Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2000 5:40 PM Subject: Encina Update (homecoming/fundraiser/cheerleaders/rsvps/siblings/search/classes/bw/pamela sparks/susan stoffel/rudy minnick/brent welch/bios/internet/humor/whats new) ENCINA ALUMNI, This week's Encina Update is sponsored by Dan Bergin 65, who made a generous contribution to the Encina website when I spoke with Dan at the class of 65's reunion last Saturday. As always, I welcome contributions to defray the costs of running the Encina website and organizing the homecoming party... I'm back from vacation. Thanks to those of you who wrote with suggestions on places to visit and places to stay in Seattle. I returned to find my mailbox filled with over 1100 messages! So don't complain to me about getting too much mail. This week's update is quite long, as much has piled up in the past three weeks. We have a crisis regarding the homecoming party so please take the time to read the next section of the newsletter. *** HOMECOMING PARTY - IMPORTANT *** We have a crisis. Well, I think it's a crisis. I'm afraid the Homecoming party has been a victim of it's own success! Unfortunately, with about 250 alumni and staff rsvped and a projected 400+ total attendance when family and guests are included, the homecoming party has outgrown the original Campus Commons location. I don't think we can exclude spouses and family, so folks on the reunion committee have been scrambling to find a new home for the party. Unfortunately, with only two months to go and such a large attendance, most locations which can handle such a crowd are already booked or if available, are expensive. We hit upon the idea of holding the homecoming party at Encina in the cafeteria. This seemed like such a natural idea and an ideal way to reengage alumni with the present school. Unfortunately, Encina cannot accomodate the homecoming party this year. They are in the midst of a modernization program and the cafeteria is undergoing renovation. Perhaps in the future. At the present time, I am sad to say the homecoming party is homeless... Believe me, no one is unhappier about this turn of events than I am. I know some of you already have plane reservations and we will do everything we can to pull this off and make it successful. But now is the time to help if you have any contacts or ideas. I am trying to obtain permission to hold the pregame party at El Camino HS. El Camino has a cafeteria which can accomodate up to 700 people (standing) and this would make it convenient to go back and forth from the game. Alumni Lynne Gile Tracy 78 is a vice principal at El Camino. Lynne says I need to get permission from vice principal Tom Irwin who is in charge of facilities. Hopefully we will know by next week whether this is possible. If the cafeteria falls through, I'm hoping we can get the use of the large field beside the stadium for the pregame party. Last year, the field was used to stage the cars for the homecoming parade. Sunset is about 620pm on October 20th (assuming daylight savings time) but maybe we could bring in some Coleman lanterns... The reunion committee has already contacted all the nearby parks with buildings and most of the likely places nearby: Howe Park (too small), La Sierra (good but booked, maybe next year), etc. If you have any ideas for venues large enough to accomodate the pregame party, please contact them and see if they are still available for Friday, October 20th from around 5pm to midnight. We are willing to pay for a location. If folks could check on the availability of other high school cafeterias like Rio, Mira Loma, Del Campo, etc, it would be very helpful to know whether those options are available to us. If all else fails, the JV homecoming game starts around 600pm so we can all show up for the JV game and have a tailgate party at the El Camino stadium, where we can hopefully use the field beside the stadium to talk and mingle. For last year's game, we had two sections of the stands designated for alumni, but it's a bit more difficult to mingle in the stands. I welcome your suggestions! FUNDRAISER From Coach Tom Durkee: Dear Alumni- We would like to inform you of our 2000 football fundraiser. I have made arrangements with a sporting goods vendor to order the necessary hats. They will be white with a cardinal bill and eyelet's, with Encina Alumni in gold block letters, surrounding a football. The hats will be adjustable, so one size will fit all. The price of the hats will be $20, with $10 paying for the hat and $10 going to the football program. Any additional donations would be highly appreciated, and if you do not desire a hat, any donation would be welcome. We have many costs during the season which include safety checks of all equipment, doctors at games, bus rides to away games, new equipment, ect. Unfortunately in many cases, the parents of our players and students are not in a financial position to donate funds. As in many years past, Coach Hibbard has generously spent countless dollars of his own money on many of the things our program has needed. I would like to stress how much the coaching staff at Encina would appreciate any hat orders or donations to our program. Thank You! Now for the facts- please mail your checks to Encina High School, c/o Varsity Football, 1400 Bell St., Sacramento, CA 95825. I will place the order on the 15th of September for as many hats as are needed. When they arrive I will put a note on the website. You may get the hats in three ways; 1) pick it up from Encina yourself, 2) send a self-addressed envelope with postage and we will mail it to you when the hats arrive, or 3) they will be available to alumni at the party before the homecoming game. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to call 971-7557 and ask for Coach Durkee or Coach Hibbard. Once again, thank you for your support of the Encina Football Program. Coach Durkee CHEERLEADERS I received this email from Nisha Browne '02, an Encina cheerleader: "I have not graduated yet but the reason I am writing to you is because the Encina Varsity Cheerleaders needs a sponsor so can get our uniforms" If you would like to contribute, have ideas about how we might sponsor the cheerleaders, or have other ideas about fundraising in general, please write. We need someone to coordinate this effort! HOMECOMING RSVPS We have about 243 RSVPs from Encina alumni and staff, not counting guests or family! Now some will be no shows but based on last year, many will come who did not rsvp. And if some bring spouses, significant others and a few children, we're taking serious numbers. Ken Johnson 67 wrote: Thank you for all the work you do for Encinas web site. I see that John Knurr will be attending. Since I was a member of the band and the infamous dixieland group ( Bell Street Housewreckers) I will attend the festivities. The Class of 67 can add another person to the list. Harry Karnofsky 64 wrote: I had dinner last night and will be with Mike Samoville 64 tomorrow, he will try and make it but is in the process of selling in Washington and moving to Montana, Yes Montana. Looking forward to all the festivities but not a football phan,,,I was on the Swim Team. John Whiteline 62 wrote: I just purchased my Southwest Airlines tickets for Saca-tomato Oct. 19. So see you at the reunion The rsvps are distributed as follows: staff: 36 1961: 6 1962: 3 1963: 1 1964: 4 1965: 7 1966: 1 1967: 4 1968: 4 1969: 2 1970: 10 1971: 7 1972: 8 1973: 26 (first) 1974: 4 1975: 9 1976: 5 1977: 6 1978: 9 1979: 7 1980: 6 1981: 12 (fourth) 1982: 4 1983: 4 1984: 1 1985: 14 (third) 1986: 16 (second) 1987: 2 1988: 5 1989: 5 1990: 8 1991: 4 1992: - 1993: 1 1994: 2 1995: - 1996: - 1997: - 1998: - 1999: - 2000: - ---------- Total:243 Staff RSVPs: Jim Aubert Eleanor Brown Jack Bassett Shirley Bordisso Jack Carey Eric Dahlin Don Day Jack Dutton John Eaton Evelyn Fedler Don Golden Laverne Gonzales Kathy Howser Lou Huber (Alaska) Bob Kirrene Christine Kojima John Knurr (Wisconsin) Bill Lee Rees Lee Vince Marelich Karen McClelland Lee Susan McGuire Joe Patitucci Ginny Privateer Corsi (Colorado) Marilyn Carlson Spartz Terry Reed John Sander Orlin Schuler JoAnne Smith Larry Stallings Bob Trathen Cornelia Whitaker Tom Wilde Judy Wilson Elise Wolz Stephanie Woo New alumni RSVPs: John Whiteline 62 (from Washington state) Mike Samoville 64 (from Montana) Ken Johnson 67 Martha Dwyer 70 Marty Holzschuh 75 Rod Vienna 75 Chris Nielsen 83 Pamela Sparks Nielsen 85 Michelle Brown Strader 86 Laura Hinz Maxwell 86 Steven Mikesell 86 Vanessa Pierce Humphrey 90 Gina Baker Smith 91 Michelle Harvey 91 Please RSVP if you think you will be attending the homecoming alumni party this fall: I'll keep the RSVP list on the Homecoming 2000 page up to date so you can check and see who's going: SIBLINGS Michelle Brown 86 is in contact with Laura Hinz 86 Bette Henley 74 is in contact with: Mike Short 73 Elaine Short 74 David Short 77 Debbie Katzakian 72 Viki Katzakian 75 Stephen Walter 74/75 wrote: John Walter 69 David Walter 71 Stephen Walter 74/75 Tom Walter 76/77 Ray Gonzales 85 is in contact with: Robert "Guy" Johnson 