March 2018 Class Notes

1956: LARRY KELLUM

Larry Kellum M (ENHP), deceased, formerly of Middletown, Conn., was named to the Berlin (Conn.) Athletic Hall of Fame. He played baseball, basketball, and football at Berlin. Kellum spent his career in education, serving as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and professor.

1973: MICHAEL ZAGLOOL

Michael Zaglool (A&S) of San Francisco, Calif., is vice president, regional trust advisor with Comerica Bank Wealth Management. He is responsible for both new business development and administration of trust and investment management relationships.

1977: DONALD SHAW JR.

RedTruckStonecatcher.com, a blog created by Donald Shaw Jr. M (BARNEY) of Granby, Conn., highlights, celebrates, and shares the good works of people and organizations making the world a better place.

1982: JEFF BECKER

The Fire (and Fury) series, work by Jeff Becker (WARD) of Easton, Conn., will be shown at ODETTA Gallery in Brooklyn, N.Y. as part of Creative Tech Week.

1983: BARBARA EDWARDS

Barbara Edwards M (BARNEY), of Vernon-Rockville, Conn., has had two of her historical romance novels made available on Kindle. They are Another Love and Annie’s Heart, both of which received positive reviews by Romantic Times Magazine.

1983: DAVID BENOIT

David Benoit M (BARNEY) of Wethersfield, Conn., has been named president and CEO of Connecticut Water Service (CTWS), Inc. He has served as interim president and CEO of the company since September of 2017. He had been at CTWS for 21 years as senior vice president and CFO prior to taking on the interim leadership role.

1994: ARIEL PALITZ

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Ariel Palitz (A&S) of New York, N.Y. as the city’s first Nightlife Mayor. She will serve as an ambassador-at-large to the world of bars, burlesques, and cabarets. Palitz, a fifth-generation New Yorker, will work to promote the industry and soothe the strained relations between the city’s night spots and the neighborhoods.

1996: ADAM GORSKI

Adam Gorski M (Barney) is First Vice President on the Board of Trustees for the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut.

1996: ROB JACHYM

Rob Jachym (BARNEY) of Middletown, Conn., was named a 2018 Sportsman of Distinction by the Meriden Sports Reunion selection committee. He was an All-American soccer player at UHart and Maloney High School, and played in Major League Soccer. Jachym also has been a successful youth soccer coach, winning three state titles at Wethersfield High School.

1996: CHRISTOPHER JAHNKE

Christopher Jahnke ND'96 (HARTT) of New York, N.Y. and Mike Millan '11 (HARTT) of Bay Shore, N.Y., are part of the production of Escape to Margaritaville on Broadway. Jahnke is the musical supervisor while Millan plays Jesus in the show.

1997: WAYNE ESCOFFREY

Grammy-award winning saxophonist Wayne Escoffrey (HARTT) was featured in a free concert with the Yale Jazz Ensemble that took place in Morse Recital Hall at Yale University's Albert Arnold Sprague Memorial Hall in late February.

1999: STEPHEN KRASNER

Having written a column that regularly appeared in the Huffington Post and The Good Men Project, Stephen Krasner (A&S) of Newburgh, N.Y., had his first book published. A Broken System: Family Court in the United States is an eBook anthology of articles breaking down the often complicated family court systems.

2002: KATY KRANSON

Katy Kranson (ENHP) of Mountain Top, Pa., has been named program coordinator for the Austin Lifelong Learning Program at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa. In that role, she will support the director in the training and supervision of job coaches and in maintaining compliance with state and federal mandates and regulations.

2002: MATT MARGOLIS

Matt Margolis (WARD) of Silver Creek, N.Y., has published a new book titled The Scandalous Presidency of Barack Obama.

2004: DAVID BOSSO

An article by Alumni Association Board member David Bosso M (ENHP) of Berlin, Conn., "It’s Time to Make Clear Where You Stand on Race and Equity in Schools," was published on edweek.org. The post was part of a series based on new National Network of State Teachers of the Year videos called "Courageous Conversations about Race in Schools."

2004: MATTHEW HOCH

Matthew Hoch M'03, C'04 (HARTT): See Taylor Link '15.

2005: KYLE O’NEILL

Detective Kyle O'Neill (A&S) of Trumbull, Conn., had the honor of blowing the ceremonial first whistle at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Greenwich, Conn. He is the senior investigator in Squad C, a group of elite criminal detectives. 

