1984 Classmates!
We are so excited to gather together on campus for our 40th Reunion later this spring: May 30-June 2. Whether or not you're able to join us, we hope you enjoy reading about our Reunion class speakers, seeing updates from classmates, and taking a nice leisurely walk down memory lane together. It's been 40 years since our graduation and a lot of life has happened. Read on to find out more!
Oyster Happy Hour Speakers
Join our class on Friday evening of Reunion Weekend, May 31 at 5:30 p.m., at MacMillan House/TD (our Reunion Headquarters) for an oyster happy hour (thanks, Butterfield Osyters!). At the event, hear inspiring talks from five of our classmates. A sneak peak of their topics are below:
Karen Butterfield
Current occupation: semi-retired (part-time oyster farmer)
My talk: oysters are an amazing value add to our oceans. They are also a source of protein and some say a delicious appetizer. My talk will focus on how we grow oysters in Maine's cold clear waters. I will overview the innovative FlipFarm System from New Zealand that my brother Keith now uses instead of traditional gear.
What excites me about Reunion: I'm most looking forward to hanging out on campus and catching up with the class of '84.
Chuck Irving
Current occupation: President of The Davenport Companies, Boston based real estate investment firm
My talk: The King and I: my volunteer experience in the Kingdom of Jordan and the friendship that keeps me coming back.
What excites me about Reunion: Driving my 52 year-old "college car" back to Brunswick.
Susana MacLean
Current occupation: Independent Education Consultant
My talk: What I expected, and what surprised me, about working with families through the college admissions process.
What excites me about Reunion: I'm looking forward to catching up with old friends and talking with classmates I wish I'd know when we were at Bowdoin.
Tom Putnam
Current occupation: retired (early) and living in the coastal southern Maine town where my wife and I grew up.
My talk: I happily stumbled into an interesting job as the Director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library which afforded a number of memorable experiences - the spirit of which I'll do my best to convey in less than four minutes.
What excites me about Reunion: I'm looking forward to reconnecting with "old" friends (increasingly in both senses of that word).
Our classmates: Then & Now
Wendy Arundel
1984: I should’ve tried harder to reap the benefits of Bowdoin life our senior year. It might’ve been a mistake to stay in Europe all of junior year; I felt a bit misplaced, and culturally undernourished after Paris. But, as is my wont, I applied all of myself to English papers and exam studying which made me essentially invisible along with my pre-med roommate, and forever friend Linda Copelas. I brought the little blue farm truck up from Virginia senior year, so off campus movies (The Big Chill, Footloose), LL Bean and Portland provided some respite from the blahs of too many books.
2024: I'm driven these days by entrepreneurial euphoria. I mean, I really love the career I stumbled into sometime mid-life. In my 19th year as home organizing expert (business is called The Mudroom), I'm purging and thought-pivoting as many acquisitive-obsessed people as I can fit into a seven-day work week. What I physically accomplish is extraordinary (one client said "You hold the repurpose record") because I work so hard at recycling anything and everything that can be repurposed. The epistemic reward is the cherry on top. As we dig through the archeological accumulation representing their past selves, I give permission to let it all go - and promise to make it all go away. Inevitably, I hear it feels like losing 500 lbs. in a fortnight.
I often thank Mr. Burroughs for the life-altering freshman seminar course and Henry David Thoreau's Walden, about living simply in natural surroundings. I work, preach and live that life.
Camille Babineau Rutan
1984: Career wise, I was torn between teaching, going to law school and going to business school. I moved to New York City after graduating, spent two years there working at a law firm, then ended up getting my MBA from Tuck in 1988.
2024: I've been happily married since 1988 to my husband, Steve. We raised four children (two sons, two daughters) in Penfield, New York, a suburb of Rochester. None of them returned to Rochester, so we were free to relocate in 2021 to Venice, Florida, south of Sarasota. Two of our children are married, so I like to say I now have six adult children, and I'm expecting two more to make an even eight! This year we are looking forward to a week in Ireland with our son, daughter in law and only grandchild - so far ;) In June we will travel to Oslo for a family wedding, then spend a few weeks traveling in Europe, including attending the wedding of our good friends' daughter outside London. In the winter, family comes to us for a little sunshine and beach time. Our daughters graduated from Bowdoin in 2016 and 2019 (Maddie and Carlie). Our son in law, Jacques Larochelle, graduated from Bowdoin in 2015 - the 6th brother of six to graduate from Bowdoin! In addition to lots of time with our children and their friends, who keep us young, we play tennis almost every day (yes, even in the summer!). Life is good :)
Alice Brebner Ruiz
1984: I had no idea what I was going to do after graduating. I spent a few years back in Minnesota working as a computer programmer and traveling before heading off business school.
