Hello Class of 2013! Can you believe it has been over a year since our graduation? In the months since our last update, we have continued to keep busy. Many of our classmates are in the midst of their Master’s degrees, a number of us are working with different organizations, and we have many engagements and marriages to celebrate!

Congratulations are in order for Bridgitte McColligan who is engaged to Mark Hessler; Kate Adams Anthony who married Benjamin Anthony in May; Mi’Kea Bowie Hawkins who married Adrian Hawkins in February; and Elizabeth Garner Drummond who married Scott Drummond in July 2013. Kimmy Bates is looking forward marrying Toby Getzandanner in August; KeKe Smith has planned her May 2015 wedding to Jeremy Raynor; and Ashley Birdsell and Billy Lewis have started planning their December 2015 wedding. Mandy Shanaberger and her husband Colin celebrated their third anniversary in July and welcomed their son, Mark, in February!

Torie Sullivan is working as a graphic designer and multimedia specialist at Caervision; Kellie Duncan is working as a youth counselor for Pride of America Cruise Line in Hawaii; and Bridgitte McColligan was promoted at The Advisory Board. Kate Adams Anthony completed her first year of teaching third grade and moved to Georgia to live with her husband; Heidi Gunzelman is working as a research technician in the Immunology Department at the University of Pittsburgh; Kimmy Bates is working for Frederick County as a wastewater treatment plant operator; and Nalla Tejera is working as an office manager with the Miami City Ballet. Kasey Johnson is working at the Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky as a heritage apprentice; Billy Lewis is working in attractions at the Bronx Zoo in New York; and Elizabeth Garner Drummond is a special education teacher in Bowie, Md. Nilsa Gonzalez moved back to her home country of Panama and is working at Integrity Solutions; Mandy Shanaberger is teaching middle school social studies in Hagerstown, Md.; and Brett Shelley has accepted a position with the USDA. Kyle Dimock will begin his service with Teach for America this fall; KeKe Smith is working with Boar’s Head Provisions Co., Inc. in Petersburg, Va.; and Stephanie Taylor is working as a research technician with Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. Ian Wolbert started a job as the communications manager for The Patuxent Partnership; Ashley Birdsell is working as the marketing resident at the Public Theater in New York; and Spencer Knoll managed a campaign for State Senate seat in Montgomery County and has moved to D.C. to work for government relations firm Sixkiller Consulting. Nick Mudgett is doing well as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua and Jahtay Teh left in June to embark on his Peace Corps service in Zambia.

Ashley Birdsell is halfway through her Master’s program in performing arts management at Brooklyn College in New York City; Michael Andrews will begin a Master’s in experimental psychology at Towson University this fall; and Deryka Nairne in the higher education and student affairs administration Master’s program at the University of Vermont.

Around Hood, Andrew Bodine is the assistant manager of aquatics; Breanne Carbaugh is halfway through her Master’s in Thanatology and is a nanny to two children; and Brett Shelley is working on his Mater’s in Biomedical Science. Mimi Brown is pursuing a Master’s of Business Administration and is the graduate assistant to Rev. Beth O’Malley and I, Elaheh Eghbal, have completed my term as the AmeriCorps*VISTA member at Hood and accepted a position with LIFT-DC. Continue to make your mark, Class of 2013, and keep in touch! Cheers!

Hello from the Class of 2013! Thank you to those who provided exciting news to share in our first column for the Hood Magazine. In the months since graduation, we have been a busy bunch. Many of our classmates are pursing Master’s degrees, a number of us are working with different organizations, and we have many engagements and marriages to celebrate!

Congratulations are in order for Sarah Hering who is engaged to Shawn McNalley ’12 and is looking forward to a July 2014 wedding; Kimi Brunot who is engaged to Brian Humphreys; Nicole Crutchfield who will be marrying Trevor Tabbachino in April; and Travis Kerr who is recently engaged to Jessica Becker ’12. Congratulations to newlyweds Ashley Darling Genova and Brent Genova who were married this past August. All the best!

Kellie Duncan is working as a youth counselor for Pride of America Cruise Line in Hawaii; Kate Adams is teaching third grade at Glenn Dale Elementary School; Justin Stone is teaching fourth grade at Emmitsburg Elementary School; and Ashley Darling Genova is the marketing and promotions manager at Godfrey’s Farm in Sudlersville, Md. Jeffery Reichert is now working for Interfaith Housing Alliance as their administrative support; Bridgitte McColligan is a performance technology coordinator for The Advisory Board; Kasey Johnson is working as a field archaeologist for R. Christopher Goodwin and Associates; Melayne Newman is an account coordinator with Hirshorn Zuckerman Design Group; and Kimi Brunot is as an administrative assistant for Vintage Security. Nicole Crutchfield is working as a rehabilitation counselor for youth; Amanda Kessler is working at Clearspring Elementary School as the resource and learning center teacher; and William Lewis is working for Red Horse Strategies in New York City. Meghan Hauenstein is working as an infant teacher in California and just celebrated her son’s first birthday! She is headed back to the classroom as a student to receive her teaching certification. Alexander Smith is working as an administrative assistant at Glenwood Academy and Nilsa Gonzalez is working at The Whole Self Center with their intensive individual support services. Sarah Hering and her fiancé Shawn McNalley ’12 have landed their dream jobs. Sarah is teaching Kindergarten at Lewistown Elementary School and Shawn is working for Suburban Video media company. Olivia Wolz is now working for Affiliated Computer Services; Jasmine Woolard is putting her biology degree to use as a quality control technician at Medimmune; and Kacie Stuckey is working as a kindergarten instructional assistant at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School and will be going back to school to receive her teaching certification. We will be saying ‘bon voyage’ to Will Lane and Nick Mudgett in early 2014 as they embark on their service as Peace Corps volunteers in Ecuador and Nicaragua, respectively. Until their departures, Will is a research and development intern at Evapco and Nick is the marketing specialist for Taxware.

Spencer Knoll is pursuing a Juris Doctorate at the University of Maryland School of Law. Kimi Brunot is also in Baltimore pursuing a Master’s degree in counseling psychology at Loyola University in Maryland. Dallas Tolbard is pursuing a Pharm.D at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Throughout the United States we have Nicole Crutchfield in the social work Master’s program at St. Leo University in Florida; Alex Winter in Illinois pursuing a Master’s in biological sciences at Eastern Illinois University; Ashley Birdsell who is pursuing a Master’s of fine arts in performing arts management at Brooklyn College in New York City; and Deryka Nairne in the higher education and student affairs administration Master’s program at the University of Vermont. Across the pond, Travis Kerr is studying Immunology at the University of Aberdeen School of Medicine and Blair Starnes is pursuing a Master’s of Science in forensic mental health at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London.

When you come back to visit campus, you will see a number of us keeping busy at Hood. MeMe Brown is pursuing a Master’s of Business Administration and is the graduate assistant to Rev. Beth O’Malley. Andrew Bodine is the assistant manager for the aquatics center and the assistant men’s and women’s swimming coach; Breanne Carbaugh is enjoying her time in the Thanatology program and I, Elaheh Eghbal, am serving as the AmeriCorps*VISTA member in the career center and enjoying my Master of Business Administration class.

Although our time as undergraduate students has passed, the memories we made at Hood will keep us tied forever. Continue to make your mark Class of 2013 and keep in touch! Cheers!

Class Reporter:

Elaheh Eghbal

ee6@hood.edu