Welcome to the FP Alumnae Class Notes. With space limited in the published Alumnae Quarterly many great stories from fellow FPs get edited down. This web page is an opportunity to include the whole story.

Deadlines for contributions to the Class Notes in the Alumnae Quarterly are November, January, May and August.  Submissions can be sent to our Class Scribe, Patrice Behnstedt FP’00 . 

Please feel free to leave your comments and reconnect with your FP Community.

5/8/2012 – August 2012 Issue

Go figure? I guess I didn’t have enough to do in ministry. I decided to substitute teach part time. I’m so good they call me every morning between 5:45-7:00 AM. Don’t they realize I’m retired!
Funteller (Thomas) Jackson FP ’94

I’ve been the Associate Program Director of Grants and Fellowships in the Graduate School at the University of Notre Dame since July 2011, advising grad students on external funding opportunities and helping them reach their research goals. And I defended my dissertation in Literature on April 12th, so now you can finally call me Dr. Busl! You can post the news on the website too, of course, I’ve been shouting it from the rooftops 🙂
Gretchen Busl

Vikki Merton, 94 Wendy Arnel Brophy, 93, Cherri Brown, ??, and I spent 5 days at FP House over intercession for a write-in. We have an anthology underway called, Our Mother’s and Us, that we hope to publish this year–if I ever finish my piece. We had candle light dinners at night and Kim Keogh, ?? Joined us. Don’t write about your relationship with your mother if you want an easy topic. It was grand to be back at MoHo all the magic and angst was right where we left it.be well, do good work, etc.
Eileen Geoghegan, 94

I am very happy to share the news that since graduating with my Advanced Nurse Practitioner Degree from Southern Connecticut State University in 2009, I have been busy working in the Geriatric and Acute Rehabilitation Field and loving it. In keeping with Mary Lion’s hope that graduates from Mount Holyoke would go out and work where no others could, I have pleasure in announcing that I founded the CT Center for Bladder Health, in Enfield, CT. It has been my experience for many years that women of all ages suffer significant bladder issues and owing to the sensitive nature of these problems such as urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, frequent urinary tract infections and so forth, many issues go unreported and therefore, untreated. These days, practitioners work under significant time constraints and as a result, patients often feel rushed when the clinician is limited to a 15 or 30 minute appointment allocation. For elders, these constraints are particularly difficult especially if they have a problem of an intimate nature.
In my practice with elders in long-term care, I have had significant success in treating urinary incontinence as well as improving the quality of life for individuals with frequent bladder infections. Many women of all ages suffer incontinence of urine but ‘deal’ with it because they think it is a natural part of aging or they are too embarrassed to admit that they have lost bladder control. Incontinence of urine is often ignored by health-care providers because they are limited to offering the patient a pill, incontinence devices (diapers) or a surgical procedure. Urinary incontinence is the number one reason why elders seek admission to long-term care facilities. Most people and many practitioners do not realize that incontinence can be significantly improved, if not completely resolved.
For these reasons, I have created a comfortable, private environment where women of all ages may come for one-on-one evaluation and treatment. I offer non-surgical solutions and rarely use medications as treatment. Each appointment is a minimum of 45 minutes and I partner with each patient individually to address their personal issue(s) in a holistic manner, using the latest in medical diagnostic and therapeutic treatments.
The CT Center for Bladder Health is the only one of its kind in Connecticut. As well as improving the health and quality of life of women of all ages, I am also committed to environmental health. Each individual who is successfully treated no longer creates incontinence waste that uses land fill space. Please visit my website at www.ctbladderhealth.com
Penni, I would be happy for you to publish this update where ever you think it would be of interest. I graduated with the class of 1996 and miss Mount Holyoke very much. Being an FP was one of the most incredible experiences of my life and I owe many subsequent successes to my FP years at MHC.
Thanks so much for your hard work as Scribe Extraordinaire!
Alison J. Gorman APRN FP ‘96

