1998 — Full-Time

Attention Class of 1998: If you are interested in learning more about your 10th reunion, call Christine Feiner at 847.491.6628 or e-mail c-feiner@kellogg.northwestern.edu.

Dear 1998ers: So, time is a-ticking down to our reunion. Ten years ago almost to this week we were all rocking on campus, some gloating about the offer they received from their internship employer for a post-grad job, others scheduling interviews with every consulting firm on the planet. We were manically organizing study groups around company presentations and strategizing over just how much Kraft Macaroni and Cheese we could sneak out of the North Shore Ballroom at the Orrington without getting noticed. Consumer goods companies were throwing silly freebies at us and I spent a good chunk of the autumn term dining on Duncan Hines Brownies (while training with Anne Boris for the Chicago Marathon). Some gifts were keepsakes, though. I still have my Betty Crocker plastic stirring spoon. It has survived seven house moves and has become an invaluable part of my kitchen utensil collection, much to my husband's amusement. I may bring it with me to the reunion in May. Thanks once again for all your news. And a big thanks to all the first-time contributors.

Isabelle Gecils and her husband welcomed their second son, Logan Gecils Evangelista, on May 6. Isabelle's company, Gecils Energy, which focuses on providing consulting services to companies that focus on alternative energy, has recently celebrated its fifth anniversary.

Sherry Ding joined Spencer Stuart last year as a consultant in Shanghai. She writes, "It becomes kind of my habit to check whether my friends are in our global database. If you would like to update your record with Spencer Stuart, please feel free to send me your latest CV. It's just a personal suggestion, purely up to you."

Jennifer Toton says, "Life in San Francisco is going well. Eric and I just had our first baby, Sonja Kari Anschutz, on July 8. The mommy time has allowed me to connect a bit more often with fellow classmate Isabelle Gecils and her two boys, Adrian (3) and Logan (4 months), though it won't last. I'm out on maternity leave and taking my sabbatical from Autodesk but will return at the beginning December. Outside of family and work, Eric and I have been renovating a Queen Anne in Noe Valley for the last two years. It's still a work-in-progress and an Escheresque scene, with plaster cracked from the second- floor walls and knob-and-tube wiring hanging from the ceiling. Nonetheless the house will be shown during the Victorian Alliance house tour this October if anyone plans to swing through (yeah, right!)"

Cynthia Harris Bowman sent in this update. "After several years of working at Accenture, I decided to make a career move. I now work at Bank of America as a senior vice president of organization development. Although I wasn't actively searching for a new role, I am glad that I decided to consider this new opportunity. I totally love my job and it also offers me a better work-life balance. I am still in Atlanta with my family and kids who are now 17, 5 and almost 2."

Evelina and Mark Taber are still in the Boston area. "Life is good. We have three awesome little girls, Anna (5), Lydia (3) and Brooke (1). (Or as I sometimes think, three girls who in 12 years will be 17, 15 and 13 years old.) Our Kellogg alum sightings have probably gotten fewer as our soccer games, dance recitals and play dates have increased, but we have managed to see a few Kellogg friends. We see Darren Braccia and Mike Braatz around Wellesley. I actually have a photo of Braatz winning a corn-on-the-cob eating contest (seriously), but I was too lazy to send it in (you're welcome, Mike). I haven't seen much of John Carroll, Rob Fawcett or Tom McConnell since they moved to the South Shore, but I still see them occasionally. Evelina and I spent a week with Mark and Sarah Murray and their three girls in Newport, R.I., this summer. We had a great time, but that was A LOT of women in one house. Mark and Sarah are back from Europe and now living in N.J. And just like when we were at Kellogg, I still spend many evenings counseling Rick Morello on his career, love life and the color of his latest Saab. Hope everyone else is doing well and hope to see more of you soon."

	Dan Clifford '98 married his longtime girlfriend, Linda.

Molly Battin writes, "Since graduation Ramsay and I have been living in Atlanta, Ga. We now have three kids — Parker, (5), Baker (3) and Campbell (1). So we are very busy to say the least. I am working for Turner Broadcasting as SVP, brand development and digital platforms for the Entertainment Networks (TNT, TBS, and TCM). So make sure you tune in and check us out online! If anyone happens to come to Atlanta please come on over and visit — our house is a bit of a circus, but the more the merrier."

Chris Tomseth writes from Dubai, "Life here is continuing to treat us well. The summers are hot — so much so that non-working expat spouses and the kids often leave to spend summers in Europe, the States, Australia or wherever. My situation was much the same, leaving me here with others who shared the label WANKER (Wife Away No Kids Eating Rubbish). I took the opportunity to travel to places like Morocco and the U.S., as well as places around the region. Everyone is back now. Angelina has started kindergarten, and Alex, almost a year old, is walking and climbing all over everything. Work is going well, and we've got a small but growing Kellogg UAE club (about 25 members now). Also, to not lose touch with U.S. culture, I'm in a Kellogg Class of '98 Fantasy Football league, with our membership stretching from California to Chicago, London, Dubai and Singapore. We are a truly global league! I encourage visitors to Dubai, especially once the weather is cooler!"

Leo Griffin sent in this update: "In January of this year, I left the 'still employed by the company I joined after Kellogg' club (entrusting my chairmanship of the Los Angeles chapter to its sole other member, Richard Herman) and joined Clarity Partners, a middle market private equity firm, where I focus on buyout and growth capital investments in media and telecom companies. Despite the credit meltdown, I have been having a great time and am enjoying finally having a use for everything I learned in Fin Decisions."

After a classic Kellogg courtship, Rory Altman and Rebecca Mayne '99 were married in 2002 and are having a wonderful time raising Jeremy (3) and Miriam (1) in Newton, Mass., just outside of Boston. Rebecca is spending time with the kids while Rory continues to grow a telecommunications and media strategy consulting firm that he co-founded in 2002. "We spend time with Megan McLean and Matt Ottmer '99, who live around the corner, and occasionally we see Brian Menzies and Janet Morrison '99 when we're on the West Coast."