85 Bobby Trujillo 85 Jennifer Townsend 90 wrote: Jennifer Townsend 90 Alex Townsend 91 B.J. Chavez 90 & Jennifer Townsend Chavez 90 are in contact with: Michelle Rinelli 90 Kevin Dowkes 90 Mike Baroni 90 Vanessa Pierce 90 Rebecca Scneder 80 wrote: Theresa Scneder 78 Rebecca Scneder 80 Anthony Pelfanio 93 wrote: Laura Pelfanio 84 Anthony Pelfanio 93 Regan Calvin 85/86 wrote: Todd Calvin 82 Regan Calvin 85/86 Heather Archer 90 in in contact with Tracy Jones 90 Tanya Monier 90 wrote: Vivan Monier 84 Tanya Monier 90 Tanya Monier 90 is in contact with: Deanna Narvaez 90 Nikki Turner 90 Pat Gray 90 Cher Michael 90 Ann Hovie 89 Corinne McLuckie 88 Derek Schujahn 91 Martha Dwyer 70 wrote: Joanna Dwyer 62 Jonathon Dwyer 65 Martha Dwyer 70 Martha Dwyer 70 is in contact with: Kay Harden 70 Rose Shellooe 71 Julee Tepsich 75 is in contact with Cindy Hall 75 Robert Williams 80 is married to Catherine Mitchell 87 Mark Steinkoenig 77 wrote: Cathy Steinkoenig 72/73 Mark Steinkoenig 77 Trent Higgins 83 wrote: Trent Higgins 83 Tom Higgins 87 Trent Higgins 83 is in contat with Ted Levea 82 ALUMNI SEARCH Tanya Monier 90 is in contact with Corinne McLuckie 88. Please write if you know how to contact any of these folks: Bob Morrison 65 Vern MacDonald 65 John Daniels 70 Marlene Morsey 70 Mike Cisneros 71 Denise Richins 82 Teacher John Knurr wrote: Mary Whitman was on the staff when I was there. Her husband Tom was in the Air Force.(Stationed in Hawaii in those days) See if someone can track her down and get her to the party. Thanks Dan Ash, auto shop teacher CLASSES 1965 REUNION Date: August 19, 2000 Place: Unitarian Church 2425 Sierra Blvd (between Howe and Fulton) Sacramento, CA I dropped by the class of 65's 35th reunion last Saturday and let me tell you, this class knows how to party. I arrived late but in time to see my "cousin-in-law" Tom Phillips 65 play a set with his old comrades Timothy Schmidt 65 (of Eagles fame), Ron Floegel 65 and George Hullin 65. The joint was rockin! Then George Hullin and his party band (the name escapes me) played until closing and the dance floor was packed. I'm sorry to have missed the presentations and slide show. George is quite a showman! I did have a chance to meet many alumni who I've corresponded with in the past, including: Jeanne Kern, Gretchen Kern, Chuck Long, Rick Long, Dan Bergin, Skip Maggiora, Patience Thoreson, Barbara McKee, Leslie Silva, George Hullin, Timothy Schmidt and Tom Sertich. I even had my picture taken with Timothy Schmidt... Earlier in the day my family had actually gone rafting with Tom Phillips and his wife Jan on the American River. I wasn't able to get away until after dinner. Many thanks to Dan Bergin for his kinds words and generous donation in support of the Encina website. If you would like to scan and email your reunion pictures, I would be glad to add them to the 65 homepage. 1970 REUNION Date: Saturday, October 21, 2000 Where: Doubletree Hotel 1980 REUNION Date: October 14, 2000 Time: 6:00-10:00 pm Place: Del Paso Country Club Address: Marconi Ave Attire: semi-formal Cost: $65.00 1981 Melissa Tovar writes that the next reunion committee meeting will be October 10, 2000 to work on getting the first mailer out. Event: 20 year reunion Date: August 11, 2001 Place: Arden Hills Country Club 1990 REUNION Date: Saturday, October 21, 2000 Place: Delta King on the Sacramento River in Old Sacramento Denyce Bellinger wrote that classmates should plan to attend the Homecoming 2000 party on Friday, October 20th and the 10 year reunion on Saturday, October 21st. BUSINESSWEEK The August 28, 2000 edition of BusinessWeek online ran the following article, which contains a nice mention about Encina HS. High School Will Never Be the Same Reformers are pushing for a curriculum that uses technology to prepare students for the New Economy When kids born in this millennial year enter high school 14 years from now, the place may well look a lot like High Tech High, a public school set to open in San Diego this September. High Tech students will enter a world that would seem utterly foreign to most of today's high schoolers. That's because High Tech is scrapping traditional notions of what a high school should be. Located in a former Navy training facility, it devotes less than a third of its space to traditional classrooms. Instead it has built specialized labs for the study of everything from biotechnology to computer animation and will give each student a personal workstation, much like those found in high-tech companies. The class day at High Tech will be different than a conventional high school schedule, too. Students will work with advisers to craft customized learning plans. Instead of scrambling to 50-minute classes, they'll have just one morning and one afternoon block, allowing them to delve deeply into interdisciplinary courses. By the time they're juniors, they will spend much of their time out of the building on internships, perhaps learning what life is like in a high-tech company. ''My aim is to make this school into a high-performance workplace,'' says Larry Rosenstock, who calls himself the CEO instead of the principal. High Tech may sound like a radical departure, but with its emphasis on technology, individualized course work, and depth rather than breadth, it may well prove to be a blueprint for the 21st century school. As a tuition-free, publicly funded charter school open to students throughout San Diego, High Tech is just one of many experimental efforts under way to reinvent high school from the ground up. These efforts are being driven by educators and business leaders convinced that high school is the most dysfunctional part of our education system. They believe that it must be radically reengineered to prepare students for the New Economy, where ideas will be the basic currency and technology will be fundamental to almost all tasks. Reformers are rethinking everything from the sprawling size of today's high schools to basic curriculum. ''We need a whole new paradigm for high school,'' says Education Secretary Richard W. Riley. Most students entering high school this fall will march through mile-wide, inch-deep survey courses--just as their parents did. Although many high schools, especially in affluent suburbs, do a good job of preparing the best and brightest for college, the system is failing many more. ''The high school we all knew and loved in the '50s simply doesn't work for a large number of today's kids,'' says Tony Wagner, co-director of the Change Leadership Group at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. Wagner says that ''fully 50% of graduates leave high school completely unprepared for further learning.'' A system that leaves half its students behind may have been sufficient for the Industrial Age, but no more. ''In today's labor market, we need 100%,'' argues Robert T. Jones, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Business. To prepare students for the New Economy, reformers are pushing for a curriculum that uses the Internet and technology to immerse kids in the intellectual challenges they will face after graduation. Far more time will be given to in-depth projects, where students will work in teams to solve problems. They also want schools that are smaller and more responsive to individual needs. At the same time, reformers argue, high schools must do a better job of helping students make the transition to adult life, something that will require a radical rethinking of the last year or two of high school. Such sweeping reform won't come easily. But by 2018--when most babies born this year will graduate--educators hope that high schools will be as unfamiliar to their parents as hip-hop would have been to Elvis. They start with the premise that today's one-size-fits-all approach should be scrapped. While wealthy kids whose families can afford private school have plenty of choice, most poor and middle-class kids are stuck with their local school. But the growth of the school-choice movement means that parents and students in large districts increasingly will be able to choose among several high schools. One way to achieve choice is through charter schools, which are publicly funded but run independently, like High Tech High. Within 15 years, as many as 20% of high schools might be charters, many of which will be run by for-profit companies like Edison Schools. In turn, that will prompt large districts to offer a far greater variety of schools. The Apple Valley/Rosemount/Egan School District in suburban Minneapolis has four traditional high schools, which try to meet the needs of all students. Each of those schools has an enrollment of 2,000. Rather than build another big school to handle rising enrollment, it has opted to open five smaller, specialized high schools. The first, the School of Environmental Studies, is on the grounds of the Minnesota Zoo and stresses environmental issues. The other four will focus on different themes. STUDENT ''FAMILIES.'' There's also widespread agreement that mall-size schools, with 1,000 students or more, have failed. ''They do a good job of serving