UHS Turns 40 in 2010

Four of my formative years were spent at University High School, in Irvine, CA. Those of us from Irvine have nicknamed the city various things, such as "the bubble" because of the perfect landscaping that is the signature for the ultimate planned community and because of the year-on-year national ranking as the USA's safest city. But for those of us who endured four years of high school at UHS, it was four years of academic competition, SAT score comparisons, and of course, all the travails of high schoolers - the tumultuous relationships, the parties, the sports, and the off-campus lunch time trips to In-n-Out.

I have fond memories from high school and I still maintain friendships that I made then, so when I found out that Uni was celebrating its 40th anniversary with a Spirit Week and Homecoming Game that included some alumni events, I made a point to be in Irvine to participate.

I only attended the Friday night event, which was an open house of the campus, a pep rally on the field, and an alumni reception in the MPR (multi-purpose room) but it was totally worth it for the entertainment value. I went with my friend Bernard, and thank god we went together. Sadly, we were the only ones from our class there! There were only a few hundred alumni total, so I do hope that more people were able to make the football game on Saturday which was the first game ever hosted at UHS. (We always had to use one of the other high schools stadiums. Even though there isn't a real stadium yet, there are at least bleachers on the field).

Amusingly, Bernard and I were each interviewed for the school paper and yearbook while I chowed down an In-N-Out burger. When asked what advice I would give current students, I answered: "Don't compare SAT scores. No good comes of it!" which was followed by an exemplary conversation between Bernard and I about our scores. See, we are still talking about it today. It's like we have little SAT tattoos with our score as reminders for the rest of our lives. 

Out on the field, I was able to catch a few photos, but most amusingly, I took video clips of each class performing their dance. This is a Spirit Week / Homecoming tradition along with each class decorating a building according to an assigned theme. This year's theme was "the decades," appropriate for celebrating four decades of the high school. I am sure these will mostly only amuse my fellow alumni as it brings back memories, but here goes...

Freshman Class 2000s

Sophomore Class 1990s

Junior Class 1980s


Senior Class 1970s

A final touch to the assembly on the field was the inaugural induction of three alumni into our Hall of Fame. The first three inductees are: Tim Wallach, former MLB player and Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach; Craig Mitchell, a Superior Court Judge in Los Angeles; and of course, Will Ferrell, actor and comedian. Will Ferrell wasn't able to be in Irvine because he is filming in New York, but he made a video for us, which I did capture (although a few seconds in, so it starts with his cast members (Mark Wahlberg, etc talking about him before he appears in the clip).

The hat he is wearing at the end of the video says "Trojan Army" as the UHS mascot are the Trojans!

At the alumni reception, I had a chance to chat with a few former teachers. Here is a photo of me with Mrs. Sorey (still teaching there!) and Mrs. Hollrigel (retired). A few other teachers I spotted were Mrs. Speros, Coach Cunningham, Nick Misserville, Mr. Malin, Mrs. O'Neil, Mrs. Jelnick, and Mr. Davies. Dr. Schmelzer (school principal while were there) also attended.

After not winning anything in the raffle, Bernard and I decided to flee to Houston's for a few adult beverages before calling it a night. I am glad UHS is doing so well, and with the State of California school system doing piss-poor in the national rankings, I am eternally grateful to my parents for being able to raise us in a ridiculously safe city, with ridiculously highly-ranked public schools.