FAVORITE SONS & DAUGHTERS

Advertisement

View welcomes announcements of recent achievements of Favorite Sons & Daughters who have graduated from local high schools. Achievements may run the gamut from earning a college degree to successfully climbing Mount Everest. Please include student's name, age, area high school attended and graduation year, parents' names and city of residence. Send announcements and photos by mail to: Lynn Benson, View, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070; by fax to 477-3852; or by e-mail, viewcalendars@viewnews.com.

Brittany Hanna, 18, who graduated with honors in June from Community College High School South, has accepted a scholarship to play tennis at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo.

Hanna played tennis at Coronado High School, going undefeated in regular season play. She served as co-captain and has been a nationally ranked player the past six years. She is in the current issues of "Who's Who Among American High School Students" and "Who's Who Among American High School Students-Sports Edition."

She also is on the National Honor Roll and is a member of the National Society for High School Scholars. She is the daughter of Larry and Peggy Hanna.

Edan Eli Mizrahi, 19, earned placement on the dean's list for the 2006 spring semester at Berklee College of Music in Boston where his major is music business and management. To be eligible, a student must achieve a grade point average of 3.4 or above. Mizrahi is a 2004 graduate of Las Vegas Academy. He is the son of Deborah and Josef Mizrahi of Las Vegas.

Estephany-Rae Dancel Camposagrado, 17, who graduated with honors in June from Mojave High School, received a full academic scholarship to Nevada State College, where she plans to major in education.

She was Student Council secretary, varsity cheerleader, a member of "Who's Who Among High School Students" for four consecutive years, a member of the Renaissance Club, and was inducted into the National Honor Society. She is the daughter of Tom and Vilma Crisostomo, both of Las Vegas.

LITERARY LAS VEGAS

Pahrump resident Brett Harriman grew up in Dana Point, Calif., and has worked in the tourism business most of his life. He lived in New South Wales and in Europe, where he was an official tour guide for the United States Armed Forces in Germany. Harriman used his experiences in Europe to write a novel that also is a Global Positioning System-enabled travel guide. Along with tour tips and GPS coordinates, he tells the story of Sydney Endicott, a college dropout on a quest for a cursed artifact. The author is scheduled to read from his work at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Las Vegas Library, and at 7 p.m., Sept. 7, at the Sahara West Library.

Excerpt from "Germany & Austria: Quest for the Bavarian Cross"

Government Jobs Available at European Resorts. We are looking for energetic people to fill hotel positions at our resorts in Garmisch and Chiemsee, Germany. Waiters/waitresses, kitchen workers, room attendants, desk clerks, and recreation assts. Will receive airfare, subsidized meals and housing, competitive pay and benefits.

I couldn't believe what I was reading: the opportunity to travel to Europe, earn money, and get away from school, all without my parents.

An epiphany struck, my eyes quickly re-scanned the text. The resorts were located in Garmisch and Chiemsee, Germany. Could this be the same Chiemsee where the lost crucifix was buried? Was going all the way to track down a hundred-year-old legend justification for dropping out of college?

I had to confess: traveling an ocean away to work for the U.S. government did sound more substantial than washing dishes at the local diner. At the very least, I could see Europe before settling down and becoming submerged in life's obligatory car, rent, and insurance payments. I certainly couldn't tell Mom or Dad or even any of my friends about the quest for the lost crucifix; they'd all think I was nuts!

Nonetheless, these were all assumptions. First, a few phone calls were necessary to see whether the ad was genuine. Things that sounded too good to be true -- usually were!

FRM OUR READERS

I happened to come across your article "Boulder City is Home to Variety of Memorials" (Boulder City View, May 23.) What a lovely idea for an article. Several years ago, I was on Inis Mor, a little island off of the coast of Ireland. They had recently erected a memorial to fishermen lost at sea. When the people of the town gathered, they held the names of all the men in their collective memories. There were the brothers who were lost at sea in the 1800s, for example. Music is still written about them.

I thought at the time, if a group of people in Boulder City gathered to create a memorial, chances would be very good that no one would think of my brother Robert M. Christian Jr. I see a new memorial has been erected at the high school and I was right. His name is not on it. Bobby was a Boulder City High School valedictorian in 1963. He worked full time for the next four years and got permission to take as many as 21 credits a semester at UNLV and received a double major in 1967. Upon graduation he received a draft notice. Not wanting to wait around for six weeks to be inducted in the Army, he joined the Marines. He was a 2nd lieutenant when he was killed in action in Vietnam on April 11, 1969.

In the last year and a half, I have been in touch with almost 20 men who served with my brother. Some were there on that day. One searched for my brother's family for over 30 years, even contacting the high school for help, but no one was able to give him any information, even though I graduated from BCHS in 1970. He has a son named after my brother.

Another 2nd. lieutenant was shot that day. I called him this last April 11 to let him know I was thinking about him. He said, "Yes, it is our anniversary."

My childhood family is all gone. It means a lot to me to have others who carry the memory.

JAN CHRISTIAN

FORMER BOULDER CITY RESIDENT