the special minority,'' including hotshot students and athletes, says Ted Sizer, chairman of the Coalition of Essential Schools, a reform group. ''But a lot of the unspecial majority tend to get lost, since nobody really knows them.'' Many educators now believe high schools should have no more than 600 students. That's already the case at new, reform-minded schools: The School of Environmental Studies has just 410 students. Architect Bruce Jilk designed the school so even this small student body can be broken down into four ''families'' of about 100 students each, where kids do most of their academic work. <<<< Of course, it would be impossible to rebuild most large high schools along these lines. But big buildings can be broken into a series of schools-within-schools. Take ***Encina High School***, with about 1,000 students in one of the toughest neighborhoods of Sacramento. Administrators at ***Encina*** formerly had to cope with a dozen fights a week, including knifings. But then they divided the school into five separate academies, each focused on a career cluster such as health or business, ranging from 40 to 250 students. The result: such a sharp rise in attendance and performance that the U.S. Education Dept. has put ***Encina*** on its list of model New American High Schools. In the years ahead, high schools will increasingly group students by interests and abilities, rather than just by how old they are. >>>> To further personalize high school, reformers argue that each student should be given a mentor, most likely a teacher or administrator, who would meet with them and their parents regularly throughout high school. The aim would be to help the student craft a learning plan customized to his or her interests. For an academically gifted student, that might involve help in finding advanced ''virtual courses'' to supplement school offerings, so the student could graduate after the sophomore year. For others, it would be far more free form. At the Providence-based Metropolitan Regional Career & Technical Center, called the Met, mentors follow the motto ''one student at a time.'' There are no required courses, so students can develop their interests without boundaries. What's going on inside these smaller schools will change dramatically, too. To prepare students for the New Economy, they need a new curriculum, says the NAB's Jones, that ''gives kids more time on task, so they develop true competencies.'' That means scrapping today's 50-minute classes in favor of fewer courses lasting far longer. At the New American High Schools, periods now run as long as three to four hours, allowing students time to do in-depth projects designed to foster lasting learning. Today's discrete divisions among subjects also will give way to a far more interdisciplinary approach. At High Tech High, the curriculum is divided into three strands: math, science, and engineering; literacy and humanities; and art and design. And at the School of Environmental Studies, students spend half the day in a class that blends English, social studies, and environmental studies. ''This better reflects the world they will enter,'' says Principal Dan Bodette. ''It teaches students to make connections among a number of disciplines, and to work as a team.'' INTERNSHIPS. By far the biggest change will occur in the junior and senior years. This period ''should be a well-thought-out transition into adulthood,'' says Riley. At present, many seniors spend much of their last year goofing off. One answer would be to restructure high school along the European model, so that students complete the core curriculum by age 16, and then devote the last two years to a more specialized program to help them prepare for the future. That would include spending more time off campus, working alongside adults in carefully structured internships. Think of them as a modern variant of the traditional apprenticeship, designed to help students explore and develop career interests. That has already happened at the Met, where students embark on internships beginning in ninth grade. One Met student who thought she wanted to be a secretary interned as one in a hospital. But once there, her horizons expanded. She became intrigued with physical therapy, wrote a pamphlet for Spanish-speaking patients, and eventually set her sights on becoming a doctor. She's now headed for college as a pre-med student. And she's not the only student whose sights have been raised. Although over half of the Met's students are poor enough to qualify for a reduced-price lunch, attendance averages 95%, says Dennis Littky, the school's co-principal, and every member of this year's first graduating class of 47 students was accepted into college. Graduation requirements will also change. Today's students typically complete a prescribed regimen of courses to earn their diploma. In the future, sitting through classes will become less important than passing tests designed to measure core competencies. Instead of paper-and-pencil exams, computerized tests will give administrators just-in-time data on how students are doing. That could do away with the standard timetables. ''It may take some students just two years to finish high school, while others may need five to six,'' predicts Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. As computer devices proliferate, every student will also have access to the Internet anytime, anywhere. That will drive an explosion in distance learning, allowing the new smaller high schools ''to offer whatever classes students need, from Chinese to advanced physics,'' predicts Christopher I. Cross, president of the Council for Basic Education. It will also allow students to do far more learning at home. Meanwhile, the Internet will immeasurably enrich courses by allowing students to do everything from taking ''virtual tours'' of places they are studying to forming teams of students from around the world to work on a project. Retooling the nation's high schools won't be easy. ''High schools are one of the most entrenched and revered institutions in their communities,'' warns John Chubb, chief education officer at Edison Schools, the nation's largest operator of for-profit schools, ''and for them to change radically would mean huge change for the whole community.'' True enough. But there's also widespread recognition that America can no longer afford to preserve a system of learning designed for a world that has disappeared. By William C. Symonds PAMELA SPARKS 70 Carla Baker 70 wrote: I saw in the obituaries last week in the Sacramento Bee that Pamela Sparks, Encina class of 1970 died on August 9, 2000. I don't know any details but donations may be made in her name to the Sacramento SPCA 6201 Florin Perkins Road, Sacto., CA 95828. Note that Encina has two Pamela Sparks, and this is not Pamela Sparks Nielsen 85. SUSAN STOFFEL 78 Richard Stoffel 80 wrote that Susan Stoffel 78 passed away recently. RUDY MINNICK 62 Kathie Kloss Marynik 67 found this bio on the Sacramento Bee website: RUDY MINNICK LEADER OF RECREATION PROGRAMS Publication Date: August 18, 1991 Source: The Sacramento Bee Page: B9 Obituary: Rudy Minnick, a Sacramento city recreation leader whose speciality was working with handicapped and senior citizens, is dead at age 47 of leukemia. For the past 12 years, Mr. Minnick had been local games director for the Special Olympics, a program for the developmentally disabled. He was the founder and director of ACT (Ability to Compete Together), a program for physically disabled youngsters. And this year, in conjunction with Little League District 7, he organized Challenger Baseball, a program in which physically and developmentally disabled youngsters played on Little League teams, according to city recreation superintendent Alan Boyd. "He was a caring, committed and `can do' sort of guy," Boyd recalled Saturday night. "He was excellent in organizing big events and enlisting the aid of private clubs and service groups. "And he was extremely successful in soliciting donations from corporate groups to help support the Special Olympics and ACT. He will be missed." A native of Sacramento who graduated from Encina High School in 1962, Mr. Minnick learned only three months ago that he was suffering from leukemia. He died Thursday. He served four years as an Air Force enlisted man before attending California State University, Sacramento, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physical education, his father Jim Minnick said. Mr. Minnick then joined the Sacramento Department of Parks and Community Development. He was a former director of the Senior Citizens Center, a city-operated facility at 915 27th St. In addition to his father, Mr. Minnick is survived by his mother, Mary Minnick of Sacramento; and a sister, Susan Tracy of Grass Valley. BRENT WELCH 74 This is fabulous! Renee Welch Wojnowski 72 wrote: As I write this my brother BRENT WELCH class of '74 is sitting at the Democratic convention! He is a dead ringer for the current VP. Such a lookalike that he is an Al Gore impersonator. He even has a webpage www.goreimpersonator.com The