Gary Kirchherr:
CLASS OF 1977
Central High SchoolClass of 1977
Kalamazoo, MI
Western Michigan UniversityClass of 1981
Kalamazoo, MI
Hillside Junior High SchoolClass of 1974
Kalamazoo, MI
Grand Prairie Elementary SchoolClass of 1971
Kalamazoo, MI
Western Michigan University - Elementary SchoolClass of 1971
Kalamazoo, MI
Gary's Story
I was born in Kalamazoo, and attended school there through college except for two years I lived abroad as a youngster.
Graduated from Western Michigan University in 1981; returned three years later to get a second major. Finished postgraduate work in 1986, when I got a job in Allegan and moved from Kalamazoo for good.
Married in 1990; divorced in 1992. C'est la vie.
Remarried in 1995, and moved to Anchorage, Alaska, two years later with wife and daughter. Accepted job at Hong Kong-based Asian Wall Street Journal in 1999. Second daughter born in Hong Kong. Worked there three years before returning to United States and settling in northwestern Pennsylvania. Left Pennsylvania in 2012, and have since worked at newspapers in Beijing and Hong Kong.
For more information, go to kirchherr.com and kirchherr.us.
School
I jinxed elementary schools; both U.S. ones I attended closed soon after I left (WMU's so-called campus school, and Grand Prairie Elementary). Attended Hillside Junior High (now Hillside Middle School) right after landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision to integrate Kalamazoo Public Schools.
At Kalamazoo Central H.S., I wasn't the cream of the crop, but I did graduate with hon...Expand for more
ors, which counts for something. Biggest activity was band, including marching band and pep band; stayed with it three years. Band in my senior year was first and only H.S. class I had with my sister. I also was in German Club for three years, and its president my senior year. Was baseball team's equipment manager one year, but quit shortly before season ended, a decision I still regret.
College
Started out as a physics major; that lasted all of two semesters. Switched to political science as major with a sociology minor, the latter giving me a chance to hear aging hippie professors try to turn my classmates and me into socialists.
Was active in student government for three years, including seven months as student body president, thanks to a corrupt president who was forced to resign, and a first vice president who resigned under pressure because of his miniscule class load.
Returned to Western in 1984, nearly three years after graduating, to get a second major. Spent my two-year encore at WMU working at the school paper, except for two months interning at The Kalamazoo Gazette.
Workplace
The "work profile" and link to "list of Gary's companies" pretty much speak for themselves.
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