2024: After business school I landed in New Jersey where I worked in Pharma for 25 years before taking an early retirement package to be a stay-at-home mom. Our son is currently a Polar Bear and our daughter is a freshman in high school.
Pamela Brown Perry
1984: After graduation, I was setting off for a couple of years in the Caribbean (after a year of saving money, haha) and then, after that, had my goals set on a Master's Degree program in education with the goal of becoming a teacher. I loved music and the stars.
2024: I did all those things and have been teaching science since grad school, working a side job creating educational materials for NASA and presenting at conferences. I still love music, my latest instrument being the fiddle (mine was made by a friend with wood from a tree in Maine) and also still look to the stars.
Karen Butterfield, Kathy Davis, Carmen Dionne-Palmer & Marcia Meredith
1984: Karen Butterfield (Econ and Classics), Kathy Davis (Gov/Edu), Carmen Dionne-Palmer (Math/Edu) and Marcia Meredith (Chem). We lived in Coles, Brunswick Apts and off campus together. We were all middle class kids who worked campus jobs to pay for school. We made lifelong friends and found our separate ways but stayed close and returned to Bowdoin almost yearly to relive the glory years.
2024: Karen moved to California for the weather and progressive culture, did energy start ups in effiiciency, solar and battery storage until 2018 when she left to spend more time with family and help out on her brother's oyster farm in Yarmouth. Kathy ('85) went into the Peace corp and then fulfilled a mission in public service. Carmen raised two wonderful girls and is teaching Math in her 40th year at Mt. Ararat HS, has coached the math club and is Co-Chair of District's Certification Council. She claims she is going "one more year". Marcia also had two wonderful girls and continues a long career as an environmental chemist cleaning up superfund sites nationwide and working on Great Lakes monitoring and contaminated sediment concerns.
Tracy Goller
1984: I was pretty much focused on making it to graduation and embarking on a career in IT. I remember my final math classes having somewhere around 5 students. I was doing a bit better in my German classes after spending Jr year in Freiburg, Germany. I lived off campus in a house on Pleasant Street with Sandy Hebert, Lynne Quinto, Scot Umlauf, Jennifer and Craig ( whose last names I don't remember). I played on the Rugby club team and was a member of the Alpine ski team which finished first in our division that year.
2024: I am retired since May 2021 and loving life in Carrabassett Valley with my husband Mike (Colby '82) and our black lab Cinderhoe. My winter days are filled with skiing and snowshoeing. We spend our summers sailing on Penobscot Bay, mountain biking and kayaking. We see our son Jason (Colby 2018) a couple times a year when he makes the trek from Syracuse, NY. Life is good!
Hannia Gonzalez
1984: Math major, Romance Language minor, headed to DC after graduation to try my hand at working in the actuarial business. Spoiler alert: wow, was that the wrong choice for me!
2024: I’ve lived in Northampton, MA since 1987, when I moved to the area to study philosophy at UMass, Amherst. Ended up with a masters in math (not philosophy), and have been working as a math instructor since then (currently online). I am married, and we have 2 daughters (26 and 22).
Amy Johnson
1984: I wasn't sure who I was or what I wanted to be. Working for a year after graduation in the Bowdoin Office of Marketing & Public Relations changed all that!
2024: Today, I enjoy successful careers in television and health care philanthropy. I have a wonderful family and friends -- and love my life in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I never imagined settling in Iowa in 1984!
Stephen Laffey
1984: I miss my Croquet friends greatly and our Appleton Dining Club! What a great four years with so many great teachers and friends.
2024: Christian, married with 6 kids, great wife of nearly 30 years! Looking forward to seeing many at the 40th Reunion! Enjoying seeing my youngest three get ready for Grad School!
Sarah LaJoie Sirois
1984: After graduation, I served as Assistant to the Director of Financial Aid at the College for a one-year fellowship. Was engaged in November of that year and married in May of 1985.
2024: As you can see by the photo, our family has grown! Four of our children are married and we have another wedding in June! We are blessed with four precious grandchildren! Family has always been and will always be my greatest treasure on this earth. I’ve been fortunate to have a varied career in the field of education, teaching at all levels including high school math (3 years) and adult Ed math (6 years) opening a home daycare when our children were little (11 years), teaching computer skills, physical education, French, music and math at a Catholic Elementary school (15 years), and serving as a Math Learning Specialist and adjunct faculty at Kennebec Valley Community College (8 years). I intended to be at KVCC until my retirement, but last May I was asked if I would consider working as a program coordinator for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon in Maine. I decided to accept this position. I also earned a Master’s degree in Education with a focus In Math K-14 in 2014. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every one of these vocations!