resemblance is uncanny! No onew ever suspected that he would rise to such heights after handcuffing Frau Kojima to a garbage can as a freshman. So for all of those who missed seeing him at the reunion in a three peice suit, check him out as the VP/Presidential Candidate. ( Not a political endorsement for anyone! ) Brent Welch 74 wrote: It has been a wild rocket ship of a ride the past few days. I am working with a Bill Clinton impersonator, a GW Bush impersonator and a Jesse Ventura impersonator. We have been creating a lot of fun here at the Democratic convention. We have spent most of our time at the LA convention center where the media is located. But we have also been to the Staples center where all the political action is. I've met some famous and not so famous politicians and have had my picture taken more times than I can count. I've had people on the street yell, " hey Al!". I've had some guy who was really upset about some issue start yelling at me and saying how being a democrat means you are from hell itself. By the way, this in no way endorsed Mr. Gore for ofice. I stay strictly NON political when it comes to my personal political beliefs with this. I have been asked what my real political views are and I deflect the question. It's not relevant, since this is entertainment. As I write this, I'm getting ready to go up to LA and have breakfast with some group of delegates and then on to a promo and interview with some dot com company. What a trip. I'll write a more complete "What I did on my summer vacation" esay later. bye all, Brent BIOS Just a few of the interesting bios which have been submitted in the past few weeks. HANS-RUEDI HERTIG 70 Occupation: Executive Director Bio: Graduated from University of St.Gallen (Switzerland, married Brigitte Bohnet in 1983, children Gabriela (1987) and Mirjam (1988), held marketing and management positions in industrial manufacturing and IT, actually responsible for the project and consulting business in Switzerland's largest marketing research company IHA GfM. Trivia: AFS Student from Switzerland at Encina in 1969/'70, stayed with the Alan V. Levy's (see host sister's Sue Joslin-Levy's bio in class '76). The relationship between the Hertig-Bohnet-Zürcher's is in its 31st year with numerous visits by a number of sisters, brothers, parents, in laws, etc. With Sue Joslin-Levy's and my own children this relationship goes into it's 3rd generation! The Alan V. Levy's are frequent visitors, we have benn visiting with the Sue Joslin-Levy's and Russ Levy living in Seattle. Many of my friends at Encina have been visitors and I have met many of them in Sacramento and also UC Davies on numerous visits with my family. We continuously keep in touch (including visits)with the Mark Syftestad's still living in Sacramento. I have also stayed in touch with former teacher Sandy Hunt and met vice principal John Basset and teachers Rees Lee and John Tracy. We travel to the U.S. about once per year particularly since sister in law Iris Bohnet is teaching at Harvard University, formerly U.C. Berkeley. Friends: Besides the class of '70 many friends were also from host brother Ken Levy's class of '71 and neighbours. I warmly remember Michaela Allen, Leslie Burpo, Eric Mandel, Dave Levin, Valerie Russel, Mark Syftestad an man y others. I would like to find out what ever happened to Valerie Russell. Hobbies: Politics, Economic Policy, Historical Biogrphies, Nature, Skiing, Travelling Kids: Gabriela (1987)is an aspiring synchro swimmer,among the top 20 of her age group. Mirjam (1989) is state champion in the 60 / 80 meters track. Both girls have travelled extensively with us in the U.S. with most memorable experiences the viewing of mustangs in SE Oregon and the yearly stay in Florida during October. They do well in school. Blond and tall as they are - like their mother - they charm everbody. Memorable_teachers: Rees Lee and John Tracy for their ability to link the American past to contemporary politcs, Pauline de Gooyer for not only teaching me how to speak English but how to speak at all, Sandy Hunt for making me feel most welcome and at ease at Encina every day. Favorite_memory: Excellent teachers and bright and ambitious friends Story: This bio is dedicated to Ken Levy, class of '71, who was a most prominent young political leader when it was god's will to take him away from us in 1980. Ken will be in our memories forever. Heard_about_website_from: From Debi Wurdack-Connell RICHARD FRANCIS 85 Occupation: Retail Sales Management Bio: Attended ARC for about....3 weeks, taking art and english classes. Ended up taking a job in retail at PayLess Drug in North Sacramento (Del Paso Blvd. & El Camino Ave.! aka "The War Zone.") Stayed there from May of '87 until October of '92 when I was offered a opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a new graphic design company. Unfortunately, that crashed and burned and I returned to Pay Less. In June of 1996 I, (after much foot dragging), went into management as a supervisor. In July of that same year my wife (who I had met at the store in 1990,) and I moved our family out of Sacramento and put down new roots in Newport, Oregon which is a little town right on the coast. I secured a transfer to the Pay Less store in Newport as a supervisor and was much alarmed when the company was bought straight out by Rite Aid paharmacy in December of 1996. We stuck to it and I accepted promotion to Assistant Manager in June of 1998. My greatest "doings" since graduation was meeting and marrying my lovely wife Marcella. When we met she had recently divorced and was raising her two young daughters. Together, we created two more girls and now I have a housefull! Trivia: Lance Ballance and I created "The Skippyheads" sophomore year in Mr. Botello's photo class. It was a sloppy comic strip starring a bunch of the guys we hung around with at school. 15+ years later ( on and wayyy off!) I'm still at it. We flunked photo, by the way. The strips, for the most part, are sloppy and unpublishable. I did, however, sit down late last year and started a brand new one that I've been actually taking some time at doing. I'm up to about 170 newspaper type "dailies." When I get about a years' worth I may submit them. Who knows? Friends: Lance Ballance, James Kevin Harding, Jay Davis, Andy Greene, Mike Ward, Donald Earl Avis. I have managed to stay in very close contact with Lance & Jim, (we were in each others' weddings,) and have had contact with Jay, Andy and Mike. Mr. Avis went into the Air Force and was never seen again (!) Hobbies: If the weather's nice we're down at the beach (which is around the corner and down the street...no kidding!) I do try do draw a little each day (sometime's at work ;) ) but most of the time my wife and I are running around taking care of our 4 daughters. Kids: My step-daughters are Loretta Jean (12 years old,)and Amanda Christine (10 years old.) They were joined by Samantha Tyler in 1994 who is 6 now, and, our baby, Karina Robin, who was born in 1996, a month before we moved to Oregon. Grade_school: Cottage Elementary Grade_school_friends: Stacey Wallace, Andy Greene and Mary Mackintosh from kindergarten on. 6th grade was the best though. Mr. Hagwood's. Stacey, Andy, Jeff Watson, John Nikelwicz, Mike Turner, Rich O'Brien, John Golden, Mike Turner, Derek Cabaniss, Vicki Clift, Laura Albright, Ann Duane, Sally Howard, Susan Spencer and Roger "Rodgie Dodgie" Allen. I was "Moose" on our "Mean Machine" football team. Great memories. Junior_high: Howe Avenue. Junior_high_friends: Andy Greene, Jay Davis, James Kevin Harding, Mike Ward, Andy Budlong. Memorable_teachers: Mr. Chambers, art class. Started off each class by telling everyone to "take a tranquilizer and get yer coffee and doughnuts and settle down." Mr. Dahlin in ceramics who warned everyone not to make "anything, and he meant anything that even closley resembled a pipe or bong." Mr. Rollins, who looked up "geek" in the dictionary because he kept hearing it in class. Upon finding it he read aloud the definition, and loudly agreed that he had several "geeks" in his class. Senior year: Mr. Adan, the new art teacher. Gave me the most profound and guiding words, "Don't be a Zit." Favorite_memory: Lots...Andy Greene, in the aforementioned ceramics class, asking the substitute teacher for a pass because he was ill. She refused because she thought he was bluffing and he promptly threw up all over the table. Jeff Watson and crew doing "The Love Machine" at one of the Air band competitions. Lance Ballance mooning our P.E. coach and getting caught doing it. And many, many more. Story: Umm...I just did. I do have a regret that I was mostly a non-contribitor. I even skipped our 10 year reunion on the basis that the people I hung around with in school (Lance, Jim etc.) were the same ones I had stayed in very close contact with. Oh, well. Heard_about_website_from: Lance "Hot Rod" Ballance MARTHA DWYER 70 Occupation: Independent Bookstore Owner Bio: The college years for me involved lots of experimentation and changing my mind. I attended UCDavis, UC Santa Cruz, and Monterey