Here at East, students are often wrapped up in the problems of typical high school life. We worry about the next test, the next big game, or the next concert. Upperclassmen have a little more to worry about- college. But there seems to be little thought paid to what happens after one finishes school. Many students tend to have a vague idea that they will graduate university and get a degree that will let them find a good job and live their lives in comfort. But has anyone really paid much attention to what their lives are going to be like in 20 or 30 years? Has anyone really wondered what their mid-life crisis will be about? If you’re a healthy, adequately stressed high school student, probably not.
But we, the editors and staff of the East Side Paper, ask the hard-hitting questions. We wonder what all of today’s East students will go on to become. We wonder what those who came before us accomplished. And so, this week we’ll take a look into the lives of the rich and famous. Or at least, the lives of those notable East alumni that made it onto the Williamsville School District’s Wall of Fame for distinguished achievements and contributions to society after graduation. These are their stories.
1. Seth Godin, class of 1978
Inducted to the Wall of Fame in 2000, Mr. Godin is an author, entrepreneur, and public speaker. After East, he graduated from Tufts University with degrees in computer science and philosophy. He later earned his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He created his first startup internet company, direct marketer Yoyodyne, in 1995. This company was later sold to internet giant Yahoo!, where Godin became VP of Direct Marketing. In 2006, Godin launched the well-known website Squidoo, which lets an internet community create pages on certain subjects of interest. He has written 17 books on business management, marketing, and leadership. Godin is also a well-known TED Talk contributor and is considered a legend in new business thinking. His eponymous blog was listed as number 1 on Advertising Age’s 2009 Power 150 marketing blog ranking. Godin’s accomplishments have definitely affected the world. Plus, they make you give our business department a little more consideration.
2. Douglas R. Bacon, M.D., class of 1977
Dr. Bacon was inducted to the Wall of Fame in 2001, and boasts a resume full of distinguished medical accomplishments. He received his undergraduate degrees in medicinal chemistry and history from the University at Buffalo and his medical degree from SUNY Stonybrook. Dr. Bacon completed residencies in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology at Millard Fillmore Hospital and UB. Dr. Bacon said he chose to specialize in anesthesiology because he’d “always loved physiology and pharmacology, and anesthesiology combines the two daily. Every day in anesthesiology is an application of both; it’s a practical experiment every day.” Besides being an accomplished physician, Dr. Bacon demonstrates exemplary leadership skills; he’s headed up the departments of anesthesiology at UB, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and now the famed Mayo Clinic. Dr. Bacon is also a historian, receiving a master’s in history from UB while working as a clinician. We can even say that Dr. Bacon captures the spirit of a Williamsville East where individual students can be accomplished in a wide variety of fields. Here at East, it’s not so uncommon for an athlete to captain a quiz bowl team or for a theater nerd to also be a great classical musician. And that’s really what makes our school special.
3. David Wright, class of 1982
Mr. Wright, a member of the 2005 Wall of Fame, is a veteran foreign correspondent at ABC News. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and has covered conflicts in Iraq and the Middle East as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s inauguration. His reporting from Baghdad was featured in ABC’s “Where Things Stand” project, which received an Emmy Award in 2004. He has won an Emmy award and an Overseas Press Award for his coverage of the Darfur genocide in Sudan and his reporting from Afghanistan was nominated for the George Peabody Award as part of ABC’s news coverage after the 9/11 attacks. He covered Senator John McCain’s campaign during the 2008 presidential election. Wright has also covered conflict in the Middle East during his tenure and was ABC’s only reporter in the area during the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon.
4. Erin Peradotto, Class of 1977
Ms. Peradotto was inducted into the Wall of Fame in 2005 and serves as a New York State Supreme Court Judge. She graduated from UB with a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude and a Juris Doctor degree. She was a successful lawyer for two decades before being appointed to the State Supreme Court. She was the President of the Bar Association of Erie County from 1997-1998 and served as the Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Buffalo Regional Office of the New York State Attorney General’s office during that same time period. She was appointed by Governor George Pataki in 2006. She has won the Woman Lawyer of the Year Award, the Outstanding Jurist award from the Bar Association of Erie County’s Matrimonial and Family Law Committee and was one of Business First’s “40 under 40.”
When we trudge to school in the early hours of the morning and live the same high school days over and over again, it’s easy to lose sight of what a great school East actually is. Our impressions are shrouded by routine, homework, and lack of sleep. But by taking a step back, we realize that East truly does provide a multitude of opportunities to its students. We have some great teachers and great programs here that no doubt will impact us for the rest of our lives. Through this look back at our notable alumni, it’s possible to believe that will be us in the future. Those distinguished men and women were all Flames once; we, the current classes of Williamsville East, are Flames now. And we all know that great flames starts from a little spark.