Ann McWalter
1984: Remember 40 years ago??? I remember playing field hockey which I loved. I remember my roomies my senior year at Brunswick apartments - Lauren Marks Rimland, Marvelous Martha Jutras McLaughlin, and Pam Sawyer Tait and all the fun we had. I remember living in the basement of the Chapel with 40 rats working on my honors project in Psychobiology alongside my other friends with the same major. I believe Brenda Johnson and I painted a rat on the wall because it was the Year of the Rat! I also remember Nate Blum getting me through Physics and some miracle getting me through Organic Chemistry! (Probably also Nate!) Maybe I could think of more but that’s a start! After Bowdoin I took a year off to take classes at the University of Lowell while working. I needed an anatomy course on my transcript to get into PT school and unfortunately dear Dr. Moulton, the only anatomy professor at Bowdoin, passed away our Junior year - a year before I planned to take his course. I went on to get my Masters Degree in Physical Therapy in 1987 and worked in my dream profession in different settings until 2015.
2024: Life changed drastically in 2015 when I fell on ice and sustained a traumatic brain injury. Up until then I realized my childhood dream of becoming a Physical Therapist and loved my career which I worked at for almost 30 years. I try to tell myself the Universe had a different plan for me after 2015. I am very grateful to have maintained my physical capabilities despite losing many of my cognitive capabilities. I found a new passion which gives me a sense of accomplishment and confidence - climbing literal mountains which helps me climb the figurative ones. I’ve climbed the 67 mountains over 4000’ in New England, the 100 highest in New England, the Belknap Range and Ossipee Range in New Hampshire, and the 52 With a View - 52 peaks in NH with beautiful views at the top, plus many other miscellaneous peaks in New England. Because of my cognitive problems I am very limited in participation at reunion and still hope to be there Saturday and see who I can. Go U Bears!
Garth Myers
1984: I was an immature 20 year-old History major who thought he could write his way out of almost any jam. I forget most of the rest.
2024: I'm an immature 60 year-old professor who has been proven to write his way out of almost any jam. I've been married to Melanie Hepburn '83 since 1986 and we have two daughters who are 30 and 24, Phebe and Atlee.
Karen Natalie Walker
1984: I was a bit of a country nerd when I arrived at Bowdoin but had a blast playing soccer and softball and partying at Kappa Sig. Oh yeah, and I studied a bit too. When I graduated from Bowdoin in 1984 I went on to Harvard Law School.
2024: After 37 years at Kirkland and Ellis, I retired February 1 of this year! I enjoy golfing and watching baseball with my husband John, visiting my older daughter Natalie in NYC, and spending time with my younger daughter Nancy (Bowdoin 2015) and her new baby girl Saoirse.
Bill Ouellette
1984: Back in 1984 I was naive, a bit silly, and not yet settled into who I was or what I expected of myself. I was hopelessly in love with my friends, thinking we’d always be together, believing they were my chosen family and I theirs. The death of my mother in October of 1984 grounded me in ways I couldn’t have imagined and connected me deeply to my siblings. Although the beat of my youth played strong, I did know that I would find my way to working in education and possibly the arts, and so I found myself teaching preschool in Boston and later headed off to study English and Teaching in Chicago.
2024: This past July, I retired from a deeply satisfying career in education, teaching English and Theater (directing plays and teaching acting), serving as a dean of students and, later in my career, counseling students and their families through the college process. I owe my first high school teaching position in Maine to Tom Putnam who reminded me that teaching, not copyediting for an advertising agency on the outskirts of Boston was the job I needed to throw myself into. After 13 years teaching in Maine, I moved to an independent school in Hawai'i, and for the past 8 years I’ve co-directed a college counseling department in Portland, Oregon. I met my husband, also named Bill, in Hawai’i. He’s been an extraordinary parent to my two children, ages 34 and 30, and a loving grandfather to our two grandchildren. Now that I’m retired I hope to give my best attention to writing, cooking, parenting adult children and being a loving presence in the lives of my grandchildren.
Tom Putnam
2024: I retired early from a career spent as an educator and museum director in the Boston area and recently moved back to the town in southern Maine where I grew up. Happily married to my wife, Phyllis, who is also from my hometown though we didn't know each other when we were younger. We adopted our children - Gabe from Guatemala and Kiki from South Korea.
