72 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | CLASS NOTES I go, so please wear your Lehigh-branded gear so I can see you in the crowd. That is how I found Benjamin Shepherd ’16, whom I ran into in Boston. Best of luck with your move up north; it will be fun to have another Lehigh alumnus as a colleague! Please get in touch with me about whatever you want to share with our classmates; we would love to hear from you! Email me at robert.j.hillman1@ gmail.com or find me on social media or go to alumni.lehigh. edu to connect with the alumni relations network! ’18 Megan Olivola, meolivola@gmail. com Danny Norris got married to Kalin Ojert ’17 surrounded by many of their fellow alumni and teammates in July of 2024. The two met while Danny was playing lacrosse and Kalin was playing soccer for Lehigh. They got engaged at the Lehigh-Laf game in 2023 and tied the knot in Vermont. Danny and Kalin currently live in Denver, Colo. Nicole Pellecchia and Ryan Kovacevich recently got engaged! They met 10 years ago in their McConn freshman dorms in Upper Cents and plan to marry in Philadelphia in September of 2025. As the couple enters this next chapter of life, they will be forever grateful for Lehigh bringing them together and being such a significant part of their story. ’19 Alexis Parsells, lex. parsells@gmail.com and Claudia Cohen, claudiacohen10@gmail.com It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Zachary (Zach) Leo Drake on November 7, 2024, at the age of 27. Born in Danbury, Conn., Zach attended La Salle College High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Lehigh, followed by a master’s degree in counseling from Messiah University. Zach was a remarkable individual, excelling as both a gifted student and a talented lacrosse player. His humility and kindhearted nature shone brighter than his many achievements. Most recently, Zach dedicated himself to helping others as a counselor at the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, a role that perfectly embodied his passion for care and compassion. Known for his unwavering kindness, generosity and love for his family, Zach brought light and warmth to every room he entered. Zach’s memory reminds us to live with humility, serve others selflessly and love deeply. He will forever remain a bright light in our hearts. Lexi (Alexa) Berliner and Liam Mahoney are thrilled to share that they got engaged during a September road trip in stunning Moab, Utah, and are eagerly planning their wedding, set for July 2025. Both are currently living and working in New York City: Lexi as a customer success manager at Persado and Liam in structured finance at Citibank. Congratulations, Lexi and Liam! Robert Gould, who earned a degree in computer science, has achieved a major milestone: He’s published a PC game, University Tycoon, now available on the Steam platform! In this innovative simulation game, players can build and manage their own university, complete with realistic curriculums, scheduling, reputation systems and sprawling multi-building campuses. Robert’s Lehigh legacy runs deep. He’s the eighth member of his family to graduate from Lehigh since his great-grandfather, Arthur S. King, graduated second in his class in 1925. Arthur has three cousins honored on the Veterans Wall in the Admissions Building. Their mother even participated in the wall’s unveiling ceremony. If you’ve ever dreamed of designing your own version of Lehigh University, now’s your chance with University Tycoon! ’20 Evan Choy egc320@alum. lehigh.edu Happy new year, Class of 2020! It was such a pleasure to see so many of you at Le-Laf. I wanted to begin with an ask: Mark your calendars for reunion in June! As we prepare for our first milestone reunion, I caught up with a few classmates on our class’s reunion committee. Vaneck Kounga was a fellow Admissions Fellow and tour guide. He was also involved in Greek life during his time at Lehigh. After graduating with a bachelor’s and master’s in materials science and engineering, he’s now a product and engineering lead out in San Francisco. Vaneck mentioned he’s been invited to a few Lehigh weddings, so catch him at a wedding near you soon! Eric Rizzi was also a fellow Admissions Fellow and tour guide. He was in Theta Chi as well as an orientation leader. When catching up at the game this year, Eric mentioned his favorite memory was storming the field at Lafayette after a Lehigh win at Rivalry 152 during our freshman year. (I vividly remember this game too as a member of the band that year!) Eric was a chemical and biomolecular engineer and now is an ion implant process engineer at Global Foundries up in Burlington, Vt. When he’s not helping plan reunion, you can catch Eric exploring Lake Champlain! If you have any thoughts or questions about our reunion, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re excited to see you there! ’21 Eve Freed, evefreed1@gmail.com and Skyler McCabe, skylermccabe1@gmail.com Last year, Kevin Aspesi launched Grid, an app blending the best of Yelp and Hinge to fight loneliness by facilitating dates—and eventually all social meetups—at top local venues. While at Lehigh, Kevin was a varsity rower and an active fraternity member. After graduating with honors in computer science engineering, he moved to San Francisco for a software engineering role at C3.ai, working on their AI applications and platform. During a visit back home, Kevin connected with his best friend and high school rowing teammate, who had also recently moved to a new city. They shared feelings of wanting to meet new people and try cool local spots in their new respective homes—but neither knew where to start. As they continued to have similar conversations with others in their network, the idea for Grid began to take shape. The pair started working on Grid on nights and weekends. The product gained serious momentum after they connected with a founder of Tinder, who became an advisor and investor. With this additional validation, they felt now was the time to take the leap of faith. After building an MVP, raising institutional capital, leaving their jobs, and moving to New York City, they launched Grid to the public. Grid is bringing people into a new era of social interaction. Predicated on a return to real life experiences and how things used to be done, Grid focuses on creating genuine, intentional connections at the best local venues. Fast-forward to today, and Grid boasts thousands of monthly active users, partnerships with iconic brands like Sofar Sounds, collaborations with New York’s top venues, and a feature in Us Weekly. If you’re local to New York City, put yourself on the grid at dateongrid. com and follow their socials @griddating. ’22 Clare Fonstein, clf222@alum. lehigh.edu Hi, Class of 2022! I am very excited to share what one of my good friends, Kayla McMillan, has been up to. I owe her a belated congratulations for
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