Penn 1993 Love Connections – Part 2

• Samantha (Helman) Lichtman, W’93, and Jeff Lichtman, C’93
• Julie (Berliner) Bell, C’93, and Stephen Bell, C’92
• Jackie Einstein Astrof, C’93, and Josh Astrof, C’93, W’93
• Christine Lutton Foster, C’93, and David Foster, Eng’93
• Marnie (Goldman) Altman, C’93, and Paul Altman, W’93
• Tanya Dooley-Adija, C’93, and Onyango “Yang” Adija, W’93
• Cindy Dauber Anapolsky, W’93, and Jeff Anapolsky, C’93, W’93
• Ebru Ural, W’93, and Justin Sowers, Eng’93
• Deb Brown, C’93, and Jef Pollock, C’93
• Kerry Kennedy, C’93, and Brad Goldberg, C’93
• Jon Tretler, C’93, WG’97, and Lisa Brichta Tretler, C’94, G’99, WG’99
• Michelle (Cousins) Mott, C’93, NU’98, GNU’99 and Ako Mott, W’93
• Stacey (Bucholtz) Leibowitz, C’93, RES’00, and David Leibowitz, C’93, L’00

Samantha (Helman) Lichtman, W’93, and Jeff Lichtman, C’93

Jeff Lichtman and Samantha Hellman Lichtman at a Tri Delt social in 1992

Jeff and Samantha at the bat mitzvah of a ’93 classmate’s daughter

Julie (Berliner) Bell, C’93, and Stephen Bell, C’92

We met at Penn. Evelyn Pan introduced us – a bunch of times – I think the fist time we met was in the area by the High Rises. I think we met sophomore year, but maybe earlier.

 

We went to a new year’s party in Houston bringing in 1992 and kissed at midnight – and have been together ever since. It was at Tom Schmidt’s, C’92, house in Bay Town. Rob Hernandez, C’92, Paul Linden, C’91, Kristen Garland, Jill Smith, C’93, W’93, were there. 

 

Stephen started with us but graduated in three years. He still affiliates with our class. We got engaged that year (1992) over Thanksgiving and married in September after graduation. Almost twenty-five years of marriage, with two girls aged 19 and 16.

Julie (Berliner) and Stephen Bell in the Quad during Hey Day.

Julie (Berliner) and Stephen Bell

Julie (Berliner) and Stephen Bell today

Jackie Einstein Astrof, C’93, and Josh Astrof, C’93, W’93

Josh says we met freshman year walking in a big group to a fraternity party, but I…don’t remember that.  We definitely got to know each other over delicious rubber chicken Friday nights at Hillel. And we didn’t go on our first date until Senior Week. Speaking of leaving the best for last…

Jackie Einstein Astrof and Josh Astrof at the Class of 1993 Senior Formal

Jackie Einstein Astrof and Josh Astrof in 2015

Christine Lutton Foster, C’93, and David Foster, Eng’93

A mutual ’93 friend, Emily Culbertson, introduced us. Although we were both in the Penn Band, we hadn’t met yet because Christine rode on the dry bus to out-of-town games and David rode on the not-dry bus. He likes to tell people we are a classic flute-trumpet romance.

We met our freshman year and started dating sophomore year (September 1990). We got married on August 10, 1996. Our guests tell us that they will never forget our wedding because the power went out in large portions of seven Western states (including the church where we got married) just before our ceremony.

Our families coordinated a joint dinner to celebrate our graduation that evening at a restaurant on Rittenhouse Square.

 

Some favorite Penn memories:

• Attending the 1993 NCAA tournament game with the band. For us it was a return to Syracuse where we spent the summer of 1992 together (Christine was an intern at The Post-Standard newspaper. David worked in a Syracuse University lab and took organic chemistry).  This summer (2017) we returned to Syracuse for the first time since then as we rode our bikes on the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany with our three children (Katie, 17, William, 14, and Andrew, 12).
• In 1994, we continued to eagerly follow the successes of the Penn basketball team. David was on a flight arriving in Philadelphia right as the team was finishing their first round NCAA tournament game against Nebraska. Christine was meeting David at the gate (remember when you could do that?) and as David walked off the plane, Christine screamed that Penn was leading! We listened together to the final minutes of the game standing at the gate in the Philadelphia airport on a Walkman (remember those?).
  
