48 / ’southern
CLASSNOTES
Jesse Calvert
is traveling around
the world and performing with
Royal Caribbean cruise line, having
recently visited the Baltic Sea
Region. She previously danced
and toured with the Atlanta Dance
Connection.
Winston Crute
has finished
his first year teaching math in
Huntsville through Teach for
America. He plans to start medical
school at the University of South
Alabama in 2014.
Julia Guyton
is a wildlife biologist
in a cooperative position with The
Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest
Service, and Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Her work includes studying
salamanders, deer, and black bears
in the Apalachicola National Forest
and Tate’s Hell State Forest in
Florida.
Karly Kitabchi
is pursuing her
master’s degree in marriage and
family counseling and also teaching
full-time at the Hilltop Montessori
School in Birmingham, which “I
love,” she says.
Sara Menton
is completing a
Graduate Teaching Fellowship in
Asian studies at the University of
Oregon.
Erica Ogle
is the recipient of a
TransTeam grant from UAB’s
Department of Education. Ogle
is working full-time on a master’s
degree in early childhood special
education. She also is working
as a special education teacher at
Center Point Elementary School.
Elizabeth “Betsy” Qualls
of
Decatur, Ala., completed her
27-month commitment as a
mathematics teacher with the
U.S. Peace Corps in Guinea, West
Africa, in August. She is now
applying to graduate schools in the
U.S.
Thomas Ray
was hired last
fall as the first employee of the
Birmingham-based clothing brand
State Traditions. He manages
the company’s inventory, online
retail fulfillment, and wholesale
fulfillment for more than 300 fine
men’s clothing stores that carry the
brand.
AlexWilson
is the owner of
Wilson Taxidermy in Franklin,
Tenn. He also does wedding and
engagement photography.
Nathaniel “Nat”Yonce
is working
on a Master of Philosophy in Music
and Media Technologies (sound
engineering) degree fromTrinity
College in Dublin, Ireland. He was
one of 14 students accepted out of
an applicant pool of 70 and is the
only American in this international
program.
Friends
The award-winning documentary
AROVA, featuring the late and
former BSC dance instructor Dame
Sonia Arova, was included in the
Russian exhibit “The Enchanted
Wanderers” held in February at
the University of North Carolina
in Asheville. Dame Arova, a
Bulgarian-born ballerina, was the
Alabama Ballet’s founding artistic
director and a faculty member at
BSC along with her husband, Thor
Sutowski, in 1976-77.
Therese
Roach Laeger ’79
served as
executive producer, Colleen Laeger
was director and producer, and
Brittany Laeger ’11
handled media
relations.
Best-selling
author,
speaker, and
Southern
humorist
Melinda
Rainey
Thompson
of
Homewood
wrote her fourth book last year,
I’ve Had it Up to Here With
Teenagers. A collection of essays,
the book takes aim squarely at her
three children. Thompson was a
member of BSC’s English faculty
from 1988-94.
Weddings
Anne Maloney Spiece ’73
to
Gerald Woods, May 5, 2012.
Charlotte Kelly ’04
to Walker
Wells, July 20, 2013.
JessieWagner ’09
to Logan
Pippin, Feb. 9, 2013.
Galen Boehme ’10
to
Robyn
Mielke ’12
, Sept. 29, 2012.
Keith Gray ’10
to
Jennifer
Commander ’12
, Aug. 10, 2013.
KatieWelsh ’10
to
Andrew
Shelton ’11
, Aug. 31, 2013.
Samuel Bratt ’12
to
Brittany
Wheeler ’13
, June 7, 2013.
Blakeley Childress ’12
to
Lucas
Strickland ’12
, Oct. 6, 2012.
Jamie Hodge ’12
to Richard Bubb,
Jan. 19, 2013.
Hannah Howell ’12
to Benjamin
Johnson, June 2, 2012.
Births
A son, Brian Christopher
Templeman II, Nov. 5, 2012, to
Brian Christopher Templeman
Jones ’90
and wife, Kandye.
A son, Henry Thomas, April 12,
2013, to
Rev. Dana Pender
Brady ’94
and husband, Jake
(big brother, Jed).
A son, Nico Sebastian, March
25, 2013, to
Nicole Bates
Provonchee ’95
and husband,
Zach (big brother, Luca).
A six-sibling success story
—Madeline NeSmith
graduated from Birmingham-Southern in May and sent us a photo
of her and her five siblings on their family vacation in Carmel,
Calif., the week of the 4th of July. Five are BSC grads—soon to
be six! Pictured (from left to right) at Julia Pfeiffer Beach in Big
Sur, Calif., are
Mary Brittain NeSmith Blankenship ’05
,
Cal
NeSmith ’07
,
Neal NeSmith ’09
,
Rob NeSmith ‘11
,
Madeline
NeSmith ’13
, and
Andrew NeSmith
, who is a sophomore at
BSC. Thirteen of Madeline’s family members traveled to California
this summer, including parents, grandparents, siblings and their
spouses, and a niece. Madeline is currently in Okayama, Japan,
teaching English to preschoolers.