Our mild winter has us chomping on the bit for spring and yes, even summer here on Cape Cod. Last year my husband Dan and I took our kids Nora 10 and Daniel 7 for two weeks in Europe. We landed in Madrid and spent six days in Barcelona visiting friends, then traveled up to San Tropez five days where we celebrated Easter away from our own home for the first time. We also spent five days in Bourdeaux.. This year is a little less worldly but no less spectacular. Our vacation will be in Martha’s Vineyard in July, a week where I hope to have Janice Mottolo (FP ’96) Kat Scott FP ’95, Mary Fanelli FP 95 and Carol Rodrigue FP 95 over for a well needed visit. We usually get together from time to time, and I hope this close and yet exotic part of New England can harbor our own mini reunion this summer. I’ll keep you posted on the results!
I am still in land survey, enjoying the outdoors, much more so without the degrees we usually experience in the winter. Keeping in touch with Christine Dauch Webber FP’96 in Ohio, Ardis Francouer ’95 in Boston, Jenny Wu, ’95 living the good life in Hawaii and Maryrose McMahon ’96 who is a proud new mom to a very beautiful baby girl, Olive. I also keep in touch with Ellen Cliggott ’89, a good friend from grade school! Ellen and I always find a good day to catch up on Sampson’s Island off of Cotuit here on the Cape every summer.
That’s all for now. Hope I helped to pen a few words for you, Pen. Take care.
Mary O’Rourke Sullivan, FP’96

I will give you an update. do you want me to write it how I want it to read? I got the notice of your talk at the ren center, I am going to try and get there. I am back at classes this semester and after a slow and unsteady start I am feeling very good about being back. hope to see you before long.
Betsy (class of 08)

Up here in the North Country, two friends and I have decided to raise our own chickens. First, broilers; next , layers. Each of us has seven new chicks; one friend keeps the birds on his big property; he’s building a large coop and letting the birds range free to eat all the squishy, icky things they enjoy. (Amish friends will take care of the slaughtering/plucking.) I’ve just acquired a freezer for all that chicken soup I’ll be making. And am looking forward to fabulous home-grown eggs. If any of you have some hints about raising chickens, please share with me.
Rea Tarr, FP2000

Starting out as a visit, I’ve now temporarily moved from New York City to the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, in Chesapeake. It started out as an opportunity to be with family after the death of an aunt in mid-January. Then in late February, my grandmother (her mother) died. I never really knew most of my family so this became an opportunity to get to know them, in light of the fact that life is indeed fleeting. We are helping each other in various ways, and it is good. I miss NYC, my Momma, and my friends, but I am happy to be living out a whole new adventure! I am hoping to explore the many parks, rivers, and beaches; I am hoping to work at the Virginia Aquarium, academic institutions, or for any of the environmental orgs in the area; I am also hoping to connect with any Frances Perkins and traditional student alumnae in the area for some conversation and exploration.
China T. Moore class of 2011 officially (winter 2010, technically).

Well, let’s see. You want updates, so here are a few. This past September, I published my first novel, The Road Home, a novel that had its early inceptions at MHC (I wrote a screenplay using the same characters). I am still working as an adjunct English Professor at Mt. Wachusett Community College, and was recently honored by students during Women’s History Month for the “Herstory Project.” In June I will be traveling to Washington D.C. for the Teaching Professor Conference on behalf of Mt. Wachusett Community College. On top of that, I have been invited to participate in a grant funded project called “Bridging Cultures,” which focuses on faculty and student development, as well as civic engagement. I am absolutely thrilled that I will be part of this. I love working with students and engaging them in writing and community. In addition to all this excitement at work, I am in the process of writing my second novel! I hope all is well with you.
Wanda Pothier Hill

This is my first Alumnae Quarterly update ever!! Here’s my news:
Retired from teaching in 2007, moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico in 2010. Am enjoying life in the desert, practicing art and yoga, hiking in the breathtaking mountains, doing volunteer work for orphans in Juarez, Mexico. Most recent travel included a 4-day white water rafting trip on the Colorado River in Utah!
It’s fine for you to post my information on the website.
Debra Truncellito FP class of 1994