• We spent our first New Year’s Eve after we got married at the Penn Club in New York.
• Both of our roommates also married members of our class: Jeff Anapolsky married Cindy Dauber and Margaret Kane married Larry Schoen.

Christine Lutton Foster and David Foster today.

Christine Lutton Foster and David Foster with their children.

Christine Lutton Foster and David Foster on the Button at graduation!

Christine Lutton Foster and David Foster walking down Locust Walk

Marnie (Goldman) Altman, C’93, and Paul Altman, W’93

We met the first day of class freshman year. The scene was our freshman seminar class, Craft of Prose, in Bennett Hall. After class, while walking to Stouffer (chicken grillas!), Paul put on the charm and asked Marnie to dinner the next night, where we were joined by 10+ people on our ‘first date’ at Won’s Chinese Food next to Smokes. We dated all four years at Penn and, after both graduating in ’93, got married in 1995. We now have two kids (aged 12 and 15) and our oldest’s middle name is Bennett, as a tribute to that fateful day in September 1989.

Paul and Marnie (Goldman) Altman

Paul and Marnie (Goldman) Altman with their children

Paul and Marnie (Goldman) Altman at Penn Commencement 1993

Tanya Dooley-Adija, C’93, and Onyango “Yang” Adija, W’93

Yang and I met moving in Junior year at DuBois House (Low Rise). We lived on the same floor. We found out that we were both from Long Island, and that was all it took to strike up a friendship. We had quite a few friends in common from back home, traveled in the same circles, but had never met.  We started traveling home together for breaks, enjoying long talks and each other’s company. We became best friends, and were inseparable. We continued dating through Graduate school, and eventually got married. Here we are 16 years of marriage and 2 beautiful daughters later, still just as happy as we were during those memorable Penn days.

Tanya Dooley Adija and Onyango “Yang” Adija in 2011

Tanya Dooley Adija and Onyango “Yang” Adija wedding in 2001

Tanya Dooley Adija and Onyango “Yang” Adija robed for Penn’s graduation in 1993

Cindy Dauber Anapolsky, W’93, and Jeff Anapolsky, C’93, W’93

Cindy and Jeff met at Penn. Cindy lived in unrenovated Quad in Speakman. He lived down the hall in Butcher. The sign on Jeff’s door said he was from Schenectady, New York (where I was born). So I was looking to say hi. We met in the first week or two in a mutual friend’s room on the hall.  We have been a couple since our sophomore year at Penn.

We have been married 21 years.  We have a 17 year old daughter and a 13 year old son. We live in Houston, Texas.

It turns out that we went to the same preschool when we were 3 in Schenectady before my family moved away. I was in the AM class and Jeff was in the PM class. We never met then.

Jeff Anapolsky and Cindy Dauber Anapolsky and their children

Cindy Dauber Anapolsky and Jeff Anapolsky today

Jeff Anapolsky and Cindy Dauber at Penn

Ebru Ural, W’93, and Justin Sowers, Eng’93

A few then and now pics, you may notice a theme….I’d like to nominate Justin as most likely to arrive at the reunion wearing his (same) Penn 250th sweatshirt. We were introduced by mutual friends in the quad our sophomore year. We both graduated in ‘93, Justin from SEAS as a bioengineer and I from Wharton with concentrations in Marketing and  Multinational Management. After Penn, we both lived and worked in New York and were married in 2000 after earning our MBA’s. Justin and I have traveled near and far wearing our red and blue since 1993. Today we live in Central Florida with our two girls who are making the journey to the reunion to buy dad a new sweatshirt.

We are looking forward to seeing many dear friends and visiting campus as a family!

Editor: What is going on in the rollerblade photo?

