This post is from Valerie Castenon, who gives us some memories and wisdom from her high school experience, and shares about her career trajectory! She also has two great young men for sons. Check out her post, say hello here, then come catch up with Valerie at the reunion!
THEN:
What is your memory of arriving as a freshman at Austin High in 1979?
I don't recall any specific "first memory" of Austin High. I do recall feeling very small. The building was so much larger than O'Henry. I wasn't sure how I would make it to all of my classes on time with so much real estate to cover. It seemed everyone else was so much more mature and sure of themselves!
Although not my first memory, I'll never forget Mrs. Adkins on the first day of Freshman English. She was so prim and proper. It seemed like she stepped out of a 1950s magazine with her heavily starched cotton dress, her hair sprayed white hairdo, and cat eyeglasses (on a chain, I believe). One of the first things she told us was that she didn't like 14-year-olds. She didn't even like her own children when they were 14. And as long as we all understood that, we would get along just fine! Then she smiled broadly and turned heel to face the board. I recall everyone in the room looking at each with bug eyes! WHAT IN THE WORLD had we gotten ourselves into?!?!?! It turned out she was the nicest woman, but she got control of her classroom very quickly with that tactic. Clearly it wasn't her first rodeo!
What were your favorite classes and who were your favorite teachers?
Although I enjoyed most of my classes, I loved French with Madame Mollberg. She taught immersion French. From Day One, she spoke only French. I'll never forget that day. "Bonjour classe! Je m'appelle Madame Mollberg. Comment vous appelez-vous?" So many people struggled so hard with that one. With an ear attuned to Spanish and an ability to recognize contextual clues, it was obvious to me what the proper response was. "Je m'appelle Valerie!" But so many in the class seemed to have no clue what was going on. I don't think we got through the whole class roster! It was torturous. I don't know how she endured, but endure she did. She made learning a foreign language fun and interesting. By Thanksgiving break I was dreaming in French. It was so exciting!
My other vivid memory is of Mrs. Doris Schrank in an advanced math class, although I can't remember which. She doted on most of the smart boys in class. It seemed she reserved most of her scorn for me and Crispin (Ritchie) Martinez. She would look up from her overhead projector and scowl our way. We found it both hilarious and terrifying!
Anything you would go back and do differently?
The one thing I would do differently if I could go back is study more. I did pretty well without doing a lot of it. While I did all my assignments, I never really sat down and poured over my books to reinforce what I was taught in class. I can't imagine how much better I would have done with true effort. My philosophy was if I hadn't learned it in class, a few hours at home wasn't going to do any good and maybe even confuse me. Ridiculous! It would have prepared me better for college.
What advice would you give your teenage self now? Any takeaways
I believe my time at Austin High helped shape who I am today. Mrs. McGee's motto of Everybody is Somebody at Austin High resonated with me and rang true. It meshed well with the values my parents taught us at home. Although there were cliques, it seemed (at least to my teenage self) that groups respected each other. My brother and sisters went to another AISD high school and told me about fights every week. I rarely saw that in my four years at AHS. The notion that everyone has value stuck with me.
NOW:
Where did life take you after high school? What are you doing now?
Life after high school is not what I had imagined it would be when I was graduating. My dream was to be a lawyer in my hometown Austin. I attended my freshman year at Stanford. I loved Stanford and I loved California. I made good grades, but I also knew to do my absolute best, I needed a different environment. I transferred to UT Austin and got my bachelor’s degree in philosophy with the intention of going to UT law school. While in college, my sister recruited me to go work with her at a local jewelry store. As fate would have it, I found that I really liked sales. After graduating, I planned to take a year off and go back to school. A year later, I did a cost-benefit analysis on staying in sales vs going to law school and decided to stay in sales. My work took me from Austin to San Antonio, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to El Paso then back home to Austin where I married my now ex-husband.
Two years later, shortly after the birth of my twin boys, Blake and Dalton, I started my career at Dell in 1999. Never being content to stay in one place too long, when given the opportunity to relocate to Nashville with Dell, I took it. My boys and I have called Middle Tennessee home for almost 16 years. All good things must come to an end and after 23 years, Dell and I parted ways in 2022. I remain in the technology field and in sales as a National Sales Director at Davenport Group.
What could young people of today learn from our generation?
I typically give two bits of advice to others, sometimes they're young, sometimes they're not.
* #1 When I turned 17, I somehow figured out that almost everyone is walking around a little unsure of themselves. I stopped being so egotistical as to think anyone was spending all their time judging me! They've got their own worries. The realization was freeing and gave me confidence.
* #2 is a bit of a corollary. You're not that important. I mainly give this advice to people who work for or with me who never disconnect. I assure them if they win the lottery tomorrow, the work will get done. I tell them to give themselves permission to have down time. Rest. Recuperate. Then come back refreshed! As the saying goes, you can't pour from an empty bucket!
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in November!
