A Passion for Science - Columbia College - Columbia University

Columbia CollEgE Today CLASS NOTES
arnold Kim ’96 diagnoses apple on Macrumors.com
dr. Arnold Kim ’96 had
two passions from a
young age: medicine and
computers. These interests grew
into dual careers for Kim as a
physician and founder of Mac
Rumors.com. In 2008, however,
with MacRumors attracting
more than 4 million readers a
month, he made the decision
to stop diagnosing kidney problems
and instead analyze Apple
news and rumors full-time.
Since Kim left his medical
practice to focus on MacRumors,
the website has continued to
grow. “Surprisingly enough, the
recession hasn’t tangibly affec-
ted us,” Kim says. “Between
MacRumors and my other web
projects, we hired four full-time
employees in 2009.” The additional
staff has increased the
site’s ability to cover Apple news
and rumors, attracting an active
community of enthusiasts to its
news, buyer’s guide, discussion
forums and a separate section
focused on the iPhone. Advertising
revenue rose in 2009 and
2010, and according to Quantcast,
MacRumors’ number of
monthly visitors is now more
than 8 million.
When it launched in February
2000, MacRumors was a solo
enterprise for Kim. “It’s hard to
even say it was an ‘enterprise’
as much as it was a hobby,” he
explains. “It really required little
financing. Beyond that it was
Son Jackson started kindergarten
and daughter Siena is in preschool.
“The kids are keeping us busy with
plenty of activities, and my wife,
Cheryl, is training for a half-marathon,”
Tony writes.
After more than 20 years in New
York City, rachel phillips flamm
is moving with her husband and
two small children to Washington,
D.C., to join PricewaterhouseCoopers’
national office in its international
tax group. Rachel would
love to reconnect with classmates
who are in D.C.; she can be reached
at rphillips207@yahoo.com.
dee dee wu is married to Brian
Golden and is the mother of two
boys, Jake and Justin. She has been
practicing rheumatology in Fair
Lawn, N.J., since she finished her
just the time I put into it.” That
time had to be well-managed,
as Kim earned an M.D. at the
Medical College of Virginia,
completed an internal medicine
residency at UNC Chapel Hill
and specialized in a nephrology
fellowship back at MCV.
MacRumors was started in
Kim’s last year of medical school.
Already interested in Apple, Kim
began tracking news and rumors
on his blog. After his medical
fellowship, he joined a private
nephrology practice in Richmond,
Va., for two years before
leaving to devote himself to
MacRumors full time. “The dec-
fellowship at the Hospital for Special
Surgery in New York City. Dee
Dee lives in Oradell, N.J., and is in
touch with hetty chung, who lives
in Manhasset and is an ob/gyn at
North Shore University Hospital.
deborah chong sent her first
Class Notes update. About five
years ago, she started a nonprofit,
Medicine in Action, which is dedicated
to delivering healthcare to
people in the developing world.
“We work in Jamaica, Haiti and
B y La u r a Bu t c h y ’04 ar t s
Dr. Arnold Kim ’96 works on MacRumors.com in his home office.
MAY/JUNE 2011
71
ision took a long time,” Kim
says. “I was able to effectively
juggle my job and MacRumors
for years, but MacRumors was
what I enjoyed working on in my
free time.”
Kim began spending his free
time on computers while growing
up in Newport News, Va.,
when his family got a Commodore
Vic 20, followed by an
Apple //c. “For whatever reasons,
I was drawn to it,” he says.
“I actually got a modem early.
At the time, the Internet didn’t
really exist as it does today, so
dialing up local bulletin board
systems was the extent of it.”
Tanzania,” Deborah writes. “I
recently returned from Jamaica,
MIA’s 20th medical mission! I left
for Tanzania in April.” When she
is not traveling, Deborah lives and
works in Oakland, Calif.
rachel phillips flamm ’94 is moving to washington,
d.c., to join pricewaterhousecoopers’ national
office in its international tax group.
Another first report came from
Kristine campagna, who lives in
the Albany area and practices family
medicine and sports medicine.
She is married to Bryan Sixberry,
and they have two boys, Sean (2)
and Ryan (1).
Kim followed his sister Nam
’93 to Columbia. He was premed
with a concentration in
computer science, foreshadowing
his career interests. It was
only a matter of time, however,
before two such time-consuming
occupations led to a choice.
“In 2007, my wife and I had our
first child, and that ultimately
spurred the decision to quit
medicine,” Kim says. “My available
free time shrank, and what
I actually wanted to do with that
free time also shifted. Spending
time with our newborn and my
wife took priority.”
It is difficult to quantify Kim’s
working hours. During key times
when there are a lot of news
and rumors, he may spend all
day working, but hiring other
writers has helped. As blogging
has grown in popularity over the
years, the news cycle has accel-
erated, forcing MacRumors to
expand coverage.
“The site has grown considerably
through the years, but the
basic format hasn’t changed,”
Kim says. “The news and rumor
focus has remained generally
consistent. In fact, I’ve always
prided myself on the selectivity
of the news we choose to report
on and how seriously we take
our reporting.”
Laura Butchy ’04 Arts is a
teacher, writer and dramaturg
in New York City.
Michael cervieri is a co-founder
of the media production and
strategy firm ScribeLabs, where
he’s working on a documentary
about the future of American news
media called The Future Journalism
Project. Columbia has tethered him
during the past few years. Michael
taught at the Journalism School
from 2006–09 and since then has
taught a course on media and technology
at SIPA. He lives in Queens
with dreams of eventually moving
to warmer, more tropical climates.
alan berks took the job of director
of communications for Pillsbury
House and Pillsbury House Theatre,
a professional theatre and neighborhood
center in Minneapolis. “It’s
a professional theater that actually
runs a neighborhood center,” he