They seemed so young then -- 17- and 18-year-olds fresh out of high school, a Stanford career stretching before them. Fast-forward four years. The five frosh profiled in a 1996-97 series in this magazine have grown up. We caught up with them:
Milena Flores
Her favorite Stanford memory: running out onto the court at Maples Pavilion just before each game and hearing the Cardinal faithful roar. Basketball has clearly been the core of Flores's Stanford experience. But it wasn't always about the cheering crowds. In 1998, the Snohomish, Wash., native was one of three players criticized by coach Tara VanDerveer after the Cardinal's first-round loss in the NCAA tournament to No. 16 seed Harvard. But she bounced back, becoming the scrappy catalyst for her team. This spring, the political science major was drafted by the WNBA's Miami Sol -- giving Flores a chance to play in a professional league that didn't exist when she entered Stanford. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she says. When the season ends in August, Flores hopes to return to tie up a few incompletes and finish her degree. She may consider law school in the future.
David Lee
Ask him about life after graduating from Stanford, and the word Lee comes back to again and again is "scary." So the computer science major from Lawrenceville, N.J., is playing it relatively safe. Instead of chasing start-up stock money, he has taken a programming position at Electronics for Imaging. By Silicon Valley standards, the 11-year-old digital printing technology company in Foster City, Calif., is downright ancient. Lee hopes his work hours will be regular enough to allow him to have a life outside that includes continuing to play the piano. He also plans to continue a newer artistic endeavor -- dance. Despite his fears about postcollege life, "I am glad I am moving on," Lee says.
Josia Lamberto-Egan
Like most of his classmates, he finished his college career this spring, but it was at a May ceremony at Pomona College. Turned off by Stanford's size ("If I met someone I liked or felt an affinity toward, I might not see them again for two months"), the free-spirited Mateo, N.C., native transferred to the Southern California liberal arts college at the start of his sophomore year. Lamberto-Egan thrived at Pomona, majoring in international relations and developing close ties with professors. He also worked through a back injury that limited his physical activities -- including his beloved surfing -- for two years. Lamberto-Egan hopes to work in California next year -- in a field to be determined -- so he can be near his girlfriend of five years, Maria Matijasezic, as she finishes her premedical studies at Claremont McKenna College. They plan to marry next summer.
Christina McCarroll
Her four years at Stanford have been so rich that McCarroll can't bring herself to leave. Instead, she plans to stay on campus for an extra year to finish a coterminal master's in English. "[This place] is like an embrace that pushes you forward in a safe way," says McCarroll, who grew up in Los Altos and is interning this summer with Stanford magazine. "That's partially why I'm staying -- to maintain the world I've enjoyed so much." She envisions a future either in journalism or as a teacher -- ambitions that are more focused and more realistic than those she once had. "When I was little, I thought I wanted to be president, queen, a doctor and a ballerina -- and if I didn't do all that, what was the purpose of growing up?" McCarroll recalls. "I've since made peace with my ambitions."
Ameen Khalil Saafir
With a headful of dreadlocks, Saafir looks a lot different from the buzz-cut Navy ROTC cadet who entered Stanford in 1996. Indeed, his entire life has changed. First, he dropped out of ROTC early in 1999 after a transatlantic cruise that he describes as "pure hell." Then, bitten by Silicon Valley's start-up bug, the materials science major took a leave of absence from school last October to launch a company with two Stanford friends. (He plans to return eventually to finish his degree.) The firm, getinventory.com, will manage inventory flow between manufacturers and retailers. Saafir loves it: "I've learned so much. . . . I've built confidence in myself that will stay with me my whole life." Just one problem: Saafir, who hails from South Holland, Ill., owes the military $40,000 for his education. "Whatever," Saafir shrugs. "I'm in Silicon Valley -- I'll make it back, right?"
