friends letter essay

Friendship Letter 101

In the world of instant messaging and social media, you might find yourself missing the personal touch of a handwritten note or letter. If you’re looking to rekindle that sense of connection, writing a friendship letter could be just the ticket. Not only does it provide an opportunity for genuine expression, but it’s also a lovely surprise in anyone’s mailbox.

You’re probably thinking, “Where do I start?” Well, don’t worry! We’ve got your back. This article aims to guide you through the process of crafting a heartfelt friendship letter. From laying out your thoughts to finding that perfect closing line – we’ll walk you through it all.

Remember: The goal is sincerity . A friendship letter is not about grand gestures or poetic prowess; it’s about expressing appreciation for someone who matters in your life. So relax, take a deep breath, and let’s dive into Friendship Letter 101 together.

Understanding the Importance of a Friendship Letter

Friendship letters are more than just old-fashioned correspondence. They’re powerful tools that can strengthen bonds, mend misunderstandings, and express feelings in an authentic way. It’s time to understand why they still hold sway in this age of instant messaging.

A friendship letter isn’t just a message; it’s a gift. When you take the time to write one, you’re showing your friend that they matter enough for you to put thought into your words. There’s something innately personal about holding a physical letter filled with heartfelt sentiments – something an email or text simply can’t replicate .

Letters also allow for deeper communication. In today’s fast-paced world, most conversations are reduced to short messages or emoticons which often fail to convey true emotions. But with a letter, there’s room for expressions and nuances that digital platforms often limit.

Moreover, let’s not forget the element of surprise! Imagine finding a friendship letter tucked away amidst bills and junk mail – it surely brings an unexpected smile!

Now, consider this:

Embrace the charm of handwritten letters! Whether it’s thanking someone for their kindness or expressing how much you miss them – penning down your thoughts can have profound effects beyond what you might imagine. That’s the power held by these seemingly antiquated forms of communication – but as we’ve seen here: they’re far from outdated.

Decoding the Elements of a Powerful Friendship Letter

Crafting a compelling friendship letter isn’t rocket science, but it does require some thought and intentionality. It’s about more than just expressing your feelings – you’ll need to take into account certain elements that can make your letter more impactful.

First off, your opening sets the tone for the rest of your letter. A warm and personal greeting tells your friend right away that this is no ordinary piece of correspondence. Instead of starting with “Dear [Name],” try something a little more intimate like “To my dearest [Name],” or “Hello my dear friend,”.

Next up is the body — where the magic really happens. Here, authenticity reigns supreme. Be honest and heartfelt in sharing your thoughts, experiences, or memories. This is also an excellent place to express gratitude for their friendship and acknowledge their positive attributes.

Don’t forget about the closing either! This should reflect the overall tone of your letter and leave them feeling valued and appreciated. And remember, it’s not just what you say but how you say it. Sign off with something like “With all my love,” or “Yours always,” before adding your name at the end.

The final touch? An actual handwritten note if possible! In today’s digital age, there’s something incredibly special about receiving tangible mail – especially when it’s filled with kind words from a cherished friend.

Now let’s get into specifics:

So go ahead—grab that pen (or keyboard) and start crafting a powerful friendship letter!

Getting Started: Pre-Writing Tips for Your Friendship Letter

Crafting a friendship letter might seem like an uphill task, but it’s not as daunting as you think. With the right tips and tricks, your words can flow smoothly on paper and convey the heartfelt message you want to express.

You might be wondering, where do I start? First things first , don’t rush into writing. It’s important that you take some time to reflect on your relationship with your friend. What are some memorable experiences or shared interests that stand out? These thoughts form the core of your letter.

Let’s delve deeper into some key pre-writing steps:

Remember the Good Times: Take a trip down memory lane! Remembering past events will not only spark inspiration but also serve as content for your letter.
Identify Shared Interests: Highlight common interests or hobbies in your letter. This strengthens the bond between you two and makes the letter more relatable.
Jot Down Some Points: Before starting to write, jot down some points about what you’d like to say in order of importance; this helps in structuring your thoughts better.
Decide on Tone: Based on what kind of friend they are — serious, humorous, sentimental — choose a tone that best fits them.

Here is a table summarizing these steps:

Writing a friendship letter isn’t just about expressing gratitude or appreciation; it’s also about sharing life updates, memories, and hopes for the future with someone who’s been by your side through thick and thin.

Your goal should always be authenticity – let YOUR unique voice shine through while keeping their preferences in mind too! Now that we’ve covered these pre-writing tips, there should be nothing standing between you and penning an unforgettable friendship letter!

Crafting the Perfect Introduction to Your Friendship Letter

A well-crafted introduction can set the tone for your entire friendship letter. It’s an opportunity to express your sentiments right from the start, so you’ll want to make sure it’s done just right. Here, we’ll guide you through creating an introduction that captures both attention and hearts. Remember, it’s all about making a connection.

To begin with, personalize your greeting. You might think “Dear Friend” is sufficient but let us tell you – it isn’t! Instead, try using their name or even a special nickname that only you use for them. This personal touch will instantly make your friend feel valued and cherished.

Next up is setting the mood of your letter by striking a balance between expressing excitement and being genuine. You could say something like: “I’ve been meaning to write this letter for some time.” or “It feels great finally sitting down to pen these thoughts.” These statements reflect sincerity and anticipation without sounding too stiff or formal.

Incorporating shared experiences in your intro can also be a winning move. Reminisce about memories that both of you hold dear – whether it was that unforgettable road trip last summer or simply hanging out at each other’s homes during high school days.

Now here comes the most important part: stating why you’re writing this letter. Whether it’s just because they crossed your mind recently, or there’s something specific on your heart – make sure to state it clearly.

Personalize the greeting
Striking a balance between expressing excitement and being genuine
Incorporate shared experiences
Clearly state why you’re writing

These pointers are designed not as hard rules but as guidelines to help shape your own unique style while crafting the perfect introduction for your friendship letter.

Your friends deserve nothing less than heartfelt words straight from your heart – because after all, isn’t that what friendship letters are really all about?

Developing the Heart: The Main Body of Your Friendship Letter

Pouring your feelings into words isn’t always easy. But that’s exactly what you’ll need to do when crafting the main body of your friendship letter. Remember, it’s all about being open, genuine, and heartfelt.

Start by reflecting on your shared experiences. It’s these memories that form the backbone of your relationship and allow for emotional connection. You might mention a particular adventure you had together or an obstacle you both overcame. Reliving these moments not only paints a vivid picture but also reminds them of why they treasure your friendship.

Personal growth is another theme worth exploring in your letter. Maybe you’ve noticed how much they’ve developed as a person since you first met. Or perhaps their influence has shaped who you are today? Show appreciation for their positive impact on your life – it’ll mean more than you can imagine.

While expressing yourself honestly is important, mind to strike a balance between sentimentality and light-heartedness; after all, friendships aren’t just about deep conversations! Recalling humorous incidents or inside jokes will keep the tone lively and authentic.

Here’s a few more tips for creating an engaging main body:

Keep it conversational : Write as if they’re right there with you.
Show empathy : Acknowledge their struggles and victories equally.
Be specific : Instead of saying “You’re great”, say “I admire how patient you are with others”.

Remember, every word should radiate sincerity because in the heart of this letter lies the essence of one of life’s most beautiful bonds – friendship . So take your time with it; after all, isn’t nurturing relationships what truly matters?

The Art of Expressing Emotions in a Friendship Letter

Expressing emotions in a friendship letter is no small task. It’s an art that requires practice, sincerity, and the right choice of words. But don’t worry, you’re about to uncover some techniques that can help you craft heartfelt letters.

Your emotions are best conveyed when they’re genuine. So let’s start with honesty . Be open about what you feel and why. Maybe your friend made your day brighter with their sense of humor or helped you through a tough time; it could be anything! Just remember to keep it sincere.

Next step is personalization . Your friends aren’t generic, so your letters shouldn’t be either! Reflect on shared memories and moments unique to your relationship. By recalling these special events, not only do you remind them of good times but also demonstrate the value they hold in your life.

A crucial part of expressing emotions is showing gratitude. Saying ‘thank you’ might seem simple but it carries immense weightage when expressed sincerely.

Here’s how to make gratitude shine:

Mention specific instances where their actions impacted you positively.
Reinforce how their support or kindness has made a difference.
Highlight traits that make them unique and cherished.

Lastly, master the use of vivid language . Don’t shy away from using expressive adjectives or metaphors which can paint a clearer picture for your friend reading the letter.

Just remember this isn’t about crafting perfect prose; it’s all about conveying genuine feelings in an authentic manner. So take out that pen (or keyboard) and let those feelings flow onto paper!

Remember, while writing such letters may feel daunting initially, practice makes perfect! It won’t be long before you’re effortlessly pouring out heartfelt thoughts onto paper like a seasoned writer.

Adding Personal Touches to Your Friendship Letter

Adding personal touches to your friendship letter can truly set it apart. It’s these unique flairs that show your friend just how much you value their presence in your life. Let’s delve into some ways you can make your letters stand out.

Firstly, consider handwriting your letter. In our digital world, a handwritten note is a rare and precious gift. It shows you’ve taken time out of your busy schedule specifically for them. Don’t worry if you’re not confident in your handwriting – it’s the effort that counts, not the execution.

You could also add little mementos or tokens of shared memories. Maybe it’s a photo from that unforgettable trip last summer or even a ticket stub from the concert where you both sang at the top of your lungs! These tangible reminders will bring back fond memories and serve as keepsakes.

Incorporating inside jokes or references only the two of you understand is another way to personalize your friendship letter. This shared secret language will surely bring a smile to their face and remind them of those special moments spent together.

Here are some quick tips:

Use nicknames: If you have special names for each other, use them!
Write about shared experiences: Recounting past adventures reinforces bonds.
Express genuine feelings: Show them how much they mean to you by sharing what their friendship means to you.

A table can provide an overview:

Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to adding personal touches in a friendship letter. It all depends on YOUR relationship with YOUR friend. So trust yourself, tap into those treasured moments and pour them onto paper – after all, who knows better than YOU?

Polishing Your Draft: Editing and Proofreading Tips

When penning down a heartfelt friendship letter, it’s not just the content that counts. The presentation matters too. Here are some tips to help you polish your draft.

Firstly, revise for clarity. Make sure you’re communicating your feelings as clearly as possible. Sometimes, our emotions can get tangled up in complex sentences and convoluted metaphors. While these can be beautiful when done right, they often muddle up the message if they’re not clear enough.

Next on the list is grammar and spelling checks . Nothing distracts from a sincere message like glaring grammar mistakes or misspelled words. Utilize spell-check tools available online or proofread manually for best results.

You should also focus on your sentence structure . Avoid run-on sentences which can confuse the reader and disrupt the flow of thought. Aim for a mix of long and short sentences to add variety to your writing style.

Be mindful about the tone of your letter . It should reflect warmth, sincerity, love, or whatever emotion you intend to convey through this token of friendship.

Another important element is consistency – whether it’s sticking with American or British English throughout or maintaining consistent formatting conventions such as bullet points vs numbering; consistency makes reading smoother.

Here are few more quick tips:

Use active voice
Check punctuation
Keep paragraphs short
Be careful with homophones (they’re/their)

Remember — an effective friendship letter isn’t just about what you say but how you say it! You want your friend to feel loved and appreciated when they read this letter – so give it all the care it deserves while editing and proofreading.

How to Address and Sign Off a Friendship Letter Properly

So, you’re drafting a friendship letter? Great! Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Addressing and signing off your letter just right can add that extra touch of authenticity. Don’t worry, we’ll guide you through this.

First off, addressing your friend in the letter is crucial. Make it personal and heartfelt. You could start with something like “Dear [Friend’s Name]” or even a nickname if you share one. It’s all about showing your close bond.

Now for the body of your letter. This isn’t a corporate email; it’s okay to be informal and genuine here! Feel free to use contractions (like “you’re” instead of “you are”) because let’s face it, that’s how friends talk!

Remember, you’re writing this letter for them – so make sure every word counts:

Share memories.
Express gratitude.
Wish them well.
Tell them why they’re important to you.

Last but not least: signing off the letter. Again, keep it friendly and warm – something along the lines of “Best,” or “Yours,” or maybe even an inside joke between the two of you! Just remember: sincerity always wins.

In conclusion? A friendship letter is more than words on paper—it’s emotion captured in ink. So go ahead—pour out your heart onto those pages!

“Sealing” with Positivity: Final Thoughts in Your Friendship Letter

We’ve all heard the saying, “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” That couldn’t be truer when it comes to writing your friendship letter. As you approach the end of your letter, seal it with positivity . This is your chance to leave a lasting impression that represents the spirit of your bond.

By now, you’ve poured out your thoughts and feelings onto paper. You’ve shared memories, acknowledged their qualities and expressed appreciation for their companionship. Now’s the time to wrap everything together with a positive note.

Think about what you want them to take away from reading this letter. Is there a specific feeling or thought that sums up everything? A simple sentiment like “ You’re an incredible friend ,” or “ I’m grateful for our friendship ” can work wonders.

In addition, don’t forget to express hope for continued connection in the future. Phrases such as “ looking forward to many more years of laughter,” or “ can’t wait to create more memories together,” keep things upbeat and forward-looking.

Here are some final reminders:

Keep it real : Authenticity goes a long way in expressing genuine feelings.
Stay positive : Even if there have been challenges in the relationship, focus on the good times.
Express gratitude : Let them know just how much they mean to you by thanking them for their friendship.

Writing letters may seem old-fashioned but they’re one of the most personal ways we can communicate our feelings. So put pen to paper and let your friend know exactly what they mean to you – wrap it up positively and give them something special they can hold onto forever.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Friendship Letter

You’re here because you want your friendship letter to portray your feelings accurately, right? Let’s dive into the common mistakes that can hinder this process, making sure you sidestep them.

Firstly, avoid being overly formal . Remember, it’s a friendly letter and not a business proposal. Your friend knows you well; there’s no need for pretentious language or fancy words. Be yourself and use conversational tone.

Secondly, steer clear of the trap of being too vague or generic in your sentiments. Express specific reasons why you value their friendship. Instead of saying “You’re a great friend,” say something like “I appreciate how much patience you’ve shown with me when I’m struggling.”

Thirdly, beware of the pitfall of neglecting personal details about shared experiences or inside jokes that only you two would understand. These small touches can bring a smile to your friend’s face and make your letter more meaningful.

Another mistake is overlooking emotional honesty . You might worry about sounding too sentimental or vulnerable but showing genuine feelings strengthens bonds between friends.

Lastly, don’t be tempted to rush through writing the letter just to get it done quickly – take time to craft it thoughtfully.

Common mistakes include:

Using overly formal language
Being too vague or generic
Neglecting personal details
Overlooking emotional honesty
Rushing through writing

Now that these pitfalls are on your radar screen, navigate around them as you pen down an authentic and heartfelt friendship letter!

‘Friendship Letters’ Across Cultures: A Comparative Look

When you’re looking to foster deeper connections, a friendship letter can be your best bet. It’s a tradition that transcends cultures, making it both universal and unique. Let’s take a comparative look at how different cultures approach the art of penning friendship letters.

In Japan , for instance, there’s a particular emphasis on harmony and respect. You’ll often find beautifully designed stationery reflecting the writer’s feelings towards their friend. The Japanese also have specific phrases they use in these letters, like “yoroshiku onegaishimasu,” which loosely translates to asking for kind treatment in the future.

Moving over to Russia , you’ll notice that friendship letters are usually lengthy and detailed. Russians value sincerity above all else, so they’re not shy about expressing their sentiments openly and honestly. They may share personal stories or discuss shared experiences to strengthen bonds.

On the other hand, American friendship letters tend to be more direct and concise. They often contain words of appreciation or encouragement rather than lengthy narratives or poetic language.

In India , writing friendship letters is seen as an intimate act of love and care. These letters often include philosophical musings about life, fate, and destiny intertwined with personal anecdotes.

To give you an idea of how these styles differ, here’s a comparative table:

Remember that while these are general trends observed across cultures, every individual has their style when writing such personal artifacts as friendship letters.

So whether you’re inspired by the harmony-centric Japanese approach or lean towards the direct American style – it’s important to make your letter authentic to your relationship with your friend!

In Conclusion: Wrapping Up ‘Friendship Letters’

Now that you’ve journeyed through the art of writing friendship letters, you’re well-equipped to express your sentiments in a heartfelt and meaningful way. Writing these letters is not just about putting words on paper; it’s an expression of love, gratitude, and bond that resonates far beyond what’s written.

The beauty of friendship letters comes from their authenticity. Your friend isn’t looking for perfection; they’re seeking genuine emotions and sincerity. Let go of any worries about sounding ‘right’. Instead, focus on conveying your feelings honestly.

Remember these key takeaways:

Keep it simple: Don’t overcomplicate things.
Be authentic: Speak from the heart.
Show gratitude: Thank your friend for being there.
Share memories: Recall shared experiences.

In keeping with these principles, your letter will resonate with depth and authenticity.

We’ve covered everything from understanding the importance of expressing your feelings to offering practical tips on crafting the perfect friendship letter. If you were unsure or hesitant before starting this guide, we hope you now feel more confident in expressing yourself through a friendship letter.

So go ahead! Pick up that pen or sit down at that keyboard. Start writing those feeling-filled lines that have been waiting to pour out onto paper. It’s time to strengthen those bonds with heartfelt words expressed through beautifully-crafted letters.

Your friends are waiting to hear from you!

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How to Write a Letter to a Friend (Step-by-Step Examples)

Whether typed or handwritten, letters often feel more personal than emails or texts. So, if you want to make a friend feel special, why not write to them? In this article, you’ll pick up some tips for writing meaningful letters to a friend.

How to write a letter to a friend

Common questions.

When you’re writing to a friend, you want your letter to be heartfelt, clear, and interesting enough to hold their attention. Here are some tips for writing a proper letter that your friend will be glad to receive.

1. Write your address and the date on the first page

Write your current address and the date on the top-right corner of the first page of your letter. If your friend keeps your letter and rereads it later, they won’t have to remember when you sent it or where you were writing from.

If you aren’t sure how to format a letter, you could refer to an online template to help you get the layout right. For example, here is a list of informal letter templates .

2. Begin with a casual greeting

If you’re writing to a friend, you probably want to go for an informal tone in your letter. Pick a greeting that fits your personality and the relationship you have with your friend.

Here are some sample greetings you could use at the beginning of your letter:

“To my best friend…”
“What’s up?”
“Dear [friend’s name]”
“Surprise! It’s me”

3. Acknowledge your friend

It’s polite to start your letter by acknowledging the person reading it. One or two sentences is enough. In general, it’s best to be brief and positive.

Here are some examples of ways to acknowledge your reader at the beginning of a letter:

“I hope everything is good with you.”
“I can’t believe it’s summer already! I bet it’s hot where you are.”
“I hope you’re having an awesome semester.”
“I hope you and your family are all doing well.”

4. Tell your friend why you are writing to them

To smooth the transition between your acknowledgment and the main body of your letter, give your friend some context by explaining why you are writing to them. One or two sentences is enough.

Here are some lines you use to explain why you are writing to your friend:

“I realized the other day that it’s been too long since we talked, so I thought I’d write to you.”
“I know you’ve been feeling down lately and thought a silly letter might put a smile on your face.”
“I’ve got something amazing to tell you!”
“Texting is great, but it gets a bit old sometimes, so I thought I’d write you a letter!”
“I wanted to express my sympathy for the death of your grandmother.”
“I’ve got something important that I need to share with you.”

5. Plan the main body of your letter

After greeting your friend and explaining why you are writing, you can start on the main body of the letter. It’s a good idea to make a rough plan first. It can help to make a bulleted list of everything you’d like to cover. If you stick to the list, you won’t miss anything out.

Most people begin with their most interesting or important news. For example, if you’ve just landed a new job, you might want to talk about that first.

However, you don’t have to follow this rule. Feel free to experiment with different structures. For example, you may want to share a funny but unimportant piece of news or gossip before talking about a significant thing that’s been happening in your life.

Use paragraph divisions to make your letter easy to read. In general, it’s best to start a new paragraph whenever you change the subject or want to make a new point.

6. Follow up on your last conversation or letter

Follow up on anything interesting your friend has told you recently, or reply to any questions they’ve asked you. This will make your letter more engaging and shows your friend that you pay attention to what they say.

Here are some examples of how you might follow up on a previous conversation or letter:

“The last time we spoke, you were thinking of getting a new job. Did you apply for anything yet?”
“In your letter, you asked me whether I’d ever think of starting my own business. I’ve thought about it, and…”
“I was thinking about that conversation we had about bucket list trips. So it’s kind of a crazy idea, but maybe when we’ve graduated, we could visit…”

7. Ask your friend questions

Show your friend that you are thinking about them by asking questions about whatever is going on in their life. You could ask about something specific or ask an open question that encourages them to share anything they’d like you to know about.

For example, if you recently learned that your friend got engaged, you could ask a specific question like, “I still can’t believe you got engaged! How’s the wedding planning going?” or “Have you picked out a venue yet?”

Or, if you want to ask your friend a more general question , you could ask, “What’s going on with you?” or “What’s been happening in your life recently?”

8. Ask your friend to pass on messages to others

If there’s someone in your friend’s life that you know and care about but aren’t especially close to, you could ask your friend to pass on a quick greeting or message on your behalf.

For example, you could ask your friend to send your regards to their mother, to say “hi” to their kids, or to wish their partner a happy birthday.

9. Share a memory

Referencing a shared memory adds a personal touch to the letter and encourages your friend to think of the happy times you’ve shared.

Here are some examples of how to share a memory in a letter:

“I had the most amazing sundae the other day. It reminded me of all those ice cream parties we had in college! Do you remember the time we set up an ice cream bar in the kitchen?”
“My neighbor just got a new dog. Do you remember that time a crazy dog just randomly came up to us in the park and started trying to chew your coat? Yeah, this new dog reminds me of him. Not good.”

10. Show appreciation for your friend

If your friendship means a lot to you, a letter can be a good way to express your appreciation.

Here are some examples showing how you show appreciation in a letter:

“By the way, I’ll always be grateful for your support when I split up with [your ex].”
“I don’t think I’ve told you this lately, but your friendship means a lot to me.”
“Even though we live far apart now, I still consider you to be one of my best friends.”

11. Use humor carefully

Even if you and your friend have a shared sense of humor , it’s important to remember that jokes, flippant comments, or sarcastic remarks don’t always come across the same way when they’re written down. Unless you’re sure that your friend will understand your meaning, avoid potentially offensive or controversial jokes.

12. Bring your letter to a close

When you’ve finished the main body of your letter, add a couple of sentences to wrap it up. You could tell them that you’ll be in touch, ask them to get in contact, remind them of an upcoming event or, if you’re writing to a friend you miss, let them know that you miss them.

Here are some ways you can bring a letter to a close:

“So, that’s all my news. Hope to see you soon.”
“I think that’s everything for the time being. Missing you! I’ll call you next week.”
“I’ll sign off for now. Let me know when you’re next in town. Perhaps we could grab a drink.”
“OK, I think you know everything that’s been going on with me now! See you soon at Jen’s birthday party!”

It’s good manners to end on a positive note, or at least to avoid signing off with a complaint.

For example, if you’ve been writing about a few problems you’ve been faced with over the past several months, you could end with, “It’s been a tough year, but I’m looking forward to seeing you soon!”

13. Sign off

Finish your letter with a warm or affectionate ending. Just like the greeting, it should fit your personality and the type of relationship you have with your friend.

Here are some ways you could sign off a letter to a friend:

“Hugs and kisses”
“With love”
“All my love”
“Affectionately”
“See you soon!”
“Your friend”
“Take care”
“Thinking of you”

Don’t forget to sign off with your name.

14. Add a “P.S.”

You don’t have to add a P.S. to the end of your letter, but it can add some extra humor and is a good place to include an in-joke. For example, you could write, “P.S. You still owe me that $1.72. I expect you to pay up the next time I see you!”

You can also use a P.S. to include a short piece of news or information you forgot to include in your letter. For example, “P.S. I finally signed up for that calligraphy course. So maybe the next letter I write will be in fancy handwriting!”

15. Proofread your letter before sending it

A couple of small mistakes aren’t a big deal, but if your letter contains a lot of errors, it could be difficult for your friend to read or understand it. Double-check your letter before mailing it off.

You don’t need to rewrite the whole page if you make a couple of minor mistakes. You can cross out the mistake, add an asterisk, then add another asterisk at the bottom of the page, followed by the correction.

16. Make your letter special

A few nice touches will make your letter more memorable. Here are some ways you can make your letter more special:

Use fancy notepaper or headed paper
Include a photo that will mean something to your friend, e.g., an old picture of you together
Decorate the letter or envelope with stickers or stamps
Use an unusual-colored ink
Include a small gift or trinket, such as a gourmet tea bag or pin badge
Add sketches or doodles to the letter

You might also get some inspiration from these thank you messages for friends .

How much should I write in a letter to a friend?

There is no hard and fast rule. If you have a lot to say, and you think your friend will enjoy reading it, it’s fine to write a long letter. But a short note can be very meaningful. For example, a few brief, sympathetic lines can be enough to comfort a grieving friend.

Viktor is a Counselor specialized in interpersonal communication and relationships. He manages SocialSelf’s scientific review board. Follow on Twitter or read more .

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thanks for the shared information

Hi Viktor: I ran across your site and read some helpful information on how to make friends. I have relocated from Malibu to Seattle since 2018. We had lost our condo in the California wildfires and then Covid hit. I am struggling to make new friends here and that is weird because I am a very happy social person. So I thought I would start here and say, “hello”. Sincerly, Elaine Baer

Okay I guesssss

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250+ The Ultimate Collection of Letters to My Best Friend

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Personal Letters to My Best Friend

Do you have a best friend? Someone who knows all your secrets, and who you can rely on no matter what? I do, and I owe her everything. Sometimes we don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like, but that doesn’t mean our friendship is any less strong. I love my best friend more than anything, and I am eternally grateful to have her in my life. Sometimes, it’s hard to find the words to say how much you care about someone. That’s why I decided to write letters to my best friend , to let her know how much she means to me and how grateful I am to have her in my life.

Sometimes it’s important to take a moment to let a bestie know just how important they are to us. So take a moment and write an emotional letter to your dearest friend, letting her know what she means to you.

Two teenager friends female eating ice cream

What Should I Write in a Letter to My Best Friend?

Do you need help finding the right words to say or write to your best friend ? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Let her know everything that is going on in your life. Tell her how your family are doing, how you are doing, and always ask how she is.

Be genuine, open and honest. Let her know how much you appreciate her friendship!

😀 Hey best friend. There are so many things to say to you, I don’t even know where to start! You are my greatest friend and the most magnificent person I know. Your beautiful soul shines through everything you do. I am so lucky to have you in my life, you are my greatest friend.

😀 I wanted to take a moment to express my deep gratitude for your friendship. Your presence in my life has been very meaningful to me. Your unwavering support, genuine kindness, and infectious enthusiasm have made my days infinitely better. I am continually inspired by your strength, resilience, and the way you approach life with such grace.

😀 Your friendship has been a sanctuary in both good times and bad. The laughter we’ve shared, the adventures we’ve embarked on, and the heartfelt conversations we’ve had are precious memories I hold close to my heart. You’ve been there through thick and thin, offering a listening ear and a caring heart. Your ability to understand me, even in moments of silence, has been a comfort beyond words.

😀 I cherish the countless moments of joy, the shared dreams, and the mutual understanding that define our friendship. You’ve taught me the true meaning of loyalty, compassion, and the importance of genuine connections. I appreciate the way you’ve enriched my life, and I am incredibly lucky to have you as my friend.

😀 Thank you for being my confidant, my adventure buddy, and my rock. I look forward to creating more beautiful memories together and facing whatever the future holds, knowing I have you by my side. You are my family.

How Do I Write a Heartfelt Letter to a Friend?

It can be hard to find the right words to say when you want to let your best friend know how much you appreciate them. But, with a little creativity, you can come up with something special that will make your friendship even stronger.

Here are some simple and easy ways to tell your friend just how much you care.

😀 Hi, there are so many things I want to say to you, but I hardly know where to start! First of all, thank you for being such a bubbly person in my life. You always know how to make me laugh, even on the dullest of days. You’ve also helped me become a better person, I’m more patient and forgiving because of you. Thanks for everything best friend.

😀 Thank you for being there for me during the difficult times. I can’t believe I am a single person with two young kids. Please know that I appreciate your friendship so much, I wish there were more people like you in the world!

😀 Your friendship is like a beacon of light, illuminating even the darkest days. I cherish the memories we’ve created, the conversations we’ve had, and the countless ways you’ve made me smile. Your support has been my strength, and your laughter, my joy.

😀 Thank you for being the wonderful person you are. Here’s to more shared moments, more adventures, and a lifetime of friendship. You’re truly special, and I’m lucky to call you my friend.

😀 In a world that often feels chaotic, your friendship is my sanctuary. It’s in the late-night talks, the spontaneous adventures, and the silent understanding we share. It’s in the way you make me feel valued, appreciated, and loved just for being me. You’ve seen me at my best and my worst, and yet, you’ve remained steadfast, a true friend through and through. I appreciate you every day, I just don’t tell you that.

😀 I am thankful for your unwavering support, your honesty, and your ability to always see the best in me, even when I struggle to see it myself. You’ve shared my triumphs and my failures, celebrating my victories as if they were your own and offering solace during my defeats. Your kindness knows no bounds, and your loyalty is a treasure beyond measure.

😀 Our friendship is a testament to the beautiful complexities of human connection. The laughter we’ve shared has echoed through the years, creating a melody of happiness that I carry in my heart. Your presence in my life has made it richer, more meaningful, and undeniably better.

Letter for a Best Friend

There’s nothing quite like having a good friend. Someone who you can share your life with and who will always be there for you. Whether it’s someone to laugh with, or cry with, friends are invaluable.

If you want to show your friend how much they mean to you, here are some ways that you can do just that!

😀 To my best friend, this is a short letter to let you know that I cherish our friendship more than you could possibly know. There is never a dull moment when you’re around. You are a safe space for me during tough times and toxic relationships. I hope you remain in my life forever!

😀 Dear bestie, you mean the world to me, thank you for being there in the bad times, and the worst times. Thank you for keeping things light and funny when the situation requires it. I love that you accept me for who I am!

😀 Life takes us in different directions sometimes. I know it’s been a while since we talked, so I wanted to reach out and say hi. I realize that people change and life gets busy. I hope you are doing well and taking advantage of your second chance . I wanted to remind you that I am here anytime you want to talk! Sending you all the love.

😀 Thank you for being my confidant, my partner-in-crime, and my source of endless joy. I am profoundly fortunate to have you in my life. Here’s to the countless memories we’ve made and the countless more we have yet to create.

😀 I am endlessly grateful for the countless times you’ve stood by my side, offering a listening ear or a shoulder to lean on. Your ability to see the best in me, even when I can’t, has been a source of endless inspiration. Your laughter is infectious, and in your company, every moment becomes a memory worth cherishing.

Two young diverse girls hugging one another

Letter to Your Best Friend

No matter how close we are to someone, it’s always nice to hear that they appreciate us. Whether your friend has gone out of their way for you, or just been a constant support, telling them that you appreciate them is sure to make their day.

Here are a few examples of what to way to your friend to let them know how much you care about them!

😀 Just thinking about you makes me smile. I can’t imagine going through this life without you by my side. I cherish every single day we spend together. You are like family to me!

😀 We’ve shared a lifetime of memories together, and I hope that our lives continue to be intertwined for many years to come. You’re like the sister I never had!

Dear bestie, I am writing to tell you that I have a surprise. I have a new job, I am in a much better place than I was and even hope to visit soon. I’m wondering how you are doing?

😀 There are moments in life when one realizes the true worth of a friend, and with you, those moments happen every day. I want you to know just how profoundly grateful I am for your friendship. You’ve seen me at my best and my worst, yet your unwavering belief in me never falters. Your ability to understand my thoughts even before I speak them has always amazed me, and your support has been my driving force in times of uncertainty. Thank you for being my friend.

😀 Our friendship is a story written in the ink of shared experiences and bound by the threads of mutual understanding. I cherish the late-night conversations, the inside jokes that only we understand, and the way you’ve always stood by me, even in my most challenging moments. Your friendship has given me strength when I felt weak, and hope when I felt lost.

One young girl in red/blue checkered shirt pusihing young girl in shopping trolley

A Letter to My Best Friend

😀 If you’re not sure what to write about in an emotional letter to your best friend, here are some tips for you.

😀 Start off your letter by reminiscing about a special memory that you and your friend share. This could be a funny moment, a deep conversation, or a significant event. Writing about the memories you have together will help reinforce the bond you share and show your friend that they hold a special place in your heart.

😀 Take the opportunity to express your gratitude towards your friend. Thank them for always being there for you, for listening to your rants and for their unwavering support . It’s easy to take our friends for granted, so writing a letter of appreciation is an excellent way to remind them of how much they mean to you.

😀 Update them on your life, share what has been happening in your life lately. Write about your current job, relationship, or hobbies. Let your friend know how you’re doing and what’s been on your mind. It’s important to keep each other updated, even if you don’t get to see each other as often as you’d like.

😀 I can’t even remember when we first became best friends. It feels like we’ve been connected forever. But I do know that I couldn’t imagine my life without you! You’re the sister I never had. We’ve shared so many memories together, both good and bad. We always seem to pick each other up when we’re feeling down. That’s why we have such a special friendship!

😀 My friend, I know we haven’t been talking for a while. Things have just been a a little crazy over here with the new baby. I really miss talking with you every day, I promise to call soon, but I wanted you to know how much I miss you and think of you.

😀 Hey friend, it’s been a while. I’m wondering where in the world are you now? It’s been six months since your family gave up everything to travel the world! Do you like it? Where have you been so far? i miss my friend, I miss not seeing you in person. But I hope you are having the biggest adventure of your life. See you soon (I hope).

😀 Thank you for always listening to me, even when I ramble on about nothing! Thank you for being there for me, no matter what.

Friendship Letters to Best Friends

There is something special about the relationship between best friends. You know each other inside and out; you finish each other’s sentences and share more than just your likes and dislikes. But sometimes, life gets in the way and we don’t always get to see or connect with our best friends as often as we’d like to. That’s where a good old-fashioned letter comes in.

In this blog post, I will be sharing some examples of what to write in a letter for a dear friend to help you stay connected and show your love and appreciation for them.

😀 I can’t believe it’s been a month since you moved. I miss you so much, I hate not being able to see you in person. I wanted to take a moment to write this emotional letter to you to let you know that you are like family to me. Thank you for being my sounding board, my shoulder to cry on, and my partner in crime. You can always count on me, and I know I can always count on you. I miss you.

😀 There are so many things I want to tell you. Things that have happened sinc we last saw each othr that I know you’ll be dying to hear about. I hope you know how much I miss you. I miss hearing your laugh, seeing your smile. I miss our long talks and shared secrets. It feels like a part of me is missing when we’re not together. I miss my best friend.

😀 You are my one person who has always been someone I can always count on. Thank you for being a constant source of support and encouragement. I cherish our friendship and am so thankful to have you in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart , for everything.

😀 We met in first grade and became best friends instantly. We were always together, whether we were at school or at home. We would olay together, do our homework together, and even fight together. There was nothing we wouldn’t do together! I miss you friend.

Two little caucasian girls sitting on dooorstep

Letters to Write to Your Best Friend

There’s something special about receiving a handwritten letter in the mail, especially from a best friend. In a time where the world is so reliant on instant messaging and social media, taking the time to write a letter to a dear friend can be incredibly meaningful. It’s a chance to reflect on the memories that you’ve shared, express your gratitude and offer words of encouragement.

So, next time you’re missing your best friend, take out a pen and paper, and get writing. How shocked would your best friend be to receive a handwritten letter from you thankging them for their friendship!

😀 Where do I even begin? Your friendship is like a cherished novel, filled with pages of laughter, chapters of shared dreams, and volumes of unwavering support . I want you to know how deeply I appreciate having you in my life. Your presence alone brightens even the gloomiest days. Your kindness is like a soothing balm to my soul, and your understanding is a beacon of comfort.

😀 Thank you for always being so understanding, even when I’m feeling irrational and emotional. Thank you for never judging me in the bad times, when I made some pretty questionable choices. You truly are a dear friend and I appreciate you so much!

😀 Hey friend, can you believe it’s been six months since we graduated from college? It feels like only yesterday we were cramming in the library for our finals. And now here we are, starting new careers and moving to a new city. It feels so surreal. It’s hard to believe that we’re no longer living in dorms, surviving on Ramen noodles every day. Sometimes life gets in the way, but I wanted you to know that I miss you lots!

😀 Dear best friend, I hope this letter finds you well. I’m missing you so much and I can’t wait to catch up in person very soon I n the meantime, I wanted to send you a little note with some thoughts that have been on my mind. You are my favorite person to hang out with, because we are so similar in so many ways. It feels like we just ‘get’ each other. And that’s why I want to keep our friendship continuing, by writing letters to one another!

2 best friends in blue jackets taking a selfie

Letter to a Good Friend

Let your dear friend know just how much they mean to you by sending them a sweet letter outlining why they are important to you! Tell your friend how much their friendship means to you and how grateful you are for the bond that you share. A heartfelt goodbye will leave your friend feeling cherished and looking forward to reconnecting with you again.

I promise you, the gesture will mean a lot to them!

😀 Hey best friend, I hope you’re doing well. I don’t know if you still write letters, but I wanted to reach out and tell you how much I love and miss you. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to hang out, and I really wish we could catch up soon. Until then, I’ll be thinking of you often and keeping you close in my thoughts.

😀 I wanted to write you a letter but I’m not sue what to say. I feel like I could talk to you for hours on the phone, but when it comes to putting my thoughts into words on paper, I get stuck. I think about all the things we’ve been through together, and how there’s nobody else I would want by my side. I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you. Thank you for always being there for me, no matter what. Thank you for understanding me better than anyone else in my life. Thank you for being my best friend, somebody who makes me laugh until my stomach hurts.

So what do you say to your best friends when you want to tell them how much you appreciate them?

Sometimes it’s hard to come up with the perfect thing to say, but feel free to use any of our ideas. An emotional letter from you is something they not only deserve, but something they will really appreciate. Send one today, you’ll be glad you did!

Letter to Best Friend

Best friends are priceless treasures that are hard to find and could never be replaced. Their unwavering presence and support have a way of making us feel better even in the stormiest of times. Given the value that our best friends bring to our lives, it is only fitting that we seek ways to reciprocate their kindness, and one of the best things we could do is by writing them beautiful letters.

In this blog post, we will uncover the power of words and delve into the art of letter writing by giving you tips and samples of captivating letters to help you express how much you love and appreciate your best friend.

When you have a best friend who is there for you and supports you when you need it, it’s a nice thought to write some best friend letters letting her or himknow how much you appreciate the friendship. Here are some sample friend letters you can use to send your dear friend.

Check out the emotional letter below and personalize it for your particular friend.

😀 I wanted to take a moment to express how truly grateful I am to have you in my life. Your presence brings a unique kind of joy and comfort that I cherish deeply. Your unwavering support during both the highs and lows of life has been a constant source of strength for me. I appreciate the way you listen without judgment, understand without words, and love without conditions. Your kindness knows no bounds, and your generosity, both in laughter and understanding, is a gift I treasure every day. Thank you for being the wonderful, caring person you are. I am profoundly lucky to call you my incredible friend, and I look forward to many more years of laughter, adventures, and shared moments.

😀 I find it hard to put into words how much your friendship means to me. Your unwavering support, your endless kindness, and your ability to light up even the darkest of days have made my life infinitely better. In you, I’ve found not just a friend but a confidant, a partner-in-crime, and a soul sister. Your presence brings a unique kind of joy into my life, and I am constantly inspired by your strength, your wisdom, and your beautiful spirit. You’ve taught me the true meaning of friendship – to be there in times of need, to celebrate in times of joy, and to stand by each other no matter what. Thank you for being my rock, my muse, and my dearest friend. I appreciate you more than words can express.

😀 You are one of a kind, you are always there for me when I need support and encouragement. I hope you stay my friend forever, because I don’t know what I would do without you, you are my best buddy and I hope I am the best friend for you. If I need to do better, please let me know, because you deserve the best!

😀 I want you to know how incredibly lucky I am to have you in my life. Your friendship has brought so much light, laughter, and love into my world. Your ability to see the beauty in every moment, your unwavering positivity, and your boundless generosity inspire me every day. I appreciate the way you lift me up when I’m down, how you celebrate my successes as if they were your own, and how you’ve stood by me through thick and thin. You are not just a friend; you are family, a kindred spirit, and a true blessing. I am profoundly grateful for your presence in my life. Thank you for being the incredible person you are.

😀 Your friendship has been a beacon of light, guiding me through some of my darkest days and amplifying the brightness on my brightest ones. Your kindness, your empathy, and your ability to make everyone around you feel valued and loved are just a few of the things that make you so incredibly special. I want you to know that I see and appreciate all the little things you do – the texts that brighten my mornings, the late-night conversations that soothe my soul, and the shared laughter that lifts my spirits. Your friendship has made me a better person, and I am endlessly thankful for that. I cherish our bond more than words can convey, and I am looking forward to a lifetime of more shared moments, deep conversations, and endless love. Thank you for being the wonderful friend that you are.

Two female best friends hanging at the beach

Letter to a Best Friend

Friends are one of the most beautiful relationships that we can have. True friends can be hard to come by, but they stand by our side through thick and thin. They are those people who we can always rely on, share our deepest secrets and desires with, and simply be ourselves. Whether in good times or bad, our best friend remains a constant source of support.

Why not take a moment to write some best friend letters to let your best buddy know how you truly feel about them. A good friend deserves a sweet letter from time to time.

😀 Happy birthday friend! As I take a moment to reflect on our friendship, my heart swells with gratitude. Your presence in my life is like a gentle breeze on a warm summer day – refreshing, comforting, and absolutely delightful. Your kindness, your understanding, and your ability to make me feel heard and valued are gifts I treasure beyond measure. I am continually inspired by your grace, your resilience, and your unwavering positivity. You have a remarkable ability to see the good in every situation and the beauty in every person, and it’s something I deeply admire. I am thankful for the countless memories we’ve shared, the inside jokes that make us laugh until our sides hurt, and the silent understanding that needs no words. Your friendship has brought so much joy and meaning into my life, and I can’t imagine my world without you in it. Thank you for being the incredible person you are. Here’s to many more years of friendship, laughter, and endless adventures together. I hope you have the best birthday party yet!

😀 You have been my bestie for almost my whole life and I wanted to take a moment to tell you how much I appreciate having you in my life. Your friendship is a treasure that I hold close to my heart. Your unwavering support, infectious laughter, and genuine kindness make every day brighter. I am truly lucky to have a friend like you by my side. Thank you for the countless moments of joy and the unwavering support. Here’s to many more years of shared adventures and laughter.

😀 I just wanted to express my gratitude for your friendship. Your presence in my life has brought so much joy and comfort. Your ability to understand, your kindness, and your endless optimism are qualities I deeply admire. Thank you for being the amazing person you are and for the countless times you’ve stood by me. Here’s to our friendship and the wonderful moments still to come. Cheers to my best friend forever. We have a friendship bond that will never break.

😀 My wonderful friend [Friend’s Name], I couldn’t let another day pass without expressing my heartfelt appreciation for you. Your friendship is a gift that keeps on giving. Your unwavering support, your sense of humor, and your beautiful soul have made my life immeasurably better. I cherish our moments together and the countless ways you’ve made me smile. Thank you for being an incredible friend. Here’s to more laughter, more adventures, and more cherished memories. Best wishes ___________.

😀 I often find myself counting my blessings, and you are always at the top of the list. Your friendship has been my greatest source of strength and joy. Your kindness, your unwavering support, and your ability to lift my spirits have made my life infinitely better. Thank you for being the wonderful person you are. I appreciate you more than words can express . Here’s to our friendship, the anchor of my life.

As we navigate through our daily lives, we often forget to tell our best friends how much we love and appreciate them. Writing a letter to your best friend is an opportunity to express your feelings in a tangible and personal way. It is a chance to acknowledge their positive impact on your life, thank them for being there for you, and remind them of the important role they play in your life.

When you take the time to write an emotional letter, you are also practicing gratitude, kindness, and empathy. It’s an act of kindness that can have a positive impact on your friend’s life. It’s a chance to show them that they matter and that their presence in your life is treasured.

Friends play such an important role in our lives, take some time to write some best friend letters, and let them know how much you appreciate them.

😀 Dear friend, I want you to know how incredibly thankful I am for your friendship. Your positivity, your wisdom, and your infectious laughter have made every moment spent together memorable. I appreciate your kindness, your genuine nature, and the countless times you’ve been there for me. Here’s to more shared smiles, more shared tears, and an everlasting friendship , best wishes _____

😀 You have the most bubbly magnetic personality, it is always such fun to be around you. Having you in my life makes EVERYTHING better. I am so glad they sat us together in 3rd grade, it has been a blast having my favorite partner in crime for the last two decades! Happy birthday bestie

😀 As I reflect on our friendship, I am filled with immense gratitude. Your friendship is like a guiding star in my life, always there to brighten my darkest days. Your unwavering support, your caring heart, and your beautiful soul have made my life richer and more meaningful. I can’t thank you enough for being the incredible friend that you are. Here’s to our friendship and the countless memories yet to be made. With sincere appreciation, your bestie.