Hope you’re doing well! I’m no longer working in lab research and have switched back to my life-long passion- sustainability. It was a round about trip. When I moved to Boston I was working in a lab studying neurodegenerative disease (Eggan lab; studying ALS), then after a couple years I helped an acquaintance start his own stem cell-based research lab at MGH, only we were studying lungs (recent gazette article on CF is his lab; Rajagopal). By then I was burnt out and suffering personal loses and didn’t want to continue in the same capacity so I decided to quite my job and move to Key West.
I’m not sure if that was an indicator of my lack of clear judgement, or one made in the sharp landscape of clarity amidst upheaval and change, but it happened, whichever it was! No sooner did I arrive in the keys when I got a message regarding a position back at Harvard in Sustainability- my newly chosen field to refocus upon. Three months and 7 interviews later, I moved back to beantown and now reside in JP.
So far I’m enjoying it and am revamping the program at Longwood, especially when it comes to labs as I have an insiders perspective on them, and they happen to consume far more resources per square foot than an office building or residence.
I am sad to miss the FP birthday celebration because it was so worth it the last time I went, and I still think about what an amazing woman Frances Perkins was. I may also. E out of town for reunion, but I dearly miss MHC and my fellow FPs and hope to catch up sooner rather than later. One of the new found pleasures of having a non-bench job is that I have normal vacation periods and it’s so much easier to take time off to celebrate and visit these important events and people.
Life is just a conglomeration of daily activities and events. May you choose wisely!
Alicia Murchie

Sadiqa Saleem is a powerful and articulate advocate for change in Afghanistan. She is co-founder and board member of the Oruj Learning Center in Afghanistan. The Center was established to provide primary school education in remote provinces of Afghanistan that previously lacked schools entirely.
In recognition of her significant contributions to education and women and girls’ empowerment in Afghanistan, Ms. Saleem has received several distinguished awards. In March 2009, she was honored with Vital Voices’ Rising Voices Award. Shortly thereafter, she was honored with the Samuel Huntington Public Service Award to support her efforts on behalf of primary education in Afghanistan. She was honored with the Diane Von Furstenberg Award in March 2010, with an accompanying $50,000 grant to establish the first women’s leadership schools in Afghanistan. And most recently, Ms. Saleem has been named the 2010 Patricia Blunt Koldyke Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship in Primary or Secondary Education.
(The Koldyke Fellowship  recognizes an emerging leader who is making a unique contribution to primary or secondary education.  Because good primary and secondary education is critical to success in an era of globalization, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs seeks emerging leaders between the ages of 30 and 45 who are demonstrating a commitment to improving their society through educational innovation, including life skills training and leadership development for youth. An individual with extraordinary passion and commitment to primary or secondary education, the  Fellow will be a leader who is bringing about lasting, positive change by virtue of her or his dedication, imagination, and initiative.
Koldyke Fellows are selected annually to spend one week in Chicago, interacting with Chicago-based educational, civic, government, business, and media professionals in an intense program tailored specifically to the Fellow’s interests, experience, and expertise. The Fellowship is intended to raise awareness of social entrepreneurship and opportunities for social transformation, and to recognize the Fellow’s unique achievements. The Fellow will deliver The Chicago Council’s Annual Patricia Blunt Koldyke Lecture, and be honored at a dinner with leading figures from the city. The Fellow will receive an honorarium of $12,500 and will be provided with transportation, room, and board for the stay in Chicago)
Background: Afghani educator Sadiqa Saleem’s childhood was a little different than most.
The only bedtime stories she heard were those speaking of a nation cripplingly oppressed by Taliban rule. That changed when she and her family fled her embattled home province – and her home – when she was still young.
Because of the troubles surrounding her own difficulty acquiring an education, Saleem has devoted her life to advocating for change in her adopted home of Afghanistan.
“Over 90 percent of Afghanistan did not have even basic literacy skills,” she said. “It is so unfortunate that even today, after nine years of aid coming to Afghanistan, we have only 43 percent of males educated and we have less than 12 percent females educated.”
As a refugee living in Pakistan, Sadiqa Basiri Saleem was close to earning a medical degree when the Taliban shut down her Afghan-run school. When she returned home to Wardak province after the fall of the Taliban, she found 150,000 girls with no hope for an education — for years, the regime had forbidden girls over the age of eight from attending school.
So Sadiqa and three other women pooled their money. They provided 36 girls with uniforms, supplies and funding to study in an abandoned mosque.
Outcries against “superfluous” women’s education and anonymous threats poured in, but the Oruj Learning Center flourished. The Center now educates over 2,700 girls in six schools and more than 200 women at four literacy centers.
Sadiqa has also established the Family Welfare Center for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, a domestic violence prevention project that provides services to 14,000 Afghan women, trains government staff on domestic violence and encourages spiritual leaders to discuss women’s issues constructively.
Her goals are ambitious — two new schools for returnees and internally displaced persons, an Afghan Women’s Leadership Institute to train high school graduates in business management and leadership skills, and an expanded gifted students program.
At the tender age of 28, Sadiqa has already made a lifetime of extraordinary contributions to the development of a new Afghanistan.
Though Saleem’s complicated upbringing was anything but easy, she spoke with a confidence and assuredness that made it seem natural. But there’s nothing natural about the hard battle she fought to educate herself, she said. There’s nothing natural about a national educational system so lacking that coming to America is one’s only option for a college degree, or even some semblance of literacy.
Saleem and her family left for America, where she attended the small women’s school Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass.
Since graduating in May 2009, Saleem has toured the globe in hopes of turning some of her native country’s paltry education stats around and putting the power back into the hands of the citizens.
According to a news release, Saleem has since served as a professional development centers manager for the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Higher Education Project in Afghanistan while continuing her work with the Oruj Learning Center, which she helped found in 2002.
She also qualified for the prestigious 2010 Patricia Blunt Koldyke Fellowship for her efforts to educate Afghan women and girls about their rights to an education.

