Jim Cook:
CLASS OF 1974

Glen Ridge High SchoolClass of 1974
Glen ridge, NJ
Penn Manor High SchoolClass of 1974
Millersville, PA
Eshleman Elementary SchoolClass of 1974
Millersville, PA
Danville High SchoolClass of 1974
Danville, PA
Jim's Story
I had the dubious benefit of attending three different high schools.
I left Penn Manor in Fall of my freshman year when my mother relocated to Glen Ridge, NJ. I hated to leave Penn Manor because I had been in the district since 2nd grade and knew a lot of other kids.
Thanks in large part to a guy named Mel Gambert, I quickly made friends at Glen Ridge. My two and a half years there were a ton of fun.
We moved again, this time to Danville, PA during Spring of my junior year. Leaving Glen Ridge was a bitter pill to swallow. I missed my friends terribly, and our new home was out in the sticks so socializing in Danville was difficult.
I did make some friends in Danville. My chemistry lab partner, Bill Wetzel was a good guy. A part-time job as a busboy in the coffee shop of the local hospital brought me in contact with some other nice people. I especially remember Donna Starr as a kind and generous girl. Sadly, she was killed in a car accident a few years afte...Expand for more
r graduation.
I went to college at U of Illinois (Urbana) for biochemistry. After graduation I went back to Danville and worked as a Med Tech in clinical lab while trying to figure out what to do with my life. I remember a casual conversation with an older Med Tech named Ron in which I expressed some vague plans to work for a couple years and then go back to school. He laughed and said "Yeah, that's what we all said." That little offhand remark had a galvanizing effect on me, and I determined that I would go back to school no matter what.
After working at the hospital for two and a half years, I went to U. of Penn. for chemistry and then additional training at NIH. I finally finished in 1992, the same year I married a wonderful Italian woman. Two beautiful daughters came along in 1997 and 1999 (tough work for an old man). I've been employed in a big pharma company for 17 years in vaccine research. We vacation in Italy every year to visit with my wife's parents.
Register for Free to view all details!
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!
Photos



