Life after college
Greetings Class of ’99! Can you believe that 2024 brought us our 25th anniversary? Some of you were able to connect at the Reunion over Alumni Weekend, but ICYMI, here are the updates I received from you!
Jumping right in, Brad Bennett shares that as a member of the first group of students to study abroad in Budapest, Hungary, in fall 1998, he’s thrilled to report how WMC and that inaugural experience broadened his horizons, promoted growth, and helped shape his life path. Soon after graduation, he served in the Army for eight honorable years where his academic achievements complemented and allowed him to excel in rigorous environments around the globe. Along the way, he married a nurse, Denise, and made a home in Bristow, Virginia. They have three kids — Andrew, 18; Sydney, 16; and tie-breaker Madelyn, 13. He has a rewarding career at the National Reconnaissance Office that fuels his passion for exploration and innovation. He often travels with his golf clubs, and he enjoyed playing at Torrey Pines and the Kapalua Plantation courses. Family memories often involve beach trips and Orlando theme parks.
Jessica Boehman lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she owns a sweet little historic apartment. She is a full professor at The City University of New York’s LaGuardia Community College, where she teaches Art History and Illustration, which were her two majors/concentrations at WMC. Her second illustrated book for children, “Café Au Lait: A Story of NF1 and My Special Spots,” was published by The Children’s Tumor Foundation in 2023.
Mike Cushwa and Christy-Ann Brown Cushwa celebrated 25 years of marriage with a two-week trip to Europe in May 2024. They live in West Virginia near Mike’s family with their three kids. Mike still works for Sierra Nevada Corporation in Hagerstown, Maryland, and joined the board of Family Renewal Initiative, a family preservation ministry. Christy-Ann continues to homeschool their three kids, Sam, Sadie, and Nate. They’ve also become involved in foster care. In 2024, they saw Pete Bushnell and Liz Valuet Bushnell ’98, Shane Toothaker and Tracie Browning Toothaker, Ryan Bowman ’00, Cindy West Crown, Kerrie Wille Schulz, and Suzanne Weatherby Berner ’00.
Former fifth grade teacher Nick Gough continues to pay it forward on the Hill, working with our wonderful students in elementary, middle, and high schools across Carroll County. Although no longer active in his college major, Theatre Arts, Nick has climbed back on stage locally by taking up stand-up comedy!
Brian Hayes has served as an Army officer since graduating and receiving his commission through the Green Terror Battalion. Now a lieutenant colonel, Brian is the professor of military science for Cameron University’s Army ROTC program, the Comanche Battalion. He lives in Lawton, Oklahoma, with his wife, Missi Mangold Hayes ’98, and their son, Timothy, who is a junior in high school.
Nathan Hummel is excited to share that he’s now working for Modern Comfort, a division of Tevis Energy, in the Westminster area. Both companies have been serving the community for decades, and he’s glad to be back in the area. He oversees the service department, which provides HVAC, plumbing, propane, and commercial fueling services for residential and commercial clients in Maryland and Pennsylvania. On the personal side, things are going well. He recently celebrated five years of marriage with his wife, Erin. His oldest child, Bella, is attending Millersville University; his second child, Blaire, is in high school; and his youngest, Emarie, is in middle school.
Ryan Keough continues to enjoy being the resident stage manager at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The theatre recently did an excellent production of “Jersey Boys,” and in 2025 they’ll be doing “Waitress,” “We Will Rock You,” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” among others, so plan to come see a show! In 2023, Ryan bought a house in Columbia, Pennsylvania. He still enjoys visiting his sister, Julie Keough-Mishler ’02, and her husband, Jacob. They now live in Williamsburg, Virginia, since she’s in the Air Force and sings with the U.S. Air Force Band.
Janet Keymetian-McBride was delighted to participate in our 25th Reunion. She continues to work at Chase Bank as a lawyer supporting business banking. Janet also spent the past six years as the primary caregiver for her elderly parents.
Sara Gruber Long just celebrated her fifth year at the Decorative Arts Trust and got to travel to Portugal with them last spring. She lives in Media, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Jason, and son, Tom, who finally got to visit Paris and the Normandy beaches this summer. Sara stayed in a campus apartment during Alumni Weekend in June 2024, and enjoyed laughing with alumni Kelly Dunnavant, Dan Franko ’97, Francesca Saylor Gibbs, Faye Ingram Hillman ’00, Ryan Keough, Elton Keith Knupp ’00, Cassie Domser Lammers ’01, Hendrik Lammers ’03, Jacqueline Smith Lavitt, Dallas Munger ’05, Kim Bloch-Rincan, Lynn Turner Rosas ’95, Tony Rosas ’93, Joy Thomas, Roxy Ingram Todt, and many more!
Paul Luse and Jaime Walker Luse experienced the beauty of Costa Rica for the first time with their two teenage sons in June. They enjoyed white water rafting, zip lining, surf lessons, hiking, and interacting with the capuchin monkeys. Jaime also introduced her sons to their first Broadway experience, as the family saw “Wicked” at the Gershwin Theatre for Jaime’s birthday. Jaime and Paul also had the opportunity to catch up with Rob Newman and his family while they were in town over the summer, along with Jodi Davidson Bennett, M.S. ’06 and her husband.
