Mike Hellings
Updated 6/1996
(Left-click anywhere for a menu of contributing class members,
or click here to return to the class list.)
|
It's been nearly two years now since we returned from our latest sojourn in Japan, where I taught English at a rural Japanese junior high school. We were in rainy, isolated Akita-ken as part of the JET program. Our year there was a great experience, and one I'll never forget. As an added bonus, our first son, Connor, was born while we were there. Now I'm just finishing the Master of Arts in Teaching program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. At the end of the summer session, I'll be certified as a secondary science teacher, and officially unemployed. Getting your first job in the teaching profession is always hard, and the local school district is particularly competitive. So we're considering going abroad again, possibly with the Department of Defense schools. Who knows, a year from now, I may be teaching at one of those base schools we always used to beat in sports! I'm sure all of us in the class of '74 remember Leon and Robbie Hickok, Physics and English teachers, respectively. What you may not know is that Leon and Robbie came to Alaska after their stint in Japan, and have been teaching at a school here in Anchorage for about the last 20 years. Neither one has changed one bit, you'll be glad to know Leon finally retired at the end of the last school year, to great applause (for his teaching, not the retirement!). He was a beloved figure among the students at Diamond High School. Mike Hellings |