                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995                  TAG: 9506170114
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS      PAGE: 12   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Cover Story 
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Long  :  491 lines

CLASS OF 1990: SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE FRESH-FACED KIDS OF YESTERYEAR WHO TOOK THEIR PLACE IN THE WORLD OR AT LEAST TRIED TO?

To be a successful money-making defense attorney . . . a successful hospital administrator . . . electrical engineer . . . great singer . . . black billionaire . . . rich.

SUCH ARE THE ECHOES from the Class of 1990 - a different graduating class, but one facing the same changing world that today's graduates are about to enter.

It wasn't the world their parents had expected for them. They were the children of that generation born to expect every future generation to do better than the one before.

No one talked of government hiring freezes, state and city layoffs, military down-sizing, struggling shipyards or corporations offering more part-time job openings than perks and benefits.

So what happened to that Class of 1990 - those fresh-faced kids of yesteryear who took their place in the world or at least tried to?

They all wanted different things and they all wanted the same thing - success, happiness, a future to look forward.

Some fell in love and started families. Many are still single.

Some went to college and moved to other cities. Some stayed home and found jobs.

Some are still looking.

They took different roads to get where they are today and many learned that even the best laid plans don't always work out.

Often those roads shifted on them - sometimes an obstacle, sometimes a lucky break.

This week, we asked some of those graduates from the Class of 1990 to share with today's graduates what the last five years taught them.

Here's what they had to say:

MICHAEL L. POSEY

Cradock High School

Voted Most Popular, Most School Spirited

Today: Works for First Colony Coffee and Tea Co. Inc. in Norfolk.

Michael L. Posey is more fortunate than a lot of high school graduates.

Except for the first summer, which he purposely took off, he hasn't had a day of unemployment.

But five years later, he still has some advice for young people.

``If I knew then what I know now, I'd be graduated from college now,'' he said.

Posey said his grades were average and he could have gone to Tidewater Community College and worked his way to a college degree.

``But I never really pursued it,'' he said. ``I kind of jumped into bills after graduation. I got a loan on a car and I had that to pay and had to work full time.''

Posey worked for his father's machine shop his first year out of school. Then a friend told him about a job at the First Colony Coffee and Tea Co. plant.

He's done a little bit of everything there, he said. Currently, he's one of two people who put orders together and load trucks. It's not a bad job, but he can't help wondering if it's a dead end.

He rents a house in South Loxley, not far from where he grew up. And he still thinks about going back to school.

Posey said most of the people he went to school with are in the same boat.

``A lot of them just hung around and got jobs,'' he said. ``Some of them went into the service. I run into them here and now, most of the time at Portside on Thursday night.

``I think there are a couple people who kind of got their self in a career job,'' he said. ``But for the most part, everybody is still searching for the `right' job.'' Posey chalks some of it up to the school they went to.

``A friend of mine went to Norfolk Collegiate and the big question after graduation was `What school are you going to?' That was never a big question at Cradock. It was `Where are you going to be working?' ''

Recently Posey got a letter from classmates who were gearing up for a reunion. It asked something like, ``Can you wait to brag to your friends?'' he said.

``I have nothing to brag about,'' he said, with matter-of-fact honesty. ``I'm pretty much surviving. But I haven't really done anything.''

Looking back, Posey wonders if he would have done things differently if he had gotten a taste of real life in high school, if his parents had made him work part-time jobs then.

``They wanted me to be able to do everything they couldn't do in high school,'' he said.

Posey definitely had a good time, he remembers.

``I was a guy at high school everybody knew and liked. I was the school mascot - The Admiral.''

He remembers how strange it felt at the end of that first summer after graduation.

``I took the summer off,'' he said. ``I was doing absolutely nothing. I went to the beach a lot. I hung out.

``When September came rolling around, it was so depressing to see everyone else going to school and here I am working.

``Every September since 1990, I've wanted to go back so bad.''

CURTIS ``C.J.'' AND KAREN

WATFORD EDMONDS

Norcom High School

He was voted Best All Around and Personality Plus. She was president of the Student Council Association and Future Educators of America

His 1990 Goal: To be a lawyer

Her 1990 Goal: To teach high school English and eventually. . . teach at the college level.

