Archive for February, 2011

When Thunderbirds graduate, they head out into the world with fresh knowledge, improved business skills and enhanced cultural awareness, but some T-birds also leave with new-found love – and these are what we call Thundercouples.

They are married couples who are both graduates of Thunderbird. Some met before they arrived and others found their lifelong partners right here on campus.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day — which is held annually on February 14 in the U.S. — dozens of Thundercouples have shared their stories of love.

Some are funny and some are sweet, but all of them are filled with the sense of adventure and mystique that make Thunderbird special.

Their stories will be posted every weekday until Valentine’s Day, so don’t forget to check back daily.

We hope that you will enjoy reading their stories as much as they have loved writing them!

“We met in the Pub at the beginning of Fiona’s first term, which was Jim’s last. Jim told his friend that night that he had met the girl he was going to marry. But that took a while. Jim did the Oxford program the summer of ’82, and Fiona was in Scotland that summer. They arranged to meet in London when Fiona’s train arrived. The problem was, Fiona’s train came into Euston station (they all do from Scotland), and Jim waited at Victoria station. Fiona thought nothing of it; Jim thought she had blown him off. In 1985 they were both living back in Seattle, and finally the time was right. In 1986, Jim proposed in the garden of the Rodin museum in Paris. They married in 1987 and honeymooned in Kenya and Tanzania. Now living back in Seattle, Jim handles North and South America for an Australian company. Fiona teaches International Business to foreign students at a local college. Their son, Ian, is almost 16 and has travelled to 25 countries on five continents. He will be volunteering in Central America this summer. Perhaps he, too, will study at Thunderbird.”   -Jim Jackson ’82 and Fiona Black Jackson ’83

“Leslie Spector Varkonyi ’76 and I met at then-AGSIM during the spring, brought together by the parade of flags and nations.  Leslie had enrolled right after graduating from the University of Arizona, while I had recently returned from Senegal, West Africa after two years as a Peace Corps volunteer. Our summer romance, including celebrating the nation’s bicentennial in Carefree, AZ with friends, was put aside as Leslie took a position with CARE and relocated to Guatemala and Chile. I returned to New York City, eventually landing a position with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Leslie returned after our separation of a year and a half and we married in 1978. Since then, Leslie has worked over 30 years with International Planned Parenthood‘s Western Hemisphere office traveling throughout Latin America. She is beloved and so respected by colleagues. I continued working in the airline and express industry, as we lived in New York City and then the Washington, D.C. area.  Our love has only grown since we first met. We have traveled the world and enjoyed experiencing different cultures.  We have two Thunderchildren, Julie, 26 and Peter, 21. Neither is remotely interested in global business but they are very happy to work and live in Florida and New Hampshire respectively. I currently teach as an adjunct professor at American Public University and market the online university to logistics professionals. Leslie and I will continue to enjoy new experiences as we near retirement but forever remain a Thundercouple.    -Irvin Varkonyi ’76

“It was T-bird Tuesday in New York City, summer 1989. John Schuldt ’85 and Robbie Weaver ’86 had both been active in the chapter for two years but somehow had not met each other. When they finally did, at the bar at Cinco de Mayo, the sparks flew! John and Robbie met for dinner the following night and couldn’t believe they hadn’t met while on campus either. John attended then-AGSIM Fall 1983 to Spring 1985, and Robbie from January 1985 to Spring 1986. They knew some people in common, and had surely been in the same places at the same time – talent shows, the pub, Bizarre Bazaar and balloon race. More importantly, they shared the desire to pursue professional challenges around the world. John was working for Ford Motor Company while Robbie was in Hispanic market advertising. They married in 1991. John’s Ford career has taken the couple to eight locations, including six years in Japan. Robbie has held a variety of international marketing positions including working for AT&T in Japan, and is now a relocation consultant. The Schuldts’ children have the Thunderbird mindset. Their 16-year-old has traveled with CISV to Brazil and Germany and with People to People to China. Their 9-year old was born in Tokyo and has called three locations home.” -Robbie Schuldt ’86

