Here are the news/notes from the March 11, 2023 Pasadena High School Alumni Association meeting.

• Next meeting is Saturday, April 8, 2023 11:00 am in the Pasadena High School Library. The meeting will also be live streamed. Link will be sent out prior to this meeting so you can join remotely.
• Expenditures- same balance of $3200.
• Need Paypal account unlocked - Heather will contact Paypal.
• Tournament of Roses Foundation grant application submitted. Decisions will be announced at the end of April.
• Library dedication proposal for Mrs Hammond set to be introduced to PUSD 3/28/23.
• Birdie Tussle Participation - Sponsorship, Tournament participation, Raffle/Auction items, Volunteers day of.
• Scholarship Fundraiser - Pancake Breakfast 4/22/23 7:00 - 11:00 am PHS in front of the Tom Hamilton Gym. Heather Griffin is leading the fundraiser. Heather will provide flyer for digital posting including pay code, supplies cost breakdown, etc. The BSU and LASA clubs can assist day of. Need volunteer for set up and clean up.
• Earth Day on campus- 4/22/2023
• Turkey Tussle Committee volunteers- Rick Dones, Alvin Marks, LeeTanya Murray. Need ticket takers for day of.
• Discussed Mentorship program provided by Alumni.
  

My time at Pasadena High School

Alex Aghajanian Class of 1974

President, Chairman of the Board Pasadena Tournament of Roses 2023 - 2024

In 1970 as an 8th grader at Marshall Junior High School I was told that instead of being a 9th grader at Marshall I would now be a 9th grade freshman at Pasadena High School. We were called the forgotten class because of these changes and many people to this day still refer to my class this way. Thus began my 4 year journey as a student at PHS. It is hard to believe that it has been over 50 years since my first high school class. And at this time PHS had a student body of over 4,000 kids with Marshal now functioning as the west campus for the 9th and 10th graders who spent a half day there. Because of my after school schedule I spent the morning at Marshall my first 2 years of high school.

I entered my freshman year as a good student, but I thought of myself as an athlete and a musician. What this meant was that I was going to try to become a member of the PHS marching band and continue to play football, a task that some thought was impossible including my parents. My first experience as a freshman was band camp and musical director Candy Schoenholtz. I was a clarinet player and if I say so myself a pretty good one. As one of a number of freshmen that made the marching band that year it was at times challenging. However, Mrs. Schoenholtz made the experience worthwhile and enjoyable as I learned how to be part of one of the best high school marching bands in the region. Being a part of the marching band allowed me to become a part of the greater PHS student body with the transition to my freshman year made easier. However, I still intended on playing football and did so outside of high school. It was not uncommon for me to march in a marching band competition in the morning and play in a football game in the afternoon. Of course, there were those late night high school football games the band played at and then those early morning football games I played in. To this day I do not know how my wonderful parents were able to be sure that I made every single event. I continued to do this during the entire marching and football seasons of my freshman year.

Being a freshman at PHS afforded me the opportunity to take many classes that were not available to me in junior high school. I loved photography and PHS had a wonderful photography department headed by Lee Mark. Mr. Mark nurtured this love and throughout my four years at PHS I was a member of the photo department and eventual provided the opportunity to participate and be elected president of the View Finder Club. I even was asked to shoot our band and drill team entertaining at the half time of a San Diego Chargers game with a few of the pictures making our senior yearbook. This love of photograph continues to this day.

After marching season, I joined the symphonic orchestra as one of four freshmen to make the band. We traveled all over the region and were recognized as one to the best high school bands. All the while that I was doing this, I had wonderful teachers that freshmen year that impressed upon me the need to study and prepare. One such teacher was my freshmen English teacher Ms. Carol Hatouian. Ms. Hatouian saw the potential in me and to this day I truly appreciated her wanting to make sure that I reached it.

As my freshman year ended and I started my sophomore year, I had to decide as to whether or not I would continue in the marching band or play football for PHS. Since I could not do both I decided that I would play junior varsity football and forgo marching in the band. I continued playing varsity football my Junior and Senior years.

At my first football training camp I met coaches Gary Griffiths and Tom Hamilton. Coach Hamilton was the head coach of the varsity football program and Coach Griffiths was the head coach of the junior varsity football program. I still to this day remember challenging Coach Hamilton to a handball game after our morning training camp my senior year with a steak dinner on the line. I suspect he hoped that I would be too exhausted to beat him but I wasn’t. He never made that dinner for me and over the years it was always a funny story between us. Both of these men were a tremendous influence on my life. This is not to say that a number of other coaches were not also a large part of my athletic years at PHS. Coaches like Lew Underwood who taught me about football toughness or George Terzian who tried to recruit me to play basketball or Warren Hassler who coached me in both football and track, were also outstanding role models.

I was one of those few students that as a sophomore I know what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a lawyer. Throughout my time at PHS I was able to take many classes like Russian, all levels of math, and chemistry and physics with Ed Fox. I was exposed to many Advanced Placement classes and given an opportunity to expand my academic horizons. I still remember the experiment that I performed in my physics class running half a building of yardsticks down an outside corridor and a line with a weight to pull the line from the second story of the science building to the bungalows in the back parking lot to test the speed of a car traveling down the hallway on the track I built with the yardsticks. It was this academic freedom and experimentation that I still cherish to this day.

At an early age I had a love of history. And while at PHS I was exposed to the efforts of Phyllis Jenkins and Ed Sutro. Mrs. Jenkins and Mr. Sutro made history fun with Mr. Sutro oftentimes dressing in costume to provide his lectures. I still to this day remember his Ben Franklin rendition as we spoke about the American Revolution.

