2000

I don’t know what the world will look like by the time this reaches you. I, like you, sat stunned on Sept. 11, as we watched the world come tumbling down.

The safe haven we entered just three years ago seemed so far away. A place where the biggest problem surrounded bidding points and sorting through multiple job offers. Stocks couldn’t lose, companies couldn’t fail, and we were young and smart and on top of our game. Everyone in Lake Woebegone was above average.

I always thought that the value of going to Kellogg was measured in dollars and job offers. But those things are infinitesimal compared with where the true value lies: in the unity and commonality that transcends our geographic locations, our religious affiliations, and our national allegiances and breathes life into the cliché: “Kellogg community.”

Many of you saw and posted to the Web site that was created for business school alumni to find out about the whereabouts and safety of their classmates. As the posts came pouring in, we saw how it calmed us; it was like a ribbon tying us to something familiar.

Here, reprinted, are some of those posts:

“John Baker is fine. I spoke with him yesterday as the disaster unfolded. He was in 3 WFC at the time and evacuated safely. I am also aware that Joe Spano, Sara Milsten and Dorian Messuti exited the same building safely.” (Jeff Jones)

“Anil Prahlad says that he and his family are fine. He also said “I could see the smoke from my office window; it was freaky.” (K.C. Kim)

“I was on a plane in the air bound for Salt Lake Tuesday morning when this all went down. We had no idea what was going on. Had to ditch the plane in Kansas City and drive 10 hours to get back. Glad to hear so many folks are OK.” (Charlie Chappell)

“I’m OK, I was standing in the NYSE three blocks south of WTC, watching the TVs when the place shook from the impact of the second plane and everyone ran from the building. Took one look at the Twin Towers and I hit the 4/5 uptown and got the hell out of Dodge. My prayers to those affected and for our nation.” (Desmond Conneely)

“I spoke with Alison Deluca...Joe Deluca was not on the Newark to LA flight although the manifest listed a Joseph Deluca...he is fine.” (Rob Woomer)

“Talked with Freeman Hall. He is fine. However, he was in D.C. yesterday about a half-mile from the Pentagon when that crash happened.” (Daryl Marshall)

“Jean Christophe Hyvert and his wife Chris are fine. They are homeless for a few days, so they are touring Connecticut at the moment.” (Magali Grand)

“Hi. Everyone I’ve checked with at Lehman, Merrill, Goldman and Deloitte are fine. I work at Lehman, which is in the World Financial Center -- across the street from the World Trade Center. While it was happening it was pretty unclear, but after the second explosion, we all left the building fairly calmly, and started to walk home. Some friends, and my dad who works downtown, were in my apartment when the buildings collapsed. My assumption is the people who got hurt were the ones in the higher WTC floors as well as the rescue people. So if you know someone at one of the companies above -- there is a very good chance they are OK. Also, you might hear that Morgan Stanley, CSFB and Deutsche are in WTC. Mainly back office and Stock Brokerage was done there — which means that our friends from Kellogg who work at those firms are most likely working out of the uptown offices and are fine. I hope you and everyone you know is safe and healthy.” (Geoff Mattson)

“Sara Rutstein, Frank Ballabio, and I are all OK. Got e-mails from them saying they’re OK. I pray that our Kellogg friends and family are safe. My building has a clear view of the Pentagon. We had just heard about the World Trade Center and were in a meeting when suddenly the windows and door shook. Minutes later we heard sirens. When we stepped out onto the balcony, I can’t even describe how shocking it was to see the Pentagon on fire with huge clouds of black smoke billowing out. This is supposed to be an impenetrable building! Some people were seriously freaking out; a lot of people left immediately. We stayed for a while but were hearing all kinds of crazy rumors, like there was a plane circling the White House trying to crash. Then we saw two F16s flying around. That’s when we decided to leave. This is unbelievable.” (Norma Nieto)

“Asaf Reshef is OK. He moved from NYC to Philly on Monday. ‘Life is all about timing,’ he says.” (Andrew Welch)

“Thanks for your concern. As Geoff Matson mentioned many of us work uptown. Liz Kaiser also works in the World Financial Center next door to the WTC and actually saw the plane hit WTC #2 from her meeting. She and a friend went down 40 flights of stairs and then walked all the way uptown on the East Side highway. She’s fine, shaken up but fine, except for the blisters from her high heels (she said she didn’t know she would be running a marathon).” (Shawn Makhijani)

“Ariel Reyes was at Deutsche Bank, located in front of the WTC, when the first plane hit. He immediately evacuated and was unharmed. He is staying with Eric Goldberg, who is also fine.” (Adam Koontz)

“John Rakowski and I heard from Robie (Eric Roberson), Carol Tham’s sister Lillian, and Joe Spano who were all in the World Financial Center as well. Robie and Lillian escaped and got on a ferry to N.J. John also just spoke with Sean Burke’s wife Julia. He was in St. Louis on business yesterday and drove home through the night.” (Emily Gellady)

“I just moved to L.A. two weeks ago, so I’m fine. I imagine the view from my old apartment is now quite different.” (Dan Schumann)

“I am fine. Live near enough to WTC to have been woken by second plane (didn’t hear first one). Walked to my mom’s (she lives on upper east side) and watched both buildings collapse on the way.” (Ted Linhart)

This column was due the same day that the attacks occurred. I pulled my original column because at that moment I couldn’t imagine how we would ever laugh or be joyful again. I had planned to attend Andy Jacobson’s wedding to Corey Holloran ’01 that weekend. I didn’t think I could bear to go. I felt like my heart would break.

