Every year, I make new friends, and I grow apart from others. This list had already gotten long by the time my story got to the beginning of sophomore year, and I made a lot of new friends that year. Also, as time went on, I sometimes learned things about people, and the nature of my relationship to them changed. If someone were to read my story from the beginning, reading the dramatis personae from the perspective of more recent episodes might contain spoilers.
So, whenever I get to the best possible stopping point between school years, I’m going to archive each year’s dramatis personae. People who aren’t part of my story anymore don’t have to be on the list if someone is looking for a character from a recent episode. If you are reading this from the beginning, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN because of possible spoilers; instead, click on the link below for the dramatis personae for the date that you are currently reading. And if you are reading a recent episode, just scroll down.
Prologue & Year 1 (7/1993 – 8/1995)
Year 4 (6/1997 – )
Numbers in parentheses refer to the difference in school year compared to Greg. For example, when Greg is a senior, Amelia (+1) is one grade older, a fifth-year student, and Brent (-1) is one grade younger, a junior.
Some characters who are not a major part of the story are not listed, and last names are not always given if they are not mentioned in the story. This list will be updated as necessary.
Main Character
- Greg Dennison: That’s me. I’m a student at the University of Jeromeville, in the western USA. I grew up in Plumdale, about 150 miles away.
Family and family friends
- Mark Dennison (-6): My younger brother.
- Harold and Peggy Dennison: My parents.
- Jane and Darrell Lusk: My aunt and uncle. Jane is my mom’s younger sister.
- Miranda Lusk (-5): My cousin, Rick’s sister, Aunt Jane’s daughter.
- Rick Lusk (-2): My cousin, Miranda’s brother, Aunt Jane’s son.
- Lenny and Dorothy Weismann: My great-uncle (Mom’s dad’s brother) and aunt in Oregon.
- Mark’s friends and teammates (-5 or -6): Cody Kaneko, Eric Kingston, John McCall, Matt “Boz” Bosworth, Nate Fisk, Ryan Lathrop (and others)
University of Jeromeville students:
* indicates students who attend Jeromeville Christian Fellowship. ^ indicates students who were in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program with me freshman year (and also in my dorm). + indicates students who attend the Newman Catholic Student Community, which I did for my first couple years. ~ indicates people who attend Jeromeville Covenant Church or one of its groups.
- *~Abigail (Abby) Bartlett: Josh McGraw’s fiancée. Volunteers with The Edge, the junior high school youth group at J-Cov.
- *~Ajeet Tripathi (-1): A sophomore who attends JCF and J-Cov. He and Eddie knew each other back home.
- Alaina Penn: Attends University Life, another Christian group on campus.
- *~Amelia Dye (+1): Scott Madison’s fiancée. Melinda Schmidt is her roommate, and they have a cat named Alvin.
- Andrea Briggs: A student who has math classes with me sometimes.
- *Autumn Davies (-1): A sophomore who attends JCF. She became a Christian during her freshman year.
- Ben Lawton: Attends University Life, another Christian group on campus. Occasionally attends Jeromeville Christian Fellowship.
- *~Brent Wang (-1): A student from JCF. He plays keyboard for the worship team.
- ~Brody Parker (-2): A freshman who attends J-Cov and volunteers with The Edge, the junior high school youth group. Brody has lived in Jeromeville since the middle of his childhood, and his family lives there.
- *~Cambria Hawley (-2): A freshman who attends JCF and J-Cov.
- ^*~Caroline Pearson: Caroline lived down the hall from me freshman year. She was born in Australia.
- Carolyn Parry: A soprano in University Chorus. Also attends University Life, another Christian group on campus.
- *Carrie Valentine (-2): A freshman who attends JCF. I got brave and asked her out, but she turned me down.
- ^~Charlie Watson: He was at the other end of the hall in the dorm from me. We stayed friends through JCF and J-Cov.
- *~Courtney Kohl (-2): A freshman who attends JCF and J-Cov. Volunteers with The Edge, the junior high school youth group at J-Cov. She had been romantically linked with Mike Knepper but is now dating Brody Parker.
- ^+Danielle Coronado: Lived down the hall from me freshman year, now shares an apartment with Bok, Skeeter, and Theresa. Danielle sings in the UJ choir and at Mass at the Newman Center.
- *~Eddie Baker: A student who attends JCF. He and Ajeet knew each other back home. Tabitha’s boyfriend.
- ~Erica Foster (-3): She grew up in Jeromeville; I met her when at church when she was a senior in high school, and now she is a freshman at UJ. She volunteers with The Edge, the junior high school youth group, where her brother Danny is a student.
