1989

Sue (Shons) Luria writes that, before she got married, she used to worry that she'd end up in Cleveland for the rest of her life. Sure enough, that's where she and husband Neil lived after tying the knot, and guess what? Sue found out that she loved it. Hey—the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Jacobs Field, what's not to love?

But earlier this year, the lakeside Ohio metropolis lost out to someplace totally different: Boca Raton. Sue and Neil both got jobs with die same health-care management company, BMJ Medical Management, and they are reportedly happier than two Clevelanders at a Browns game. Sue is vice president of managed care, and Neil is general counsel. Best of all, they have a guest room, and they live four miles from the beach. Spring break, anyone?

Somewhat farther north, George Heineman, an assistant computer science professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, recently won a $205,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. He is researching (and I'm quoting this directly from a press release so I don't screw it up) "how to design software components to realize the goal of constructing software applications from pre-made, independently constructed components." George joined the WPI faculty in 1996, after getting his M.S. and Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Dennis O'Connor was named director of media relations for Burke Advertising in Fitchburg, Mass. Prior to that, he was a senior account executive at the Hubbell Group in Norwell, Mass. Most of his media relations experience has been in the political arena. He worked for the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm and also for state government politicians in Massachusetts.

Elsewhere in Massachusetts, the versatile Ed Barker is heading back to school. Actually, he has been at school for the past few years, teaching high-school French at the Maine Coast Semester program in Wiscasset. But as of this fall he's now on the other side of the lectern, studying for his master's in public administration at Harvard's Kennedy School.

Having covered the Great Lakes area, Florida, and New England, now let's head to the West Coast. John Martel has joined the law firm of Tonkon Torp, LL.P., in Portland, Ore. (That firm name sounds like some sci-fi action figure, doesn't it?) John will focus on corporate finance, securities, and trademarks. John got his law degree from the University of Oregon in 1995.

401 Main St., Metuchen, NJ 08840;

Kathleen Burge '89 on the problem with romantics, p. 22