2004 — Full-Time

Kevin Lev ’04 was married Evie Lehrer from London on Aug. 31. The couple will be moving to Israel.
Nori Kubo ’04 ( left) and bandmate are livin’ on a prayer at their recent workplace rockout.
Paul and Anna (Octaviano) Chua '04 with son Markus Nykos Octaviano Chua
Alison (Curd) Lowery ’04 and husband Tyson with daughter Calista Karianne
Kristina Frey ’04 with daughter Mary Alicia, looking quite happy and not the least bit contrary
Jill Jortner and Demetris Papademetriou tied the knot July 19 in New York City. From left: Adam Sabow, Ryan Heslop, Emily McLellan (Colby), Lara Sanders, Richard Sanders, Amelia Julien, Costanza Gallo, Sue Sabow ‘03, Ahmed Ellcott, Alan Yengoyan, Stephanie Gutt (Feldman), Elias Gutt, Demetris Papademetriou and Jill Jortner, all ’04 unless noted
Kellogg couple Greg and Melissa (Linken) Merchant, both ’04, celebrate the arrival of son John Reilly “Jack” Merchant
Sheldon Ng ’04 on a day off from consulting, enjoys Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay

Attention Class of 2004: If you are interested in learning more about your 5-year Reunion, please contact Patrick Hankey at 847.467.1307 or p-hankey@kellogg.northwestern.edu.

A feisty fall to you all! Summer lovin' has come and gone, with a slew of wedding, honeymoon and baby news to prove just how active the class has been. And how about those Olympics?

Jennifer Chen left Diageo New York to join Visa in the Bay Area, just in time to snap some shots with uber-athlete and company-sponsored Michael Phelps. Talk about timing.

Meanwhile, I've been busy down south registering expats to vote in this unbelievably important upcoming election and launching my new travel company, Inspira Travel (inspiratravel.com). I may as well get some self-promotion out of my editorial duties, right? Which leads us to the rest of the Class Notes…enjoy!

In our education update: Marc Major has just completed his first book, The Teacher's Survival Guide: Real Classroom Dilemmas & Practical Solutions, targeted to new and veteran secondary teachers. Interviews, diagrams, anecdotes, and – of course – case studies abound. Check out reader reviews on Amazon.com.

Cleveland's own Michael Moran changed jobs in April and now can be found at private equity fund Linsalata Capital. Anyone looking for a quick pick-me-up during the afternoon can check out his photo on linsalatacapital.com. When not not-investing in today's upbeat economy, Mike can be found chasing crawling daughter Lilly around the house and up the stairs.

Thomas Schwallie was promoted to vice president of Transaction Opinions at Duff & Phelps in Chicago, where he was joined by Kellogg alum RJ Wolney '08.

Video killed the radio star…. You may have seen the online article on the Northwestern fall magazine – but if not, you may still be able to catch Guillermo Trias on YouTube, waving his hands about and talking about "teamwork and…getting fat together" while promoting his Spanish import company, Solex Partners. The link can be found at youtube.com/user/NorthwesternMagazine. The quick synopsis is that following one's passion, being true to one's self and being comfortable making mistakes results in happiness and, yes, entrepreneurial success. Not bad advice from one of our own.

Great attendance from '04s at the wedding of Ginger Agregado and Alex DeAraujo in May in Chicago. Ginger writes: "After the wedding, Alex and I jetted off for a wonderful honeymoon in Italy and Greece. We're still living in Chicago and happily settling into married life!"

Kristina Frey writes: "Greg (Frey) and I welcomed our first baby on April 6. Mary Alicia Frey joined us at 4:19 a.m. We instantly regretted our naming choice, as she seemed to take the rhyme "Mary, Mary, quite contrary" to heart, arriving almost two weeks late and after 54 (yes, 54) hours of labor! I have been living in Indianapolis and working for Roche Diagnostics for nearly two years now. Greg and I are proud to be Hoosiers again!"

Melissa (Linken) Merchant and Greg Merchant are thrilled to announce the birth of their son, John Reilly "Jack" Merchant, on May 19. Jack amazes his parents daily and makes them easily forget about the sleep they're losing.

From eastern lands, Sheldon Ng writes: "I have been working in Ho Chi Minh City for the last six months and have had an incredible time. My consulting assignment was to analyze and develop a Vietnam pharmaceutical market growth strategy for my client's global portfolio. Of course, in Kellogg style, I explored one of the beautiful sights here, especially what could be one of the next new seven wonders of the world, Ha Long Bay."

Anna (Octaviano) Chua shares from Hong Kong: "Paul and I welcomed our little Markus Nykos Octaviano Chua into the world June 13. It was a lucky Friday the 13th for us!" The family has settled in to their new city moving from London.

Home is where the teams are. Eric Jagher announces: "Heather and I had our second child Levi Benjamin Jagher on July 3. Everyone is doing great and he has a full wardrobe of Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots gear. We are all doing well and still living in Chicago."

Alison (Curd) Lowery and her husband Tyson have plunged into parenthood. They welcomed Calista Karianne on June 7 into their lives. Alison is still with Boston Scientific as a senior finance manager and she and Tyson continue to enjoy Minneapolis.

Japan's Idol Nori Kubo competed with his band the COBOL 40s at his company's "Work-Life Balance Fiesta 2008" recently. In case you were wondering about the band name, COBOL is a computer programming term and 40s…well, let's just say that no one in their group is getting any younger. The COBOL 40s came in fourth out of five finalists, but still got a nice participation cash prize from their employers. So, as Nori notes, folks may mock his band, but his singing is keeping him pretty upbeat (and apparently financially afloat) in this economic downturn.

Sanem Eruçar married beau Mischa Matthews on Aug. 2 in Istanbul. Guests around the world gathered in Istanbul to celebrate Sanem and Mischa's wedding on the Bhosphorus. After the wedding, Kellogians travelled by a Sultan boat to the hottest club in Istanbul and partied till the morning.