Pacific College before graduating from Davis in 1977 with an elementary teaching credential. I married a man 2 years older than myself named Fred Peterson, who grew up in South San Francisco. He studied vineyard management at Davis and we moved to the Salinas Valley for his first winery job. I taught 2nd grade there until our first child was born, Ben, now age 20. We had two other children: Jamie, 19 and Emily, 16. Fred's first fun winery position was in Saratoga near San Jose where he became not only vineyard manager but also winemaker for a little winery called Mount Eden Vineyards. I also did some winery work during that time. While the 2 baby boys slept, I managed the books, paid the bills, etc. Sometimes the first baby would sit in his jumper while we did the labelling. When they were 2 and 3 years old, we moved to Sonoma County where Fred was offered a job managing a large amount of vineyard acreage for the venture capitalist (of Apple Computer), Bill Hambrecht. We also got to design and build a house on the vineyard property as part of the job. I put a lot of work into the building of the house (painting and staining wordwork, choosing flooring, fixtures, tiles; working with sub-contractors). I also worked at the kid's preschool to save money on tuition and because I enjoyed teaching. When my daughter was born, I stopped working in the classroom but continued to work on the board of directors of the school, serving as president for one term. Then when she was 2 years old, I ws ready for a new challenge and to go back to work. I couldn't imagine teaching all day and having anything left for my kids when I got home so I ventured into new territory. With the financial help of my husband's boss I opened a bookstore in 1986 on the plaza in Healdsburg where we still live. The bookstore is successful with 8 employees and a beloved bookstore cat, Dorothy. See www.toyonbooks.com . In this same year, my husband Fred and I split up. I found my true lifemate in a man named Chip Wendt with whom I now have a 4th child, Taliesen (called Tal or Tali), age 9. Chip is a poet and book publisher. We both love music and art and together we edit our town's arts council newsletter which comes out quarterly. Trivia: I sold a silk screen print I had made in a junior college class at a local art show for $200. Friends: Marlene Morsey, Cheryl La Cornu, Valerie Tamburi, Rose Shellooe, Craig Sarmento, Kay Harden, John Daniels, Mary Reddick, Sharon Vroman, Mike Cisneros, and many, many others all of whom I have lost contact with except Kay and Rose as they live in the same neck of the woods as myself. (and I just wrote to Cheryl thanks to this great web site) Hobbies: I love music and sing in our community chorus (see www.healdsburgchamber.org and go to Healdsburg Community Chorus link). My husband plays acoustic guitar, currently studying flamenco, and we both love Hawaiian music. We just spent a month on Maui in a big house near the beach with all our kids and their friends and our family and friends. We love the outdoors and do some hiking, surfing, swimming. Kids: Ben Peterson is 20 and has completed one year of college at Humboldt State University. Next year he will take a year off to work with Americorps probably working with children at which is he talented. He likes sports like basketball, weight lifting, and rock climbing and he is exceptionally tall and handsome. He enjoys working in the bookstore. Jamie Peterson is 19 and has also completed one year of college at Humboldt State (though just barely). Jamie loves to read and chooses very intelligently from literature and philosophy. He is a good rock climber and likes mountain biking and travel adventures. He just started a bus boy job at the classy Chateau Souvereign Winery Restaurant where he makes great tips. He also works for his dad at his dad's winery, Peterson Winery. He hopes to travel this year and will probably go to Australia and New Zealand where his dad has winery friends who can give him a "crush" job during their harvest in January. He is also very tall and handsome. Emily Peterson is 16 and will begin her junior year at Healdsburg High. She is a better than average student and plays varsity volleyball. She is quite beautiful and is developing her singing voice by taking voice lessons. She also enjoys acting. She has lots of friends and since she started working this summer at her step-mom's busy bakery, I hardly see her. She will be joined this year by another girl in the household as we are taking in a foreign exchange student from Germany, also a 16 year old girl. And finally, we have Taliesen Wendt, age 9 who attends Waldorf Summerfield School and Farm in Sebastopol. Tali (whose name is Welsh and means "shining brow") is a very happy and talented soul. He excels in karate which he has studied since age 4. He also loves soccer. He's exceptional in art and loves all kinds of games which he does for hours on end with his father, stuff like dungeons and dragons, and magic the gathering, to mention only a few. We have also had one niece and one nephew live with us over the last few years. Julia, age 27, my sister's daughter, and Roy, age 28, my brother's son both grew up in Berkeley and came here in their 20's to work at the bookstore and found other things to do in the community. Julia is married to an Irishman and lives back in Berkeley now. Roy is saving to move back there again soon after the last 3 years here. Grade_school: Creekside (K-2), Howe (3 ) and Pope Ave. (4-6) Grade_school_friends: Lex Anne Lester and Wendy Burke. Also Robert Hendrickson and Robert McLaughlin Junior_high: Howe Ave. Junior_high_friends: Marlene Morsey and Lex Anne Lester. Also Steve Sanchez. Memorable_teachers: I loved Sandy Hunt. She was so daring and experimental. We got to do role playing in sociology class. (we even HAD a sociology class, which our rinky-dink high school in Healdsburg can't do). Also appreciated Mrs.Whitman who let me use a Bob Dylan poem for an English class assignment. Ironically (since I now own a bookstore), I hated English and this helped me cope. I also liked Gary Pruner though (and maybe because) he was confusing to me at times. Mr. Rollins was memorable but I think that was because he didn't like me since I didn't take history seriously at the time and was usually talking or writing notes. Favorite_memory: First thing that comes to mind is an experience of doing a songleading routine at a basketball game while stoned. Hmm.. it made the smiling part easy but remembering the steps became a bit more challenging. Story: Kay Harden, who was a friend in high school, but also my roomate at Davis my first year of college, lives north of me in the town of Fortuna, near Arcata (Humboldt State Univ.). We have visited each other briefly in the last few years and write email occasionally. Recently on a visit to my son's college, I picked up a local arts newsletter. Upon scanning it I discovered Kay's name and listing for her gallery in Eureka. I also ran into her picture in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat recently because she was part of a hike they were covering for some environmental issue. Small world this north coast. TANYA MONIER 90 Occupation: (currently) copywriter in marketing division of iVillage.com Bio: (sorry, everyone, this is kind of long). I think getting away from Sacramento was my primary goal. After graduation, Haley Fojut and I took a 2 month backpacking trip around Europe. Afterward, I finished my general coursework at Sac City, took another 6 month detour in Paris and backpacking around Europe again. Then I finished my BA in English at UC Santa Barbara, where I met my future husband in UCSB's incredible Middle East Ensemble. I applied to a bunch of grad schools as a self-dare, and I got a full fellowship to Columbia University in Manhattan. So, I followed the money.... Did very well, got my MA in Literature in 1996, got involved in the grad school version of student government. But *hated* isolation of academia, and the noise and filth of Manhattan, so I got a teaching transfer to Germany for 1997-1998. While there, Dan Eliason, now my best friend and husband, decided to cross the world to be with me, and we did some more traveling (for two weeks, with my parents! Those who remember my parents should feel as shocked as I did that they didn't kill me). When we came back to the States, we moved in together in a town about 20 miles north of Manhattan on the Hudson River called Tarrytown and married in Sacramento on July 10, 1999. About the same time, I realized that I had a classic case of reading burnout, so I am taking an indefinite break from school. Got a job to pay some bills for the first time in my life. Dan and I are about to move into our first house in a little village called Sleepy Hollow; if you saw the Tim Burton movie, you've heard of the place. But it's so much better than that.... Trivia: Oh man. Published a few travel stories. Traveled for two months with a broken wrist (no cast) and a 50 lb. backpack... I'm the aunt of beautiful twin girls... other stuff. Friends: Best