Since 2001, Debra Winslow Mitchell, M.S. ’99 has lived in St. Mary’s County in southern Maryland, where she taught at George Washington Carver Elementary School. She also taught literacy assessment in the MAT program at St. Mary’s College of Maryland for 12 years. Debra retired from full-time teaching in 2022. Currently, she supervises student-teaching interns for St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She and her husband enjoy traveling, checking out antique stores, gardening, reading, working on family genealogy, scanning old family photos to share with their extended families, and spending time with their daughters and their families. They have six grandchildren who live relatively close by.
Matt Moscato met Kristi Simon ’00 through Laurel Monroe Enoch ’00 about eight years ago. Today, he and Kristi are enjoying life together on the Magothy River in Lake Shore, Maryland, in Anne Arundel County. Kristi is president and CEO of the Howard County Chamber of Commerce, and Matt is the national sales manager for a LED display wall manufacturer called Neoti. Still loving lacrosse, he plays in an over-40 club league, and he recently attended a concert with Keith Reitenbach, the lacrosse coach from that era!
Rob Newman and his wife, Heather, are enjoying life in Greensboro, North Carolina, with their two girls. Eyla, 14, is in high school at The Early College at Guilford, and Keira, 10, is a fifth grader in the Spanish immersion program at Jones Elementary. Rob and Heather are active in their church, where they volunteer at the mobile food pantry and help lead a small group bible study. Rob is currently the Nathan F. Simms Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biology at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He was honored to be awarded the University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2022, the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentorship in 2023, and the Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence in Education from the Genetics Society of America in 2024 (the latter as member of the Build-a-Genome Synthetic Genomics team). Rob, Heather, and the girls enjoyed spending time last summer with Paul Luse; Jaime Walker Luse; Jodi Davidson Bennett, M.S. ’06; and Jodi’s husband, Jason, at Paul and Jaime’s house in Glenelg, Maryland. Of course, Rob also talks often with Mark Newman ’97 and Carrie Newman Jenkins ’01, M.S. ’07 at family gatherings.
Grant Rice and his wife, Katharine Vandergriff, welcomed their third child, Thomas Mark, to their family in 2022. Grant recently celebrated 11 years at DR Theatrical Management where he oversees Broadway, off-Broadway, and touring productions around the globe.
Mark Ruby and his wife, Sandra Geiman Ruby, still live in Westminster, Maryland. Mark continues to work full time in real estate helping clients buy and sell homes with RE/MAX Advantage Realty while Sandra works as a doctor of neurology and stroke director at Carroll Health Group-Neurology. They enjoy spending time with their four kids Blake, Anna, Carter, and Mae; their daughter-in-law, Kayla; extended family; and granddaughter, Jane.
Kathi Snyder Shambaugh loved catching up with her roommates Stacey McIntyre, Amy Sheridan Donathan, and Mandy Hofstetter Ferringer, M.S. ’01 and enjoyed reconnecting with all of our other Green Terrors on the Hill at our 25th Reunion. Kathi has been married to her high school sweetheart, Jamie, for 24 years. She is still enjoying work as a sole proprietor offering personalized branding solutions through graphic design and garment customization. With her son, Greyson, a junior at Penn State, and her youngest, Corbin, a sophomore in high school, it allows her to get back to competing and doing things she loves in her spare time! In fact, she recently ran her first marathon in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.
Artem “Art” Vinokour and Julia Motorina Vinokour continue to enjoy life with their two daughters and two rescue dogs in suburban Connecticut. They enjoy making occasional trips to their Maryland stomping grounds to visit old friends and to Massachusetts to visit Cape Cod. The kids are growing up; the oldest has her driver’s license and is busy applying to colleges. Art hit his 20-year anniversary at the same company, and Julia is busy with balancing work, kids, and planning over-the-top parties for family and friends’ special events and birthdays.
Jason West and his wife of 13 years, Sara, and their youngest son, Will, moved into a 140-year-old row home in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland, in the spring of 2022 and now enjoy walking to all the restaurants, breweries, and activities the city of Frederick has to offer.
As for me, Crystal Zagorny Terhune, I’ve worked for the State of Maryland since 2000 as a social worker, and as tenure-track faculty for University of Maryland Extension. As the mid-shore’s family and consumer sciences agent, I provide community-based life skills and financial wellness classes for all ages (e.g., #(Almost)Adulting101 life skills for teens, identity theft and scam awareness for vulnerable adults, and financial caregiving for folks helping loved ones). Joe Jarboe and I are noticing a drastic increase in gray hairs as we’re teaching Abry, 16, to drive and helping our identical 6-year-old twins “Bo” (Joseph) and Colton navigate the world. Meanwhile, I’m fitting in some self-care though outdoor adventures in the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program (waterfowling, blacksmithing, and more), and loosely following recipes.
Crystal Zagorny Terhune1999 Class ReporterCrystalTake2@gmail.com443-786-3349
