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from our May/June 2021 Class Notes column:
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Last time, I wrote that
I am finding it so very interesting and amazing to know about the infinite variety
of activitites involving our classmates. Such discoveries continue.
I am writing this in late January, now two weeks after receiving my first vaccination
for COVID, through our county health department. Everything was well
organized and ran smoothly in a very professional manner, without having to leave
one's car. After the actual injection, we were asked to wait a period
of time in case of any allergic or other reactions and were monitored by a physician. Monitoring
our group happened to be classmate Charles Thorsen, a now-retired area physician,
voluteeering his services. Even more interesting, perhaps, is that the
vaccine I received was developed and made by Moderna, a company co-founded by classmate
Robert Langer, an extraordinarily successful and brilliant engineer and scientist
now at MIT. Thank you, Charles and Robert!
...Please read this notice. [read the whole
column on the
Cornell Library's eCommons archive website ]
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from our March/April 2021 Class Notes column:
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My first attempt at writing
this issue's column was in late October. The election was 15 days away.
Anxiety filled my days, and the days of those around me, both friends and patients
alike. COVID was growing. My deadline was six weeks away,
so I began writing to feel better! I'm finished now, after Thanksgiving. THe
election is essentially over, excepting the Senate. COVID still roars
thorugh America, keeping us from being with family and valued friends. I
see my own anxiety and that of those around me and have found experiences and connections
to help diminish it.
One of my recent anxiety-relieving experiences is the brainchild of Tony Chen '12,
ME '12 (lc465@cornell.edu")
of the Cornell Club of Washington, DC. A feature of Zoom that some of
you may be familiar with is the "breakout room." Tony and the D.C. club
have been sponsoring Zoom-based mixers, where any Cornellian may join. After
a brief intro, poeple are randomly placed in breakout rooms with perhaps six individuals. We
have a question about Cornell to answer, or just do introductions and bring things
up. Given the amazing variety and geographical diversity of Cornellians,
these sessions tend for the most part to be very interesting conversations. THere
could be a neighbor, or an old friend, or someone that one has never met before,
yet connection commences. One of my earliest experiences with this found
me in a small group with Steve Ludsin who was m next-door neighbor freshman
year! A more recent event placed me in a group with artist classmate
Andrea Strongwater. The events are scheduled to last an hour or
so, yet many people wind up staying for much longer, sharing experiences and building
relationships. Interestingly, other Cornell communities are using this
idea, including the Daily Sun and the Continuous Reunion Club. Find
a group and connect!
...Please read this notice. [read the whole
column on the
Cornell Library's eCommons archive website ]
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from our January/February 2021 Class Notes column:
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It is not often that this
class has had a change in the writer of this column; in fact, it has only happened
once before! For about 40 years, since Cornell Daily Sun veteran
the late Barton Reppert was posted overseas, Connie Ferris Meyer has
labored for each appearance of this column to keep us all up to date on the lives
and adventures of our fellow classmates. I will endeavor to do the same,
with your help and news.
So, you may ask, who is the new person? Who is John Cecilia? Some
of you with extraordinary memories may recognize me from long-ago photo credits
and an occasional sportds article in the Daily Sun, or as a long-ago class
officer and eventually class president for a period of time. Graduating
from Mechanical Engineering, I returned to Ithaca in 1977 to attend the Johnson
School, finishing an MBA in 1979. In 1999 and 2000, I was the catalyst
for beginning the Class of 1970 Scholarship, which survives and thrives to this
day, thanks to the generosity of all of you. In recent years you may
have received letters from Connie and me, asking you to pay class dues. So
my name may be one of those on the edge of your memory. And we are a
Cornell familiy. My late father, Carl Cecilia '42, and my sister
Carla Cecilia Purdy '67 both walked the Hill. I currently
still work, not as an engineer but as a psychotherapist in the north suburbs of
Chicago, have obtained yet another degree and becoming licensed as a clinical social
worker in Illinois.
...Please read this notice. [read the whole
column on the
Cornell Library's eCommons archive website ]
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[Note: the September/October class notes still need to be entered here...]
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