Cowell College
'74 Don WALLACE moved to Honolulu in 2009. He is featured in a new book, We Wanted to be Writers: Life, Love, and Literature at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Also, the documentary he wrote, Those Who Came Before: The Musical Journey of Eddie Kamae, was screened July 28 by PBS-Hawaii. The film is dedicated to longtime UCSC creative writing professor Jim Houston, who died in 2009. Don is working on a new documentary and started a publishing house.'09 Alex MILLER is going into his third year working for The Walt Disney Co. in Glendale. He has published two books and has been offered a contract to write another, this one on Florida theme parks, to be released in 2013. He recently became engaged to his girlfriend of five years, Hanna KIM (College Nine '10), who was a teammate on the UCSC swim team.
'11 Xochitl ROCHA lives in Detroit and volunteers fulltime at a free clinic through Mercy Volunteer Corps, which requires a year of service and simple living off of a stipend. She is enjoying it but misses Santa Cruz.
Stevenson College
'67 Robert DODGE worked at Sacramento County Welfare Department for a year after graduation, then attended graduate school at CSU Sacramento for a year. In 1970 he went to Oregon and worked for the Oregon Department of Family Services until retirement in 1996. He and his wife live in McMinnville, Ore., and he volunteers with the local library, Linfield Chamber Orchestra, and Habitat for Humanity, and sits on the McMinnville City Budget Committee.'77 Scott FERGUSON has been in environmental/remediation sales management since 1988 with environmental construction company Applied Environmental Solutions. He operated/owned GeoPacific Environmental Consulting Co. from 1993 to 2007. He received a B.S. in political science from UC Berkeley. He has lived in La Selva Beach since 1997, and is currently the sales manager for A+ Environmental Solutions of Santa Cruz.
Peter KOSENKO works for a software company, where he programs installers and maintains the company's web presence. A couple years ago he produced a guitar duet CD with his friend Alex Hebert. He has also been regularly and happily attending the UCSC Dickens Universe conference on campus in the summers.
'78 Linda GRAY Schmale completed her MA in fine art in ceramics and art education at Regis University and was selected to receive the Malcolm Knowles award. She will be honored as the Colorado High School Art Teacher of the Year by Colorado Art Education Association in October at the CAEA fall conference. Her husband, Michael SCHMALE (Stevenson '76) works for Charles Schwab. They live in the Denver metro area.
'79 Kevin RENNER's upcoming book, In Search of Fatherhood: A Mother Lode of Wisdom From the World of Daughterhood, features interviews with 50 women from around the world on their life stories, and how they were shaped by their fathers.
'88 Stephen MEADOWS, Native poet, has published his 30-year collection of poetry, entitled Releasing the Days. Characterized by a profound connection to the past and the stark magnificence of the present, his poems strip down life to its bare essentials.
'95 Tlaloc RIVAS became assistant professor of directing and performance at University of Missouri–Saint Louis in 2010. For UMSL, he is directing the Midwest premiere of The House of the Spirits, adapted from the novel by Isabel Allende, as well as guest directing for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis and Richmond Shakespeare Festival in 2012.
'11 Forrest PHILLIPS has been accepted as an intern at the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
Crown College
'73 Randy FLICK, JD, has been a quality engineer since2005 at TiVo in Alviso, where he annoys his managers with his knowledge of consumer protection law and FCC regulations (but they love him just as much). He is married, has three grown daughters, and far too many guitars. Life is good.'86 Robin HASTINGS entered a four-month contract with Genentech in October 2010 to help out with the FACS Core group, who were down two people and needed help with sorting. The contract ended in February.
Merrill College
'04 Alissa CHAPMAN Olgun has traveled for fun and work to six different countries since graduation. She also received a master's of education in TESOL. Within the last two years she married her senior year college roommate, Ari Olgun (Oakes '04), and opened her own English Language School—California ESL. She misses the UCSC campus very much.Porter College
'76 Lisa HINE spent 2009–10 playing a leading role in sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury's new musical, 2116. The production debuted in Laguna Beach, played Pasadena's Fremont Centre Theatre, and ran for a month at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Lisa also recorded the original cast album.'77 Cynthia Anne HAAGENS won the Lesley Johnstone Nature Poetry award at California State University, Northridge, for her paean to the ocean titled "Seven Ocean Views." She is grateful to Eric Potter for the travels that inspired the poem, to composer colleague Martin Jarosewicz, poetry instructor Dr. Leilani Hall, CSUN English Department, and Anita and Dan Haagens for their support.