“I was a shy, skinny and green- colored 22- year- old Venezuelan girl when I arrived to Thunderbird.  On the day of registration, I spotted a handsome guy, wearing cowboy boots two sizes larger than normal, a very tight shirt and jeans. He had great brown hair, and a beautiful smile. I was immediately attracted to him. I heard he was speaking Spanish so I approached him to ask him where he was from. Imagine my surprise when he told me he was also Venezuelan! For one and a half years I was anxiously waiting for him to ask me out. However, he had lots of friends, was very popular and outgoing…and I was a simple nerd. But, as they say, persistence is everything. So my strategy was helping him study, cooking wonderful meals for him (although sometimes I scared the neighbors with the sound of fire detectors), keeping the house very clean, and never complaining about Arizona’s heat. By graduation time, he proposed and we have been married for 28 years. I don’t cook anymore (luckily for him), he doesn’t wear boots, his hair is still brown (thanks to 5 minutes). I’m not green anymore. I’m gorgeous! Still a nerd but popular! And he still has his wonderful smile! Happy Valentine’s Day! -Alejandra Fiksman – Beracha ’83 and Freddy Beracha ’83

Two babies were living in Bavaria in 1971.  They probably passed one another in their strollers at the Marienplaz in Munich – but alas they never met.  Years later they lived about a five-hour drive from one another in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin and Minnesota – alas they never met.  Finally, in the fall of 1996 the two attended an open mic night at the Thunderbird pub.  The girl sang a duet on stage with a friend while the young man looked on – alas they did not meet.  Spring ’97 the girl moved to Germany for an internship and the boy attended school in Archamps France.  That summer the girl and a friend took a road trip down to Spain – making an unplanned detour late one night to the Archamps campus to see  if they could find a friendly T-bird spot to crash.  The girl shouted up at the dark, locked student dormitory.  “Are there any t-birds awake?!”  Several heads popped out of their bedroom windows to see who was calling.  One of those heads was the boy – but alas they did not meet.  The following semester the girl moved to Argentina for another internship and the boy graduated – it looked like their paths might never cross.  But then in the spring of ’98 the magic of the T-bird pub would not be denied.  The young man approached the girl asking, “Are you a singer?” “No,” she said.  He replied, “I’m pretty sure I saw you at an open mic fall ’96.  Do you want to do a Global Sounds number together?”  And the rest, as they say, is history.  We now have three future T-birds and are celebrating our 10- year wedding anniversary. Thanks Thunderbird!! Today, Chris has his own international competitive intelligence firm called Navigate International and Susannah is the Senior Director of the Global brand and innovation council for Molson Coors.”  -Susannah Scaife Thompson ’98 and Christopher Thompson ’97

“We met the first week at Thunderbird, August 1989.  We were standing in line at the cafeteria and he had a cup of coffee in one hand and some change in another. He looked at the change as if he was short a bit. I asked him if he needed some extra change.  He replied, “Nei, nei…”  He lifted up a nickel and asked me, “Five cent?”   I was taken aback, as I had figured he was just this blond California-guy, and when he answered me with “Nei, nei” it surprised me!  I answered him with a puzzled response, “Yes…” He then lifted up a dime and asked “Ten cents?” I replied again, “Yesssssss.”  He then countered with, “Why five cent bigger ten cent?”  What a question!!! I had never even thought about it and realized that American money didn’t make sense to the poor foreigners who are new to it. He had enough money to buy his coffee, but I wasn’t going to let it go at that. I noted where he sat down and luckily, it was at a table with some new Norwegian friends I had made. I proceeded to sit myself down at his table.  As we left for class, I started talking to him and found him very interesting and positive.  It was thanks to our mutual Norwegian T-bird friend, Ruth Kristin Brekke ’91 that we were able to finally get together. She taught me how to meet Norwegian men! Stig Jarl Meling ’90 and I married in 1992, moved back to Norway from 1995-2007 and are still happily married with twins, aged 13 and living in Calgary, Canada.  What makes Stig so special?  I still love that upbeat positive attitude that nothing is impossible.  He completes me!”  -Monica Crossman Meling ’90 and Stig Meling ’90

“Ed Austin ’95 and I married after we met at Thunderbird. Ed’s sister met and married the man she met at Thunderbird too. My maid-of-honor, whom I met at Thunderbird, came to my marriage (to Ed) in France and married his cousin. All in the Thunderfamily!” -Laura Burpee Austin ’95