From the Desk of Alex B. Morse, Mayor or Holyoke, MA
Congratulations to Holyoke’s new City Solicitor, Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross! First Latina city solicitor. She is an experienced litigator with practice in Criminal Defense, Landlord/Tenant Law, Contracts and Business Law. Attorney Rodriguez-Ross was a Staff Attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services for three years, she was instrumental in the founding of the Volunteers for Justice Program in the Western Division Housing Court, and she has over 11 years of experience in property management, overseeing over 400 units of subsidized and private housing.

I am writing to tell you that Carol Olstad, an FP from ’95, died on Oct 19, 2011. She was an R.N. with many years of working in Kenya, Bolivia and Nicaragua; she returned from Nicaragua in 1991 with the hopes of getting training in working with people (especially kids) traumatized from living in war zones. She was able to become an FP in ’92, and always considered her time at Mt. Holyoke a delightful, enriching part of her life….and we who were her friends watched her blossom with the rich discussions and the strong friendships she formed during those years.
We will miss getting the quarterly magazine – we share it with many of our young students, with the hopes that they will visit you…and become students there.
Delores Barbeau – Carol Olstad’s partner of almost 30 years.

I’m leaving on a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue research in New Zealand on February 4th at the University of Auckland. I will be working directly with Professor Dory Reeves, a UN-HABITAT partner, researcher and policy adviser with interests in social sustainability, equality and diversity in planning and mainstreaming gender. I can’t believe this is my life!
Megan Couture

News of my life –
Since 2007, when my alma mater kicked me out of my comfortable nest, I have worked at Harvard University, first with Professor Roland Fryer, and next, in the Office of the President. I’m currently looking for my next new job. My son is now 12 years old and in 7th grade. He’s a ton of fun, and we are enjoying life in Cambridge. I enjoy spending time with other Mount Holyoke Women in the area, including Joyce Clifford, Karina Monroe, Alicia Murchie and Jennifer Smith. I was delighted to see Marie Muir, Erin Fahy, Jen Griswold, Stevie Converse, Penni Martorell and Liz Hamlin in 2011. I continue to enjoy volunteering and helping where I can. I sit on the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Community Center, and this spring will launch my own project, a micro-loan program for homeless individuals called the “Good Bank.” I MISS MOUNT HOLYOKE!!!
Corinne Espinoza

Carol GesellFP97 has been busy co-hosting Oh My Sensuality Shop in Northampton Ma with her daughter Bethany Meyers and this year we finally won best Sex toy Shop in the valley thru the Valley Advocate.

