Class Notes to Your Years at General Theological Asheville on I-40
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
NOTES RALLY, 1968 RALLY, 2018 Craving More Lehigh News? Head to The Goblet Still hungry? Goblet this up. me as much about leadership, about people, and about Lehigh as the 97 If, after reading this fantastic magazine, you still find yourself crav- did,” he writes. Best part? He met his wife, Michelle Judd ’02, through ing more Lehigh news, I suggest you head online to the Lehigh Goblet. Marching ’97. We (and several other top schools) entrust Steve’s com- The Goblet is a blog featuring short stories about—and written mostly pany AlumniQ to run our very complicated Reunion registration. by—alumni. It spotlights classmates and friends who are changing the Rebekah Campo ’16, worked in Alumni Relations in 2014 and world, takes you down memory lane and showcases activities on cam- wrote about her role at that time in planning The Rally. Clarke pus and around the world that bring Lehigh people together. Woodruff ’72 wrote about his Rally experience nearly 50 years ago. To be transparent about why I’m encouraging you to read these While the elements of The Rally have changed, it’s moving to know inspiring stories … you know that we recently launched the most am- that the camaraderie among Lehigh classmates remains strong. bitious campaign in the history of Lehigh, right? GO: The Campaign Sidenote: In August, watch for links to The Rally livestream if you’d for Lehigh aims to raise $1 billion-plus and engage more than half our like to watch the magic from afar. Better yet, come to campus to carry alumni in some way over the next several years. Those numbers feel the flag for your class! daunting—after all, that’s more than 40,000 alumni who we’re looking And there’s a spotlight on Rosie Roessel ’13 ’14G, who won the to engage as attendees, volunteers and donors! Reading Goblet stories Runner’s World Half Marathon in 2017. Rosie is a Class leader and about alumni who are already connected, love this place and so freely won the Alumni Award last year. We were so inspired by her racing express their gratitude for the opportunities Lehigh gave them mo- victory, and by the dozens of cheering fans wearing Lehigh hats and tivates me to work even harder to reach these lofty goals. My hope is shirts along the route, that in 2018 we got organized. We put out a that their stories will inspire you to get involved and invested, and that call that any Lehigh alum running in the race could contact the alum- I’ll see you soon online, at an event, or as a volunteer! ni relations office and we’d send some swag so you could represent. Here are a few of my favorite recent posts from the Goblet: About 150 people registered! (BTW, if you’re doing Runner’s World Reginald Jennings ’70, co-executive chair of the university’s Black in October or the NYC Marathon in November drop me an email, and and Latino Alumni Network for Community and Equity (BALANCE), I’ll send you a Lehigh running shirt. But you have to wear it in the wrote about his experience at Reunion 2018; in particular the new Uni- race, so when you blow past me I will know to cheer for you!) ty Dinner, which we’re making an annual tradition. He also highlight- If you know an alumna/us who you think other alumni would ed Ralph Thomas ’76 ’77G, who received the Dr. Costel Denson ’56 like to know more about, submit your story idea to The Goblet here: Award, given to an alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated leader- lehighgoblet.com/submit/ ship by identifying and implementing pathways to increase diversity in the workplace and educational institutions. Reginald is also spear- Sincerely, heading plans to celebrate 10 years of BALANCE at Lehigh—join the Jennifer Cunningham BALANCE Facebook group or follow on Instagram for the info. Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations Steve Rittler ’99 shares that his time in the Marching ’97 changed Email me at his life. “I don’t think any classroom experience came close to teaching [email protected] 42 | LEHIGH BULLETIN NOTES SPOTLIGHT “From there, I hired a coach, ALUMNI and boy, my career really took EVENTS off. I couldn’t believe how much he improved my game. Within five months, my marathon time All alumni, parents and improved by 20 minutes. I fin- friends are welcome at ished third in my age group in Bos- Lehigh events. Find the ton and kept getting better every complete calendar online anytime at mylehigh. year since. I’m still