Matt Young

I've noticed the window of opportunity for submitting my last 20 years to scrutiny is quickly drawing to a close. If I don't send this off soon, I'll have so many more years to cover next time around.

Los Alamos and LAHS were great to me. Having arrived from a childhood spent in Switzerland just days before 7th grade at Pueblo Jr. High back in 1981, Los Alamos gave me everything I had dreamed about as a kid in Europe. I loved the American approach to sports and school spirit. I loved the homecomings and proms, and all the other traditions which define American high school life. I discovered my talent for running, made some great friends, and learned quite a bit from a few good teachers. Then, one spring day in 1987 I wore the gown and hat along with the rest of you to celebrate that the single most defining phase of my life was over.

At first I was disappointed to be off to college in Albuquerque, when it seemed everyone else was heading to California. But, in the end UNM was what I needed. While plodding towards a BS in Mechanical Engineering, I was able to concentrate on running. I wasn't as convincing as back in high school, turns out I'd peaked around the age of 14. But I had a great time, experienced an NCAA championship, and shared the MVP for Track and Field one year.

College graduation found me confronting existential fears. Not able to get a job through the few college recruiters I interviewed with, I saw a life of packing up and moving every few years because of work - a life some of you appear to be familiar with. So I did the only thing that seemed right. I fled. Grabbed some clothes and left for small cozy Switzerland shortly before Thanksgiving 1993.

Not long after arriving in Switzerland I met Corinne, a woman who I swear grows more beautiful with each passing day. Addressing my great fear of a life of dislocation, Corinne has helped me find a place we'll never leave. We live in a rural village about 10 miles from Bern. Our house is a former oil mill (known locally as the "Oele") built by Corinne's great-great-...-grandfather in 1832 on grounds where once a Cluniac monastery stood. We spent the 1990's moving up or sideways in our careers. It's been a long and bumpy ride frommy first real job dealing with French-speaking machinists (I don't speak French) while trying to keep my tie from being pulled into a lathe, to my current job testing software at a Swiss bank.

Corinne and I married spontaneously in Las Vegas during a US visit in 1999. In 2002, fed up with jobs and other stuff, we packed our backpacks and left the Oele for a 365 day trip through 4 continents. An incredible experience, one I will never want to have missed. Returning home, we were finally ready to become a real family. Noah was born on New Year's Eve 2004, Michelle six weeks premature in April 2006. Noah with his blue eyes and blond hair, and red haired Michelle with her big brown eyes; they've finally put to rest my fears of dislocation. I suppose that is what many of you have found too - it does not actually matter much where life makes you to go, what gives you footing is what you take with you.

Despite having found my home here, I miss my family in the USA. I miss New Mexico, 4th of July, pecan pie, Super Bowl Sunday, malted milk shakes, Thanksgiving, deep dish pizzas, Monday Night Football, pickup trucks, fast food franchises other than McD's, listening to American radio in the car, really good hamburgers, obnoxious car dealer commercials, green chile dishes, free refills, unusual ice cream flavors, 7/24 opening hours, watching Hollywood movies without German and French subtitles, old friends...and I miss being able to attend LAHS '87 reunions. I wish you a wonderful time July 13 - 15 and hope to make it the next time.

Matt