My life has been rich and full. I am now the Director of the Peterborough Senior Center in the Fenway in Boston. If any of ya’ll live or work in the Boston area, please stop in. I continue to provide Financial Fitness classes and am in the process of developing 1:1 coaching. My husband and I are celebrating our 50th anniversary in May. Wow, I almost can’t believe it and our grandson Tyler will be coming from Arizona to spend 3 weeks with us in July. Sherri VandenAkker have a date next week to walk the beach and talk till we drop. Would love to catch up with other MHC friends, email cpaigerodrigue@comcast.net.
Carol Paige Rodrigue

Been up to lots, disserting for PHD and more. Life changes? Why yes, the knees are nicely settled around the ankles now, rather like gym socks. Highs? Every day. Lows? When I forget my meds. Travel? Just finished 1st motorcycle trip. Scholarship and acclaim? Oh boy, oh girl; patience.
Met at FP House, Jan., with Eileen Geoghegan, Wendy Arnell Brophy, Vikki Schwerdtfeger Merton, and Kim Keough. We angested, laughed, worked very hard, and cooked delicious meals for our lengthy dinner conversations.
Cherri Brown FP’01

Shortly after graduating three years ago, I married a wonderful Englishman whom I met on junior year study abroad. Our wedding was very small and held in the home of Anni Amberg (FP ’09) and Karen Grossi (FP’10) in Holyoke. It was incredibly special to have future, present and past joined together with friends such as Linda Witkowski (FP ’10) and Valeri Edwards (FP ’13). After moving to England, I earned a Masters Degree in Environmental Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I also had the wonderful opportunity to attend the European Alumnae Symposium in Oxford and reconnect with MHC friends in England, Heather Van Werkhooven (FP’09) and Theresa Hendrick (MHC Study Abroad student). After a few years studying and working here, I’m excited to announce that I’ve been accepted in the PhD program to research Political Environmental Activism at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Here’s to packing a suitcase, buying a plane ticket and jumping into another unknown and incredibly exciting new adventure again!
Heather M Cohen – FP ’09

Iam completing my first year at the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, and will be working in hospice for my internship next year. I may have to move to Boston so am on the lookout for a room to rent in the area, and for prospective renters of my humble home in Easthampton. I miss Mount Holyoke and fellow FP’s tremendously and FINALLY got myself on the alumnae website.
Leah Cartmell

Marty Rhodes Figley (FP ’03) will read and sign her new children’s book Emily and Carlo (about MHC alumna, Emily Dickinson and her Newfoundland dog, Carlo) at the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA on July 14 during their annual children’s circus.

My daughter, Megan Phelan will be joining the class of 2016 in the fall!!!!!! She is planning to study education and French lit. I am so happy for her and a little envious too!
Denise Keene FP 93

1/25/2012 – May 2012 Issue
Diana Wigham, RN, MSN, FP08, shares “I have just started a teaching career at Northwestern CT Community College in Winsted, CT, in their brand new ADN nursing program. My role is to work in the nursing skills and simulation lab, and also supervising students at a clinical site. The simulation program will be implemented slowly as it is an involved process when it is brand new, but it is both an exciting and fun challenge! The college is small but definitely is community in all meanings of the word. It reminds me of MHC!”

Rea Tarr FP00 writes “Up here in the North Country — Village of Malone,NY — it’s snowing, as usual; temps below zero, as usual. I am the grateful and happy recipient of a Village grant for the rehabbing of my little house. So far, we have all new windows; a new sump pump (whoa, the excitement!); wiring and plumbing repairs; a few new light fixtures; and the living room is about to be painted. Workmen hereabouts are pretty casual about actually working — the job began in October! — I’ll be waiting for the weather to ‘warm up a bit’ before they get to fixing all the siding and painting the entire house. Since the current color of this ‘shack’ is dreadfully tarp-blue, I’m longing for a good, dark, blend-into-background color. My Maine coon, Dawkins, is thrilled that so many men keep coming to pet him; my other cat, Thurber, plays it safe under the bed. All FPs are welcome to come visit — just make sure you’re dressed for the tundra. If you like, we can go ice-fishing.”

Keely Malone (FP ’05) married Marshall (Loftus) Malone on August 31st, 2011. Their very small ceremony, at the Next Barn Over in Hadley MA, fell between purchasing and moving into their first home in Greenfield, MA on August 28th 2011 and welcoming their son Zephyr Kinney Silas Malone on Sept 20, 2011. Marshall gave birth to Zephyr in the Malone’s new home and Zephyr is being absolutely adored by his parents and his big sibling Kale.

This summer Diny Capland FP06 and Alicia Murchie FP06 and attended Rebecca Lundgren’s FP06 wedding in Brooklyn, NY, where Bianca Lane FP06 was sorely missed. Diny relates “In November, I became the proud owner of Master of Arts degree in clinical psychology! A few more months of solid work and I will complete my doctorate. Other than that, I try to keep a game of facebook Scrabble going with trad alum Noelle Smith, ’05 at all times, and sporadically check in with Heather Navratil FP05, Liz Hamlin FP05.”