improving.” lehigh.edu/events. Dykes enjoys the challenge of racing, along with the camarade- GO: THE CAMPAIGN FOR rie that running brings. LEHIGH–PRESIDENTIAL “You start building a com- LEADERSHIP munity of friends that you see BREAKFASTS ALUMNI PROFILE at races,” he said. “Training is Gene Dykes ’66 Spring something you look forward Look out for invitations in to every day. If you didn’t have your city to join Lehigh's these friends, you’d wake up in senior leaders for breakfast the morning and just go back to and conversation about key campaign initiatives bed. The community gets you out He Keeps on Running of bed and onto the trail.” WOMEN IN BUSINESS After facing those earlier run- CONFERENCE Marathon races can slow people down, but for 70-year-old Gene ning struggles at Lehigh, Dykes Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Dykes, they keep him going. never imagined his success now. Campus Dykes ’66 unofficially set a world record for his age group in December “Sometimes, you just have A chance to network with by running a 2:54.23 marathon in Jacksonville, Fla.—a pace 25 seconds faster to wait for the time to be right,” other Lehigh alumnae and than the long-standing record set by famed Canadian runner Ed Whitlock. he said. “Maybe running wasn’t speak with Lehigh students Unfortunately, the race was certified but not sanctioned by USA right for me earlier, but it was on the verge of entering Track & Field, which governs the sport, so the record isn’t official. Still, later. Winning isn’t so import- the business world no one doubts that Dykes legitimately went where no one over 70 had ant, but doing as well as I can REUNION ever gone before. is always important. Of course, June 7-9, 2019 In the past 12 years, Dykes, who competed in track and field at Lehigh winning is a benchmark, but I’m Join the celebration to while pursuing a degree in chemistry, had 13 marathon personal records. always out to beat my most fierce rekindle old friendships “I started running in middle school before the very first running craze, competitor—which is me from and make new ones when people would stare and dogs would go insane like you were some the previous year.” alum.lu/reunion kind of alien,” Dykes said. “Then I got to Lehigh, and it was terrible. I was Dykes learned a number of les- totally blown off the track by the talent at the college level. I was hardly sons at Lehigh that stay with him to LIFELONG LEARNING competitive. Rarely would I even get a third-place point.” this day, as an athlete and student. SUMMER SESSION Dykes competed in events such as the triple jump, intermediate hur- He had arrived at Lehigh thinking July 31–Aug. 3 dles and high jump, picking up points that way. he’d be an engineer, but that lasted Campus Come back to campus “I was helpful on the team, but just not much on the track,” he said. “The one semester. After talking with a for our inaugural session! experience made it firmly entrenched in my mind that I was a mediocre dean, he switched his major to bi- Watch your email for runner and there was no use for me to pursue racing after graduation.” ology, then chemistry. He said he more information. As he grew older, Dykes jogged and stayed in shape. Then, in his late got “totally hooked” on comput- 50s, he was encouraged by friends to run a race. The rest is history. er programming after attending “I ran my first road race, a half marathon, and did pretty well,” said a seminar and ended up pursuing Dykes. “It was enjoyable, so I started doing lots of races, and I just kept computer programming as a career. getting better and better. New York City was my first marathon in 2006, “Do what you enjoy,” Dykes and about six years later, I ran the Toronto marathon hoping to set a new said, “and don’t be afraid to personal record, but came up woefully short. change course.” —Justin Lafleur SPRING 2019 | 43 NOTES As the ice shifts, waterways can open up and pressure ridges are created. The wa- ALUMNI PROFILE terways can be 100 yards or five miles long, Peter ’82 and Robert (Bob) ’84 Fioretti and the ridges may be climbable at only a foot or two high, or up to an impassable 10 feet. The challenge was in correctly guess- ing whether to go left or right. Another challenge, Bob said, was man- aging body heat, which was not just about trying to stay warm in the extreme cold. “You exert a fair amount of energy pulling your sled, and your body heats up. You’re constantly taking off and put- ting on clothing to keep your body tem- perature at the perfect equilibrium,” Bob said.