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THEY SEEMED SO
YOUNG then -- 17- and
18-year-olds fresh out of high school, a Stanford career
stretching before them. Fast-forward four years. The five
frosh profiled in a 1996-97 series in this magazine have
grown up. We caught up with them:
Milena Flores
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Courtesy Stanford
Athletics
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Her favorite Stanford memory: running out onto the
court at Maples Pavilion just before each game and hearing the Cardinal
faithful roar. Basketball has clearly been the core of Flores's Stanford
experience. But it wasn't always about the cheering crowds. In 1998, the
Snohomish, Wash., native was one of three players criticized by coach Tara
VanDerveer after the Cardinal's first-round loss in the NCAA tournament
to No. 16 seed Harvard. But she bounced back, becoming the scrappy catalyst
for her team. This spring, the political science major was drafted by the
WNBA's Miami Sol -- giving Flores a chance to play in a professional league
that didn't exist when she entered Stanford. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity," she says. When the season ends in August, Flores hopes to
return to tie up a few incompletes and finish her degree. She may consider
law school in the future.
David Lee
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Glenn
Matsumura
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Ask him about life after graduating
from Stanford, and the word Lee comes back to again and
again is "scary." So the computer science major from
Lawrenceville, N.J., is playing it relatively safe. Instead
of chasing start-up stock money, he has taken a programming
position at Electronics for Imaging. By Silicon Valley
standards, the 11-year-old digital printing technology
company in Foster City, Calif., is downright ancient. Lee
hopes his work hours will be regular enough to allow him to
have a life outside that includes continuing to play the
piano. He also plans to continue a newer artistic endeavor
-- dance. Despite his fears about postcollege life, "I am
glad I am moving on," Lee says.
Josia Lamberto-Egan
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Courtesy Josia
Lamberto-Egan
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Like most of his classmates, he finished his college career
this spring, but it was at a May ceremony at Pomona College.
Turned off by Stanford's size ("If I met someone I liked or
felt an affinity toward, I might not see them again for two
months"), the free-spirited Mateo, N.C., native transferred
to the Southern California liberal arts college at the start
of his sophomore year. Lamberto-Egan thrived at Pomona,
majoring in international relations and developing close
ties with professors. He also worked through a back injury
that limited his physical activities -- including his
beloved surfing -- for two years. Lamberto-Egan hopes to
work in California next year -- in a field to be determined
-- so he can be near his girlfriend of five years, Maria
Matijasezic, as she finishes her premedical studies at
Claremont McKenna College. They plan to marry next
summer.
Christina McCarroll
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Glenn
Matsumura
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Her four years at Stanford have been so rich that McCarroll
can't bring herself to leave. Instead, she plans to stay on
campus for an extra year to finish a coterminal master's in
English. "[This place] is like an embrace that
pushes you forward in a safe way," says McCarroll, who grew
up in Los Altos and is interning this summer with
STANFORD
magazine. "That's partially why I'm staying -- to maintain
the world I've enjoyed so much." She envisions a future
either in journalism or as a teacher -- ambitions that are
more focused and more realistic than those she once had.
"When I was little, I thought I wanted to be president,
queen, a doctor and a ballerina -- and if I didn't do all
that, what was the purpose of growing up?" McCarroll
recalls. "I've since made peace with my
ambitions."
Ameen Khalil Saafir
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Glenn
Matsumura
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With a headful of dreadlocks, Saafir looks a lot different
from the buzz-cut Navy ROTC cadet who entered Stanford in
1996. Indeed, his entire life has changed. First, he dropped
out of ROTC early in 1999 after a transatlantic cruise that
he describes as "pure hell." Then, bitten by Silicon
Valley's start-up bug, the materials science major took a
leave of absence from school last October to launch a
company with two Stanford friends. (He plans to return
eventually to finish his degree.) The firm,
getinventory.com, will manage inventory flow between
manufacturers and retailers. Saafir loves it: "I've learned
so much. . . . I've built confidence in myself that will
stay with me my whole life." Just one problem: Saafir, who
hails from South Holland, Ill., owes the military $40,000
for his education. "Whatever," Saafir shrugs. "I'm in
Silicon Valley -- I'll make it back, right?"
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