Susan Vajda Rarick FP94 relates, “after living in Naples FL for 16 yrs, I’ve moved back home to Cape Cod. I am ready for a big change in my life. I sold the contents of my house in Florida, basically everything I own and am now spending the winter on the cape planning my next adventure, which will involve a one way ticket to some place exotic, and make a go of it. Life is short, grab it while you can. Trying to appreciate and live in the moment. Wishing all my MHC FP’s the same.”

Elaine Pluta, FP96 writes “I just finished 2 years as Holyoke, MA’s first woman Mayor. It was everything I expected it to be and more. There are so many great, new projects going on in the City, such as the new Transportation Center, the new Senior Center, and renovating the Public Library and the Mayor has a bird’s-eye view of it all. In addition to overseeing these large projects and the everyday business of signing warrants and documents, and endless meetings; there’s attending events where agencies across the spectrum want to show-off their hard work and results for their municipality’s Chief Executive Officer. I made an effort to speak about all these great endeavors wherever I went so that the Citizens of Holyoke could be proud of their City knowing that so many people of goodwill were doing their best on its behalf. Although my reign as Mayor was short I did end up with over 20 years of service to the City. During those years my best contribution was my full support for the City to purchase ownership of the DAM license from the Federal Govt. during the mid-nineties. It took a lot of convincing at the time but last year marked the 10th anniversary of this occurrence. Not only does it give its residents low-cost energy-it spawned the idea for the High Performance Computer Center that is being built in the City today. Who would have thought that this phenomenon would take place in the City of Holyoke but that’s what having vision and leadership is all about.

11/11/2011 Update
At 20 years of age, married and with a 1.5 year old son, I was probably one of the youngest FP scholars to attend MHC in the fall of 1991. I don’t know how time flew by so quickly but after graduating with a B.A. in Biological Sciences, I divorced, joined a Connecticut-based biotech company named Neurogen as a Research Assistant and in roughly 16 years, between Neurogen, Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim, worked my way up to Research Scientist while being a single mother. It was last year 2010, when I married my husband whom I met at a tango dance class at Yale, moved to Michigan to follow him as he joined the faculty at Central Michigan University, and prepared our home to our now five-month-old daughter Ela. My son, Edward, who turns 22 on Christmas Day, and a senior at the University of California in Santa Cruz, was shocked when he learned of my pregnancy as I turned 40 last year. But after almost fifteen hours of labor and a natural childbirth, Ela was born on Memorial Day. This year, I deferred my enrollment to start my Ph.D. in Neuroscience until Fall 2012, so I can truly enjoy motherhood the second time around. With Edward graduating next year, I think back on how fast time has gone yet still look forward to becoming a grad student-mom for many years to come. Carolyn Baltazar Kaya ‘FP/’94

Molly Parker-Myers FP ’02 is living in New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley region with her husband and two daughters, Hazel and Flora. Molly recently “retired” from teaching preschoolers to pursue a full-time career as an actor. So far so good!

I’m a new fp alum! (graduated in May!) my sentence (or two) “On a journey, currently through the United States ~ driving with cook stove, tent and a nearly maxed out credit card! Wondering where winter will find me. Passport just arrived!” Rebecca Jackson FP ’11

Charlene Corris (FP89), owner of Custom Travel Concepts, is excited to be working for the new Great American Steamboat Company, in developing their Civil War cruises for the Sesquicentennial. They are bringing back the grand dame of riverboats, the American Queen, in April 2012 and Charlene is offering a variety of cruise themes with added values for our groups. I will be sailing on many of the cruises in 2012 and it feels like coming home. Charlene has been selling river cruises since graduating in 1989 and after a nearly 4 years with no vessels on America’s waterways, it’s wonderful to be back doing this exciting and rewarding work again.