Judy Riker Wiley
1984: Sad to be leaving Camp Bobo after 4 years of great friends and amazing times. Off to NYC for work and new adventures.
2024: Hugh and I have been in CT for 36 years - daughter Melissa (Bow ‘13) lives in NYC with her boyfriend and works for Nat. Geo building custom content. Son Sam (Bucknell ‘17, Tufts ‘22) lives with his girlfriend just north of Boston with both of them working for Raytheon. Hugh is mostly retired and working on his shooting sports and training our black labs. I, after staying home with the kids when they were young, went back to work and found a great fit at our local library. Keeps me off the streets and out of the gin joints, so to speak. We are traveling while we can - hitting some beautiful parts of this country and some great fishing streams too. Off to Alaska in September!
Ann Sargent
1984: My family lived in Turkey the four years I was at Bowdoin. My major was Government & Legal Studies but took advantage of liberal arts taking lots of classes in Russian Language and Studies, as well as South Asia and Education. Was involved with the Project B.A.B.E. program and Big Brother, Big Sister program and spent a lot of time with Jane Knox's son Robert. I spent the first semester of my senior year on the Isle Program with John Holt which led to my first adventure out of Bowdoin...Two years working in Sri Lanka and traveling in India and Nepal for a year before settling in Downeast Maine.
2024: Living and working in Downeast Maine. My lifework has been in the field of adult education. I've held many positions and thrive witnessing people start to believe in themselves, grow and thrive against incredible life circumstances. I'm currently the Director of Adult Education for the Ellsworth, Maine school district and actively involved in several community efforts. I live in a house on Joy Bay that we built with the help of lots of friends. I'm blessed with two delightful, happy, healthy and launched adult children, Beckett Sargent Slayton, Bowdoin '21 and Hattie Sargent Slayton, Bowdoin '23 both of whom live in the Boston area. My life is a simple one, with and abundance of unexpected moments of joy, lots of dear friends and family, including many I met at Bowdoin. Lucky to have both my parents (both 87) living about an hour away so they are also a significant part of my life.
Katherine "Kitty" Schacht
1984: I was so immature and clueless, but enjoying my life. Professor Thompson, with his dry wit, told me I had majored in pre-unemployment (Spanish, with no second major, or minor). I was too clueless to worry about the future, and assumed everything would be OK.
2024: Well, I am a lot older, and a bit more mature. I have been a librarian for 28 years, most of those years as a youth librarian. I am ending my career as a tech services librarian, as jumping around and cleaning up toys constantly got more and more difficult. I have 2 children, a son who is almost 30, and a daughter who is a senior in high school. Finally we will be empty nesters! And my Spanish skills weren't a total loss!
Roxa Smith
1984: I was a shy person and studious person at Bowdoin. During Freshman year, I still felt like an ESL student even though I had three years of boarding school behind me. There weren't many Latin American people at Bowdoin when I was there. Eventually, I acclimatized and found my path. I never joined a fraternity. I dated Jeff Tamarkin ('83) for 3 years. He lived off campus in Mere Point, so we spent considerable amount of time there and camping. My freshman and sophomore year, I roomed with Elizabeth O'Brien Ward. Then I went to Germany the fall semester of my junior year and returned in the spring to room with Kerry Randall McGinty. Spending a semester abroad change the course of my studies and my life. I had been an Economics/German major before leaving for Europe, but when I returned to Bowdoin I switched to Art History/German - a much better fit for my spirit. I lived off campus with Kerry Randall McGinty and Patty Huss West during my senior year, which was a wonderful way of finishing my time at Bowdoin. I am thankful for the education and the many experiences I had at Bowdoin. They gave me a solid foundation to navigate the ups and downs of life.
2024: I am am a figurative artist (www.roxasmith.com) living and working in Brooklyn, NY. and represented by C24Gallery in Chelsea, I was an ESL teacher for 27 years at Baruch College, NY. I am thrilled to have time to fully dedicate my time to my art practice. I don't have children, but have four nieces and a nephew. Half of my family still lives in Venezuela. I haven't been back there since my father passed away in 2019. I travel a lot to Brazil though because my wife, Rubia do Pinho, is Brazilian. We have been together since 2000 and we married in 2018. She is involved in the world of fitness and healing - a very different world from mine, but one that I respect and benefit from a lot. We will probably head south (perhaps even Brazil) in 8 years after she retires. I keep in touch with Kerry Randall McGinty, Patty Huss West and Ann Johnson Prum. Elizabeth Ward and Leslie Walker, and because of social media I am aware of what some other classmates are up to. Sadly, I haven't been back to Maine since I graduated.
