Association news & class notes
1996
Susan Foreman White, M.S. ’97 resides in Crownsville, Maryland, with her husband and 12-year-old twins. She finished her 25th year as a special educator last year and still works for Howard County Public Schools. This year, they spent 11 days in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Iceland. “Everything you hear about Iceland is true. Such an amazing place,” she says. Susan continues to work in advocacy for children with dyslexia and the use of evidence-based practices. She is vice president of the board for a new Maryland chapter of The Reading League, a nonprofit that provides opportunities for professional development in literacy.
Kathleen Wallner King obtained her Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from University of Maryland Global Campus in April 2023. She continues to work for Johns Hopkins Imaging, now as an assistant manager for the imaging site.
The trip of a lifetime took MaryEllen Sheehan Gallen and family to stunning Hawaii, where her oldest son, Jack, turned 21 during their visit. She celebrated the retirement of Christa Mose ’95 from the police force last year with Andrea Romich Sykes ’95, Claudia Pyers Eckstrom ’95, Krista Shaffer Wilson ’95, and Holly Roback Plank. They all flew out to Phoenix to celebrate with Christa’s many, many friends. They surprised her with a monogrammed decanter for her Sagamore Spirit rye that she loves so much. “And they made me hike,” says MaryEllen. “Twice lol.” MaryEllen has worked for Penn Medicine for about eight years now, doing high-risk obstetrical ultrasounds. “I absolutely love my job! We have a great team and see a lot of interesting cases.”
Teaette Louderback-Smith is still practicing family medicine in Harford County. Her family loves spending time at their beach house in Delaware. Her daughter, Haley, will be a senior in high school this year, and Teaette is currently teaching her twins to drive.
Cara Ditto continues to work in higher education as a mental health therapist. She is currently the assistant director of the counseling center at Notre Dame of Maryland University and loves working with college and grad students. This year was a big adjustment as her oldest son started college at George Washington University. Cara recently saw Teaette Louderback-Smith, Jen Light Dottellis ’97, Melanie Phipps Repp, and Julie Kuerner Messina and stays in touch with others from the STAY affinity group.
Family activities have been keeping Melanie Phipps Repp very busy. Both kids will be in high school this coming year and have several extracurricular activities. They do try to take a handful of family camping trips every year and sometimes can squeeze in a week’s vacation. They tried to go to Yellowstone last year, but it was just their luck to get there the day the park closed due to flooding, and they never got to enter. They may try again next summer to celebrate her son’s 18th birthday and her 50th. Melanie is still working as a water resource engineer at Hanover Land Services Inc.
I still call Sterling, Virginia, home with my wife, Amy Rice Mirra ’97, and our children Kyle, 18, and Abby, 15. We had a great time skiing at Mount Bachelor in Oregon over spring break this year. Kyle just started his first year at James Madison University as a computer science major. Abby is keeping us busy shuttling her back and forth to games and practices for field hockey, soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. We both fear and pray for the day that she gets her driver’s license.
David Mirra1996 Class Reporter312 Tramore CourtSterling, VA 20164vadavem@yahoo.com