Where in the World Is Blue? – Summer 2024

U-M alums share their travel photos.

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As you travel around the world or around the block, show us your Michigan pride! Don your Maize and Blue or Block M and snap a photo (high-resolution, without filters or artificial enhancement). Then email it to [email protected] or share it on social media with #WhereInTheWorldIsBlue. Include the graduate years for all alumni appearing in the photo and a description of the location. Due to the high volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee your photo will appear in the magazine; however, all submitted photos appear on the Michigan Alum website. We publish only those photos submitted by Alumni Association members. By submitting your photo, you agree that the Alumni Association may also use it in its marketing and communication materials.

Jennifer Lessens Thompson ‘00, David Thompson ‘98, and their kids represent the Maize and Blue on a beach in the Philippines.

The Stratton family of Kyle, ’06, MBA’15, Kendra, Kyrie, and Kasen, represented the Maize and Blue on New Year's Day 2024 before the big game while at Clearwater Beach, Florida.

Zachary Shulkin, ’20, Barry Shulkin, MDRES’84, MBA’02, Patresha Mandel, MSW’80, and Jeffrey Shulkin, ’24, posed with their special flag during a stop on South George Island, en route to completing their family goal of visiting all seven continents in December.

The Wakild family stopped for a photo to show their Michigan pride during a hiking journey through Mill Creek Canyon in Moab, Utah. Susan Wakild, ’69, is behind the camera; her son, Eric Wakild, ’99, and his wife, Emily, are in the back row; and grandchildren Charlotte and Ray stand in front.

After the Wolverines’ victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Rose Bowl in January, Marty Maugh, ’83, and Sarah Maugh Greifenberger, MBA’89, danced until they were kicked out.

Elaine and Vic Weipert, ’61, MSW’65, hailed from the island of St. Armands Key in Sarasota, Florida, with their daughter Melissa and son-in-law John Sweet.

Ron Lippitt, ’92, didn’t need a reason other than pride to fly the U-M flag during a recent trip to India.

Ted Ross, ’81, Patty Fregolle Ross, ’80, and Bob Fregolle, ’79, celebrated U-M’s College Football Playoff National Championship victory while submerged in the waters of Palau in the Pacific Ocean.

Amy Frank, ’00, MPH’04, MSW’04, Sara Frank, ’71, and Michael Frank, ’71, MD’75, visited Egypt in 2023, including a stop at the Hatshepsut Temple in the Valley of the Kings.

In February, Bill Freccia, DDS’76, was on a Caribbean cruise with fellow Class of 1967 West Point graduates. Lots of passengers aboard the cruise ship shouted, “Go Blue!” when they saw his shirt.

Thomas Coleman, ’08, and Lauren Friedman, ’08, brought a special U-M spirit power-up to Universal Studios Japan’s Super Nintendo World in Osaka.

Alums had a great trip to Peru, visiting the Amazon jungle, Iquitos, Lima, Cusco, Ollantaytambo, and the ancient sites of Machu Picchu and Sacsayhuaman (pictured). Attendees were Julie, ’82, and Robert Brooks, ’77, MSE’80; Mary Alice, ’80, MSE’81, and Ed Brunner, ’80; Ellen Collins, ’72, and Dan Krechmer, ’72; Sue, ’65, and John Delos, ’65; P.J. Handiland and Bill Diefenbach, ’72.

Rodney Johnson, ’91, and his wife, LaShawn, celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans by mixing a bit of Maize and Blue into the festivities.

Jana Smith, ’73, MSE’78, completed a full-circle moment when she snapped a picture with Wolverine football’s Denard Robinson, ’13, in the lead-up to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Jana’s father, Kenneth L. Smith, ’49, played football for U-M and Jana wore his sweater for this photo and the bowl game.

Daniel Roshco, ’90 (in front of flag, farthest to the left), celebrated his50th birthday with a golf outing at the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland.

Tom Troiana, MBA’92, and his wife, Patti Precobb, hailed from Sao Martinho do Porto, Portugal, during a recent trip.

The family of Smita and Ankur Mehta, ’04, took a trip to South America’s Patagonia region and took an incredible photo with the Perito Moreno Glacier. Later, in their hotel room, they watched U-M defeat the University of Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

John Joseph, MA’84, ran into Ohio State alumni during a recent visit to Krakow, Poland.

Recuperating at home in Bay City, Michigan, four days after his hip-replacement surgery, Keith Birchler, ’75, JD’78, cheered on the Wolverines as they defeated the Buckeyes this past football season.

Keith, ’85, and Barbara Williams, ’85, were proud to display the U-M flag at Damoy Point in Antarctica during a February trip.

In January, stationed in front of the Corbet’s Cabin restaurant, Paul Kang, ’08, hailed from the top of Rendezvous Mountain in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Tom Mathews, MBA’84, unfurled his U-M flag at the feet of the giant statues of the Great Temple of Ramesses II in Abu Simbel, Egypt.

Celebrating 41 years of friendship, a group of grads took a biking trip through Austria, Italy, and Slovenia. In the front row, left to right, are Scott Springmier, ’82, Wendy Kenyon, ’82, Kim Adler, ’85, Sue van Oss, ’82, Phil Korest, ’83, and Kathy Springmier, ’81; in the back row, left to right, are Jane Korest, ’82, Phil van Oss, ’82, and Rick Adler, ’74.

During a recent trip to Budapest, Hungary, Susan Perry, ’75, stopped to honor the life-saving work and memory of Raoul Wallenberg, ’35, at his memorial in Elizabeth Square. Wallenberg coordinated the rescue of tens of thousands of Jews from the region during World War II.

Jack, ’05, MACC’06, and Seema DeCamp, ’07, showed their Maize and Blue spirit while at the Playa Mujeres resort in Cancun, Mexico.

Eileen Weiser, MMUS’75, and Dick Caldarazzo, ’70, celebrate U-M’s football success from the “Remotest Island” of Tristan da Cunha in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Miriam (behind the camera) and Peter Roos, ’64, took in the sight of the maoi of Easter Island.

In January, Mike, ’71, MS’74, and Karen Teeley (behind the flag) took the U-M flag on its seventh continental visit aboard the Viking Octantis ship in Antarctica. The flag continued its tradition of creating instant recognition and initiating wonderful conversations with fellow alums.

James Valk, DDS’79, his wife, Diana (behind the camera), and their son, Evan, ’14, MBA’21, flew the U-M flag during a blizzard on Deception Island, Antartica, the morning of the Wolverines vs Buckeyes football game in November 2023.

Former U-M regent and frequent traveler Andrea Fischer Newman, ’80, represented the Maize and Blue at the South Pole.

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Where in the World Is Blue? – Summer 2024

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