Class Notes

Stephen Covert is in his 26th year as an educator and serves as Principal at Pine View School in Sarasota, which is a school for the gifted and ranked #6 in the United States amongst magnet Schools. He also serves  as an  adjunct  faculty member at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee in the master’s in Education leadership program. His wife, Cara, teaches 3rd grade gifted at a Sarasota school, and all four of their kids (two juniors, a freshman, and a fifth grader) attend Pine View.   Stephen and Cara  both love what they do do! They are starting the college search process for their two oldest children and are quite busy!

Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio reports that After graduation, she went to grad school at Rutgers, where she got her MA and PhD in Art History. She  moved to Italy, where she lived for seven years, during which time she married her husband, Giuseppe, and had their first child, Tommaso.  She  had a post-doc at the state archives in Florence. We then moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 2003, when she became a professor of art history. In 2007, they had their  second child, Elisa.  Kelly is now a full professor and an associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at UVM.  She has published six books and dozens of essays and articles.  She has lectured across Europe at major institutions like the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the Collége de France in Paris; and at universities in Poland, Spain, Italy, and across the U.S. Their kids are now 16 and 11, and they love to travel; they make frequent trips back to Italy to see Giuseppe’s family.

At UVM, one of the hardest moments she had was when a prospective student told her that she was trying to decide between UVM and Mary Washington! Kelly reports that she had to be honest  with her because she owes so much to Mary Washington.  Kelly is so grateful that she was trained there as a scholar by a wonderful art history faculty,  that she had opportunities for leadership like Class Council, and that she had such an amazing group of dear friends that truly taught me the value of supporting each other through thick and thin.  She cherishes her  friendships with such great women there which have continued, particularly with Janet Marshall Watkins, Lori Rose Drew, Devin Williams Cushman, and Lydia Cordes.  She wishes they could get together more often!

As for me, I had a wonderful time at the Class of 1993 Reunion in June 2018:  25 years!  I had a great time catching up with everyone who attended.  In August I made a career move and accepted a position at Navy Federal Credit Union’s headquarters in Vienna, Va in the President’s Office.  I am using my legal and financial services regulatory compliance background in the Regulatory Compliance and Public Policy Group as Senior Compliance Officer.  I love Navy Fed and the new opportunity!   This has brought me back to Virginia where I have enjoyed reconnecting with my many friends from Mary Washington and being closer to my family.  It has been great catching up with Jen Studt Schimmenti, Jean Sudlow Simpson, Aimee Cooper Starr, Kathy Opiela King and Bethany Zecher Sutton!  If you are in the area, hit me up!  I would love to catch up!