Class Notes: Spring/Summer 2018-19

'40s

BETTY MOONEY MUS’44 reports that she is still enjoying her work teaching sociology classes at Indiana University South Bend, while residing in Paw Paw, Michigan.

VALERIE TERRIS MUS’47 celebrated her birthday with her children and their spouses in Sarasota, Florida in January.

'60s

WILLIAM G. WEBB ’69, musician, composer, and writer, released the first of five manuals, called Transparent Waffles, which is a music and performing arts program that can be taught by any teacher to children in grades kindergarten through 6. The manuals include accompaniment tracks, lyric sheets, videos, an instruction book, and sheet music.

'70s

Members of the Class of 1972 met for lunch to celebrate their collective 65th birthdays, and they stopped to visit their former teacher, Fengchi Chen, on her 93rd birthday.

ANNE (WUESTHOFF) BRIDGES ’72 enjoyed a mini reunion with Leona Chen ’74 (right) in New York in April.

---

JANE R. BEST ’78 joined the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music as director of individual giving and special events. The Conservatory is the leading community music school in Southeast Wisconsin, providing music instruction to more than 19,000 students annually.

---

JULIE (FROEHLICH) TRACY ’78 founded Urban Autism Solutions in 2012, which recently celebrated its fifth year in operation. The organization is dedicated to changing outcomes for young adults with autism through an integrated community life.

Holly Segel ’77 (right) and Lindsay Stevens ’89 made the most of winter with a day of skiing at Heiliger Huegel Ski Club.

'80s

RAJ BHALA ’80 released the fifth edition of his book “International Trade Law,” building upon the global successes of its predecessor editions. In addition, Bhala is the inaugural Leo. S. Brenneisen Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, after previously holding the inaugural Rice Distinguished Professorship from 2003 to 2017.

DAE MELLENCAMP ’87 served as the speaker for USM’s 2019 Commencement. Mellencamp has held a variety of esteemed positions throughout her career, most recently as president of Vimeo, where she oversaw the growth of the site from a $0 valuation to more than $500 million.

---

E. KELLY FITZSIMMONS ’89 published a new book, “Lost in Startuplandia: Wayfinding for the Weary Entrepreneur,” which gives startup founders advice for how to face inevitable failures, rebuild self-esteem, and make better decisions next time.

'90s

RANDOLPH P. EDDY ’90 visited campus in January, where he served as a guest presenter and judge during the sixth annual USM Crisis Simulation (read more about it on page 24). Eddy is a bestselling author and chairman of Ergo. Previously, he served as the White House National Security Council Director and as a senior U.S. diplomat.

---

JAIME (ERICKSON) MCGAVER ’99 and her husband, Steve, welcomed Charlotte “Charlie” Jo on Nov. 20, 2018. She joins her big brother, JJ McGaver, who will start in USM’s prekindergarten this fall.

'00s

NOEL C. LUKIC KEGEL ’00 was named to the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list in March. He is co-owner of Wheel & Sprocket with his sister, Amelia, which was named Best Bike Shop by The Shepherd Express in 2018.

---

NISHA J. SINGH ’00 was named chief marketing officer at SeekingSimple in Seattle. Singh completed her MBA in international luxury brand management in 2012 in Paris. From there she accepted a full-time position running consumer and digital marketing for LVMH Group in Hong Kong, where she remained for four years.

ADAM VANDERVEEN ’00 and his wife, Pamela, welcomed their second child, Emmett, on Feb. 2, 2019. He joins big brother Remington.

KELLY (CHRISTIANSEN) WABISZEWSKI ’01 married William Wabiszewski on March 8, 2019. Many alumni and parents of alumni attended, including (from left) Julie and Jim ’74 Ladky, Julia (Reilly) Burke ’74, Jane Segerdahl, Cathy White, Poppy (Terris) Spencer ’74 and Geoff Spencer.

ALEXANDER BAL ’02 married Elise Schmidt on March 2, 2019 in New York. Alexander is a hedge fund analyst at Owl Creek Asset Management in New York. Many USM alumni were in attendance, including (seated, from left) Barb and Harry ’67 Stratton, Michelle Bal ’13, Mark Splittgerber ’02, Caroline Bal ’08 and (standing, from left) Ana Juarez (engaged to Philippe Bartholin), Philippe Bartholin ’02, Jennifer and Tom ’76 Florsheim, Chelsea and Brett ’02 Stratton, Elise Schmidt, Alex Bal ’02, Michael Koss Jr. ’02, Natasha Misra ’04, Todd and Elizabeth ’79 Krieg, and Sarah (Koss) Splittgerber ’06.

JOHN GRAHAM JR. ’02 and his wife, Hilary, welcomed John Graham III into the world on Oct. 31, 2018. He is named after his father and grandfather, and is already looking forward to his first Halloween party in 2019.

REBECCA (RICHARDSON) TEBBE ’04 and her husband, Justin, welcomed their first child, Harper Armene Tebbe, on March 15, 2019. “We love that she shares the same birthday as our heroine, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and her great-grandmother’s Armenian heritage,” said Tebbe. “Butch [Richardson, former teacher and track coach] is already planning out her track career (hurdles, since she has long legs) and her future in wildlife preservation.”

---

EMILY J. HAVENS ’05 and her fiance, Pat Minot, will marry on Aug. 10, 2019 on Madeline Island, Wisconsin.

---

DANIELLE (ANDERSON) MACK ’06 was recently named the founding director of operations for Ethos Classical charter school in Atlanta. Mack will complete her master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania this summer.

---

DAVID P. HAVENS ’08 married Alex Larrave on Aug. 31, 2018 in California, where they are now living.

'10s

BILLY SCHMIDT ’10 married Natalie (Rotheray) Schmidt ’11 in December 2018.

ALEX TESENSKY ’10 was recently promoted to account executive of recruiting and employer branding at Glassdoor.

AELIN HILL ’15 was the only member of Sewanee: The University of the South’s equestrian team to qualify for the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association National Championship, making her one of 24 riders who competed at the National Championship Show in May.

---

LAUREN LAUFMAN ’15 graduated from UW-Madison with Bachelor of Arts degrees in mathematics, astronomy, and physics. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Astrophysics at the University of Minnesota, where she has been awarded a three-year College of Science and Engineering fellowship. In addition, she was named a recipient of the 2019 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

CHAD CHRISTIANSEN ’16 enjoyed studying abroad in New Zealand.

CANDACE WALTHER ’17 graduated with distinction from UW-Madison with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. She will attend Emory University School of Law this fall.

NABEEL QURYSHI ’18 (pictured far right) attended the Nobel Ceremony in Stockholm in December 2018. Quryshi, who won Best of Category Award in the Biomedical and Health Sciences category at Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in 2018, was one of three winners selected to represent the U.S. at the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar. The prize included an all-expenses paid, week-long visit to Sweden and attendance at the ceremony.