Hello Classmates,
I hope this column finds you well and enjoying the winter months. I know we all love the winter since we chose to go to college in Maine! Per usual, our classmates are doing lots of neat things I am excited to report.
First, I will give a personal update. I got married on October 30, 2021 at the Barn at Bradstreet Farm in Rowley, MA. My husband, Jesse, and I celebrated with our friends and family including classmates Monica Squires Wilson ’09G, Ashley Lamoreau Geyer ’10G, Pauline Vasiliauskas Chaloff, and Richard Chaloff. It was so great to be able to have something to celebrate after the two years we have all had! The pandemic has made it hard to see friends, so I was so happy to have them there on my special day.
Monica Squires Wilson started a new teaching job this school year in Nashua, NH. In the Nashua School District, Monica is an eighth grade United States history teacher. When not teaching, Monica and her husband, Matt, foster many dogs through New England Lab Rescue, on top of their own three dogs and two cats. If you are ever interested in adopting, check out New England Lab Rescue. I have seen many cute dogs on Monica’s Facebook page that need good homes!
Classmate Kristoffer Mailepors wrote a book titled The Easy Leader to Follow: Your Simplified Guide to Thriving in Leadership. In the book, Kris advocates for valuing your character and personal values over learned skills or expertise to be a great leader. Along with being a published author, Kris is also an executive coach, positive change consultant, and speaker. After UMaine, Kris earned an MBA at the University of Otago in New Zealand, one of the world’s best business schools. Congratulations, Kris!
Taryn Buckley Barlow has become the sole proprietor of The Well Brain Speech-Language Pathology & Health Coaching, a private practice telehealth-based service in Milford, MA. Taryn is a speech-language pathologist, integrative nutrition coach, and certified brain injury specialist. The Well Brain helps patients maximize function and live their best cognitive lifestyle while recovering from brain injuries, strokes, or concussions. She was recently interviewed by The Integrative Scope and you can read the article online. Congratulations, Taryn!
In the realm of promotions, Jason Jendrasko was promoted from business development manager to vice president of the construction firm Benchmark in Westbrook. In his new role he will oversee sales and marketing as well as supervising employee growth and growing the team’s operational environment. Best of luck in your new role, Jason!
Dr. Jennifer Lockhart Baldwin ’09G has joined Maine Medical Partners in Hospital Medicine at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Jennifer is excited to return to Maine to practice medicine after completing her residency at Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, MA. Her husband is also a doctor and they have two boys. Congratulations and welcome home, Dr. Baldwin!
Sportswriter and classmate Matt Williams was honored by the North Shore Baseball Umpires Association with the Tom Simpson Award for dedication and service to high school baseball on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Matt is currently the assistant sports editor at the Salem News in Salem, MA, the newspaper he has reported for since graduating from UMaine. In receipt of the award, Matt was lauded for passion for sports, his pride in reporting, and his positive relationships with officials, players and coaches. Congratulations, Matt!
Classmate and former UMaine swimmer Tal Shpaizer was recently profiled by the UMaine Athletics M Club. Since graduating, Tal has earned a master’s degree and moved to New York, where she works at an Israeli bank. She is also a member of a swim team in New York for recreation. She still stays in touch with her former UMaine teammates, who became a second family since being from Israel prevented her from traveling home for holidays and school breaks. Glad to hear you are doing well, Tal!
Finally, the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame announced its 2021 inductees and they include classmate and softball standout Brittany Cheney. At UMaine, Brittany was a four-time All-America East honoree, earning first team honors her last three seasons. During our senior year, Brittany led the softball team to a victory in the America East conference championships and a berth to the NCAA tournament. During her career, Brittany had a .329 batting average, 104 runs scored, 198 hits, 18 home runs, 100 RBI, a .502 slugging percentage, and 40 stolen bases! Brittany now works as a physician assistant in orthopedics at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.
If you have news you’d like to report, please send it along for the summer edition. My classmates and I would love to hear from you!