😀 On this special day, first of all happy birthday, but I also want to take a moment to acknowledge how fortunate I am to have you in my life. Your friendship has brought me countless moments of happiness, laughter, and understanding. Your ability to make the ordinary extraordinary and the difficult bearable is a true gift . I am grateful for the times we’ve shared, the secrets we’ve kept, and the unspoken bond between us. Thank you for being my confidant, my partner-in-crime, and my source of endless support

😀 I can’t help but express my gratitude for your friendship. You have a unique way of making every day brighter and every moment memorable. Your kindness, your sense of humor, and your ability to lift me up when I’m down have made a world of difference in my life. I cherish the laughter we’ve shared, the tears we’ve wiped away, and the dreams we’ve dared to dream together. Thank you for being such an incredible friend. Here’s to the next few decades making more memories and having more fun!

😀 I find it hard to put into words just how much your friendship means to me. Your presence in my life has been a beacon of light, guiding me through both the sunny days and the stormy nights. Your empathy, your kindness, and your unwavering friendship have made my life immeasurably better. Thank you for being my rock, my confidant, and my partner-in-crime. Here’s to the laughter, the adventures, and the deep connection we share. You are the most fun loving friend and I am eternally grateful to have you in my life.

😀 I wanted to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for your friendship. Your presence in my life is a constant source of joy and inspiration. Your kindness, your strength, and your genuine nature have made my life richer in more ways than I can count. I appreciate the way you’ve stood by me through thick and thin, celebrating my triumphs and comforting me in my trials. Thank you for being the amazing friend you are. Here’s to our friendship and the beautiful journey we’re on together.

😀 To my loving friend, I am writing this with a heart full of gratitude for the wonderful friend you are. Your friendship has been my greatest blessing, bringing light, laughter, and endless love into my life. Your ability to understand, your generosity, and your unwavering support have made my life infinitely better. I cherish the memories we’ve made, the adventures we’ve embarked upon, and the countless moments of joy we’ve shared. Thank you for being my friend, my confidant, and my constant source of happiness. I would be lost without you!

2 girls having a sleep over with beauty masks on

Friendship Letter to Best Friend

Writing a letter to your best friend doesn’t have to be a daunting task. The most important thing is to be honest and heartfelt in your words. Here are some tips to help you get started:

😀 Start with a warm greeting – begin your letter with a warm and friendly greeting. This could be something as simple as “Dear (friend’s name),” or “Hey (friend’s name),”

😀 Express your love and gratitude – tell your friend how much you appreciate them, express how much you love and value your friendship

😀 Share memories and inside jokes – mention some fun memory you shared together and maybe recall an inside joke

😀 Acknowledge their strengths, qualities, and achievements – compliment your friend and highlight their positive traits and qualities, tell them how proud you are of their achievements

😀 Encourage and offer support – remind your friend that you will always be there for them, offer support as they embark on new adventures

😀 Dear (Friend’s name),

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been friends for over a decade now. I want you to know how grateful I am to have you in my life. You are one of the few people who know me better than myself.

I want to thank you for always being there for me, for the support and encouragement in my lowest moments, for the good laughter, and the many adventures we share. You have been an anchor in my life, and I deeply appreciate your constant presence.

Even though we don’t see each other as often as we used to, you remain dear to my heart, and I treasure the memories we have created together . I am looking forward to more adventures, more laughter, and more happy moments.

Thanks for being my rock.

(Your name)

😀 Hey (Friend’s name),

I hope you are doing great. I don’t say it often enough, but I value your friendship a lot. Not many people understand me the way you do, and I am grateful for your support and guidance through the good and bad times.

You know that I don’t usually open up to people, but with you, it’s different. I know that I can tell you anything, and you won’t judge me . I appreciate the time you have taken to listen to me and offer advice when I need it.

I am proud of all your achievements, especially how you have grown personally and professionally. You inspire me to dream big and work hard. I want you to know that I will always have your back, and I believe in you.

Thank you for being my confidant, my mentor, and the most loving friend.

Lots of love,

Writing a heartfelt letter to your best friend is one of the most thoughtful and sincere ways of expressing your appreciation and love for them. It’s a gesture that strengthens your bond and shows how much you value the friendship.

Whether you use the samples above as a guide or create your own, remember that the most important thing is to be sincere, genuine, and personal. Taking the time to write a letter is a wonderful way to celebrate and honor the most important people in our lives.

So why not take a moment to write a letter to your best friend today? It could mean the world to them!

😀 To my dear friend [Friend’s Name], I am taking a moment to express my heartfelt thanks for your friendship. Y our kindness, your wisdom, and your unwavering support have been my pillars of strength. I appreciate the way you’ve stood by me, offering your hand in times of need and sharing in my moments of joy. You have brought endless laughter, warmth, and love into my life, and I am incredibly grateful for that. Thank you for being the extraordinary friend that you are. Here’s to more shared moments, more shared dreams, and a lifetime of friendship. I am blessed to have you.

😀 Dear [Friend’s Name], as I celebrate our friendship, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Your friendship is like a treasure trove of joy, laughter, and unwavering support. Your ability to make me smile, to understand me without words, and to be there when I need you most are qualities I deeply cherish. I am thankful for the way you’ve stood by me, you are the best friend a girl could have!

😀 I hope this letter finds you in great spirits. I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know how grateful I am for your friendship. Life has its ups and downs, but having you by my side makes everything better. Your friendship is like a beacon of light, illuminating even the darkest days. I cherish the memories we’ve created, the conversations we’ve had, and the countless ways you’ve made me smile. Your support has been my strength, and your laughter, my joy. Thank you for being the wonderful person you are. Here’s to more shared moments, more adventures, and a lifetime of friendship. You’re truly special, and I’m lucky to call you my friend.

😀 Dear [Friend’s Name], I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how much I appreciate having you in my life. Your friendship means the world to me. The laughter we share, the secrets we keep, and the adventures we embark on together are some of the best moments of my life.

😀 In this chaotic world, your presence is a calming influence. Your kindness, understanding, and unwavering support have seen me through both good times and bad. I treasure our friendship and the bond we share.

😀 Thank you for being the amazing person you are. Here’s to many more years of friendship, laughter, and unforgettable moments together, I love you.

Emotional Letter to a Dear Friend

One of the best things about having a best friend is the connection that you share with each other. A bond that runs deep beyond any social circle, and a friendship that withstands the test of time.

Sometimes, you just want to express your gratitude towards your friend, tell them how much they mean to you, or simply say hello. While a call or texts might do the trick, a handwritten letter can do just the trick to exemplify and highlight how much you cherish and value your friendship.

Here are some sample letters that you can write to your best friend, to express your love and appreciation for them.

😀 Dear [best friend’s name],

Hey! I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirit. I just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for everything you have ever done for me. You have been my absolute rock, helping me navigate through some of the toughest moments of my life. From the countless hours we’ve spent on the phone, to the times you’ve sat with me in silence- your constant support has never gone unnoticed.

😀 There is no denying that I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you- I’m grateful for the love, patience and selflessness you show me every day. You have shown me what it means to be the epitome of a loyal friend. I love you, and I value your friendship, and most of all, I appreciate everything you do.

Hey! I’m sorry it’s been a while since we’ve caught up. I’ve been missing you a lot lately and reminiscing about all the fun times we’ve had together. The memories of our long drives, movie nights, and late night munchie runs have been on my mind quite frequently.

😀 It’s amazing how much has changed since our childhood, but the one thing that has always remained constant is our friendship. With every bit of reminiscing, I’m reminded of how blessed I am to have you as my best friend. Thank you for being a constant source of comfort, laughter, and love. You’re appreciated more than you’ll ever know.

😀 Thank you for being my sounding board, my partner in adventure, and my go-to person for everything. Your laughter is my favorite melody, and your presence is my favorite place. I appreciate the little things you do, the thoughtful gestures, and the way you make even the mundane moments magical.

😀 As I reflect on our journey together, I realize that true friendship is not just about sharing joys but also about standing together in the face of trials. I’m beyond fortunate to have you as my best friend, my confidant, and my soulmate in this rollercoaster of life. Here’s to the countless memories we’ve created and the infinite adventures that await us.

😀 I find myself in awe of the beautiful friendship we share. You are not just a friend; you are my sanctuary, my sounding board, and my greatest supporter. I often wonder how I got so lucky to have you by my side, enriching my life with your presence and kindness. Happy birthday beautiful friend.

😀 I am profoundly grateful for the countless memories we’ve made together – the shared secrets, the belly laughs, and the quiet moments of understanding. You’ve turned ordinary days into extraordinary adventures, and I treasure every single one of those moments. Your friendship has given me strength during my lowest lows and multiplied the joy during my highest highs.

😀 The world is undoubtedly a better place with you in it. Here’s to the beautiful journey we’ve had so far and to the many more incredible chapters yet to be written. I am so blessed to have you in my life and to be the other person at the end of the phone anytime I need you. Everyone needs a friend like you in their life!

😀 I am endlessly appreciative of the countless times you’ve offered a listening ear, the numerous adventures we’ve embarked upon, and the infinite moments of pure happiness you’ve gifted me. Your friendship has been a sanctuary, a place where I can be my truest self without judgment or pretense. Thank you for the priceless gift of your friendship, for being my confidant, my partner in mischief, and my beacon of light. I cherish every memory we’ve created and look forward to the countless more that await us. You are not just a friend; you are family, and I am profoundly blessed to have you in my life.

Best Friend Letter Ideas

It's not that diamonds are a girl's best friend, but it's your best friends who are your diamonds. Gina Barrecc Tweet

A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden. Unknown Tweet

In the cookie of life, friends are the chocolate chips. Unknown Tweet

Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. Eleanor Roosevelt Tweet

There are friends, there is family and then there are friends that become family. Unknown Tweet

Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there. TWG Tweet

Life was meant for good friends and great adventures Unknown Tweet

There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. Jane Austen Tweet

It's not what we have in life, but who we have in our life that matters. Unknown Tweet

True friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart. Unknown Tweet

Letters to Write to your Best Friend

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Essay on Friendship: Samples in 100, 200, 300 Words

Updated on
Sep 14, 2023

Friendship is a lovely connection that thrives on pure love and care, free from demands. It’s recognized through respect, support, open communication, shared joys, empathy, and unwavering presence. True friends cherish and express this bond in countless meaningful ways. Mentioned below are the essay on friendship that you can write in your school assignments to express gratitude towards them.

Table of Contents

1 Friendship Sample Essay in 100 Words
2 Friendship Sample Essay in 200 words
3 Friendship Sample Essay in 300 Words

Friendship Sample Essay in 100 Words

Everybody needs friends in their life because friends with friendship fill that gap of proper understanding that at some point even our family fails to meet. Whenever challenges come up in life, this friendship becomes a path to overcome those challenges and boosts us toward progress. In the dark and bleak world of reality, friendship fills vibrant and vivid colours of life, enthusiasm, and motivation. Every occasion becomes extra happy when celebrated with that special circle of friends. Every moment spent and lived with your friends, be it sad or happy, dull or motivating, shapes us into who we are. It also helps us see the good in life.

Friendship Sample Essay in 200 words

Friendship is something exceptional. Whenever life gets rough, one thing that we can always rely on is our friendship. We know that we have our friends to support us through the tough times in life. Not only that, friendship is such a deep-rooted emotion that even when we don’t share what we are feeling at the same moment, just by looking at our faces, our friends can figure out that something is bothering us. And they, just by having a thoughtful talk with us, have the strength to make all the bothering go away in a snap. Such is the power of friendship. It’s more than meets the eye. However, there are times when we have those life tests that make us reach our limits and test us through thick and thin.

Everything in life isn’t always smooth and happy, there are phases when even friends get into a fight with each other, but when they come out of that situation with their friendship still intact, then that bonding reaches new heights of strength.

If you have deep friendships with people, always be grateful to god for that, because not every bond of friendship lasts forever. Those people who have friends who last a lifetime are truly blessed because friendship truly is beautiful.

Friendship Sample Essay in 300 Words

In this vast world, there are innumerable people we meet every day, yet we still meet people who are there with us for a lifetime. The term for those people is “Friends” and the emotion that sustains them is “friendship”. The word friendship may have a particular number of alphabets, but the meaning it conveys cannot be measured in numbers. The word “friendship” is more than meets the eye. The depth it holds in terms of emotions, bonding, trust, understanding, support, communication, and much more is unparalleled. At every phase of our lives, we come across people and don’t even realize the bonds that get forged with time. These bonds are filled with the spirit and essence of trust, honesty, support, etc. hence becoming the pillars of friendship.

In every person’s life, friendship plays different roles but one thing that every person can agree on without a doubt is that friendship sustains you. Now, there are basically 2 types of friends, first ones are those who are good friends while the other ones are best friends. The best friends are the ones that we share a special bond of affection and love with. They make our lives much richer and easier

In true friendship, there is no place for judgment. True friends can share anything they are feeling without the fear of being judged by the other. To put it simply, we can say that true friendship gives us a reason to become even stronger in life.

Friendship makes us stronger in all aspects. No matter how much we fight our friends, we always come back to them. This is what teaches us the virtue of understanding and being patient. Without an iota of doubt, we can conclude that there is nothing out there that is nearly as beautiful, and as strong as friendship. Lucky are those who have this blessing in their life. Forever cherish it.

True friendship is one where there is mutual respect, good communication, honesty, and trust. When you know that no matter what, you can rely on your friend and that friend has got your back in every situation.

The full form of “FRIEND” is” Few Relations In Earth Never Die”.

The word “friendship” is more than meets the eye. The depth it holds in terms of emotions, bonding, trust, understanding, support, communication, and much more is unparalleled. At every phase of our lives, we come across people and don’t even realize the bonds that get forged with time. The power of friendship is such that it can turn a dull day in any person’s life into a really happy one. Every moment spent and lived with your friends, be it sad or happy, dull or motivating, shapes us into who we are. If you have deep friendships with people, always be grateful to god for that, because not every bond of friendship lasts forever. Those people who have friends who last a lifetime are truly blessed because friendship truly is beautiful.

Hence, we hope that this blog has assisted you in comprehending what an essay on friendship must include. If you are struggling with your career choices and need expert guidance, our Leverage Edu mentors are here to guide you at any point of your academic and professional journey thus ensuring that you take informed steps towards your dream career.

Deepansh Gautam

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How To Write a My Best Friend Essay

Definition: What Is a My Best Friend Essay?

Write about what you know is sage advice often given to fledgling writers. And what do many of our young students know more about than their trusty sidekick, who is a constant presence through thick and thin?

A My Best Friend Essay is precisely what it sounds like; an essay the student writes that is focused on their closest pal’s endearing attributes (and otherwise).

However, the My Best Friend Essay is more than just a chance for students to wax lyrical about their BFFs. It is an authentic opportunity for students to hone their composition skills and exercise their creative flair.

All this while talking about one of their best mate – not bad!

STRUCTURING a My Best Friend Essay

This is an essay. It says so right there in the title! Just how complex the structure of a student’s essay is will depend on essential factors such as age and ability. However, the 5-paragraph essay structure is a perfect framework for this type of composition.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the 5-paragraph essay is that it is easily modified to differentiate between lower or higher ability students by simply adjusting the number of paragraphs. The essay will still contain the same essential elements of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, regardless of how long it is.

The 5-paragraph (or hamburger) essay is a craft in itself and much too broad a topic to go into at length. Check out our complete guide here if you want more detail on this handy essay template.

Briefly though, in essence, the 5-paragraph essay comprises three parts:

The Introduction : The opening paragraph will orient the reader to the topic of the essay, in this case, by introducing the show’s star, the best friend .
The Body : In the traditional 5-paragraph essay, this makes up three of the five paragraphs. In this type of essay, the student will use these paragraphs to flesh out the main reasons they value their friend, or (at a more advanced level) they will tell a story about them that illustrates why they are the student’s best friend.
The Conclusion : In the conclusion, the student can sum up why their friend holds the hallowed title of ‘best’. Or, at a higher level, the student can use the final paragraph of their essay to look forward to the future of their relationship with their best friend.

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My Best Friend Essay Story

While we are teaching a short essay on my best friend’, it can also be approached from another angle, i.e., as a nonfiction story.

While the clearcut essay format may be eminently suitable for younger students, you may wish to revisit this genre with older students, this time emphasising storytelling.

In this creative nonfiction approach, students can merge the essay format with storytelling elements such as character, setting, central conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Constructing their best friend composition in this manner allows students to work on structuring a nonfiction text. Simultaneously, it offers them a chance to develop their creative flair.

My Best Friend in 10 Lines

Another approach particularly well-suited to younger students is the my best friend essay 10 lines format.

This helps younger students get writing by giving them a clear target to aim for, which makes planning easy.

However, you can still introduce the three elements of the 5-paragraph essay here. As students list the points they want to make in their 10 lines, they can be encouraged to group these into introduction, body, and conclusion sections.

For example, a plan might look like this:

A ‘My Best Friend in 10 Lines’ Plan

Introduction

Line 1: My friend’s name.

Line 2: What she looks like.

Line 3: Where she is from/her family.

Line 4: What friendship means to me.

Line 5: How we met.

Line 6: The kindest thing she has ever done.

Line 7: The funniest thing she has ever done.

Line 8: My absolute favorite thing about her.

Line 9: Restate why she is my best friend.

Line 10: How I see our future together.

To complete their 10-line ode to their friend, the student simply builds proper sentences around each of these (or similar) ideas.

More on Planning a My Best Friend Composition

As we can see in the sample plan above, the planning process is relatively straightforward when the 5-paragraph essay structure serves as a framework. However, we may want to take things up a notch for students of a higher ability.

A good, old-fashioned brainstorming session is an excellent starting point for the student. They can list their favorite memories and their friend’s best features.

While younger students may inevitably write something of a hagiography (a biography of a saint!), older students may want to present a more realistic portrait of their ever-present amigo.

Likewise, if the student is undertaking their composition in a narrative nonfiction form, they’ll need to map out the narrative arc of their story at the planning stage.

As with any story, the conflict will serve as the engine of the narrative. However, this conflict does not have to take the form of a problem between the writer and the best friend. After all, this text is more likely to be something of a love letter than a letter of complaint. Instead, the conflict is more likely to take the form of a problem or a challenge faced by the writer and their pal together.

Whether or not the student’s text will take a full-blown story form, true-to-life anecdotes will bring life to the student’s writing. The planning process is the perfect time to dump these onto paper, even if they don’t all make it into the final draft.

How to Start a MY Best Friend Essay

As with most text types, fiction or nonfiction, the writer will want to grab the reader’s attention from the outset. An effective way of doing this is by using a hook.

How to Hook The Reader

The student writer has many methods available to grasp the reader’s attention. While some of these will only be suitable for more advanced students, most can be adapted with a bit of effort for our younger writers.

Start in the Middle of the Action

Technically known as, In Medias Res , this technique involves opening the story in the middle of a moment of dramatic tension with the exposition filled in later. This type of wizardry is probably best reserved for the more skilled student writer.

Make a Bold Promise at the Outset

The promise of a big payoff can undoubtedly catch a reader’s eye and draw them in, but the student-writer must follow through later in the text. For less experienced students, you may want to offer a writing prompt to help out here. For example,

My best friend Jack is truly one of a kind, but just how special he is wasn’t clear to me until the day a fire broke out in our school.

Students can quickly adapt such prompts by changing the event mentioned to their own circumstances.

Create a Sense of Intimacy

Another way to grasp the reader’s interest is to create a sense of intimacy right from the start. This can be achieved by addressing the reader directly in a conversational tone. Students should use informal language and approach writing their text as if they were speaking to a close friend – this is perfect for this writing style.

Open with an Anecdote

Another way to create interest (and a sense of intimacy) is to open up with an interesting anecdote about the friend. Students can select an interesting or humorous story to use as a carrot to entice the reader in. The student could substitute an exciting or amusing fact in shorter pieces for a full-blown anecdote.

Begin with a Quotation

Quotes are a great way to garner attention. There are many online repositories of inspirational quotes on every topic under the sun where students can find a golden nugget of friendship-based wisdom to open their masterpieces. They must simply type in keywords such as ‘famous’, ‘quotes’, and ‘friendship’ to uncover a smorgasbord of well-articulated wisdom for students to choose from. However, students should ensure the sentiment expressed in their selected quote ties into the type of friendship described in their work.

Working the Body

As we stated earlier in this article, the 5-paragraph essay structure, or the narrative writing arc, lays out a suitable template for the student-writer to work their way through the body of their text. However, it’s worth pointing out five areas where a little attention can significantly impact.

Get Specific

The devil’s in the details. The more specific the student is in their writing, the more effectively they will communicate with the reader.

Encourage students to be as precise as possible in their descriptions. A thesaurus is an excellent tool to help students find just the right word for the job.

Vary Sentence Length

Often, emergent writers rely on the same couple of simple sentence structures in their writing. This soon makes the writing monotonous for the reader; if they continue to read, it is only with effort that they will finish the student’s work.

Variety is not only the spice of life but also the spice of good writing. Encourage students to vary their sentence structures and alternate between long and short sentences to diversify the rhythm of their writing and evoke interest on the reader’s part.

Use Dialogue

Weaving dialogue into a my best friend essay text is a great way to bring colour and variety to a student’s writing. It also allows the student to practice punctuating dialogue – an essential skill!

Students will need to learn to listen carefully if they are to be able to write how people actually speak. Encouraging them to read their dialogue aloud is an effective way to check if it rings true.

Incorporate Literary Devices

Though this is undoubtedly a nonfiction text, it has firm roots in creative writing too. Students should incorporate some of the literary techniques and devices that we’d more commonly associate with poetry and fiction writing to add colour, creativity, and imagination to their writing.

For example, for younger students, physical descriptions of their BFF provide the perfect opportunity to introduce similes and hyperbole. Don’t be afraid to get comical here; writing should be fun, after all.

Does their friend have a big nose? How big? As big as an elephant’s trunk, perhaps?

Just make sure students avoid being too mean or poking fun at areas too sensitive for their friends.

It is easy to differentiate different abilities by challenging stronger students to use more complex literary devices in their work. Zoomorphism anyone?

Evoke the Five Senses

Emergent writers often display a bias towards only using the sense of sight in their descriptions. To bring their writing up a notch, encourage your students to employ all five senses in their writing.

By evoking the sense of hearing, smell, taste, and touch in their work, students will help their writing to come alive in the reader’s imagination.

WRAPPING THINGS Up

In a regular 5-paragraph essay, the concluding paragraph is usually the time to summarize the main arguments and drive home the thesis statement one more time. Obviously, things are a little bit different in a “my best friend essay.”

Of course, students can take the opportunity to revisit and restate the main reasons why their best friend holds the best-friend-championship belt. Still, there is a more artistic way to use their composition’s final paragraph.

Ask students to think about their friendship and where they see it in five, ten, twenty, or even forty years.

Undoubtedly, for younger students, in particular, this may be a bit of a challenge, but it can be a fun thought experiment too. Students can pose themselves questions to help, such as:

Will we be neighbours?
Will we work together?
Will our children go to school together? Etc.

Taking a tentative step into the possibilities of the future can make for an impactful ending.

MY BEST FRIEND ESSAY EXAMPLE

My Best Friend Essay | Slide2 | How To Write a My Best Friend Essay | literacyideas.com

So that should get you well on your way to creating an excellent my best friend essay that will not only get you some great grades but also score you some brownie points.

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29+ Letter Writing in English for Friend – How to Start, Templates

Letter Writing
March 28, 2024
Friendship Letters , Friendly Letters

Letter Writing in English for Friend – Letter writing in English for a friend is a way to express feelings, emotions, and share personal experiences. It helps to maintain and strengthen a friendship by staying connected even when physical distance separates friends. Writing friendship letters to friends not only helps to maintain and nurture relationships but also helps to improve writing skills, grammar, and vocabulary. Letter Writing In English For Friend is a timeless way of communication that has been used for centuries and is still relevant and cherished by many.

Also Check:

Write a Letter to your Friend About Your School Trip
Write a Letter to Your Friend for Covid-19 Precautions

Letter Writing in English for Friend – How to Start

Content in this article

Here are some tips for Letter Writing In English For Friend:

Be Genuine: Write from the heart and be genuine in your expression. Your friend will appreciate your honesty and sincerity.
Use a Casual Tone: Since this is a Letter Writing In English For Friend, you can use a relaxed and conversational tone. Imagine you’re chatting with your friend in person.
Start with a Warm Greeting: Begin the Letter Writing In English For Friend with a friendly salutation, such as “Dear [Friend’s Name],” “Hey [Friend’s Name],” or “Hi [Friend’s Name],”
Share Updates: Letter Writing In English For Friend Update your friend about what’s been happening in your life since you last spoke. Share interesting anecdotes, experiences, or any significant events.
Ask about Their Life: Letter Writing In English For Friend Show genuine interest in your friend’s life by asking how they’ve been and what they’ve been up to lately. Encourage them to share their own updates.
Include Personal Touches: Add personal touches like inside jokes, shared memories, or references to things you both enjoy. This makes the Letter Writing In English For Friend more meaningful and reinforces your bond.
Express Emotions: Don’t hesitate to express your feelings. Whether it’s gratitude, joy, sympathy, or concern, let your friend know how you feel.
End on a Positive Note: Conclude the Letter Writing In English For Friend with a warm closing, such as “Take care,” “Best wishes,” or “Looking forward to hearing from you.” Reiterate your friendship and express your desire to stay in touch.
Proofread: Before sending the Letter Writing In English For Friend, take a moment to proofread it for any errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation. A well-written letter reflects positively on your communication skills.
Consider Handwritten Letters: If possible, consider sending a handwritten letter instead of an email or text message. Handwritten letters add a personal touch and show that you’ve taken the time to craft something special for your friend.

By following these tips, you can write a heartfelt and meaningful Letter Writing In English For Friend that strengthens your bond and keeps your friendship alive.

Letter Writing in English for Friend – sample format

Below is a sample format for writing a letter to a friend in English:

[Your Name] [Your Address] [City, State, Zip Code] [Your Email Address] [Your Phone Number] [Date]

[Friend’s Name] [Friend’s Address] [City, State, Zip Code]

Dear [Friend’s Name],

I hope this letter finds you in the best of health and spirits. It’s been a while since we last caught up, and I’ve been meaning to reach out to you for some time now. How have you been? I trust life has been treating you well.

I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of the recent events in my life. [Share a brief update on what’s been happening in your life, such as work, hobbies, family, etc.]. It’s been quite eventful, and I’ve been keeping busy with [mention specific activities or projects].

I’ve also been reminiscing about the fun times we’ve had together. Remember [mention a memorable experience or outing]? Those were truly unforgettable moments that I cherish dearly. I miss our conversations and laughter, and I hope we can create more memories together soon.

Speaking of which, it would be wonderful to plan a get-together sometime soon. How about we meet up for coffee or lunch next weekend? I would love to catch up in person and hear all about what’s been happening in your life.

Please let me know your availability, and we can coordinate our schedules accordingly. In the meantime, know that you’re always in my thoughts, and I’m here for you whenever you need a friend to talk to.

Take care, [Friend’s Name], and looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards,

[Your Name]

Feel free to customize the sample format of Letter Writing In English For Friend according to your own experiences and relationship with your friend.

Letter Writing in English for Friend – Sample Format

Letter Writing in English for Friend – Example

Below is an example of a Letter Writing In English For Friend:

123 Main Street Anytown, USA March 25, 2024

Dear Sarah,

I hope this letter finds you well and thriving. It feels like ages since we last caught up, and I’ve been missing our chats more than ever lately. How have you been? I trust life has been treating you kindly and showering you with blessings.

I wanted to take a moment to update you on what’s been happening in my corner of the world. Life has been keeping me on my toes with work and other commitments, but amidst the chaos, there have been some bright spots. I recently started a new project at work that’s been both exciting and challenging. It’s been keeping me busy, but I’m learning a lot and feeling fulfilled by the work I’m doing.

On the personal front, I’ve been trying to make more time for my hobbies and passions. I’ve taken up painting again, and it’s been such a therapeutic outlet for me. There’s something incredibly soothing about putting brush to canvas and letting the colors flow freely. I wish you could see some of the pieces I’ve been working on lately – I think you’d appreciate the vibrant hues and abstract shapes.

Speaking of which, I’ve been reminiscing about our art class days back in college. Remember how we used to spend hours in the studio, covered in paint and lost in our creative worlds? Those were some of the best times, and I treasure those memories dearly. It’s amazing how art has a way of bringing people together and forging bonds that last a lifetime.

I’ve been thinking it’s high time we plan a reunion of sorts. How about we gather a few of our old classmates and spend a weekend catching up and reliving our college adventures? I can already imagine the laughter and nostalgia that will fill the air. Let me know what you think, and we can start making plans.

In the meantime, know that you’re always in my thoughts, dear friend. I’m here for you, no matter what, and I can’t wait until we can share more moments together – whether it’s over a cup of coffee or a canvas filled with color.

Take care of yourself, Sarah, and remember that you’re loved and cherished beyond measure.

With warmest regards,

Feel free to modify the example of Letter Writing In English For Friend to suit your own personal style and relationship with your friend.

Reconnecting with childhood friend letter

Here’s a letter to reconnect with a childhood friend:

[Childhood Friend’s Name] [Childhood Friend’s Address] [City, State, Zip Code]

Dear [Childhood Friend’s Name],

I hope this letter finds you well and brings a smile to your face as you read it. It feels like a lifetime since we last caught up, and yet the memories we shared seem as vivid as ever.

As I was reminiscing about our childhood adventures, I couldn’t help but feel a tug at my heartstrings to reach out and reconnect with you. The days we spent exploring the neighborhood, building forts, and dreaming up fantastical worlds together are some of my fondest memories.

Life has taken us on different paths since then, with its twists and turns, but I believe there’s something truly special about the bond we forged as children. It’s a bond that time and distance could never diminish.

I find myself wondering about the person you’ve become, the experiences you’ve had, and the dreams that have taken root in your heart. I would love nothing more than to catch up, reminisce about old times, and perhaps create some new memories together.

If you’re up for it, I propose we set aside some time to reconnect. Whether it’s over a cup of coffee, a stroll down memory lane, or simply sharing stories through letters, I’m eager to hear all about your journey since we last crossed paths.

Please know that you’ve always held a special place in my heart, and I cherish the memories of our friendship more than words can express. No matter where life takes us, I hope we can always find our way back to each other.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon, dear friend.

Warmest regards,

Feel free to personalize the letter with specific memories or anecdotes that resonate with your relationship with your childhood friend.

Reconnecting with Childhood Friend Letter

Keeping in touch with long-distance friends letter

Here’s a letter to keep in touch with a long-distance friend:

I hope this letter finds you well and thriving, despite the miles that separate us. As I sit down to write to you, I find myself filled with warmth and nostalgia, thinking back on the countless memories we’ve shared over the years.

Though the distance may be great, please know that you’re never far from my thoughts. Our friendship has always transcended geographical boundaries, and I am grateful for the technology that allows us to stay connected despite the miles between us.

I wanted to take this opportunity to catch up and share a bit about what’s been happening in my life lately. [Insert a brief update on your life, such as work, hobbies, family, etc.]. It’s been quite eventful, and I’ve been keeping busy with [mention specific activities or projects].

But enough about me – I’m eager to hear all about your adventures and experiences, too. How have you been? What new and exciting things have been happening in your corner of the world? I’m always fascinated by the stories you have to share and the insights you bring to every conversation.

In this fast-paced world we live in, it’s easy to let time slip away without reaching out to those we care about. But I want you to know that our friendship means the world to me, and I am committed to nurturing it, no matter the distance.

Perhaps we can schedule a video call soon to catch up properly and share some laughs. Or maybe we can start a tradition of writing letters to each other, filled with updates, anecdotes, and words of encouragement.

Whatever form our communication takes, please know that you hold a special place in my heart, and I treasure our friendship more than words can express.

Until we meet again, whether in person or through the magic of technology, please take care of yourself and know that I am always here for you, cheering you on every step of the way.

With love and friendship,

Feel free to customize the letter based on your own experiences and relationship with your long-distance friend.

Keeping in Touch with Long-Distance Friends Letter

Letter Writing in English for Friend – Template

Here’s a template for writing a letter to a friend:

I hope this letter finds you well and in good spirits. It’s been a while since we last caught up, and I’ve been thinking about you often. How have you been? I trust that life has been treating you kindly.

I wanted to take a moment to share some updates from my side. [Insert a brief update on your life, such as work, hobbies, family, etc.]. It’s been quite eventful, and I’ve been keeping busy with [mention specific activities or projects].

I’ve also been reminiscing about the fun times we’ve had together. Remember [mention a memorable experience or outing]? Those memories always bring a smile to my face, and I cherish them dearly.

I miss our conversations and laughter, and I’ve been thinking it’s about time we plan another get-together. How about we meet up for [suggest an activity or place, like coffee, lunch, a hike, etc.] sometime soon? I would love to catch up in person and hear all about what’s been happening in your life.

Feel free to personalize the template according to your own experiences and relationship with your friend.

Letter Writing in English for Friend about your school

Here is shows Letter Writing in English for Friend about your school:

I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. I am writing to tell you about my school. It’s been a while since we last caught up, and I thought you might like to hear about what’s been happening.

My school is pretty amazing. The teachers are friendly and supportive, and I have made some great friends here. We have a big library with plenty of books, and the classrooms are spacious and well-equipped. The best thing, though, is the sports facilities. We have a huge playground where we can play football, basketball, and other games. And there’s even a swimming pool!

Overall, I’m really enjoying my time at school. I miss you a lot and hope to hear from you soon.

Letter Writing in English for Friend about your School

Letter Writing in English for Friend about your hobbies

Here’s a Letter Writing in English for Friend About Your Hobbies:

Hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. I am writing to you to tell you about my hobbies which have been keeping me busy and entertained lately.

As you know, I have always been an avid reader, but recently I have developed a keen interest in photography. I got a new camera on my birthday and have been experimenting with different angles and shots. It’s been such a fun and fulfilling experience.

Apart from that, I have also joined a painting class. It’s amazing how relaxing and therapeutic painting can be. I am still learning, but I have already completed a few pieces that I am quite proud of.

So, that’s about me and my hobbies. What about you? Do you have any new interests or hobbies that you have picked up lately? Do write back and let me know.

Take care and keep in touch.

Letter Writing in English for Friend about your Hobbies

Letter Writing in English for Friend about your vacation

This is a Letter Writing in English for Friend About Your Vacation:

I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. I am writing this letter to share with you about my recent vacation. I went to [Destination Name] with my family and it was an amazing experience.

We visited many places like [Place Names] and had a great time exploring the local culture and cuisine. The beaches were breathtakingly beautiful and we spent most of our time there. We also indulged in some adventure activities like snorkeling and parasailing.

Overall, it was a fun-filled and relaxing vacation that helped me rejuvenate and forget all my worries. I wish you could have been there with me to share this wonderful experience.

Do write back and let me know how you have been doing.

Take care and stay in touch.

Yours truly,

Letter Writing in English for Friend about your Vacation

Letter Writing in English for Friend – Email format

Here’s an Email Format of Letter Writing In English For Friend:

Subject: You won’t believe what happened to me!

I hope this email finds you well and that you are still recovering from the shock of my last email. I know I promised to tell you what happened next, so here it is.

After I sent that email, I decided to try out that new sushi restaurant you told me about. As soon as I sat down, I realized I had made a terrible mistake. The waiter came over and asked what I wanted, but I couldn’t read the menu! I panicked and just pointed to something random.

When the food arrived, I took a bite and immediately regretted my decision. It was like eating a rubber tire covered in wasabi! I tried to swallow it, but it wouldn’t go down. I looked around and saw everyone else enjoying their meals. How could they eat this stuff?

In the end, I had to admit defeat and ask for a takeout container. I couldn’t even bring myself to throw it away, so it’s still in my fridge, taunting me.

Anyway, I hope this email made you laugh. I’ll see you soon, and we can go to a different restaurant.

Best regards,

Letter Writing in English for Friend – Email Format

Writing a letter to your best friend

Here’s a letter to your best friend:

[Best Friend’s Name] [Best Friend’s Address] [City, State, Zip Code]

Dear [Best Friend’s Name],

I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. As I sit down to write to you, I am flooded with memories of our adventures, laughter, and shared moments that have shaped our friendship over the years. You have been my rock, my confidant, and my source of endless joy, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Life has a way of keeping us on our toes, doesn’t it? Yet, no matter how chaotic things may get, I find solace in knowing that I can always count on your unwavering support and friendship. You have been there for me through the ups and downs, offering words of wisdom, a listening ear, and a shoulder to lean on when I needed it most.

I wanted to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude for your presence in my life. Your kindness, compassion, and boundless love have enriched my life in ways I could never have imagined. Whether we’re embarking on new adventures together or simply enjoying each other’s company in quiet moments of reflection, every moment spent with you is a treasure I hold dear to my heart.

As we continue to journey through life side by side, I am reminded of the countless reasons why you are not just my best friend, but my chosen family. Your laughter brings light to even the darkest of days, and your unwavering belief in me gives me the courage to chase my dreams fearlessly.

I cherish our friendship more than words can express, and I am committed to nurturing and celebrating it for years to come. So here’s to us, my dear friend – to the memories we’ve made, the adventures that lie ahead, and the unbreakable bond that holds us together, no matter where life takes us.

Thank you for being the incredible person that you are, and thank you for being my best friend. I love you more than you’ll ever know.

With all my love and gratitude,

Feel free to personalize the letter with specific memories, inside jokes, or heartfelt sentiments that reflect your unique relationship with your best friend.

Writing a Letter to your Best Friend

Congratulations Letter Writing in English for Friend

Below is a congratulations letter for a friend:

I hope this letter finds you in great spirits, as I have some exciting news to celebrate – your recent achievement! I couldn’t be more thrilled to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on this remarkable accomplishment.

From the moment you embarked on this journey, I knew that your dedication, perseverance, and unwavering determination would lead you to success. And now, seeing your hard work come to fruition fills me with immense pride and joy.

Your achievement not only reflects your talent and ability but also serves as an inspiration to all who have had the privilege of witnessing your journey. Your commitment to excellence and your willingness to push boundaries have undoubtedly set you apart, and I have no doubt that you will continue to accomplish great things in the future.

As you bask in the glory of this well-deserved success, please know that your friends and loved ones stand by you, cheering you on every step of the way. Your triumph is a testament to your incredible abilities, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to witness your growth and development firsthand.

May this achievement be just the beginning of a journey filled with even greater accomplishments and moments of triumph. I have every confidence that you will continue to reach new heights and make a lasting impact in all that you do.

Once again, congratulations, my dear friend! I raise a toast to you and your extraordinary success, and I look forward to celebrating many more milestones with you in the days and years to come.

With warmest regards and sincerest congratulations,

Feel free to personalize the letter with specific details about your friend’s achievement and your own sentiments of pride and admiration.

FAQS for Letter Writing in English for Friend – How to Start, Templates

How do i start a letter writing in english for friend.

Letter Writing in English for Friend Start with a warm greeting like “Dear [Friend’s Name]” or a casual “Hey [Friend’s Name],” followed by an expression of goodwill or an inquiry about their well-being.

What should I include in a Letter Writing in English for Friend?

Letter Writing in English for Friend Include updates on your life, ask about their life, share interesting anecdotes or memories, express gratitude or appreciation, and suggest plans for future meetups or activities.

Do you have any templates for Letter Writing in English for Friend?

Yes, there are many templates of Letter Writing in English for Friend available online for various types of letters to friends, including casual catch-up letters, congratulatory letters, sympathy letters, and more. You can find customizable templates to suit your needs.

How can I express my feelings and emotions in a Letter Writing in English for Friend?

Letter Writing in English for Friend Be genuine and honest in your writing, use descriptive language to convey emotions, share personal experiences or memories that evoke specific feelings, and don’t be afraid to express love, gratitude, or sympathy openly.

Are there any tips for maintaining regular communication with a Letter Writing in English for Friend through letters?

Letter Writing in English for Friend Set a schedule for writing and sending letters, make it a habit to prioritize communication with your friend, use technology like email or messaging apps for quicker correspondence, and be proactive in initiating conversations and planning meetups.

Writing letters to friends is a wonderful way to express your thoughts and feelings, keep in touch with loved ones, and strengthen your relationships. Whether you’re writing about your school, hobbies, vacation, or just want to write a funny letter, remember to keep your tone personal and conversational.

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Friendship and Friend’s Support Essay

Friendship is one of the most necessary and valuable things in life. After all, no person in the world can live a whole life alone. All people need communication, both for personal and spiritual growth. Without friendship, people begin to feel lonely and suffer from misunderstanding. Although there are many different people around, real friends are very hard to find and harder to keep.

Friendship is the ability to give mental warmth and provide support. It is the ability to find the right words for a friend, help in a difficult moment, and find a way out together. People around Gene understood it and expected it when his best friend needed support. It is illustrated by Dr. Stanpole’s words: “He needs that from you. He wanted especially to see you. You were the one person he asked for” (Knowles 64). Phineas himself expected support from his best friend: “He needed me. I was the least trustworthy person he had ever met. I knew that; he knew or should know that too” (Knowles, 108). However, it happens that the one you consider your friend fails and betrays in the most challenging moment. There is no desire to have anything in common, and there can be no question of further friendship after this.

Envy and suspicion have devastating consequences, even for the strongest friendship. Envy usually generates anger and resentment, unfounded claims, and objections. From all this, a wall of misunderstanding grows, and former friends are gradually separated from each other. Finney was capable of friendship, but the main character is not: “He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as the” (Knowles, 59). A wrong choice of a friend had fatal consequences for Phineas.

People have a lot of difficulties during their life path. Real friends should share both the best times and the worst. Moreover, it is necessary not only to have a friend but also to be one. Anything can happen, but a close and tested person around, can calm anybody and make feel better. No bad experiences, adversity, and other difficulties will break a person – because he or she will always have a reliable friend’s support.

Works Cited

Knowles, John. A Separate Peace. Simon and Schuster, 2014.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Friendship — A Thank You Letter To My Friend

A Thank You Letter to My Friend

Categories: Friendship Thank You

About this sample

Words: 667 |

Published: Jun 9, 2021

Words: 667 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Works Cited

Demir, M., & Weitekamp, L. A. (2007). I am so happy ‘cause today I found my friend: Friendship and personality as predictors of happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 8(2), 181-211.
Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389.
Fehr, B. (2010). Friendship processes. Psychology Press.
Hojjat, M., & Moyer, A. (2017). The Psychology of Friendship. Oxford University Press.
Nelson, S. K., Layous, K., Cole, S. W., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2016). Do unto others or treat yourself? The effects of prosocial and self-focused behavior on psychological flourishing. Emotion, 16(6), 850-861.

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Write An Emotional Thank You Letter To Your Amazing Friend With These 17 Heartfelt Examples

First of all, look at you being a wonderful person and researching how to write a quality thank you note to a best friend.

We applaud you and your kindness.

Second of all, we get it.

Sometimes, finding the perfect words to express your feelings can be downright excruciating — because writing emotional, authentic missives is hard!

So today, we’re breaking down how to pen a heartfelt thank you letter to a friend.

Then we’ll wrap things up with a few examples.

Why Should You Send a Thank You Letter to a Friend?

1. pick a delivery method, 2. brainstorm, 3. write the first draft, 4. step away for at least an hour, 5. make edits and final copy, 6. add personal touches and send, best friend thank you letter, letter of gratitude to a friend, appreciation letter to a friend, thank you letter to a friend for helping out, friendship thank you letter for a friend, thank you letter to a friend for always being there, final thoughts.

Friends are hard to come by. Truth be told, most of the people in our lives don’t qualify.

Sure, some folks have a stable of associates on call to pad party numbers (and soothe their popularity insecurities) — but genuine friendship is rare.

That may sound wrong in this age of social media, where having hundreds of followers is the norm.

But according to recent studies, very few folks have more than four close friends, and people who present themselves as popular count their acquaintances as friends.

Even more telling: 49% of people have only one or two close pals.

Why are we mentioning friend statistics? It highlights the importance of showering your ride-or-die confidants with love and affection.

Taking the time to express your appreciation will:

Boost your friend’s self-confidence, one of the foundational pillars of good mental health
Convey to your buddy they’re loved
Alleviate feelings of loneliness for your pal
Make you feel good for brightening someone else’s day

How To Write a Thank You Letter to a Friend

You understand the benefits of sending thank you letters to friends, but do you know how to write one?

Putting thoughts to paper (or screen) is deceptively tricky. When folks sit down to scribe, the words often get stuck in a linguistic jam somewhere between Intended Sentiment and Tip of the Tongue / Pen / Fingertips .

Does that sound like you? Fear not. Below, we’re breaking down the steps of writing a heartfelt note to a friend.

The job becomes much easier with a bit of planning and brainstorming.

Step one is picking the medium. Will you send a card, hand-written letter, email, or text?

If your friend has limitations that make one option more accessible, be mindful and pick the most convenient choice for them.

If not, consider going the hand-written route. It’s the sweet, sentimental option.