2006: LYNN MERRITT

Healogics, Inc., the nation’s largest provider of advanced wound care services, has appointed Lynn Merritt M (A&S) of Ponte Vedra, Fla., to serve as Chief Human Resources Officer. In that role, she will provide strategic direction for all aspects of the human resources function. She has been with the company since 2015 as Vice President, Learning and Development.

2007: SCOTT BAKAL

Illustrator Scott Bakal M (HAS) of West Roxbury, Mass., gave a lecture on work at The Dublin School of Creative Arts in Ireland. In addition to creating his award-winning illustrations, he is advocate for education and illustration, an associate professor, and frequent lecturer. His illustrations have appeared in many major print publications.

2007: CHRISTINE DWYER

Christine Dwyer (HARTT) of Brooklyn, N.Y., performed as part of the Garfield Center for the Arts annual gala and fundraiser, Broadway by the River. The event featured a number of Broadway performers who provided for an evening of intimate performances and conversations. Dwyer played lead roles in both Rent and Wicked.

2010: RICHARD SHAMES

Richard Shames (A&S) of New York, N.Y. is part of the tenant-leasing team that joined Cresa, the world’s largest tenant-only commercial real estate firm. He began his career learning the skills of negotiation by helping companies with settlements as part of the Deepwater Horizon Settlement program.

 2011: JONAS HAMPTON

Former UHart track and field performer Jonas Hampton (CETA) of Medford, Mass., recently made his Boston Marathon debut. He has an impressive running resume, having won the Hartford Marathon in 2015, and competed at Olympic Trials in Los Angeles in 2016 and the Chicago Marathon in 2017. Hampton is a transportation engineer.

2011: MIKE MILLAN

Mike Millan (HARTT): See Christopher Jahnke '96.

2012: ALLISON LITERIA

Allison Literia (HAS) of Ludlow, Mass., earned second place in the Illustration/Infographics category at the New England Newspaper and Press Association's Better Newspapers competition. Her "Gift Guide" for The Republicanwas selected from daily newspapers across New England. Literia is a content curator and page designer at the newspaper.

2013: SHUYING LI

Award winning composer Shuying Li (HARTT) of New York, N.Y. wrote the music for Bloodlines, one of three operas showcased at a concert performance by the American Lyric Theater (ALT) in New York. The ALT’s Composer Librettist Development Program, of which Li is a part, is an intensive mentorship initiative for composers and librettists.

2015: DANIEL BROWNELL

The music ministry at First United Church of Christ in Milford, Conn., is making a comeback due to the influence of Minister of Music Daniel Brownell M (HARTT) of Hamden, Conn. He is a flutist, pianist, organist, and he has played in ensembles, jazz bands, concert bands and orchestras.

2015: TAYLOR LINK

Taylor Link (HARTT) of West Hartford, Conn., and Matthew Hoch M'03 (HARTT), C'04 (HARTT) of Auburn, Ala., were the mezza-soprano and bass soloists in a performance of Handel’s Messiah with Griffin Choral Arts in Griffin, Ga.
 

2016: BEN BENGTSON

The Concord Monitor (N.H.) profiled former UHart baseball standout Ben Bengtson A'16 (HILLYER), ND'17 (BARNEY) as he prepared for his second season in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. After being drafted in the 23rd round and playing for Class A Bristol last year, Bengston will started at high Class A West Virginia this season.

2016: TROYER COULTAS

Troyer Coultas (HARTT) of West Hartford, Conn., is travelling with the touring company of The Wizard of Oz as a member of the ensemble cast. Previously, he appeared in A Christmas Carol at Hartford Stage, and Les Miserables and Peter Pan at the Connecticut Reperatory Theatre.

2016: RON DUENAS

American Eagle Financial Credit Union announced that Member Experience Analyst Ron Duenas M (BARNEY) of Manchester, Conn., has been selected to attend Crash the GAC 2018. The program for young credit union professionals allows them to experience dynamic learning with exclusive networking opportunities and mentoring sessions.

2016: KIMADO SIMPSON

Cheryl Newton Architects welcomed Kimado Simpson (CETA) of Hartford, Conn., as an intern architect. He will work with the firm's residential and commercial projects.