These are but a few of the many teachers and counselors that gave of themselves to insure that I had a wonderful experience at PHS. They were caring individuals that saw the possibilities for all students. And through the challenging times of the early seventies these individuals worked tireless to provide educational opportunities for all. I wish I could tell them how humbled and gratified I am today for what they did for me.

Finally, PHS provided an opportunity to interact through clubs and events for all students. While outside there were community challenges, while at school, we were all Bulldogs. To this day I still have many of my high school classmates that I remain in contact with sharing the bond that was formed at PHS. Most importantly, my four years at PHS helped shape my character, providing me the foundation I needed to become the individual that I am today, a family man, a lawyer, a member of a community and one who continues to work within our community to help our next generations share in the same experiences I had. Go DOGS!

Photo below courtesy of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.

Bulldog student athletes invited to participate include Fidel Cabrera '23 and Jason Guyton '23 for the boys team and Christine Manoukian '23 for the girls.

La Canada High School Boys Basketball Coach, Tom Hofman, who won his 800th game this past season, will coach the Star News Boys (West) team. Coach Hofman is a 1970 Pasadena High School graduate. While at PHS he played basketball for Coach George Terzian. During his senior season 1969-1970 the team were the Foothill League Champions (as it was formerly known) and he was one of the Star News Top 10 Players in the West San Gabriel Valley. He was offered scholarships to 5 schools but chose to attend Pasadena City College before transferring to Chico State University.

Coach Hofman returned to PHS, coaching the freshman team before moving on to Edison Jr High School in Los Angeles before ending up at La Canada High School.

Coach Hofman has been at La Canada High School for 37 years and has 31 Rio Hondo League titles as well as 2 CIF-SS section championships (1992 and 2011).

In 1955, Gladiss Edwards, Pasadena High School Principal at the time, came up with the idea of starting a drill team. In "her dreams" she envisioned a group of sharp, high-stepping girls, all with excellent academic, behavior and conduct records, who would represent the "Pride of Pasadena" in the community. When Mrs. Edwards offered the job as the Drill Team Director to Joanne Owens, Ms. Owens new little about how a drill team operated. But that did not last very long.

During her 25 year tenure with the "Long Red Line" the team brought honors to Pasadena High School with trophies from Chaffey, Cupertino, Hawthorne and countless other competitions. The Drill Team was recognized by representing the United States in a spectacular trip to Switzerland as guest performers for the Fete de Geneve. This group added spirit, pep and pride to the school and community. It brought discipline, togetherness, and dedication to many, many young women.

Much of the credit can go to the Drill Team members themselves. There was real competition for a spot on the Drill Team. Many years, you would find over 500 girls trying out for the 100 openings. After earning a spot on the team the girls began in the spring learning their routines. They had hours of practice (before and after school) in addition to their study load. They were ones in the spotlight - smiling, striding and striving for perfection. They were the ones who marched down the aisle, up the steps, in the parades, and on the football field. Most will tell you that being a part of the Pasadena High School Drill Team was one of the best memories and experience of their lives.

Yet, so much credit must go to Joanne Owens. When she accepted her assignment to start a drill team she had little idea of what a drill team was. But her work and dedication changed the Drill Team from a simple suggestion to a special part of Pasadena High School.

An advocate for public education, Michelle Richardson Bailey was first elected to the

Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education District 3 in 2017. She is currently the PUSD School Board President. Michelle grew up in Pasadena and graduated from Pasadena High School in 1980. Her three children are also products of PUSD, and she has one grandchild currently attending school in PUSD.

Michelle received her BA degree in Community Psychology in 2021 and her M.A. degree in Organization Leadership and Management in 2022. She is a board member of the Darden Law Leadership Academy, and on the board of the California Association of Black School Educators, CABSE. Michelle supports several PUSD initiatives and programs that align with two resolutions in support of our students, PUSD’s commitment to Black students, which she authored, and to Latinx students, which she commissioned.

With 20 years as a classified employee of the Pasadena Unified School District and

the Alameda County Office of Education, Michelle brings important experience to the Board of Education. she served as secretary at Blair High School and was previously secretary at PHS and in the Superintendent’s office. Michelle is also former 1st VP and PAC of CSEA Chapter 434, and former Regional PAC and former member of CSEA’s PACE committee. She is currently a member of CSEA’s Retiree Unit.

Since being elected to the board, Michelle has chaired the Facilities and Safety board sub-committees and appointed as board liaison to the Community Oversight Committee, and the Community Advisory Committee. Michelle has also served on the PUSD Branding Advisory Committee, the LCAP Committee, the district’s AB 86 and Professional Development Committees, and the PTSA and School Site Council of Blair High School. She founded the Superintendent’s Advisory Council, now known as the Classified Advisory Council, and in addition to the Facilities Committee, Michelle currently serves on the Superintendent’s Governance and Accountability committee.

Since the age of 17, Michelle has volunteered in this community and on the boards of several non-profits advocating for youth and young adults. She has served as Church Trustee, Vice Chair, Church Parliamentarian, Executive Board member, Bylaws Committee Chair, and Policies and Procedures Committee chair at the church where she worships.

Ms. Bailey’s community service includes Vice Chair of the Robinson Park Steering Committee, Chair of the Heritage Square Senior Housing Steering Committee, Pasadena Human Relations Commission chair, and advisor to the youth component of the Commission. She has also served as Chair of Pasadena’s Northwest Commission. She is a graduate of the Citizen’s Police Academy, Class #25, and Leadership Pasadena Class of 2017.

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