Robert Ellgas:
CLASS OF 1970
Campolindo High SchoolClass of 1970
Moraga, CA
Stanford University - EngineeringClass of 1974
Stanford, CA
California Institute of TechnologyClass of 1974
Pasadena, CA
Inland Valley SchoolClass of 1966
Orinda, CA
Glorietta Elementary SchoolClass of 1964
Orinda, CA
Robert's Story
OK folks, here's the story...
On to Caltech (in Pasadena) for two years after Campolindo. Loathed it - a science and math brain factory in the heart of the U.S. smog capital. Needed more diverse human interaction, so I transferred to Stanford in my junior year. Enjoyed being in Ecohouse, the ecology-themed co-op for two years, and received my B.S. with honors in environmental engineering.
Then on to the Peace Corps for three years: one year in the Fiji Islands and two years in Honduras (nice to use my academic fluency in Spanish in the "real world"). Learned more about life, and patience, than I could possibly learn in any other setting. A unique and incredible (albeit often difficult and frustrating) experience that I'll be glad to tell you more about if you're interested.
The perseverance I learned in the Peace Corps was tested to its limit by eight long and cold years in graduate school at Harvard and M.I.T. In 1986 I finally completed my academic education with a Ph.D. in Environmental Systems Analysis (also picked up a M.S. along...Expand for more
the way).
Came back to California and worked in environmental consulting, both private and public practice, for 24 years. Now I'm happy and relieved to say I'm retired. Bought my first home in 1991, sold it in 2011, lived 10 miserable months in overcrowded San Francisco with my partner of nearly 14 years, finally found the "house of our dreams" in the Oakland Hills, bought it, moved in at the end of 2011, sold his home in early 2012, and we're finally settling down.
Elliot and I became Registered Domestic Partners on February 14, 2011. We married on July 26, 2013 in celebration of the Supreme Court decisions to strike down key clauses of the Defense of Marriage Act and to uphold a lower court ruling declaring California's discriminatory Prop 8 unconstitutional. Our hope is marriage equality will become the law of the land in the future as our citizens' consciousness and acceptance of diversity increases.
Life is good - I hope it is for you, too. Even if it's not, I'd enjoy hearing from any old friends on where your journey has taken you.
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