WDCSA Newsletter – May 2009

Sat 5/9-Sun 5/10 Stanford Women’s Water Polo at University of Maryland
Sat 5/16 WDCSA at the Arena Stage
Sun 5/17 Stanford Book Club Meeting
Fri 5/29 Ivy Singles Cruise
Tues 6/2 Canoe & Kayak Lessons and Picnic
Thur 6/18 WDCSA Happy Hour Cruise

*Help Revise the WDCSA Newsletter*
*Get Involved!*
*WDCSA Member Profile*
*Event Spotlight: Hands on DC Work-a-Thon*
*Stanford in the News*


Stanford Women”s Water Polo
NCAA Championships
Eppley Recreation Building, University of Maryland
Saturday May 9 5:45PM

Stanford and UCLA both won on Friday so will face off at 5:45PM Saturday in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. If we win, we will play 7PM Sunday for the national championship. Tickets are $15 per day ($10 if you are a student).

The Eppley Recreation Building (Campus Recreation Center Natatorium) can be reached by entering the main entrance to the University of Maryland from Route 1, driving straight ahead to the circle and taking the first right off of the circle onto Regents Drive, then a left onto Stadium Drive.  The ERC will be on the left.

Tickets online at umterps.com or by calling 1-800-IM-A-TERP. There is a $1 service charge and the tickets appear to be general admission.


WDCSA at the Arena Stage
Saturday, May 16 2:00pm
1800 South Bell Street
Arlington, VA 22202

Join WDCSA as we host an afternoon at the Arena Stage, Crystal City with a presentation of "Legacy of Light," a world premiere drama written by the Class of 1991’s very own Karen Zacarias. The Washington Post weekend section had a lengthy article on Friday, May 8 about Karen

It’s the age of Enlightenment and Emilie du Châtelet, the dazzling, brilliant physicist of Voltaire’s dreams, suddenly realizes she is with child. At 42, and faced with a deadline, Emilie fights to finish her experiments to ensure her mathematical immortality. Jump to the present day, and fiery Olivia, on the verge of an unprecedented scientific discovery, abruptly feels an astonishing pull towards motherhood. Unable to conceive, she hires the charming and lively Millie as a surrogate. The growing light inside Millie connects the three women across the generations as they learn to balance domestic maternity, insatiable intellectual curiosity and the quest to have it all.

After the presentation, Karen will talk to us exclusively to take your questions about the play, the process of researching it and writing it, and how being a Stanford student continues to influence her writing.

Tickets are $20 for WDCSA members and young alumni (class of ’04 – ’08) and
$41.25 for non-members. Tickets are limited, so purchase yours as soon as possible but no later than Friday, May 15. You may purchase tickets below. Please contact Kimberly Loffer Coerr, ’91 at
kcoerr@stanfordalumni.org with any questions.



Stanford Book Club Meeting
Sunday, May 17 6:00pm

The Book Group is meeting on Sunday, May 17, at the home of Nadia Tongour, to discuss the short stories of Anton Chekhov. On Sunday, June 14, the group will discuss
Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. People interested in joining can do so at the yahoo group site, or e-mail alisoncolew@hotmail.com for information.


Ivy Singles Cruise
Friday, May 29 6:30pm Potomac River Cruise
Departing Washington Marina

Come join your fellow Ivy Singles for a cruise on the Potomac on Friday, May 29th. The boat will start boarding at the Washington Marina at (1300 Maine Ave. SW, Washington, DC) after 6:30, and the ship sails at 6:45 for a cruise around the local parks and monuments.

Food will include: bar-style hors d’oeuvres, a fancy cheese board, mini quiches, pigs in a blanket, chips & salsa, mozzarella sticks, and crudite. There will also be a cash bar.

Cost will be $35/person until May 20th, $40 after that. There will be no walk-ins, so you may pay in advance by mail (make check out to "DC Penn Club" and mail to: Jon Teitel, 1711 Massachusetts Ave. NW, #522, Washington, DC 20036) or online. NO REFUNDS.
If you have any questions, please email Jon at: jon.teitel@hotmail.com.


