News from Peg McCarthy

Here is a note I received from Peg McCarthy:

Hi! This is Peg McCarthy writing in; I haven't updated for awhile. Hope this isn't too long.

I still live in my hometown, Topeka, Kansas. I was re-elected to the board of education for my local school district, the historic Topeka Public Schools, a high-poverty urban district rich in diversity. I also continue my private practice in clinical psychology. My time on the school board has been deeply rewarding, despite the wretched challenges facing our educational system. School boards truly have the power to make a significant difference in children's lives. I would encourage all of you to consider the opportunity to serve; it is interesting, challenging, and terribly important work.

My husband and I just shepherded our oldest son, Sam, through the college admissions process, and I wanted to share with others what a positive journey it was. I was alarmed by stories I had read (and heard in my office) about the conflict and heartache families experience. But in our case, it worked just the way it should have. As we visited schools with Sam, we had many wonderful discussions, and his thoughts became clearer about what he wanted from school and from life in general. We quickly discovered there were many, many fine colleges well-suited to his needs, which took the pressure off of everyone. He (and we!) matured in the process. He pared his list to a dozen small liberal arts colleges, was accepted to all but one, and selected his original top choice, Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he currently is having a terrific experience. He had previously attended a writing workshop there, which I highly recommend to any young writers.

He had a lovely Cinderella-like experience along the way that helped lessen the stress of the college search. He submitted a short story to the Young Arts competition in the fall and promptly forgot about it. He was named a finalist in writing, attended week-long workshops in Miami and New York City, and ultimately was selected as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts--a great end to his high school career. He would like to write but also loves science and technology. You can imagine how he enjoyed talking with our classmate Carl Zimmer at our 20th reunion. I should point out that in our own class of '87 we had a Presidential Scholar in the Arts--the accomplished Kevin Berlin.

We really miss Sam--it is an unsettling experience to end such an intense phase of parenting. He is not the only one who has been searching his soul; we have reflected on the years and asked ourselves, Did we teach him what he needs to know? Should we have done this or that differently? But we are all adjusting to the new family dynamics, and our two remaining sons are absorbing the extra parental attention good-naturedly.

The whole family attended the Presidential Scholars week in Washington, D.C., in June, but first my middle son, Joe, and I took a quick sidetrip to New York, where we saw some shows and caught up with my old roommate, Sarah Zimmerman. Sarah and her husband, Wim Vanderhoof, have two gorgeous children, Julia and Kai. Sarah is the same dynamic, sharp, exhilarating gal we knew at Yale, and it was a treat to spend time with her again. She and her family have just re-located to Princeton.

Thanks!
Peg

Reunion News

Dear Classmates,

            Twenty-five years ago, we were seniors preparing for our future.  In the years since, we have done a lot -- built lives, raised families, established, switched and shaped careers, experienced the highs and lows of adult lives, travelled and explored, all sorts of things.  Now, it's time to reconnect as a class to share what we have experienced and create new memories that will last the rest of our lives.  We hope you can join us on May 24 -27, 2012 in New Haven to celebrate at our 25th Reunion.

            Why come to Reunion ?

            Reunions are fun.  It is as simple as that.  We are planning a weekend of informal gatherings, informative talks and big parties.  This weekend is NOT  going to be about who has earned the most or had the fanciest job.  This weekend is about spending time with the most engaged, intellectually alive and diverse group of people we have ever known  in a low-key environment.

            So, why come to Reunion?  Come to see your friends.  Come to reconnect with your classmates.  Come to experience Yale again.  Come back to enjoy yourself.  Come back to give back.  Just come back!

            What is planned?

            You can have the kind of weekend you want.  We will have a tent to hang out in.  You can spend your time doing just that. 

            Yale is providing two days of lectures and experiences aimed at everyone.  And, we have classmate panels planned, including discussions of sports, law, politics, the economy, books, movies, just to name a few.

            We have fun activities for the kids: Quidditch with the Yale Quidditch team, Camp Bulldog, just to name two.

            We have opportunities to give back.  We are participating in service projects by partnering with Dwight Hall and joining with other Reunion classes to accomplish something worthwhile for others, e.g. working at the Yale Farm, painting a local soup kitchen.  Some will be family friendly, some will be adults only. 

            Parties.  Can't forget those.  We will have two great events -- one on Friday night and one on Saturday night. 

            Who is coming?

            If history is any guide, we expect to have a very large crowd.  Our class comes to reunions -- we have been at or near attendance records pretty much every reunion since we graduated.  If you come, you will know people, lots of people.  And, they will be very happy to see you.

            What do need to do today?

            Connecting has never been easier.  Here is what you can do  . . . today:

• Put the Reunion dates -- May 24-27, 2012 -- in your calendar

• E-mail one classmate today -- and tell them they need to join you at Reunion

• Send us pictures from our Bright College Years

            What can I do to help with Reunion?

