AndoverMagSpring2015

www.andover.edu/intouchand Mid-Cities area. He was looking forward tolinking up with Lindsay Hoopes and Liza Darnellin January. Grancis’s fellow former Bishop Hallresident Nathaniel Fowler became engaged to hisgirlfriend of the past 2-1/2 years, Alissa Leonard,on New Year’s Eve in Cozumel, Mexico.Sara Smith recently moved back to her nativeManhattan after completing nursing school inPhiladelphia. Having passed the boards, she is nowa certified nurse practioner. I had the opportunityto have dinner with Sara and Liza Trafton Ndreulast fall following an Andover event in Greenwich,Conn. It was wonderful to catch up, and I’mlooking forward to more get-togethers in 2015!Liza, along with Tysie Sawyer, also paid a visitto Morgan Madera Baroni in Walpole, Mass., tomeet Morgan’s 7-month-old daughter, Isabella.Morgan reports that she was also visited byFred Flather, who is expecting his fourth childthis May!In more baby news, Jennie Cohen wrote in tosay that she and her husband welcomed their son,Gideon, in November 2014; their daughter, Eloise,turned 2 later that month. Jennie also said thatChris Chen and his wife had a baby on the sameday Gideon was born. Congratulations to bothJennie and Chris on their new additions!Though he’s embarrassed to admit that it’s hisfirst submission since graduation, Aaron Stearnswrote in to let us know that he, wife Jillanne, and18-month-old son, Thomas, recently relocatedfrom NYC to Winter Park, Fla. The winter of2014 proved to be the family’s last straw withlong, cold winters. While the Stearnses miss NewYork’s vibrancy, they are enjoying the change ofpace and the absence of coats, gloves, and boots.The move also brought them closer to Jillanne’sfamily, which is good, as Aaron travels a greatdeal for the business he founded three years ago,VestaPoint Capital. VestaPoint Capital is a realestate investment firm, and while the businessis still in the early stages, it has had some initialsuccess. Aaron relishes the role of entrepreneurand the wide range of responsibilities thataccompany the position.Aaron regrets not keeping in better touch withAndover friends and resolved to make a concertedeffort to do so in 2015 and beyond. As a firststep, he recently ordered and enjoyed a bottleof cabernet sauvignon from Lindsay Hoopes’svineyard, which he reports was delicious! Let’shope that reconnecting with classmates will offermany reasons for celebratory toasts.That optimistic note is where I’ll leave youfor now. I hope that each and every one of you ishappy and healthy and that you will write in toshare your life stories, travels, and successes withyour classmates.200015th REUNIONJune 12–14, 2015Jia H. Jung550 11th St., No. 4RBrooklyn NY 11215917-589-5423 (cell)jiajung@alum.berkeley.eduOur 15th Reunion is just around the corner.Fifteen years is pretty much the age we were whenwe began attending PA and more than triple thetime we spent there. Gross/awesome. I know thatfor some of us, life has remained reassuringly ordisappointingly the same for the past five (or 10 or15) years. For others, life has been dramatically orstunningly or devastatingly different. Either way, Ihope to catch up on all things on campus in June.In the meantime, here are some spoilers.From Erin Liotta, ol’ buddy ol’ pal from Latinand calculus and Doherty Middle School beforethat, who kindly relented to my pursuit of an off-Facebook scoop: “In September 2013 I got marriedto Bren Darrow in a regional park in Berkeley,Calif., where we live. In a year of record drought forCalifornia, we were surprised to wake up on ourwedding day to a total downpour! But the sun wasshining by the day’s end, and family and friendsrallied around us, including Andover classmatesEmily Griset, Drew Chin, Emily Carter, andKatherine Stirling. Life just got a little bit crazierwith my youngest brother, Joe Liotta ’10, coming tolive with us post-college. We are busy constructinga tiny cottage for him in our backyard, squeezingtrips to the lumber store in between our ‘real’ jobsas public-interest attorneys. Dinner’s on us foranyone who wants to stop by and pitch in on theconstruction project!”Mean it, Erin? I just might. Miss my old collegetown; so awesome you’ve put down roots there.Lucy Greene, last seen in senior springShakespeare, revealed that she moved to LA in2013 after a time in Portland, Ore. She splits hertime between LA and Joshua Tree, Calif., whereshe works in a couple different artists’ studios.Rowan Riley remains a friend since the triad days,and the two gals even shared an apartment fora time post-PA, joking all the while about theirreturn to dorm life.Kei Kushiro has become an assistant professorat the University of Tokyo in the department ofbioengineering, where he has been working forthree years now. He researches the interactionsbetween cells and biomaterials, and morespecifically, the cell motility on microstructuredpolymers and hydrogel materials. (Wow...I wonderif the agar of Bio 30 lab experiments of the formerlyexistent Evans Hall is somehow involved?) Keiis also working toward the globalization of theUniversity of Tokyo, so he’s staying very busy; aliveand very well.And a rather jolting message arrived fromHarry Chandler ’71, father of Margot ChandlerCook. He wrote, “Unfortunately, in August of lastyear, Margot nearly drowned at her parents’ poolin LA. Luckily, she did not succumb to the incidentbut has been fighting back from very serious braininjuries and other challenges ever since. After 96days in hospitals, she and her husband, Cutler, arenow living in an apartment, and she is braving itthrough daily rehab to regain motor and cognitiveskills. Her spirits are up and her sense of humor isback.” “Luckily” is right. I got gooseflesh readingabout such a close call.At the time of writing, Mr. Chandler felt thatMargot might be ready for some cheer from herAndover classmates and friends in the spring(which is now). So just let your class secretaryknow if you would like to send a hearteningmessage, and I can help get you in touchwith Mr. Chandler, who will then relay yourconsideration to Margot.Margot, it’s good to know that you are fightingand getting better every day. Remember...you gotthrough Andover.As the time for our gathering draws nigh,my thoughts and memories can’t help but go toCasey Hill Mercer. I’m sure a lot of you, includingher closest friends and family, are thinking ofher, too.Ah, it is no secret that our class has had somerough breaks, especially for being so young (yes,we are still young). But we’re also out there doinggreat things and being hard-assed survivors andcreators. This reunion, I hope and trust that we willfind ourselves—a real tribe—in greater unity thanever, in spite of the trials and losses we might haveencountered in the past 15 years.And to bring the circle back to underscorethe hope, love, and new life in store for us all:Teri Moss-Tyler Alexander wrote in to reportthat she, her husband, Tesfa, and son Nathaniel(age 2) welcomed another baby boy, Nour, lastSeptember. Teri says that the crew of four is havingan awesome time, having recently moved to SilverSpring, Md., and has enjoyed visits from the PAfamily, including Linda Griffith, who stopped bywhile she was in the area, and Bobby Edwards, wholives nearby. Other Andover visitors have includedRichelle Lane ’99, Michelle Gittens ’99, TamikaGuishard ’98, and Anthony Morales ’98, with hisbeautiful family! Teri also recently caught up withAlison Wheeler ’05, a dear friend she met whileliving in Washington, D.C.Meanwhile, near my ’hood, Biana Fay Varga,daughter Maple, and husband Adam Vargawelcomed a new addition to the clan: a baby boynamed Arlo Moss Varga, born in December. Sofar, big sis Maple seems to love her baby brother,and Biana calls it a “whole new game” that she’swinning for sure.What a thing, to hear about both the Andoverfamily and the families that you are beginning tobuild for yourselves as well! See you all soon, Iguess, but those of you with babies and kids—Andover | Spring 2015115