RENTON HIGH CENTENNIAL: Renton High: Melting pot of learning, fun
Published 5:18 pm Friday, May 6, 2011
By TERRI BRIERE
One of my mentors – former mayor and alumni Don Custer – relates he sees Renton High School as a great “melting pot.” I found myself really embracing that belief. Renton High School has brought together students from across town and across the world – from every social/economic level for the past 100 years. It has brought tradition, excellence in education, music, sports and community pride. Renton High brings together a great community that supports its children – our most valuable resource.
Early immigrants arrived to work in the mining industry; they came from England, Finland, Italy, Japan and more. Many spoke limited, if any, English and most banded together in like neighborhoods. In high school they came from across town or around the corner blending their backgrounds. During the Depression new families came looking for jobs; again new nationalities, new livelihoods—rural and agricultural folks. My parents arrived as part of the huge influx of workers for the war effort. In the 1960s and 70s I saw immigrants arrive from Southeast Asia because of wars. The constant changing face of Renton students reflects our community and continues as new families arrive from other states and areas of the globe. But it doesn’t take long to blend at Renton High into just students with of the same teenage concerns.
High school for me ended nearly 42 years ago but it’s amazing how high school memories can be so clear. We had wonderful teachers who shared their lives with us. I loved to hear their experiences from college, career to family life, interests and passions. Trips to the theater, symphony, museums and the mountains widen my values and interests.
Those years can be so critical to your successes for the rest of your life. Certainly, I gained an education from some amazing teachers but I think the life lessons learned have impacted me more. I learned to have greater confidence in myself, to try things even though I might fail and to learn from mistakes. The importance of a smile, the value of friendship, being silly was OK. That family and volunteering enriches my life 10-fold.
But the most important has to be the friends I made and many relationships I still have. I always reflect on how the years of absence can be gone in an instant and the old friendship can renew. There is nothing better than reconnecting to find out where life has taken them. After all we are all the same — a little older, a little wiser — just classmates!
Terri (Mathewson) Briere is a 1969 graduate from Renton High School. She is the co-chair of the Friends of Renton High School that’s organizing the school’s Centennial Celebration.
