Alumni an inspiration

Published 1:33 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

SNOQUALMIE – “I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did without the support of the teachers here,” said Joy Hoffman-Baunsgard, a Mount Si High School graduate from the class of 1985. “They all encouraged me to do what I wanted, no matter what it was.”

Hoffman-Baunsgard, who has won numerous national photography awards and operates her own portrait studio, was one of six Mount Si High School alumni honored at the school’s Wildcat Inspiration Network (WIN) Showcase Tuesday, May 21.

WIN was formed in 1993 by parents as a way to show students the many ways of capitalizing on their Mount Si education.

“We are trying to communicate to the young from the old,” said Mount Si Principal Dave Humphrey. “We want to demonstrate that a Mount Si education is worth a lot.”

All of the alumni took time to thank their families and friends, but many personally thanked teachers and administrators at the high school.

The alumni, whose graduation years spanned from 1948 to 1989, shared their own high-school experiences and encouraged the students to keep their career options open.

“When I graduated, my career didn’t exist,” said Curtis Cleven, a 1952 graduate who worked for NASA on various satellite prototypes. “So don’t think that you have to do something now that exists.”

Many of them shared not only their high-school experiences, but gave advice they had gleaned from the world.

“You get paid for eight hours of work, but you get promoted for the rest,” said Jack Kelly, a class of 1948 graduate who worked for Boeing Co. on numerous landmark engineering projects.

Also honored but not present were Hugh Grew of the class of 1971, and Michael Peck of the class of 1989.

Grew went to college in Washington but ended up graduating from New York University with a degree in film. He started out in radio but eventually began producing graphics for televised events such as the Super Bowl and the Grammy Awards.

He now runs his own graphics consulting firm and has won Emmy Awards for his television graphics of the Olympics.

Grew’s sister, Shirley, and his mother, Ruth, were on hand to receive the award for him.

“Hugh said that he feels lucky to have been blessed with what he is doing,” Shirley Grew said. “He said he wanted to tell the students here to realize that anything is possible.”

Since graduating 13 years ago, Peck moved his way up through the ranks of the U.S. military, organizing helicopter operations for top fighting units such as the Navy Seals, the Army Green Berets and the Rangers. He has been trained in everything from bomb disposal to SWAT-team preparation and is presently stationed in South Carolina, helping in the U.S. war on terrorism.

Each alumnus succeeded both away and here at home, but they all made a point of thanking their teachers and recognizing the schools that educated them.

“When you’re 17 or 18 years old and you know everything, you don’t stop to thank these teachers,” said Fritz Ribary, a class of 1971 graduate who has served in the ?military and as mayor of North Bend.

He went on to establish an insurance business and has headed numerous volunteer organizations in the Valley.

“It’s good to be here and say thanks,” Ribary said.