friends: Deanna Narvaez, Pat Gray, Adam McChane, Denyce Bellinger, Vanessa Watts (where the hell did she go?), Haley Fojut, Cher Michael, Corinne McLuckie (class of '88), Ann Hovie (class of '89), Daljit Bains (didn't graduate with us), Wednesday Pease, Nikki Turner: many others who were very good to me and I don't mean to leave you off the list. I've been lucky to keep up with most, and because of this site and Denyce's superb efforts to get everyone in touch for the reunion, I have been abe to reconnect with a few, like James Bui and Jinne Webb. (Carrie Giarrita, where did you go?) But I tell you, I will pay a reward to find out what happened to Vanessa Watts. Hobbies: Hiking, movies, refinishing old wood furniture, travel. (was reading; hope it will be again.) Kids: no kids, yet. Now that my mom's got grandbabies, she's giving us a break. Grade_school: Sierra Oaks Grade_school_friends: Joumana Shoman (sp?) and Hayley Junior_high: Jonas Salk Junior_high_friends: Hayley, Mandy Moore, others Memorable_teachers: Mrs. Lord, for making us us think critically and forcing us to be accountable for what we thought, said, and did in her classroom - we needed more teachers like her. Mr. Adan, with his dark glasses, shouting, "Dragon feces!" at us every day. Favorite_memory: lots of good ones. Story: Saw Adan at a coffee shop two or three years ago; he looked great! Pat Gray's finishing his time in the Army (intelligence); he married a beautiful, smart woman named Megan who I got to meet last New Year's in San Diego (Tracy, I wish we knew you were there). Deanna's married to a wonderful man named Troy Kendall. Cher's also married a wonderful man, Tony Paro, and they have a gorgeous baby boy, Davis; she's becoming a lawyer (right on, woman!). Pat, Deanna, Cher, if I can fill this thing out, I think you should, too. Sibling_info: Vivian Monier (now Vivian Chase) - class of 1984. vchase@sungrowers.com Alumni_in_contact: Deanna Narvaez Kendall, Pat Gray, Nikki Turner, Cher Michael-Paro, Ann Hovie ('89), Corinne McLuckie ('88), Derek Schujahn (sometimes; '91), Denyce Bellinger, Jinne Webb Heard_about_website_from: stumbled into it DEREK SCHUJAHN 91 Occupation: Campus Ministry Bio: Back in high school, I never imagined that I would ever end up doing what I do today. I was planning on becoming a rich and famous professional baseball player who flew a private airplane during my time off, and I was on track to meet my dreams when we all graduated from Encina. I moved to Los Angeles to play baseball and study aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California. In about one month's time however, something happened that suddenly, drastically, and permanently changed my life and my priorities forever...I became a Christian. (Yikes!) I never grew up in church, so I had no idea what kind of life might lie ahead. All I knew is that I would never be the same after surrendering everything to God. I mention all this because I soon switched my major to philosophy and religion, began preparing for campus ministry, and eventually retired from collegiate baseball. Directly after graduating from USC in 1995, my wife and I got married (we met during college) and we both went into college campus ministry, specifically at USC in Los Angeles. In September of 1999, we moved to North Carolina to work with several of our local college campus ministries (Duke, UNC, etc.) in the Raleigh-Durham area. (I had never really heard much about this part of the country except from that movie "Bull Durham".) Presently, my wife and I spend most of our time with international students in our ministry. Even though I never did play pro baseball or learn to fly a plane (yet), this adventure of a life gets more exciting every day, and I only have one major regret...that I didn't surrender my life to Jesus sooner. No, my life isn't problem-free, and it is far from "perfect" (school loans are a constant reminder of that!), but it is more fulfilling than I ever expected. Trivia: I've had the chance to travel to China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. Also, I'm presently learning Mandarin Chinese. Friends: Seth Lombardy, Chris Cheng, John Meckfessel, Niki Panella, Mina Hamilton, Tanya Monier ('90) Unfortunately, I've lost touch with just about everyone from Encina. Hobbies: Reading, traveling, learning about other cultures, languages, and especially eating international food! Kids: Our only son, Joshua, was born in April of 1999. He's presently 16 month's old, and he enjoys drooling, running, and stealing other kids' toys (we're working on that.) Memorable_teachers: Ginny Grossenbacher (English) was my favorite teacher because she treated us like people with a bright future. Not that the other teachers didn't, but she truly believed in her students. Also, she gave me a good grade even though I didn't think I deserved it. I also liked Mr. Dutton (Math) just because he was a good teacher, even though most of us gave him a hard time every now and then. Favorite_memory: Without a doubt, it was when we ended our infamous 28-game losing streak (in football) against Mira Loma in the fall of 1990. The whole football team felt like we won the superbowl! Heard_about_website_from: Browsing Around INTERNET APPLIANCE From the August 17 Wall Street Journal, the latest cool internet appliance from Compaq, for those internet deprived friends and relatives who don't want the complications of a PC in their life... New Internet Appliance May Challenge the PC By Walter S. Mossberg COMPAQ AND MICROSOFT -- like the rest of the computer industry -- for years scoffed at the very idea of simple, cheap Internet appliances that might challenge the PC. This week, they teamed up to introduce just such a device. Well, better late than never. Their new Compaq iPAQ Home Internet Appliance is a solid and worthy first effort. It lets you roam the Web, and send and receive e-mail, with most of the functionality -- but none of the complexity and aggravation -- of a full-fledged PC. And it costs as little as $199, plus $22 a month for Internet access. Compaq built the hardware, but the device runs on Microsoft software and connects to the Internet exclusively via Microsoft's MSN Internet service, though you can use it to reach any site on the Web, not just Microsoft's proprietary sites. There aren't any files, folders, commands or menus to figure out. There's no hard disk to crash. It's sort of a TV set for the Internet. I'VE BEEN TESTING this new Internet appliance in the breakfast room off my kitchen, and have been pretty pleased with its performance. It's the best desktop Internet appliance I've seen. Some features are missing, but these can be added in future software upgrades automatically transmitted to the machine as they are developed. Even in its present state, I can recommend the Compaq appliance to anyone who'd like to get online but doesn't want or need a PC. Compaq's new iPAQ Home Internet Appliance The all-white appliance looks like an inverted laptop, with the base containing the electronics lying behind the screen, not in front. The wireless keyboard has a solid feel and contains lots of special Web navigation keys. There's no separate mouse, but a pointing device is built into the keyboard. The 10-inch flat-panel screen is bright and vivid, and text and graphics are pleasing to the eye. The whole thing fit neatly on my counter without looking out of place. Setup is speedy and easy. You just plug in the electrical and telephone cords, tell the machine your area code, and it dials in. After that, every time you want to use it, the machine starts up immediately, unlike a PC, and instantly dials into the Internet via MSN. It also shuts down instantly with the touch of a button. This first model can only connect to the Net using a dial-up phone connection. But Compaq and Microsoft plan to offer high-speed DSL service for the appliances, probably in a few months. They say buyers of these first units will be able to upgrade their service plans and hardware to DSL. I tested the Compaq Internet appliance on a wide range of Web sites and with different types of e-mail, and it handled almost everything quite well. Unlike other Internet appliances I've tried, this one can display all kinds of e-mail attachments, including Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, and every common type of graphics or photo file. But you can't edit or create such documents, just view them. On the Web, I successfully used scores of sites, all of which looked fine on the small screen. I bought a book at Amazon, refilled a prescription at CVS.com, checked my 401k at Fidelity, played MP3 music clips, and watched Windows Media video clips. I viewed photos stored in online albums, and even retrieved e-mail from the Web-based e-mail services provided by Microsoft rivals America Online and Yahoo. Overall, the speed was acceptable, similar to the speed of PCs. THE SOLE PRINTER certified to run with the unit is the $99 Epson Stylus 740. It connected quickly, and printed most of the text and graphics screens I tried, with just the touch of the Compaq's "print" button. This product, however, has some important limitations the companies should fix. The worst one is that the Compaq appliance can't handle Web sites that depend on the Java programming language, or use audio and video files created with RealNetworks technology. These limitations, and others, meant I couldn't sample CD selections on Amazon, or check my bank and brokerage accounts online. Also, the e-mail function is primitive. You can't sort e-mail into folders, create group e-mail addresses, or compose e-mail offline. What's more, you can only have one online account, so family members can't keep their own e-mail and Web favorites. Documents and large photos attached to e-mail can't be printed. And you can't customize the home page. The companies say they plan to fix many of these problems in a second version of the software, planned for December or January, that will be automatically uploaded to all the machines. Pricing on the appliance is complicated. Nominally, it's $599, but nobody will pay that because you get a rebate with your required MSN subscription. A three-year subscription carries a $400 rebate, bringing the price to $199. For two years you get $200 off, and for one year you get $100. Still, this is a good product that I wouldn't hesitate to use, or to buy as a gift. And it will only improve over time. HUMOR Lou DeCosta 66 sent me this gem: Conan O'Brien was invited to be the Class Day speaker at Harvard University on Wednesday, June 7th, 2000. Hopefully, the following speech will be an inspiration to all graduates, past or present, or anyone else who needs a job: I'd like to thank the Class Marshals for inviting me here today. The last time I was invited to Harvard it cost me $110,000, so you'll forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious. I'd like to announce up front that I have one goal this afternoon: to be half as funny as tomorrow's Commencement Speaker, Moral Philosopher and Economist, Amartya Sen. I must get more laughs than seminal wage/price theoretician. Students of the Harvard Class of 2000, fifteen years ago I sat where you sit now and I thought exactly what you are now thinking: What's going to happen to me? Will I find my place in the world? Am I really graduating a virgin? I still have 24 hours and my roommate's Mom is hot. I swear she was checking me out. Being here today is very special for me. I miss this place. I especially miss Harvard Square - it's so unique. No where else in the world will you find a man with a turban wearing a Red Sox jacket and working in a lesbian bookstore. Hey, I'm just glad my dad's working. It's particularly sweet for me to be here today because when I graduated, I wanted very badly to be a Class Day Speaker. Unfortunately, my speech was rejected. So, if you'll indulge me, I'd like to read a portion of that speech from fifteen years ago: "Fellow students, as we sit here today listening to that classic Ah-Ha tune which will definitely stand the test of time, I would like to make several predictions about what the future will hold: "I believe that one day a simple Governor from a small Southern state will rise to the highest office in the land. He will lack political skill, but will lead on the sheer strength of his moral authority." "I believe that Justice will prevail and, one day, the Berlin Wall will crumble, uniting East and West Berlin forever under Communist rule." "I believe that one day, a high speed network of interconnected computers will spring up world-wide, so enriching people that they will lose their interest in idle chit-chat and pornography." "And finally, I believe that one day I will have a television show on a major network, seen by millions of people a night, which I will use to re-enact crimes and help catch at-large criminals." And then there's some stuff about the death of Wall Street which I don't think we need to get into.... The point is that, although you see me as a celebrity, a member of the cultural elite, a kind of demi-god, I was actually a student here once much like you. I came here in the fall of 1981 and lived in Holworthy. I was, without exaggeration, the ugliest picture in the Freshman Face book. When Harvard asked me for a picture the previous summer, I thought it was just for their records, so I literally jogged in the August heat to a passport photo office and sat for a morgue photo. To make matters worse, when the Face Book came out they put my picture next to Catherine Oxenberg, a stunning blonde actress who was accepted to the class of '85 but decided to defer admission so she could join the cast of "Dynasty." My photo would have looked bad on any page, but next to Catherine Oxenberg, I looked like a mackerel that had been in a car accident. You see, in those days I was six feet four inches tall and I weighed 150 pounds. Recently, I had some structural engineers run those numbers into a computer model and, according the computer, I collapsed in 1987, killing hundreds in Taiwan. After freshman year I moved to Mather House. Mather House, incidentally, was designed by the same firm that built Hitler's bunker. In fact, if Hitler had conducted the war from Mather House, he'd have shot himself a year earlier. 1985 seems like a long time ago now. When I had my Class Day, you students would have been seven years old. Seven years old. Do you know what that means? Back then I could have beaten any of you in a fight. And I mean bad. It would be no contest. If any one here has a time machine, seriously, let's get it on, I will whip your seven year old butt. When I was here, they sold diapers at the Coop that said "Harvard Class of 2000." At the time, it was kind of a joke, but now I realize you wore those diapers. How embarrassing for you. A lot has happened in fifteen years. When you think about it, we come from completely different worlds. When I graduated, we watched movies starring Tom Cruise and listened to music by Madonna. I come from a time when we huddled around our TV sets and watched "The Cosby Show" on NBC, never imagining that there would one day be a show called "Cosby" on CBS. In 1985 we drove cars with driver's side airbags, but if you told us that one day there'd be passenger side airbags, we'd have burned you for witchcraft. But, of course, I think there is some common ground between us. I remember well the great uncertainty of this day. Many of you are justifiably nervous about leaving the safe, comfortable world of Harvard Yard and hurling yourself headlong into the cold, harsh world of Harvard Grad School, a plum job at your father's firm, or a year abroad with a gold AmEx card and then a plum job in your father's firm. But let me assure you that the knowledge you've gained here at Harvard is a precious gift that will never leave you. Take if from me, your education is yours to keep forever. Why, many of you have read the Merchant of Florence, and that will inspire you when you travel to the island of Spain. Your knowledge of that problem they had with those people in Russia, or that guy in South America--you know, that guy--will enrich you for the rest of your life. There is also sadness today, a feeling of loss that you're leaving Harvard forever. Well, let me assure you that you never really leave Harvard. The Harvard Fundraising Committee will be on your ass until the day you die. Right now, a member of the Alumni Association is at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery shaking down the corpse of Henry Adams. They heard he had a brass toe ring and they aims to get it. Imagine: these people just raised 2.5 billion dollars and they only got through the B's in the alumni directory. Here's how it works. Your phone rings, usually after a big meal when you're tired and most vulnerable. A voice asks you for money. Knowing they just raised 2.5 billion dollars you ask, "What do you need it for?" Then there's a long pause and the voice on the other end of the line says, "We don't need it, we just want it." It's chilling. What else can you expect? Let me see, by your applause, who here wrote a thesis. (APPLAUSE) A lot of hard work, a lot of your blood went into that thesis... and no one is ever going to care. I wrote a thesis: Literary Progeria in the works of Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. Let's just say that, during my discussions with Pauly Shore, it doesn't come up much. For three years after graduation I kept my thesis in the glove compartment of my car so I could show it to a policeman in case I was pulled over. (ACT OUT) License, registration, cultural exploration of the Man Child in the Sound and the Fury... So what can you expect out there in the real world? Let me tell you. As you leave these gates and re-enter society, one thing is certain: Everyone out there is going to hate you. Never tell anyone in a roadside diner that you went to Harvard. In most situations the correct response to where did you to school is, "School? Why, I never had much in the way of book larnin' and such." Then, get in your BMW and get the hell out of there. You see, you're in for a lifetime of "And you went to Harvard?" Accidentally