Before writing the actual letter, brainstorm about what you want to say.

Do a stream-of-consciousness exercise where you write down the thoughts that pop into your head when thinking of the friend in question.

Brainstorming often gives way to creative ideas and heartfelt emotions that will personalize the letter and make it more meaningful.

Now, it’s time to write the first draft. Type it, write it in a journal, or use scrap paper.

Give yourself permission to write terribly. The point of the first draft is to get thoughts out in a semi-logical format. You’ll massage the message while editing.

Once the first draft is done, set it aside for at least an hour. If you’re not in a rush, let it rest for an entire day.

The more space you put between the initial and edited versions, the more likely you will catch mistakes and come up with clever ways to express yourself.

Editing is the essence of writing. So take your time, and, if need be, play with your word choices a bit more till you love it. Once you have the exact letter you want , make the final copy.

The last step of writing an emotional letter to a dear friend is adding personal touches. Sign off by referencing an inside joke or include a meaningful picture.

If you want to tickle your friend's olfactory senses, and you're sending a card or hand-written note, douse it in a spritz of perfume.

17 Emotional Thank You Letters to a Friend With Examples

Your intentions are pure, but writing isn’t your forte. That’s fine! To help out, below, we’ve included over a dozen “thank you letters for a friend examples.”

Feel free to use them as is — but don’t be afraid to make personalization tweaks.

1. Thank You for Being You

I love you, [Name]. You’re a true-blue friend who always extends a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear. Where I’d be without you, only heaven knows. You’re a saint who endures my ramblings when problems descend, and you always cheer loudly for every little success that lands in my lap.

You’re an incredible person and a sensational pal. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your life. I couldn’t be more grateful for your love, care, effort, and affection.

2. My Bestie Forever

What would I do without you? You are my person – the one who really gets me and knows me better than I know myself. I am so grateful for your friendship. Every day, I think about how incredible it is that we met each other and that we can share so much.

You have been there for me through some of my darkest moments, and I want you to know that you can always count on me to be there for you.

On a lighter note, you make me laugh so hard that milk comes out of my nose (well, maybe Diet Coke). And that’s a true skill. I love you forever and always!

3. You Never Judge

So many people perpetually point their fingers at others — forever overlooking the ones pointing back at them.

You’re different — a rarity, a good person who understands that everyone goes through tough times. You don’t judge or condescend, and you’re helpful whenever possible.

That kindness supported me over the past year when life decided to shell me with lousy luck, monster challenges, and unexpected plot twists. You helped me realize I’m a better person for it because tough times make stronger, kinder, and more resilient people.

I’d have never made it through without you, and I cannot thank you enough.

4. You’re a Superhero

You’re the [queen/king] of going above and beyond! It’s your superpower, and I feel so blessed to be in your circle of trust.

When things got rough last week, you were right by my side with a pint of ice cream and the perfect quips to boost my mood.

I must have done something remarkable in a past life to deserve your friendship, and I know that all the goodness and kindness you show others means you’re bound to be the Queen of Sheba in your next life.

5. Thank You From the Bottom of My Heart

I wish there were something more I could do to express my eternal gratitude for [insert thing they helped you with]. No matter what happens — even if it’s my fault — you’re always there to pick me up, dust me off, and help me get back on track.

You’re an incredible person with otherworldly patience, which is only part of what makes you such a wonderful friend — that and your killer jokes.

Love you, lady!

6. You’re So Busy But Always Come Through

Can I ask: What superfood do you consume that allows you to be everywhere at once?

I wanted to thank you properly for stepping up for us the other day. You have the busiest schedule of anyone I know, yet you managed to come through in a giant way. You’re a true friend, and having you in our lives feels like a divine gift.

We want to shower you with praise and love in person. So how about dinner on Friday night? Our treat, of course.

7. Friend Appreciation Day

Did you know the first Sunday in August is Friend Appreciation Day? When I heard this, my first thought was: Hmmm, what will I do for [insert friend’s name]!?

You immediately crossed my mind because you’re the most caring, kind, unassuming, reliable, and thoughtful friend on the planet. I could have kept going, but I know how you feel about compliments. 🙂

Let me treat you to something special next Sunday. If anyone deserves a friendship shower, it’s you.

8. I Miss You

Hey, friend! Long time, little talk, and I miss you tremendously.

Not only could I use an afternoon laughing and basking in your unmatchable wit, but I definitely need one of those famous hugs you only dole out to your favorite people.

I can never go too long without a healthy dose of [insert friend’s name] because you’re magical, brilliant, and everything a person could ever ask for in a pal.

Essay on Friendship for Students and Children

500+ words essay on friendship.

Friendship is one of the greatest bonds anyone can ever wish for. Lucky are those who have friends they can trust. Friendship is a devoted relationship between two individuals. They both feel immense care and love for each other. Usually, a friendship is shared by two people who have similar interests and feelings.

You meet many along the way of life but only some stay with you forever. Those are your real friends who stay by your side through thick and thin. Friendship is the most beautiful gift you can present to anyone. It is one which stays with a person forever.

True Friendship

A person is acquainted with many persons in their life. However, the closest ones become our friends. You may have a large friend circle in school or college , but you know you can only count on one or two people with whom you share true friendship.

There are essentially two types of friends, one is good friends the other are true friends or best friends. They’re the ones with whom we have a special bond of love and affection. In other words, having a true friend makes our lives easier and full of happiness.

Most importantly, true friendship stands for a relationship free of any judgments. In a true friendship, a person can be themselves completely without the fear of being judged. It makes you feel loved and accepted. This kind of freedom is what every human strives to have in their lives.

In short, true friendship is what gives us reason to stay strong in life. Having a loving family and all is okay but you also need true friendship to be completely happy. Some people don’t even have families but they have friends who’re like their family only. Thus, we see having true friends means a lot to everyone.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Importance of Friendship

Friendship is important in life because it teaches us a great deal about life. We learn so many lessons from friendship which we won’t find anywhere else. You learn to love someone other than your family. You know how to be yourself in front of friends.

Friendship never leaves us in bad times. You learn how to understand people and trust others. Your real friends will always motivate you and cheer for you. They will take you on the right path and save you from any evil.

Similarly, friendship also teaches you a lot about loyalty. It helps us to become loyal and get loyalty in return. There is no greater feeling in the world than having a friend who is loyal to you.

Moreover, friendship makes us stronger. It tests us and helps us grow. For instance, we see how we fight with our friends yet come back together after setting aside our differences. This is what makes us strong and teaches us patience.

Therefore, there is no doubt that best friends help us in our difficulties and bad times of life. They always try to save us in our dangers as well as offer timely advice. True friends are like the best assets of our life because they share our sorrow, sooth our pain and make us feel happy.

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Dear Best Friend, Thank You For Making Everything Better

Dear best friend,

You’re such a great blessing and every day I thank God for your mere existence. You simply make everything brighter. I’m lucky to have you by my side. I just want you to know how much I appreciate you and how grateful I am for you.

Thank you for giving me your time. I believe a person’s most precious gift that can give to anyone is his/her time because you can never take it back. And you always give me that. I’m deeply thankful for it.

Thank you for making ordinary moments extraordinary. A simple day can become special because of you. A short stop at a coffee or tea shop will always bring out the best stories. You never fail to make me laugh. There’s never a dull moment with you.

Thank you for meeting me halfway. With our age gap, we surely have different interests and point of view. But you always exert extra effort for everything to become easier for me.

Thank you for always understanding. You never judged me. You accepted me. And your open mindedness and compassionate heart always comfort me.

Thank you for dealing with my immaturities and tantrums. I know you’re done with drama. But you never abandoned me. Even if I’m hard to deal with at times, you never left. Instead you still try to understand and love me behind my flaws.

Thank you for not making distance a big deal of our friendship. Thousand miles apart, and you’re still my good old friend. You never forget. You never change. And even we don’t see each other everyday, I’m confident you’re still my forever kind of friend.

Thank you for letting me know things first. And even though I’m not always present to celebrate with you the good times, know that I’m always happy and proud of you. And for the bad times, know that I always care and I’m here for you; praying for you.

Thank you for being my confidant. You never judged me for being vulnerable. And you’re the only person I’m not afraid to show how weak I am.

Thank you for sharing your family and friends with me. It means a lot to me. Knowing the people around you is like having an extended circle on an instant.

Thank you for trusting me. I’m not even sure if I deserve your trust. You trust me with a lot of things in your life. And I promise not to do anything stupid that will break your trust.

Thank you for inspiring me. You’re strong, independent, caring, selfless and you inspire me to become a better person. Just so you know, you’re one of the few people I truly look up to.

Thank you for sharing your faith with me. You’ve been through a lot and you’re still there standing strong. You showed me how great is our God and how he always listen to each one of us.

Thank you for being one of the best teachers. You taught me how to choose battles wisely. You showed me how to deal with life. You made me realized how important is each day.

Thank you for valuing me. You never took me for granted. And I appreciate it a lot.

Thank you for being you. You’re amazing. If only you knew how grateful I am to be your friend, you would know that this letter wouldn’t end. Because there’s surely a million reasons I would want to thank you for. And words are not enough.

Lady Vinia Feliciano

Keep up with Lady Vinia on Instagram and instagram.com

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My Best Friend Essay in English (100, 200, 300, 500 Words)

A best friend is a special and unforgettable person in our lives and will stay longer than other common friends. We share most of the things, conversations, and important talks and support them anytime in our lives.

In this topic, we are discussing the best friend and the memories that we all spent with our friends and best friends.

We have covered an essay pattern in various paragraphs of around 100 words, 200 words, 300 words, and 500 words, respectively, that helps many of the children or students of class 2 to 12th to understand the short and descriptive essay pattern of the best friend.

Table of Contents

My Best Friend Essay 100 Words

I always thank God that he sent Rahul into my life as my best friend, and I also wish that everyone has a friend like Rahul. Rahul and I met on the first day of school after the summer vacation when we were studying in the 5th standard.

I also remember an incident when our class teacher asked him about his previous school and the place from where he came. He is a good speaker, and he gave an interesting answer to everyone in his introduction in class.

He is good at studies and also a good athlete. He loves running and singing too, and his handwriting is also very neat and clean. I feel happy to become his friend, and he also loves my company, and we spend most of our time together.

My Best Friend Essay 200 Words

I have had a lot of friends since childhood, but Raghav is one of the kindest and most trustworthy friends for me. I must say that Rohan has been my best friend since childhood. He is a very good person and a true friend because he has a good manner that he never lies to anyone, and hates people who lie to him. He is a kind boy and also a sincere student. We both live in the same building, and our apartments are also in front of each other.

My parents also met my friend in the school at the parents-teachers meeting, and they also like Raghav and his sincerity. We both have been in the same class from the 3rd standard until now. We are in the 10th standard now, and we both help each other in the preparation for Board exams, which will be held in the month of March.

He always invites me to his house to play video games with him. Every Sunday, we both enjoy playing video games with popcorn and juice together. Sometimes, our school teachers also wonder about our true friendship and the strong bond between us. He has a set of badminton rackets and a shuttle, and we also play together in the evening near our building. We both love each other’s company.

My Best Friend Essay 300 Words

Everyone has at least a single friend who is more than just a friend to them. Getting a friend is common, but getting a true friend is very rare and a bit special. It is like a big achievement for people to get a trustworthy and lifelong best friend. I also had a best friend in my life too since childhood. His name is Ganaraj, and his mother is Telugu. We are neighbors too and also classmates. We always sit together in school and also spend most of the time together.

He is a very talented person and always supports me in my studies. We both like mathematics, and also we love to solve maths numerical problems. I like to play games, and we both always play games together and participate in the sports that are held in school. Our favorite sport is Cricket, and we both are good all-rounders on our school cricket team. Our class teacher always suggests and supports us to play cricket even better and also helps in education to achieve success in life.

He is very valuable to me, and I always value his friendship as I value my parents. He is like my family, as a brother from another mother. Whenever I need his help and support, my best friend is there for me to hold me. We both live in the precious moment and create memories that will stay with me forever. Our friendship is a kind of beautiful relationship, and I hope any kind will never break these mistakes. Every Sunday, we go together to a playground near our locality, and we spend most of our time there. My parents also like Ganaraj to be my friend. Everyone is happy with our friendship and has a strong bond that never goes down in any situation.

My Best Friend Essay 500 Words

My best friend’s name is Siddhart Jadhav. We have been friends since class 7th A in Alfred Nobel High School. We both studied in the same school in childhood but not in the same class as our sections are different. Later that time, all the students from all the sections are sorted according to the previous academics’ percentages and grades and separated into four different sections. Due to this separation, I met Siddhart in the 7th A, and we became friends at that time. Later, time goes by, and our friendship bond becomes stronger, and we become best friends with each other and spend most of our time together in school, tuition, and extra classes. We also sit on the same bench in the classroom.

Our likes and dislikes are also common, and we also love to dance and sing. In every annual gathering and other function that is held in our school, we both participate and give our best performances. We never wanted to win the competitions, our intention was to enjoy the gathering. Some of our school teachers don’t like our togetherness and friendship, but some of them loved and always blessed our strong bonded friendship to stay longer and longer. Siddharth and I always talked in the running classroom, and most of the time, our teacher also punished both of us by standing outside the classroom. We always tried to irritate the lecturer in the chemistry lectures by asking tons of doubts and questions. We eat tiffin boxes sitting on the last benches.

Apart from this naughtiness, Siddharth is very punctual, and he is never late for coming to school and attending classes. He always completes his homework at a given time and being with him, I also start studying very well and completing my homework on time. He keeps his books and copies very clean. His writing is very nice and encourages me to write cleanly and clearly for better understanding. My parents also compliment my friend that being with him, I also become responsible and a good student.

Siddharth and I are both excellent football players and athletes. When we both start playing the football game, the opponent team never wins. Our sports teacher always motivates us and tells us that we will become good football players one day. My parents also know Siddharth very much, and they like his pleasant behavior. Feel free when Siddharth and I stay together, whether for playing games, video games, study, or for going out to have fun with other classmates. Siddharth is my best friend, my first friend. He is the one who offers me help in my studies when I need it, supports me and always shows love to me, defends me, and stands by my side in any situation no matter what.

In academics, my best friend, Siddharth, is chosen to be awarded the best student of the year in the 10th class. He is one of the brilliant students of our school and also won many of the competitions that were held in school. He is like a well-wisher, and I always enjoyed his company. He, too, feels secure and relieved by spending time with me as well. He is like a problem-solving friend to me. I never wanted to lose him in my life.

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To My Long Distance Best Friend, You Will Always Be My Person

Dear Long Distance Best Friend ,

I know that as we grow, friendships become harder and harder to maintain. We get busy with work, life, traveling, and families of our own. As life gets more hectic, making a conscious decision to maintain a friendship is something that you have to choose. And I am so thankful that you choose to put in that effort every single day.

When I have a really good day or a really bad one, or maybe if I just want to talk, I know that I can always count on you to cheer me on, put a smile on my face, be a listening ear, or just be someone that I can lean on. You’re a text, a call, a FaceTime away – regardless of the physical distance between us.

I know that you’re busy. You know that I am busy. I know that there will be times when we go days or even weeks without talking, but I also know that it has nothing to do with us with the stability of our friendship, nor does it mean that it’s deteriorating. It means that we know that sometimes things will come up and we can’t always drop everything that we’re doing. When we talk again, I know that we’ll be able to pick up right where we left off.

I don’t think it’s possible for you to fully understand just how much our friendship means to me, and how much I appreciate you. I am at a loss for words, trying to formulate my gratitude into a series of words. And you of all people would know that I am never speechless.

In you, I have found a soulmate. When I imagine myself accomplishing things in the future, I imagine you right by my side . My partner in crime as I travel the world. My sidekick when we hit the town. The maid of honor at my wedding. The “auntie” to my children.

At any given moment, there are roughly 160 miles between us. I know that someday there may be more, and I know that someday there may be less. But what I want you to know is that no matter how much distance lies between us, I will never stop loving and supporting you just the same. Whether it’s 5 miles or 500, I will always be excited to see you. No matter the distance, I hope you know that you can always count on me, just like I can count on you.

It’s very rare to find a friend like you. Many people will live a whole lifetime without finding someone who comes even close, so I thank my lucky stars that the universe brought us together and that we both made the decision to do what we could to keep that friendship alive and well.

I want you to know how proud of you I am, for everything you’ve accomplished and for everything you’ve attempted to accomplish because you had the balls to do it. Keep being you and never be afraid to take chances.

I love you to the moon and back.

Your long-distance best friend

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159+ GREATEST Best Friend Paragraphs: Long and Beautiful

We often send out love letters and paragraphs to our lovers, but our best friend also deserves at least a couple of messages throughout the year. After all, your best friend is the person whom you know you can always count on when times are rough.

A simple best friend paragraph can surprise and make your close friend happy.

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” Elbert Hubbard

Let’s express your feelings and strengthen your friendships through heartfelt words.

Best Friend Paragraphs

Below are some best friend paragraphs you can send to your best friend to make them feel loved and appreciated:

You have touched my soul and made my life so valuable and joyful. With all the laughter and memories, you have added life to our friendship. I can hardly imagine a life without you, my precious one. Unfortunately, we don’t get to meet often, but I think of you during every high and low of my life. You are irreplaceable in my life, and I love you so much.

Today we celebrate you. You are a best friend like no other. You are more than my best friend; you are a sister. You understand me better than anyone else. You know me better than I know myself. I know that you will live a life filled with success and happiness. Having you in my life is such a blessing that I will treasure forever. I hope your birthday is as special as you are to me. Happy birthday, best friend! I love you.

Thank you for being an amazing friend who wants only the best for me. Your kind gestures will never go unnoticed. Even though I cannot repay you enough for all the great things that you have done for me, I can promise you that I will stand by you till the very end. I hope your day is filled with joy and happiness.

You aren’t just a friend, you are my morning sunshine. Every morning I think of you and every good times we have had over the years and I hope our friendship continues to go stronger. Have a great day!

Dear bestie, I am so grateful for our friendship and you. There has never been a moment that you have turned your back on me. You have never failed to be there for me. You don’t understand how much you mean to me. You have endured so much in your life, and yet, you still make time for me. I know that you have your problems to deal with, but you still make an effort to listen to me when I have problems. Just know that I will always be there for you, to listen to you, and to help you in all the ways I can. I know that I would not be who I am today without you. I love you with all my heart.

One of the biggest blessings in my life has been to find a best friend like you. Your friendship has been the biggest gift you could ever give me. Your compassion, kindness, simplicity, gracefulness, and beauty—I am in awe about all of them. You give me strength when I break down. You lift me and give me confidence. You have loved me at my lowest and cheered me on at my highest, I love you for that, thank you.

You’re a treasure that I would cherish in my life forever. I should thank you more often for bringing good luck into my life. You’re the apple of my eye, the silver lining on my clouds. I wish you the utmost happiness in this world. May our friendship last forever.

Knowing that you are always there for me is all the assurance I need. You are a friend worth keeping until the end of time, and I’m here for you, no matter what comes our way. You will be my best friend and the only one who will do anything to make me happy.

I have a life filled with phenomenal and unforgettable memories thanks to you. You are one lovely human being who never judges me, who always supports me despite all the crazy things I have on my mind. You are such a blessing in my life, and I hope we will remain the same crazy best friends forever. I have many friends, but only you have a special place in my heart. We met when we were little kids and grew up together. I am so happy to enjoy this wonderful adventure called life with you. You inspire me to be a better person and a better friend. I love you so much!

You’ve always been by my side since we were little kids. From youngsters with scraped knees to teenagers with broken hearts, we’ve always had each other’s backs. You’re the best friend anyone can ask for, and I just want to thank you for being with me through all this time. I love you best friend!

No matter where life takes us to, I will always be there for you, because true friends always stick together and never leave each other. No matter what obstacles life may throw at us, we will always overcome it all, because two is always better than one. And you plus me equals an unbeatable and unstoppable team. I cherish you so much, my dearest friend.

I wish to appreciate a girl with a heart of gold. You’re a bundle of awesomeness, and I am happy to have a friend like you. Thank you for standing by me during my darkest moments. All you’ve done is priceless, and I can’t be grateful enough for all the care and attention.

When recalling the goodness of the Lord in my life, I feel so blessed to have you as my friend. You are one contact I promise myself never to let go of in life. Even if time keeps us apart, my heart will never forget a friend who has done so much for me.

You are more than a friend. You’re my sister, my partner-in-crime, my other half. You know me better than I know myself. You know what I like, what I love, what I hate. You applaud my passions and tolerate my faults. You’re there for me, always. And it’s not always about what we say, or what we do – because you, by yourself, is enough. You, with your smile, your laugh, your friendship – it’s more than I deserve. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, and we’re stronger than ever. Because there’s no me without you. You’re part of me – part of me, my life, my family, my entire world.

A true friend is a treasure that is hard to find. But I so am glad I found you! I’m blessed to have you as my friend. Thank you for always being there when nobody else was. I love you so much that words can never express the actual depth of my feelings. You are a herald of good fortune for me. Since we met, my life has changed for the better. You are my best friend, and no matter what, I will never let you go.

Time to rise and shine! We have this wonderful day to show the rest of the world just what you are made of. I want you to know that you have been such a big part of my journey. I would’ve given up a long time ago if it weren’t for your constant badgering and nagging. Sometimes I think you and my mom should hang out more often because you would totally hit it off! You have so many things in common! Just kidding. You know I love you. I am very blessed to have a friend like you who just cares and loves me so much. See you in a bit!

Every moment is worth spending when it’s in the company of such a fantastic friend like you. You are one of the best things that have happened to me. Your tender loving and care cannot compare to any other. You have shown me, selfless love, and you’ve never judged me for my choices. You’re the best of your kind, and I’m lucky to have you as my friend. I pray for our friendship to go on and on, with an even better experience. I love you, my best friend.

Knowing that you are there for me at all times is all the assurance I need. You are a friend worth keeping until the end of time, and I’m here for you, no matter what comes our way. You will be my best friend and the only one who I will do anything to make happy.

With you by my side the world is a better place. The sun shines a little bit brighter, my smile grows a little bit wider, and in that moment, my problems are no more. You are the most beautiful person, inside and out. You are selfless, compassionate and wise beyond your years. I truly believe I hit friendship gold when you skipped into my life and filled my days with laughter, happy tears, and enchantment.

You’re my best friend, you’re my rock and I am so lucky to have you by my side. You are with me through the ups and downs and I love you for that. You are special to me in every way and there is no one else like you. You really do mean the world to me.

Your friendship to me is life. You make my life so amazing and beautiful. I have come to love you so much just as I know you love me. You are that friend who sits closer than family.

I got so attached to you because you never judged me even when you didn’t know me well. Thanks for believing in me. Thanks for nurturing this friendship with your precious time and efforts. You make me feel so secure and loved. I can proudly declare you my best friend before the rest of the world. I love you so much.

Having a best friend like you in my life is the best thing that ever happened to me and I will always and forever cherish every moment with you. You’re indeed the best amongst the rest and I’m blessed to call you mine forever. I love you dearly, my good friend.

Good morning, my beautiful friend! How are you this morning? I hope that waking up today is so much better than your most wonderful dreams. I hope that sharing your morning coffee with me is so much better than drinking it alone in your kitchen apartment. Get dressed because I will be coming by and picking you up so we can have a quick cup before heading for work. Obviously, I missed you very much. You know I miss you every day anyway. See you!

There is a saying that goes: you don’t get to pick who you are related to. But I know that you do get to choose who your family is, and you are my family. We are so much closer than sisters. You know everything about me, from my hopes and dreams to my fears and worries. You are my biggest cheerleader and supporter. I don’t know how my life would be if you weren’t in it, but I am certain it wouldn’t be as fun. You are and will always be my best friend for life.

Certain things happen in a certain way at a certain time and place for a certain reason. And sometimes, God brings certain people into our lives for a purpose, but whatever reasons He had in mind for making our path cross and bringing us together, I don’t really care, because I’m honored and grateful that He did. I love you always, my dearest friend.

Hello my sweetest friend, I want you to know that I’m blessed to have a great friend like you. Your friendship is invaluable to place a price tag on, and it’s more precious than the finest gold and silver in the entire universe. You’ve touched my heart in so many ways that I could never have thought of your care and love and I will always treasure our friendship with every breath in me. I love you, my beautiful friend.

They say you don’t get to pick who you’re related to. That’s true. But you do get to pick who your family is. Your real family. And you’ll always be my family. We’re closer than sisters could be, thicker than any thieves. You know all my secrets, all my wild ambitions. You support every one of my craziest fantasies. What would I do without you? I guess I’d have to watch Rent and Titanic on my own, on the couch, with a pint of ice cream and no one to cry with. I’d have to learn to take care of myself. I’d have to dole out my own advice. I’d have to scheme and dream – all on my own.

Romantic relationships are based on expectations and responsibilities. Professional relationships are based on gains and losses. But friendship is based on smiles and laughter. Good morning my friend.

We’re best friends because we can go for long stretches of time without talking and it won’t damage the relationship. We always pick up where we left off. Surfaces changes mean nothing to us. You could become a vegan who goes by Moonshadow and attends Burning Man, and I would still feel closer to you than anyone else. We don’t need common interests in order to connect. We don’t need a mutual love of music or sports or whatever to keep us together.

Thank you first of all for accepting me and loving me for exactly who I am. This isn’t easy. I can be stubborn, difficult and confusing, but you love and accept me for me. There are days I wonder when you’ll finally come to your senses and move on and find a new BFF, one who isn’t so complicated, but to my amazement, you never do. You tell me you’ll take the good with the bad, and when I question whether I have any good left, you’re always there to reassure me and show me that I do. Thank you for loving me in my dorky and difficult moments, moments where if the rest of the world saw them, they’d probably walk away. Thank you for understanding me like no one else does; if we didn’t have the connection we did, I can’t imagine how lonely and big this world would feel. Because of you, this world seems like a little friendlier place, one I can see myself being a part of.

No matter where life takes us, I will always be your best friend. I will be there when you need someone to talk to, whether you’re elated or depressed. I’ll be there when you want company through a long, lonely day. I will be by your side through thick and thin, in sickness and in health because you’re my best friend and I cherish you so much.

Honestly, I can talk about you all day and all through the night, and even now I have a million more things to say. Be that as it may, too many words get to be good for nothing, so I’ll simply end it at “you’re the most magnificent individual I’ve ever met, and I can’t envision not having you in my life.

Even though we don’t see each other every day, I will never stop cherishing our friendship. Even if we don’t hear from each other every time, I will never stop reminiscing about you and the beautiful moment we’ve had together. And even though the sun stops shining and the cloud doesn’t pour down rain on the earth, I will never stop being your sweet friend. I love you beyond the stars, my sweetest friend.

Cute Paragraphs For Best Friends to Make Them Smile

You are a lucky person if you have a loyal friend or friends who stand by your side and have your back in times of need. A cutest paragraph for best friend can help you show them how much you care your friendship.

You happened to be someone who I don’t expect I will get along so well and be happy with. You were a familiar stranger as you were someone whom I don’t know before. But guess what? You turned out to be the best thing and one of the most beautiful things that ever happened to me in life. I love you, my darling friend.

Who would I text when I can’t sleep? Who would I FaceTime until 2AM, just because we can? Who would talk me through every family crisis, every wardrobe malfunction, every anxiety attack? I tell you all the secrets I can’t tell my mom. You know everything – everything about me, probably better than I know myself. You know I tend to overreact, but you don’t judge me for it. You never have. You’ve been there for the smallest victories and the biggest catastrophes.

To my best friend, I know we’ve only known each other for a few years, but it feels like I’ve known you all my life. Every time we meet up and hang out, we always create phenomenal and unforgettable memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I know we have had our ups and downs, but even in my worst moments, there’s no one else who I would call except you. Thank you for being there for me and choosing me to be your friend. You mean the world to me.

When the storm of the future comes to test our bond, the road seems rocky, and the distance threatens to tear us apart, I am sure the memories we build together now will be strong enough to help us win over these challenges and keep our friendship strong forever.

We’re best friends because you make feel less alone in this world. It’s amazing how often you can feel disconnected from people. It’s amazing how many people can betray you, or fail to understand the words that are coming out of your mouth. When I see you, it’s a burst of reassurance that I’m not the only who looks at the world this way. There’s someone else. And that someone is you.

There is a reason why God placed you in my life. It’s because he knew I would need someone to level me out and keep me sane. And that someone is you! You are the only person who I can be myself around, without the fear of being judged. The only person I can share anything and everything with. The only person I can trust. Thank you for accepting me for who I am. You are honestly such a great friend to me. No matter where we are in life, where we go or what we do, I hope you know that you will always be my best friend. No one else can fill that role. I love you so much.

My dear friend, you have such an amazing effect on me and my life daily. You make me laugh when I all I want to do is cry. Your smile is as contagious as the flu, and whenever you’re sad I feel like I should be too. You really are an absolutely incredible individual. I have never in my whole life been so lucky and proud to have someone like you. You and only you are my best friend.

Thank you for letting our friendship be known. There is nothing I value more than my relationship with you, and it seems that everyone knows that. Thank you for sticking by my side, even if we don’t see each other as much as we did before, and for never forgetting about me. I appreciate that more than you could ever know.

Your friendship is one that I will forever hold dear and close to my heart because, as my best friend, you know what I like, love and desire. You know my faults and weakness and also know how to deal with them. You’re there for me and together we are stronger than ever.

May our friendship last forever because you have always done more than my expectations. Thank you for the support and help that you have shown me over the years. I want you to know that you are the best among the rest.

You are my best friend that feels my heart and hears the unspoken words. Each time I reminisce about all I have been through, my heart gladdens me because you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can say it over a billion times. I love you, dear.

Everything feels perfect in my world whenever I’m with you. With you, my life is full of gratitude and joy unspeakable. You’re my everyday inspiration and motivation, and I’m blessed to have a friend like you in my life. I love you forever, my dearest friend.

The best example of our friendship is how way my phone automatically connects to your Wi-Fi, when I walk into your home. How we are completely comfortable around each other and are not fazed by each other’s weirdness. I love our friendship for what it is and everything it stands for. For as long as we remain friends, I will be by your side until the day I pass away. And I hope you keep your promise too because I am not going anywhere, and neither are you!

To my wonderful friend, today like every other day, I pray that our friendship will always blossom and knows no end. It will always stay fresh like the early morning river. Each and every day will be another chance to cherish and love each other so much more than ever before and we will always be together till the end of time. I love you beyond the stars, my adorable friend.

A true friend always understands even when the other one is not saying or doing anything, and you have always understood me even in the moment when I am not saying anything as the best and true friend which you are. Thank goodness that our path crossed and I met an understanding friend like you. I cherish every moment with you, my lovely friend and I love you so much.

You’ve been there for the heartbreaks, the disappointments, even the failures. You know about the boy who broke my heart, and we both know you’ll hit him with your car if you ever get the chance. You were there when I didn’t get into that dream school, when I flunked that exam. You cheered me up and brought me ice cream. You took me dancing when I wanted to cry – you made me breakfast when I crashed on your couch.

You know how to do the smile magic no matter how moody I am. You always know the right words and the right time to say them. You still touch my soul whenever you speak. At times, I wonder what I did to deserve you in my life.

Thank you for being you. You are incredible my dear, and I can’t wait to constantly remind your husband that he got crazy lucky and out kicked his coverage big time. You are beautiful inside and out. On the outside, you are so gorgeous; you’re very own unique and incredible definition of beauty, and I know I’m one of many who see it. You’re intimidating to stand next to in pictures because I know your light shines so bright, but I’ll gladly stand next to you and take a picture, because I’m so excited to show the world how breathtakingly beautiful my best friend is. On the inside you are even prettier, with a warm heart, a sharp mind and an unbelievable personality. You are hands down the funniest person I know, and I still can’t believe that someone as funny and hilarious as you chooses to spend her time with someone as dweeby and awkward as me. I mean, half the time we’re laughing at some fail I had or something stupid I did, so I guess I contribute a little bit to our constant laughing. You are so kind and so sweet, and have the biggest heart of anyone I know. God spent a little extra time when he made you, because you’re the total package: you’re beautiful, awesome and amazing, all wrapped in one, and I’m so lucky he put you in my life—he knows I’d be lost without you.

I feel so blessed to have a friend like you. I never thought angels could exist in this world, but here you are in the flesh. Your friendship is so precious to me that I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, not even a million bucks! I wouldn’t trade it for a chance at becoming famous or for an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere. I’d rather be poor, untraveled, and unknown than be without a friendship as wonderful as yours.

Dear friend, I want you to know that every moment we spend together is always incredible. I enjoy the time we share because they are truly memorable for me, aside from loving you, which I do. I value and respect you any time, any day, because you are a friend of value.

There will be times when we will no longer see each other as often as we used to; there will be moment of ups and downs in our journey on the path of friendship; there will be time when the stormy weather of life will seem to break the bond between us and there will be moment when we would want to call it quit between us. I want you to know that I will not give up on us, at least not without a fight, because you’re the best thing that ever happened to me in life and I won’t trade you for the finest pearl in the world. Come rain or the sunshine, you will always be my best friend forever. I love you, bestie.

Sweet Paragraphs To Send To Your Best Friend

When was the last time you wrote a letter to your BFF? It’s sure that nice paragraphs for your best friend can make them cry.

Every good TV show, every good movie, has a dynamic duo. That’s us. I think we could have our own show, and honestly, I think people would watch it. Because we’re the kind of people that laugh so hard we start to cry. We have our own jokes, our own routine, our own language – on second thought, maybe the TV show isn’t such a great idea. The point is, you get me. You understand me. We understand each other. You know when I’m feeling down, the standard “I’m fine” is never enough for you. You just know better. And I’m glad you know better, because sometimes I feel like no one understands me. But you always do. You always know what to do and what to say. I don’t know how, but you’ve perfected the art of tending to me, myself, and I.

You were always that person I never expected to be friends with. I thought we would never get along. But when we came together, it was like something clicked and I knew that you would be a part of my life forever. I am so glad we didn’t remain strangers because your friendship feels like a lifelong gift that keeps on giving. Thank you for being my dear friend.

It is because of you that I have realized the essence of friendship. To be loved by the one you love is the greatest blessing of all time. Thank you for being my friend, for accepting me the way I am, and for loving me without any conditions. Thank you so much, best friend.

Nobody is flawless, but you are perfect for me. Nobody is perfect, but you overlooked my imperfections and remained a friend I can trust. From the bottom of my heart, I want you to know that I love you the way you are. Happy friends’ day.

You are such a strong and loving person to be around. You light up every room you enter, you never fail to make me laugh, and you always make sure that I am okay. You bring out the best in me when things are at their worst. I can’t wait to see what our friendship will bring us when we grow old. I hope we will be the same crazy best friends we are now, just with more grey hairs and wrinkles. I love you!

It makes me happy to know that I will always have you in my life, and you will always have me in your life too. I love you more than you will ever know, best friend. Thank you for being my person, whom I can turn to when no one else is there for me. There’s never a day that goes by where I am not grateful for you.

All the years that I have known you for, you haven’t changed at all. You are still the same beautiful and hardworking person I met the first day. But most importantly, the one thing that hasn’t changed is that you’re still here with me. You are still by my side. You have no idea how happy that makes me feel. I may not have many friends, but it doesn’t bother me because you’re the only friend that I am satisfied with, not only as my friend but also my best friend. You are one of the most precious and important people in my life. We may be far apart from each other, but I know that our bond is stronger than the distance between us. You are such a huge blessing to me. You may not see it now, but you have made a big impact in my life for the better. I appreciate you and all the kind gestures you’ve made and continue to make for me. You are one of the main reasons why I believe that the world can be better. Do not change anything about yourself because you are perfect just the way you are.

Each passing day reveals a new and better side of you. The more I know your beautiful soul, the more I fall for it. You are my special one, the one I will choose over everyone else. My dearest, purest and rarest best friend, I love you from the core of my heart. We met by chance, and now we are best friends by choice. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I am grateful to God a thousand times for bringing you into my life and making me complete.

You mean the absolute world to me. I love you so much because you go above and beyond to be there for me when I need you. I am the luckiest person to have a friend like you. We’ve come so far, and I am so grateful to have you by my side every step of the way. You’re the sweetest and most supportive person I know. And I just know that our friendship will continue to grow as the days and years go by.

I might not be able to know everything about you, my dearest. Because each and every day is another avenue for me to know you a bit more than before; to get to be closer to you and cherish you so much more than ever before. And I want you to know that one of the reasons why I’m with you is to know you much better. I adore you, my beautiful friend.

Just as true friendship is not measured by how far we’ve been together but rather how well it has been between us. So also real bonding is not measured by the time we’ve spent together in each other company but rather the solace and solitude that comes with being with you, my awesome friend. I love you more than you know.

After looking back at all we have been through, I am more confident now than never before that you are a rare treasure that should be adored. You have been my backbone and my inspiration. My secrets are safer with you than they are with me. I love you, friend.

You are my best friend, my other half, my rock and my anchor, all rolled up into one lovely human being. You are the most special person in my life. We have such a rare bond that can’t be replicated by anyone else. You get me like no one else does. I love how much our friendship has developed from when we were little kids to our adult years. I adore you so much with every inch of my heart.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you. Friendship is one of the most rewarding things life has to offer, and I refuse to take it for granted. I refuse to take you for granted. You, my best friend, my sister, my partner-in-crime. Even when all I can see is the worst in me, you still see the best. You remind me who I am, and who I want to be. You make me a better person. And while the world might tremble at the sight of the two of us (because, honestly, together we’re a force to be reckoned with), I know there’s no one I’d rather laugh and cry with.

Because of you, I laugh a little harder, cry a little less, and smile a whole lot more. Because of you, I’ve learned so many new things that I wouldn’t have learned if you weren’t by my side. Because of you, my experiences in life seem so much richer and so much fuller. Because of you, I can proudly say that there’s someone out there in the world who loves me for who I am – throughout all my craziness and boring moments and everything in between. Because of you, I can say that I am a better person who is made happier with you as my best friend.

I’m grateful to God for making our way crossed and brought you to me. We might not be together every day, but I am sure that you will always be there for me whenever I need you. Because your friendship is like the sunrise which I can’t always have throughout my day, but I’m certain that you will always be there each time I wake up to the break of a new dawn. I love you more than love itself, my best friend.

You are my mirror and my shadow. You are my mirror because you’d never lie to me. You’d always show me who I truly am. And you’d never let me go out of the house wearing an awful outfit. And you are my shadow, too. You never leave my side. You’re always there for me when I need you. And when life shines brightly on me, I feel your presence so much more because I know you’re supporting me through it all.

If our friendship was to be a big beautiful building; I would be the ground, to protect you from every creepy thing and I would be the roof, to be a shade over you during the rainy day; I would be the wall to shield you from the scourging dart of failures; I would be the door, to close every disappointment behind you and I would be the window, so that you can always see clearly every opportunity within your reach. I love you to the moon and back, sweetheart.

I know you’re my best friend because I don’t need to talk to you every single day. I don’t need to be around you all the time. In fact, we can go for weeks without talking. But as soon as we get together, it’s as if we had never stopped talking. Thank you for being my best friend.

My dearest best friend. I hope you stay in my life forever because our friendship is one of the best things to ever happen to me. You light up my life like no other. There is too much to do together. Also, you’re always the person who can bring sunshine to my heart. I love you, my dear best friend.

Tbh For Best Friend

Tbh is short for “To be honest,” and help you tell your pals something funny, sincere, important, or inspiring.

Tbh you’re my best friend, and I love you so much.

TBH I’d be jealous of your style if you weren’t such a great friend.

Tbh we haven’t even known each other that long, but you’re an amazing friend. I hope our friendship lasts. You’re so funny, and we should hang out sometime.

Tbh you’re the one person in the world that can finish my sentences.

TBH you’re a shoulder to cry on, and I’m grateful for that every day.

TBH you’re the nicest person I’ve met.

Tbh, I never had to do anything I would literally grow into the couch.

TBH I know I can always count on you if I’m in a pickle.

Tbh If I won the award for laziness, I would send you to pick it up for me.

Tbh be thankful for what you are now and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow

Tbh uou’re the best. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. And remember, age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese.

Tbh you’re so amazing and perfect. If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.

Tbh I’m glad we’re friends. I’ll take care of you. Like you take care of me.

Tbh you only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

TBH you’re a sister/brother, not just a simple friend. And I know we’ll always be friends, even if we sometimes fight.

Nice Things To Say To Your Best Friend To Make Them Feel Special

You are more fun than anyone or anything I know, including bubble wrap.

You’re beautiful inside and out.

You are more amazing than you realize.

You are the most awesome friend, and I am the most fortunate to have you in my life. Cheers to our friendship.

I feel special calling someone like you my friend.

I will stand with you to the end.

You are amazing the way you are.

You are one of the smartest, nicest, and bravest people I know. You are simply fearless and make me feel so protected. God help those who try to hurt me!

You are the most perfect you there is.

I appreciate you.

You’re one of the only people I find tolerable.

Your smile is contagious.

Life is more fun with you around.

I am here for you.

You are my person and you will always be my person.

Ever since I met you, I have come to notice 3 things about you. You are cute, kind, and trustworthy.

You are enough.

You’re my hero, and I’m so lucky to call you my BFF.

Your friendship means a lot to me.

Buddy, I tell everyone how amazing you are. Life has been nothing but giggles with you around. I adore you.

You are one of the strongest people I know.

You are stunning.

You are not like my good friends, they come and go. You’re my best friend, I know you’ll harass me forever!

You have a special gift – you make people feel super comfortable around you.

You look great today.

You are awesome. I hope you know that.

I know other people claim to have best friends, but you truly are the best.

You have the best laugh.

You are the sole reason I am smiling today. You are the best-est friend ever.

You have the best smile.

Thank you for being my best friend. Thank you for putting up with me even when I’m at my worst.

I appreciate our friendship.

You know who you really are. I admire that kind of self-awareness.

True friends are always together in spirit.

I enjoy spending every moment of my time with you.

You are always so helpful.

Your outlook on life is amazing.

You have such amazing creative potential. You can make any mundane thing beautiful. I love the things you create.

Thank you for always finding time for me and never having to check your calendar. I am so thankful that you just drop everything and come to my aid whenever I need you.

The one and only wish on my mind is that you get to know how important you are to me.

You are an amazing friend.

You just light up the room.

I know that you always have my back because that is the kind of person you are. I know you are always looking out for me and have my best interests at heart.

You are like my shadow, and I cannot imagine my life without you. You make the most amazing best friend.

Everything seems nicer and brighter when you are around. It is absolutely refreshing how you can make any normal day special with your presence.

Copy And Paste Paragraph For Best Friend

I feel honored and blessed that you are my best friend. I wish i could express the depth of my affection for you. You bring such joy to my life that it’s hard to put into words. I love you just the way you are, with all you flaw and imperfections. Without a doubt you are my favorite person in the world.

Thank you for who you are, you are special, kind, loyal and trustworthy. May this friendship that we share last for a lifetime because you have done more than I could ever imagine. You have given me support and shown me help over the years. I want you to know that you are the best.

You are the best friend a girl could ever ask for. We’ve been through so much together, but we’ve always managed to stick together and work it out. You truly care about me and I appreciate that! I love you and thank you for always being there for me.

Dear best friend. Please stay in my life forever because your friendship is one of the best things to ever happen to me. You’ve lit up my life like no other. You’re always the one to lead our adventures. You’re always the person who can light up a room the way you have lit up my heart. I love you, my dear best friend.

You are a friend that is closer than a brother and much loving than family. I can call you my blood because you have always seen me as your own, and I have no worries because you have got my back forever. I pray that our friendship lasts forever.

I thank God for the day that our paths crossed, I am sure that it felt like all the planets were in alignment. This was meant to be and from that day I knew nothing but gratitude and I am grateful it happened. You always did your best to put a cute little shining star on my starless nights. Thank you.

Looking back at all we have been through, I’m more confident now than ever because you’re a rare treasure that should be adored. You have been my backbone and my inspiration at all times. My secrets are safer with you than with anyone. I love you, my friend.

It’s like I’m still close to you even when I’m away from you a thousand miles. I still see you close, with your kind and sincere words being shaped by your lips as you inspire me to diligently chase my dreams. I thank you my Best Friend.

I promise to always cherish, respect, honor and love you so much with every breath in me till the end of time because a friend like you is very rare.

You are the best friend a man could ask for. You always speak from your heart and are a true friend in every sense of the word. You’re one in a million and I just want you to know how much I love and appreciate you.

Thank you for ignoring my flaws over the years and being my strength in weakness. You are a friend everyone keeps praying to have, and I am here so lucky to have you. A large part of my heart is held primarily for you because your friendship is everything.

Dear friends, I want you to know that you have been amazing so far and every moment we spend together is something I always look forward to. I enjoy the time we share because they are nothing short of extraordinary. aside from the fact that I love you, I also value and respect you any time, any day, because you are the closest friend.

Thank you for being a worthy friend. I want you to do this today, worry less about your problems, and pray more. Know that God has your back, and right after God, I am always there for you. Until my last breath, I will be your friend.

To my best friend, you’re the greatest and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings. I want to grow old with you and I want to start a family with you. We will be together forever, as long as we both shall live.

