Thank you to Gateway alum AND current parent JoeBen Bevirt (Class of ’85) for speaking to our faculty and alumni yesterday at the Winter Alumni Event. JoeBen shared about his experience at Gateway as well as his career as a mechanical engineer and inventor. Thank you also to the recent alumni who attended yesterday – it was so great to see you and catch up on all that you are doing!

Alumni often come back to enjoy seeing our 8th grade class give their graduation speeches.  Here are some of the alumni at this year’s graduation!

Congratulations to our alumni from the Class of 2008 who are heading off to these colleges in the fall:

Brandeis University, Bryn Mawr College, Cal Poly, SLO, Cal State Stanislaus, Carleton College, Chapman University, Humboldt State University, Loyola University (New Orleans), Middlebury College, Occidental College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Princeton University, San Jose City College, Seattle University, U.C. Santa Cruz, University of Hawaii, University of Oregon, University of Vermont, Washington University (St. Louis), and Willamette University.

Congratulations to Class of 2004 alumni student Vince Giannotti who was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Nepal next year!  Click here to view the recent article written about him in the Santa Cruz Sentinel http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_20850598

Gateway alumna, Sierra Tobin, Class of 2009, returned to Gateway today to speak to the 7th and 8th graders about her trans-formative community service trip to Costa Rica. Sierra spoke eloquently about her experience – ALL in Spanish (very impressive!) and the students had to use their Spanish to ask Sierra about the trip. Muchas Gracias Sierra! What a fun way to practice our language skills.

Genna Brown • PCS • Scripps College
Andrew Clifton • Landmark School • Colby-Sawyer College
Kyle Cohen • Soquel High • UCSB
Reza Dabir • SVHS • St. Mary’s in Moraga
Franny Gardner • SCHS • Whitman College
Broghan Hedges • SCHS • Cabrillo College
Ben Herken  • Georgiana Bruce Kirby High School • Lewis & Clark College
Greg Hill • PCS • Willamette University
Emma Kleck •  SCHS • University of Oregon
Jason Kline • SCHS • Wyotech Mechanical School
Michelle Martinelli • Archbishop Mitty • Emerson College
Luke McKee • Monterey Coast Preparatory High • University of Denver
Sean Mendenhall • SVHS • UCSC
Laura Mortiz • Georgiana Bruce Kirby High School • Cabrillo College
Gus Samios • PCS • Cal Poly SLO
Davis Shubert • PCS • University of Puget Sound
Jonathan Swenson • Georgiana Bruce Kirby High School • Stanford University
Isabel Weisz • PCS • Pitzer College

We recently caught up with alumni Adam Rose (Class of 1996) who lives in LA. Here are some of his reflections on his career to-date and his memories of Gateway School.

“I remember saying during my eighth grade graduation speech that by the time some of us finished college, we still would have spent more years at Gateway than all other schools combined. I was there through three different campuses, but it was always the same great experience. Teachers always encouraged our curiosity and growth, and always found ways to challenge us to do our best. I eventually went to York High School (Monterey) and the University of Southern California (Los Angeles) where I majored in Public Policy, Management, and Planning. Gateway was the foundation for everything.

There were so many excellent teachers at Gateway, it almost seems unfair to single anyone out. There are two, though, who I think had the biggest impact on my life. Dr. Peter Lewis, our principal back then, was very involved with the students and enabled a lot of us to learn beyond the regular curriculum with the special programs. Dan Cohen, who taught my 7th grade class, was able to simultaneously challenge and inspire.  To this day, the single best piece of writing advice I ever received was from Dan. When asked how long an assignment was supposed to be, he said it should be like a girl’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep it interesting! It sounds like simple joke, but it stood the test of time.

I  loved many obvious things about Gateway– like playing knockout on the basketball court at recess or exploring the Life Lab garden. Science and math fairs were always a rewarding challenge. Field trips were usually a fun adventure, whether it was a quick walk to Lighthouse Field or a big schlep to Sacramento or Yosemite. There are so many other memories, like Mr. O’Reagan, the old Irish man, who came to the school on St. Patrick’s Day to tell stories. I still remember the secret word in his Leprechaun story.

As for my career, I’ve had a lot of official titles, but my favorite is one that anybody from Gateway will appreciate: storyteller. Formally, you might call me a journalist … or writer, reporter, blogger, editor, etc. Right now I’m a night editor for the Huffington Post, and before that I covered sports for the Los Angeles Times. Writing is always at the core of what I do, but I’ve also had fun experiences telling stories on national TV and radio programs. My job boils down to something simple: go find interesting things, then tell everybody about it! Along the way I’ve been able to travel all over the country, talk to celebrities, and go to some really cool events (from standing on the sideline during the Rose Bowl to the sitting in the orchestra section at the American Idol finale). There’s plenty of hard work involved (long and late hours, lots of research), but I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Even though I’m constantly “reading,” it’s mostly for work-related research. I wish I had more time to read for fun, which I did a lot at Gateway. Whenever I feel my own writing is in a slump, I reach for an old copy of “By-Line,” which is a collection of Ernest Hemingway’s articles from when he was a reporter (before he started writing fiction). The book is dog-eared and full of pencil marks from where I highlighted my favorite parts. If you’re a writer or want to become one, I think that’s the most important thing you can do — read everything you can from writers you enjoy.”