- *Evan Lundgren: He was my Bible study leader junior year. He also grew up in Santa Lucia County, not far from me.
- *~Haley Channing: A student from JCF and my crush for a while. Haley’s older brother Christian just graduated from UJ.
- Jack Chalmers: A student who has math classes with me sometimes.
- *~”Barefoot” James (-1): A student from JCF and J-Cov who also volunteers with The Edge, the junior high school youth group. He almost never wears shoes.
- ^*~Jason Costello: Lived next door to me freshman year. Also in University Chorus.
- *Jed Wallace (-3): A guy from JCF who dresses nicely and wears cool hats.
- Jennifer Dawson (-1): Attends University Life, another Christian group on campus. She spent a month in the summer of 1997 on a church trip to Brazil.
- *~Joe Fox (+1): My Bible study co-leader for this year, with Lydia. Long-time roommates with Scott Madison.
- ~Josh McGraw (+3): Abby Bartlett’s fiancé and one of my roommates. He is studying to be a science teacher. Volunteers with The Edge, the junior high school youth group at J-Cov.
- *Lars Ashford (+1): A student from JCF who plays guitar in the worship team and has a quirky, unique style of dress.
- ^*~Liz Williams: Lived near me in the dorm freshman year, across the hall from Jason. Ramon’s girlfriend, although they broke up for much of junior year.
- *Lydia Tyler (+1): My Bible study co-leader, with Joe. Rebekah’s sister.
- *Kelly Graham: A student from JCF. She studied abroad in Hungary junior year.
- ^*~Krista Curtis: Lived downstairs from me in the freshman dorm.
- *Kristina Kasparian: A student from JCF.
- ~Martin Rhodes (+2): Attends Jeromeville Covenant Church. Volunteers with The Edge, the junior high school youth group at J-Cov.
- *~Mike Knepper: A student from JCF and J-Cov who I met freshman year, before I began attending those myself, because he lived in a nearby dorm and knew many of my friends.
- ~Noah Snyder: Attends Jeromeville Covenant Church. Taylor’s best friend from high school. Volunteers with The Edge, the junior high school youth group at J-Cov.
- ^*~Pete Green: Lived downstairs in my dorm freshman year, and leads worship for the college group at J-Cov. Pete likes board games.
- ^*~Ramon Quintero: Liz’s boyfriend, although they broke up for a while junior year. He plays numerous musical instruments and speaks six languages.
- *Raphael Stevens: A student from JCF, Eddie’s roommate freshman year. Raphael painted a mural in their dorm that is still there today.
- *Sadie Rowland (-2): A girl from JCF who also writes for the Daily Colt campus newspaper. She shares a lot of my outlook on politics and is somewhat outspoken about it.
- Sam Hoffman (+1): A recent UJ graduate who is now starting a graduate program in physics. One of my roommates.
- ^*~Sarah Winters: Lived downstairs in my dorm freshman year; we have stayed friends through JCF and J-Cov. I guessed where she was from by the highways in her hometown.
- *~Scott Madison (+1): Plays drums at JCF. Also a tutor at the Learning Skills Center, as am I. Amelia’s fiancé.
- +*Sean Richards: Involved with both the Newman Center and JCF. Sean is currently my roommate.
- *~Tabitha Sasaki: Attends JCF. Eddie’s girlfriend. She lived in the dorm next to mine freshman year; I met her that year through my friends who knew her, before I started attending JCF.
- ^~Taylor Santiago: Lived in the same dorm as me freshman year. Enjoys deep philosophical discussions. Noah’s best friend from high school. Volunteers with The Edge, the junior high school youth group at J-Cov, and spent six months between junior and senior year working with an urban ministry project in Chicago.
- *Xander Mackey: A student who attends JCF.
- Yesenia Fonseca (-1): The first student who ever had me as a tutor through the Learning Skills Center. She was in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program the year after I was.