“Doug Warnecke ’86 and Monique Hanis ‘87 met in June 1986 during a 7 a.m. Decision Models class. Doug reports she blew him off, making a beeline for coffee with friend Jennifer Kirk ’87. She was intent on getting her degree, working at Das Tor and co-leading International Business Woman’s club. He headed Africa Club and together they joined club forces to co-sponsor a special guest speaker, who ended up being a dud. But the relationship bloomed; commiserating and laughing at the speaker’s reception led to lunch, dinner, a concert and Arizona sightseeing. They married in 1991. They shared and supported each other’s many adventures: his work and travel in Africa, Europe and Asia with Peace Corps; hers all over the U.S. with community bankers and more recently at U.N. Climate Talks with the Solar Energy Industries Assoc., living and working in Washington with an active international community. Their biggest adventure of all was raising a son and daughter who were lucky to attend Spanish Immersion K-8 public school. Today, their teens appreciate being bilingual and having their own adventures, such as student exchanges to El Salvador and taking High School AP Spanish. More to come – these junior T-birds love travel.”   -Monique Hanis ’87 and Doug Warnecke ’86

“Standing in front of me in registration line, there was a beautiful girl – Marsha Lynn Page ’89.  We started up a conversation and found out that we both were going to study Japanese.   While we were in different Japanese conversation classes, we had the same Japanese grammar class together.  I noticed on quiz/exam days that she would always be the first person to finish in the class.  She was our top student.  Intrigued by this, I found out more about her.   Over the next months there were occasional opportunities to get together for group study.  During one of the study sessions we both found common interests in Stephen King books and started developing a friendship.  During the fall semester, we were both invited out to Boston to interview with Japanese companies.  While we still discuss whether or not this trip turned out to be our first date…I fell in love.    We both competed and won fellowships to the IIST (MITI) program and ended up near Mount Fuji, Japan the spring of 1989.  During graduation exercises at IIST, I proposed and she accepted.  No money, no ring, but we managed.  Shortly after graduation, I landed my first job working in a Japanese company.  My fiancée came back to Japan and did consulting work.  When leaving Japan we stopped in Hong Kong…bought the engagement ring and on the plane over to Thailand I knelt down in the aisle and formally proposed with ring in hand.  The flight attendant noticed and brought to the coach section two plastic glasses of champagne from the first class area.  Over the past 20 years we have been blessed with three wonderful children and have had many adventures living and working in Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, New Zealand and now in South Florida.”  -Timothy C. Weaver ’89

 “Before attending Thunderbird, I had lived in a small town in northern Japan for three years working as a Coordinator of International Relations. I started studying the Japanese language and culture in college and spent my junior year abroad in Japan. While in Japan, I fell in love with the language and culture and knew I wanted to spend more time living and working in the country. Therefore, when I entered Thunderbird, Japanese was my language of choice and I hoped to further my knowledge of the language and culture. At the beginning of my first semester, one of my friends from my Japanese class suggested that we attend the Japan Club meeting so that we can meet some Japanese students with whom we would be able to practice our Japanese. At the meeting, we went around the room and introduced ourselves. It turned out that my friend lived in the same area of southern Japan as my future husband – Shinji Yamada ‘00 and they spent some time talking about their experiences. I got involved in the discussion, and after the meeting, a group of us went out to dinner off campus. I ended up sitting in the front seat of my future husband’s car on the ride to the restaurant and we hit it off right away. We sat next to each other at the dinner and continued to talk throughout the evening. We spent the rest of the semester and our time at Thunderbird as a couple and continued to get closer and closer to each other. When it came time for us to graduate, we decided that we wanted to stay with each other and move back to Japan together. We lived with each other in Tokyo for an extended period of time before tying the knot. We later started our own business together so that we would be able to spend more time with each other. We had our first child (our son Kai Alex) in August 2010 and are enjoying our new life together. My spouse’s understanding of cultural differences and willingness to stick up for me in front of his parents and other conservative Japanese people is what makes him so special to me.”  -Nicole Podell Yamada ‘00

When Thunderbirds graduate, they head out into the world with fresh knowledge, improved business skills and enhanced cultural awareness, but some T-birds also leave with new-found love – and these are what we call Thundercouples.

They are married couples who are both graduates of Thunderbird. Some met before they arrived and others found their lifelong partners right here on campus.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day — which is held annually on February 14 in the U.S. — dozens of Thundercouples have shared their stories of love.

Some are funny and some are sweet, but all of them are filled with the sense of adventure and mystique that make Thunderbird special.

Their stories will be posted every weekday until Valentine’s Day, so don’t forget to check back daily.

We hope that you will enjoy reading their stories as much as they have loved writing them!

