The Debutant Drop-Out
/My time in high school
Attended high school in the
1960s
Overall high school experience
8/10
Grades in high school
B's and C's
Favorite subjects
English
Struggled with...
Math
Favorite extracurricular
Community Service / Social Activism
Life since high school
“To me, being successful means...
Personal contentment with that choices I’ve made. Enjoying laughter, music, dancing, poetry, museums, concerts and the great outdoors because there is nothing like the weather, flora and fauna we grew up with anywhere else.”
Attended college / university at
San Jose State - flunked then onto Foothill and then onto work in the exciting field of word processing where I became a teacher to secretaries learning new equipment.
Places lived in US
Kentucky, Pennsylvania
Current occupations / past occupations
I taught and sold word processing equipment, real estate, volunteered for many organizations as a fundraiser and took many writing and dancing workshops and many new agey workshops.
Industries I've worked in
- Construction
- Information (e.g. Publishing, Film, Broadcast, Telecommunications, Libraries)
- Real Estate Rental and Leasing
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (e.g. Law, Accounting, Interior Design, Graphic Design, R&D, PR, Advertising, etc.)
- Educational Services
- Other Services (except Public Administration) (e.g. Repair, Salon, Political/Labor orgs, etc.)
- Nonprofit
Did your education prepare you for your career or occupation?
Yes
A little introspection...
To me, being successful means...
Personal contentment with that choices I've made. Enjoying laughter, music, dancing, poetry, museums, concerts and the great outdoors because there is nothing like the weather, flora and fauna we grew up with anywhere else.
My definition of success has changed over time.
Career path equals money equals happiness is no longer a belief! More like a myth!
My greatest accomplishment to date and what I’ve learned from it
Learning to rise above ignorance/hatred/bigotry and find loving wisdom in aging.
My biggest mistake or regret so far and what I’ve learned from it
My biggest mistake was being a boy crazy girl - an experimental girl who got herself pregnant at 16 yet finished high school in a state of denial and then went on to becoming a secret birth mother who lied for the next 25 years until I searched and found my daughter.
An unexpected event that significantly changed my life and how it impacted me
I found a journal kept during the Civil War by my third great grandparents. From there, my research led me to many other discoveries and prompted my sister to write a musical that was performed the weekend after my 50th class reunion! Knowing where you came from is important to know where you are going.
This alumni is open to your questions and follow-ups.
In order to protect anonymity, we will pass along your message and they can choose whether to respond.
My favorite spot in or around Palo Alto
Christmas Tree Lane at Christmas….under Stanford's Eucalyptus Grove
[map pointing to Christmas Tree Lane]
