1988

1988

Greetings, ’88s, and I trust this yearend column finds you well and full of optimism (or at least not full of dread) for 2021. The global pandemic has restricted our movement, and so what better topic to address in this column than travel adventures, with a few animal adventures thrown in as well.

Ah, travel—remember what that was? Nova Akashi-Reed, who lives in Seattle, remembers it well. She wrote to me about her 50th birthday trip, which was just a bit delayed, to Japan and Thailand in 2018 with senior-year roommates Susan Urben and Ji Hyun Park. Susy is an ear, nose, and throat surgeon in Eugene, Oregon, and Ji Hyun lives in Bangkok. On their trip they visited temples in Kyoto, fed elephants in Chiang Mai, and took a cooking class in Bangkok. Sounds amazing! Fast forward to August of this year and we find Allen Selis has moved to Israel, realizing a dream that began in 1986 when he interned there. Allen launched a startup company seven years ago that teaches engineering and computer coding to young children, and he has now started a branch of his company in Israel, which appears to be taking off. He came to this passion for teaching tech skills to kids after earning a Ph.D. in curriculum theory and development at the University of Maryland and serving as headmaster of private schools, among other work. Ed Sim is occupied with a different kind of travel—he spends every weekend driving his younger son to baseball tournaments, where he is practicing to be Mookie Betts. Ed relocated to McLean, Virginia, in 2013 from Singapore, where he lived for 16 years and met his wife. He graduated from University of Michigan Law School and now practices in a boutique law firm in Washington, D.C. Ed advises clients on international trade policy and represents exporters in litigation, and he has found during the pandemic that his frequent overseas travel has been replaced with Zoom calls from early morning to late evening.

I also heard from Amy Smith in England, where she is celebrating her 20th year as a classics professor at the University of Reading and also serves as the curator of Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology. In response to my question about pandemic pets, she told me she welcomed new fuzzy friends this summer, with four chicks that hatched after Amy “borrowed” a neighbor’s hen. She sent me an adorable picture that I wish you could see, and she marveled watching the hen’s “extreme motherhood” as she brought the chicks through infancy. Finally, Kirby Fowler has embraced a new group of animals as well, as he became president and CEO of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in April. Congratulations, Kirby! A long-time leader in Baltimore, Kirby previously oversaw the city’s Downtown Partnership and the Downtown Management Authority.

Be well, my fellow ’88s, and I look forward to hearing from you with news, updates, and your stories to share.

—Tory Woodin Chavey, 128 Steele Road, West Hartford, CT 06119; dartmouth88classnotes@ gmail.com