Ebru and Justin and Justin’s sweatshirt

Ebru and Justin with some rollerblading moves, and Justin’s sweatshirt

Ebru Ural and Justin Sowers, and Justin’s sweatshirt

Justin’s sweatshirt with Justin and Ebru

Deb Brown, C’93, and Jef Pollock, C’93

How did Deb and I “meet” is a complicated question.  I met Deb when I first read her column in the Daily Pennsylvanian which she brilliantly titled, “See Ya in Church” which meant she, like me, was a Murph’s person.  We all know… there were Smoke’s people, and Murph’s people. And I was for sure all skylab all the time.  But I didn’t actually know her at all. But reading the title of the column, seeing her picture, and then reading the content of what she wrote, I knew I had to meet her.

I met her at some point through performing arts stuff, but we didn’t really connect. And then I saw her while working the Rolling Stone exhibit where I was serving coffee (I have no clue why I did that job), and exclaimed “Downtown Deborah Brown” which caused her to scurry away in fear.

But the real meeting was on her 21^st birthday when I bought her a shot at the Palladium on Locust Walk.  That was the beginning of a long courtship that took 9 years, and a few cities (and countries) in between.  Best shot I ever bought.  And the rest is history.

Deb Brown and Jef Pollock back then

Deb Brown and Jef Pollock today with their children

Kerry Kennedy, C’93, and Brad Goldberg, C’93

Kerry Kennedy and Brad Goldberg were married July 26, 2002.

We met in September 1989 on our Freshman Hallway in Community House (Thomas Penn/McIlhenny). We were friends throughout Penn, and reunited in 1998 after Kerry attended Harvard Law School and Brad was living in Los Angeles working at Fox.

Around 8 years ago, we coincidentally met up with another double ‘93 Penn couple, Debbi and Brian Stern, while serving together on the Heart Committee for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and our girls now attend the same summer camp in Maine where we get to hang out every visiting day.

Editor’s note – you can read about Debbi and Brian in Part 1.

Kerry Kennedy and Brad Golberg in 1993

Kerry Kennedy and Brad Golberg with their children today

Kerry Kennedy and Brad Golberg and friends march across the 38th Street Bridge for Commencement, May 1993

Jon Tretler, C’93, WG’97, and Lisa Brichta Tretler, C’94, G’99, WG’99

Jon Tretler and Lisa Brichta Tretler in the Quad during Spring Fling

Jon Tretler and Lisa Brichta Tretler today

Michelle (Cousins) Mott, C’93, NU’98, GNU’99 and Ako Mott, W’93

How did you meet?

During Pre-Fresh. I was cutting a friend’s hair when she and her friends stopped by. We got to talking, and twenty-nine years later we still are.

Story about us?

That we were so close that the football crew used to call us “I-Chelle”.

Ako and Michelle Mott, otherwise known as “I-Chelle” back in the day

Ako and Michelle Mott with their children at a Formula 1 race

Stacey (Bucholtz) Leibowitz, C’93, RES’00, and David Leibowitz, C’93, L’00

Near the end of our sophomore year, we were both eating dinner one night at Hillel and a common friend of both of ours, Justin Sambol was there as well. He introduced us, and the three of us had dinner together. I had a feeling about David and kept my eye out for him, but soon it was the end of the year. Summer arrived and we went our separate ways.

On the first day of junior year, in September 1991, we bumped into each other on Locust Walk and I accompanied him to the bookstore. We were both history majors and I convinced him to take a European diplomatic history course with Prof McDougall that I was taking. We started spending more and more time together and within about 3 weeks we were an item. We have been together ever since! He likes to claim that he got a better grade than me in that class (but we all know that is not true.)

After college graduation, he went to London for 3 years and I went to Baltimore. We did the long-distance relationship thing until his return in the Spring of 1996. At Homecoming, November 4, 1995, David flew in from London and surprised me. He proposed to me, down on one knee, in front of College Hall, and we were married in September 1996.

Stacey (Bucholtz) Leibowitz and David Leibowitz today

Stacey (Bucholtz) Leibowitz and David Leibowitz at Penn’s Commencement, May 1993

Love these Penn Love stories? Read Part 1! And stay tuned for Part 3!

Penn Class of 1993 25th Reunion Countdown