William Urich:
CLASS OF 1970
White Plains High SchoolClass of 1970
White plains, NY
William's Story
Life.
Well, well, well. How time flies. After high school, I went on to college during the Viet Nam Era and flunked out miserably. Having barely missed the draft and getting my name on The Wall in DC, the following few years saw my return to Academia where I surprised everyone, including myself, by graduating Magna Cum Laud with degrees in Biology and Ancient History. I also studied Chinese and Russian. It was, after all, the Cold War times. Who knew then that I would have been better off with Korean and Arabic?!? I farted around Europe for a while and settled down to the drugery of a career in Commercial Lines Insurance Underwriting supervising several units under me. (Insurance.....go figure. What else does anyone do in Hartford, CT?!)
Insurance grew rather boring so I switched careers and did a stint in Retail Management for a while before falling, quite by accident, into the field of Human Services. I was immediately hooked on working with adults having developmental disabilities and went back to school to pursue advanced degrees in Psychology and Behavioral Studies. I also gave up drinking and drugs. I am currently working on a Doctorate in Psych and perform clinical psychiatric case management in a supported living facility for adults suffering from prolonged mental illness. There's the Reader's Digest version of life since WPHS.....go Tigers?
In my spare time (SPARE time?!!! What the hell is THAT?!?) I still play around with music (cello and oboe....I still suck at both but enjoy them nonetheless. I'm sure Cosmo, or Mr. Lionti went into apoplexy every time I walked into the orchestra practice room.) I also garden....tomatos, squash and such. Love to cook, hate to clean. I have a very close relationship with the surviving members of my family and consider them my best friends as well as siblings. I'm also heavily involved with volunteerism. When I can, I put time in at the local homeless shelter and soup kitchen. For the past several years I have been Entertainment Chair for CT P.R.I.D.E. (People Respecting Individual Diversity Everyday) and am currently Regional Director for InterPride, the International Association of GLBTI Pride Coordinators Worldwide. I get to travel quite a bit for them. In fact, I just got back from Reykjavik, Iceland where I participated in the 23rd International InterPride Conference. Beautiful little country....go see it!!!! And the people there are wonderful! This summer I will be in London for the EPOA (European Pride Organizers Association) Conference, Oslo, Norway for EuroPride and Jerusalem for the World Pride event in August.
Despite the usual ups and downs, life has been pretty good to me. I try to reciprocate. I have my good health, family and friends and try to take my Mom's advice and be the best person I can be. Had I known back when I was in high school that I was gonna live this long, I probably wouldn't have done or ingested half the crap I did when I was younger. My philosophy and optimism have served me well over the years, however, and I continue to pleasantly surprise myself from time to time. Having attained the ripe old age of forty-twelve (I still have difficulty admitting to that OTHER "F" word), I'm still a kid at heart.
I found this site quite by accident, but after stopping by and seeing some old familiar names, I figured I'd take the time to fill this thing out and wish the rest of my surviving brothers and sisters from the Class of '70 continued long life and happiness. Wow: high school in the sixties and seventies! These poor kids today just have no idea, what with Columbine and all.....What happened to the days when fellow students and teachers were respected, looked up to and admired?
Perhaps Dickens was right: "The best of times [and] the worst of times." Oddly enough, when I look back on it all, I can only remember the best of times. I guess I have all of you to thank for that.
Peace, all.
Billy
Wow. I can't believe it's been 5 years since I made that initial posting above.
Things haven't changed much. I'm still at the same job, but I'm now working with adults (and adolescents on occasion) with co-occurring disorders and profound psychiatric impairments. My field specialty is mentally ill sex offenders and mentally ill substance abusers. It's pretty interesting work, actua...Expand for more
lly, especially the addictions aspect and the psychology behind sex offenses. Working with kids is relatively new for me. I always resisted that. Didn't think I'd either like it or be any good at it. I can't believe my parents didn't put me away or kill me for some of the stuff I pulled as a kid and I just didn't think I would have the patience for working with kids now. Surprise, Surprise! However, I always had the highest regard for people in my filed who worked effectively with kids. My philosophy always was, if they do their job right, then I may not have to see these kids professionally later on in their lives. It is my current experience that although working with kids is challenging, it has rewards that can't be found in a paycheck. No, I have no kids of my own, at least none that I am aware of or can claim on my taxes! Heck, if I had kids and managed to stay out of prison for not killing them, I could just see my folks looking down from heaven laughing their butts off: the payback involved with karma could be a witch (with a B, not a W.... to meet site terms of service) and I just didn't want to chance it!
I'm still heavily involved with my volunteer work for both Connecticut PRIDE and InterPride, but I have been elevated within InterPride from Regional Director to the position of Vice President of Operations. I still chair the InterPride Committee on International GLBTI Human and Civil Rights (since 2002) where my focus continues to be on educating the GLBTI and mainstream communities of the plight of people in other parts of the world. In 7 countries (8 if you include Jamaica) Gays and Lesbians are put to death with impunity. In nearly 80 more they are outrageously fined, imprisoned and tortured simply for being who they are. In parts of Asia and Africa clitorectomies are routinely performed on women against their will. All this must stop.
My involvement with InterPride and Human Rights still takes me all over the world. It's interesting and rewarding to discover over and over again how similar we all are as a Human family despite the miles and cultural nuances which separate us. I have had the honor and pleasure to work with some truly remarkable Human Rights activists all over the globe. I've dined with Heads of State, met with foreign ambassadors from different nations, am on a first name basis with several MEPs (members of European Parliament) and MPs from other governments as well, yet I still can't even get an appointment with my own congressmen. Not sure how I feel about that, other than disappointed and annoyed.
A few years back, I bumped into Jim Peterman and Elise Weil (both Class of 70) online and we began to electronically discuss the possibility of a reunion at that time. We were actually making some pretty good progress but I, unfortunately, had to drop out of the process due to my travel, work and school commitments. I was also under a great deal of pressure to publish at that time as well. I'm glad to hear that others picked up the ball and organized a reunion recently (the 69/70 Class Reunion). Unfortunately, I was unable to attend last month as I would have liked. I was traveling at the time but don't recall where exactly. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in perpetual jet lag. I am fortunate, however, to have employment that affords me both the opportunity and ability to travel as much as I do. Still, it would have been a hoot to run into some good old blasts from the past and maybe rekindle some old friendships. I sometimes wonder how much thought others give to the individual impact they have had on other people's lives during the important formative years, whether or not they realize it at the time. So if anyone attended the reunion and wants to fill me in on everything from the last 39 years, please feel free to drop me a line. I'd just LOVE to hear all the dirt on everyone!
With the Holidays rapidly approaching, I wish you all continued happiness and success in all your endeavors throughout the New Year and beyond. I'll try to make my next posting sooner than 5 years hense. Oh, by the way, the "Then" photo on my profile is from last year's Halloween, not from WPHS times. It serves to show you all how little I have changed over the years: there is still a bit of devilish kid left in me. <g>
Peace all,
Billy
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