Today: They decided to go the road together. Married with two children, he just graduated from Old Dominion University. She will receive a master's in education from ODU next May.

Curtis ``C.J.'' Edmonds and Karen Watford graduated from Norcom together but then went off to different colleges.

Edmonds attended Virginia Military Institute, but switched to James Madison College for health reasons. Watford went to Virginia Commonwealth University.

Before long they decided to marry, start a family and help each other toward their goals.

``We found love and we just decided to get married,'' said C.J. Edmonds.

They both transferred to Old Dominion University and moved in with his parents in Crystal Lake until they could get on their feet.

They have no regrets.

``It's enjoyable,'' said Karen Edmonds. ``I have wonderful in-laws. They treat me like a daughter.''

The Edmonds' 2-year-old son, Curtis, goes to day care on weekdays. Karen stays home with their 6-week-old daughter, Kenedy, during the day and takes summer classes at night.

``I kind of like it this way,'' said C.J. Edmonds. ``You have to have a struggle to appreciate things in life.

``A lot of times I'll get a little down and Karen will give me an extra boost - some words of encouragement. I do the same with her.

``And we both have very supportive parents.''

Both say their parents always expected them to go to college.

His father is a minister and his mother, a teacher. Her father is a retired federal employee and her mother, a teaching paraprofessional.

``Certain things were expected of us,'' said C.J. Edmonds. ``It wasn't even discussed. It was just expected.''

Karen Edmonds agrees.

``It was never a question of whether we would go to college,'' she said. ``It was never a question of whether we would finish.''

And it's what the two of them want too, she said.

``We want to provide a nice family life for the children,'' she said. ``We want to be able to give them everything they need and many of the things they want.''

Last month, the couple reached a milestone.

C.J. Edmonds graduated with a degree in political science and a minor in criminal justice.

He plans to go back to school part time for a master's degree in urban affairs.

But a month after graduation, Edmonds was more concerned with just finding a good job.

``It's very nerve-wracking and it's frustrating too,'' he said. ``You go to college for four years and you feel like. . . you shouldn't have any problem. But the job market today is real tough.''

C.J. Edmonds had been warned about what it was like from friends who graduated before him.

``But you don't worry about it,'' he said. ``You get caught up in the college atmosphere.''

A day later Edmonds called to update his job situation. He had been called with two job offers - a management position with Design Enterprise and a sales counselor position at Circuit City.

He decided the latter job offered more job security and better benefits and opportunities for advancement.

The Edmondses are now looking for their first home.

But even before that call, Edmonds had the same upbeat advice for young people today.

``You're going to always encounter tough times,'' he said. ``But you've just got to stick with it. There's always light at the end of the tunnel.

``I heard people say that all the time and never knew what they meant,'' he confessed.

Now he does.

ROBERT S. WELSBY

Churchland High School

Voted Friendliest

Today: Graduated from Radford University with a business degree and passed the exam certifying him as stockbroker. Currently, manager and bartender for a sports bar in Tampa, Fla.

It was one of those things you do when you're young - part whim and part need to take those roads that may be closed as one gets older.

Bobby Welsby's college roommate had graduated a semester earlier and moved to Tampa, Fla., where a friend was going to the University of South Florida.

When Welsby graduated last May, he headed south too.

``We wanted to get out on our own, plus we wanted to take this opportunity now,'' said Welsby.

Welsby planned on becoming a stockbroker there. But first he had to find a firm that would sponsor him to take the exam.

``I was really lucky,'' he said. ``A firm agreed to sponsor me. . . and helped me prepare.''

They told him he'd have a job once he passed the test. He did in November. But the job was a commission-only position and it takes a while to establish a client base, he said.

``I really didn't have that much money saved and it was real hard. All my bills were really piling up on me.''

He was making about $200 a week and knew it would be at least six months before he really started making money. He also knew he didn't want to ask his parents for help.

``The reason I moved to Florida was to make it on my own,'' he said. ``I decided to leave that job for now and get back into it in the future.''

Meanwhile he took a job as a manager and bartender for a family-oriented sports bar, a job that keeps him working till 3 a.m. sometimes six days a week.

