‘A special time for Mountain View past and present’ as 30-year reunion gets started at Friday football game and a tour of the school on Saturday

The Class of 1993 did not want to wait until the summer of 2023 to celebrate their 30th reunion.

Why would they when they could celebrate 30 years at a football game?

Why wait when they could get a tour of the new high school, too?

That was the meaning behind Mountain View High School’s Class of 93 gathering this past weekend in Vancouver, instead of a traditional reunion in the summer of the graduating year.

This is also the first of the big number celebrations after the start of the pandemic. It was time to gather and reminisce.

It started with a trip to McKenzie Stadium, to watch Mountain View take on rival Evergreen. It brought back memories from the 90s, where there was no Heritage High School, no Union High School. Just Mountain View and Evergreen in the school district.

And on Saturday, some members of the Class of 93 got to tour the new Mountain View High School, just opened for the 2022-23 school year.

“Walking through the new Mountain View High School was an awe-inspiring experience,” said Kristin Burckhard, the Class of 1993 senior class activities coordinator who was Krisin Connoly then. “The entire campus was so well designed inside and out. I’m not sure how students would want to be anywhere other than here.”

Among those who celebrated was Adam Wallace, who is now an associate principal at … yes, Mountain View High School. 

“Back in 93, there were only two high schools in the district, so it was The big rival,” Wallace said of taking on Evergreen. 

Wallace played football for the Thunder, too.

A student back then and now part of the transition to the new building as an administrator, Wallace acknowledged he was a little sad to see the old building demolished.

But it is onward and upward now for Mountain View.

“The building itself is absolutely beautiful,” Wallace said, adding that the community is going to love it, too, when they come to campus for special events, concerts, and sporting events.

“It’s a special time for Mountain View past and present,” Wallace said.

Kristie Leader, then Kristie Savoy, now lives in Arizona. She was the 1993 senior class secretary.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said of the reunion. “Mountain View was such a special time in my life. It allowed me to make a real connection. This year, with the new school, and the old school coming down, it’s just a new time, and I couldn’t miss this.”

Several Thunder alumni visited during Friday’s game before getting a tour of the school on Saturday and having dinner together on Saturday night.

The football game brought back a lot of memories.

“Friday night felt just like fall Friday nights did 30 years ago,” Burckhard said. “The cheering fans, the band, and the excitement on the field. It was so great to see that the Thunder spirit at McKenzie Stadium had not changed.”