'90 Eric ELKINS is celebrating four years as CEO and chief strategist at WideFoc.us, his social media strategies agency; writes about being a single dad at DatingDad.com; and had his young adult novel, Ray, reflected, published early last year.
Kresge College
'96 Suzanne DANZIGER's short essay, "Found," and accompanying photograph are included in Still Developing: A Story of Instant Gratification. The book is the companion to the 2010 exhibition celebrating Polaroid 600 film and is published by ism: a community project.'97 Kate SHAFFER is owner and co-founder of Black Dinah Chocolatiers, an artisanal chocolate company located on the remote island of Isle au Haut, Maine. The company's chocolates and unusual business model have gained acclaim in such publications as Martha Stewart Living and Gourmet. Kate's first book, Desserted: Recipes and Tales from an Island, will be released in October.
'03 Tiffany WHITE Stanton was promoted to assistant designer for AMC hit show Mad Men.
Oakes College
'93 Johanna B. JENSEN received an M.S. in social work with a minor in law from Columbia University in 2004. She is the program director of the Child Welfare Initiative and an adjunct faculty member in social work at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga.'94 Amrit KULKARNI, a principal at Meyers Nave, was named by the Daily Journal to its inaugural list of California's Top 25 Land Use Lawyers. He was also recently named to the Daily Journal's 2010 list of California's top 20 lawyers under 40.
'02 April YEE lives in San Francisco and is an associate with the investor relations team at Pantheon, a private equity specialist firm. She is also the board treasurer and secretary of Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International, an executive committee member of Friends of Roots, and chair of the selection committee of the Dr. Jennie H.Y. Yee Scholarship Fund. She is involved with UCSC's Asian American/Pacific Islander Resource Center and the UCSC Alumni Association, and she attends the Multicultural Career Conference as often as possible.
'04 Ari OLGUN worked for Ernst & Young after graduation. He received a master's of accountancy at the University of Notre Dame in 2005 and received his CP A license in 2007. After working for a software company in Palo Alto and freelance consulting, he traveled for a year in New Zealand and Australia with his girlfriend, Alissa (Merrill '04), whom he met his senior year at UCSC. He proposed underwater in the Great Barrier Reef while scuba diving. He now works as director of finance and head of the finance department for advertising agency David & Goliath, and lives in Los Angeles. He is thankful for everything that has happened as a result of his experiences as a Banana Slug.
College Eight
'83 Richard BARR went to graduate school in photography at the University of New Mexico. He became a financial adviser in socially responsible investing. Three years ago he retired after 20 years in the profession. Married with one daughter, he is now a full-time student again with the online school of Berklee College of Music. He resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and continues to blog about corporate responsibility.'87 Lawrence COATES's third novel is forthcoming in February from University of Nevada Press. His first book, The Blossom Festival, was a Barnes & Noble Discover selection and won the Western States Book Award in fiction. The forthcoming novel is set on a vineyard during Prohibition, and is loosely based on a true historical event. He dedicates his third book to two of the teachers he had at UCSC who have passed away, James B. Hall and Jim Houston.
'89 Rachel SCHWARZ is now assisting the Grey School as its marketing manager.
'97 Derrick O. CHUA, DMD, has two awesome boys and a beautiful wife, and is loving life. Go Slugs!
'04 Daniel LUNA is nearing his fourth year as an attorney working for a labor union. He also volunteers to advance immigrant rights.
Graduate Studies
'75 Marc Elihu HOFSTADTER (Ph.D. literature) has a new book of essays out entitled Healing the Split: The Collected Essays of Marc Elihu Hofstadter. Its essays deal with philosophy, religion, science, and poetry.In Memoriam
'84 Wesley David BURROWS (Cowell) died on March 17, 2011. He held a Ph.D. in chemistry from UC Berkeley ('92) and did his postdoc at the San Diego Zoo Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species ('99). He worked for biotech companies in the Bay Area. He was 49.This article appears in the fall 2011 issue of Review magazine.