But, he said, ``it took me a good month and a half just to get back on my feet.''

He knows his parents aren't thrilled at the idea of his current occupation.

``They want me to get into a field where I'll be for the next 40 years of my life, which I do plan to do,'' he said. ``But I'm not rushing myself. I'm not putting a time limit on it.''

He knows they're proud of his achievements so far, especially passing the stockbroker's exam.

``It's more they don't want that to go to waste,'' he said. ``They know how excited I was when I passed that test. It almost brought tears to my eyes.''

Welsby says he goes on interviews once or twice every two weeks or so. Sometimes it's a case of feeling like it's the wrong position for him. Other times it's the employer telling him he doesn't have enough experience.

And that's the one thing Welsby does regret.

If he had it to do over again, he would go for better grades in high school so that he could go to a bigger university.

``I came out of high school thinking I'm ready for the real world; I'm ready for the business world,'' he said. ``Even in high school I felt like I was a young business man and then coming out of college even more so.''

He told people it would probably take him about three months to find the job he wanted.

``My expectations were a lot higher than they are now,'' he said.

If he were talking to college students now, he said, he'd tell them, ``You'll wish you were back in college once you're out here.''

``I don't want to say it's a jungle out here,'' he said. ``I'm too young g6jb1grad Welsby now and inexperienced to say that.''

But, it's not easy, he said.

``Things have definitely changed. As sad as this might sound - and this is just my own opinion - a (college) degree today is not what it used to be years ago.

``You survey 50 people and 45 of them are probably doing something other than what they went to school for.''

Still Welbsy considers himself lucky. He's 22 and living on his own, which some of his friends can't say.

``I don't want to be in the restaurant business the rest of my life,'' he said. ``But I think I'm taking steps toward where it is I want to go.''

AIMEE A. PARENT

Manor High School

Voted Wittiest

Today: A junior, studying toward a master's degree in education at Old Dominion University.

Aimee Parent comes from a family of educators.

Her father is director of instruction for Portsmouth Public Schools. Her mother's a vice principal; her sister, an elementary school teacher.

It's in her blood too.

The only other thing she ever considered as a career was training dolphins.

And that was more fantasy, than dream. The dolphin-training college was in California, thousands of miles away from home and thousands of dollars away from what she could afford.

``The second best thing to doing that was working with kids,'' Parent said. ``I love kids.''

In fact, in addition to many waitressing stints to help pay for school, she also does a fair amount of baby-sitting for her sister.

Parent advises the younger set to go through college at a faster pace. Her own track has been slowed by transfers from one school to another and about three semesters of ``breathers'' she took.

``Get it over in four years,'' she said. ``Make it painless as possible.''

Parent initially went to Atlantic Christian College on a scholarship after graduation. Once that year was up, she decided the private out-of-state tuition was too expensive.

She came back home and went to Tidewater Community College for a year.

She felt like she was wasting time or wandering while there and transferred to ODU's five-year teacher's program.

``Once I got to ODU, it was like total culture shock,'' she said. ``That first semester was really hard, nothing like Tidewater.''

About 12 credits didn't transfer.

``That was kind of a pain,'' she said. ``I suggest if you're going to transfer to another school, you need to go to that school and compare the core requirements, just to make sure.''

She has other nuggets of wisdom for those in high school or just leaving.

``Definitely go to college, because you can't do much if you don't,'' she said.

Well, you could waitress, but she'd also advise against that as a lifetime career.

``It's not a pretty world out there,'' she said.

And waitressing is not the most appreciated profession in that rude world.

``It's enough to send you back to school each summer,'' she said.

Parent lived in Nags Head and worked one summer. She has worked most recently at Dave's Cove at Portside.

It helps to pay her tuition and she also sees many of her friends and classmates at the waterfront gathering place.

For a short time she had an apartment in Olde Towne. But she decided to move back home - another bit of wisdom she's acquired over the last five years.

``Out in the real world, you've got your phone bill, your electric bill,'' she said. ``I decided to save money and come home. It's been cool.''

Some of Parent's friends have graduated and found jobs. Others have graduated and are still looking. Even teaching degrees don't ensure a job upon graduation like they used to.

