1987

The theme of this month's installment is the pursuit of higher education. More and more of us are moving on toward advanced degrees in everything from diplomacy to science.

Let's start with Mark Sawyer. Mark earned a master's degree in international affairs from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. Lest you think that "international affairs" refers to the romantic exploits of Monaco's Princess Stephanie, Mark now works for an air force think tank called ANSER (he wouldn't tell me what it stands for must be a national secret) as a policy analyst. That means he studies the political, bureaucratic, budgetary, and strategic implications of weapons systems acquisition (yikes!). Since when does the military take budgets into account? Ha, ha, just kidding, Mark old buddy.

Moving right along, Mark has been sharing a Washington apartment with fellow Sigma Nu Steve Salem, who has finished three out of four years of a joint J.D.M.S. (another acronym!) program at Georgetown University. His emphasis is in foreign service, and he is working at a law firm in Los Angeles this summer (that seems logical).

Rounding out the Sigma Nu contingent is Paul Christensen, who will be leaving his consulting position at Corporate Decisions in Boston to attend business school at Cornell this fall.

On the other side of the world, MicheleRivard is studying in the Soviet city of Kiev this summer at the International Management Institute. Following this program, she will be working for the Kiev Project on Radical Economic Reform. These activities are outgrowths of Michele's continuing study at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School. Esther Schrader, meanwhile, is reporting on social unrest in the Soviet Union (no small task) for the L.A. Times and the Christian Science Monitor. She appeared on the television news show "Nightline" in March to discuss her work in Armenia and Lithuania. Ted Koppel's hair was reported to be perfect as usual.

Shifting gears to Sweden, we find EricStern enrolled in a graduate political science program studying crisis management. A main case study for this program has been the "Whiskey on the Rocks" incident in which a Soviet Whiskey-class submarine ran aground on the Swedish coast ("on the rocks," get it? Just checking.).

Closer to home, Charley Moore has begun a master's program in education at Brown and has not been in contact with the Soviet Union as far as I can tell. Charley will, however, become certified to teach secondary school social studies.

The summer is a brief rest for EmilyDentzer, who has left her position at the Massachusetts Advocacy Center in Boston. Emily has been involved in the center's work for the health and welfare of financially, physically, and otherwise handicapped children of the area. While at the center, Emily co-authored an extensive study into the tracking and placement systems in Boston public schools. Her next stop will be Stanford Law School this fall. Whenever I hear people mention law school, I can't help but picture John House-man in "The Paper Chase" bellowing, "Was there or was there NOT a breach in contract, Mistah Hahht?!" It sends a chill up my spine every time.

But I digress (what else is new?). I'd like to finish with a word about engagements. A number of betrothals have been brought to my attention, but I generally prefer to wait for the weddings themselves before reporting. That way, more people are involved and more embarrassing stories can be told (or invented). Please keep that in mind before you tear up my invitation to your wedding or lick the stamp for the mail bomb you're sending me. Thank you for your support.

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