When I count my blessings I count you first, I feel so blessed to have you as my friend. You are a friend indeed; one I will never let go of my life because you mean so much to me. Even if time keeps us apart, I will always remember the things you all have sacrificed for me.

When everyone has doubts about me, you give a thousand reasons to defend me. When I’m facing my dark days, you’re always there. When I am in the middle of mishaps, I see you lending out a hand to pull me up with a smile on your face. I love you, my dear friend. Thank you for everything.

Our bond will last until the end of time because you are a special friend that I will stand with all through my time on earth. Time may fade, but the bond I share with you will never fade. You are for me, and I will always be there for you. I am grateful to be your friend because it’s a privilege that I never imagined.

Looking back to all we have faced in the past together, the fights, misunderstandings, and the happy moments we shared. It is not news that we have transcended the realm of friendship. When I look at you, my heart accepts you like my blood. You are family to me now.

We’re best friends because I can take you anywhere and you’ll adapt. Whether it’s the chicest party or some insufferable family gathering, you’ll deal with it like a champ. I don’t have to worry about leaving you alone or keeping you entertained. You go do your thing. I do mine.

FAQs for “Best Friend Paragraphs”

What are some benefits of expressing one’s appreciation for a best friend in words?

Expressing appreciation for your best friend in words can significantly enhance your relationship by: Reinforcing Bonds: Acknowledging your friend’s value in your life strengthens the bond and deepens mutual respect. Increasing Positivity: Sharing positive feelings can boost happiness and satisfaction within the friendship. Encouraging Reciprocity: When you express your appreciation, your best friend is likely to respond in kind, creating a cycle of gratitude and positivity.

How can writing a paragraph for my best friend help build trust and communication?

Writing a heartfelt paragraph to your best friend can enhance trust and communication by: Showing Vulnerability: Opening up in your writing shows trust and can encourage your friend to reciprocate with openness. Clarifying Feelings: Written words can help clarify feelings that might be difficult to express orally, ensuring your message is understood as intended. Creating a Reference: A written paragraph can be revisited, reminding both of you about the appreciation and love shared, reinforcing the bond over time.

What are some tips for writing a heartfelt and meaningful paragraph for my best friend?

To write a heartfelt and meaningful paragraph for your best friend, consider the following tips: Be Genuine: Speak from the heart. Authenticity resonates more than perfect words. Include Specifics: Mention specific experiences or qualities you appreciate about your best friend to personalize your message. Express Emotions: Don’t shy away from expressing how you feel. Let your friend know the impact they’ve had on your life. Keep It Positive: Focus on the positives in your friendship and what you look forward to in the future.

How often should I write appreciative paragraphs to my best friend?

While there’s no set frequency, writing appreciative paragraphs on special occasions like birthdays, holidays, or during significant life events can be very impactful. However, unexpected notes of appreciation can be particularly touching and memorable.

Can I use quotes in my best friend paragraphs?

Absolutely! Including a quote that resonates with the nature of your friendship can add depth and universality to your message. Just be sure to personalize around the quote to maintain authenticity.

What should I avoid when writing to my best friend?

Avoid generalities that could make your message feel impersonal. Also, steer clear of bringing up unresolved issues or negative past events in a paragraph meant to express appreciation and love.

How can I make my best friend paragraph more impactful?

Consider delivering your paragraph in a unique way, such as accompanying it with a small gift, a photo of a cherished memory, or even as a letter if you typically communicate digitally. The mode of delivery can add an extra layer of thoughtfulness to your message.

Deniz Yalım is the founder and visionary behind BayArt, a platform renowned for its deeply resonant and inspirational content focusing on love, relationship, happiness, success and motivation.

With a background rich in literature, psychology, and communication, Deniz has dedicated their career to the art of using words to inspire and empower. Passionate about the transformative power of language, Deniz has skillfully curated BayArt to be a platform for those seeking wisdom and guidance in the realms of love and life.

Their writings not only reflect a deep understanding of human emotions and relationships but also aim to ignite change and encourage positive thinking. Through BayArt, Deniz Yalım continues to touch lives, offering solace, motivation, and a sense of connectedness to a global community.

For additional reading, you might also like:

Letter/Email – examples & model answers | B2 First (FCE)

An email/a letter is written in response to the situation outlined in the question. Letters and emails in the B2 First Writing paper will require a response which is consistently appropriate in register and tone for the specified target reader.

Candidates can expect to be asked to write letters or emails to, for example, an English-speaking friend or colleague, a potential employer, a college principal or a magazine editor.

FCE, CAE, CPE

Practice, write & improve, fce email example: touring holiday.

You have received this email from your English-speaking friend David.

Write your email .

FCE Email: Example Answer (Grade: 4)

Dear David,

I’m glad your friends are visiting my area soon for a week’s touring holiday. I have many ideas what I can show them and tell about.

In my opinion the best way to travel around will be by bike because of small distances between the places and views are amazing.

My area includes also beautiful Baltic Sea which many tourist visit especially in summer. Your friends could sunbath or swim if they would like but the water is quite cold in this season. Beautiful sightseeing of sunrise is the best memorise!

You wrote that they are intrested in history of my local area. That’s great! We have museum of our local history where I can go with them. Tickets are not so expensive and I can think about some discount.

What do you think about it? Would you mind send me some your ideas?

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes, Sam

Get Your (FCE) Letter Checked!

Fce email example: swimming team.

You have received this email from your English-speaking friend, Jo.

It is good to receive news from you! I bet you are swimming like a fish. Do you remember when we were kids and we made a few races in Angelina’s pool?

I understand why you are trying to persuade them but remember that they want your best. If I were you firstly I would try to talk with your swimming coach and ask him about the possibilities of training another day. Then if the answer would have been negative I will probably try to do the same with yours future math teacher. I am sure that everyone knows the importance of practising sports while studying. So they will find a solution.

If everything goes don’t doesn’t happen as you and I expect ensure that your parents don’t get mad with your decision. They are giving their best! Put your education in front first place. Opportunities to swim you will have a lot during your life. Moreover, you can come to Barcelone and try to catch me in the pool.

Good luck, Sam

FCE Letter Example: School uniforms

This Is part of a letter from Karl, your English friend:

Write your letter .

FCE Letter: Example Answer (Grade: 4-5)

I’m writing to you about the letter which you sent me and asking my opinion about the school uniform. I believe it is one of the most important thing that we should discuss.

Nowadays, there are a few schools in which students wear a school uniform. I believe that this happening because pupils are free to wear whatever they want. Also, this means that they can express themselves.

On the other hand, school uniforms showes In which school each pupil belong to. Then, the uniforms support the way that the schools should work in our days In addition, if all pupils wear the school uniform, there will not be any pupil who will be unfashionable, and nobody will feel uncomfortable. Fashion is very popular, especially in high school, and wear fashionable clothes is the way to show off. That’s such a waste because fashion is the thing that cannot keep for long time. It Is not a good idea to flow fashion in school time.

To sum up, I believe that we should wear uniforms because in this way, them will not be any differences between pupils.

Best wishes Tom

FCE Letter Example: Letter of application

You see this advertisment in your local newspaper:

Write your letter of application.

FCE Letter: Model Answer (Grade: 5)

Dear Mr. Nick Jones,

I had been searching for a job when i discovered the advertisment in the local newpaper, in which you were offering a post at your holiday club.

I am an eighteen year-old student at King’s College and I have a part-time job at the local library, as an assistant. In the last three years, I have been attending English courses and I have achieved a high score at an exam involving the language.

Since I started highschool, I have always enjoyed helping children in need. I was usually participating in children’s parties as a helper, but I was also caring for the one’s in the street by giving them food and by giving advice whenever they needed it.

I love children and I do my best to make them happy. I am comunicative, hard- working and patient.

In the end, I think I will manage with the challenges this job may offer. I inclose my curriculum vitae and a photography. I am looking forward to your reply!

yours sincerely, Stefan Pasoi

FCE Email Example: Money!

You have received this email from your English-speaking friend, Susan:

Dear Susan,

I think you know from the start that this subject may be inappropriate to discuss with me, but since we are best friends, I accept.

If I were you, I would spend it all on an amazing holiday with my friends where you can do fun things and maybe meat someone special.

I am not sure what you are supposed to do with the money, but I can help you find the best solution. You must think simultaniously at both advantages and disadvantages. If you give your money to your parents, you would loose the benefits from it, but you could also help them.

I suggest you put it in your bank account and wait until celebrities can show up at your door, so that you can photograph them and be well-known.

There are a lot of money, so think carefully which is the best solution. You can also contact me or meat face-to-face if you need.

Therefore, you can benefit from it if you are wise and rational

Yours, Andrea

What is your level of English?

NPR editor Uri Berliner resigns after essay accusing outlet of liberal bias

A senior business editor at National Public Radio has resigned after writing an essay for an online news site published last week accusing the outlet of a liberal bias in its coverage.

In a Wednesday post on X , Uri Berliner included a statement in what he said was his resignation letter to NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher.

"I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years," Berliner wrote in the post. "I don't support calls to defund NPR. I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism. But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay."

On Friday, Berliner was suspended for five days without pay, NPR confirmed Tuesday , a week after his essay in the Free Press, an online news publication, where he argued the network had "lost America's trust" and allowed a "liberal bent" to influence its coverage, causing the outlet to steadily lose credibility with audiences.

Berliner's essay also angered many of his colleagues and exposed Maher, who started as NPR's CEO in March, to a string of attacks from conservatives over her past social media posts.

Dig deeper: NPR suspends senior editor Uri Berliner after essay accusing outlet of liberal bias

NPR reported that the essay reignited the criticism that many prominent conservatives have long leveled against NPR and prompted newsroom leadership to implement monthly internal reviews of the network's coverage.

Neither NPR nor Maher have not yet publicly responded to Berliner's resignation, but Maher refuted his claims in a statement Monday to NPR.

"In America everyone is entitled to free speech as a private citizen," Maher said. "What matters is NPR's work and my commitment as its CEO: public service, editorial independence, and the mission to serve all of the American public. NPR is independent, beholden to no party, and without commercial interests."

Contributing: Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY.

Class Notes

The Latest News from Your Classmates

May / June 2024

CHECK OUT OUR NEW SECTION: GROUP NOTES!

Scroll down for the debut of Group Notes, which comprises alumni news about members of Cornell groups—including campus activities, alumni organizations, and more—across generations. Want to see your group represented in future sections? Email us for information!

Welcome back, classmates! Read on for another excerpt from the essay I wrote about my time at Cornell, originally written for and published by my fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi, and featured in the last two Class Notes sections:

We had regular parties in the basement at Alpha Delta Phi, but there was little or no hard liquor. We drank beer from a keg, the tapping of which was a skill we all learned. I think it was mostly the local Stegmaier’s, which was not a particularly good beer, but it was cheaper. Singing was a big pastime, and knowing the words to all the songs was important to your standing with your brothers and your date.

One event I will never forget occurred during the spring of 1946, when we were sharing the house with Kappa Alpha. At a Saturday night party downstairs, the president of KA was sitting on a stool at the bar, surrounded by co-eds who were listening, I suppose, to his war stories. Suddenly, he grabbed an ice pick from behind the bar and drove it into his lower leg! There were shrieks and shocked looks from the co-eds. Then he pulled out the ice pick, pulled up his pant leg, and showed a wooden leg that he had acquired as a result of war injuries!

Thomas Wells ’43 , BArch ’50, proposed to the fraternity that he decorate the walls of the two rooms in the basement, which were our bar and party area. We said OK, and he arrived with two co-eds from architecture or fine arts. Over weeks, they covered the walls with the “figures” of Abner Dean, a very popular cartoonist/artist at that time. For a time, it became the talk of the campus, and we got a big kick out of it. You can even see pictures of it in the background of a 1948 Cornellian yearbook: a picture of a group singing at the usual table in the Alpha Delt bar (on page 364) and then one of me between two women (at right on page 385), both with the paintings in the background.

Late one night, [ Peg Wilharm Tuttle ’48 and I] drove out the east bank of Cayuga Lake to watch the sunrise—and when it came up behind us, I proposed, and she accepted. Ray Tuttle ’48

I married a Cornellian, Margaret (Wilharm) , Class of 1948. She was an Alpha Phi, and I never dated her at Cornell. That we ended up married was a real series of incidents. One day in my fifth and final year, I got on the bus outside Olin Hall to go downtown. I recognized and sat down beside a girl I remembered from a course I was taking in industrial and labor relations (ChemEs were required to take a liberal arts course in year five, and my choice was career-oriented, not culture-oriented, as the ChemE school might have intended). Peg always sat near the front of the classroom next to the same boy, whom I assumed was her boyfriend but later learned was a Chi Psi brother of her boyfriend keeping an eye on her. We talked on the way downtown on the bus and learned an odd coincidence: my family and I lived in Cleveland, and I had just taken a job in Pittsburgh after graduation, while she had lived all her life in Pittsburgh, but her dad’s company had just moved to Cleveland, where she would go after graduation. So we parted with no plans to ever meet again.

Working in Pittsburgh, I used to go back to see my folks in Cleveland occasionally. On one trip, I joined my parents in grocery shopping, because next door was a sporting-goods shop and I wanted to buy a new squash racquet. After shopping, I joined my parents in the grocery store, and there was a somewhat familiar face at the cheese counter: Peg Wilharm! She later told me she was with her parents only because they were going to shop for a new car, and she went along hoping to persuade them not to buy another black Buick.

I asked her out for a beer and supper and soon learned that the boyfriend was no longer—and we dated in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, where she visited an uncle there to see me. I asked her back to an Alpha Delt house-party weekend and, late one night, drove out the east bank of Cayuga Lake to watch the sunrise—and when it came up behind us, I proposed, and she accepted. So Cornell and Alpha Delt had important roles to play. ❖ Ray Tuttle ( email Ray ) | Alumni Directory .

I hope you all took the time to fill out and return the Share Your News form that was recently mailed to you. If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late! Please do send us your news—via the hard-copy form or the online news form —so our future class columns can be full of news from all of you. Whether your news is ordinary or extraordinary, we want to hear it! ❖ Class of 1949 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

In my previous two columns, I highlighted short bios of some of the accomplished women of our Class of the Century. In this issue I highlight classmate Marion Steinmann , author of the book Women at Work: Demolishing a Myth of the 1950s (2005, Xlibris). Marion modestly included as co-authors “The Women of the Cornell Class of 1950.” Also, her book’s dedication, “To the men we married who encouraged us to follow our dream,” is gracious because, unlike those about whom she wrote, Marion didn’t marry until age 50, had no children, and did not earn an advanced degree.

The women that Marion interviewed demolished the myth that, in the 1950s, women had little choice but to be housewives and not be employed outside the home. These courageous women earned a total of 134 advanced degrees including 22 PhDs and five MDs. Among the 134 were 13 college professors, 11 attorneys, one judge, and five engineers, as well as others.

An education in the Cornell College of Home Economics, while including studies in science and the liberal arts, was not designed for advanced degrees. It’s therefore remarkable that our intelligent, energetic, and forward-looking colleagues were able, with good humor and perseverance, to overcome family responsibilities, academic obstacles, and gender prejudices to move into advanced degree programs in law, medicine, education, business, and other professional fields.

Marion attended West High in Rochester, NY, where she excelled academically and was editor of the school newspaper. She came to Cornell with national and state scholarships to major in microbiology in the College of Agriculture. On campus she was a member of Octagon and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, was vice president of the Women’s Self-Governing Association, and with her intense interest in journalism served as news editor of the Cornell Daily Sun .

Remarkably, upon graduation, she (an Aggie, not a journalism major) was hired by the prestigious Life magazine. That speaks highly of a Cornell BS in agriculture and Marion’s high intellect and writing competence. At Life she was a reporter in the science department, writing on an amazing variety of subjects such as archeology, astronomy, genetics, moon exploration, lasers, holography, the first open-heart surgery, and bone transplants. Over her 22 years with Life , she was promoted from writer to assistant editor, and when the weekly Life ceased publication in 1972, she was the associate editor.

Henry Erle ’50 , MD ’54, lives in a high rise with views of the Robert F. Kennedy and George Washington bridges and the Weill Cornell college campus.

Thereafter she was a freelance author of books primarily in the field of medicine and healthcare, as well as articles for the New York Times Magazine , the Saturday Evening Post , Smithsonian Magazine , Cornell Alumni Magazine , and others. Her books included Island Life , Life and Health , The American Medical Association Book of Back Care , The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Parent’s Guide to Allergies and Asthma , and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Guide to Childhood Infections . In 1971 Marion received the American Medical Association’s award for an article, “Fighting the Genetic Odds.”

In 2000, accessing surplus class funds, our class approved publication of the history of our class with the title Curfews, Chaos and Champions , co-edited by Marion and classmate John Marcham . Because it was also a history of the tumultuous post-WWII times , it was subsequently republished under the title Postwar Cornell: How the Greatest Generation Transformed a University, 1944–1952 . The original book was also converted into an engaging film. At the 1965 class Reunion, copies of the film and original book were given to all attendees and later to those unable to attend.

For 10 years, Marion served with me as class co-correspondent, responsible for writing news of class members for the Class Notes section of each issue of the former Cornell Alumni Magazine . Our relationship was cordial and professional, but I learned little about her personal, non-work life. Her obituary was the lead in the obituary section of the April 20, 2020 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer , which mentioned that she had climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. And after a late-in-life marriage to Charles Joiner, Temple University Chair of Political Science, they lived in Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, where she enjoyed cooking, gardening, and entertaining.

I received a nice note from Henry Erle , MD ’54 (New York, NY), Weill Cornell Medicine Roberts Family Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine. With his parents and younger brother, he escaped from Nuremberg, Germany, in 1939, where in 1938 his grandfather had been murdered during Kristallnacht. He attended Stuyvesant High School and came to Cornell on a Regents Scholarship. The highlight of his campus life was meeting Joan (Greenblatt) at Hillel House, whom he married in 1952 and, as he says, “made up for my lost childhood.” After Cornell med school, until retirement in 2007 at age 78, he practiced internal medicine at Cornell/New York Medical Center, now Weill Cornell Medicine.

Wife Joan earned an MD at New York University in 1954, did post-doc studies in psychiatry, and taught and did research at New York Psychoanalytic Institute. Joan died 10 years ago after a struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Henry has two physician sons, David and Steven , MD ’86 , and five grandkids. At the time of this writing, Henry was living on the 46th floor of a high rise with views of the Robert F. Kennedy (formerly Triborough) and George Washington bridges and the Weill Cornell college campus, studying a variety of contemporary topics, and planning a visit to his younger brother in Florida. ❖ Paul Joslin ( email Paul ) | 13731 Hickman Rd., #4207, Urbandale, IA 50323 | tel., (515) 278-0960 | Alumni Directory .

Frances Goldberg Myers writes, “The big event of the year was my 94th birthday. Living in an over-50 community, I am acknowledged mostly as a ‘role model’ by the newer, younger residents, since I speak up at meetings, participate in many community activities, and make new, younger friends as they buy into the community. With the death of Shelley Epstein Akabas in 2023, I have only one friend left who knew me when I was 17.

“My children, Ken ’77 (Yale PhD), Pam ’78 , and Nathaniel III ’82 , DVM ’87, are all active in their chosen careers and contributing to making the world a better place. Ken is the Gerson Curator of American Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts; Pam is executive director of the prize-winning, nationally recognized Asheville Art Museum (NC); and Nathaniel, known as ‘Chip,’ is a doctor of internal medicine in his own veterinary practice. The following generation of Cornellians is Sarah ’13 , daughter of Ken, a silviculturist for the National Forest Service in Nebraska with a Penn State MA (yes there is a forest in Nebraska, the only planted forest in the U.S.; planted by the CCC in the 1930s). We are waiting to see if Benjamin, son of Chip, will join the Cornellian family.

Living in an over-50 community, I am acknowledged mostly as a ‘role model’ by the newer, younger residents. Frances Goldberg Myers ’51

“I’ve been a widow since 2004 but keep busy making new friends and participating in a variety of activities and wondering what has happened to America. Social media has certainly changed society. I was in Home Ec but took advantage of all the wonderful Cornell professors in government, labor relations, Asian policy, architecture, and literature to get an introduction to the wide world. But Home Ec provided me with entry into various jobs, from publishing to mental health rehabilitation, community organizing for people with disabilities at the county level and volunteer work in several areas.

“I now find new areas to learn about, so life is exciting. I am happy participating in the community around me. My neighbors feel that I provide historical context to people who think of the ’50s as ancient times. I never felt that we were the Silent Generation—we were active in our communities, active politically and socially, raising solid families, and trying to build a better society. Looking back, those years were hopeful and optimistic, in which we believed the world would be a better place for all after surviving the Depression, a world war, the Holocaust, and an atom bomb.

“I am grateful for my Cornell education—I learned much, but mostly I learned to love learning. But clearly my favorite memory is meeting Nat Myers ’49 , BA ’51, on the first day of classes in September 1949 at the Ivy Room in the Straight. Thank heavens my 10 o’clock class in the History of Labor Unions was dismissed because the professor had been delayed in returning to campus. I had never been to the Straight at 10 o’clock before, but when I went in, I saw a table with people I knew. As I sat down, I was introduced to Nat, who had returned from his Navy enlistment. At 11, he joined me on my walk across campus to Balch. We talked for more than an hour and listened to the noon Chimes. And that was the beginning of the rest of my life. We celebrated 55 years of being together until his death in 2004.”

Thank you for writing, Frances! We hope any classmates reading this will send us a letter. ❖ Class of 1951 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

Joanne Holloway McPherson writes from Findlay, OH: “I recently moved to a new apartment, the second one since I sold the house I lived in for 29 years in 2019. With each move I downsized, but I still have too many possessions. I try to adjust to the new technology, which is supposed to make our lives easier but, at least in my case, makes it more difficult. The devices constantly need recharging. My solution is to take a nap and recharge myself.”

James Strub writes from Colorado Springs: “I gradually became a mountain hiking machine, and I reached all 54 of the Colorado 14ers and Mount Whitney in California by 1961, all by the grace of God—sometimes with more grace required than other times (e.g., little things like lightning). I’m regularly using a USFS-provided ponderosa pine pole for balance, everywhere I go.” James enjoys teaching the Bible to the Judeo-Christian residents at MacKenzie Place, a nearby retirement community—something he’s been doing for 12 years now.

I gradually became a mountain hiking machine, and I reached all 54 of the Colorado 14ers and Mount Whitney in California by 1961. James Strub ’52

James adds, “I’m also keeping in regular touch by phone or email with daughter Heidi and her husband, Charley, in St. Augustine, FL. They are planning to come out here in April for my 95th birthday. And I’m keeping in close touch with son Jordan ’81 and his very gifted and delightful wife, Michele, who made a very successful career as a principal manager for Progressive Insurance.” Some of his favorite memories of Cornell were “playing the carillon and playing the four-manual pipe organ we used to have on the Bailey Hall stage. I also enjoyed the architecture professors, especially John Tilton 1913 , MArch 1914, whose favorite teaching was: ‘Remember—there is a difference between a Venetian blind and a blind Venetian.’”

Bernard Patten writes: “I am a systems ecologist, long retired from University of Georgia but not retiring. I’m continuing my research on an environmental system theory, ‘Network Environ Analysis,’ and the proverbial magnum opus, ‘Holoecology.’” ❖ Thomas Cashel, LLB ’56 ( email Tom ) | Alumni Directory .

Alan Perlmutter writes from California that his son, Ben ’12 , is taking over the family business: Big Sur River Inn. “After many years as a consultant in organizational development and 36 years as the general partner of the Big Sur River Inn, I am happy to pass the reins to our son Ben, who is taking over as managing partner of the family business. Ben will continue to welcome Cornell alumni from all over the world as they visit the inn, which is Big Sur’s first restaurant and resort,” says Alan. He adds that Ben is still singing with the Hangovers and is well prepared for being the host of the popular and historic inn.

Have you ever had a broken leg? Bob Neff , JD ’56, can sympathize. He spent much of the first half of last year hopping around on one leg while healing broken bones in the other one. He then made up for that confinement—while escaping the chilly weather in North Carolina—as he enjoyed sailing in the South Pacific.

Hospitalization and healing similarly took up half of last year for Caroline Mulford Owens , former Class of ’53 president. She reports that she’s now back to normal with a daily visit to the gym and participation in several community organizations. “I’m fortunate to be living on a beautiful lake with a view of the sunset across the water,” she reports.

I’m fortunate to be living on a beautiful lake with a view of the sunset across the water. Caroline Mulford Owens ’53

Jack Brophy has documented his time in the U.S. Navy with photos and lots of stories. He found his Cornell experience useful when assigned to develop recreational activities for the crew of the USS White Marsh . “The captain authorized the crew to empty a large storage room in the bow and create a lounge and recreation room for the sailors off-duty. They were motivated to make something nice, and they did, with fresh paint and new furniture. For the opening, I decided to organize a talent show. We had a pedal pump organ used for religious services, and I found a fiddler from the South who was fantastic. As the ship rolled, he wrapped his bow arm around a Lally column and played on undaunted. The other acts were entertaining but not as memorable. I guess this qualified me as ‘Recreation Officer.’”

John Nixon sends special thanks to the 148 members of the Class of ’53 who donated nearly $5 million last year, setting a new donor record for any 70th Reunion in Cornell history. Our class also recently donated $10,000 to the Class of 1953 Tradition Fellowship, which provides an annual scholarship for an incoming student. Your generous donations serve many worthwhile causes.

Please share your current news. We’d love to hear from you! ❖ Caroline Mulford Owens ( email Caroline ) | Jack Brophy ( email Jack ) | John Nixon ( email John ) | Bob Neff , JD ’56 ( email Bob ) | Alumni Directory .

As you read this column, Dave , PhD ’60, and Mary Gentry Call report that more than 20 classmates have signed on to celebrate our 70th Reunion on campus. Hopefully a few latecomers will join them with a month to go and put us over 26 attendees. This would be a record for a 70th Reunion. Dave and Mary have planned a fun and informative program with easy transportation to and from all the events from our class headquarters at the Statler Hotel.

This has been a slow month for classmate news, but we did hear from two of you and we thank you. Barbara Jones Jenkins of Northfield, MN, writes that she spends much of her time reading and keeping her email inbox below the 300s. She also served as the financial director of the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium and took several of their courses. On a negative note, Barbara says that she has been trying to improve her tennis serve after 50 years but recently ruptured her right bicep reaching for a volley. Let’s hope Barbara will soon make a complete recovery and get back to working on her serve.

Allan Griff ’54 , who was in the Sage Chapel Choir and the a cappella Chorus, has written a song about Cornell.

Allan Griff of El Cerrito, CA, who did a lot of formal singing in his undergraduate days, including in the Sage Chapel Choir and the a cappella Chorus, has written a song about Cornell, the melody of which is an Irish traditional folk song, “Roddy McCorley.” It brings back memories of our days on the Hill. Called “Leaders of Us All,” here are the lyrics:

“All around the world Cornellians go to do what we do best. / We teach, we build, we serve, we fix, we earn our keep and rest. / We’ve caught the pass of knowledge, and we’re running with the ball. / And it can’t be denied, we’re our people’s pride, the leaders of us all. / Wherever we Cornellians meet, it brings a smile and tear. / We’ve got a bond of friendship that cannot disappear. / We tell of days and nights we shared when we were growing still, / And we feel a little warmer when we think of our days on the Hill. / We remember the Straight, the statues on the Quad, the gorges, and the lake. / Teagle, the Taylors, Sage and the Libe, all these our memories wake. / Engineers, Hotelies, Aggies, and Arts, HumEcs, ILRs, stand tall / ’cause it can’t be denied, we’re our people’s pride, / the leaders of us all.” ❖ Bill Waters , MBA ’55 ( email Bill ) | Ruth Carpenter Bailey ( email Ruth ) | Class website | Alumni Directory .

Frank Baldwin (Ithaca, NY) is planting trees and doing trail management in Pine Tree Wildlife Preserve on East Hill. He also attends a local folk song club on Sunday evenings. He recalls that “our group in Ithaca and Cornell induced the National Episcopal Church to support the treaty to abolish nuclear weapons.” ❖ Class of 1955 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

I hope you all took the time to fill out and return the Share Your News form that was recently mailed to you. If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late! Please do send us your news—via the hard-copy form or the online news form —so our future class columns can be full of news from all of you. Whether your news is ordinary or extraordinary, we want to hear it! ❖ Class of 1956 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

With our undergrad status of in loco parentis , one restriction denied freshmen the right to have an automobile on campus. Do you recall how one classmate protested that rule? In spring 1954, Edward Jay Epstein brought a horse and buggy to campus. Whether it was because of that infraction or something else, Ed was asked to leave Cornell. He later returned to earn his BA in 1965 and MA in 1966, both in government. His master’s thesis on the official government investigation into the Kennedy assassination became his first book, Inquest: The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth (1966).

Ed continued his graduate studies at Harvard, earning a PhD in 1973. His doctoral dissertation became the book News from Nowhere: Television and the News (1973). Ed taught at Harvard, MIT, and UCLA, and then decided to return to New York City and to focus on researching and writing books. Known for his keen, independent mind, Ed later investigated U.S. intelligence and counterintelligence, the international diamond trade, the business of Hollywood, and the data leak by NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Ed himself was the subject of the 2017 documentary Hall of Mirrors , which premiered at the 55th New York Film Festival. Of his many books and articles, his last book, Assume Nothing: Encounters with Assassins, Spies, Presidents, and Would-Be Masters of the Universe (2023), is considered this investigative journalist’s memoir. His recent passing in January 2024 was attributed to COVID. While he had no immediate survivors, he will be missed by all those friends who attended his many storied social gatherings at his Manhattan penthouse.

On the distaff side, we also note the passing of Ruby Tomberg Senie in September 2023. After earning her Cornell BS in 1957 and becoming mother to two sons, Ruby added a Cornell BSN in nursing (1975), an MA in teaching from Columbia University (1978), and a PhD from the Yale University Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (1984). She was an epidemiologist with the women’s health and fertility branch of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta when she was asked by then-Cornell President Frank H.T. Rhodes to be a panelist on the 1992 Reunion forum in Bailey Hall. The topic was “Ethical Issues in Healthcare: The Lessons of Tuskegee.” This coincided with our 35th Reunion, so likely some of us attended this discussion. (Special thank you to Cornell Archivist Evan Earle ’02 , MS ’14, for finding this information in an old Reunion booklet.)

In spring 1954, Edward Jay Epstein ’57 , BA ’65, MA ’66, brought a horse and buggy to campus.

Ruby also was on a 1996 panel at the Cornell Club in NYC. This forum, sponsored by the women of the Class of 1958, focused on lifelines submitted by hundreds of Cornell alumnae. Ruby was then a leading breast cancer researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. Ruby’s career continued and culminated as an associate professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

On a personal note, Ruby and I met about a decade ago. Her dear friend, classmate Beth Ames Swartz , had come to NYC for the opening of her new art series at a gallery in Manhattan. At a restaurant meal that followed for our classmates, Ruby and I sat next to one another. Our paths had never crossed on campus, but we soon were deep in conversation. She told me of her book Epidemiology of Women’s Health (2013), a more-than-500-page tome that explored the major health challenges and conditions specifically affecting women. Ruby included contributions from leading authorities in the field.

She and I saw each other only a few times over the years when she rented a summer cottage in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, where she enjoyed the Tanglewood musical venue offerings. Through emails, we became fast friends. We last saw each other at our 65th Reunion. Ironically, it wasn’t breast cancer, but an undiagnosed tumor that, once discovered, gave her only a few more weeks of life. Ruby, a perpetual student, teacher, and author, had thoroughly enjoyed the rich culture of opera, museums, theater, and classical music so present in NYC. Earlier this month, Beth told me her new art series, Quantum Light, was inspired by Ruby. You can view her artwork here . Both Beth and I agree that it was our privilege to be close friends of such a remarkable woman.

On a lighter note, we saw Ron Dunbar and his spouse, Pru Dalrymple, at our 65th Reunion. Both having been widowed in the early 2000s, they found each other through Match.com and have been happily living together in Philadelphia for nearly six years. They are taking advantage of their good health to travel. Over a year ago, a Road Scholar trip had them island-hopping to see many ancient ruins in Greece. Last March they enjoyed a week in the Galápagos and then spent several days in a remote lodge in the upper Amazon watershed rain forest.

A more recent road trip included a visit with Bob and JoAnne Eastburn Cyprus , who have owned and lived for 30 years on a 60-acre farm near Nashville, TN. Ron and JoAnne had been high school classmates in Wellesley, MA. Ron and Pru fly to Seattle and Portland, OR, several times a year to visit Pru’s two sons and families. Ron’s Korean-born daughter and family live only 12 miles from Ron. After a long academic career, mostly in library science, Pru occasionally teaches online for Kent State University. Ron’s Cornell BEE degree remains in the background to the spreadsheet work he now does to help small nonprofits. ❖ Connie Santagato Hosterman ( email Connie ) | Alumni Directory .

Warren Wildes is living in St. Paul, MN, with his wife, Mary, spending three months of the year in California. He finds great satisfaction in working in the woodlands next door, raising wood ducks, and developing oak “nurseries” at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul, where they have lived since 1977. This passion continues as he and Mary fund Northwestern’s environmental science program, which places emphasis on the woods and the two lakes with campus shorelines. He is also a dedicated supporter of the Cornell Sapsucker Woods Ornithology Lab and participates in the FeederWatch programs while in California each winter. Warren has continued to express his interest in music by leading the Centennial Stompers Dixieland Band with Mary as vocalist, which plays at senior homes, churches, and centers in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The band is in its 10th year with 18 performances in 2023, and excerpts can be found on YouTube .

Stefan Belman , DVM ’61, shares his favorite Cornell memory: “In Mann Library in 1959 I was seated in the informal reading room, and seated across from me was a most attractive blonde woman smoking. I walked over and bummed a smoke. A few minutes later I walked over to her again and invited her to walk with me to the pomology department and let me buy her an apple. Anita (Lesgold) ’60 , MS ’61, later returned to Sigma Delta Tau and told her roommate, Carrie Warnow Makover ’60 , about meeting this ‘interesting guy.’ Sixty-four years later, we have two children and four grandchildren.” Anita received her BS at Cornell, earned an MD from New York University’s medical school, then taught pediatric neurology there. Their son, Matt , DVM ’89 , practices in Salt Lake City and enjoys back country adventures. Grandchildren Ben ’19 , BA ’18, and Elisabeth ’18 graduated from Cornell with Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude recognition. Ben currently works for Amazon and attends Georgetown Law School. Elisabeth just graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and is training for surgery at Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard. Stefan and Anita move between Columbia Falls, MT, Huntington, NY, and New York City.

Arthur Shostak and his wife, Lynn Seng, moved nine years ago from Philadelphia to Alameda, CA, to escape winter and be closer to their grandchildren. Before retiring, Arthur was a sociology professor at Drexel University. Arthur published 34 books; his latest, published in 2017, is titled Stealth Altruism: Forbidden Care as Jewish Resistance in the Holocaust. After researching survivors’ memoirs and interviewing those living, he developed a strong “help” narrative, to be learned in the future alongside the “horror” narrative that now dominates. The book’s cover photograph illustrates his thesis: men in striped pajamas stand in rows, with two men in the front row surreptitiously supporting a collapsing man between them. Arthur indicates that altruism arises out of innate impulses in people, is supported by the tenets of Judaism, and was encouraged by rabbis who took on leadership roles. He is preparing two more books: a study of ways societies have of memorializing and a lengthy memoir. His favorite Cornell memory: earning the highest GPA in the ILR school, which leveraged a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for a PhD at Princeton.

Philip Getter ’58 is still producing shows, most recently Hadestown, winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Philip Getter is still producing shows, most recently Hadestown, winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Musical, which has been on Broadway since April 2019. A touring company first presented Hadestown at the John F. Kennedy theater in Washington in October 2021 and is still touring the U.S. and Canada . A new company held a successful opening of Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End in February 2024. The CD of the original cast production won a Grammy. Philip also produced Once Upon A One More Time , featuring Britney Spears’s music, and was co-producer of A Christmas Carol starring Jefferson Mays, and Terrence McNally’s Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune starring Audra McDonald. Philip sits on several boards of corporations and foundations.

Philip’s wife, Elaine Sheinmel, passed two years ago. Elaine was his partner in Getter Entertainment, involved in producing Broadway shows. He is now a partner in Archer Entertainment Group with his stepdaughter, Courtney Sheinmel, who was a practicing attorney and wrote and published many young adult and children’s books. The partners are working on several future productions.

In February, Philip flew to London to see Hadestown, which was sold out and with such good prospects that the run was already extended. Courtney and her 4-year-old son, Archer, who loves musicals, accompanied him. Archer enjoyed his first airplane ride, double-decker bus rides, and packed performances of Hadestown . While in England, Philip spent a great deal of time with his oldest son, Douglas Getter, a London attorney, and his two granddaughters, Tesa, 17, and Sara, 20, both “brilliant, beautiful, and with great personalities.” He has two other children: Laura, who has three children, and Michael. ❖ Barbara Avery, MA ’59 ( email Barbara ) | Dick Haggard ( email Dick ) | Alumni Directory .

Linda Rogers Cohen sold her house in Great Neck—home for 56 years—and moved to the Upper West Side of NYC. “It’s an exciting change that eliminates worry about the roof when it rains and brings me practically next door to my daughter Carrie Cohen ’89 , her husband, Rick Lipsey ’89 , and their four children; brings me closer to the museums I love; and finds me surrounded by too many, too-tempting restaurants.”

Mary Gail Drake Korsmeyer also sold her house of 50+ years. She moved last November to Sherwood Oaks, a continuing care community in Cranberry Township, PA. “This community of some 300 residents is about 35 miles north of my old house and a short drive from my daughter’s residence. It has many active groups and services, including delicious meals, and is providing me with interesting new friends.” Mary Gail is retired from her partnership in the law firm of Peacock Keller in Washington, PA. Daughter Carol is a founding partner of Dupee Strengths-Based Consulting; son David is deputy director of the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA; and son Keith is a professor of marine science at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu. In addition to grandchildren, she has three great-granddaughters and one great-grandson. About once a month, Mary Gail participates in a Zoom gathering with a baker’s dozen of ’59, ’60, and ’61 grads, all friends since Cornell and members of Delta Delta Delta, including Susan Kunkle Bogar , Sallie Whitesell Phillips , Linda Johnson Kacser , and Erna Fritsch Johnson ’61 .

Linda Rogers Cohen ’59 moved to the Upper West Side, where she is ‘surrounded by too many, too-tempting restaurants.’

Another move after 50+ years: Hardy Eshbaugh and his wife, Barb. They have moved to the Knolls, a retirement community in Oxford, OH. “Our children helped us with the move, which was accomplished with a minimum of difficulty,” writes Hardy. “We had an advantage in that our old house did not have an attic, basement, or garage, which meant we had not accumulated a lifetime of stuff. But there was still lots to part with, especially boxes of books! We have more or less settled in and have made many new friends. Even Roxy, our dog, is adjusting. Now it’s on to the next phase of our lives.” Hardy is professor emeritus of botany at Miami University in Oxford, known primarily for his research on chili peppers and on the flora and biogeography of the Bahamas.

About five years ago, Kate Sickles Connolly moved to River Woods, a continuing care retirement community in Exeter, NH. Prior to that, the retired clinical electron microscopist “lived a wonderful familial, professional, and municipal inclusion life associated with Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, NH. I am enjoying an active life in both mind and body and hope to continue my Cornell connection virtually for years to come.”

A nominations committee is working on a slate of officers to serve our class for the five years following our Reunion on June 6–9. The final slate is expected to be completed in early May. Any classmate interested in serving as an officer is encouraged to contact our Reunion chair, Jerry Schultz ( email Jerry ). The list of nominees will be displayed at our Reunion headquarters in the Statler Hotel and presented at the class gathering on the morning of June 9.

Closing factoid: At the beginning of February, living ’59ers included 1,108 degreed and 460 non-degreed members—a total of 1,568 alumni. ❖ Jenny Tesar ( email Jenny ) | Alumni Directory .

Still living in North Falmouth on Cape Cod with his spouse, Patty, Leonard Johnson writes, “I was sorry to hear that Neil MacDougal had died. I first met Neil in seventh grade in Boynton Junior High in Ithaca. He was one of the good guys. Last fall I went back to Ithaca for the first time in 10 years. We had a great reunion with Carol Treman des Cognets and several of my other childhood pals. A highlight was lunch at the Inn at Aurora, a must-visit. My favorite memory is walking down through the Baker dorms and watching the sun set over West Hill. What brings him the most satisfaction? Says Leonard, “Patty and I are still cycling a lot—2,000 miles last year! I am still involved in the effort to preserve open spaces here on Cape Cod. I also really like negotiating complicated land deals.”

Edith Rogovin Frankel , who lives in Freehold, NJ, sadly shares, “I lost my husband over 15 years ago and my partner some three years ago, so life has taken a change. However, I’m fortunate to be in good health, I also have two daughters and seven delightful grandchildren ranging in age from 14 to 27. I’m also still doing research and teaching and will leave my New Jersey home to spend a month in Florida, where I’ll be giving courses at Florida Atlantic University and in both Boca Raton and Jupiter in February. This is an annual practice and preparing the lecture series (two different ones this year) is great fun.”

David Ahl , who lives with his wife, Betsy, in Morristown, NJ, reports, “With the pandemic behind us, my wife and I are spending more and more time on mission trips to Guatemala, Haiti, and Peru, helping to build small schools and homes. We have also been on cruises to the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iceland, Greenland, and Hammerfest, Norway, the northernmost town on the planet. We like the smaller ships of Regent, and Betsy especially enjoys Silversea’s expeditions, which we’ve recently taken to Antarctica, Zanzibar, South Africa, the Seychelles, and some smaller ports in the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, excursions and construction work don’t agree with my advanced arthritis, so I’m looking at new hips and knees in 2024. My grandson Wyatt just started in the ECE College, so I’ll be visiting Ithaca more than in the past.”

Send your news to: ❖ Judy Bryant Wittenberg ( email Judy ) | Alumni Directory .

Guess what? Some of our classmates are going back to Cornell. It’s true. Read on to find out more!

First, we hear from classmate Gerold Yonas , who was interviewed for the Write on Four Corners podcast last August. A physicist and engineer, Gerold served as chief scientist for Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars,” project, and worked as a vice president at the Los Alamos National Laboratory counterpart, Sandia Labs. You can listen to the episode here .

Ruth Schimel in Washington, DC, is writing her eighth book, Small Steps to Your Continuous Thriving, the Best is Yet to Be . “I have published monthly on YourTango about personal and professional development. Dipping into the arts, I’m showing collages at a neighborhood exhibit, and creating ways to include them in my career and life management consulting practice. I’m active and presenting for TTNWomen on finding meaning and purpose with one’s storytelling, for example. Happy to share my newsletter, launched last year, curated for recipients. I’d love to hear from you.”

From Cindy Johnson Pratt about going back to Cornell: “It was a great thrill to attend the Cornell graduation of my eldest granddaughter, Susie Foster ’23 (whose grandfather is the late Bert Foster ’60 ), in environmental engineering. I had graduated in February 1961 (in three and a half years), so I never had graduation pomp and circumstance. I borrowed my granddaughter’s cap and gown and had my picture taken in front of DG on Triphammer Rd. Now I’ve graduated properly! We just downsized and moved to a retirement community in independent living only a few miles from where I’ve lived for the last 50 years on Lake Minnetonka.”

Steven Stein sent a photo of his Cornell family, nine of whom are Cornell graduates. The impetus of the family gathering was to attend the graduation of his granddaughter, Mimi Stein ’23 , and to celebrate the family’s gift of a bench in memory of his late wife, Susan (Volpert) ’62 , and himself. “Three Generations of Stein Cornellians, 1961 to 2023.” Wow!

From Pat Laux Richards : “ Jack ’60 and I were thrilled to attend our granddaughter’s Cornell graduation last May. Anderson ‘Annie’ Rogers ’23 graduated from Bowers CIS.”

And, lastly, Marco Minasso writes, “I have great memories of Cornell. So it’s with great pleasure that my granddaughter, Sofia ’27 , is now attending Cornell. That makes five of us alumni in our Cornell extended family: my daughter, her husband, me, and two grandchildren! I’m still in Yonkers and after 60 years in the wine business I still drink wine!” Good for you and Sofia! ❖ Susan Williams Stevens ( email Susan ) | Doug Fuss ( email Doug ) | Alumni Directory .

The College of Veterinary Medicine has established the Stephen J. Ettinger 1962 , DVM 1964, Scholarship in honor of this outstanding veterinarian whose broad-reaching influence has impacted the college and the veterinary profession.

Stephen is considered a founder of specialization in veterinary medicine, having helped establish the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and serving as president of cardiology in that group—from which he received the inaugural lifetime specialty achievement award . He has authored hundreds of journal papers and key foundational textbooks, including Canine Cardiology (1970) and the Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine , the ninth edition of which published in January 2024. He has served on the Cornell University Board of Trustees, the Dean’s Leadership Council, and the Advisory Council and received a Daniel Elmer Salmon Award for Distinguished Alumni Service in 2010.