Kate Treadway Hughes
1984: Cluelss as to what I wanted to do now that I was allegedly a "grownup," I applied for a job with a not-for-profit that relocated me to two cities within 12 months, Omaha and Kansas City, far from Bowdoin.
2024: I'm still in Kansas City where I met and married Bowdoin alum, Steve Hughes '79. We're coming up on our 37th wedding anniversary! I left fund raising 35 years ago, did a brief stint in teaching, then stayed home when our two kids were growing up. Today I am happier than ever working on an MFA in fiction writing at Emerson College. We are very fortunate to be able to spend two months every summer on the coast of Maine, our happy place.
Valerie Watson
1984: I was the first person in my family to graduate from college! During my time at Bowdoin, I loved creative writing, playwriting, filmmaking, art, and music. Not to mention my addiction to the Spaceflight 2000 pinball machine in the game room. Instead of spending my junior year abroad, I spent it in Boston to coax my inner rock 'n' roller out of hiding.
2024: I've been living in California since 1987. Proud member of the Writers Guild of America. Music remains a huge part of my life; I volunteer for Wild Honey, a nonprofit group that puts on concerts to raise money for autism charities—I compile, write, and edit the printed show programs. One of our most recent concerts featured a symphony written by the nonverbal autistic son of Wild Honey's founder, performed by a full orchestra. It was breathtaking!
David Wilson
1984: Totally absorbed with wrestling & lacrosse teams and Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. My Beta brothers and sisters were the best and most weekends I had a beer in hand at a "campus wide'. I was not the most motivated student academically. I know I did some stupid things during my college years and for anyone I offended I apologize!
2024: Proud father to three amazing children, both sons are in the Army and daughter is a mental health professional. Lucky to have my wife Ellen by my side for what will be our 33rd year of marriage this July. I have been a coach and athletic director for 38 years, 8 at the NCAA Divison III level and 30 at the high school level. Currently in Philadelphia, PA at SCH Academy. Looking forward to reconnecting with the great class of 1984!
David Zelz
1984: I was the third member of my family to graduate from Bowdoin, preceded by my late uncle, George Paradis, '49, and brothers Peter, '80 and Eric '82. I graduated cum laude with a degree in History and Classical Archaeology and a minor in Geology (Bowdoin's first Geo minor!!). I lived in Appleton Hall and then, as a member of Alpha Rho Upsilon fraternity, spent the rest of my years living at ARU. I remember one of my favorite extra-curricular activities was wandering around campus underground through the network of steam tunnels...until we got busted by security.
2024: I am the Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Talent Management and Development at Maine Savings Federal Credit Union. I have enjoyed a career in human resources for most of my post Bowdoin years. I enjoy regular visits and communication with many old Bowdoin friends. My passion continues to be travel. I have made my way across the South Pacific from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to Okinawa and the Philippines with many stops in between. Much travel has been related to World War II sites, but I am now passionate about the islands of French Polynesia. I'll be visiting Pitcairn's Island, home of the descendants of the mutineers of the HMAV Bounty....never thought I'd find a way to get there but persistence has paid off. I have made my way across Europe from Ireland and the UK to Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), Russia. I think often of Bowdoin alum Erin Gershkovich as I, too, was once "detained" in Moscow. European travel has mainly focused on learning about "The Troubles" in the North of Ireland as well as visiting World War II sites and many of the Nazi concentration camps. I live in Bangor, Maine.
Thank you for walking down memory lane together. We hope to see you at Reunion Weekend!
Classmates registered to-date:
Wendy Arundel, Boz Berry, Steve Boghossian, Bill Bradfield, Karen Butterfield, Greg Clark, Sarah Collins Couch, Joe Curtin, Whitney Donnelly, Jon Fitzgerald, Marcia Meredith Galloway, Hannia Gonzalez, Michael Hegarty, Cindy Jenson-Elliott, Amy Johnson, Linda Copelas Jones, Tom Jones, Karen Kinsella, Lynn Pellegrino McLaughlin, Garth Myers, Bill Northgraves, Carmen Dionne Palmer, Tom Phillips, Catherine Stevens Powell, George Reisch, Alice Brebner Ruiz, Chris Simon, Martha Stuart, Ian Taylor, Stephen Trichka, and Valerie Watson
Register today by visiting reunion.bowdoin.edu
If you're interested in reading about the ways in which Bowdoin has changed since 1984, check out the Bowdoin News for updates on new buildings, athletic fields, student support, Bowdoin's new President Safa Zaki, and much more.