“I met my wife Amy Powers ’86 at the orientation party for the incoming class of 1986 at El Toritos. We like to say we met each other at a bar. We dated all through our time at AGSIM, as Thunderbird was then commonly called. I did spend a semester in Guadalajara and another in Norway, but I always told her that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I must have been right, for a year after graduation we were married. Two classmates, Karen Keese and Reid Blank, were maid of honor and a groomsman, respectively. We are still going strong after all these years.”     -Frank Sandler ’86

“I met my future spouse Joy Willeford ’77 in the T-bird cafeteria line on the first day of school in 1976. She was with a girlfriend who had driven with her from Texas to Glendale, and they were right in front of me in line. They had southern accents, like me, so we struck up a conversation. Her friend soon returned to Texas and Joy stayed for our first semester at Thunderbird. It was as close to love at first sight as I guess I ever got– and we have now been married for 34 years and have three great kids. I joined the Foreign Service after Thunderbird, so I took my bride to the country of Mali, where Timbuktu is located. It was not your normal first post-school residence, but Joy did great and was adaptable and flexible. We did another seven countries together in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Joy has been the world’s greatest mom, a great wife and companion, and a successful professional. Sometimes things work out.”  - Ambassador Lewis Lucke ’77

“My husband and I met way before Thunderbird. Jim Sinor ’03 and I met during our undergrad years at Berkeley. I was in an international business association with his roommate, John Mikus who also went to Thunderbird with us, so I met him through our mutual connection. We knew each other for a while before anything romantic happened, but then he made his move and the rest is history! Jim is the most amazing father and he even landed a job abroad so we could live out the true Thunderbird dream of working and living abroad. Along with our 3-year-old daughter, we just moved to London 4 months ago!”  -Sunita Sinor ’03

“We met at T-bird, in registration line, in the heat of Aug 1974. We then stood in the language waiver line and starting speaking German. We learned we lived in the same apartment complex.  He had a bike and I had a car, but he could also cook (and I could not). Marriage bound to happen! We courted at La Perla Mexican, took black and white photos and developed them in T-bird’s photo lab, lived through accounting and INTERAD and took one semester of Japanese in the summer 1975.  We loved it all. For two people who are not impetuous in most of life’s decisions, this was one where we took leap. Six weeks after meeting, we decided to get married. Boom! I called home to tell my parents and they said, “Now Who is this Tony?” Tony’s folks were in Germany and probably had no idea where Arizona was, let alone why he would marry someone he’d met there. So we married, moved to Columbus and then to Seattle and then to Boise, Idaho. We adopted two terrific sons (now young men) from Korea and Thailand. We have not done the joint living/working aboard part yet, but I have done so several times through my work as a professor, and I took our two young sons with me on different assignments to Belgium and Hanoi. We raised them speaking German and English, so they are both easy travelers, adventurers and would be great T-birders if they ever choose to go that route. One is living/teaching English in Korea and loving it. The other is applying for grad school in educational psychology. We have to thank T-bird for many things, but the best is that it brought us together 36 years ago – hard to believe it has been that long. We’ve lasted almost as long as the control tower, while all the rest of T-bird has changed!” –  Nancy Napier ’75 and Tony Olbrich ’75

“Syver Norderhaug ’79 and I met at the Pub about a week before Thanksgiving in 1978.  Of course, he doesn’t remember.  He was actively celebrating “another great day in the life a Norwegian student in the US” with the rest of his Norwegian buddies.  I was probably taking a “coffee break” from studying and stressing about a class.  We had very different outlooks about school—he originally came to the US on a skiing scholarship for the University of Wyoming, and realized that there was always a second chance for everything and the answer “no” usually meant “maybe.”   I took every deadline seriously and believed that second chances never happened. We graduated in May 1979, got married in August 1979, and both became CPAs.  I spent 20 years working in international oil and gas, living 3 years in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Syver has set up several companies — many close to the ski slopes in Salt Lake City.  He commuted to Bolivia 36 times (once a month) when I lived there with our children.  Many of the lessons I learned at Thunderbird were very helpful in my career, especially when I set up the finance and administrative operations for a U.S. oil company in Bolivia.   Our 3 kids are fluent in Spanish, can get by in Norwegian, and are great skiers.  We now all live Dallas enjoying great friends, family and always new adventures.” – Kathy Webster Norderhaug ’79