From San Antonio, TX, John Graybill , MD ’66, sends word that he has retired as emeritus professor of medicine. “I was chief of my division of infectious diseases for six years at University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and had about 250 peer-reviewed publications, mostly in medical mycology and with AIDS patients, and a lot of non-reviewed publications. I left all of that in 2008. My wife, Sue, and I continue to enjoy retirement. For 30 years we have done medical volunteer work in Mexico, Bogotá, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. We have aged out of the volunteer work but have bought a home in Guatemala and spend 3–5 months a year there. With the hot summers here in Texas, it is great to be in Guatemala at 5,300 feet in the mountains, with a climate like Denver. We love Latino culture. My addictive hobby in Guatemala is growing orchid species, and Guatemala is a great place for it. I tie them to tree branches and have a few on tables, a thousand in all. Up in Texas (not healthy for orchids), I have gotten into HO and N gauge model railroading. My N gauge is coffee-table sized and can go with us when we move sometime, if ever, to a retirement home. I am finally reaching the point of knowing how outdated I am in my profession of clinical academic medicine and am stopping medical journals, medical societies, and ultimately my medical license. Age will claim us all, but orchids and model railroading are good hobbies to have.”

John Abel retired from the Cornell civil engineering faculty in 2004 but continues to live in Ithaca on the west shore of Cayuga Lake. His wife, Lynne (Snyder) , died in 2006, and since 2010 his son Bill has lived with him. “Together we enjoy movies, TV series, travel, and Cornell sports events, as well as lakeside living. We spend holiday seasons with daughter Britt Abel ’91 and her family in the Twin Cities. After 12 years on the board of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network (mission: to advocate for the health of Cayuga Lake and its watershed in a changing world), I have decided to step aside this coming August. I served as treasurer during eight years of growth, but my proudest accomplishment was through working with three talented interns from Cornell, one each in three of the last four summers. I guided their creation, revision, and updating of two handbooks advising watershed residents how to help alleviate climate change while preserving the quality of the lake.

I am excited to have completed the conversion of our home to fully electric. John Abel ’62

“While writing about the effects of extreme weather on our lake and watershed, I decided to ‘walk the talk’ on climate change. I am excited to have completed the conversion of our home to fully electric using community-subscription solar power from a photovoltaic farm in nearby Newfield, NY. I installed deep geothermal heat pumps, discarded our gas furnace and water heater, upgraded our heating and electric infrastructure, and replaced our gas dryer with a ventless hybrid electric version and our stove with an induction stovetop. We were able to turn off our natural gas connection! I also drive a plug-in hybrid car since 2017.

“I remain active as former president and advisor for the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), my professional association involving engineers, architects, and researchers. This coming year, after a pandemic hiatus of four years, I will resume international travel to annual IASS symposia, this year in Zurich and next year in Mexico City.

“Daughter Britt, on the faculty of Macalester College, will be teaching in Vienna again this spring semester (fourth time since 2009), and her husband, Scott Burglechner ’91 , is able to join her thanks to his remote work possibility for U.S. Bank. Grandson Will graduated from Colorado College in May and is starting his second social-service job in the Twin Cities while deciding about long-term plans. Granddaughter Natasha Burglechner ’25 will spend her junior spring semester at Cornell’s program in Seville, Spain.”

I’d be in denial if I didn’t admit that we are all beginning to wind down. Still, it is lovely to read the bits and pieces you send along detailing your lives and activities. Please keep them coming—until we can’t.

There’s a snowstorm raging outside my NYC window as I write this late spring column. To bridge this gap, I urge you to check out our class website , where you will find entries posted in a timely fashion in their entirety in our “Classmate News” section. We love to post your photos, so send them along too. ❖ Judy Prenske Rich ( email Judy ) | Alumni Directory .

I think my first sentence for the Class Notes column should be: Please send me news via email at this link ! I am running low on news. The news in this column comes from Christmas cards that I received from Cornell classmates.

Barbara Hartung Wade , MEd ’64, writes, “I was called out of retirement again, to teach two seventh-grade Spanish classes until the end of June 2023.” Even though she was employed, she and her daughter, Kimberly, went to Cancún in February, followed by a trip to Florida with Kimberly and her husband, Bernard. In September, Barbara and a friend had a good trip to Falcon’s Resort in Punta Cana for a week of sun, fun, and golf. In November the family went to their timeshare at the Westin Lagunamar in Cancún for a two-week getaway. “On the third evening there, it was dark and I tripped on an elevated round light in the cement that wasn’t lit and fell. With second-degree friction burns on arms, knees, and shoulder, I was hospitalized for 12 hours with painful surgery to close and clean the wounds.” Barbara had more to say about paying the hospital bill and then the scam involved when she had to change her flight home on Delta. “I’m recovering slowly but grateful it wasn’t worse. These bad experiences are what can happen at our age! We all learn lessons from them.”

Bill and Frankie Campbell Tutt live in Colorado Springs. Frankie writes: “We celebrated our 60th anniversary at our Ohio farm with the entire Campbell clan. We sold our home of 48 years and downsized to a gated community that we love. Going from 5,000 square feet to 3,400 square feet took some dumpsters, but we are in and can accommodate six guests.”

George Ehemann , ME ’66, and Diane Siegenthaler live in Lancaster, PA. “We enjoy visits from grandchildren including our engineering student enrolled at Cornell. We are active in church activities and German Club chorus. Our 60th wedding anniversary is coming up in the fall of 2024. My favorite memory of Cornell was the climb up the frozen gorge at Buttermilk.”

On the Parisian front, I’m teaching at Sorbonne University in the master’s program in orchestra management. Mary Falvey ’63

Mary Falvey splits her time between San Francisco and Paris, France. “On the Parisian front, I’m teaching at Sorbonne University in the master’s program in orchestra management. I gave a seminar there in 2019 and this year the professor asked if I would teach part of the course while he is on sabbatical. I’m giving six seminars together with colleagues of the San Francisco Symphony. I’m continuing as an entrepreneur-in-residence at INSEAD, a global business school in Fontainebleau. I also helped a French startup in the quantum dot space raise Series A financing. This fall I plan to rent a house in Brittany as a successor to my country home in Calistoga, which I sold in 2022, and to add to my three months a year in France. My oldest grandson, Colin, who holds a master’s in environmental engineering from Stanford, was married last year.”

We had dinner before Christmas with Jim , MD ’69, and Christine Newton Dauber . They are now living in a nice senior living facility. Jim writes: “After a 20-year hiatus, Chris and I returned in April to see Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Zion, and Bryce Canyon along with my older sister and her husband. We still spend part of the summer in our condo in Hillsboro, OR. Our Thanksgiving celebration was quiet but appreciated since Nancy Deeds Meister produced a traditional feast for us and her husband. We spent Christmas here in Tucson but traveled to Hillsboro for New Year’s Eve.”

Thanks to finding our home phone number through Mr. Google, we had a wonderful phone conversation with Tom Stirling , JD ’69, a week ago. Tom lives in Honolulu with his wife, Anita. Two recent milestones for Tom: “Upon my February 28 retirement as a Honolulu lawyer, Anita and I were off on a tour of Vietnam and Cambodia at considerably greater expense than my first tour (all paid for by the Army 57 years ago). Also, I just made my 200th blood donation (first time was at Cornell when I was told donors could get out of ROTC drill that day). Since each donation can be used for up to three recipients, I may have more than 500 blood relatives out there somewhere.” ❖ Nancy Bierds Icke ( email Nancy ) | 12350 E. Roger Rd., Tucson, AZ 85749 | Alumni Directory .

Welcome to my last column before our 60th Reunion—so I’m hoping if you have news for your classmates that you will see them at Reunion and regale them in person. Meantime, here’s the news I do have.

Wayne Mezitt , MBA ’66, who lives with wife Elizabeth (Pickering) ’65 in Hopkinton, MA, catches us up on a lot! He writes, “In July 2023, Beth and I published a book, For the Love of Gardening , which describes our family experiences as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of our family business, Weston Nurseries. I retired from full-time management of the nursery in 2007, and since then, our son Peter and his wife, Karen, have managed all operations of the business started by my grandfather and grandmother in 1923, where I still serve as board chairman. I also enjoy ‘playing’ at Hort-Sense, the tiny business I started in 2010 as a personalized horticultural production and advisory service.

“We’re justifiably proud that we’ve been successful in shepherding Weston Nurseries into our fourth generation of family ownership. Passing the business along to our fourth generation enables Beth and me to continue exploring our passions for horticulture, travel, and family/friend relationships.

“I am editor-in-chief for the Leaflet , Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s monthly member electronic newsletter. I also serve as chair of the Massachusetts Invasive Plant Advisory Group, a voluntary collaborative representing organizations and professionals concerned with the conservation of the Massachusetts landscape. Beth manages all our family and social relationships and serves as chair of our Hopkinton Public Library friends organization.

“Our youngest son’s family lives near our ski house in Vermont, and our other three children live near us, enabling us to spend time with our nine grandchildren. In November Beth and I visited New Zealand, where Beth’s dad was born, reconnecting with relatives and enjoying their springtime, just as our Hopkinton winter was setting in. We’re now discussing the possibility for traveling to Latvia, the Mezitt family’s origin, in July, avoiding Hopkinton’s oppressive humidity and heat.

I’ve begun composing a new book about Rhododendron ‘PJM,’ a now well-known plant that my dad, Edmund Mezitt ’37 , BLA ’39, developed decades ago. Wayne Mezitt ’64, MBA ’66

“I’ve also begun composing a new book about Rhododendron ‘PJM,’ a now well-known plant that my dad, Edmund Mezitt ’37 , BLA ’39, developed decades ago at Weston Nurseries. Peter and Karen have just added another garden center operation to our Weston Nurseries ‘family,’ all in Massachusetts, to now include Lincoln, along with Chelmsford, Hingham, and Middleborough, complementing our main base in Hopkinton. We applaud their commitment and enthusiasm!

“We still maintain contact with a number of Wayne’s Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity brothers and Beth’s Kappa Alpha Theta sorority sisters, although several have recently passed away. With all that keeping us busy, we’ve not paid much attention to most aspects of our Cornell experience, but we’ll welcome updates with any of our friends who have been out of touch.”

Next is David Evans , who with wife Sherry lives on St. Simons Island, GA. He writes, “I retired in 2019 after a career in project management services for large corporations providing governmental services to the U.S. government, while also spending 31 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard as a fighter pilot. Currently, Sherry and I are enjoying our retirement in the wonderful beach community, which is 80 miles south of Savannah, where my Welsh ancestors arrived in the 1650s. A shout-out to my freshman roommate Bill Lacy .”

In other news, Phyllis Rivkin Goldman , MS ’67, and Michael Troner are enjoying their retirements in Boston and Miami, respectively. They are co-chairs of the Class of ’64 Annual Fund and are busy planning to reach out to all of our classmates to support the Annual Fund and in particular our Class Legacy: the Class of 1964 JFK Award for Cornell seniors entering public service. They hope for a big turnout for our 60th Reunion and an even bigger response to their requests for support. Each of them has grandchildren at Cornell and the Troners especially look forward to the graduation in May of granddaughter Rachael Ricisak ’24 before our Reunion.

Lastly, a message from our class president, Ken Kupchak , JD ’71: “Sixty years ago this June we shed our obligatory bonds to Cornell. Celebrate we shall at Reunion. Our ‘modest’ footprint, however, continues and remains indelibly printed in Cornell’s story. This is especially true with respect to the then- and now-timely JFK Award. We have just transitioned this charge to a self-perpetuating board composed of our great awardees. This ensures that the Cornell Class of 1964’s influence will survive our playing time on Cornell’s fields. Hope to see you this June. If you ask nicely, I may save some healthy milk punch for you!”

That’s it for now. On behalf of our class officers, we hope to see you at our 60th Reunion on Cornell’s campus on June 6–9, 2024. As for your news, please keep it coming! Update me by email, regular mail, our class website , or our class Facebook page . ❖ Bev Johns Lamont ( email Bev ) | 720 Chestnut St., Deerfield, IL 60015 | Alumni Directory .

From Joan Hens Johnson : “There were 21 people attending the Cornell annual Florida luncheon arranged by Judy Kellner Rushmore in January. We all enjoyed sharing stories and congratulating the class gift committee on the success of the fall 2023 pilot project of our well-being coaching at the Skorton Health Center. This initiative, funded by the Class of 1965 student mental health fund, will continue because the program is so impactful. Jeff Kass , the leader of our gift committee, provided me with an excellent summary that I shared at the luncheon. He wrote, ‘All results thus far indicate our class gift is funding a program with real and positive impact on the lives of current and next-generation Cornellians.’ Students overwhelmingly supported these statements: ‘I am making progress toward my well-being goals’; ‘I am noticing positive changes in myself that are keeping me encouraged’; ‘I am substituting more healthy/helpful thoughts and behaviors for less healthy/helpful thoughts and behaviors.’ The news of the successful pilot program created a positive buzz among all those at the luncheon.”

Commenting on the highlights of the past year, Myron Jacobson spoke of the river cruise he and Michele took from Amsterdam to Budapest “even though the Danube dried up as we finished with a bus!”

Jim Bennett writes, “Failing any meaningful hobby, I’m looking for my fifth consecutive full-time role to give back to Northeast Ohio. It looks like it will be a major initiative funded by the City of Cleveland and private monies to assemble and remediate 1,000 acres of abandoned inner city properties, market individual sites to companies, and provide jobs for a number of economically disadvantaged residents along a five-mile inner city corridor.”

George , MD ’69, and Judy Arangio spent last October in the Italian regions of Piemonte and Tuscano, especially appreciating the Lucca symphony playing Mozart and Puccini operettas and the international truffle festival in Alba, as well as Barolo, Barbaresco, Moscato wine tasting, and visiting sites on Lake Como.

Dave Bridgeman relates, “Karen and I just celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. The last six years have been the best of our entire lives! The cruises and vacations are nice, but the best part is getting to be with each other in perfect love, peace, and harmony.”

After four years’ absence, Stephen Appell ’65 traveled to Ithaca via the Campus-to-Campus bus for a weekend of Cornell basketball.

Judy Rushmore and Dave Koval and Linda and Walt Gadkowski are moving to Vi at Bentley Village in Naples, FL, where Ashok , ME ’65 , and Fay Thomas Bakhru , MAT ’66 , are already in residence. Before moving, Judy and her family are touring South Africa.

After four years’ absence, Stephen Appell traveled to Ithaca via the Campus-to-Campus bus for a weekend of Cornell basketball—and this time, to root only for the women’s team. Having apprised the Statler staff of the purpose of his visit, they welcomed him with a goodie bag of Cornell souvenirs, including a basketball cap, and made him feel like a VIP. Steve watched the women players defeat Dartmouth the first night and give a good battle to a formidable Harvard team the next. He was gratified that the coaches and players expressed appreciation for his show of support. Steve also saw the women’s team play at Columbia earlier in the season, and on February 10 he traveled to New Haven to see the outstanding men’s team give Yale all it could handle before succumbing in the last four seconds, 80–78, in an epic battle of undefeated Ivy teams.

Steve Hand is another avid Cornell sports fan. He notes that he is a fixture in Ithaca at all Cornell women’s and men’s hockey games. “Steve Appell joined me last weekend for women’s basketball, hockey, Glenwood Pines, and Purity ice cream.” In January, Steve Hand went on a trip to Disney World with his wife, son, and two grandchildren and everyone had a fun time. Thanks to Steve for managing the Cornell Class of ’65 webpage, which has information about classmates and past Reunions and photos, and also the link to find the Cornell Class of 1965 Freshman Register.

The subject of health is important all through our lives, and Bud Suiter , MBA ’67, has just finished reading two books of interest: Young Forever by Dr. Mark Hyman ’82 and Drop Acid by Dr. David Perlmutter. He states: “The books summarize amazing research results, particularly recent stuff over the last five years.”

Applause to Alan Lockwood , MD ’69, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Physicians for Social Responsibility in 2023. Alan is a CAAAN volunteer and frequent contributor to the Lifelong Learning series at Kendal at Oberlin.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the column and please continue to forward your news to: ❖ Joan Hens Johnson ( email Joan ) | Stephen Appell ( email Stephen ) | Alumni Directory .

As we near two years to our 60th Reunion, our classmates continue to report on the various jobs, activities, and travels that make up their lives. Susan Porter Bass never imagined working in farming but reports working in a vineyard and winery. Dick Lockwood , MNS ’68, spent 20 years as a part-time faculty member at Brandeis University’s Heller School. He was a union organizer with classmate Larry Bailis at Brandeis for adjunct and non-tenured faculty.

Currently Dick is a member of the board of directors of the Bullough’s Pond Association, a neighborhood environmental defense organization to keep the pond from becoming a swamp. His current hobbies are ice skating and swimming. Dick visited Vietnam last year with his oldest son, Dan ’94 , to show him the village in the Mekong Delta on the Cambodian border where he lived from 1968–70 with the International Volunteer Organization. He reports that 58 years have changed the country for the better. The family travels to Brazil every year to visit his wife’s family in Salvador, Bahia.

John Cobey has been practicing law for 55 years. He is also chairperson of Neighborhood Health, a charity that provides medical services for the homeless. He also chairs the Hamilton County (OH) Law Library, is on the Art Academy board, is an officer of the Literary Club (the oldest one in America), and is on the Rockdale Temple board. In ’66 he never imagined that he would someday have a lawsuit about an outer space problem—the world has certainly changed. John and his wife have two successful and happy sons.

Ira Sadoff retired as Arthur Jeremiah Roberts Professor of Literature at Colby College in 2015. He remains an active and publishing poet. In 2020, his ninth collection of poems, Country, Living , was published by Alice James Books. This past December the Academy of American Poets published a new poem, “ Thank You .” Ira is passionate about classical music and jazz. He lives near Woodstock, NY, where there’s “good music galore.” He never imagined he would be spending his life as a professor teaching literature and poetry, and writing poetry and criticism, for 50 years. At Cornell, he describes himself as a “poor student” taking all the wrong courses with the wrong professors. At the end of his junior year, he finally had the courage to try writing poetry. He feels blessed to have this lifetime passion.

Dick Lockwood ’66 , MNS ’68, visited Vietnam last year with his oldest son, Dan ’94 , to show him the village where he lived from 1968–70.

After 36 years, Marty Skelly Remis retired from the CDC as a Public Health Advisor, Quarantine Division. She spent 33 years at the Chicago Quarantine Station and three years as Deputy Bureau Chief, Quarantine Branch, Atlanta, GA, retiring in 2008. Although she never imagined living in Florida, she is active in many activities in Sarasota. They include NAMI Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Meals on Wheels, All Faiths Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, and Key Chorale. She now enjoys playing tennis and mahjong. She and her husband have time to travel. Trips included an Alaska cruise, a vegan Caribbean cruise, and driving 192,000 miles in their Class B RV after she retired. In the summer, they spend time on Tuscarora Lake in Erieville, NY, with the whole family. The family visits them in Florida in winter.

Nancy Decker Stephenson is a retired registered dietician and office manager for a veterinary practice. Her activities include volunteering with meals for the homeless and the DAR. Hobbies now include gardening, reading, classical piano, and travel. She never imagined going to Japan and China. Other countries visited include family visits in the Netherlands, plus trips to Norway, Switzerland, France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Scotland, Israel, and Colombia. Family activities include annual reunions, vacations, and holiday/birthday get-togethers.

Donna Swarts Piver is a retired educator. She volunteers at a nursing home and critical care facility. She continues to recover from a massive stroke and is making great progress with bi-weekly physical therapy sessions. In mid-December, she traveled to New Jersey to visit Anne Evans Estabrook ’65 , MBA ’66, and other friends. Donna recently moved to the Glenridge, a continuing care complex in Sarasota, FL. She reports that she loves it and the people.

Debby Kirschner Wolf sadly informed us of the passing of her husband, Marty ’63 , DVM ’66. They met at Cornell and were married for 57 years. They were blessed with two children and six grandchildren. Leith Mullings passed away in December 2020. She was an authority on the foundations of racial and class oppression and the intersectionality of race, class, and gender.

Paul Mlotok passed away in March 2021. He was an oil industry analyst who worked for various companies and was an advisor to the Department of State, the CIA, and various OPEC oil ministers. Anthony Rerecich passed away in June 2023. He was a computer programming professional who worked for various banks and computer companies. He was a veteran and accomplished runner, and he enjoyed sailing and genealogy. ❖ Susan Rockford Bittker ( email Susan ) | Pete Salinger , MBA ’68 ( email Pete ) | Alumni Directory .

Larry Dominessy , ME ’68 (Louisville, TN) reports: “I have been retired since my early 50s. I have remained active but have removed working for money from the equation. I have happened on some broad experiences in the military, Peace Corps, and Foreign Service, which built my confidence beyond the impression of a business teacher at Cornell.

“When I studied engineering at Cornell, as a fluke I took an elective in the business school. The teacher was a retired business executive. He had us write a paper and gave personal interviews to critique what we had written. I was in my fifth year at Cornell but basically, he called me an ignoramus with no ability to express myself. It shocked me but it was hard to argue with.

“I enjoy my informal study of recent history and wish I would have known what I am learning now earlier in life. All of the people whom I would like to ask questions of are dead. I guess I can’t blame myself because most of us are too busy with life to appreciate what is going on (good and bad) until it is too late.

“At Cornell, I got the distinct feeling I was in over my head, at least the first couple of years. Struggling with money certainly did not help. I took ROTC, which seemed to be a refuge from tough engineering courses. I did well the first year until I realized I just did not have the time to put in it, and ROTC did not count toward graduation anyhow. I finished second from the bottom of my ROTC class (the other person had a problem keeping in step!), but I still got a commission and a ticket to Vietnam. However, in the end I would not trade my experience of four years in the Army for anything.”

Peter Buchsbaum (Stockton, NJ) writes: “My wife, Elaine, and I, now married 56 years, are joining Dick and Eileen Barkas Hoffman ’69 for a cross-country rail trip in mid-May. Meanwhile, I’ve continued work with Jewish organizations, having been elected to the executive board of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, and I also joined the Commission on Social Action of the Union for Reform Judaism in the U.S.

We spend summers and parts of autumn at our island home near Acadia National Park in Maine. Peter Buchsbaum ’67

“We spend summers and parts of autumn at our island home near Acadia National Park in Maine and are completing 50 years of living in still semirural Hunterdon County, NJ. Our first grandchild is now a 1-year-old living in Rockville, MD. I’m somewhat creakier but still okay, which means I had to do some snow shoveling recently.”

Roger Abrams (University Park, FL), who was professor and dean emeritus of Northeastern University School of Law, previously dean at Rutgers University and Nova University law schools, and on the faculty at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, passed away last November 12. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Roger was an expert on sports and labor law and legal education. He served as a salary arbitrator for Major League Baseball and was a permanent arbitrator for the television, communications, electronics, and coal industries.

Roger practiced labor law, was a civil rights litigation attorney with Boston firm Foley, Hoag & Eliot, and wrote books on alternative dispute resolution, labor arbitration practice, and the business and history of sports, among other subjects. His Sports and the Law has been cited as the leading sports law casebook. A colleague, Libby Navarrete, recalled that Roger was the epitome of a great lawyer, dean, and arbitrator. “He was a very good listener, and always extremely careful and sound with his decisions. He handed out justice with precision.”

Lawrence McGuinn (Westfield, NY) died last November 20. “After graduation,” the Jamestown, NY, Post-Journal reported, “he took over the management of the Wilson Hill Farm and later expanded to establish Lin-Ary Vineyards. Larry enjoyed his lifetime career as a viticulturist. He served for a number of years as secretary and as president of the Westfield Maid Cooperative. Larry was a life member of the Sigma Pi fraternity. He was also a member of the Chautauqua County Cornell Cooperative Extension. Larry enjoyed his family, grape farming, sunsets over Lake Erie, photography, wildlife, the Buffalo Bills, and dogs.” ❖ Richard Hoffman ( email Richard ) | 2925 28th St. NW, Washington, DC 20008 | Alumni Directory .

With spring upon us and summer close by, I have more news from our classmates to share—but we’d like even more news, so please let us know where you are and what you are doing!

Corinne Dopslaff Smith has brought us up to date. She writes, “So very many decades have flown by since graduation that I don’t think I have submitted an update since serving as class correspondent way back in the ’70s.” Corinne remains active in our class and currently serves as our website community manager, a job that did not exist in the ’70s! She will be using this position to help connect classmates who want to reconnect with those they have lost contact with. Expect to hear from Corinne soon as she prepares to embark on this new initiative.

Corrine writes, “The first three decades of my working career—starting immediately after graduation—were spent at IBM, working both with clients internationally (favorite activity) and in internal marketing (not so favorite). About a month after full retirement in 1998, I was bored and initiated a new career, winding up at Milliman, an international actuarial firm. On the personal side, in 1971, I married Bob Smith, the most interesting private pilot/sailor/raconteur/fierce friend you would ever want to meet. No kids, but many, many wonderful doggies. Bob and I attended every Reunion but one, and he grew to love Cornell and all our dear Cornell friends and their spouses as much as I did. We loved living both down the shore in New Jersey and in our apartment near Lincoln Center in NYC. Bob sadly died last April. He is missed by all who knew him—most of all me. I continue to live down the shore (in Spring Lake) and in Manhattan.” Seven DG sisters from our class connect each month with Bernice “Neecy” Bradin as Zoom leader. The group includes Corinne, Neecy, Mary Sander Alden , Mary Jo Bastion Ashley , Beth Deabler Corwin , Susan Clark Norwood , and Janie Wallace Vanneman .

Jay Waks ’68 , JD ’71, his wife, Harriet, and classmate Joan Gottesman Wexler ’68 took to the sidewalks, logging nearly 2,300 miles through year-end 2023.

Susan Norwood writes that after a few years at Tulane University, where she received an MEd in counseling (1972) and served as the program director in the University Center, in 1973 she became the director of guidance and college counseling at an independent school in New Orleans. She was also active as a traveling ERB test consultant, a role she continued in for several years after leaving the independent school in 1995. “Even as I developed a practice as a family mediator, restorative practitioner, and trainer, working in juvenile and family courts, eventually I circled back into schools to apply mediation skills to practice restorative discipline—an alternative to suspension and expulsion. Now pretty much retired since 2016, my time is taken up volunteering for the New Orleans affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, serving on that board as well as conducting family education and support groups and Mental Health First Aid trainings.” Susan also serves on the board of the Center for Restorative Approaches, which provides training and tools for restorative approaches in schools, workplaces, and the criminal justice system. With all that she continues to do, Susan writes that she has the most fun on any given day playing pickleball!

Jay Waks , JD ’71, his wife, Harriet, and classmate Joan Gottesman Wexler turned pandemic isolation into outdoor social occasions by taking to the sidewalks and paths on a wide variety of routes in and around their Larchmont-Mamaroneck, NY, communities, logging, so they say, nearly 2,300 miles through year-end 2023. And Jay reports they are still at it!

Happy to report that Sharon Lawner Weinberg , PhD ’71, and I, Steve , MBA ’70, JD ’71, attended our fourth annual South Florida TEP reunion this past winter, with two other members of our class present, Jane Frommer Gertler (and husband David ’67 , ME ’68) and Gordon Silver . The event was hosted by Richard Marks ’67 , MBA ’68, and wife Carol. Also attending were Rick Bailyn ’67 , MD ’71, and his significant other, Margo Printz-Brandt, Ted Feldmeier ’67 , BS ’71, and wife Joan, Norm Stern ’66 and wife Jo, Norm Stokes ’66 , Lloyd Richard Dropkin ’66 , MD ’70, and wife Joan, Ralph Janis ’66 and wife Rhoda, Norm Meyer ’66 , Mike Caplan ’66 , and Myron Jacobson ’65 . A great time was had by all.

I look forward to receiving more news and updates from all of you! Please email me with news about you and your family that you want to share with our classmates. ❖ Steve Weinberg, MBA ’70, JD ’71 ( email Steve ) | Alumni Directory .

Our 55th Reunion: June 6–9, 2024! Our Reunion chairs, Cindy Nixon Dubose and Sally Knowlton , have been hard at work planning a great Reunion. Cindy writes: “We’ll celebrate our 55th Reunion on June 6–9, and we hope you’ll join us! It will be a great opportunity to enjoy our class events and gatherings, attend University lectures and forums, explore the beautiful campus, and, of course, reconnect with friends and make new ones! We hope you’ll stay in touch, encourage other classmates to attend, and plan to celebrate with us! The registration materials and schedule of events will be sent in April and will have all the details of our weekend. (By the time you read this, you may have already received the materials.) There is early-bird pricing for registration until May 15, so we hope you’ll register early.

“Our class headquarters will be in the brand new, fully air-conditioned Toni Morrison Hall. It has spacious common rooms for socializing and gathering, an incredible dining hall, and a very convenient location in the new North Campus area. For on-campus housing, the single and double rooms are arranged in suites, also with plenty of space and amenities. Our wonderful registration chairs, Larry and Nancy Jenkins Krablin , will be handling the room reservations and the accommodations.

“For those arriving Thursday, we’ll have a casual welcome dinner buffet in the HQ and a traditional ice cream social in the evening. We’ll join together for breakfast in the Morrison Dining Hall on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. Everyone can attend and participate in our Friday morning class forum with Cornell historian Corey Earle ’07 . We’ll enjoy dinners (catered by the Heights Restaurant) on Friday and Saturday evenings, and a barbeque lunch with entertainment by the Sherwoods. In between our planned events during the weekend, there will be lots of time to explore campus, revisit familiar places, see new sights, and attend other engaging University events and programs. We hope to see you in June to celebrate our 55th together.”

Doug Mock ’69 is very talented with the guitar, harmonica, and kazoo, and if we’re lucky, we’ll get to see and hear him at our Reunion this June.

What a wonderful schedule that’s been planned by Cindy and Sally. If you’ve never been to a Class of 1969 Reunion, it’s never too late! We’re a welcoming group. It’s also worth coming to see all the new buildings and other changes on the Cornell campus.

Our presidents, Greg Baum and Robert Tallo , are asking everyone to consider being an officer for our next Reunion cycle—leading up to our 60th! We are looking for most positions, so feel free to nominate a classmate; we also accept self-nominations! We are definitely looking for a class correspondent.

We heard from our classmate Richard Hagelberg . He has been the CEO of Kidstuff Playsystems for the past 41 years. His wife thinks he should retire! Richard and his wife love to travel, especially on river cruises. His favorite Cornell memory: the camaraderie of the Big Red Band!

At our Zoom meeting this past January, we were entertained by classmate Doug Mock , who played folk songs from the ’60s and ’70s. He’s very talented with the guitar, harmonica, and kazoo, and if we’re lucky, we’ll get to see and hear him at our Reunion this June.

Lastly, fill in those forms and come to Reunion 2024! ❖ Ingrid Dieterle Tyler ( email Ingrid ) | Class website | Alumni Directory .

As I sit at my computer and assemble this column, the most amazing thing currently is that it is the beginning of February and the outdoor temperature here north of Chicago is above 50 °F, with absolutely no piles of dirty snow. It’s more like early spring than mid-winter here.

February is always time for the Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference (CALC), a gathering of class officers and other alumni, this year in Baltimore. Although I won’t be attending, CALC also indicates some milestones for class events. It will be preceded this year by an online meeting of our class officers with one of the most significant items on the agenda being preparations for our 55th Reunion, June 5–8, 2025. Even though, as I write this, Reunion is more than a year away, preliminary planning has already begun. If you have any thoughts or ideas, and wish to be involved or to volunteer, contact Sally Anne Levine , our class president. Find her contact info (and others) through the Alumni Directory .

Ellen Celli Eichleay (Pittsburgh, PA) writes, “I still live in Pittsburgh, where I have always lived, and have a large contingent of friends and family. Since the age of 37, I have walked two miles a day so I am in a lot better shape than many of them—so I spend a lot of time cooking, driving, and helping where I can. With the sudden realization that my twin grandsons were now the age of my father and his brother when they came to the U.S. in 1913, last year I wrote a book for them about the brave journey my grandparents took to come to the U.S. At the age of 30, with two little boys and speaking no English, they started by oxcart, then train, and then to the sister ship of the Titanic , the Olympic . They left the beautiful Casentino valley in Tuscany behind and came to the dirty, gritty town of Monessen, PA, where the steel mills provided work and there was real education for their sons. My uncle and father both went to Carnegie Mellon and graduated first and second in their respective classes and lived the American Dream. So my twin grandsons now have the place, names, and dates correct for future reference.

“I volunteer as a narrator of books with some Western Pennsylvania connection for the Library of Accessible Media, a division of the Carnegie Library. My husband, John ’68 , and I like to travel and we have done a lot in 2023. I only have one child in Pittsburgh, so I also travel to see these twins in North Carolina and my much younger granddaughter in New Mexico. I am very grateful for the charmed life I have led, and I think it all goes back to that decision my grandparents made to leave Italy in 1913.”

I celebrated happily with Bridget Murphy ’70 our 75th birthdays in New York City last summer. Ellen Celli Eichleay ’70

Ellen adds, “I celebrated happily with Bridget Murphy our 75th birthdays in New York City last summer. Bill , ME ’71, and Gail Post Wallis we see with some regularity, and it is always a great time when it happens. We met them for a weekend in Montreal in late September. We were wandering through the museum there and at the end of a corridor was a very modern painting. I asked them if it looked like a hockey mask and when we got up close, its title was ‘Dryden’!”

Continuing the creative energy that seems to envelop our classmates, Larry Kraft (North Springfield, VT) has had his first stage play, a tragicomedy titled Waiting for a Eulogy , both published and performed. This full-length play, which includes references to campus life at Alpha Sigma Phi, is inspired by Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Larry’s play was scheduled to have its “world premiere” by the Springfield (VT) Community Players in April. It has also been accepted for publication by OPEN: Journal of Arts and Letters , which “offers a range of contemporary aesthetic experiences made available through its several media platforms.”

More creative energy is evidenced by Ellen Saltonstall (New York, NY) in the publishing of her fifth book, Empowered Aging: Everyday Yoga Practices for Bone Health, Strength, and Balance. From the press release: “Embrace the journey of remaining active while aging. This comprehensive guide by seasoned yoga therapist Ellen Saltonstall offers a fresh perspective on living with courage, vitality, and grace. Drawing from the wisdom of yoga, this book provides professional guidance, gentle adaptations, and compassionate support to improve your bone health, strength, and balance while enhancing your overall well-being so you can enjoy the fullness of life at any age.”

Yet another creative classmate many of us know is artist Andrea Strongwater (New York, NY). You may remember her as the creator of the Cornell puzzle that was a Reunion memento. Her creativity is now a part of an exhibit at Cornell’s Mann Library called “From Nabokov’s Net.” A noted writer and professor of Russian literature at Cornell from 1948–59, Vladimir Nabokov was also impassioned by butterflies. While in Ithaca, he collected hundreds of specimens from across the U.S., which he donated to the Cornell University Insect Collection. The exhibit, part of which is a selection from his collection, also includes artwork by Andrea, including a butterfly describing in Latin the classification of the butterfly named after Nabokov. This butterfly is also being made into a sticker to be given away and used as a part of the publicity. The exhibit runs through August, so attendees to this year’s Reunion will have the opportunity to see it.

As always, you may contact me directly (see below) or you may use the University’s online news form . ❖ John Cecilia, MBA ’79 ( email John ) | Alumni Directory .

For those of you not on Facebook, you missed splendid images taken by Gilda Klein Linden and her husband, Jeff Krawitz, from their long winter trip to Southeast Asia. I’m glad I don’t have to select a favorite among those from Hong Kong (Victoria Peak, variously shaped double-decker buses, and more neon lights than discos in the ’60s), Cát Bà Island (seafood and cruising), Ha Long Bay, Hue, Mekong River sites, and a Vespa tour of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon, per localspeak), and still more pix from Bangkok, Phnom Penh, and Singapore. Actually, I would choose a favorite from Angkor Wat, the newly restored Hindu Buddhist temple near Siem Reap—if my top picks weren’t all of Gilda herself, a smile beaming in every shot she’s in.

During the pandemic, they traversed the U.S. and along the East Coast in their tow-behind camper trailer. They have now been to all 50 states. As soon as possible after COVID, the two were in the air to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia. That’s not all. In toto, they’ve cruised the Caribbean, a thousand miles up the Amazon, and from Seville to Lisbon. Some jaunts include family (Tanzania/Zanzibar and London/Cotswolds). More is scheduled this year. She’s been to all seven continents and swum in all seven seas. Considering all the time away, it’s notable that Gilda’s been an EMT with the local ambulance corps near home in Fair Lawn, NJ, for 32 years and also volunteered to give COVID vaccinations in the first 18 months that these were available to the Bergen County Medical Reserve Corps. She can easily see two of her boys: her middle son lives six miles away with his wife and family while the older one and partner have moved to eastern Pennsylvania. Seeing her youngest son and his husband requires flying to London … and we can imagine what a joy that is for this traveling classmate!

Robert Bloch tells us that over last November’s 20–22 weekend, 23 Psi U fraternity brothers, with some of their wives and girlfriends and “wannabe Psi Us from SAE” enjoyed an informal reunion. The death, earlier in 2023, of Barry Cermak prompted them to get together. Attendees from the Class of ’70 were Steve Hirst and Art Walsh . From our class, attendees were Tom and Amy Brereton , Warren and Donna Baker , Leo , ME ’72, and Laurie Bettan Reinsmith ’72 , Eddie Kosteva , MBA ’73, Gary Cokins , and Robert and Nancy Bloch. From the Class of ’72 were Ed and Tracy Marinaro , Mike Jones , Chris Hart , PhD ’83, Chuck Parr , Mike Kozel , David Commito , John Gollon (and his girlfriend, Jen), and Fred Hoefer . Brothers from ’73 were Ed Mace , Kellen Smith , Stu Millheiser , Pete Durkalski , Dick Bell , and Mike Dempster . Joining from SAE were John Morehouse ’72 and Steve Kramer ’72 . Happy stragglers streamed through the State Diner Sunday morning.

Gilda Klein Linden ’71 has been to all seven continents and swum in all seven seas.

A highlight of cocktails and dinner along Cayuga Inlet at the Boatyard Grill included a sampling of fine wine from brother Mike “Vittler” Jones ’72’s Lagunita Vineyard (Amador County, CA). They tailgated the next afternoon and had barbecue at the Antlers after a tour of the old Psi Upsilon house (now repurposed as a grad student residence and activity center). Brothers took side trips to Taughannock and other parks and wandered the campus. They saw much that had changed, yet a demonstration in front of the Straight suggested much had not!

Howard Rodman is still screenwriting (an adaptation of a novel for Amazon Studios), television writing (staffed on “The Idol” from HBO-MAX), novel writing (latest, The Great Eastern, “a sprawling, lavish, literary, 19-century, anti-colonial adventure novel from Melville House”), teaching (professor at USC), and cultural “bureaucrating” (VP of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). He had been named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Republic of France and this year was promoted from Chevalier (Knight) to Officier.

Some have asked me to report on a Cornell’s Adult University’s January expedition to Antarctica. Ordinarily your correspondent has easy access to words … and words and words. But, in the case of the planet’s southernmost, least-populated, fifth-largest, and most arid continent, I still struggle to articulate the awe of what our merry band experienced aboard the SH Vega . The quiet. A wider range of blues and grays than you can imagine. Vast emptiness. More kinds of ice than you’ve heard of. Nearly no falling snow. Proximity to creatures of land, sea, and air—who were unconcerned as we walked nearby on ice or snow and cruised close on small Zodiacs or our 150-passenger ship. Superb Cornell teaching, exquisitely appointed ship, fine food and drink, and as companionable a group of Cornell alumni and friends as one might like. Because of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, ships operate within the Antarctic treaty system and aim to have minimal impact on the fragile environment. Thus, once we’d left Ushuaia, Argentina, we saw only one other boat as we plied the Beagle Channel and Drake Passage and meandered meaningfully among the icebergs, sea ice, and islands of the Antarctica Peninsula that’s closest to South America. Put this wondrous place on your list and until you get there, explore online. Ask me for the short film of our excursion if you wish. ❖ Elisabeth Kaplan Boas ( email Elisabeth ) | Cara Nash Iason ( email Cara ) | Alumni Directory .

I just returned from the Cornell Alumni Leadership Council (CALC) meeting in Baltimore—something new for me, but, as it turns out, an event that hundreds of alumni from all graduations have been attending repeatedly for years. It was great meeting up with classmates and meeting new friends. Cornellians came from all over the country and even abroad. Among the events I attended was an impressive lecture on leadership during challenging times by four-star general, former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and distinguished senior lecturer of leadership at the Johnson School, George W. Casey Jr., and an informative discussion of antisemitism and racism on the Cornell campus. A dinner in a nearby restaurant organized by our enthusiastic and energetic class president, Nancy Roistacher , was delicious, but more importantly lots of fun. For those of you in the Class of ’72 who may be interested in attending a future meeting, there is no need to be a class officer or in a leadership position to attend CALC—all Class of ’72 alumni are welcome.

News from our classmates continues to come in. Richard Joslyn , PhD ’77, writes in from Jenkintown, PA, that he retired in 2020 after a 44-year career at Temple University as a professor of political science, associate dean, vice provost, and dean of Temple’s campus in Japan. He recently published a book with Temple Press, called The History of Temple University Japan . Currently he and his wife, Kathleen, get the most satisfaction from taking care of their granddaughter, Anabel, age 13. His summers are spent at a cottage on Keuka Lake, one hour west of Ithaca, where he and Kathleen kayak, drink wine, and have a boat that goes 8 mph! Among his memories of Cornell are singing with the Glee Club and going to hockey games at Lynah Rink, becoming politically active, and standing outside Willard Straight when the students who had occupied it in protest of racism on campus came out bearing guns, thus witnessing, in real life and real time, the famous Newsweek magazine cover photo.

Richard Joslyn ’72 , PhD ’77, spends summers at a cottage on Keuka Lake, one hour west of Ithaca, where he and Kathleen kayak, drink wine, and have a boat that goes 8 mph!

Nancy Kollisch (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) is grateful that everyone in her family is doing well, and that she continues to walk and travel in her retirement. She fondly remembers having a great time at Cornell, despite, she claims, being a “nerd!”—which actually may have been a good thing, she says, for it kept her out of trouble. Clearly, she worked hard and accomplished great things.

Mark Schimelman writes that he retired 12 years ago and is enjoying the freedom and time with his family. He sadly recalls the passing 12 years ago of Joel Shapiro ’73 , his best friend in college (besides his wife, Shelley (Grumet) ’73 ).

Elias Savada , another attendee of CALC, writes in from Bethesda, MD, that after graduation he moved to the Washington, DC, area and settled into a career in film history and archiving, starting with the American Film Institute (then based at the Kennedy Center) and ultimately founding and (still) running the Motion Picture Information Service, which provides about 400 customized copyright research reports annually. He and his wife, Andrea, are still waiting for grandkids as his son, Daniel, and daughter, Shira, have other ideas. Back in 1995 Elias co-wrote Dark Carnival , a biography of film director Tod Browning ( Dracula , Freaks ) that was recently revised into a larger, limited-edition volume (with a paperback due later this year). He writes film reviews and also writes about craft beer.

Keep the news coming. We’re all interested! ❖ Susan Farber Straus ( email Susan ) | Frank Dawson ( email Frank ) | Alex Barna ( email Alex ) | Wes Schulz , ME ’73 ( email Wes ) | Alumni Directory .

By the time you read this, the election will have ended, but I’m hoping our long-serving class president, Paul Cashman , has been elected to the Board of Trustees. He is dedicated to Cornell and would serve everyone well. Go Paul!

Rich Saltz , MBA ’74, our current class co-president, and his spouse, Lynn (Rosenbluth) ’75 , attended the wedding of their daughter Marcy ’06 on Rich’s birthday in a restaurant in Greenwich Village. Marcy married Andrew Ogulnik. Adding to Rich and Lynn’s joy, their son Ted ’12 became engaged to Alyson Stein ’13 .

Vicki Simons writes that COVID helped her feel more attached to Cornell, following the wonderful online offerings. She especially enjoyed Corey Earle ’07 ’s class on “all things Cornell.” Attending the 50th Reunion was the icing on the cake. As an architect, she marveled at the new and exciting buildings on campus, “a literal Who’s Who in architecture.” Vicki has also been traveling since retirement. Her favorite trip was to South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe for a safari. She’s also enjoyed a Cornell trip with alumni to Northern Italy.

Steven Fruchtman , too, has recently returned from a trip to Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda. “Wonderful people and fabulous sights.” His three children still bring the most satisfaction these days, as he still works running a biotech company focused on drug discovery. His best memory of Cornell remains meeting his buddy Chuck Keibler .

Mary Gilliland , MAT ’80, has just published a new book of poetry, Ember Days . She is a senior lecturer emeritus at the Knight Institute for Writing. An award-winning poet, she has previously published The Devil’s Fools and The Ruined Walled Castle Garden . She has also received a Council of the Arts Faculty Grant from Cornell, where she created and taught seminars, such as “Ecosystems & Ego Systems” and “America Dreaming.”

It was great to hear Jody Gandolfi ’73 and Bill Cowdery ’73 play piano again after 50 years!