I started to think about how every major religion holds fundamental a message of hope. In Islam, the Koran speaks of a “message of hope, an assurance for your hearts.” In the Christian faith, the New Testament tells us that the “light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” In Judaism, the priestly blessing in the Book of Numbers says that “the Lord make his face to shine upon you…and give you peace.” The Bhagavad Gita says that “however great your inner darkness, you are never separate from me.” Tarthang Tulku, the founder of the Tibetan Aid Project, speaks of how beyond the beliefs of any one religion, there is the truth of the human spirit and the power of the human heart. Even for those who don’t hold fast to any organized religion, the idea that there is a cycle of renewal in the universe gives hope.

I realized that acknowledging and, yes, celebrating love and renewal is the absolute crux of hope. So I ask you read about these weddings and births with extra care, that they may be a message of hope, a sign of renewal and a light in the darkness -- a reminder that the power of the human heart and the truth of the human spirit are indeed alive in our midst.

Andrew Boyle married Keri Claiborne on July 21 in Osterville, Mass. Frank Ballabio did his Steve Martin impression on the dance floor, Tricia Petersen ’99 and Jennie Tsai sang “I Will Survive” with the band, Dan Kuzmic bragged about his winning score in the bachelor party golf tournament, Jim Beakey had the new-dad beaming smile, Bob King spoke of Colorado bliss, and Zack Gund, Fernando Acosta-Rua and Andrew Friendly sweated like pigs on the dance floor. Oh yeah, Tom Joyce had a game-high score in field goals attempted during the basketball game the morning of the wedding.

Andy Jacobson married Corey Holloran on Sept. 15 in St. Louis. In a heroic “just-get-me-to-the-church-on-time” trek, Andy spent two days on an Amtrak train from the west coast, arriving in Kansas City where Corey’s dad drove to pick him up. Kellogg friends from all over arrived to celebrate until the wee hours: Shawn Makhijani, Kim Baldini, Tom Behan, Chris and Sherry Colwell, Amy and Greg Barber, and yes, me too! Truly an amazing and joyful time for all.

Ivan Espinosa de los Monteros and Rocio Monasterio got married recently in the church where he and Rocio first met. They were accompanied by many of Ivan’s Kellogg friends including Adrian Diazgonsen, Andres Franco, Laurie Iannuzzi, Jeff Patton, Maria Montano, Oscar Rodriguez, Marty Rubinstein, Jose Luis Martinez, Manthos Kallios, Oscar Rodriguez and Christoph Roettele. At Ivan’s bachelor party the week before, Ivan impressed fellow cavorters Andres, Manthos, Oscar and Christoph with this talent to drive like Buzz Calkins, fight like Sylvester Stallone, and dance like the sexiest Egyptian ever to hit the Madrid nightlife scene.

Nicol Davis got married June 30, to Marcel Irvin at the B.R. Cohn Winery in the Sonoma wine country. Several of her Kellogg classmates attended the festivities including: Jon Cho, Ky Vu, Melissa DaSylveira, Carol Tham, Ron Miller, Stephanie Kimble and Euni Kown. Needless to say, the Kellogg crew did more than its fair share of partying, what with the wine flowing like water. And Melissa caught the bouquet!

Mihir Prahlad was born to Sharmila and Anil Prahlad on June 23. Anil reports that, “like most things made in America, he’s BIG (10 pounds, 2 ounces), noisy, and needs lots of maintenance.”

On May 24, Noah Masaru Strause came into the world. He weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and 19.5 inches long. Yoshie and Chip Strause brought him back to their apartment in Hoboken, and are now understanding why everyone kept telling them to stockpile sleep. Chip says, “I have to admit that I enjoy the long nights with Noah far more than I enjoyed staying up all night with Gilad Sokolov, Dorit Sokolov, Hiroo Murota, and Jorge Tirado working on Fin Dec. cases. Noah, unlike Gilad, eventually stops yelling.”

RaeAnn and Craig Osborne are pleased to announce the birth of their third girl, Isabella Grace Osborne. She joined the world on June 18. She and mother are healthy and both big sisters, Rebekah and Kristine, are very pleased with the new addition. Though RaeAnn and Craig are thoroughly enjoying their girls, they have decided they are done trying for a boy.

Remember that we are still young and smart and among the most influential of our generation. And because of that, I have absolutely no doubt that this vast amassing of talent will be instrumental in rebuilding our world stronger, safer, and freer than ever.

As history is written, I pray that what is recorded is how the heart of us rose as the phoenix from the ashes. I pray that we will remain always in the shelter of each other.