Reflections Magazine Issue #68 - Fall 2008 | Page 21

Alumni News—Class Notes
Sherry Kirkland ’99 has opened “The Learning
Vault” in Hudson where she provides supplies for
teachers and tutoring for K-8 students. She has been
a resource room teacher for six years and spent 10
years as an instructional aide with special needs
children.
Amanda Sill Fylan ’99 of Oxford has opened her
own business, Tickled Pink Notes & Ink, “a unique
stationery and invitation store” in Romeo. The store,
a life-long dream for Amanda, was nominated by
Local 4 News as one of the best stationery stores in
metro Detroit.
Caela (Michaela) Jenzen McGrath ’99 teaches
elementary and middle school art in Birmingham.
She and her husband Kyle live in Commerce with
their son, Brennan (photo below). Caila completed
a master’s degree in educational administration at
Oakland University.

Nathan Donelson ’01 and Carly Riegsecker
Donelson ’03 live near Boston in Waltham, MA.
Art Martin ’01 is now Dr. Martin. He defended
his dissertation on “crayfish agonistic interactions”
and completed his Ph.D. at Bowling Green State
University last summer; had his first paper published
in Animal Behavior (with three more submitted for
consideration); and moved to Florida to work with
a biologist studying “aggression using the weak
electric fields of fish as a measure.”
Marlena Nichols ’01 is in her seventh year
teaching life sciences and coaching basketball at
Jonesville Middle School. She also oversees the
school yearbook.
Jen Letherer ’02 is living in and renovating her
great-grandmother’s farmhouse while teaching
film history part-time and directing occasional
productions at Spring Arbor University. She also has
co-directed a short film and worked on several
promotional videos made by Mapreader Productions, a fledgling production company of which
she is co-founder. She completed her MFA in film
production at Boston University in 2005.
Lacey Wilmot ’02, M.D. married Arun Rao, M.D.,
last year. Lacey is an orthopedic surgeon at the
Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, where her
husband is a general surgeon.

Jeff Kindinger ’99 of Lansing is director of finance
at the Michigan Bankers Association. He was senior
manager at Maner, Costerisan & Ellis, a public
accounting firm, before joining MBA last fall.
Anthony Roberson ’99 writes: “I’m still in Detroit
teaching for the Detroit Public Schools. I finished
my MBA in December from Davenport University.
Now I’m in the process of trying to decide what
to do with it. I’m very concerned about changing
careers or venturing off into something new with
the economy in its current state.”

2000s
Jason Bolinger ’00 lives in Hudsonville with his
wife Kim and two-year-old son Caden. Jason is
general manager of Applebee’s in Plainwell.
Amanda Holtschlag Phillips ’00 married
William Phillips last year and moved to Las Vegas
where they both have teaching jobs.
Lindsey Morse ’01 of Winterhaven, FL, is a bird
trainer with Steve Martin Natural Encounters, traveling around the country for shows and training
projects at such locations as the Philadelphia, Los
Angeles and Phoenix Zoos; Disney World’s Animal
Kingdom; the Texas State Fair, and Universal Studios’
Birds & Animals Unlimited. This past winter, one job
took her to The Tonight Show, where she carried a
bird out to talk to Jay Leno. “Nobody got to see
much of me,” she laughed. “I got teased a lot for
not turning and looking in the camera.”
Rachel Green Barrett ’01 is a geriatric social
worker in the Detroit area. Hoping to incorporate art
therapy into her work with men and women whose
average age is 89, she aims to add a master’s in art
therapy to her credentials, which already include
her Siena BFA and a master’s in social work from
Wayne State.

Brian Jeffrey ’02 teaches
anatomy and physiology,
biology, and honors biology at
North Springs Charter School
of Arts Sciences in Sandy
Springs, GA, where he was
named teacher of the month
last fall. He also serves as
assistant coach of the North Springs baseball team.
Megan Adkins ’02 of Lincoln Park is a project
engineer for special projects at Barton Malow
Company.
Jake Pifer ’03 and Erin Miller Pifer ’03 were
married in Lumen Chapel last summer. Erin,
daughter of SHU theater professor Doug Miller
’74, teaches fourth grade; Jake is a deputy for the
Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department.
Orion Martinez ’04 enjoys living in California’s
Central Valley in Stockton. He works for Wells
Fargo Bank and was promoted last fall to a Service
Manager 2 management position. Orion completed
a master’s in educational administration at the
University of the Pacific.
Nancy Eaton ’04 of Lansing is attending Thomas
Cooley School of Law in pursuit of her law degree.
Richard Maurer ’04 is a welder/fabricator with
Maurer Metals/Hammer Head Studio LLC in Delta,
OH, where he lives with his wife Heather and their
two children, Samantha (4) and Vincent (1). His
“metal sculptures with wavy details,” exhibited
in the Plastik Gallery in Maumee last year, were
featured prominently in The Toledo Blade.
Annette Fischer Nichols ’04 of Waterville, OH,
works in pharmaceutical sales for Xanodyne
Pharmaceuticals. She and her husband Kirk have a
two-year-old son, Caiden.
Jeff Beyer ’05 of Royal Oak, Amy Beyer Rosas
’05 and Michael Ryan Rosas ’05 of Monroe performed in Monroe last fall as the Beyer Trio. As they
did when undergraduates, Jeff plays flute, Amy
plays clarinet and Ryan plays piano.

Alumnus Reflects On
The Chinese Earthquake
Maurice Chi ’84 shared these insights with the Alumni
Office in May:
“When the 7.9 earthquake struck Wenchuan, China, tens
of thousands of school age children were studying in their
classrooms. The quake came so quickly, and was so powerful, most of the children were buried alive as the buildings
collapsed, leaving behind their weeping parents and
relatives, if any survived. There was a heart broken sce