Bill Chamberlain echoed the fun had at the 50th Reunion. He was delighted to connect with friends from his time at Cornell. He heard the cool story of how Greg Kishel and his wife, Karin, met in the Peace Corps. He also caught up with Nancy Roistacher ’72 and Wayne Merkelson , JD ’75, Dave and Patty Miller Ross ’72 , Ed Cobb , Pam Meyers , Bill Welker , MBA ’75, Bill Cowdery , PhD ’89, and Bill Cagney . A special thanks to Nancy and Wayne for putting together a wonderful Risley reunion. It was great to hear Jody Gandolfi and Bill Cowdery play piano again after 50 years! Bill is currently acting in Tracy Letts’s The Minutes . Otherwise, he’s mostly retired and working remotely very part time as a pre-law advisor at Reed College in Oregon.

Laura Davis had the pleasure of screening her latest documentary, Virulent: The Vaccine War , at a recent Cornell Intercampus Vaccine Symposium. It was co-presented by Weill Cornell and the Veterinary College’s Department of Immunology. Virulent examines the consequences of vaccine hesitancy and denial. After it was first screened, the COVID pandemic hit and it “became a very different film, one about the national conversation about vaccine safety and mandates.” We hope to be able to see it soon.

Denise Meridith has been reappointed to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Advisory Council. She’s also continuing her participation with the Cornell Technology Business Network and her long tenure with CAAAN in Arizona. Since retiring from the Bureau of Land Management, she has started two consulting companies.

Ann Prezyna and her spouse, Gordon Lewis, have been adapting their ranch in southeast Arizona as the climate becomes hotter and drier. They purchased a heat pump to replace their propane heat and AC unit and now have an electric bill below $25 a month. They power their EVs with solar panels. Their other home is a houseboat in Seattle. Ann is actively engaged in preserving our natural world. Her law firm, Animal and Earth Advocates, continues to pursue lawsuits to protect the land she loves. She misses the Vietnam War protests, when the community was actively engaged. Ann sees such activism as much needed now.

So be sure to keep us up to date on your life. ❖ Phyllis Haight Grummon ( email Phyllis ) | Dave Ross ( email Dave ) | Pam Meyers ( email Pam ) | Alumni Directory .

In case you’ve missed the emails, our 50th Reunion is this June. (What!) If you haven’t signed up yet and want to go, please do so now. I still remember when my mother, Ethel Potteiger Myers ’35 (who, BTW, knew Martha Van Rensselaer and was there when that hall opened), attended her own 50th in 1985. She was still talking about that when I accompanied her to her 75th in 2010, just a couple of months before our eldest daughter, Annalise ’14 , began her freshman year. So it’s a big deal, and if you haven’t attended Reunion in a while, or ever, please consider joining us. Hey, you don’t want to miss Larry Kleinman and me reliving our DJ days at WVBR when we go back on the air live from our class headquarters at RBG Hall Friday night! Make sure “your” song is included in the 50th Reunion playlist—send your favorite to John Foote ( email John here ).

If you are going, don’t forget to check out what your “Affinity Groups” (sports teams, Greek houses, residential halls, choral/instrumental groups, clubs, etc.) will be doing there. Go to this website and scroll down to “50th Reunion Affinity Outreach” for the complete list. (There are email links in the heading to Mary “Mi” O’Connell and Diane “Kope” Kopelman VerSchure .)

And, whether or not you can attend, don’t forget that this is a wonderful time to consider giving back. Our 50th Reunion campaign co-chairs, Jim Irish and Andrea Glanz , and participation chair David Miller are leading the effort to once again make our class truly notable.

Speaking of getting back together, a number of us “represented” at the Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference (CALC) at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront the last weekend in February, including Beth Allen , former class president Dale Lazar , JD ’77, Ellen Perlmutter , Bill Quain , and me. Dale said afterward, “I enjoyed visiting with our classmates and all of my Cornell friends. It was a great turnout.” Steve Piekarec came up from Northern Virginia Friday night to host the Cornell classes of the ’70s reception at the Pratt Street Ale House (as he did previously), so ’74s were prominent there as well. Although I had attended parts of CALC in the past, when it was in D.C. or Baltimore, this was the first time that I had signed up for the full event (including staying at the Marriott Friday night). As an officer of the Cornell Club of Washington (DC) as well as our class itself, I found it very valuable. The schedule was pretty tight (15 minutes between sessions—like classes!) beginning Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. and all day Saturday, ending with a gathering with Alumni Affairs regional representatives at the hotel bar after CALC officially ended at 5:30 p.m. I recommend it and would go again.

You don’t want to miss Larry Kleinman ’74 and me reliving our DJ days at WVBR when we go back on the air live Friday night [of Reunion]! Jim Schoonmaker ’74

From the mailbox: David Hirschland writes, “I laughed when I saw that Nancy Dworkin Miller ’73 ’s favorite Cornell memory was hearing James Taylor. One of my favorites was Nancy, a percussionist, leading the way to the Big Red Pep Band in ‘Sweet Georgia Brown.’”

Esteban Rosas writes from Mexico, “I remember and miss the infamous ‘Baja Chemical Company’— Blaine Rhodes (‘Cisco’), Robert Hoff (‘the Fat One’), and me (‘Speedy’). We wrote a project for a course in chemical engineering 50 years ago, along with slides and cassettes (no iPhone then). We got a D, but we had so much fun—even the profs wanted a copy to show the new students. Hope we can meet again this coming summer.” Esteban adds, “Cornell has been part of my life, and when I have visited (last in 2017) it feels like taking a refreshing boost for the times to follow. I still work, and I think I will do it till the end. I had some years in recess but got bored and started again. I have a little consulting regional office, and I also participate as an advisor to the company in Washington, DC, of my former roommate from North Campus, Don Gross .”

As for his family, Esteban has one son, two daughters, and three fantastic grandsons; “my pride and joy—they play with me in a jazz band, the Stray Cats. My wife, Rosa, and I will complete 49 years of happy marriage just before our class’s 50th Reunion. Rosa and I are excited to attend Reunion. I will play my sax and acoustic guitar as part of a band on Saturday, June 8, in Klarman Hall. We will play ’70s music for your entertainment. All the class is invited.”

Perry Jacobs has forwarded several links he thought we might like to know about. “To receive the ‘Big Red Thread,’ the recently created newsletter from the Athletics Department covering all of Cornell’s teams, email scl-add@cornell.edu . The intro by Nicki Moore, the new Director of Athletics (and Cornell’s first female AD), is always a fun read.” (Editor’s note: She did a terrific job hosting a panel of Cornell alumni athletes at CALC.) Perry also recommends “Cornell Hockey 401: The History, Art, and Science of Ice Hockey at Cornell” (which you can livestream here ) and the recent Cornellians story about Mike Schafer ’86 , the longest tenured coach in Cornell men’s hockey history.

We thank all for their contributions and invite you to continue to send in your news. ❖ Jim Schoonmaker ( email Jim ) | Molly Miller Ettenger ( email Molly ) | Alumni Directory .

It is mid-February as I write, and I can’t wait until the clocks change so it will be light in the morning and early evening! I am also looking forward to June to go up to Ithaca for Reunion to scout out places and activities that we can use/copy for our 50th Reunion, June 5–8, 2025! Put the dates on your calendar, and get ready to see old friends and definitely new buildings on campus. If you want to get involved with the planning, have an idea for an event, or would like to volunteer for the next five years, please contact me ( Deb Gellman , email me here ) or our Reunion chair, Susan Fulton ( email Susan ).

Last fall, I went to a conference honoring former Cornell history professor Walter LaFeber at Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island. A group of former students discussed many of his works and gave personal anecdotes about his impact on their lives, personally and professionally. One of the presenters was Andrew Rotter . Andy retired from the Colgate University Department of History, where, he says, for nearly 35 years he taught courses in U.S. foreign relations, in the spirit (but without the skill) of his Cornell mentor. He and his wife, Padma Kaimal (Swarthmore ’79), live in Hamilton, NY, where he spends his time writing, jogging, cross-country skiing, sitting on the village planning committee, and teaching in a medium-security prison. He has two adult daughters, a son-in-law and one daughter’s significant other, and two grandsons, ages 6 and 2, all living two hours away in Albany.

In the fall, I also traveled to Washington, DC, for a girls’ weekend with Steffi Feit Gould , Karen Lauterbach , and Ting Magill Kamon . Steffi and husband Perry ’74 had a busy 2023. Son Keith and his wife, Sophie, added daughter Violet to join big brother Miles in April; son Jason married Maddie in May; and they all (including son Andrew ’05 and wife SiChang) went to Portugal in September to help celebrate Steffi’s 70th! Karen and Mark Powers spent his 70th tucked away on a Nat Geo ship off the coast of Iceland. They saw a live volcano spewing lava, breaching whales, and puffins. Mark just published a short story, “Rabbits,” in the literary journal Does It Have Pockets . Ting and Mark Kamon spend lots of time visiting their sons Jake (and spouse Megan) and Mike (and spouse Lindsay), daughter Emily (and spouse Jason), all of their grandchildren, and Kappa and DU friends. Ting is an active member of the Chester River Chorale, which has numerous concerts during the year.

Mark Powers ’75 spent his 70th tucked away on a Nat Geo ship off the coast of Iceland.

I spent Christmas and New Year’s with Lynn Arrison Harrison , which coincided with her birthday. Her son Willie, daughter Katie, and grandson Dean came from Burlington, VT, and Naples, FL, respectively to help us celebrate her 71st! Her son Ridgley was at Disney World with his family but was with Lynn for her 70th. Lynn spends time gardening, kayaking, hiking, and doing various other outdoor activities in Saranac Lake, NY. Pam Hanna writes from Ithaca, NY: “I turned 70 last July. Surprisingly, it was a bit of an existential moment for me. Knowing that (for real!) most of my life is now in the past gave me great pause, more than I ever expected! Certainly more than turning all the other ‘milestones’—i.e., 21, 30, 40, 50, 60. BUT, I got celebrated in style, with a large family gathering including two of our three sons, their partners, and two of our grandkids. We enjoyed Stewart Park, Myers Park in Lansing, a lake cruise, dinner at the Boatyard, and so much more, with a whole crew. I loved every minute! Ithaca cooperated with fine summer weather. Here’s to more birthdays!” Elyse Byron had a party at her favorite bar in Illinois with a great dance band and about 50 friends and family for her 70th. In addition, she spoiled herself with a trip to Antarctica!

Bob Brennan , ME ’76, and wife Claire took the whole family on a vacation to Costa Rica. They took their four kids, the kids’ spouses, and their three grandchildren. They rented a villa for everyone in Tamarindo, on the west coast. They then all went to a resort in Monteverde in the Central Valley area. Sun and sand, then mountains and nature.

Rich Marin , MBA ’76, lives in San Diego, CA, with wife Kim. Even though the kids are in the East, and Kim and he get back east regularly and see lots of Cornell pals, they consider themselves Californians now. Rich spends his time doing lots of investment expert witness work, especially since ending his teaching career (Cornell for 10 years and University of San Diego for three years). “I’ve written several books and write a 1,500-word story for my blog every day.” He does heavy-duty hillside gardening, something he learned working at the Cornell Plantations, when it was called that. His other pastime is riding the hills and deserts on one of his BMW motorcycles. Kim is still singing cabaret both in California and in New York. Last year they traveled to Egypt and Jordan.

I know that many of you celebrated your 70th in grand style and we all would love to live vicariously through those adventures (I know I love to hear the stories). Please share them with your classmates and plan on joining us in Ithaca next year! If your email contact information is “dated,” please send me a note and I will have you updated in the University records, or send updates here . Most of our Reunion updates will be via email so we would love for your contact info to be up to date! ❖ Deb Gellman , MBA ’82 ( email Deb ) | Karen DeMarco Boroff ( email Karen ) | Mitch Frank ( email Mitch ) | Joan Pease ( email Joan ) | Alumni Directory .

Rich Gallagher was one of my first friends on campus, thanks to a pre-freshman-year Wilderness Reflections bike trip on Cape Cod, so it was a treat to hear from him recently. Rich wrote, “It’s been a good while since I sent any class news, so here’s what’s new with me. I discovered that retirement was overrated and am now back in practice part time as a psychotherapist, serving all of New York State via telehealth. Since going back into practice I’ve published a new self-help book ( The Anxiety Journal , Rockridge Press) and presented a new treatment protocol for obsessive-compulsive disorder at a major clinical conference.”

Rich has written many great books of practical psychology, on topics from customer service to improving your small talk to dealing with fears and phobias. You can learn more about him on his website !

Bruce Behounek and his spouse, Diane, live in Yardley, PA. Bruce continues to keep up with medicine, but his greatest satisfaction comes from family time, including with two grandchildren, Mason and Harper. His best memories of Cornell include football, hockey, and lacrosse games. In more news from Pennsylvania, Nancy Arnosti writes that she enjoys “spending time outdoors with people whom I love. I am preparing to retire from my executive compensation consulting practice serving life sciences companies in mid-2024. My children are thriving—both in the Bay Area. I only have to take one trip to visit both. My partner and I are enjoying our 12th year together while living 135 miles apart.” Nancy’s favorite Cornell memories are “ Uri Bronfenbrenner ’38 , Walter LaFeber, David Levitsky, and other inspiring professors—and having friends from all over the U.S.” Happy retirement to you, Nancy!

Martha Frucht Rives and husband Darden are enjoying small-town living in Exeter, NH. Martha writes, “I am making art in my studio, serving on the New Hampshire Art Educators’ Association board, and serving on the Scholastic Art Awards of New Hampshire board. I recently had a show of my artwork at the Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, NH. I am working on promoting my art and having more exhibitions.” (Editor’s note: You can view some of Martha’s stunning artwork here .) Other things that bring Martha satisfaction include her son, Greg, who “is happily living and working in New York City, and bowling, ice skating (yes, I still ice skate at almost 70—great exercise!), playing bridge, and traveling.” Her fond memories of Cornell include “working on the yearbook, taking photos of campus life, being outside on a beautiful day, and having breakfast with friends at the Green Dragon (glazed chocolate donuts—yummy!).” Can confirm—those donuts were great.

Jim Sollecito ’76 procured and donated 280 unique varieties of hydrangea to Cornell, totaling more than 810 plants on the campus.

Amy Lubow reports, “I’m a landlady in Brooklyn, NY. One of my sons also attended Cornell and is now an endocrinologist married to an emergency room doctor.” From Northport, MI, Philip Loud writes that he’s enjoying “projects and building things, from furniture to fences to outbuildings to Adirondack chairs. In retirement, I’m volunteering with our local schooner school-ship organization.” (Must break in again: see schoolship.org for more on this amazing Great Lakes program.) Philip adds, “I had a new titanium knee installed last February and probably will do the second next winter.” His favorite Cornell memories are “my time as a member of Phi Gamma Delta, walking around our beautiful campus … oh, and some classes. Ha.”

Barbara Saunders-Adams is taking satisfaction from writing, reading, tennis, hiking, and friends. She reports that she’s “writing a monthly magazine for the Pelham (NY) Jewish Center and editing, plus leading a monthly Jewish book discussion for the PJC. My son Aaron recently signed a recording contract and is going on tour around the country. My daughter Shira opened a gardening business in the Hudson Valley called Honeybee Horticulture. My husband, Sam, hikes daily on the New Paltz trails with our puppy, Finley.” Barbara’s best memory of Cornell is “hanging out with friends in the Straight, discussing everything.”

Congratulations to John Banner , who writes, “In March 2023, I ran the Tokyo Marathon, thus completing the ‘World Marathon Majors,’ starting with Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin, London, and, lastly, Tokyo.” John is “project-developing a state-of-the-art energy plaza in Palm Springs, CA, offering green hydrogen for FCEVs (fuel cell electric vehicles) and H2ICEs (hydrogen internal combustion engines), DC fast charging for BEVs (battery electric vehicles), CNG (compressed natural gas), and conventional fuels, for commissioning in late 2025.” And, John adds, “Two movies written by my screenwriter daughter, Rebecca Banner, released in 2023: True Spirit (Netflix) and Space Oddity (Hulu).” Congrats to her, too!

And thank you to Jim Sollecito , who was an ornamental horticulture major at Cornell. He procured and donated 280 unique varieties of hydrangea to Cornell, totaling more than 810 plants on the campus. This is the largest singular planting of a species in the history of Cornell. Professor emerita Nina Bassuk ’74 and members of the Cornell wrestling team also helped to plant the campus hydrangea collection over the last eight years. (If you’d like to view the hydrangeas on campus, you can find maps and walks here .)

Learning a lot of science and living vicariously through your news this time, friends! Please let us know what you have been up to. ❖ Pat Relf Hanavan ( email Pat ) | Lisa Diamant ( email Lisa ) | Alumni Directory .

A few more of our classmates have joined the ranks of retirees and, as expected, continue to engage in a wide range of fun, purpose-filled, and exciting activities. Here’s what’s happening in their lives.

Bill Grant lives in Ponte Vedra, FL, with Cindy, his wife of 37 years. After a successful and varied professional career, Bill retired and in 2022 founded a company called Homes for Hometown Heroes , a real estate firm that “gives back to those who serve.” Bill and Cindy also created Grant Realty, a real estate investment and management company, to manage the goal of passing on their legacy to their four children and 11 grandchildren.

In addition to his real estate work, Bill is very active in Cornell and community volunteer activities. He enjoys meeting prospective Hotelies through his work with CAAAN and he serves on the board of the Cornell Club of Northern Florida. He also spends a lot of time coaching his granddaughters’ YMCA basketball team and enjoys mentoring teenagers to achieve their goals.

With all of that, Bill and Cindy somehow found time last year to take an “epic” 51-day cruise to the South Pacific and French Polynesia. Next up for them is a tour to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Bill’s favorite memories of Cornell include his graduation day, running into Statler Hall with his fellow graduates and trading his graduation cap for a chef’s hat. Thirty-three years later he proudly watched his son Daniel ’10 graduate from Cornell and receive his commission as the lone Marine Corps Second Lieutenant. Bill is most grateful for his Cornell education and all the amazing Hotelies and Cornellians he’s met along his journey.

Amy Birnbaum writes, “I retired from a long career at CBS News in February 2022. I am reconnecting with old friends and volunteering for political and academic projects. Life is sweet! My husband, Bernard Furnival, and I are traveling more. My daughter is on the West Coast and my son and his fiancée are on Manhattan’s West Side.”

After retiring from a career in biotechnology as a molecular biologist turned medical writer, Linda Gritz started writing Yiddish songs. (You can listen to her songs on YouTube !) This was doubly surprising since she is not fluent in Yiddish and has just a basic knowledge of music. So Linda was extra surprised when she won the People’s Choice Award for Best New Jewish Song at the international Bubbe Awards! This annual award is based on the Grammy awards, and “Grammy” was playfully translated into Yiddish as “Bubbe” (grandma). Linda also came in third in the juried award for Best New Jewish Song. Congratulations, Linda!

Linda Gritz ’77 won the People’s Choice Award for Best New Jewish Song at the international Bubbe Awards!

John Molinda has a lot going on in retirement. He primarily does volunteer work for the energy policy committees for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and American Nuclear Society. Otherwise, John stays involved in activities for Cornell and Carnegie Mellon. He is also active in sports including tennis, golf, skiing, mountain and road biking, and windsurfing and still likes to check out local rock bands.

Catching up with old friends and classmates brings John the most satisfaction these days, and he’s enjoyed a lot of it lately. He writes, “This year has been a 50th high school reunion year for most of us in the Cornell Class of ’77. Four of us from Mount Lebanon High School (Pittsburgh area) Class of ’73 went on to Cornell and three of us made it back for the 50th reunion—including Patty Cox Yeates , MBA ’78, who I had not seen since Cornell days, and Mark Halper , who traveled from his home in England, where he is a freelance journalist and a part-time leader of a band called Ghostweed.”

John also attended the 50th reunion for South Hills Catholic High School Class of ’73, where he spent two years, and caught up with Cornell ’77 classmate Don Lee , BS ’83. John adds, “I consider this 50th high school reunion year a kickoff for the countdown to our own 50th Reunion at Cornell.” I agree, John, and encourage all our classmates to start planning to come back to Ithaca, June 10–13, 2027, for our 50th Reunion!

Jone Sampson writes that she and her husband, Sam Weirich, finally retired in 2021 and built a small home in Bedford, WY. They are enjoying hiking and fishing in the summer and skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. Jone and Sam also love visiting their three daughters, who are scattered across the country in San Francisco, CA, Boulder, CO, and Portland, OR.

In February, Cara Lebowitz Kagan , Karen Wellin , and I attended this year’s Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference, held in Baltimore, MD. It’s always great to connect with some of my fellow class officers, meet fellow alums, learn about what’s happening on campus, and explore a variety of leadership topics. Add to all that a large dose of Big Red spirit and it was a fun, educational, and inspirational weekend.

We enjoy hearing from you and having the opportunity to share your stories with our fellow classmates. Please keep all of your news and views coming in! ❖ Mary Flynn ( email Mary ) | Howie Eisen ( email Howie ) | Alumni Directory .

Greetings, classmates! Thanks to my partner-in-posting, Ilene Shub Lefland , for handling the last two columns. The ’78 inbox wasn’t very full for this column. I tried turning over the laptop and shaking vigorously—no luck. I don’t recommend trying this strategy to find specific emails.

Mike Bernard (Albuquerque, NM) writes: “I took a U.S. Tennis Association seniors class over the summer and started playing tennis for the first time since college. I now walk two rounds of golf a week and play tennis for two hours twice a week and am still gaining weight!” Bruce Clements is also a tennis and golf buff. He’s lived in Saratoga Springs all but nine years of his life. He is inching closer to selling his independent insurance agency. His daughter and son both attended graduate school after Cornell. He has served in the Lions Club for over 40 years, and he continues to compete in golf and tennis.

On the legal front, Mark Green is the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the statewide intermediate appellate court in Massachusetts. Mark writes: “On December 5, 2023 (and again on December 12), I was joined on panel by two of my colleagues who are also Cornell alumni: Justice Eric Neyman ’90 and Justice John Englander ’80 . Though the three of us have served together on the Court since Justice Englander’s appointment in December 2017, this was the first occasion on which the three of us sat together on panel, for an ‘all Big Red’ sitting.”

I took a U.S. Tennis Association seniors class over the summer and started playing tennis for the first time since college. Mike Bernard ’78

On the travel front, Scott ’77 and Elaine Zajac Jackson started off 2024 with a Cornell Alumni Travel trip to Antarctica. They started in Buenos Aires and then embarked on the Antarctica cruise with two Cornell professors. They hoped for smooth sailing and lots of penguins and adventures. This is their second Cornell Alumni Travel trip. Their first was “Untamed Alaska” about five years ago. In August 2023, Julian Vrieslander , PhD ’81, and I went to the Netherlands for a reunion with some of his cousins, then went to Italy—and promptly caught COVID. This put a damper on the last leg of the trip in Venice. Fortunately, both of us recovered without any long-term issues.

On March 12, the classes of ’77 and ’78 cosponsored a webinar titled “Seasons of Perfection: Big Red Championship Lacrosse and Richie Moran.” The panel was moderated by our own David Bilmes , who was sports editor of the Cornell Daily Sun . Panelists were Dan Mackesey ’77 and fellow ’78ers Chris Kane and Tom Marino . The fourth panelist was Christian Swezey, author of We Showed Baltimore: The Lacrosse Revolution of the 1970s and Richie Moran’s Big Red (Cornell University Press). Many thanks to Kent Sheng , BA ’82, for helping pull this together.

Not only is Joe Holland , MA ’79, a best-selling author (his latest book is Make Your Own History ) and attorney, but he co-founded Beth-Hark Christian Counseling Center . It is still going strong after nearly 40 years and provides free mental health services, a soup kitchen, and a food pantry. February 23 marked the premiere of Harlem Grace , a short docudrama of his early years serving the neighborhood.

All for now. Stay well and see you in June! ❖ Cindy Fuller , PhD ’92 ( email Cindy ) | Ilene Shub Lefland ( email Ilene ) | Alumni Directory .

Brad Spencer writes, “I am living in D.C. Although I retired from law firm practice a few years back, I have recently become chairman of the board of Melwood Inc.—one of the nation’s largest AbilityOne Contractors with the federal government. Melwood secures employment of disabled individuals through federal contracts, as well as through employment in the private sector. In addition, I have been pleased to work with many dedicated individuals who seek to make affordable housing/independent living for disabled individuals a reality in the nation’s capital and beyond. In all, it is the culmination of this ILRie’s dream of working to create a more fully integrated and inclusive workforce.”

Brad adds, “As my primary hobby, I have been singing with other Washington Cornellians and former CU Glee Club director Scott Tucker in the Washington Men’s Camerata. My new grandson, Easton Yip, was born in Honolulu.” Of his time on the Hill, Brad fondly recalls singing with Jon Wardner , Steve Whitney , Steve Bronfenbrenner , MBA ’81, and Barry Jacobson ’70 , BA ’74, in the Glee Club!

Sharon Flank shares, “Though it’s not where I thought linguistics would take me, I am happily leading research efforts for two projects in personalized medicine using 3D printing—and just notched my 11th patent, this one joint with my younger daughter, Becky Maksimovic ’19 , ME ’20.”

Bill Gallagher writes, “I’m in my fifth year teaching, now at CEVRO Institute in Prague. The weather is very much like Ithaca. I have students from five different countries, so the school has a real international flavor. My American metaphors don’t have quite the same impact as they did back in the U.S., so we’re ‘growing into appreciating each other’ as the semester progresses. Very much a ‘beef and beer’ kind of town—like a big medieval village with a Chapter House every few blocks. I got to visit my first Prague Christmas markets. After the school year, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at Reunion!”

D. Dina “Debbie” Friedman , BA ’78’s new short-story collection, Immigrants , was published by Creators Press in November 2023. She also has a new poetry collection, Here in Sanctuary—Whirling , out in February 2024. (More info can be found at her website ). Happily retired after many years of teaching business communication at UMass, Amherst, Dina divides her time between writing, social activism, gardening, and caring for her toddler grandchild, Manu. Dina recently completed a memoir, Imperfect Pitch , about her complicated relationship with her musical family legacy, though her years as a Cornell chimesmaster remain a highlight of her time at the Big Red and in her musical life. (See her recent “Chime In” essay !). She also continues to explore how to live a creative life in a creatively challenged universe in her blog, “ Music and Musings .”

As always, everywhere I go I run into Cornell alums! This summer, I met a few on my travels! Leslie Lewit ’79

Leslie Lewit writes, “As always, everywhere I go I run into Cornell alums! This summer (a very busy one), I met a few on my travels! In October, my older sister and I took the Uniworld ‘Enchanted Danube’ River Cruise and the first new friends we met were Roland ’76 and Dona Young . We enjoyed their company and Roland had a lot of fun Cornell stories to share. My husband and I were away for two weeks in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Helsinki, and of course the small group we traveled with from our Temple Sinai of Roslyn (NY) had connections to Cornell too.

“During the year, I enjoy connecting with all the opportunities afforded to us alums via Zoom and in person, including lectures in politics, art, and travel. However, I especially enjoy Big Red Reads —the books and discussions online offer a lot of amazing info and stimulation. I also manage the Temple Sinai Reads program, and I’m a member of a Roslyn/Lloyd’s Neck Harbor women’s book group. I really enjoy walking miles for exercise while listening to books!

“This year, in a period of six months, we had three weddings! My stepdaughter Lindsay Milner (University of Michigan ’14), married Jesse Katz of Tenafly, NJ, on April 8 in Cancun. On July 22, my son, Jacob Lewit (University of Pittsburgh ’15), married Jenna Strauss of Westfield, NJ, at the Park Loft in Oceanport, NJ. Jenna and Jesse went to University of Maryland together and graduated in 2014! And on October 14, my middle stepdaughter, Mariel Milner (Wisconsin ’13), married Joe Spina of Levittown, PA (Penn State ’12) in Livingston Manor, NY. Guess what good and welfare news I may be sharing next year?!

“I am still dabbling in my interior design and space planning business, currently working with a client who’s building in the Hamptons, as well as a few clients in NYC and Roslyn. I have a consulting business reviewing architectural plans for clients who are in the process of renovating or building. My DEA and space planning experience ensure that the new spaces will have adequate traffic flow and space for the clients’ needs and furniture placement, as well as better aesthetics. I am also a LMSW (Adelphi ’02) and have renamed my business Absolute Heads & Homes—because if your head isn’t in the right place, how can you enjoy your home? If you ever want to connect or say hi, I’d love to hear from you. See you all soon!” ❖ Cynthia Ahlgren Shea ( email Cynthia ) | Danna Levy ( email Danna ) | Linda Moses ( email Linda ) | Alumni Directory .

Hail to thee, classmates. Paul Bechly ’s fondest memory of his years at Cornell is “graduating with a BS in chemical engineering. It was a lot of hard work that led to a lot of good outcomes.” One of those outcomes is that he was just elected as a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists. Congratulations!

Paul just completed 30 years working at Morgan Stanley and has no plans on retiring. When his nose is not on the grindstone, he and his wife, Beth Wells, “have been making an effort to travel the world. We have experienced 130 countries and visited all seven continents.” Unlike your indolent correspondent, he “wakes up every morning with a goal to make the day count for something good.”

Beth Rubin reports that it has been a big year for her family: “In May, our younger daughter married her beloved in the redwoods of California. Then I retired from my position as dean of adult and online education at Campbell University, after developing an associate’s and bachelor’s degree program for incarcerated men and women at two prisons in North Carolina. Our success rate was amazing (approximately 60% of those who started completed an associate’s degree, and 80% of those completed a bachelor’s degree); we had graduation for 17 people in the fall. And the State of North Carolina voted to provide $1,000,000 every year to help the program grow in new prisons, ensuring long-term viability and necessary student support.

“My hoped-for relaxing retirement was interrupted by family needs—a sister needing care after major surgery, a father-in-law who passed away suddenly from a heart attack, and a mother who was diagnosed with stage four cancer and died two months later, on Christmas Eve. So, a long year of joy and sadness ended for us. My mother’s funeral gave me the opportunity to reconnect with cousins who we’d long been out of touch with. My husband, Dane McGregor, is, thank heavens, healthy, and our two kids are working their way through graduate programs. I went on Medicare (like so many others) and hope to travel the world for the next 10 years!”

Paul Bechly ’80 was just elected as a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists.

Beth’s favorite memory from her time at Cornell was “being on the women’s ice hockey and rugby teams. Walking home after games, with my hair freezing (in winter); it was so still and beautiful.” Nowadays, she enjoys her body combat lessons at the local Y.

Steve Benjamin , ME ’81, MBA ’82, reports, “In May 2023, our daughter Megan ’10 had her fourth child. Sheri and I love being grandparents to all four of our grandkids. I’ve got the three older ones skiing. And every February for the past seven years, quite a few Fijis from my era meet up at Alta, UT, for some excellent skiing and camaraderie. The group typically includes Dave Ayers , Tom Croskey , Doug Henderson , MBA ’88, and Dave Phelps ’81 . Others have joined us over the years, and we plan to continue this annual tradition until we can’t. We hope the group will continue to grow.”

Brian Fristensky relates, “Love can be found any time in life. In December 2022, I was so happy to marry Teresa Mayer, also a U.S. expat living in Winnipeg. In attendance were both her and my grown children, and her mother in person, and friends and relatives from all over North America by teleconference. 2023 has been a year-long honeymoon of sorts, in France, Monaco, Hawaii, and elsewhere in the continental U.S.” Brian is a professor of genetics at the University of Manitoba, specializing in bioinformatics. His favorite memory from Cornell was “singing with the Glee Club in Sage Chapel … and at Johnny’s Big Red!” These days, he is making memories singing tenor with the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir.

Please write to any of us with any news you’d like to share with the Class of ’80. ❖ David Durfee ( email David ) | Leona Barsky, MS ’81 ( email Leona ) | Dik Saalfeld ( email Dik ) | Chas Horvath, ME ’81 ( email Chas ) | Alumni Directory .

I just had my six-year work anniversary with Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. I’m very proud of the work that I do! Construction of the new Gandel Rehabilitation Center at Hadassah Hospital was rapidly accelerated in the wake of October 7. Originally it was going to be finished in the second or third quarter of 2024, but when the war broke out, it had to be finished yesterday. The first patients began receiving care in January, with plans to double capacity in the coming weeks. Since October 7, Hadassah has raised more than $16 million, with $5.5 million going specifically to expedite the work on the Gandel Center.

Near me in Fort Lauderdale is Steve Greenapple , JD ’84, an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) attorney at SES ESOP Strategies, Stevens & Lee. Steve loved the Chimes concerts on the Hill, the waterfalls (all of them, but most especially Taughannock), and mud-sliding down Libe Slope. He has four great kids, a beautiful marriage, and a career more satisfying than he ever imagined possible. He’s been traveling again—both personal and for business. If you find yourself here in paradise, he hopes you will give him a ring!

This year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Lecture on campus focused on the importance of understanding and addressing systems of oppression and their impact on multiple identities, including race and gender. Kimberlé Crenshaw , professor of law at the UCLA School of Law and at Columbia Law School, spoke at the event, “The Urgency of Intersectional Justice,” on February 19 in Sage Chapel. Kimberlé is a pioneering scholar and writer on civil rights, critical race theory, Black feminist legal theory, race, racism, and the law. Her work has been foundational in critical race theory and in intersectionality, both terms she coined. She is also known for raising awareness about police violence against Black women through her work with the #SayHerName campaign.

Theresa Kronik Wrobel started an e-bike store with all proceeds going to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mercer and Warren counties in New Jersey. She found her passion for biking among the steep hills of her hometown, Ithaca, NY, during her teenage years. She continues now with rides in hilly northwest Mercer and western Hunterdon counties with the Princeton FreeWheelers, and she does mountain bike riding in Utah. In recent years she combined her love of biking with community involvement by volunteering with the Bike Exchange and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mercer County. She is excited to continue these efforts at Princeton eBikes.

Bob Zeidman (Las Vegas, NV) recently published his firsthand account of the story of his debunking the 2020 election fraud “proof” presented by Mike Lindell and the subsequent arbitration that awarded Bob $5 million. The book is titled Election Hacks . Bob writes, “Lindell, the founder and CEO of MyPillow, publicly declared he had proof of voting machine tampering that threw the 2020 election. Having invented the field of software forensics, I was invited by Lindell in 2021 to examine and verify the alleged proof. What I found was bogus data, manipulated results, and dangerous conspiracy theories.”

Terry Steinberg recently earned her purple sash in kung fu and her green sash in kung fu sword. Kung fu is a great exercise, she says. Terry started out as a beginner, and the practice has improved her strength, flexibility, and balance. She lives in Silver Spring, MD.

Theresa Kronik Wrobel ’81 found her passion for biking among the steep hills of her hometown, Ithaca, NY, during her teenage years.

Peter Zenneck is happy in retirement, spending time in London and on the island of Mustique. Elise Kuebelbeck Johnson and her husband, Roderick, also live in London. Elise’s areas of expertise are healthcare, acupuncture, and shiatsu. To their delight, their five children are also in London.

Lisa Dietrich Zimmerman , DVM ’85, is still working as a part-time veterinarian in Nassau, NY, where she grew up. She does mostly ultrasound and surgery. She and her husband, Bill , DVM ’85 , ski all over the U.S. and participate in masters ski racing for fun. They live on a 300-acre farm and walk on it every day. President Rhodes was an inspiration to her, and she loved his speeches. Her favorite memories are of polo houses and roommates Celeste Starr Frohm ’80 , Julie Hansen ’80 , PhD ’89, Hal Schott ’80 , and Sue Seaman Knight . She also has many fond memories of OTS parties, dancing, partying, and surviving the rigors of vet school.

In New England, Sarah Garlan Johansen is an emergency physician at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, and faculty at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Living in Etna, NH, she shares that she’s blessed to have had three healthy children, an amazing husband, and a fulfilling emergency medicine career. She adds that she’s grateful for many things, including that she was able to perform for nine years in professional theater, live in a beautiful vacationland, spend a year in NYC with her son while on Broadway, have wonderful adventures like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, cook many yummy things, and care for many medical students and residents.

Arjun Yodh (Merion Station, PA) tells us that after Cornell, he did his PhD at Harvard and a post-doc at AT&T Bell Labs. Then he joined the physics faculty at University of Pennsylvania, where he has been since 1988. He married Lai Yee Hom in 1986. They are still married and have three kids (grown-up now), Elliott, Jeremy, and Zach. Collectively, they like sports (especially baseball), music (piano), and traveling.

Clay Pittman (Bellbrook, OH) tells us he had two great roommates, Glenn Russo and Carlos Guevara , and really enjoyed their company. His ROTC classmates were great as well, and he really appreciated their friendship and support. After graduation he had a long career in the Air Force as an engineer and pilot. He met his wife at a squadron Christmas party, and he says they have been blessed with six children and a wonderful life together. He retired in 2015 and started a second career in academia. He is still working hard and enjoying the college faculty experience.

Lana Carlsson-Irwin (Wayland, MA) is the co-business owner at Irwin Engineers Inc. Of her time at Cornell, she says she loved summertime going to the reservoir; endless games of mau-mau in those Collegetown digs; the party she threw herself at 106 South Quarry— Mike Pliss ’80 brought his friend, Andy Irwin , ME ’82, who became her husband; playing frisbee on campus with Ellen Wolaner , Mark Amos , and others; and going to the waterfalls with the same gang. Andy and Lana got married graduation weekend. They moved to the Boston area, had three kids, and started their own business, which is now 25 years old. They recently had their first grandchild. They love to travel and continue to explore new places. Lana went to law school too, but she didn’t really like the practice at the major Boston firm and quit to have those kids.

Let us know what’s doing with you—we want to know what’s going on with you, your life, and your daily thoughts! ❖ Betsy Silverfine ( email Betsy ) | Alumni Directory .

Our online memory book has now closed to new entries. If you haven’t yet, or want to again, give it a look to read about old friends and learn more about the fascinating and diverse lives and memories of your classmates.

Manuel Choy of Saratoga Springs, NY, checks in to tell us that he owns a financial planning and investment firm and that his two adult children are now married and engaged, respectively. He enjoys his family, traveling, helping his clients, gardening, and playing basketball. As to his favorite memory from Cornell, his only comment was a big smiley face drawing. That tells it all for a lot of us!

From Corte Madera, CA, Nir Margalit writes to tell us that he is the chief legal officer of a family office investment business. He is one of our classmates who is in the “I still have young children” club, and his biggest satisfaction is his family of wife Jennifer and daughters aged 5 and 8. He enjoyed a “wonderful month in summer 2023 in Israel before the horrible attack.” His favorite memory of Cornell times is “my friendships”; again, heck yeah!

Jennifer Gardiner reports, “On a Christmas trip to visit my three grandchildren (ages 2, 1, and newborn), two of whom live in Virginia, I met up with Steve and Lisa Mummery Crump . They were visiting their daughter and grandson in D.C. We caught up on my life in Charlotte, NC, where I am in my 13th year as the full-time director of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic at Legal Aid of Arkansas, and the Crumps’ exciting life in Switzerland. I also still play tennis or platform tennis daily, and Lisa still rides horses regularly. I would love to connect with Cornellians closer to home, like in Charlotte!”

The Memphis-based Blues Foundation has named Mark Stenzler ’82 as a recipient of the 2024 Keeping the Blues Alive Award.

Continuing the thread of classmates as authors from Doug Skalka ’s last column, we heard from Mary Ellen Plubell Miller , who lives in Johnson City, TN, with spouse Dan: “I wrote, published, and launched a book in 2023. Fill the Dam Thing Up! Building Connections: Communicating Throughout the Lifecycle of Infrastructure Projects is the story of my seven-year journey as lead communicator on a major ($400 million) infrastructure (dam) project in northeast Tennessee. It’s a communications playbook for project managers and communicators. Cornell gets several mentions! It is available on Amazon in paperback, e-book, and Audible formats.”

The Crumps are not the only classmates living in Switzerland. Mark Stenzler has been recognized for the 35+ years that he has dedicated to putting the blues out there on the airwaves from his base in Bern, Switzerland. The Memphis-based Blues Foundation has named him as a recipient of the 2024 Keeping the Blues Alive Award. This lifetime achievement award was presented to him in January during the 2024 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN.

I can’t improve on the foundation’s announcement: “Mark Stenzler, a native New Yorker and former radio pirate with Radio Free Ithaca, has been a passionate radio broadcaster on both sides of the Atlantic since 1978. In the 1980s, he relocated to Switzerland, where he continued his career in radio. A true blues enthusiast and a staunch supporter of public radio, Stenzler is widely recognized as the host of ‘Blues Zeppelin,’ a program he initiated in 1989. Guided by the motto ‘Working hard to make reality a lot less painful,’ he has dedicated his time and talent to create a blues program that offers a blend of the finest blues music, news, and engaging interviews. The show can be heard on several radio stations, including Radio Bern (RaBe) in Berne, Switzerland; Radio LoRa in Zurich, Switzerland; Diis Radio in Canton Valais, Switzerland; WRFI Community Radio in Ithaca; and CJRO Community Radio in Carlsbad Springs, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Stenzler’s contributions extend beyond the airwaves, as he actively collaborates with numerous festival organizers, music promoters, venues, and blues artists at various stages of their careers. From providing first-time airplay to working with award recipients, including Blues Foundation BMA and KBA winners, Stenzler has played a pivotal role in supporting and nurturing the growth of blues musicians and bringing them to the attention of the global blues community.” ❖ Mark Fernau ( email Mark ) | Nina Kondo ( email Nina ) | Doug Skalka ( email Doug ) | Alumni Directory .

Sylvia Han , CFA, CFP, and CSRIC, our classmate and class council member, led a timely Zoom discussion for our class, “Top 10 Retirement Considerations,” on March 19. Sylvia, who works as a wealth management advisor at Merrill Lynch, notes that “a shift has occurred in retirement planning compared to previous generations.” She discussed important issues like defining a vision, financial planning, investment risks, income source planning, sustainable spending rates, Social Security maximization, healthcare costs, and more. For more information feel free to email your class correspondents below.

Anna Esaki-Smith writes, “I’m a very proud Class of ’83 graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences. I went to the 40th Reunion this past summer and had a great time, reconnecting with both the campus and old friends.” Kudos to Anna, who has written a terrific young adult nonfiction book, Make College Your Superpower: It’s Not Where You Go, It’s What You Know, that was published by Rowman & Littlefield in April 2024. Anna adds, “Most books for teenagers about college are full of tips on writing killer college essays or nailing those SATs. Mine gives students a bird’s-eye view on how a university education connects to a tech-disrupted workplace that values skills and creativity.” A wonderful addition to students’ college prep toolkits! Anna also recently penned a “Chime In” essay for Cornellians , which you can read here .

Congratulations to Helen Schulman ’83 , whose latest book, Lucky Dogs , was selected as one of Oprah’s ten Best Novels of 2023!

Congratulations to Helen Schulman , whose latest book, Lucky Dogs , was selected as one of Oprah’s ten Best Novels of 2023 ! Helen is presently the fiction chair of the Creative Writing Program at the New School in New York City, where she is a tenured professor. Helen is a New York Times best-selling author of seven novels, including Come with Me and This Beautiful Life . She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Sundance, Aspen Words, and Columbia University.

Neal Moran writes from New Brunswick, NJ. “I retired earlier this year after 36+ years in banking regulation. I’m keeping busy, including starting a blog called ‘ Upon Further Analysis .’ The blog focuses largely on banking, financial markets, and regulation, but also covers sports, culture, and current events.”

Dan Carlucci and wife Ellen write that they are keeping quite busy in medicine and more. Dan is chair of medical specialties at Reliant Medical Group, a division of OptumCare, and a clinical cardiologist. Reliant serves over 300,000 patients in eastern and central Massachusetts; Dan leads more than 100 specialty clinicians. Ellen is vice president, development, marketing, and communications at UMass Memorial Health–Marlborough Hospital. Dan and Ellen love their time in Northborough and Marion, where they can’t wait to re-start summer sailing adventures with their three adult children on the aptly named boat, No Agenda . Speaking of which, Dan is planning a September 2024 sequel to the original No Agenda weekend—look out for invites! ❖ Stewart Glickman ( email Stewart ) | Nancy Korn Freeman ( email Nancy ) | Alyssa Bickler ( email Alyssa ) | Jon Felice ( email Jon ) | Alumni Directory .

We have some great news to share! Deborah Dawson was recently surprised by Nancy Pistole , who flew from California to New York to join her along with Maurya Kilroy and Karen Kwik Kernan for a reunion. They all met freshman year in High Rise 5 and have been dear friends ever since.

Brad Will sends greetings from New York’s beautiful Mid-Hudson Valley! Over the past four years, his spouse, Sari, and he have been “transitioning” to the Finger Lakes region, his “home away from home” for five years in the early 1980s. They love spending time there, so much so that they have purchased land on which to one day build a “deep green” house and a small commercial property in the Village of Dryden, right up the street from Cornell. More recently, they bought a property that will eventually have several homes constructed. “My transition from architect to developer has begun!” he writes. It’s been an exciting phase, says Brad, and they have a two-bedroom apartment available for travelers to their old school at their “Little House on the Lot” in Dryden. At the time of this writing, Brad was looking forward to their annual BArch dinner in NYC and their trek to RPI to watch the amazing Cornell men’s hockey team take on the Engineers in early February 2024. Big Red almost always prevails! This year has been active and interesting, with projects advancing in both regions—houses, hotels, restaurants, and subdivisions. Seeing good friends is always a great treat, as they did in New Hampshire last summer and in Texas last fall. They look forward to an even more exciting year ahead, with many milestones pending. Is Brad retiring? “No, not yet—much to do!”