give the wrong amount of change in a transaction and it's "And you went to Harvard?" Ask the guy at the hardware store how these jumper cables work and hear, "And you went to Harvard?" Forget just once that your underwear goes inside your pants and it's "and you went to Harvard." Get your head stuck in your niece's dollhouse because you wanted to see what it was like to be a giant and it's "Uncle Conan , you went to Harvard!?" But to really know what's in store for you after Harvard, I have to tell you what happened to me after graduation. I'm going to tell you my story because, first of all, my perspective may give many of you hope, and, secondly, it's an amazing rush to stand in front of six thousand people and talk about yourself. After graduating in May, I moved to Los Angeles and got a three week contract at a small cable show. I got a $380 a month apartment and bought a 1977 Isuzu Opel, a car Isuzu only manufactured for a year because they found out that, technically, it's not a car. Here's a quick tip, graduates: no four cylinder vehicle should have a racing stripe. I worked at that show for over a year, feeling pretty good about myself, when one day they told me they were letting me go. I was fired and, I hadn't saved a lot of money. I tried to get another job in television but I couldn't find one. So, with nowhere else to turn, I went to a temp agency and filled out a questionnaire. I made damn sure they knew I had been to Harvard and that I expected the very best treatment. And so, the next day, I was sent to the Santa Monica branch of Wilson's House of Suede and Leather. When you have a Harvard degree and you're working at Wilson's House of Suede and Leather, you are haunted by the ghostly images of your classmates who chose Graduate School. You see their faces everywhere: in coffee cups, in fish tanks, and they're always laughing at you as you stack suede shirts no man, in good conscience, would ever wear. I tried a lot of things during this period: acting in corporate infomercials, serving drinks in a non-equity theatre, I even took a job entertaining at a seven year olds' birthday party. In desperate need of work, I put together some sketches and scored a job at the fledgling Fox Network as a writer and performer for a new show called "The Wilton North Report." I was finally on a network and really excited. The producer told me the show was going to revolutionize television. And, in a way, it did. The show was so hated and did so badly that when, four weeks later, news of its cancellation was announced to the Fox affiliates, they burst into applause. Eventually, though, I got a huge break. I had submitted, along with my writing partner, a batch of sketches to Saturday Night Live and, after a year and a half, they read it and gave us a two week tryout. The two weeks turned into two seasons and I felt successful. Successful enough to write a TV pilot for an original sitcom and, when the network decided to make it, I left Saturday Night Live. This TV show was going to be groundbreaking. It was going to resurrect the career of TV's Batman, Adam West. It was going to be a comedy without a laugh track or a studio audience. It was going to change all the rules. And here's what happened: When the pilot aired it was the second lowest-rated television show of all time. It's tied with a test pattern they show in Nova Scotia. So, I was 28 and, once again, I had no job. I had good writing credits in New York, but I was filled with disappointment and didn't know what to do next. I started smelling suede on my fingertips. And that's when The Simpsons saved me. I got a job there and started writing episodes about Springfield getting a Monorail and Homer going to College. I was finally putting my Harvard education to good use, writing dialogue for a man who's so stupid that in one episode he forgot to make his own heart beat. Life was good. And then, an insane, inexplicable opportunity came my way. A chance to audition for host of the new Late Night Show. I took the opportunity seriously but, at the same time, I had the relaxed confidence of someone who knew he had no real shot. I couldn't fear losing a great job I had never had. And, I think that attitude made the difference. I'll never forget being in the Simpson's recording basement that morning when the phone rang. It was for me. My car was blocking a fire lane. But a week later I got another call: I got the job. So, this was undeniably it: the truly life-alteri ng break I had always dreamed of. And, I went to work. I gathered all my funny friends and poured all my years of comedy experience into building that show over the summer, gathering the talent and figuring out the sensibility. We debuted on September 13, 1993 and I was happy with our effort. I felt like I had seized the moment and put my very best foot forward. And this is what the most respected and widely read television critic, Tom Shales, wrote in the Washington Post: "O'Brien is a living collage of annoying nervous habits. He giggles and titters, jiggles about and fiddles with his cuffs. He had dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit. He's one of the whitest white men ever. O'Brien is a switch on the guest who won't leave: he's the host who should never have come. Let the Late show with Conan O'Brien become the late, Late Show and may the host return to Conan O'Blivion whence he came." There's more but it gets kind of mean. Needless to say, I took a lot of criticism, some of it deserved, some of it ex cessive. And it hurt like you wouldn't believe. But I'm telling you all this for a reason. I've had a lot of success and I've had a lot of failure. I've looked good and I've looked bad. I've been praised and I've been criticized. But my mistakes have been necessary. Except for Wilson's House of Suede and Leather. That was just stupid. I've dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed. Your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve. Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you're desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way. I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon of The Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet, every failure was freeing, and today I'm as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good. So, that's what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over. If it's all right, I'd like to read a little something from just this year: "Somehow, Conan O'Brien has transformed himself into the brightest star in the Late Night firmament. His comedy is the gold standard and Conan himself is not only the quickest and most inventive wit of his generation, but quite possible the greatest host ever." Ladies and Gentlemen, Class of 2000, I wrote that this morning, as proof that, when all else fails, there's always delusion. I'll go now, to make bigger mistakes and to embarrass this fine institution even more. But let me leave you with one last thought: If you can laugh at yourself loud and hard every time you fall, people will think you're drunk. Thank you. WHAT'S NEW 8/23/00: Chris Nielsen 83 update, Tom Spencer 88, Paul Hamby 74 update, Stephanie James 95, Heather Archer 90 bio, Tracy Jones 90, Patricia Finley 71, Tanya Monier 90/bio, Vivian Monier 84, Deanna Narvaez 90, Nikki Turner 90, Corinne McLuckie 88, Derek Schujahn 91, James Bui 90 bio, Jo Anna Hignight 90 bio, Martha Dwyer 70/bio, Joanna Dwyer 62, Jonathon Dwyer 65, Kay Harden 70, Hans-Ruedi Hertig 70/bio, Chris Russ 77 update, Sindy Tobias 02, Susan Hermann 65/bio 8/22/00: Andrew Pawlowski 80, Ray Gonzales 85, Guy Johnson 85, Bobby Trujillo 85, Viki Clift 85 bio, Stephen Walter 74/75, Kim Allison 80, Mark Johnson 81 update, Linda Hoganson 61 update, David Short 77, Greg Hagman 93, James Vassar 65/bio, Regan Calvin 85/86, Kurt Pearsall 74, Deborah Ferguson 80, Vaughn Clements 88, Rebecca Scneder 80/bio, Theresa Scneder 78, Anthony Pelfanio 93, Julee Tepsich 75, Steve Loheit 84, Dave Anderson 85, Vanessa Williams 89, Jennifer Townsend 90 bio, B.J. Chavez 90 bio, Michelle Rinelli 90, Kevin Dowkes 90, Mike Baroni 90, Alex Townsend 91, Robin Fischer 82 bio, Richard Francis 85 bio, Christopher Buhler 91 update, Mark Steinkoenig 77, Margaret Quinn 65, Jim Johns 67 update 8/21/00: Kirstie McCranie 93, Viki Clift 85 update, Steve France 80, Sam Bess 82 update, Darren Boch 84 8/4/00: Colleen Logan 73/bio, Vanessa Pierce 90, Erin Kruger 90 bio, Nisha Browne 02 8/3/00: Leanne Jahnke 90, Jay Johnson 72, David Walter 71, John Walter 69 8/2/00: Elaine Short 74, Viki Katzakian 75, Heather Archer 90, Jennifer Townsend 90, Benito Chavez 90, Steven Mikesell 86 update, Kelly Weninger 85, Dan Bergin 65, Denyce Bellinger 90/bio, Delfino Baeuerlen 96, Scott Brownell 76, Lisa Johnson 81 Don't forget to RSVP for the homecoming party: www.encinahighschool.com/homecoming/homecoming_form.htm and submit your contact information or bio: contact: www.encinahighschool.com/directory/submit_contact.htm bio: www.encinahighschool.com/submit_bio.htm Harlan Lau '73 Encina webmaster www.encinahighschool.com harlan@rambus.com