            Classmate participation is critical for a successful reunion.  We have plenty to do:

           

• Reach out to classmates to make sure that everyone comes
• Join the Reunion Planning Committee
• Share your reunion ideas
• Volunteer to help with an activity at reunion
• Contribute supplemental dues to help make sure that we have an extraordinary experience that is affordable for everyone.  Click here for more information on how to contribute to reunion.

      Just e-mail us at happado@hotmail.com and we can get you involved.

We look forward to seeing you all in May!

Very truly yours,

The Reunion Chairs

Lisa Vigliotti Harkness     Darcy Troy Pollack    Tim Harkness

Update on the YASC Trip to the Dominican Republic

From March 12 - 19, 90 Yale alumni and family and friends of alumni traveled to the village of Las Charcas in the Dominican Republic with the Yale Alumni Service Corps. During one week we accomplished a lot! Here is a list of the trip highlights:

* 500 medical patients seen
* a concrete block & stucco house built in 3 days
* the walls of a second house built to 3 block courses
* English taught in the elementary school
* art lessons and 10 murals painted at the school
* music lessons and keyboard taught to the students
* dance lessons and performances for the community by the students
* computer lessons given to dozens of students
* spa facial lessons given with demonstrations using local products
* small business consulting for farmers and local businessmen
* presentations to San Juan university students on business principals
* soccer, basketball and baseball coaching
* over 500 homes visited to distribute information on cholera and dengue...

Join us on a trip in 2012. For trip updates, visit www.yaleservicetours.org.

New York Class Lunch

We have a New York class lunch on Thursday, October 13, from 12:30 to 2:00 at the Yale Club of New York.  These are great fun, so we hope you can attend.  You do not have to be a Yale Club member to attend.


For more information, please e-mail Paul Sarkozi at sarkozi@thshlaw.com.

New blog features

There are a few new features on the blog, designed to make things easier for you.

Tags  I have started tagging posts.  If you click on the tags in the right hand column, you can call up all posts related to that tag.  Click on "reunion", for instance, and you will get all of the reunion-related posts.

Subscribe There are now two ways to get real-time notifications of changes to the blog.  Either sign up for e-mail notifications or include this blog in an RSS feed.  Both options on are on the left hand side.

Blogs of the Class of 1987:  On the right hand column, I have added feeds from blogs of our classmates.

Books  I try to include classmate books in the widget on the top of the page.  If you have one you'd like to recommend, please let me know.

Science writing professor talks tapeworms over dinnerCross Campus | Yale Daily News

Our own Carl Zimmer took his talk about Cantagion to Morse College recently.  Read all about it in the Yale Daily News by clicking on the link below.

Science writing professor talks tapeworms over dinnerCross Campus | Yale Daily News

LA Class Get Together

Los Angeles may be 3,000 miles from New Haven, but that didn't stop the class of '87 from gathering together to reconnect prior to our reunion. Liz and Steve Atlee opened their beautiful Hancock Park home for the event, and over beers and guacamole (this is L.A. after all), Jason Reese, Jen Devore and Darcy Troy hosted a group that included Matt Sloan with his wife and two adorable girls, Marcy Hardart and two of her brood, Sy Sussman, Ken Bernstein, John and Alexa Pogue, Karen Eastman, Ethan Goldstine and Caprice Young with her daughter Roxanne. The adults ate, drank and chatted, while the kids ran around playing badminton, jumping in a bouncy house and making their own cotton candy. A good time was had by all! We highly recommend holding a mini-reunion of your own in your neck of the woods...

Contagion: Could they really make a vaccine so quickly? (4) - By Arthur Allen and Carl Zimmer - Slate Magazine

Lisa and I went to see the movie Contagion last night.  Interesting and thought provoking, it made us look a little differently at everyone when we ventured out this morning.

It turns out that classmate Carl Zimmer wrote a post about Contagion.  Click below to read Carl’s take on things.

Contagion: Could they really make a vaccine so quickly? (4) - By Arthur Allen and Carl Zimmer - Slate Magazine

Stew, Heidi Rodewald, Jon Spurney Re-Opening Joe’s Pub with Songs from Passing Strange

Check out Jon Spurney’s next gig by clicking below.

Stew, Heidi Rodewald, Jon Spurney Re-Opening Joe’s Pub with Songs from Passing Strange

Ways to Connect to Yale -- where to get your news

Sometimes people ask about to best connect to Yale and get more news about what is going on.  Here are some suggestions:


•ELine Newsletter – www.yale.edu/opa/eline


A monthly online newsletter with information about Yale initiative, programs, and research.

•Online Alumni Directory – www.aya.yale.edu/myinfo

Free online directory that allows you to search for and keep in touch with fellow alumni, and update your own contact information.

•Virtual Yale Station Email Forwarding Alias – www.aya.yale.edu/vys

An email alias (eg. name@aya.yale.edu) that will forward your email to a full service email account of your choosing

•Yale Daily News – http://www.yaledailynews.com/

During term, the Oldest Campus Daily is the source for updates from the student perspective.

•Yale Calendar of Events – www.yale.edu/calendar

If you find yourself in New Haven, this is your best source for information on campus-wide activities.