Timothy Brown ’84 , MBA ’92, set his first-ever novel at Cornell.

Timothy Brown , MBA ’92, has a very Big Red family! He is a dual-degree Cornellian himself (Arts ’84, MBA ’92), married to another, Nancy (Grambow) ’85 , PhD ’94. In fact, between his wife’s parents and sisters, his brothers, and their daughter, his family has a combined total of 13 degrees from Cornell! Further, his father-in-law, Richard Grambow ’55 , DVM ’57, received the Frank H.T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award and the Salmon Award for Distinguished Alumni Service. Thus, it was only fitting that Timothy set his first-ever novel at Cornell. He initially self-published it as A Bolt from the Blue , but recently had it professionally edited and republished under a more distinct title, Cloning the King . It is a scientific/history thriller that explores the nexus of breakthrough cloning technology and medieval history.

Hope to see you at Reunion 2024 next month, June 6–9! And, don’t hesitate to write to your class correspondent: ❖ José Nieves ( email José ) | Alumni Directory .

Hello, fellow 1985ers! Hope all are doing well. I do have a bunch of news from fellow alums, so here you go!

Amy Smith Linton wrote in that she has been busy promoting her first book , She Taught Me Everything . The most enjoyable part for her has been showing up as a guest at book clubs, either via phone or in person, to talk about her novel.

Richard Tuchman reports that he and his wife, Cynthia, retired last year in celebration of their 30th wedding anniversary. They are currently raising puppies in Connecticut. Rick retired from a career in philanthropy, which he describes as “doing well while doing good.”

Susan Stevens Gebo has recently married. She has written, under the pen name S.M. Stevens, a novelette called The Wallace House of Pain , which received a 2023 American Fiction Award. The same story was adapted into a stage script, published by Choeofpleirn Press in their autumn 2023 issue. The characters in the novelette are also featured in her forthcoming novel, Beautiful and Terrible Things (Black Rose Writing, July 2024).

Maria Gallo Ashbrook writes, “The Class of 2023 Commencement weekend was sublime … a string of rare sunny days when Cornell truly is the most beautiful campus on earth. My son, John ’23 , graduated as a government and China and Asia-Pacific studies major (yes, that Mandarin in seventh grade paid off!) and joins big brother Keenan ’20 in D.C. to begin his career. This, of course, warms my little Cornell-in-Washington (’84) heart. I’ve attended nine Cornell Commencements of family and friends, beginning in 1974. This graduation weekend was extra special because we returned to my hometown of Auburn, with festivities across Cayuga, Owasco, and Skaneateles lakes. I guess you can take the girl out of the Finger Lakes, but you can’t take the Finger Lakes out of the girl!”

Virginia Scarola , Maryellen Magee , and Joyce Zelkowitz Cornett had an impromptu reunion in Atlanta when the Cornell Big Red baseball team took on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Apparently, back in 1991, Cornell defeated second-ranked Georgia Tech, shocking the collegiate baseball world at the time. It took Tech 33 years to overcome the pain and invite the Big Red to Atlanta. Unfortunately, the Big Red lost the first game, though they had been dominating Tech for most of the game. They lost the second game, which we saw after a great pre-game tailgate catered by SmoQ’n Hot Grill owned by Hotelie David Smith ’81 . Nick Salpekar ’96 of Highland Fine Wine and Alan LeBlanc ’84 , who owns Bold Monk Brewing Company, provided wine and beer. Robert Mandelbam ’81 and Mike Fleury ’78 were great hosts for the event! Cornell did take the third game!

The Class of 2023 Commencement weekend was sublime … a string of rare sunny days when Cornell truly is the most beautiful campus on earth. Maria Gallo Ashbrook ’85

Erin O’Connor writes, “ Gail Fink is the CEMS Program Director at Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and she travels every December to participate in the graduation ceremonies of her students. CEMS is a global alliance of leading business schools, multinational companies, and NGOs that together offer the CEMS Master’s in International Management. Gail’s friends look forward to attaching their adventures to her travels. This year graduation was in London, so several of us made a trip to enjoy the Cotswolds together. Linda Kao , Susan Herlands Holland and husband Ron Preville, Jim , DVM ’90, and Cheryl Senecal Smith , and me and my partner, Brian Garrett , rented a fabulous Airbnb called the Scotland End Barn in the town of Banbury-Hook Norton for a few days of fun, togetherness, and exploration. Driving was a challenge: thanks to Jim and Ron especially for avoiding oncoming traffic in the wrong lane and near misses with wildlife.

“We visited several towns (and yes, tried to find where the Beckhams lived) with lovely names like Cheltenham, Bourton-on-the-Water, Moreton-in-Marsh, and Chipping Norton. When in England, one must have Sunday roast, and we booked at the Horse and Groom in Bourton-on-the-Hill. Even though we first landed at two different places in the Cotswolds with the same name, we eventually all made it to the same pub and delighted in a very tasty, traditional meal.

“We took full advantage of leaving the car at the BnB and walking to the local venues in our base hometown, but the best had to be our trivia night at the Pear Tree Inn. Naming our team ‘The Yanks,’ we competed with four local teams. When we arrived, the very young bartender texted his mom to hurry and get there because ‘a lot of Americans just showed up.’ A wild time was spent trying to outguess our competitors and the game was tight. We were victorious and became the ‘Damn Yankees’!

“It was such a fabulous time—so wonderful to continue to connect with friends we made when we were so young and have continued to connect with over the years. We mean something to each other, all beginning with our landing in each other’s spheres at our beloved university. Turning 60 in 2023 turned out to be a fantastic celebration that lasted the whole year as we crossed this milestone together.”

Please be sure to send me your news and make a plan to come to Reunion next year! ❖ Joyce Zelkowitz Cornett ( email Joyce ) | Alumni Directory .

My mailbox brings but a few notes from classmates, but lucky for you I have had many Cornell interactions since the start of the New Year.

Our two classmates who wrote in likely had time because they both joined the ranks of the retirees! Elsa Waymer Dempsey retired from technology sales last year and continues to enjoy the good life in Florida. She has been in her husband’s hometown of Venice, FL, for the last 30 years. She and her husband enjoy tennis, gardening, and traveling with their twin daughters, Laura and Erica. Elsa has fond memories of her many friends from field hockey, lacrosse, Pi Phi, and even engineering classes.

Chris Arbogast wanted us to know that, since retiring from software engineering last summer, he has been spending his time sprucing up his home in Nevada.

For many of us, 2024 will bring the opportunity to celebrate an important birthday (if we have not celebrated it already). I wrote this column on February 29, having turned the big SIX-O yesterday. The celebration of Toby-Fest began last month when my husband, Robert Mandelbaum ’81 , and I celebrated our quasiquicentennial (125th) birthday together by hosting a dinner for our friends. We were joined by Steve Kirson from our class, as well as Lynn Mandelbaum ’77 , David Smith ’81 , Jack Chen ’84 , MD ’88, Kathryn Whitbourne ’85 , Frank Goldman ’87 , JD ’94, and Tim , MPS ’88 , and Karen Burkhart Dick , MBA ’13 . Two weeks later, we joined Lori Goldwasser Leiman and her husband, Jose, and Barry Greenblatt ’85 and his bride, Karen, on a brief but celebratory voyage to the Bahamas. Lori, Karen, and I have known each other for over 50 years and have birthdays within six weeks of one another. The winner of the year’s best Facebook birthday greeting was Mark Katz , who likes to remind me of the great fire in Low Rise 9 in December 1982. Mark wrote: “Happy milestone birthday, Toby! Whatever you do, don’t put the appropriate number of candles on a cake and leave the room unattended.” Don’t worry, Mark—there was but one candle on my ice cream scoop last night.

I was thrilled to meet former Big Red pitcher Rob Nelson ’71 , the creator of Big League Chew. Toby Goldsmith ’86

This past weekend, the Cornell Alumni Association of Atlanta hosted the Cornell baseball team when they played a three-game series against Georgia Tech. Families and alumni were treated to tasty tailgating events hosted by David Smith ’81 and Nick Salpekar ’96 . Our team ended on a high note, likely buoyed by the wonderful dinner hosted by Alan LeBlanc ’84 on Saturday night at his restaurant, Bold Monk Brewing Company. The dinner was attended by several members of the 1991 ball team who were the last to play against Georgia Tech. I was thrilled to meet former Big Red pitcher Rob Nelson ’71 , the creator of Big League Chew.

I am very lucky to live in a community with a very active Cornell Club with a variety of events being held throughout the year that offer the opportunity to build friendships with Cornellians from a variety of classes. I hope this column inspires you to write your class correspondents with tales of your 60th birthday bashes and Cornell events. ❖ Toby Goldsmith ( email Toby ) | Lori Spydell Wagner ( email Lori ) | Michael Wagner ( email Michael ) | Alumni Directory .

Welcome to another edition of “What are my classmates up to and why haven’t I sent an update to Whitney and Liz?” Just a reminder that our classmates want to know what you are doing—and a reminder that it doesn’t need to be a major life event! Here’s the latest from my inbox.

Jill Feasley wrote that she and Diane Hirschhorn recently completed RAGBRAI, a 500-plus-mile bike ride across the entire State of Iowa. “After graduation, we promised to visit each other in person at least once a year. For a long time, she would visit me in D.C., or I would visit her on the West Coast. When we turned 40, she suggested we could ‘go somewhere else.’ So, I came up with a 50-year plan to visit all 50 states alphabetically and this year we are up to Iowa. We hope to visit Wyoming when we are 90!”

Jeff Cohen just returned from his annual skip trip out west (Park City this year) with a whole bunch of Kappa Sigs. Those joining Jeff this year included Barry Silverman , Brian Kraff , Dave Alexander , Dave Price , David Andrade , Gabe Boyar , Greg Kennedy , Gregg Rockower , Joe Gottlieb , Randy Wolpert ’86 , Jay Goldstein ’86 , and Rick Bullotta ’84 , BS ’85. In Jeff’s own words, “It’s good to know that even while all of us have grown up, and life has steered us in different directions, we can all interact with each other as if we were all sophomores living in the house together. We just go to bed much earlier.”

Lisa Rathmann Stewart and husband Mike enjoyed catching up in person with several Tri Delta classmates during their 52-day national parks road trip in June/July 2023 from San Diego, CA, to Minneapolis, MN, in their Toyota Sienna “converted” minivan. Unbeknownst to them, Taylor Swift was in concert in Minneapolis the same weekend as Lisa’s Kiwanis Convention, which made walking the streets of Minneapolis a bit more colorful seeing the “Swifties” in costume. While in Minneapolis they enjoyed visiting with Kate St. Vincent Vogl and Debbie Brown ’88 and their spouses. Heading west, they stopped in Moscow, ID, for a visit with Lisa’s parents, Dan ’56 , BChemE ’57, and Pat Lasky Rathmann ’59 . Lisa and Mike ended their road trip with a visit with Tri Delta classmates Chris Neimeth Heijenga and Heidi Heasley Ford and their spouses in Mt. Hood, OR. In July 2024, the Stewarts are looking forward to their next road trip destination in Denver, CO, where they plan to connect with Karen McBride Cleary and Dianne DeMallie in Colorado Springs while exploring the national parks in Colorado. Lisa says, “It’s been so much fun to connect with Tri Deltas while on the road. I highly recommend this as a retirement activity!”

Jill Feasley ’87 and Diane Hirschhorn ’87 recently completed a 500-plus-mile bike ride across the entire State of Iowa.

Alexa Coin Florence shared that she continues to enjoy her staging and design work, including overseeing the design of their new brewery (Great River Brewery) in downtown Davenport, IA. This is a reboot after flooding forced them to close in 2019. “I did manage to perform in one show last February, Barefoot in the Park ; it was a blast and I hope to find (and get cast in) some other production this year. We spend a lot of time with and caring for our elderly parents. While difficult, we cherish this remaining time we have with them. We took two great family trips last year: spring break in New Orleans and in August, Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. Scott ’88 and I also have tried to go on quarterly long-weekend getaways that have really helped us take a break from our daily responsibilities/concerns.” Their oldest child, Ben, lives in NYC and works for Broadbeam Media. He’s also founded a startup and his own marketing group. Alexa’s youngest, Gabe, is a sophomore at Iowa State University, studying culinary food science. Scott continues to work on growing their business—pizza and specialty baking lines—while they work on reopening their brewery.

Joanne Cappucci Penne , MBA ’93, has been enjoying her work as an independent strategy and innovation consultant for the last 10 years for the Innovation Umbrella . Her oldest, Matt, is a sophomore (engineer) at Vanderbilt, and her youngest, Grace, is a sophomore in high school (with a driver’s license, so out the door every day …). Their 2023 highlight is that they are now a TWO-dog family. Luna is a beautiful 3-year-old Lab, and Toaster is a scrappy, cute rescue. They are inseparable and adorable and provide ongoing entertainment!

Our class council continues to sponsor online webinars to keep us informed, connected, and involved. I hope you will join one in the future and spread the word to your classmates. Keep in touch and continue to share your news by emailing either of us: ❖ Whitney Weinstein Goodman ( email Whitney ) | Liz Brown, JD ’90 ( email Liz ) | Alumni Directory .

Greetings, Class of ’88! I want to start out this column by inviting you to join our Class of ’88 Facebook group . It is a great way to stay in touch with our class, reconnect with old friends, and be the first to hear about upcoming events.

Now, onto the latest news from both near and far. Cindy Bishop Christian and her husband, Joe, moved to Tucson, AZ, in November 2020 from Minneapolis, MN. They recently finished a kitchen renovation and are working on landscaping their surroundings, filled with beautiful cactus plants. They love biking, the Sonoran Desert, and beautiful sunsets. Cindy still works at her family business, Brick Meets Click. Her son, Sean, is an avid competitive cyclist, and he attends Arizona State University online so he can race in Europe with Aevolo and USA Cycling U23 teams. Her daughter, Anna, attends Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, GA, and also races on her university cycling team. Cindy joined the Cornell Club of Southern Arizona and invites any classmates living in the area to join.

Back on Cornell’s Ithaca campus, Beth Milles , associate professor of Performing and Media Arts, directed the production of Desdemona in the fall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of famed Cornellian Toni Morrison , MA ’55 ’s Nobel Prize. Beth is the founder of Banter Company, which adapts classical theater shows for the modern audience. She joined the Cornell faculty in 2001. During the span of her theatrical career, Beth has guest lectured at Harvard University, Brown University, the University of Texas, Austin, Southern Connecticut State University, and Loyola Marymount University. We look forward to hearing about more upcoming theatrical productions.

Harlan Protass writes in from New York City, where he is a criminal defense lawyer and runs his own firm. He is also an adjunct professor at Cardozo School of Law, where he teaches a seminar on federal sentencing guidelines. He has two kids, a daughter, 8, and a son, 10, with his wife who is a literature professor at the CUNY Graduate Center. Every January for the past dozen years, Harlan returns to Ithaca to attend a hockey game with his Alpha Sigma Phi (Rockledge) brothers. “We spend the weekend laughing.” Harlan also noted that “the level of development in Collegetown is a bit shocking. It’s virtually unrecognizable from the 1980s. And, sadly, none of our watering holes still exist.”

Andrew Turner ’88 , MPS ’93, has been appointed the director of Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Speaking of Cornell’s hockey team: Save the date for the next Frozen Apple hockey game on November 30, 2024 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It’s a wonderful event to get together with fellow Cornellians and cheer on our men’s hockey team. This year’s game was well attended by ’88s and Cornellians from other graduating years.

News flash from Ithaca: Andrew Turner , MPS ’93, has been appointed the director of Cornell Cooperative Extension and associate dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Human Ecology. He began his five-year term on December 1, 2023. In his new role, Andrew will oversee the development and setup of several programs including food systems, nutrition, and sustainable energy for Cornell Cooperative Extension, which has a presence in every county in the State of New York. For the past few years, he has worked with and led the New York State 4-H youth development programs. Good luck, Andrew, in your new position on Cornell’s Ithaca campus.

Traci Nagle earned her PhD in linguistics at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. After teaching for a couple of years, she realized “teaching was not my passion,” so she shifted to administration and now works in the research development office at Indiana University, where she works with faculty to get funding for their research. Recently, Traci was at a conference in Denver and she hung out with Larry Goldman at the beautiful botanical gardens. During Reunion weekend, she was thrilled to reconnect with her freshman roommate Sue Henry Muldoon . They laughed and danced the night away with Jake White and his wife, Sharon Rose. Last fall, Traci spent a weekend in New York City with Lori May and Gail Frieden Le Coz . Lori lives in Columbus, OH, and works as a business analyst for a corporate credit union. Meanwhile, Gail was visiting from her home in London. Together they enjoyed two Broadway shows and dined on New York style-bagels.

That’s all for now from Toronto, Canada, where the spring flowers are blooming. Please keep sending your news to me. I love hearing from our classmates both near and far. ❖ Pamela Darer Anderson ( email Pam ) | Alumni Directory .

As this issue of Cornellians is released, we are about one month away from Reunion 2024! Our indefatigable Reunion chairs— Shannon Gallivan Bol , Carol Borack Copenhaver , Debbie Schaffel , and Dave Scher —have been working for months already. Menus are planned, entertainment is scheduled, housing is being finalized. And the dust is about to be blown gently off the ancient tome containing the magic sunshine spell that is always cast immediately before the planes land and the cars pull into Ithaca. So check your calendar now. There’s just enough time. Come back and visit the Straight—the true home of facetime. “Test” the Suspension Bridge. Listen to the Chimes. (“Groovy Kind of Love” anyone? Maybe not …) Join the rest of us for what is sure to be an all-too-brief weekend of fun, relaxation, great memories, and old friends (plus plenty of new ones too because everyone has at least one very Big Red thing in common).

Now for a wee bit of news from our classmates. (At Reunion you get and share lots and lots of news, by the way.)

One of our illustrious Reunion chairs, Shannon Gallivan Bol (a woman with the heart of an explorer), writes, “I love when road trips take you to places where you have friends! I saw Carol Borack Copenhaver last fall and I also got to visit with Denise Host , who lives in Suwannee, GA. I recently relocated to New Jersey as the result of a new job. I’m excited to be living near many Cornell friends, including Karen Leshowitz Colonna and Michele Dowling Johnson . I started working for Prime Healthcare as regional vice president, managed care. I’m responsible for region two, which is basically the Northeast with hospitals in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.”

Another faithful attendee of Reunions past, Doug Merrill , ME ’90, MBA ’91, recently joined the University of Vermont as its regional innovation officer. In this role, Doug leads the GaN Semiconductor Tech Hub that was designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce in October 2023. Doug is looking forward to helping UVM integrate more fully with the technology and manufacturing firms in the region. Doug and Lisa (Peskin) ’90 have lived in Shelburne, VT, for 18 years. Older son Alex ’21 , ME ’21, just moved to Seattle to start a new job with SpaceX. Younger son Jack ’24 is in his senior year at Cornell, studying computer science. Doug and Lisa are fortunate to have Chris Ford and Emily and Bill Kallock ’90 living nearby and see them often in the Green Mountains or on Lake Champlain.

Lisa Spellman Porter ’89 has received numerous awards, including the National Science Foundation Career Award.

Lisa Spellman Porter has also shared that she has a new professional position—associate dean for faculty and graduate affairs for the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon, where she has been on faculty since 1997. In this new role, Lisa provides strategic direction and manages matters related to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty in the college. Upon hearing this news, I let my fingers wander around the old Internet a bit and learned some things that the ever-modest and unassuming Lisa did not go out of her way to share. For instance, she has received numerous awards during her career, including the National Science Foundation Career Award, Visiting Professor for Women in the Engineering Sciences awarded by the Swedish Research Council, and the Carnegie Mellon Order of the May. According to Dean Bill Sanders, “Lisa is an exceptionally thoughtful and effective leader who has built strong working relationships across campus and has demonstrated exceptional commitment to Carnegie Mellon and the broader academic community.”

And lastly, Melinda Fellner took advantage of the online news form to share the following: “I am thrilled to announce my youngest son Simon’s acceptance to the College of Arts and Sciences for the Class of 2028! Simon follows his brother Miles ’25 and his brother Harry ’22 ! I am the chair of the tax department at Carter Ledyard and Milburn in New York City. Best to all in 2024!”

Thanks for the good wishes and for using the online news form , Melinda! We hope you all will spend a minute or two filling out the form to let us know what you’ve been up to (work, hobbies, day-to-day life, etc.), what’s giving you the most satisfaction lately, what some of your favorite Cornell memories are, and any other bits and pieces that fill us in on you. We’re eager to hear! ❖ Kris Borovicka Gerig ( email Kris ) | Anne Czaplinski Treadwell ( email Anne ) | Lauren Kidder McGarry ( email Lauren ) | Stephanie Bloom Avidon ( email Stephanie ) | Alumni Directory .

We start this column with a message from class president Caroline Misciagna Sussman : “Calling all classmates! Dust off your devices—it is time to start planning for our 35th Reunion—and we need you! Reunion 2025 will be a doubly significant one since we were unable to hold an in-person gathering in 2020. We are anticipating a huge turnout, and we want the event to be like no other!

“It will be 10 years since we have had the opportunity to come together as a class. With all that has changed in the world since 2015, we feel a heightened sense of urgency to make this Reunion truly exceptional from every angle, and we would greatly appreciate your help in doing so. The spectacular plan we had in place for 2020 will serve as a launching point for Reunion 2025. Mark your calendars, save the date: June 5–8, 2025, and help us create an unforgettable weekend of memory making!”

Our class council and Reunion chairs are gearing up for the Reunion planning kickoff meeting on October 5. We’ve got a lot to do before then, namely fundraising and building social media connections. If you would like to help with Reunion planning, please contact one of our Reunion chairs, Dave Coyne or Elinor Langfelder Schwind . If you have stayed well-connected and can help build our affinity group and class connections on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms, contact class correspondent Rose Tanasugarn or web community manager Kristyn Benzinger Whitney . If you can serve on the fundraising committee and contact classmates to encourage contributions to our class, please contact Cornell Annual Fund co-chair Karen Mitchell . They can all be reached at cornellclass90@gmail.com .

Last fall, Karen became chief human resources officer at Newmark, a NYC commercial real estate advisory firm. She and husband Rob Chodock ’89 plan to celebrate both their 25th anniversary and son Hudson’s bar mitzvah in southern Spain, where Rob spent a semester abroad. Karen regularly catches up with our Chi Omega sisters Maria Scaltro , MBA ’02, Kristen Alloway Sokol , Alisa “Gil” Gilhooley Brown , Marla Spindel , Jennifer Radner Elgin , and Tracy Dillmann Kulikowski at her house in Rhode Island or during their annual trip to Mexico.

In February, I caught up with Cornell Asian Alumni Association secretary Ivan Sim ’95 and vice president of community engagement Charles Wu ’91 at a rain-postponed Cornell Cares beach clean-up. About 20 Cornellians, family, and friends from the Cornell Club of Los Angeles gathered at Cabrillo Beach to help Heal the Bay, an environmental nonprofit organization that has been dedicated to making the coastal waters and watersheds in Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy, and clean since 1985.

Representing the U.S. at the 2013 and 2017 World Maccabiah Games in Israel, Monte Frank ’90 , JD ’93, won four silver medals and two bronze medals.

Angel Orengo and I belatedly celebrated our February birthdays over breakfast at Plateia on the UCLA campus. I met Angel’s lovely wife, Rocio Aquino, and although it was the first time I had met them, I felt an instant connection. It turns out that Angel and his family lived in Hong Kong for six years during his time with Sony Pictures. They occasionally visited Osaka and Kyoto, as Angel supervised a distribution sales team in Japan. They are the proud parents of incoming freshman Mia Orengo. Angel and Rocio co-authored a book called The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses , a unique work about emotional resilience, female solidarity, and the power of self-reflection, in that it also allows readers to become active participants in their own personal journeys in growth, home, and self-love. They look forward to meeting Cornellians across the country as they start their book tour to spread their message of positivity—“this or something better, for the highest good of all concerned,” she says, which closely echoes Ezra’s words and the theme of Cornell’s current fundraising campaign, “to do the greatest good.”

Jane Hyun has been on TV, on podcasts, and in print media, addressing the impact of anti-Asian violence and hate crimes affecting Asian Americans in the workplace and in their communities. In April, she launched Leadership Toolkit for Asians , a follow-up to her book Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling . In-person events will be taking place at the Cornell Club of New York and other Cornell clubs, so keep your eyes and ears open. Jane looks forward to helping Asian leaders build their capability to lead and influence by embracing their cultural strengths and mapping achievable career paths. Last year, she launched the “Culturally Fluent Leader Academy,” a virtual and in-person learning experience. Jane has also been an advisor to the diversity council for the American Heart Association.

Monte Frank , JD ’93, received the John Eldred Shields Professional Service Award from the Connecticut Bar Association in recognition of his many years of outstanding service for the benefit of the legal community and the community at large. Monte serves on the American Bar Association’s Advisory Commission to the Task Force for American Democracy and serves as a special advisor to the ABA’s committee on gun violence. An avid cyclist, Monte competes on the road and in mountain bike and cyclocross races throughout the Northeast and Canada. Representing the U.S. at the 2013 and 2017 World Maccabiah Games in Israel, he won four silver medals and two bronze medals. He founded and led Team 26 on the Sandy Hook Ride on Washington (2013–19).

In closing this column, a heartfelt congratulations to David Cohen for his successful re-election to District 4 of the San Jose City Council! You can learn about all the great things David is doing for his community here .

Please let us know how you’re doing the greatest good in your neighborhood! ❖ Rose Tanasugarn ( email Rose ) | Nancy Solomon Weiss ( email Nancy ) | Allan Rousselle ( email Allan ) | Class Facebook page | Alumni Directory .

Family and friends, turkey and football, and … Cornell Big Red hockey at NYC’s Madison Square Garden have become an annual tradition for many during Thanksgiving break. About 100 classmates, friends, and family members joined our class block of seats to re-live the Lynah Faithful traditions and see Cornell play the latest “Safe-ty school! Safe-ty school!”: Boston University.

I ( Joe Marraccino ) found myself there among the spirited sea of red, including friends Michael Clifford ’90 , BS ’91, Chris and Joyce Martir Dugan ’90 , Thomas Greenberg , Sanjeev Dhawan , Jeff Weintraub , MD ’95, Alix Mellis-Brown , John Martin , Andrew Stein ’90 , and Glenn Haber ’92 . I caught up with some of our other hockey enthusiast classmates too.

Eapen Chandy , MBA ’97, graduated with an electrical engineering degree followed by an MBA in ’97, and lives in South Glastonbury, CT, with his wife and four children, ages 20, 18, and 15-year-old twins. Eapen shared a picture taken more than 10 years ago of his uniformly smiling family in the stands. “I am passionate about sports, including Cornell hockey, and it has been an annual family tradition to see a game either in New Haven, CT, or at MSG!” Eapen also loves his music, mostly classic rock, and his career “has been spent largely in financial services. Currently I serve as the treasurer of Coalition Inc., a cyber insurance startup, which is exciting at this stage of my life.” Glad to see Eapen doing well; his life is anything but “Bor-ing! Bor-ing!”

Kulravee Puttharuksa Keegan is a self-proclaimed “suburban hockey mom.” She graduated from the College of Human Ecology with a major in human development and family studies, and currently lives in Eastchester, NY, where she is a practicing physician. Kulravee has been to a number of games throughout the years. “My son and his friends play youth hockey, so they enjoy going, and get a kick out of the cheers, taunts, and Big Red traditions!” The family’s favorite taunt? “It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!” Of course it is.

I am passionate about sports, including Cornell hockey, and it has been an annual family tradition to see a game either in New Haven, CT, or at MSG! Eapen Chandy ’91 , MBA ’97

Loretta Dougherty Gallo just attended her first Cornell hockey game at MSG, perhaps the start of an annual tradition! Loretta, an animal science major back on the Hill, shared, “I am originally from the Bronx and now live in Pelham, NY, with my husband, Fred ’90 , and our 10-year-old twins, Josh and Hannah. I am a veterinarian and in my (ha ha) free time I enjoy reading and attending my son’s hockey games and my daughter’s horseback riding lessons.” Loretta and family followed the game intently. “It was especially great to be able to share it with our kids, since our son is a goalie playing for Pelham Youth Hockey and Ian Shane ’25 played an amazing game in goal for the Big Red!”

I agree, Ian is no “Sieve! Sieve!” We may see him more regularly at MSG and other professional hockey arenas soon. Loretta and Fred are hoping to continue other Cornell traditions. “The joke in our house is that we won’t force Josh and Hannah to choose Cornell, but with seven undergraduate schools to choose from, why wouldn’t they!?”

The good news is that we all went home happy. “Warm up the bus! Warm up the bus!” Cornell won a thriller against BU. Whether you have attended this annual game in the past or are looking to start a new Thanksgiving tradition, hope to see you with the “Rocket’s ‘RED!’ Glare” next time around!

Got news to share? Use the online news form or feel free to contact one of us directly: ❖ Joe Marraccino ( email Joe ) | Evelyn Achuck Yue ( email Evelyn ) | Susie Curtis Schneider ( email Susie ) | Ruby Wang Pizzini ( email Ruby ) | Wendy Milks Coburn ( email Wendy ) | Alumni Directory .

Paul Sung Bang Yang , ME ’95, enjoys spending time with his family and close friends, as well as visiting and reconnecting with places where he has spent time over his lifetime. He is working in virtual reality, augmented reality, metaverse, and education. He started a global leadership program and is working with real estate developers and making films. His favorite memories of Cornell are spending time with friends, enjoying a good meal, collaborating on projects, watching movies, enjoying the campus, and getting to know some of the professors.

Melissa Ditmore ’90 , BA ’92, writes that the paperback edition of her book, Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy , was released April 30.

Matt Hutcheson , MS ’95, invites you to join him, Jason Markel ’93 , and Doug McGhee online to play the multiplayer game Galactic Trader for free. Enjoy early ’90s Cornell nostalgia flying around the galactic universe, trading luxuries, and battling Thargoids!

John and Janine Blanchard Huber have relocated to Indianapolis, IN. John serves as head of school at Sycamore School, a PS-8 independent coed day school, serving the needs of academically gifted students. The family is planning a visit to Ithaca as the youngest considers college choices!

Brad Minnich has enjoyed a successful career in Hollywood. He specializes in visual effects (CGI), which has allowed him to work on recent films like Batman , Aquaman , Justice League , and many others. His career has taken him around the world to shoot many movies through Europe, Africa, and India. He and his wife, Kiesha, have celebrated 24 years together. They have two inspirational daughters, Laila, 17, and MiaSol, 15, who are leaders in their school and captains of the high school volleyball teams. He enjoys staying in contact with many Cornell alumni and remembers his days on the Hill often—especially being introduced to filmmaking, which help shaped his entire life!

Finally, Amy Frome Saperstein shares that the Cornell Class of ’92 officers organized a cocktail hour in NYC at Effy’s Café on the Upper East Side. About 30 alums gathered and reminisced about their days at Cornell. Most of the group lives in Manhattan but some came from Westchester, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Everyone agreed that more cocktail hours should be planned in the future! ❖ Sarah Ballow Clauss ( email Sarah ) | Wilma Ann Thomas Anderson ( email Wilma Ann ) | Jean Kintisch ( email Jean ) | Alumni Directory .

Classmates, how are you? No, really. I am writing this in February, hoping with every ounce of my being that when you are reading this in May, there is genuine peace in the world and on our campus, with open, constructive communication and support for outlets and oases of healthy socialization.

Our ’93 magician extraordinaire Steve Cohen is still bringing it in NYC at the Lotte New York Palace: you never know who you might sit next to at his show, “Chamber Magic”! Recent guests include actors Cate Blanchett and New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Steve’s new book, Confronting Magic , is now available. It has a sensational foreword by Academy Award-winning film director Guillermo del Toro, and according to the website, “If you’ve been to the show there’s a good chance your photo is included!” Explore his website for info on the book, tickets, and more.

Our class president, Mike McMahon , just returned from an epic trip to New Zealand: “Great trip, highly recommended!” He and our former ’93 president Earl Pinto organized social events for our class officers who reunited in Baltimore, MD, in February for the annual Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference. Please consider joining our class council; we would love to welcome more of you to the party and the planning!

Thank you to our council member Pamela Fabrizio Barry , who shared that she recently reunited with Yvette Politis to celebrate the anniversary of fellow Cornellian Amy Zura Neary ’95 . Tamar Dolgen connects with classmates Jackie Finkel Kauff and Tracy Newman Porosoff as they serve together on Cornell Hillel’s board.

Grateful to Tamar for sharing her recent life update: “After decades of working with startups, global brands, and nonprofits, I transitioned my marketing and communication expertise into college and career advising. I run my own firm, Go Future Advising, and work with the nonprofit Step Ahead Idaho.” Congratulations, Tamar!

Classmates, please connect to share your updates, reunions, or milestones, or for any reason at all (Big Red or not). Take care, and please share. ❖ Melissa Hart Moss, JD ’97 ( email Melissa ) | Mia Blackler ( email Mia ) | Theresa Flores ( email Theresa ) | Alumni Directory .

Happy spring/summer, everyone! I hope all of you plan on going to our Reunion, June 6–9! Thirty years is no joke!

One of our fellow classmates was planning on working in one of the tents on the Arts Quad for Reunion. Derek Edinger , ME ’95, writes, “My wife, Stacey (Girard) ’95 , and I quit our regular day jobs (aerospace and hotel, respectively) back in 2020 and opened Brewery Ardennes in Geneva, NY, in 2021. It’s never too late to make a crazy career change and pursue your passion.”

Paul Bamundo also has a new job update; he recently became CEO of the National Pickleball League (NPL). In this role, Paul will lead this premier league of Champions Division (age 50+) professional pickleball players in its second year in 2024. Paul notes: “It is nice to be the young person in the organization now that I am 50 years old myself! I look forward to seeing many of you as the NPL tours the country this year.” I am sure that many 1994 alums have tried pickleball already at some point!

Lastly, Jarrid Whitney shared some career news of his own. “This past fall, I started a new job at Dartmouth College as the inaugural assistant vice president of enrollment for access strategy. This is a ‘full-circle’ moment for me and my family as I started my admissions career there nearly 29 years ago being on the frontlines of diversity recruitment, met my future wife in that same office, and now have the privilege to be a thought-partner with the college’s leadership on issues of which I’m most passionate. But don’t worry, CU peeps—although I may now have more Green in my wardrobe, it’s all Red whenever CU competes against Dartmouth!”

Keep sending in those updates!  You can send news to me or the other correspondents via email, Facebook, or the online news form . Best wishes for a great summer! ❖ Jennifer Rabin Marchant ( email Jennifer ) | Dika Lam ( email Dika ) | Dineen Pashoukos Wasylik ( email Dineen ) | Alumni Directory .

More 50th birthday stories kick off this month’s column! Elizabeth Leff writes that in March 2023, she and Lauren Blick Rotko , Stephanie Cosner , Jennifer Damashek Strassler , Alyse Kramarow , Stacy Lalin Poritzky , MBA ’00, and Jennifer Stevens Dickson carried on their once-every-five-years girls’ weekend tradition, celebrating the big 50th birthdays in Palm Springs together, including amazing hikes in Joshua Tree National Park. She also had a big birthday bash in Brooklyn, NY, co-hosted by Holly White , with help from her sister, Bonnie Leff ’91 .

The year also saw some work-related changes for Elizabeth—including a new role in the U.N., where she has worked since 2005 (first at UNDP and then at the U.N. Secretariat), leading the team in the Under Secretary General’s office that helps improve how operational support is provided across the organization. In the fall, she also saw off her husband, whom she met at the U.N., on an assignment to Kyiv, Ukraine. Though his assignment in a country at war causes stress, at least it also provides opportunities to meet up in Europe during his R&R, which they already took advantage of—visiting 10 countries in Central and Eastern Europe in a whirlwind trip over the holidays, bringing the number of countries she has visited to 109.

Stephanie Cosner sent in some exciting news of her own as well—she was recently appointed provost at Simmons University, following her role as dean for six years and, prior to that, her work as a tenured professor at Boston College.

Anne Catlin Johnson reports some big-time 50th birthday celebrations, starting in July of last year (her actual birthday was in December!). Writes Anne, “In thinking about how I wanted to celebrate, I realized that the people were more important than the activities or venues, and then went big on plans with great friends! I planned and executed a European adventure with five of my friends from grade school, starting with a glorious cava-soaked spin through Barcelona before proceeding to Geneva and finally Paris. Everyone had a blast, and the trip went off with nary a hitch, so now I am thinking about becoming a boutique travel guide as my next act—message me if you’re looking for an excellent tour leader! In August, we moved daughter Natalie to Colby College (Maine) via a Springsteen concert in Boston—after 40 years of fandom, I finally got to see the Boss! Somehow, I had never seen Billy Joel either, so I went to his show in Baltimore with Matt , ME ’96, and Alison Torrillo French in October, right after taking my dad out to the ballpark for the first game of the ALDS (O’s lost; still a good game).

“Just before Thanksgiving, we headed south to Margaritaville at Sea with another grade-school friend and her family—a short but very fun cruise! The almost-finale week started on December 6 with the musical SIX in Denver, a cooking class on December 7, and Las Vegas on December 8–9 to see U2 at the Sphere with Edie Marshall ’96 . On Sunday, I hiked the 50 Year Trail in Oro Valley, AZ, with my best friend from seventh grade, who is one day older than I am, before we headed to Miraval on my actual birthday for some spa/healing time. A crazy day trip to NYC to see Some Like it Hot before it closed happened on the 20th before we headed to Steamboat for skiing. The last hurrah was a Disney World weekend in mid-January with two more friends from way back. I’m still teaching engineering at the Air Force Academy as a reservist but am planning my winter home in Tucson since retirement and the empty nest are right around the corner!”

In August, we moved daughter Natalie to Colby College (Maine) via a Springsteen concert in Boston—after 40 years of fandom, I finally got to see the Boss! Anne Catlin Johnson ’95

Also stretching out the big 5-0 was Mindy Goodman Sickle , whose celebration started 50 days before her birthday in June. Writes Mindy, “My husband and kids gave me a small gift every day leading up to my birthday. My friends and family, including Sara Ende Masri ’96 , pitched in on certain days. I then had a few small celebrations with family and friends. The celebrations culminated in a trip to Curaçao with my husband and no kids. It was exactly what I wanted.” Mindy and her husband currently live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and have three kids: Preston, 19, a first-year student at Syracuse; Jordyn, 18, a senior in high school heading to Tufts next year; and Spencer, 15, a sophomore. “Raising kids here is challenging and rewarding,” she says. “My kids went to three different high schools in three different boroughs; they’ve been traveling around the city via public transportation since they were in sixth grade, and my two oldest got their driver’s licenses at 17 so they can be our ‘Uber’ driver home after a night out!”

Now for some non-birthday related arts and culture news! Brett Schwartz shared that on November 11, he was awarded an Emmy at the 65th Annual Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards presented by the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He won the award for his film, Raised Up West Side, in the category of Outstanding Achievement for Documentary–Cultural.

Best-selling children’s author Michelle Knudsen released her new picture book, Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten , on March 5, 2024. It’s illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, who illustrated her book Library Lion , and she is very excited to share it with readers.

And, of course, we cannot let a column go by without a shout-out to another Cornell legacy! Melissa Biren Singer shared that she and husband Scott ’94 ’s younger daughter, Jordana, was accepted to the Cornell Class of ’28 (human development major in CHE). She will be joining her older sister, Kayla ’25 , who has been loving her Cornell experience. Writes Melissa, “We are looking forward to the girls having a year together on campus and will be visiting as much as they will let us!”

Stay connected and safe, classmates. ❖ Alison Torrillo French ( email Alison ) | Class website | Class Facebook page | Class Instagram page | Alumni Directory .

Registered dietitian nutritionist Frances Largeman-Roth has recently published a cookbook called Everyday Snack Tray , which, in the words of the subtitle, offers Easy Ideas and Recipes for Boards That Nourish for Moments Big and Small . There are tips for snack trays to suit a wide variety of occasions—including playdates, tailgates, romantic get-togethers, and various holidays—as well as guidelines on how to make them more nutritionally sound.

Frances is a contributor to several publications, including Today.com , Parents, Parade , and Shape , and has appeared on the “Today” show, the “Dr. Oz Show,” the “Rachael Ray Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Access Hollywood Live,” QVC, CNN, and more. She is a member of the James Beard Foundation and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Frances, her husband, and their three kids live north of Manhattan, in Dobbs Ferry, NY. To learn more, visit her website or follow her on Instagram . ❖ Janine Abrams Rethy ( email Janine ) | Marjorie Polycarpe Jean-Paul ( email Marjorie ) | Catherine Oh Bonita ( email Catherine ) | Alumni Directory .

Couples’ therapist Alison Bulman recently offered sage advice to Big Red alums in a Cornellians story about mindful communication. “The key is getting to a place of compassion toward your partner. And you do that by getting curious about what it’s like to be them, putting yourself in their shoes—in other words, empathy,” she says. “The idea is to approach each other with acceptance and talk about what it’s like between us right now . In our society, we talk way too much about things—work, the weather, surface stuff. We talk very little about our feelings. If we talk about what’s happening between us right now, we’re going to feel much closer to the other person, much more intimate.” Based in the New York metro area, Alison holds a master’s in social work from NYU and practices online therapy. She also hosts couples’ workshops and offers an online course designed to promote intimacy, among other offerings.

I hope you all took the time to fill out and return the Share Your News form that was recently mailed to you. If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late! Please do send us your news—via the hard-copy form or the online news form —so our future class columns can be full of news from all of you. Whether your news is ordinary or extraordinary, we want to hear it! ❖ Sarah Deardorff Carter ( email Sarah ) | Erica Broennle Nelson ( email Erica ) | Alumni Directory .

Having celebrated our 25th Reunion on campus last June, many of us are celebrating our 30th high school reunion this year! Reunions, official or not, are always great opportunities to reconnect with friends, reflect on the lessons we have learned, and recommit to continued growth. The Class of 1998 has much to celebrate with family and friends, and this column is the place to share all the great and fun things we have accomplished.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Brett Walker recently wrote an article featuring our classmate Jamie Critelli and his work as a U.S. Army Major of the 353rd Civil Affairs Command (CACOM). Here is a snippet: “Food supply chains and the associated effects on future military operations is one of the many nuanced civil-military fields in which the soldiers of the 353rd CACOM provide expertise to the U.S. military. Maj. Gustavo Ferreira and Maj. Jamie Critelli of the 353rd CACOM have published nine scholarly papers on the agriculture-related limits to proposed military actions across the globe. Critelli worked his way through the ranks, having joined the Army in 1998 through Cornell University’s ROTC program.”

Jamie learned of the Army’s 38G Civil Affairs program—which provides military leadership with subject-matter experts in 18 specific fields—from a civil affairs officer while they were deployed together in Iraq. “I was the first person in the unit to put together a 38G packet,” he said. “A few months later I came across Maj. Ferreira and helped him submit a packet. Since then, I’ve put together about 40 packets for 38G. I do about two per month.” Articles that these two co-authors have published include “Does China Have Enough Food to Go to War?” and “Taiwan’s Food Resiliency—or Not—in a Conflict with China.”

Starting a new adventure? Connected with an old friend? Share your latest news with us by filling out the online news form or you can always email me. ❖ Uthica Jinvit Utano ( email Uthica ) | Alumni Directory .

Adam Ross joined law firm Keane & Beane PC on January 1, in their Long Island office in Melville, NY. Adam represents public employers in a broad range of employment-related matters. For school districts and BOCES, he provides guidance on probationary periods, tenure, recall, and performance reviews. He previously served as general counsel to the United Federation of Teachers. Congrats, Adam!

Reunion 2024 in June will feature our very own Andrew Ross Sorkin as the esteemed Olin Lecturer! Andrew is an award-winning journalist and author, CNBC “Squawk Box” co-anchor, DealBook founder/editor, and co-creator of the Showtime series “Billions.”

What is something you’re doing now that you never thought you’d be doing? What is your fondest memory of your time at Cornell? What brings you the most satisfaction these days? No matter if your news is big or small, please take a moment to write to us and stay connected with our class. ❖ Class of 1999 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

Hello out there! I hope this little note finds you in good health and spirits. I am enjoying the warmth of the season in a new home, and, as you can imagine, it’s a busy time. It was nice to receive news from fellow alumna Katie Dealy .

In her own words: “Since June 2022, I have served as the director of engagement in the Office of U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Despite lots of travel, it has been a profound honor to serve in this role, with these colleagues and during this time, particularly as we have raised awareness around the youth mental health crisis and the epidemic of loneliness. For the last 12 years, my husband, Alan Polansky, and I have lived in Evanston, IL, with our three boys (ages 15, 12, and 8). When I am not at work, and not on the sidelines of a youth sporting event or theatrical production, I’m chairing the Cornell Class of ’64 JFK Award alumni board, and playing phone tag with dear friends from Cornell days.”

