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Hello Westmont 1999 alumni!

I hope this email finds you all doing well! As your new Class Agent, I have the pleasure of writing a series of quarterly newsletters for our graduating class to help you stay connected with your fellow alumni and keep you informed of the latest news and events occurring at Westmont. You'll also hear from others in our class about what they've been up to since graduation. My hope is that you'll remain an active member of the ever-growing Westmont community and find your place of involvement in the ongoing life and mission of the college.

I hope you'll enjoy hearing from our friends and former classmates, and I'd welcome any of you who would like to share what you've been doing these last 12 years since leaving Westmont. Contact me by email at classagents@westmont.edu.

For our first newsletter, I'd like to start by sharing an update of what I've done since my time at Westmont.

Within days of graduation in May 1999, I was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Marine Corps but had to wait about six months before heading off to training. So I extended my stay at Westmont and worked as an Admissions counselor representing Westmont throughout Orange County, Calif.

Once in the Marines full time, I served as a recruit training commander in San Diego and then took on my primary role for the next four years as a Public Affairs Officer at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif., and at Coalition headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.

After leaving the Marine Corps in 2004, I got a job in the private sector, got married, took a position as a director of media relations at U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C., and bought our first home in Vienna, VA. Within a year, Michelle and I were blessed with William who is now four. Our second, Emily, just turned three April 1.

Michelle and I recently attended Westmont's Bright Hope for Tomorrow event at the historic Willard hotel in D.C. I was reminded of the tremendous impact the Westmont experience had on me as a student but also about the fact that our alma mater continues to develop young people, preparing them to serve in a world that desperately needs them.

Twelve years beyond the Westmont experience, I can safely say that some of my most endearing friendships continue to be roommates, classmates and teammates from the Class of 1999. I look forward to hearing and sharing your stories through this quarterly newsletter.

Sincerely,

Mike Friel, Class Agent for 1999