- +Others from Newman: Carly Coronado (-1), Claire Seaver (+1), Ellen Stark, Heather Escamilla (+1), Matt Jones (+1), Melanie Giordano (+1), Phil Gallo (-1), Ryan Gambrell (+1), Sabrina Murphy (+1)
- *Others from JCF: Alex McCann (+2), Alyssa Kramer, Amy Kilpatrick, Blake (-3), Brianna Johns (-3), Clint, Jeanette, Jennifer Chong (-1), Jill Nguyen (-1), John Harvey, Jonathan Li, Kieran (-1), Leah Eckert (-1), Lorraine Mathews, Melinda Schmidt (+1), Mike Kozlovsky (+2), Silas (-1), Tim Walton (-3), Todd Chevallier (-1)
- Others from elsewhere: ^Heather “Bok” Beck, ^Jennifer “Skeeter,” Lindsay Vandenberg (-1), Megan McCauley (+1), ^Rebekah Tyler, ^Spencer Grant, ^Theresa Arnold, Tiffany Rollins
Former Jeromeville students who have moved away:
- *Brian Burr (+2): Graduated in 1996 and took the following year to work on staff for Jeromeville Christian Fellowship and apply to medical school, when he was one of my roommates. He did high jump for the UJ track team. He is now starting medical school at New York Medical College.
- *Shawn Yang (+2): Graduated in 1996 and spent the following year student teaching, when he was one of my roommates. He decided not to go into teaching as a career and moved back home to Ashwood. He runs marathons and triathlons.
Other people from Jeromeville:
- ~Adam White (+4): The youth pastor at Jeromeville Covenant Church.
- Anton: A math professor for whom English is not his first language.
- +Father Bill: The priest who says Mass at the Newman Center.
- *Cheryl (+5): A part-time paid staff person at Jeromeville Christian Fellowship
- ~Dan Keenan: The college pastor at Jeromeville Covenant Church.
- *~Dave (+10) & Janet (+8) McAllen: Full-time paid staff who lead Jeromeville Christian Fellowship. Janet once sat down with me and explained exactly what it means to follow Jesus, and how he died on the cross for our sins.
- Dr. Gabrielle (Gabby) Thomas: A mathematics professor who I had for Combinatorics. As of the end of year 2, my favorite professor at UJ.
- Dr. George Samuels: A mathematics professor who co-wrote a high school textbook and suggested that I look into teaching as a career.
- Joseph White: A graduate student in computer science, who I knew as a TA.
- ~Sasha Travis (-4): A senior at Jeromeville High School whom I know from church.
- Sharon: A graduate student in music, the TA for University Chorus.
- +Sister Mary Rose: A nun who works with the Newman Center.
- Dr. Thomas Jeffs: A professor of music, the conductor for University Chorus.
- Thomas Kroger: A graduate student in computer science, who taught a lower-division computer science class I took.
- ~Kids from the youth groups at Jeromeville Covenant Church: Danny Foster, Samantha, Shawna, Ted Hunter, Zac
People from the math research program in Oregon:
- Students (and where they came to Oregon from): Ivan Winn (New York City area), Emily Sanders (upstate New York), Marcus Lee (Los Montes, 60 miles from Jeromeville, but attending college in Minnesota), Julie Callahan (Connecticut), Marjorie Tanner (California), Jeannie Lombard (Oregon), Kirk Stone (Oregon)
- Professors: Dr. Garrison, Dr. Schneider
- People from church: Joe and Anne Ferris, adults who volunteer with the college and young adult Bible study
Friends from Plumdale:
- Annie Gambrell (-2): A student who was in a presentation that I filmed for a video production class. She has an older brother at UJ. I had a very unrequited crush on her for a while…
- Anthony Tejeda: Renee’s boyfriend. He moved to Ohio for school.
- Catherine Yaras: A friend from my graduating class who spent senior year of high school in Austria as an exchange student.
- Jessica Halloran: A friend from my graduating class who decided to take time off after graduation and work in an orphanage in Guatemala. She is the oldest of six siblings; I also know the next younger one, Jamie (-3).
- Melissa Holmes: My crush from the later part of high school. We had a lot of classes together. She goes to school in San Angelo and lives with relatives there.
- Rachel Copeland (-1): A student who has a lot of friends in my year in high school. We stayed in touch fairly consistently after I left for Jeromeville, and I brought her to a roller hockey game.
- Renee Robertson: My prom date, shortly before she started dating Anthony. We had several classes together. She goes to Valle Luna State, where I visited her once for the day.
- Others: Allison LaPierre, Carol Allen (teacher), Jackie Bordeaux, Jason Lambert, Jennifer Henson, Ken Haley, Kevin Lee, Kim Jensen, Lisa Swan, Paul Dickinson, Rachelle Benedetti, Sandra Soto (-1)
Friends from the Internet:
- Amy D. (+3): from Massachusetts. She jokingly calls herself my big sister.
- Laura Little (-3): from upstate New York, but currently an exchange student in Switzerland.
- Molly Boyle: from Pennsylvania.
Don't Let The Days Go By 