Greetings to all! Thanks to those who shared their news this year; it is always my pleasure to pass it along.

Erin Diehl married Andrés Conde on June 16, 2019 and gave birth to a baby girl, Carlota Marie, on May 16, 2019. They are living in Madrid, Spain and Erin can be reached by email at diehle@hotmail.com. One month earlier, Robin Deniker Morgenstern and husband Chad Morgenstern along with their four daughters welcomed baby girl #5, Daisy Mae Harper Morgenstern, on April 4, 2019. And rounding out the baby news this year, Jen Stange Knieriem and husband Jason embraced their first baby, Simon, in October 2018 and cannot believe how much he’s grown! Kinya Deshields McNeil shared her personal success in Toastmasters International (http://www.toastmasters.org/about/all-about-toastmasters), an international club geared towards helping people become effective public speakers and leaders. She is curious to see if there are any other Hoodlums who are involved. TI has a curriculum with various projects/paths to complete. Once completed, members receive different levels of distinction. Kinya joined the Midtown Masters (District 46) club on June 1, 2015 and received her Competent Communicator (CC) award on December 20, 2018.  She has now migrated over to the new Pathways curriculum and will be pursuing the Innovative Planning path. Congratulations to all of you! Last but not least, Melissa Collis Logan wrote that she enjoyed catching up with Amy Estell at the Strasbourg Alumni reception held over Reunion Weekend. Their taste buds relished in revisiting some delicious Alsatian wine and food while the Hoodlums reminisced about their days in France and at Hood. For those who could not make it, Melissa highly recommends attending if they hold another such event. In the world of education and professional advancement, Shannon Edwards Biesterfeld, MSN, CNM graduated in September 2018 from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, KY with a Master of Science in Nursing, Nurse Midwifery. She joined Chesapeake Health Care OB/GYN as a certified nurse midwife in May 2019 where she provides full scope OB/GYN services. After 17 years of being out West, Shannon is happy to return to Maryland and hopes to get involved in the Hood community again. Sarah Kistler Drabant reports that she has returned to the classroom full time teaching high school English and Social Studies at the Cathedral Prep campus (all boys!) of Erie Catholic Preparatory School. Eliza Adams is excited to soon start her 18th year of teaching Pre-Kindergarten at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore. She owes a lot of her joyful passion in working with children to what she learned from her unforgettable Hood professors! A few years ago, Eliza was honored and overjoyed to be recognized at the Founders’ Day Bryn Mawr ceremony where she won the Apgar for Excellence in Teaching Award, an award that recognizes a faculty member who motivates students’ interests, curiosity, and love of learning; proposes and applies new teaching concepts and methods; and serves as a mentor to stimulate students’ intellectual development. Eliza also loves singing, and as a member of the Bach in Baltimore choir, she currently serves as the soprano section leader and VP of the Board of Directors. Angela Brown has been living in Harrogate, N. Yorkshire, United Kingdom for 1 ½ years. She and her husband, whom she was with on graduation day, recently celebrated their 18th anniversary. Angela reached out to Dr. Ensel and Mrs. Vicki D. Andrea Penna FCC, with whom she volunteered for Bonner Scholars. While at Hood, Vickie, Brenda Smith and Olivia White helped her a lot. Angela feels extremely grateful for what our alma mater taught her saying it is the most priceless possession of a woman’s education. She hopes her daughters Adriana and Miranda Brown will attend Hood in a couple of years, encouraging them in their college search. While there, she learned innumerous lessons that helped her survive an adventurous life including moving to various places as the wife of a military and government-worker husband. Since Frederick they have moved to Okinawa, Japan, to Michigan, Texas, Alaska and now to England. Angela still maintains close friendships with Nailah Hassan ‘00, Lisa Beatty ‘00, and Lisa Ann Zaleski ‘01 and hopes to find herself in a new generation at Hood College. She sends best wishes to the class of 2001 for the next year!

I am grateful to all who share their news worldwide and look forward to hearing from everyone again. I hope this finds you all well in your respective corners of the Earth!