Magazine - summer 03 - St. John's College

{Alumni Notes} 39
After graduating from Yale Law
School in May, RICHARD
SCHMECHEL (A) plans to move to
Washington, D.C., in the fall. He will
be working at the Public Defender
Service on a two-year project funded
by the Open Society Institute. DNA,
memory reliability, and other forensic
issues are the subject of the project.
He would love to hear from
Johnnies, “indicted or not,” at
richardschmechel@aya.yale.edu.
1998
An announcement from DAWN
BORCHELT (A): “Wolfgang Guy
Borchelt was born at home Feb. 24,
2004.” He was 6 lbs., 11 oz., and
19 inches long.
JESSICA COVITZ and ALAN
PICHANICK (both A) are excited to
announce the births of their second
and third daughters, Katherine and
Elisheva, this past January. Along
with their 5-year-old daughter,
Sophia, they are living in Philadelphia.
They would love to hear from
old friends and can be reached via
e-mail: jcovitz@uchicago.edu or
adpichan@uchicago.edu.
After finishing a master’s degree in
Divinity at the University of Chicago,
ALEXANDRA MUDD (A) moved to
Cambridge to work on a Ph.D. in
History and Philosophy of Science.
“Any A98 Johnnies in England
should look me up!” she writes.
“I am living in that Johnnie haven,
Brooklyn,” writes FELIX S.
LESLIE (A), “practicing law across
the river in Manhattan and
enjoying life. I can be reached
at felixleslie@hotmail.com.”
Santa Fe alumni looking for long-lost
alumnus MICHAEL OLSON (A99)
can find his classnote among entries
for 1999.
TIM POMAROLE (A) has graduated
from Duke University School of Law
and will be working for the Appellate
Division of the Suffolk County DA’s
Office in Boston. Last summer, Tim
worked at the International Criminal
Tribunal in The Hague,
Netherlands.
1999
MICHAEL BAAS (SF) married Megan
Bello on January 2, 2004, in Galisteo,
NM.
RUTH BUSKO (SF) graduated from
the Tai Sophia Institute for the
Healing Arts in March 2004 with a
Master of Acupuncture degree.
She is living in Baltimore, Md.,
and practicing acupuncture in
Ellicott City, Md.
GREG KOEHLERT (SFGI) married
Merrie Schlein in August 2003; t
heir first child is due at the end of
November. “Of course, we’re still in
NYC,” Greg writes.
MICHAEL OLSEN (A) checks in after
a long absence: “Almost
immediately upon graduating five
years ago, I lost my way on the path
to law school and never arrived.
Instead, this fall I begin my fourth
year of teaching English and Social
Studies in grades six through eight at
a private middle school in Chicago.
Although this career began
unexpectedly, I’m having a great
time teaching and cannot think of
anything else I’d rather be doing
right now. I will probably continue
with it well into the future, although
it is likely I will leave Chicago again
once I complete the masters degree
New Ventures for
John Balkcom
I’m starting to work on. Not a day
goes by when I do not miss the
college. I occasionally attend
Chicago-area alumni events but
regret that I have kept in touch with
only a few classmates. I am fortunate
to be doing a fair amount of traveling
and generally living the life of leisure
during my summer vacations.
All are welcome to write, e-mail, or
telephone: 1354 W. Argyle Street,
Chicago, IL 60640;
michaelolsen123@hotmail.com;
773.989.8491. I am interested in
hearing from anyone I knew,
whether in Santa Fe or Annapolis.”
“It’s funny to think that it’s been
eight years since I last saw most of
you, writes BEN THORNBER (A).
“I have just gotten an M. Div. degree
from Earlham School of Religion, a
Quaker seminary located in Richmond,
Indiana. I am now looking for
work as a pastoral minister at a
Quaker church, having become a
Quaker two years ago. I’m largely
looking at Quaker churches in the
Midwest but I am also talking to a
Quaker church in Tennessee. I value
the time that I spent at St. John’s and
the friendships I developed there. I
hope to hear from you. My snail-mail
address is: 824 SW A Street, Richmond,
IN 47374, and my e-mail
address is thornberbenjamin@
hotmail.com. I hope things go well
with each of you.”
Former Santa Fe President JOHN BALKCOM
(SFGI00) joined the board of directors of IMCO
Recycling, Inc., in December 2003 and became
the chairman of the board in April 2004. He participated
in the announcement of a merger with
Commonwealth Industries in mid-June. “Carol
and I are pleased to be back in Evanston and looking forward to
hosting our second reception for prospective students in June,”
he writes. “I’m also excited about co-leading a seminar in Summer
Classics with tutor Michael Rawn on Faulkner’s Absalom,
Absalom! We send our gratitude to the Santa Fe class of 2004
for their warm welcome at commencement.” x
2000
JOHN HUNTER (AGI) and his wife,
Lisa, would like to announce the
birth of a son, James Elias Brinton
(“Jeb”) on Oct. 3, 2003.
ANNE MCSHANE (A) expects to begin
studies at New York University’s
School of Law this fall, and offers to
coach others thinking about a similar
path. “I have taught and am
teaching Kaplan’s LSAT course and
am happy to advise on the law school
application process. I can be reached
at annecarolmcshane@yahoo.com.”
NICOLE NELSON-JEAN (AGI) is
enjoying her time in Tokyo. “Last
year I accepted a position as the
director of the Department of
Energy Asia office and also became
the Energy Attache to the U.S.
Ambassador of Japan. I have had a
fabulous time here. The food is
wonderful and the art, historical
sites, and people are even better.”
DEBERNIERE TORREY (AGI) was
awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to
Korea. Torrey is pursuing a Ph.D. in
comparative literature at Penn State
University. A Korean instructor at
Penn State, she’s also active with the
university’s International Languages
and Literature Student Organization,
the Conversation Partners
Program, and the Ballroom Dance
club. The fellowship will allow
Torrey to spend a year in Korea
studying 19th-century Korean
literature in preparation for her
thesis proposal and further research.
The topic of her research is the
effect of modern/western thought
imported from China.
2001
LANCE BRISBOIS (A) recently joined
the editorial staff of Hackett
Publishing. He works and lives in
Cambridge, Mass.
PAIGE POSTLEWAIT (A) and
MICHAEL MAGUIRE (A02) were
married in 2001, “and have a
beautiful son, Daschel Auden,”
{ The College • St. John’s College • Fall 2004 }