-minute shout-out during the busy holiday season: Charvann Bailey recently accepted a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Biology at Grinnell College in Iowa starting August 2017; and Niki McElroy Grant and husband Toren welcomed daughter Avery on April 23, 2016. Niki is looking forward to taking Avery on her first trip to Hood once she gets more sleep! Keep your news coming…16 years and counting!