Melinda Smith

After HS graduation, I went to ASU. While I was there, I started working part time at an IT distribution company in Tempe called MicroAge. I was there on and off throughout the next eight years. My time there really defined what I ended up doing - IT marketing. I finished at ASU and took a three-month trip traveling all over Europe, visiting 14 countries and having an amazing time. In 2000, a company recruited me to work for them in NY - so I made the big move 3000 miles away. About 10 months later, the world changed forever with the events of 9/11. As horrible as it was, I would never trade being here and seeing New Yorkers at their best following that tragedy. I've been here now about 9 years and four different apartments. Although I can say with authority that women do NOT wear their Manolo's and Jimmy Choo's all over the streets of New York, (whatever Carrie Bradshaw said!) I can say unequivocally that it's been a real adventure living in Manhattan. It's a long way from Gilbert, AZ, that is for sure!

I never lost the travel bug that bit hard, and have continued traveling as much as possible. I'll post a few photos of cool sites I've seen, and I have a trip to Egypt coming up in November.

I'm very sorry I couldn't attend the reunion due to a work committment. I've enjoyed looking at the photos. Looks like everyone had fun. And thanks to Marc Chesley and the reunion committee for all of their hard work.

Well, after being ‘forced’ (oh yes, after growing up in the Mesa School System, Mr. and Mrs. Smith were insistent that I go to Gilbert like my sister and brother before me, just because my mom taught there, go figure!) to come to Gilbert my sophomore year, what I thought of initially as punishment quickly turned fun. Thanks to the ladies of our very cool English table in Mr. Vogt’s class (Leah Viarengo, Suzy Willman, Marlo Mannies and I), and meeting people at marching band camp and volleyball camp just before sophomore year started – I made some friends. I even turned Suzy around after she initially wasn’t liking me so much! :) Glad she did too – thanks Suzy!

Over the next three years, most memories center around Marching Band, with buddies Tom Hicks, Marlo and Kit Tullos (grueling summer band camps and trips to California for competition – jeez we rode many miles in the bus!) and being Drum Major my junior and senior years (thanks for the help, Jimmy Jayne!). Also, lots of time spent practicing softball (sorry for TPing your house, Coach McCann!) and volleyball (Coach Boone was NOT happy when we missed our serves.) and a semi-frantic senior year, where I couldn’t even take the required class after being elected to student council because I didn’t have enough hours in the day. Although, if we took all of the hours that Morton and Guggisberg made us write ‘5 paragraph essays’ and added them up, we’d probably get a whole semester out of it! Even A/P Bio with Mr. Dole was sort of fun, even though we had to dissect a poor little stray kitty – Kief Hough, were you my lab partner? I’m sorry for never quitting messing around. And Ray Obolewicz, thanks for walking with me at graduation! You had the most awesome hair. Side note - why can’t anyone find Janni Zaborniak? She grew up in Gilbert!