“Coleen McKeighen ’81 and I met while at Thunderbird in 1980 and were friends the whole time there.  I went back to California upon graduating in December 1980 and Coleen stayed for another semester where upon graduation she went to New York City and started a career in banking and finance.  We corresponded and I went out to New York, as we married and lived in Manhattan for four years.  We then returned to California where we live in the city of Hayward.  We have two kids who are in college.  This will be our 29th year of marriage.”  -Dan Dalton ’80

“My wife Anne Bark ’81 and I met at Thunderbird in 1980. We are still happily married!”  -Jorge Squier ’81

“Peter Brownell ’97 and I met on the first day of classes in fall 1995.  As fate would have it, we had exactly the same class schedule and therefore could not avoid running into each other every day in one class or another.  On the first week of school, I walked into the IBIC with my backpack full of assignments.  I saw Peter’s familiar face from classes and I introduced myself and had a seat next to him.  This seemed like a strategic move, as we both had the same curriculum and thus the same homework.  We were not immediately drawn to each other because we both entered school committed to out-of-town relationships.  We quickly realized that we were both runners so we started running together all around the Phoenix area.  It was easy to find windows of time together because we had an identical schedule.  Over the semester, we spent a lot of time getting to know each other, and upon returning to Winterim that same school year, we realized we had strong feelings for each other. One thing lead to another, and 15 years later, we are married with two fabulous children, and two colorful careers that have taken us up and down the coast of California – from the Silicon Valley to Santa Barbara, where we currently reside.” -Annabelle Abba Brownell ’97

“We met in 1984 when the international alumni association was being formed. Eric Alexander Denniston ’80 and I were two of about 25 T-Birds who came together to write bylaws and the articles of incorporation that created the official Alumni Association. Most of us stayed on to form the first board and Eric and I became co-chairs of the Chapter Development Committee, forcing us to work closely together in between the quarterly weekend planning meetings. That formed the start of a deep friendship and working partnership that resulted in our getting married three years later. We even planned our wedding to attend the European Reunion in Venice in April 1987 as the start of our two-week honeymoon. Despite the fact that Eric almost let me go for a swim in the canal in my formal gown, I enjoy his sense of humor and intelligence. Our mutual love and respect for each other’s experience, intelligence, and contributions to our personal and business partnership are the keys that keep our relationship working.  He’s my best friend and partner.” – Jeri Towner Denniston ’78

“I met Jennifer Woody ’79 the first day of school, in January 1978.  We didn’t start dating until autumn, but we did go on some great hikes in the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion.  My favorite story took place in now emeritus Professor Jim Mills’ International Accounting class.  I hadn’t applied myself very well during the quarter, and we came up to the final and I was moaning, “I’m gonna fail, I know I’m gonna fail.”  Jennifer replied, “It’s not that hard”, and proceeded to show me how to do international consolidations.  We both took the test, and I scored 100 percent, while she scored a 92.  She was so upset that she went in and argued with Professor Mills and had her grade changed!  When we graduated, I was looking for a job in China, but my timing was a little too early.  I went up to Los Angeles and started selling minicomputer systems, and eventually started a company that did printing and mailing of statements for credit unions.  Jennifer graduated six months later and went to work for a bank in Rhode Island.  She worked there two years before I talked her into coming out to California to marry me.  She took a job with Fluor Corporation in their Project Finance division and single-handedly managed the proceeds of their St. Joe’s Gold divestiture, investing $550 million in a couple hours one morning.  She said she actually moved the market that day!  After our first daughter was born in 1988, Jennifer came to work at my company, FSSI, and gradually started managing more and more.  She is currently the President (I’m CEO), and we’re certified as a “Woman Owned Business”.  Our offices are separated by a ‘DMZ’ kitchen/bathroom, but we still see each other many times during the day and enjoy working together.  Of course there’s a lot more to our story, but the bottom line is that we did meet at Thunderbird, and we’re still married 33 years later!” -Jon Dietz ’78

Have a look at some pictures from a recent First Tuesday in Seattle, Washington! Seattle T-birds gather every First Tuesday at Ivar’s Salmon House. Thanks to the Washington Alumni Chapter for sharing your photos.

Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy ’91 is the Director, Philanthropic Research & Initiatives, Office for International and Philanthropic Innovation, Policy Development and Research Office at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C.

He is also a member of the Thunderbird Alumni Network (TAN) Board.

Read his blog about the Sustainable Urban Housing Competition.