Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up With Adriana Olaya

Adriana Olaya, Bogota, Colombia

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation?
Becoming the HR Director of an important company at age 24!!!

• What's your favorite MHC memory?
Sooo many wonderful memories!!! But dressing up as a squash ball was great... I still laugh when I think about walking from Ham to the gym nearly naked!!!

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley?
My Scums and Squashies... being able to share 24/7 with my closest friends.

• What are you looking forward to at reunion?
Seeing my Scum family who I have missed terribly!!!

• What’s the coolest thing you’ve done since graduation?
Visiting my friend Pam in Guatemala for the Panam games in 2010.

• How many cities have you lived in?
I have lived in Boston, Chapel Hill, San Jose (Costa Rica), Bogota and Bucaramanga

• What dorm do you wish you could visit for brunch on Sunday?
Ham or Prospect!!!

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley!

Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up With Sofia

Sofia

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation? 
I bought my first car and have met a lot of great people.

• What's your favorite MHC memory? 
Hard question — Mountain Day a few times over, pulling an all-nighter with Sara Marruffo our first year for no reason at all.

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley? 
I miss the people, the sense of calm and community the Valley offers (except for during finals) and the beautiful campus.

• What are you looking forward to at reunion? 
I am looking forward to seeing the new residence hall, driving around the Valley, seeing people I haven't in a while and Laurel Parade!

• What’s the coolest thing you’ve done since graduation?
Having completed a 30 day yoga challenge.

• What's the best book you've read? 
No way I could pick just one.

• How many cities have you lived in? 
Two

• What dorm do you wish you could visit for brunch on Sunday? 
Prospect or Abbey/Buck

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley!

Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up With Erin Rocchio

Erin Rocchio, Philadelphia, PA

 

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation? 

Going to med school and getting published

 

• What's your favorite MHC memory?

Dinner every night with amazing friends!
 

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley? 

The beautiful scenery and trees
 

• What’s the coolest thing you’ve done since graduation? 

Medical mission trip to Guyana

 

• What's the best book you've read? 

Breaking Night

 

• How many cities have you lived in? 

4

 

• What dorm do you wish you could visit for brunch on Sunday? 

Prospect

 

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley!

Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up With Laura Campbell

Laura Campbell, Toulouse, France

The picture is me with my husband Bart in Cambridge, England. We spent 10 days in England this March.

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation?
I live in France, which is not easy. I had to pass my drivers license over again, renew my residency paperwork every year, and figure out the French employment scene. That last one is still a work in progress...

• What's your favorite MHC memory?
My favorite MHC memory would have to be Glee Club. It was so much fun singing with such a great group, preparing concerts and Christmas Vespers, working with men's choirs from other universities. And the parties were pretty great too!

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley?
I miss the great sandwiches at Tailgate and driving through the trees to Amherst or Northampton. I miss the sense of community especially.

• What are you looking forward to at reunion?
I'm really looking forward to seeing friends I haven't seen in a while, some since graduation. I'm really happy to visit Massachusetts and the campus too. 

• What’s the coolest thing you’ve done since graduation? 
Something cool I did when I lived in Foix, France (an hour south of where I am now) was visit the caves in Niaux, which have prehistoric drawings. They limit the number of people who can visit each day, so in a group of 8 we used flash lights to find our way to the end of the cave and look at art made by people living in the same mountains thousands of years ago.

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley! 

Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up With Layne

Layne

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation?
Well, I *would* say, "graduating from law school," but I am still 3 exams and 1 paper away from that...so...best to not count the chickens before they hatch.

• What's your favorite MHC memory?
Creating and implementing a full-scale beer scavenger hunt in the library during finals, on approximately 25 minutes of sleep. Coincidentally enough, it was probably also my greatest accomplishment while actually IN college.

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley?
Living down the hall from all of my friends and taking classes where it was not only acceptable, but where you were encouraged, to answer questions starting off with the phrase, "I feel like…"

• What are you looking forward to at reunion?
FINALLY getting to see a screening of the much talked about "Junior Show."