That sounds incredible; thanks for sharing, Katie. What are you up to in this great, big, wide world? I’d like to read about it, and I’m sure I’m not alone. So share your story with us through the Share Your News link below, or drop me a note! ❖ Denise Williams ( email Denise ) | Alumni Directory .

As I write this update, the Cornell Daily Sun (hope you all still read this from time to time!) just published a story about the Faculty Senate voting to discontinue median grade visibility on transcripts, a practice started 15 years ago. We can add this to the list of “glad we didn’t have to deal with that back in our day” (see also: Snapchat, doxxing), which feels like a good way to appreciate entering our midlife phase.

Speaking of now-defunct initiatives that started after our time on the Hill: would you like Cornell to bring back the New Student Summer Reading Project ? (I am still meaning to read Guns, Germs, and Steel , which had kicked things off after our graduation in Summer 2001 … maybe this time?) If so, here’s a contender: Hidden Hate: The Resilience of Xenophobia by Mathew Creighton . Once merely one of our classmates, Mathew is now an associate professor in the School of Sociology at University College Dublin, a national coordinator of the European Social Survey in Ireland, and the principal investigator of a Horizon Europe project, EqualStrength , which assesses prejudice in work, childcare, and housing throughout Europe.

Fun fact: Our class has 3,593 living alumni, plus 65 “non-degreed” classmates. If you’re one of them and you’ve read this far, go to our class Facebook group or Instagram page (or find me on Linkedin: I’m the only Nicole Neroulias Gupte ) and send a message that says “tower pumpkin.”

Spotted in person: my husband, Salil Gupte , and I ran into Erin Colling Cleofe at Seattle’s University Village Apple Store over winter break, and we also met up with neighbors Chisaki Muraki and Schaun Valdovinos . Everyone’s doing a pretty good job keeping up with their outdoorsy kids, PNW style. I hope to see them again—and any other classmates around?—next month when we’re back in town again from Delhi. (P.S., for more on me and Salil, check out the Cornell Daily Sun ’s column in the new Group Notes below!)

My husband, Salil Gupte ’01 , and I ran into Erin Colling Cleofe ’01 at Seattle’s University Village Apple Store over winter break. Nicole Neroulias Gupte ’01

Spotted on social media: Eddie Perez-Cortes caught up with Michael and Susan Mueller Hanson while in D.C. over New Year’s. “The kids had a great time visiting the monuments,” he writes. Nageeb and Fatema Gunja Sumar took their kids to the Harvard-Cornell game at “Lynah East” soon afterwards. Mike Kalogiannis started a new position as “field medical, vaccines” at Pfizer. Ali Solomon Mainhart was part of an exhibit, “From Lines to Laughs: Women+ on Men” at the Society of Illustrators, in New York City—then got to celebrate her wedding anniversary with a mid-February snow day. (The best gift for a coupla teachers, amirite?)

Speaking of gifts for teachers, did you ever take a class with Prof. Juris Hartmanis? He passed away in 2022, but I’ve just come across the tribute to him penned by Ryan Williams , ME ’02, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. An excerpt: “I don’t know why Professor Hartmanis believed in me. During that period in my life, I felt like nobody else did, and it felt odd that the Turing Award winner was the one who believed the most.” I only took one engineering school class—CS 99, convinced by Jackie Sobota that we should try to get some entry-level knowledge while working the CIT Help Desk and supervising the Mann Library computer labs!—but I’m reminded of a few of my busy teachers in Ag and Arts who also found ways to encourage students at pivotal moments. We salute you, good teachers everywhere.

And lastly, Marisa Laks , one of our class officers and a Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Equity Fellow, will be speaking at the group’s annual conference in Las Vegas in July. Check out the article she wrote for the CSTA Voice on “ Creating a Sense of Belonging in the CS Classroom .”

Don’t forget to get in touch with your local Cornell alumni group to see if they’re planning a student send-off this summer! Those are great opportunities to answer questions from anxious parents (if not the kids themselves) and network with fellow alums.

Want to share an update or a memory, or get back in touch with classmates? Interested in proposing an event or helping out with our 25th Reunion planning? Please let us know by posting to our Cornell Class of 2001 Classmates Facebook group or sending an email to your friendly class correspondents. And, as always, visit our class website for more information and volunteer opportunities. ❖ Nicole Neroulias Gupte ( email Nicole ) | James Gutow ( email James ) | Alumni Directory .

What is something you’re doing now that you never thought you’d be doing? What is your fondest memory of your time at Cornell? What brings you the most satisfaction these days? No matter if your news is big or small, please take a moment to write to us and stay connected with our class. ❖ Class of 2002 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

Adam Crouch recently became CEO of Redbubble, the largest marketplace for independent artists, whose designs get printed on graphic tees, stickers, and other items. Redbubble is based in San Francisco and Melbourne, and in the past year had 5 million customers buying 4.8 million different designs. Congratulations, Adam! ❖ Jon Schoenberg , ME ’03 , PhD ’11 ( email Jon ) | Candace Lee Chow , PhD ’14 ( email Candace ) | Alumni Directory .

There’s still time for you to make plans to join us on the Hill for our 20th Reunion, June 6–9! Reunion can be as short or as long as you want it to be—you can make it an all-inclusive weekend or a quick overnight trip, attend all the sponsored events or choose your own adventure. Come alone, bring a guest, or bring the whole family! There is something on the schedule for everyone, with dozens of events planned for the weekend, including performances, athletic events, Greek receptions, tent parties, lectures, tours, and meals.

Our class headquarters is Mary Donlon Hall on North Campus. Refreshments and activities will be available all weekend. Most of the meals are taken care of, but there is plenty of opportunity to hit your favorite spot. There will also be plenty of family-friendly activities available at HQ and throughout campus.

Class-specific events include: a wine tour, a tour of the Cornell Veterinary Biobank (where you can explore the world of scientific preservation), a cocktail hour and dinner at the Nevin Center welcome tent, and breakfast in the new Toni Morrison Hall on North Campus. And, of course, the Olin Lecture (featuring Andrew Ross Sorkin ’99 , award-winning journalist and author), a Chorus and Glee Club concert, the Reunion 5K through the Botanic Gardens, Redstock (where Cornell musicians and bands unite for an epic alumni concert), Cornelliana Night, tent parties, and more can be enjoyed throughout the weekend.

It’s hard to believe 20 years have come and gone. Don’t miss this chance to come back to the Hill for a fun-filled and memorable weekend! ❖ Jessi Petrosino ( email Jessi ) | Alumni Directory .

Believe it or not, our 20th Reunion is only one year away—June 5–8, 2025—so be sure to mark your calendars! We have extra celebrating to do this time around, after our 15th Reunion was made virtual, so let’s make this one a weekend to remember. And if you don’t yet pay dues, now’s a great time to start! Help us support our class and our next reunion by signing up here —and submit an online news form so our future class columns can be full of news from all of you! ❖ Hilary Johnson King ( email Hilary ) | Jessica Rosenthal Chod ( email Jessica ) | Alumni Directory .

We don’t have any news to share from these classes this round. We hope you took the time to fill out and return the Share Your News form that was recently mailed to you! If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late! Please do send us your news—via the hard-copy form or the online news form —so our future class columns can be full of news from all of you. Whether your news is ordinary or extraordinary, we want to hear it! ❖ Classes of 2006–2008 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

There’s still time for you to make plans to join us on the Hill for our 15th Reunion, June 6–9! Can you believe it’s been 15 years since we graduated from Cornell? So much has changed for us and for Cornell, but the sense of belonging to the Cornell family remains constant. Whether you’ve frequented campus since graduation or haven’t made the trip back yet, now is the perfect opportunity to explore all the changes, revisit your favorite spots, reconnect with old friends, and rediscover your love for Cornell. Start making plans to join your friends and classmates for an amazing weekend filled with class festivities and university events.

You can indulge in athletic activities, attend lectures, take tours, join Greek receptions, participate in college events, enjoy musical performances, attend tent parties, and more! Reunion can be as brief or as extended as you desire—an all-inclusive weekend vacation or a quick overnight trip. Our class has organized several special events for families and individual travelers alike. Attend an ice cream social on Saturday afternoon or choose to visit some beloved wineries along Cayuga Lake. Socialize with old friends at our class receptions and savor dinners by Cornell Catering. Family-friendly events, such as “Fun in the Sun,” are abundant, ensuring there’s something for everyone, whether you’re bringing the kids or attending solo.

Desiree Nattell writes, “I was named first on the 2023 Social Intelligence Insider 50 list. It’s an international who’s who in social media listening/insights/analytics and I was thrilled to be included!” Desiree is a senior analyst, strategy and insights, for Universal Parks & Resorts. “I studied sociocultural anthropology as an undergrad: how people and cultures grow and develop. Anyone in social intelligence can tell you that’s what we’re watching every day; social media just allows growth and development faster than we would have thought possible 20 years ago. My studies didn’t teach me what to think, but how .”

Matthew Gizzo shares, “I was just promoted to shareholder at Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC, a labor and employment law firm with more than 55 offices internationally and nearly 1,000 attorneys. I work out of the New York City and Dallas, TX, offices. In September 2023, my wife, Alycia, and I welcomed our first child, Brayden Paul.”

I was named first on the 2023 Social Intelligence Insider 50 list. Desiree Nattell ’09

Political consultant Iris Delgado writes, “I was just appointed to serve as a trustee to Middlesex College by the County Board of County Commissioners.” Iris fondly recalls the “Valentine’s Snowmageddon in 2007” on the Hill.

In 2024, Eva Kestner ’s original music was used by Cambridge International Curriculum in over 160 countries and 10,000 schools—and she was in the cover image of Harper Collins Publisher’s music textbook. From the blurb on her website : “Born in Tokyo, Japan, Eva was raised by a family of scholars and artists with mixed German and Japanese heritage. From a young age she learned how to play piano after her father introduced her to classical music, while she simultaneously learned Taiko (a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments) after her mother introduced her to the Japanese arts. After graduating from the International School of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo, Japan, she attended Cornell, where she earned a BA in philosophy. While there, she joined the Cornell Percussion Ensemble. The following year, she co-founded the Taiko drumming student organization called Yamatai Taiko and she was the lead drummer and musical director. After graduating, she returned to Japan and started performing professionally. She started her solo career a year later.

“Today, she brings Japanese Taiko drumming and song to a brand new context of pop music and also performs with many distinguished artists, musicians, dancers, and Taiko drummers across multiple genres. Eva does not only perform using Taiko—she also uses a number of other instruments that have a distinct flavor of the Japanese environment including koto (Japanese harp), voice, and piano. Eva also works in the field of education and teaches Taiko drumming workshops to both children and adults, and is also involved in humanitarian efforts such as raising awareness for the disabled.” ❖ Jason Georges ( email Jason ) | Alumni Directory .

Hi, Class of 2010! We have a couple of updates to share.

Ingrid Su has started a new multi-language greeting card business, YS Notes . She shares that the idea was first spawned 13 years ago when she sent herself an email to her Cornell inbox with website links on how to enter the greeting industry. Though it’s coming up on our 15th Reunion, it’s never too late to make a dream a reality!

James Hunsberger has been promoted to partner of Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider, effective the first of this year. He is based in Washington, DC, and focuses on antitrust matters. He has had extensive experience representing U.S. and foreign companies across various industries in high-stakes antitrust matters.

Congratulations to both of our classmates! Share your news at the link below. ❖ Michelle Sun ( email Michelle ) | Alumni Directory .

“I just won a Primetime Emmy for my work on FX/Hulu’s ‘Welcome to Wrexham,’” writes Miloš Balać ! “Having spent three years of my life working on the project in Wrexham, Wales, as the co-executive producer, it has been incredibly fun and satisfying to be recognized with the award for Best Unstructured Reality Program.”

“I first went to Wrexham in October 2020 as the supervising producer on season one, and officially wrapped on the project after three years in July 2023—I was promoted to co-executive producer for season two. As the main point of contact with the world of Wrexham, I cast and fostered relationships with the series’ primary subjects, including members of the Wrexham soccer team, the wider Wrexham community, and team owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. I developed season-long story arcs on the ground, produced and directed the majority of field shoots, wrote and conducted interviews, operated B cam, and set the series look in collaboration with the showrunner and director of photography. In post-production, I produced and oversaw story edits across multiple episodes and reviewed cuts for both seasons of the series.

“Living in Wrexham for the majority of the past three years was truly an incredible and fulfilling experience—Wrexham will be part of my life forever. However, after so long away from home, I decided to amicably step away from the project and return to New York in summer 2023. I’m currently working on a new project that has not yet been announced, so I unfortunately can’t say more!” ❖ Class of 2011 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

Colleen Brill and Jake Rosen welcomed their son, Leo Michael, on December 16 at 5:22 a.m. Congratulations to you both, and welcome, baby Leo! ❖ Peggy Ramin ( email Peggy ) | Alumni Directory .

Andrew Boryga has released his debut novel, Victim , which, according to the publisher, is “about a hustler from the Bronx who sees through the veneer of diversity initiatives and decides to cash in on the odd currency of identity. This propulsive satire asks what real diversity looks like—and how far one man is willing to go to make his story exceptional.”

Erica Barnell writes, “I hold an MD/PhD from Washington University, and during my medical training I founded a healthcare company called Geneoscopy. Our company has recently successfully concluded an extensive prospective clinical trial involving 8,920 patients to evaluate the effectiveness of our leading diagnostic tool, ColoSense, in detecting colorectal cancer and advanced adenomas in average-risk individuals over the age of 45. In January 2023, we submitted these crucial findings to the FDA as part of our pre-market approval process. I am delighted to share that we have since completed all our FDA audits, including our 100-day meeting with the FDA. Furthermore, we’re thrilled to announce that our research and the associated data have been accepted for publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association .”

JC Tretter was recently inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame! Though his time as an athlete on the Hill was spent mostly as a backup tight end on the football team, JC went on to have a 9-year career as an NFL offensive lineman, playing for the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Browns. You can read more about him in this recent story . ❖ Rachael Schuman ( email Rachael ) | Alumni Directory .

Hello, Class of 2014! Two of our classmates, Dana Lerner and Katia Lin , were recently honored with the Robert S. Harrison ’76 Recent Alumni Volunteer Award. Dana has served as a Class of 2014 Annual Fund representative and Reunion campaign co-chair since graduation and has also volunteered as part of the Cornell Alumni Advisory Board and the Cornell University Council. Katia has volunteered as part of the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network since graduation and served as the VP of social programming for the Cornell Club UK since 2019. Congratulations, Dana and Katia!

With our 10th Reunion coming up in a few short weeks, I would love to hear about your Reunion experiences or any exciting life updates from the last five years to include in a future column. Please send me your stories! ❖ Samantha Lapehn Young ( email Samantha ) | Alumni Directory .

We have a lot of people starting new jobs—even careers—in this issue of Class Notes! We are so proud of our classmates for all their accomplishments.

Kwabena Nimo started Intelligenia, which he describes as a company that “focuses on creating sustainable, synergistic management solutions aimed at leveraging state-of-the-art business methodologies that interface AI and machine learning with consumer-driven data. At Intelligenia, we provide robust industrial and manufacturing techniques to keep pace with the ever-changing economic landscape, while focusing on delivering clinically proven products and results derived from Six Sigma best practices.”

Alana Harris left the world of law to become a teacher. You can learn more about her experience in this 2020 profile posted by the College of Human Ecology.

Carolyn Creneti got a new job as the neuromuscular lab lead at Children’s Wisconsin, and Elisa Raffa has started at CNN as a weather anchor and as a correspondent on all domestic and international platforms. Congratulations, everyone!

Do you have a new job, too? Some other milestone hit? Any other news you’d like to share? Email your class correspondents. ❖ Caroline Flax ( email Caroline ) | Mateo Acebedo ( email Mateo ) | Alumni Directory .

Misha Inniss-Thompson and her mom, Michelle Brown-Grant ’88 , were recently featured in a Cornellians story about their shared vocation: helping kids succeed, with a focus on the needs of Black girls and their communities.

Both mother and daughter majored in human development and minored in Africana studies on the Hill, and both pursued careers that have delved into education, childhood and adolescent development, and the building and sustaining of Black community. “Our work feeds off each other,” Misha observed. “In so many ways, the educator that I am today is largely informed by the ways that my mom interacts with her students, the ways that she prominently displays positive representations of Black people and folks of color more broadly.”

Siddhant Gokhale recently co-wrote a book, Scaling Up Development Impact . “While solutions to tackle some big development challenges (e.g., access to electricity, health, and literacy) already exist, few attain a scale that matches the magnitude of the problem, even though this is critical in meeting the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This book offers concepts, questions, and tools to accompany the scaling process. Weaving together real organizational experiences, the book offers a unique perspective on development—one that puts people experiencing the problem at the center of co-creating solutions, one that emphasizes adaption and frequent iterative experimentation, and one that looks at scaling from the purview of navigating complex systems.” ❖ Class of 2016 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

We don’t have any news to share from these classes this round. We hope you took the time to fill out and return the Share Your News form that was recently mailed to you! If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late! Please do send us your news—via the hard-copy form or the online news form —so our future class columns can be full of news from all of you. Whether your news is ordinary or extraordinary, we want to hear it! ❖ Classes of 2017 & 2018 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

There’s still time for you to make plans to join us on the Hill for our 5th Reunion, June 6–9! We can’t wait to celebrate with you! The entire university opens its doors and rolls out the Big Red carpet with dozens of activities, lectures, tours, and meals. If you sign up by May 15, you can lock in the early bird rate.

Registration includes continental breakfast every day, our class dinner on Saturday night, late-night and daytime food, unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, a souvenir, and numerous 2019-exclusive and university-wide events.

Clara Dickson Hall will be our home base for the weekend. Breakfasts, late-night gatherings, and other activities will take place in and around Dickson. Saturday’s class dinner will be held under a tent on the new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall plaza on North Campus. Housing is available to everyone who would like to stay on campus, as the dorms are transformed into hotels for the weekend. We’ll have rooms in Dickson (mostly singles) and Jameson Hall (mostly suite-style). You may request housing in quieter dorms, share a room with a friend or significant other, or reserve blocks of rooms near friends.

Class-specific events include: a Dairy Bar ice cream social, a wine tour, a lawn game tournament, and a tour of what’s new on campus. And, of course, the Olin Lecture (featuring Andrew Ross Sorkin ’99 , award-winning journalist and author), a Chorus and Glee Club concert, the Reunion 5K through the Botanic Gardens, Redstock (where Cornell musicians and bands unite for an epic alumni concert), Cornelliana Night, tent parties, and more can be enjoyed throughout the weekend.

To keep up to date with class-specific details, follow us on Instagram ( @cornell2019reunion ). We’re so excited to CU in June! ❖ Class of 2019 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

“I recently joined a cohort of hundreds of other artists whose artwork landed on the moon as part of the first official art collection there,” writes Sam Price . “This payload, aboard a nickel disk designed to last for a billion years, was part of the first landing from the U.S. in over half a century and the first landing ever by a private company. My artwork is part of a digital series raising money for wildlife conservation in Africa. You can read more here !”

Elisabeth Crotty was recently selected as a 2024 Design and Technology Fellow of Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE). “Now in its 14th year of operation, FASPE annually grants 80–90 fellowships to graduate students and early-career professionals in the fields of business, design and technology, journalism, law, medicine, and seminary. Fellows participate in a two-week program in Germany and Poland, which uses the conduct of professionals in Nazi-occupied Europe as an initial framework for approaching ethical responsibility in the professions today. The FASPE curriculum takes advantage of the power of place with daily seminars and dialogue at sites of historic importance, often specific to their profession. By educating students about the causes of the Holocaust and the power of their chosen professions, FASPE seeks to instill a sense of professional responsibility for the ethical and moral choices that the fellows will make in their careers and in their professional relationships.”

I recently joined a cohort of hundreds of other artists whose artwork landed on the moon. Sam Price ’20

Elisabeth is a security technical program manager at Microsoft, working to protect the world with rapid and thorough response to security vulnerabilities. She studied information science, systems, and technology at Cornell, where she developed a passion for building technology in a way that is not only responsible but creates positive social impact. She says, “I was drawn to the FASPE program because I would love to be surrounded by others in design and technology who share a passion for understanding how the products we’re creating, and the way in which we create them, may impact our users and non-users alike. I want to be a part of this program to have a dedicated space to focus on ethical issues and develop strategies to initiate and approach these conversations across disciplines. I think this program will better prepare me to be a leader in this industry that is constantly changing and doesn’t always create space to reflect.” ❖ Class of 2020 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

Brian Forness is a global banking and markets analyst at Goldman Sachs, where he recently teamed up with a group of fellow analysts, including Valentina Xu ’22 , to take part in the global Goldman Sachs Gives 2023 Analyst Impact Fund Award competition. Teams who enter must identify, study, and ultimately pitch the work of a chosen nonprofit organization to Goldman Sachs leadership; the grand prize is $250,000 donated to that organization.

Though more than 300 teams entered this year, Brian’s team made it to the final round and earned both second place and the “Fan Favorite” prize, which in total secured a grant of $125,000 for their chosen nonprofit, Trickle Up—which seeks to partner with women in extreme poverty and provide them with financial support, training, and mentoring to ensure they build sustainable livelihoods for themselves.

Brian’s volunteerism included co-founding and serving as president of Cayuga Capital, a Cornell student-run educational nonprofit focused on personal finance, taxes, and investing, and serving on the e-board for Cayuga’s Watchers, among many other activities related to his passion for finance and entrepreneurship.

Amanda Hernandez is the volunteer coach for the Cornell University Dance Team. The team placed eighth in the Universal Dance Association’s National College Dance Team National Championship in Orlando, FL—the most competitive collegiate dance competition in the U.S. Amanda writes, “We were one of 11 teams who advanced to the finals, and this was an astonishing achievement, given that our team has only attended the championship twice before and we were founded in 2017.” ❖ Class of 2021 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

Andrew Lorenzen is among the 51 new Marshall Scholars announced today by the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission. Andrew majored in government and performing and media arts and minored in English. A published author, he is currently completing a master’s degree in creative writing at NYU. With the scholarship, Andrew will pursue a master’s in politics and communication at the London School of Economics, followed by a master’s in narrative futures at the University of Edinburgh.

In December 2023, our very own Emma Cameron , BS ’21, fulfilled a lifelong dream by winning the title of Miss Rodeo America! She’ll be spending 2024 representing the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, logging some 50,000 miles as she travels to a variety of events and appearances around the country—including performing at nearly 100 rodeos. You can read more about her in this recent Cornellians story .

Emma Cameron ’22 , BS ’21, fulfilled a lifelong dream by winning the title of Miss Rodeo America!

As Emma explains in the story, rodeo pageants resemble conventional ones, like Miss America, in a number of ways. For example, contestants have to demonstrate poise and stage presence, excel in interviews, perform in group numbers, and model stylish outfits. (Hers included a striking copper-colored metallic dress—which she helped design—for the competition’s “Western trendy” fashion show.)

“The big difference for us is that instead of singing or dancing, our talent is horsemanship,” she says. “We have a whole day dedicated to evaluating how well we can ride a horse, and we have interviews and a written test on equine science, veterinary knowledge, and the overall industry, to make sure we can represent it well.”

At the Miss Rodeo America competition—which has been held since 1956—Emma beat out 30 other young women for the crown and won several awards, including the one for horsemanship. Her prizes include scholarships as well as a large wardrobe of Western-style clothing, jewelry, and accessories, which she sports at her many appearances. The highlight, of course, is the elegant Miss Rodeo America crown. No ordinary tiara, it’s specially designed to slip onto the variously colored cowboy hats that coordinate with her outfits. ❖ Class of 2022 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

Lorlei Boyd develops AI tools for Gray Decision Intelligence , a software company that provides platform evaluation software to colleges and universities. She first started at Gray DI as an analyst but quickly transitioned into a developer (she led the integration of generative AI into Gray’s interface). While grounded in critical thinking, she draws from her humanities background at Cornell to approach her work in shaping technology with a human element. ❖ Class of 2023 ( email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12 ) | Alumni Directory .

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Samson Hagos , MS ’04 , PhD ’07 , is an earth scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in southeast Washington State, where he models the lifecycles and variability of precipitation and extreme weather events across various regional and global scales. During his time on the Hill, Samson studied the causes of the decade of catastrophic droughts across the Sahel region in Africa. He co-authored a breakthrough paper about these causes and Sahel’s rebound to normal precipitation levels with his advisor and mentor at Cornell, climate scientist Kerry Cook. Samson grew up in drought-stricken East Africa in the 1980s. Despite this and the often-scarce availability of water throughout the world, Samson is optimistic: “We need to work together, wherever we happen to be geographically. We need to look out for the less fortunate. Collectively, we have the tools to solve our water problems. Humankind is a very resourceful and cooperative species.”

Architecture, Art, and Planning

Christine Song , MArch ’09 , is a senior associate at the architecture firm Elkus Manfredi in Boston. Christine currently has a leading role in major projects in Boston and Cambridge, including the redevelopment of the National Transportation Center facility in Kendall Square. In 2023 she was named to NEREJ ’s Rising Star List for her complex designs on high-rise buildings and her influence on the cityscapes of Boston and Cambridge.

Arts and Sciences

Photographer Julia Cumes , MFA ’98 , has been named the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod’s 2024 Artist of the Year. The award recognizes a Cape-based artist whose work shapes thought, inspires change, and creates a deeper sense of connection in the community. Her photography has taken her to India, Rwanda, Thailand, Lebanon, Tanzania, Cuba, Kenya, and more. She has photographed the aftermath of several of the world’s recent natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean, and the floods in Eastern Kentucky in 2022. Last year she launched Photo Artfolio , an online organization that serves as a resource center and gallery to support emerging and established photographers. “As a young photographer, I experienced firsthand the profound impact of having mentors in my photographic journey,” Julia says. “Their guidance, support, and insights were instrumental in shaping my skills and artistic vision. It is with this understanding of the value of mentorship and a strong photography community that the idea of Photo Artfolio was born.”

Nick Roth , MA ’11 , PhD ’14 , has a new project—a movie titled Hanky Panky that is written, co-directed, and co-starred in by Nick himself. The movie is about a man and his talking napkin best friend who must save the world from a killer, evil top hat in a cabin deep in the Utah mountains—all while also learning to love. It came out on April 19 and is available on Amazon, Apple, Google, and more.

Amarildo Gjondrekaj , MBA ’19 , is founder and CEO of Adro, a financial technology company that provides financial services for people who are moving to the U.S. from another country for school or work. Adro is launching this summer. Several classmates have joined his team, including Sara Schmitt , MBA ’19 , as COO, and Lalo Gonzalez , MBA ’19 , as a user experience/user interface designer.

Engineering

Eric Betzig , MS ’85 , PhD ’88 , has been announced as a 2024 inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his co-invention of a super-resolution imaging technology called photoactivated localization microscopy. This allows scientists to distinguish individual molecules and study biological structures and processes with unprecedented resolution. Eric will be inducted on May 9, 2024 in Washington, DC, at the annual ceremony. This honor is also being awarded posthumously to another Cornellian, Alice Stoll , MS ’48 , for her invention of fire-resistant fibers and fabrics.

Alexander Boys , MS ’16 , PhD ’19 , recently started a position as an assistant professor in the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. He is researching the development of bioelectronic implants for applications in regenerative medicine and rehabilitation engineering. Alexander previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge for five years.

Industrial and Labor Relations

Cindy Vogel Ryan , MILR ’99 , was recently appointed as MassMutual’s head of human resources, where she’ll oversee the company’s HR organization and advance its people strategy. At MassMutual, a life insurance and financial services company, she will manage a range of areas including talent acquisition, employee relations, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Cindy has over two decades of HR leadership experience, including 25 years at Cigna, where she most recently served as chief human resources officer.

Veterinary Medicine

Charles Hjerpe , DVM ’58 , lives in Davis, CA, with his wife, Sue Davis Hjerpe ’58 , and enjoys following the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of their three children and six grandchildren who live throughout the country. Their grandson Cooper Austin Hjerpe was drafted with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and is now with the Peoria Chiefs on injured reserve following elbow surgery. Charles fondly remembers his days at Lambda Chi Alpha and “all the camaraderie that went with fraternity living. Studying with my wife-to-be in the evenings at Tri Delt on Beebe Lake during 1957–58 was also memorable.”

Welcome to our newest offering: Group Notes! Like Class Notes, these columns are written by alumni, but they comprise news about members of Cornell groups—including campus activities, alumni organizations, and more—across generations. If you would like to see your group represented here, email us for more information!

Cornell Daily Sun

Hello fellow Sunnies, and welcome to Group Notes! I’m excited to introduce this new column, which will highlight the achievements and celebrate the lives of Sun alumni. As one of Cornell’s oldest, most storied student organizations, the Cornell Daily Sun boasts a vast and accomplished alumni network. Sunnies make a significant impact in journalism, philanthropy, business, medicine, and many other fields. We create thought and inspire change. I’m proud to introduce you all and share your stories, both personal and professional.

If we haven’t met, I’m Vee Cipperman ’23 . Like many of you, the Sun formed the backbone of my college experience. I served consecutively as news editor, editor-in-chief, and senior editor (the paper’s best position!). Since my graduation in December, I’ve worked as a graduate fellow in Sun operations and alumni outreach. I enjoy cooking, running, and exploring Ithaca’s many natural gems, and I hope to pursue a long career in journalism and communications.

But enough about me. I’ve gathered plenty of exciting news about you and your fellow alumni. In the past few months, you’ve launched exciting projects, embarked on new careers, and expanded your families. 2024 is shaping up to be a busy year for Sun alums!

Following five years at the Wall Street Journal , Haley Velasco ’15 ( Sun editor-in-chief) started working at McClatchy in 2022. As an editor, she leads growth strategies for 30 papers including the Kansas City Star , the Miami Herald , and the Sacramento Bee . Haley writes, “This is also my second semester teaching a ‘Social Media in Journalism and PR’ undergraduate class at Seton Hall University, where I teach audience strategy, social media platforms, and work through brand analysis.”

Sun alumni continue to make waves as professional reporters. Jessica DiNapoli ’08 , BA ’07, (senior editor) writes that she recently returned to work at Reuters, “covering consumer products companies.” Justin Peters ’03 (columnist) will cover the 2024 Summer Olympics for Slate . He also co-owns Tampa-based comedy club the Commodore, “thus bringing me closer to achieving my lifelong dream of becoming ‘Florida Man.’” Carl Leubsdorf ’59 (associate editor) celebrated 44 years as a reporter at the Dallas Morning News and Tribune Content Agency last March. He writes, “My wife, fellow journalist Susan Page, will be releasing a biography on Barbara Walters in the spring.”

Sun alums have also launched exciting projects outside the journalism world. Phil Mazo ’03 (cartoonist) released a short comedy film called “I’m Phil,” which won the 2022 Coney Island Film Festival for Best Comedy Short. Ed Zuckerman ’70 (editor-in-chief) published Wealth Management , a thriller novel, in 2022. He writes, “One character in the book is a Cornell graduate, but she didn’t work on the Sun . Her loss.” This book is yet another twinkle in Ed’s star-studded career as a journalist, nonfiction author, and writer-producer on TV shows including “Law & Order.”

Many Sun alums have found their calling outside the media industry. Zachary Silver ’19 (sports editor) covered Major League Baseball for four years before pivoting to communications. He writes, “I have learned that even if I’m out of the field, it’s easy to stay connected.” He keeps up with the friends that he made in the press box, and he reports that he’s still cheering from the sidelines.

Phil Mazo ’03 won the 2022 Coney Island Film Festival for Best Comedy Short.

Chloe Gatta ’12 (business manager) lives in Manhattan and works in strategic communications at Hiltzik Strategies. Maryam Zafar ’21 (editor-in-chief) pursues research in environmental health epidemiology and writes for the Harvard Public Health Magazine . She reports that she will begin medical school in fall ’24.

Andy Guess ’05 (editor-in-chief) lives in New York City and works as an assistant professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University. He writes, “Remember, New Jersey and you, perfect together.” Rochelle Li ’21 (HR manager) works in healthcare management for global consulting firm ZS. She writes, “I currently live in New York City and spend my free time engaging in various cozy hobbies, including baking, embroidery, and houseplant growing.”

Several Sun alums stick close to home, pursuing careers here in Ithaca. Amanda Soule Shaw ’00 , MBA ’05 (business manager) serves as the associate dean for administration and finance for the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. She writes, “I live in Ithaca with my husband and two teenage sons, who regularly fight over wearing my Cornell Daily Sun sweatshirt to school and around town.” Kirkpatrick Sale ’58 (editor-in-chief) lives in the Ithaca area with his wife. He reads the Sun online each morning.

Other alumni, including Salil Gupte ’01 (managing editor) and Nicole Neroulias Gupte ’01 (features editor) make a big impact abroad. Salil serves as president of Boeing India, “opening a new 43-acre campus with India’s Prime Minister and launching a new training program for women pilots.” Nicole serves on the board of governors of Delhi’s American Embassy School. She is pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science from San Jose State University.

They write, “Our two kids, R.J. and Katia, are also busy with school, Scouting, taekwondo, music programs, and being dragged around the world.” Nicole and Salil invite any Sunnies visiting Delhi (during the school year) or Seattle (over summer breaks) to reach out on LinkedIn.

To close our first Group Notes column, I’ll share some exciting news about Sun families. In 2023, Carl Leubsdorf celebrated the wedding of his son, Will. Jessica DiNapoli and her husband, Sachin Shah, welcomed their son, Michael, in August 2023.

That same month, Haley Velasco got engaged—she reports that she’s currently planning her wedding. Chloe Gatta got engaged in November 2023; she and her fiancé, Aayush Srivastava, plan to get married in Philadelphia.

It’s been great to hear all your fun stories. To my contributors, thank you for your time! If you’re interested in submitting an update for a future Cornellians column or the Sun alumni blog, please reach out to me . It’s always exciting to see where Sunnies end up in the world, and how you’re all working to change it for the better. Shine bright! ❖ Vee Cipperman ’23 ( email Vee ) | Alumni Directory .

University Chorus & Glee Club

Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome! To the brand spankin’ new Cornell Chorus and Glee Club (a.k.a. “Glorus,” according to the current students) Group Notes column! I am excited to be your correspondent and to share all of your updates.

A little bit about myself: I, Alison Torrillo French ’95 , graduated from Cornell in 1995, sang Alto 2 (woot!) in the Chorus all four years, and was a part of After Eight. Outside of singing, I majored in communications in CALS, wrote for the arts and entertainment section of the Daily Sun , and was president of Women in Communications. I now am a solopreneur, running my own consulting company, aptly named Alto Solutions ! I live outside Washington, DC—where I recently got to see many of you when the Glorus came down for winter break tour—with my husband (and classmate, but he was a Big Red Band geek), Matt French ’95 , ME ’96, and our two kids, Ray, 13, and Ben, 11 (who both adore visiting Cornell—in particular, the Dairy Bar!). I have sung with several a cappella groups and bands in the area and can often be found belting it out at karaoke night with friends.

Now let’s dive right into your updates, shall we? Also in the Washington, DC, area, where the spirit of Cornell music-making lives on, is Brad Spencer ’79 , who sings in the Washington Men’s Camerata along with fellow Glee Clubbers Robert Harris ’80 , Kenyon Erickson , MPS ’81 , Jason Rylander ’93 , Eugene Stromecki ’82 , Michael Schrier ’90 , and Shea Murphy ’20 —all under the direction of former CUGC director Scott Tucker and the first woman to serve as the Camerata’s associate director, Chorus alum Julie Huang Tucker ’05 . Writes Brad, “We have sung more than a half dozen times with the National Symphony Orchestra and recently made NFL history by singing on a state-of-the-art recording of the Washington Commanders’ new fight song.”

Yet another D.C.-area Glee Clubber who is continuing to sing is Bill Welker ’73 , MBA ’75. He has been a member of the Choral Arts Society, whose season started with the singing of Rachmaninov’s “Symphony of the Bells” (prepared by Scott Tucker) and then William Walton’s “Belshazzar’s Feast,” conducted by Marin Alsop, both performances at the Kennedy Center. Bill is looking forward to singing Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana in the spring.

We recently made NFL history by singing on a state-of-the-art recording of the Washington Commanders’ new fight song. Brad Spencer ’79

Living in Cincinnati, OH, Jessica Graus Woo ’93 —my co-president of the After Eight Alumni Council—writes that she recently got to catch up with Steve Merz ’91 at a grad school event. Steve lives in Maine and is running a behavioral healthcare organization. “It had probably been 25 years since we’d seen each other, but it was like no time had passed,” says Jess. As I write this in February, I am excited myself to catch up with Jess and others at the Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference in Baltimore—I’m sure I’ll have some news to report afterward.

Jeanne Arnold ’78 is also keeping the music alive and is busy doing local theater on the East End of Long Island. She has done The Producers (ensemble), Cry-Baby (stage manager), Taming of The Shrew (Tranio), and Macbeth (Seyton and First Murderer). She is active in Corchaug Repertory Theatre, North Fork Community Theatre, and Northeast Stage. She also recently got together with friends to perform a Broadway tap dance number and has sung lead with some bands. Her favorite Chorus memories are Carnegie Hall with Michael Tilson Thomas in 1977 and our centennial Reunion in 2022.

Finally, TP Enders ’90 , ME ’96, shared an update from Robert Pierce ’61 , who, after having been widowed, reported re-finding joy through singing by joining the Encore East Side NYC Chorale. The group is run by Encore Creativity, a national choral organization for age 55+ adults. He invites NYC-area singing alumni to join him. The group does not hold auditions, rehearses weekly at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church (E. 73 rd Street), and is in particular need of male voices. There’s more information on Encore’s website and Facebook page .

That’s it for the inaugural column. All of your updates are certainly music to my ears. Please keep them coming. Until we meet again … ❖ Alison Torrillo French ’95 ( email Alison ) | Alumni Directory .

Top image: Photo by Ryan Young / Cornell University

Published May 1, 2024

Miss Manners: Host eats luxurious breakfast, leaves cereal for guest

Letter writer splurges on breakfast and doesn’t want to share with a friend they’re hosting.

Dear Miss Manners: I am 25 and am lucky to be studying overseas in France. It is a financial struggle, but worth the effort, I think.

I don't splurge on much of anything; I can't, really. But I do indulge my love of breakfast. I will go out in the morning and buy a single buttery croissant, a bit of jam, some rich cheese, a few pieces of fruit and an espresso. I bring it all back to my tiny apartment and enjoy it by an open window.

I recently had a friend from the U.S. come to visit. She is not a morning person, and was asleep when I went to get my breakfast. She rose while I was enjoying it in the morning sun. She asked, “What’s for breakfast?” and I told her there was muesli and other cereal in the pantry, a baguette from the night before, and an egg if she wished one. I also mentioned that I had instant coffee, unless she’d like to go to the corner cafe.

She said she would prefer to have what I was having. I told her that it was my special breakfast, an indulgence I could barely afford, and did not have enough to share. She was rather upset, I think. She was a bit sullen the rest of the day. That evening, she told me I was an awful host to eat something so lovely in front of a guest and not provide the same for her. I explained again about my limited resources and the idea this was a little thing I did for just myself.

I did not have my special breakfast again while she was there, and she returned to the U.S. a few days later. I have not heard from her since she left. Was I as poor a host as she says? Do I owe her an apology?

Will you think Miss Manners une vache if she tells you “Yes” and “Oui?”

It is indeed impolite for a host to indulge in food he is not willing to share — even if you thought you could get away with it before your guest woke up. An acceptable solution might have been to purchase enough for part of it: two croissants, for example, or only the fruit. Furthermore, pointing out repeatedly that your limited resources were restricted only to yourself did not likely garner the sympathy you seemingly expected.

But if it makes you feel better, it was also impolite for your guest to keep pushing when you told her what was available — and, of course, to tell you explicitly that you were an awful host. Quel dommage.

Dear Miss Manners: I baked cinnamon rolls and decided to share part of the batch with a friend. I packed some in a container and sent them home with said friend. At a later meeting, my friend returned the container, covered in residual frosting. I appreciated that they remembered to return it, but found it somewhat rude that it was dirty. When sharing cookware, whose responsibility is the washing?

The one who got the free cinnamon rolls.

New Miss Manners columns are posted Monday through Saturday on washingtonpost.com/advice . You can send questions to Miss Manners at her website, missmanners.com . You can also follow her @RealMissManners.

Liz Cheney: The Supreme Court Should Rule Swiftly on Trump’s Immunity Claim

A black-and-white photo of the U.S. Supreme Court building, with trees in the foreground.

By Liz Cheney

Ms. Cheney, a Republican, is a former U.S. representative from Wyoming and was vice chairwoman of the Jan. 6 select committee in the House of Representatives.

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Donald Trump’s arguments that he is immune from prosecution for his efforts to steal the 2020 presidential election. It is likely that all — or nearly all — of the justices will agree that a former president who attempted to seize power and remain in office illegally can be prosecuted. I suspect that some justices may also wish to clarify whether doctrines of presidential immunity might apply in other contexts — for example, to a president’s actions as commander in chief during a time of war. But the justices should also recognize the profoundly negative impact they may have if the court does not resolve these issues quickly and decisively.

If delay prevents this Trump case from being tried this year, the public may never hear critical and historic evidence developed before the grand jury, and our system may never hold the man most responsible for Jan. 6 to account.

The Jan. 6 House select committee’s hearings and final report in 2022 relied on testimony given by dozens of Republicans — including many who worked closely with Mr. Trump in the White House, in his Justice Department and on his 2020 presidential campaign. The special counsel Jack Smith’s election-related indictment of Mr. Trump relies on many of the same firsthand witnesses. Although the special counsel reached a number of the same conclusions as the select committee, the indictment is predicated on a separate and independent investigation. Evidence was developed and presented to a grand jury sitting in Washington, D.C.

The indictment and public reporting suggest that the special counsel was able to obtain key evidence our committee did not have. For example, it appears that the grand jury received evidence from witnesses such as Mark Meadows, a former Trump chief of staff, and Dan Scavino, a former Trump aide, both of whom refused to testify in our investigation. Public reporting also suggests that members of Mr. Trump’s Office of White House Counsel and other White House aides testified in full, without any limitations based on executive privilege, as did Vice President Mike Pence and his counsel.

The special counsel’s indictment lays out Mr. Trump’s detailed plan to overturn the 2020 election, including the corrupt use of fraudulent slates of electors in several states. According to the indictment, senior advisers in the White House, Justice Department and elsewhere repeatedly warned that Mr. Trump’s claims of election fraud were false and that his plans for Jan. 6 were illegal. Mr. Trump chose to ignore those warnings. (Remember what the White House lawyer Eric Herschmann told Mr. Trump’s alleged co-conspirator John Eastman on Jan. 7, 2021: “Get a great f’ing criminal defense lawyer. You’re gonna need it.”) There is little doubt that Mr. Trump’s closest advisers also gave the federal grand jury minute-to-minute accounts of his malicious conduct on Jan. 6, describing how they repeatedly begged the president to instruct the violent rioters to leave our Capitol and how Mr. Trump refused for several hours to do so as he watched the attack on television. This historic testimony about a former president’s conduct is likely to remain secret until the special counsel presents his case at trial.

As a criminal defendant, Mr. Trump has long had access to federal grand jury material relating to his Jan. 6 indictment and to all the testimony obtained by our select committee. He knows what all these witnesses have said under oath and understands the risks he faces at trial. That’s why he is doing everything possible to try to delay his Jan. 6 federal criminal trial until after the November election. If the trial is delayed past this fall and Mr. Trump wins re-election, he will surely fire the special counsel, order his Justice Department to drop all Jan. 6 cases and try to prevent key grand jury testimony from ever seeing the light of day.

I know how Mr. Trump’s delay tactics work. Our committee had to spend months litigating his privilege claims (in Trump v. Thompson) before we could gain access to White House records. Court records and public reporting suggest that the special counsel also invested considerable time defeating Mr. Trump’s claims of executive privilege, which were aimed at preventing key evidence from reaching the grand jury. All of this evidence should be presented in open court, so that the public can fully assess what Mr. Trump did on Jan. 6 and what a man capable of that type of depravity could do if again handed the awesome power of the presidency.

Early this year, a federal appeals court took less than a month after oral argument to issue its lengthy opinion on immunity. History shows that the Supreme Court can act just as quickly , when necessary. And the court should fashion its decision in a way that does not lead to further time-consuming appeals on presidential immunity. It cannot be that a president of the United States can attempt to steal an election and seize power but our justice system is incapable of bringing him to trial before the next election four years later.

Mr. Trump believes he can threaten and intimidate judges and their families , assert baseless legal defenses and thereby avoid accountability altogether. Through this conduct, he seeks to break our institutions. If Mr. Trump’s tactics prevent his Jan. 6 trial from proceeding in the ordinary course, he will also have succeeded in concealing critical evidence from the American people — evidence demonstrating his disregard for the rule of law, his cruelty on Jan. 6 and the deep flaws in character that make him unfit to serve as president. The Supreme Court should understand this reality and conclude without delay that no immunity applies here.

Liz Cheney, a Republican, is a former U.S. representative from Wyoming and was vice chairwoman of the Jan. 6 select committee in the House of Representatives.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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