1994

As my first year as a mom draws to a close, I sit down to write this column in peace and quiet. How,you ask? Have I mastered the Zen art of motherhood? Well, not quite. I have hired a babysitter for a few hours, however, so let's get to the news.

I recently heard from my old Sussell Rage roommate Sonja Berndt, who wrote in after picking up a DAM. Sonja writes, 'After a brief career in pharmacy I switched over into public health and recently finished a Ph.D. in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins." Currently, Sonja is a postdoc at the National Cancer Institute and is residing in Maryland. She also wanted to know if I had heard from our third roommate, Lena Hillenburg. I have not—so Lena, write in and let us know what you've been up to!

I also received an update from another old friend, Jen Azapian. Though Jen and I lost touch after Dartmouth I looked her up when I moved to New York. Unfortunately for me, she was transferred to San Francisco a few months later. She's been out there since January and is now a genuine left coaster. She writes that in addition to enjoying discovering the city and the Bay Area, "I also love my job at Virgin America—which brought me to California and started my human resources career back in 2004. It's been a remarkable opportunity to learn about the airline industry and help build a company from the ground up—working with a brand as powerful as Virgin makes it that much more exciting!" Currently she is responsible for compensation and benefits, policy development and implementing the human resources information system, payroll, time and attendance systems. She would also love to hear from any Dartmouth alumni living in the Bay Area—you can reach her at jazapian@earthlink.net.

John Brennan writes that this past May he was among the first students in the country to earn a graduate degree in biodefense when he achieved a master of science degree with a concentration in counterterrorism and law enforcement. Brennan elaborates, "The program is offered by George Mason University (Final Four!) and has been the only one of its kind in the nation. The faculty includes former Soviet offensive biological weapons scientists and counterterrorism experts from the United States. Much of the credit goes to my wife, who not only wrangled my daughter so I could study, but also bore us a son midway through the program. I truly could not have done it without her."

And my apologies to the very visible Richard M. Breaux. Though he was referenced by fellow '94 LaShae Sloan Grottis back in the May/June issue of DAM as someone she kept in touch with, his name didn't make it into bold letters. I say if it inspired him to write in, I may have something here! Richard writes, "Hey, an alum actually can become invisible if he/she does not write to DAM (although the fundraising people in Hanover always manage to track me down). I guess it's time I stop just living with the class of '94 and make a stronger commitment. That being said, I have been married to my wife, Deborah, for seven years now and we have two children, Bevan (5) and Lyndall (1). After receiving an M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of lowa I accepted a job at the University of Nebraska at Omaha." Richard is an assistant professor of black studies and history at the university, where he is in his fourth academicyear. He will also serve as interim chairperson for 2006-2007 and promises to be in better touch. Thank you, Richard! And I promise to start dropping lots of' 94 names to inspire more long-lost write-ins—so keep reading.

, 2 6 IrvingAve., Tcmytown, NY10591;suzanne.jromer@aluMdartmouth.org