• What’s the coolest thing you’ve done since graduation?
I sat through a murder trial where the defendant was a rapper named C-Murder (brother of Master P), and blogged about it from the courtroom. Somehow, the blog started getting passed around and it was
eventually sent to the Judge of the trial. He started commenting on it, and later sent me an email telling me how much he enjoyed it… despite the fact that I called him Judge Blagojevich-hair and implied that he was eating popcorn during the trial.

• What's the best book you've read?
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters is the best book I've read this year.

• How many cities have you lived in?
Since graduation? Just 3: New York, Atlanta, and New Orleans.

• What dorm do you wish you could visit for brunch on Sunday?
There was something about seeing the Black Friday-esque mob scene of people shoving each other out of the way to get to the fried dough at the Rockies, which always brought some comedy to my life…

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley! 

Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up With Sarah (Keleher) Napoline

Sarah (Keleher) Napoline, Medford, Massachusetts

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation?
Getting accepted to Harvard... and then turning them down! I'm proud of following my gut and going back to school to get my masters to become a minister.

• What's your favorite MHC memory?
All my 2003 senior ladies in Prospect, living in Mead my senior year, putting together Junior Show, Vegas Night (three of them, at least!), my first ever religion class with Professor Penn, listening to friends sing in the M&C's...

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley?
THE LIBRARY. I miss the library so much. I miss having my closest friends two doors away. I miss the Valley: the gorgeous fields, the peace and quiet, the FOOD. Andiamo, mmmm.

• What are you looking forward to at reunion?
Walking in the Laurel Parade, getting together with all my classmates, sharing the campus with my MoHos new husbands!

• What’s the coolest thing you’ve done since graduation?
Traveling to Transylvania with my church choir and staying in homestays with families from our partner church! We didn't share a language, but that trip was amazing! I also have to say, marrying my high school sweetheart on our tenth anniversary was pretty memorable, too. The photo is the two of us last fall.

• What's the best book you've read?
I just read Here if You Need Me by Kate Braestrup and cried for the first fifty pages. A great book.

• What dorm do you wish you could visit for brunch on Sunday?
I cannot wait for the waffles (with blueberries!!) at Ham/McG.

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley! 

Submit Your Updates for Summer Class Notes!

Hey 2006,

With just under a month until reunion, we are beyond excited about heading back to campus and are sure you are too! While you've got MHC on the brain, send us an update for class notes. We'd love to hear from all of you about new jobs, moves, travels, kids, weddings - anything at all!

Please send updates to scribe06@mtholyoke.edu by May 3.

Happy Spring,
Amy & Lindsay

Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up With Yaminette Diaz Linhart

Yaminette Diaz Linhart

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation?
Finished a dual degree Masters program with a kid and a law student for a husband!

• What's your favorite MHC memory?
Taking walks by lower lake in the pitch dark with my MHC peeps

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley?
The vibe!

• What are you looking forward to at reunion?
Being on campus again!

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley!

Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up With Paige Ryland

 Paige Ryland, Florida

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation?

That I've been passionate about all my post-grad adventures and have moved along at my own pace.

• What's your favorite MHC memory?

Two things: Meeting the FFL at MHC. Giving popsicles out in the library during finals to people who would dance for them.

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley?

I miss seeing so many wonderful faces everyday.

• What are you looking forward to at reunion?

Hugs and a personal, taste of the valley tour. I'm also pretty excited about taking a class or two.

• What’s the coolest thing you’ve done since graduation? 

My time in the Peace Corps will probably be the coolest thing I ever do. (The picture is of my first maize crop, the staple food in Malawi) 

• What's the best book you've read? 

Every book I read ends up being my favorite but I particularly enjoyed Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

• How many cities have you lived in? 

I have lived in 5 cities. (7 by the end of August)

• What dorm do you wish you could visit for brunch on Sunday?

While Prospect omelette bar has long been a favorite, I think Ill be indulging elsewhere as part of my personal, taste of the valley tour. Seriously, while planning our reunion trips, the FFL were most concerned with the food we would eat.