Canoe & Kayak Lessons and Picnic
Tuesday, June 2 6:30pm
Fletcher’s Boat House,
4940 Canal Rd NW,
Washington DC

EVERY Tuesday Evening Canoe & Kayak Lessons and Picnic. The canoe class will start on Tuesday June 2nd and continue every Tuesday through to August 25th. Join any of these 6:30-8 pm classes on the C&O Canal at Fletcher’s Boat House. Fletcher’s Boat House is off Canal Road about one mile below Chain Bridge in NW DC. (Note: Canal road is one way going West out of Georgetown from 3-7 pm weekdays). The class covers kayaking/canoeing at all levels. Bring food to share at the post-class potluck picnic. Cost for canoe, paddle, life jacket, and lessons is $5/person. Kids most welcome and FREE. For more information, please contact Jim Finucane 301/365-3485 before 9 PM or jim.finucane@yahoo.com.


WDCSA Happy Hour Cruise
Thursday, June 18 7:30pm
Potomac River Cruise
Departing Georgetown Marina

Come join us for a sunset cruise past the monuments! We’ve rented a beautiful boat for the exclusive use of our club. Mix and mingle with your fellow Stanford alums, enjoying hors d’oeuvres and a premium open bar.

Pricing information and more details to follow in the June newsletter. If you have any questions now, contact Steven Kelts, Ph.D. ’02, at kelts@gwu.edu


WDCSA Newsletter Feedback

We would love to hear your thoughts on how we can improve the WDCSA newsletter to better suit your needs. Please follow the link below to take a brief survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Fs6lAMbC9kkcCmDRNAgt2A_3d_3d

*Please note that this survey is self-generated by WDCSA board members. Your responses will be used only for internal purposes. We respect the privacy of our members. No personal information collected will be used for other purposes.


Get Involved!

Would you like to get more involved in both the local community and in WDCSA? The community service committee is looking for a few people to help brainstorm, plan, and lead service events. All ideas are welcome, from cleaning up parks, to serving dinner in a shelter, to painting classrooms or working with kids. For more information, contact Christina Russell (carussell17@comcast.net) or Tracy Williams (tracyw@gmail.com).


WDCSA Member Profile

Neil Conway, BA’76, is one of the top actors working in TV commercials and independent films in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore area. He currently appears as a corporate attorney in the newly released “State of Play,” which stars Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren and Russell Crowe. He is the featured actor in an Emmy Award-winning commercial for Ameritel Copiers and starred as a dancing high-school principal in the music video for hip-hop singer Jamie Jones’ new song "Whatever." Neil is also working toward his Master’s degree in producing for film and video at American University. When he’s not in front of or behind the camera, Neil takes to the field as a member of the WDCSA softball and football teams. He has also served on the WDCSA board for three years and can often be found working a registration table at one of our many events.



Hands on DC Work-a-Thon

On Saturday April 25th, a WDCSA-coordinated team of about 20 Stanford alumni volunteered to renovate and beautify Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School in northwest Washington DC as part of the Hands on DC Work-a-Thon. Hands on DC is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that organizes projects to improve the physical condition of DC public schools. The Stanford alums joined over 2,000 volunteers working in over 30 DC public schools that day. Participating Stanford alums prepped and painted walls, doors and railings in and around the school cafeteria and library. They also painted a mural portrait of Dunbar — an African-American poet and the school’s namesake — and a quotation from him (“Ambition is worthy food for the soul”) on the cafeteria walls. Thanks to everyone who participated, and stay tuned for more WDCSA service events in the future!



Stanford in the News

* Twelve Stanford scholars have just been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, bringing the number of living fellows at Stanford to 254.
* The Cardinal men’s gymnastic program won its fourth national championship April 17 by scoring 362.800 points…edging the second place team by 1.3 points.