``I am worried about it, because I don't want to get just any teaching job,'' said Parent.

But for now, she's trying to stay focused on the job at hand - getting the degree.

``It was easy in high school,'' she said. ``I didn't realize how easy it was. You don't pay rent. You have no worries.

``If you're worried in high school, something's wrong.''

But Parent knows kids will. She did.

Another one of those lessons she's learned along the way.

``I'm still learning,'' she said. ``Life teaches you lots of things.''

WILLIAM HARDING

Manor High School

Most Talented and Most Athletic

Today: Bachelor's degree in international studies from Virginia Military Institute; currently a youth counselor.

William Harding attended VMI on a track scholarship and was a battalion lieutenant in the Cadet Corps by the time he graduated last year with a degree in international studies.

He had hoped to go to work for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Harding has put in his application and the background check has been done. But a government hiring freeze has put that dream on hold.

Meanwhile Harding - like many college graduates who find the job market doesn't always match their career dreams - moved home and looked for a job.

``It was kind of scary at the time because the job market is so fierce now,'' he said.

Harding said he had heard that was the case while he was in school.

``But I didn't really realize it until I actually graduated and seriously got into the job search.''

Some of his friends are still looking, he said.

``I think it surprised us,'' he said. ``It surprised me.''

Harding first worked as a clerk for the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Agency. Then he became a substitute teacher.

He found he was good with young people and that he enjoyed it.

An elementary school principal noticed and asked him to take over one of the alternative education classes for students whose behavior problems have weeded them out of the regular classrooms.

``Some of them are hard to reach,'' he said. ``But it seems like I can see a change in a few of them.''

Harding saw they were dealing with problems that go far beyond behavior.

``It's something I want to stick with. Not the teaching, but the counseling.''

Last week he started a new job as an in-home counselor for Carpe Diem Services of Virginia.

He also finds time to volunteer as a part-time assistant track coach at Wilson.

Harding wants to go back to school at some point. But for now, he is working and looking for his own home. He plans to marry in September.

LANEE D. WASHINGTON

Churchland High School

Valedictorian and Most Likely to Succeed

1990 Goal: To. . . become a children's defense lawyer.

Today: Has one more semester at University of Miami toward bachelor's degree in communication. Plans on a broadcasting career and is currently working in an internship at a Miami Public Broadcasting Services station.

Five years ago, Lanee D. Washington was headed for the College of William and Mary and a career in law.

There were some changes along the way.

First she ended up as a business major. Then after two years of college, Washington's mother decided she wanted to live in Florida.

Washington took off a year from school and worked for General Electric, a company she had done a business internship with.

``That year I just put myself together,'' she said. ``That's when I decided to move.''

Soon after moving in with her mother and little sister there, Washington began classes at the University of Miami and switched her career path to broadcasting.

She has a semester left and has already worked up an impressive resume.

Currently, she's working an internship at a Public Broadcasting Service station in Miami.

She's hosted programs for the university cable station and done voice-overs for another cable station.

Last summer, she worked as a radio DJ.

``I can speak pretty well, but I can be sort of shy too,'' she said. ``I had to overcome that.

``They used to put me on the evening (radio show) when you get home from work at 7 in the evening,'' she said. ``They said my voice was very relaxing. I wasn't the morning wakeup or anything like that.''

The internships she's managed are not easy to come by, but necessary in a competitive world, Washington said.

``Experience, experience, experience - that's what they want,'' she said.

Changing gears on the way to her career may have slowed things a bit, but Washington says she's happy with the way it all turned out.

``It all comes together the way it's supposed to,'' she said. ``I could have gone through and done very well with General Electric. But I knew business was not what I wanted.

Plans may change on the way but that's OK, Washington says.

``I think overall almost everything I've done, I've sort of put myself out there and the rest of it flows toward me,'' she said.

It's a lesson her mother taught her.

``The University of Miami is very expensive and I didn't know how I was going to pay for it,'' she said. ``My mother is a big help in my life. She said, `The money would come. It would be all right.'

``She's always been right. It's always worked out.''

STEPHANIE GRANGER BELL

Wilson High School