Karen Starr ’65

“My best time at Oakland Tech was my senior year. I worked on the Yearbook with Mrs. Coppoletta and a lot of very dedicated fellow students. We spent the entire senior year raising funds, organizing, and coordinating the photographs and publication of the 50th year anniversary yearbook. It was the best yearbook ever. I also enjoyed my synchronized swimming and life saving classes.

Tony Martin was also an alumni of Oakland Tech. We had an assembly in his honor when he “returned” to Oakland Tech for a day. We sang a song to him that was to the tune of “Hello Dolly”. We sang, “Hello, Tony, well, how’s Cid (his wife, Cid Cherise) Tony.” It was the best assembly I remember.

Mrs. Coppoletta was the highlight of my years at Oakland Tech. She was an incredible teacher. I attended her memorial service in 2010. I also enjoyed my experiences at Oakland Tech with the International Students. There were 2 schools in Oakland that the International Students attended; Westlake Junior High and Oakland Technical High School. I attended both schools and I am grateful for my exposure to students from other countries.

I became interested in multiculturalism before it became a key word in our society and as a result I studied anthropology in college and decided to live in and adopt a foreign country and culture. Oakland Tech and Westlake did this for me (back in the early 1960’s). I wouldn’t have missed out on any of my cultural life experiences for anything.”

Karen Starr – Class of 1965