1990 Milwaukie High School grads find American dream despite tough odds
Published: Saturday, July 31, 2010, 12:00 PM
View full sizeMembers of the Milwaukie High School class of 1990 gather for a casual evening at Macadam's Bar & Grill in Southwest Portland as part of their 20th reunion. A survey of the class five years out of high school in 1995 showed that most had yet to find their footing in life and were still scrambling to complete college or find a stable job.But at least some of those who showed up for the class's 20th reunion in Portland last weekend proved that persistence and hard work still deliver a home, family and middle-class life, even when the odds seemed stacked against them.
In 1995, Milwaukie High graduate Mercedes Cochran Cook, already married with two children, seemed mired too deep in obligations to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Classmate Stacey Baker seemed to have squandered her college degree on a receptionist job for a shoe company, and Jonathan Heiden was scrambling from job to job as he tried to support his wife and daughter.
Today, Cochran Cook is a professional actress, Baker has traveled around the world outfitting athletes for the Olympics, and Heiden has a stable job driving a garbage truck, earning enough to support his family and buy a home.
"I figured out how to make a living doing what I love in Oregon," says Cochran Cook. "I'm pretty proud of that."
A team of Oregonian reporters in 1995 set out to track down graduates of Milwaukie High's class of 1990 to see how well a typical Oregon high school prepared young people for their next stage in life, whether work or college. The team chose Milwaukie because it was, in almost every way,
Twenty years of Japanese American waterfront memorial to civil rights
By Carolina Hidalgo, The Oregonian
July 30, 2010, 11:15AM
On the west bank of the Willamette River, between the Burnside and Steel bridges, stretches a 100-year story. Through poems engraved in granite stones, it chronicles decades of hard work, injustice, new beginnings and, finally, hope. Full story »
Inappropriate post? Alert us.
School district administrators: Just what do they do to earn their pay anyway?
By Wendy Owen, The Oregonian
July 30, 2010, 11:00AM
At budget time, people want to know why school districts don't trim more from the top. Calendars of top schools officials show that they are busy. Full story »
Top 12 administrative salaries for 5 Oregon school districts
By The Oregonian
July 30, 2010, 11:00AM
How the Hillsboro School District's top 12 administrative salaries compare with other districts in Washington County and other districts of like size. Full story »