Arlene Monaco:
CLASS OF 1985
Long Beach Polytechnic High SchoolClass of 1985
Long beach, CA
California State University - Dominguez HillsClass of 1990
Carson, CA
Long Beach City CollegeClass of 1988
Long beach, CA
Charles Evans Hughes Junior High SchoolClass of 1982
Long beach, CA
Arlene's Story
Life
I have been with my husband for almost 11 years. Sean is an amazing and wonderful man! He is our real-life hero currently serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom on a medical mission. We eagerly anticipate his return in August 2005. We currently live about a mile away from the Huntington Beach pier where Sean usually surfs every morning before going to work.
We have three children: Colin is 10 years old and is ranked 3rd in his belt class in the state for Tae Kwon Do. He playes the flute and guitar, and loves to surf, skateboard, and snowboard. He is tall like his dad and very handsome! Our older daughter Jaime is 7, but looks 17. She won her first Mini-Miss Hawaiian Tropic contest, but don't let the pretty face fool you, she's a martial artist also. She's gorgeous AND smart, just like mom! Ha! Ha! She is very sophisticated and is quite the artist. You'll soon see her surfing tandem and is a natural at snowboarding. Our baby Nani is 6, beautiful, and very bright-she takes after mom too. Nani is also a Tae Kwon Do enthusiast having 5 gold medals to her name. No, she won't be surfing tandem, she'll be taking on the waves on her own. She is fearless and loves doing push-ups...on her knuckles!
Life after my 11 year career at LBMMC is now centered around my very busy children. I've always known I wanted to be a mother and now my children's accomplishments are mine. As you can tell, I'm very proud of them.
I'm also still very much in love with my brave soldier Sean. I met him while working at LBMMC and I knew from the first moment I saw him I was going to marry him and have an awesome last name! It hasn't been the easiest path for us, but the right one nonethless. How can I complain when he adores me?
In the spring I am even busier helping my girlfriend with her lei and exotic flower business. I make many of the specialty/fancy leis our customers order. I enjoy the artistic and creative aspect of lei making. I have to admit, graduation time is crazy, but I enjoy my craft and being close to my island roots.
My life is better than I could have ever imagined! My children are doing well, they're healthy and happy. We just need daddy to come home safely and continue living our happy and very content lives. I am proud to say I have no regrets and I'm very satisfied with every aspect of my life.
School
My saddest time i...Expand for more
n high school was when I was a senior and my awesome brother Gene was a freshman at UCLA. Everyone at Poly knew him as the President of Key Club and called him "Mr. Gene". He was the best brother I could have asked for! The year I graduated from Poly, he died of a serious and rare blood disease. I still miss him very, very much. Because of this traumatic and emotional event, I have forgotten a lot about my high school experience, but one very bright spot was that of HIROKO KUBO...
Hiroko Kubo, now Hiroko Harper, was my best friend throughout all of high school. We had almost every PACE class together and never, ever had a fight or disagreement about anything-always had fun and laughed all the time. Even though we saw each other everyday, she was the first person I called when I got home if I was an emotional basketcase from one of my boyfriends. Hiroko was the BEST!
I'm very happy to say that she and I are still very good friends... and I wouldn't have it any other way!
I regret not keeping in touch with some of my old friends from Hughes Jr High. You know who you are, and if you read this, I'd love to hear from you!
Workplace
My first job was at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center as a Unit Secretary while I still attended CSUDH. I worked every weekend for about 2 years and partied a lot with my friends prior to graduating in 1990. After graduation I was offered a full-time position in
Women's Hospital. I gradually worked my way up the management ladder until I became Operations Manager/Service Support Supervisor for the Medical Nursing Service and Rehabilitation Hospital. I was responsible for a payroll of approximately $20 million annually and had 40 employees who reported directly to me. My tenure at LBMMC lasted 11 years and ended in 1999 when I officially "retired" after my husband completed medical school and obtained his PA certification.
I now happily stay home with my 3 beautiful children who keep me very busy. I wanted to get back to my island roots and danced professionally (Polynesian dancing) for 2 years. Now you can occasionally see me at the Hilo Hattie store at The Block where I do lei demonstrations. I now only do things I enjoy and making leis is one of them. When my children are older I may consider returning to a full-time career, but at the present time I'm very content with my life and accomplishments.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!
Photos