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley! 

Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up With Damaris Santos-Palmer

Damaris Santos-Palmer Santa Cruz, CA

Damaris is a blogger and freelance writer, and also writes the beautiful blog Kitchen Corners. Of her blog, she says:

Kitchen Corners is about me, and about my family, and about you because you are the reason I write. It is you who I talk to about my life and it is from you that I get feedback and the energy to continue doing what I do.

Kitchen Corners is a silly name for a blog. It started out as Within the Corners of my Kitchen, but that was too long and I occasionally have the pleasure to leave my kitchen and travel, so that title had to go. Then the blog became Kitchen Corners, because it's short.

But I love Kitchen Corners, even with all it's imperfections and silly name.

I've been blogging since 2007. Kitchen Corners has changed from a recipe blog to a giveaway/product review/design/anything-I-can-think-of-blog. However, now I do giveaways on my Facebook page, and have fun random conversations on twitter, and share my food design obsession on my design blog. It's better this way, because now I can focus on what I really love to do which is have conversations about life and food with you.

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation?
Having two kids

• What's your favorite MHC memory?
Big sister during freshmen year

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley?
Having intellectual conversations and silly conversations all within the same lunch hour with friends in Wilder

• What are you looking forward to at reunion? Seeing people I miss

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley!

Peter Berek is Retiring - Share your memories!

This was passed on to us from an '03 alum. Since many of you probably took classes with Peter Berek, we want to make sure you have a chance to share your favorite memories!


Dear Mount Holyoke Alumna,

If you haven’t already heard, Professor Peter Berek is retiring this May! Over the last 20 years, Prof. Berek has been teaching English to Mount Holyoke students – you may recall him from English 200, the first-year seminar “Pasts and Presences,” or his Shakespeare class – and has served as dean of faculty and provost (1990-1998), as well as interim president of Mount Holyoke (1995). For many of us, Prof. Berek has also been an advisor, mentor and friend. Indeed, he’s a Mount Holyoke institution! (You can read more about Prof. Berek's many accomplishments here.)

In honor of his retirement on May 18th, we are soliciting your farewell thoughts and memories of Professor Berek to compile in a scrapbook that will be presented to him during his retirement ceremony on May 18th. Please consider contributing your memories of Prof. Berek or farewell message and send it to: peterberekmemories@gmail.com. Your submission may be any length (preferably no more than 1,000 words), and may include photos or drawings. Please email your submission by April 30.

If you have any questions, you can contact me at jessie.babcock@gmail.com. Thanks!

Jessie Babcock
MHC Class of 2003

Countdown to Reunion: Catching Up with Amanda Englund

Amanda Englund, Portland, Oregon

• What are you most proud about accomplishing since graduation?
Starting two small businesses and becoming a mother.

• What's your favorite MHC memory?
Sprawling out in the library during finals, sharing the crack-out sensations with my friends.

• What do you miss most about MHC/the Valley?
The green farm land, having access to 5 colleges worth of information and a free bus system.

• What are you looking forward to at reunion?
Showing off my beautiful son! And reconnecting with friends I haven't seen in so long!

• Coolest thing I've done: Traveled in Japan and Costa Rica, learned to prepare placenta medicine for mamas, became the editor for an awesome feminist parenting magazine and got married to my first and long lost love. My husband and I started a commercial kombucha brewery and are about to take over the Pacific Northwest! Oh! And I sang in a Reggae band for a little while too...

Let '06 alumnae know what you're up to! Email amy.cavanaugh@gmail.com with updates. See you in South Hadley!

Extending Deadline for Nominations

Good news! We're extending the deadline to submit nominations for the 2011-2016 Class Board Term until April 15th. Please send your nominations to mhc2006nominations@gmail.com.

Your Class of 2006 Nominating Committee,
Annie Brinkmann, Allison Doran, Blythe Keller & Paige Ryland

Sign up for reunion!

It's finally that time — sign up for reunion! Fill out this form and get it in by April 15. Just 46 days to go!