I don’t fall into any of the careers you mentioned, but I decided to write anyway. I have been retired from MHC for 18 years, almost as long as I worked there. I was one of the early FP’s, having worked half time at the college as assistant to the secretary of the college while attending classes full time. After graduation I went on to become assistant to then President Elizabeth Kennan, and later secretary of the college and secretary of the Board of Trustees. After 19 treasured years at MHC, I retired in 1993 and moved to Michigan. Although the roster of administration and faculty has changed a lot since I left, I am proud that my alma mater continues with vitality and foresight. I would like to let folks who may remember us know that my husband Donald Gutheil passed away at home last August. I am still living in small town Allegan, MI (near Kalamazoo), and plan to attend the SW Michigan alumna gathering next weekend. I just turned 80 and am thankfully blessed with good health, which allows me to enjoy a variety of physical and volunteer activities that keep my mind growing, my body limber, and my soul refreshed! – Sally P. Trabulsi FP ’86

I’m coming up on two years up here in the North Country (Malone, NY) and still miss the upscale food shopping of Manhattan. But not the bad odors, noise, rudeness, expense, crime, and so on. Had a wonderful, several-day visit from Bernice Clark (FP’01), who had taken Rail Canada from Vancouver to Montreal, where I picked her up (an hour’s drive from me!). We did all the sights: flocks of geese; bigger flocks of wind turbines; free-range chickens and cows; farmer’s market; and, of course, the only shopping choice other than WalMart or K-Mart. A thrift shop. Can you doubt me when I say we spent most of our time, in my little house, drinking, eating, and talking?
So few jobs are open up here, I feel extremely lucky that I am on regular call as a substitute teacher for two schools in the area. Nice people, though, decent kids, and it pays for those little trips to buy good cheese up in Montreal.
Love to all of you, Rea Tarr FP’00

Greetings from East Chatham NY! My job is at the NYS Department of Health. I teach Sunday School and work with a relief group team that assists Katrina victims in the Southeast, recent tornado and flood victims in the Northeast.
Mary Ann Albano, FP ‘99

I’m Sarah Knudsen (FP’11). I wasn’t quite ready to leave after graduation, so this year I’m working as a lab instructor in the chemistry dept. at MHC while I apply to Ph.D. programs in organic chem.
Nutshell: I write about horse racing. Workin’ out of Saratoga. First children’s book, “Claude, the Clumsy Clydesdale,” on Caballo Books in November (first in a series of horse-themed children’s tomes.) Edited a book about Arabian horses, for a wonderful gentleman in Iraq. Heck of a year, only getting better.
Marion E. Altieri, FP ’88

I’m having my kitchen remodeled. I wish I was at MHC having meals at Abbey-Buckland like the good old days.
Funteller Thomas Jackson FP’94

Well, since 1998, I have run an elder care business which is doing well, but most important in my life is my first Grandchild, Lucia Elise, born July 1 to my daughter Shana and her husband Steve. Nothing on the work front will ever compare to that : ). Claire Carocci, FP’98
Well, I am a Reading Specialist for Exceptional Education middle school students in Chapel Hill, NC. I had a great visit back on campus and touring Amherst and Northampton this summer with fellow FP Debbie Gomes, my daughter Megan and our visiting Belgian exchange student Camille. We had an amazing trip taking 31 middle school and high school students and 5 colleagues on a two week trip to France and Belgium this spring with help from a European Union grant. The students were studying both the impact of WWII and environmental conservation. Megan is a prospective student who wants to study French literature and education and spend some time teaching in Morocco. Denise Keene FP ’93

Catherine Allgor FP ’92, professor of history and Presidential Chair at the University of California, Riverside, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to the board of trustees of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. Her appointment requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate before she begins serving a six-year term on the foundation.
The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, established by Congress in 1986, promotes the teaching of the Constitution by giving fellowships to secondary school educators, enabling them to get master’s degrees in American history, American government, and social studies.
“The idea is to teach teachers so they can create an informed citizenry,” Allgor explained. “It is such an honor to be appointed by President Obama to this mission. What could be more important than giving a hand to teachers? I hope my presence on the board will encourage California secondary school teachers to enter this national competition.” Catherine Allgor, Professor of History, University of California Presidential Chair.
Cordia Murphy FP ’99, recently had a photography show at the Westchester County Parks Department Annual Marshlands Photography Exhibit October of 2011 in Rye, NY. View her work at http://www.cordiamurphyphotography.com.
Dr. Tashi Zangmo FP’99 was introduced by The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan at the Asian Society, in NYC in September, where she spoke about women’s education in Bhutan.