Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Those 70s Alums

Recently I had some emails out of the blue from two alums who caught me up on their lives since Puget Sound:

Barb Hunter '77 went into the Air Force, work that took her into Desert Storm (the first Gulf War) to the breakup of Yugoslavia, a NATO unit in Turkey, and three years in the UK. Barb is now a contractor in the Air force, managing the military scientist and engineer workforce, "surrounded by these uber-smart kids who are dealing with some awesome future technologies that will continue to change the way we do things...I had no idea the open doors I went through would take me here, but here I am."

Mark Scott '74 also joined the armed forces (army) after graduating, attending the Defense Language School in Monterey. Eventually his work for army intelligence took him into the National Security Agency and to an advanced degree in Strategic Intelligence. Mark wrote that while at the NSA he essentially had a front-row seat at the unraveling of the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc.

Like Barb, Mark emphasized how unpredictable his career path turned out to be. You never really know where that next step will lead you--something good for our students to remember. Uncertainty has its benefits.

Thanks to Barb and Mark for sharing their stories with us. Any other 70s alums who want to chime in?