Julie (Ericson) Hodge '88

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Will you be attending the reunion? No

Where are you living now? Germany

Email: jjhodge@t-online.de

Where did you meet your husband? At LCHS! ;-)

When did you get married? 1988

Tell us about your kids. Louis - 15 July 1991. He was born in Florida during the only year that Jon and I have lived in the states. He is a sophomore in high school and plays piano and saxophone in his dad's band. Louis is also very involved in dance and has played lead roles in the local ballet.Erin - 19 February 1004. Erin was born in Berlin, Germany. She also does ballet, but her real passion is horse back riding. She leases a horse from the local riding club. Erin is in the 8th grade and plays guitar.We also have two labs - Cheyenne and Sally - and two abandon kittens who have recently taken up residence in our barn.

Occupation: Special Education assistant / Graduate student of Mental Health Counseling

Where have you lived since graduation? High Wycombe, England; Tallahasse, Florida; Woodbridge, England; Berlin, Germany; and Heidelberg, Germany

What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? I have so many family accomplishments that I don't know where to start! One personal accomplishment was completing a Bachelors of Science in Psychology while working fulltime and keeping up with my family. I'm now finishing up a Masters of Counseling and hope to stay in the area of special education, working with students that have emotional impairments.

If you could go back and do anything differently, what would it be? I would read all those books that were assigned in English rather than relying on Annie to give me a summary! I really should have applied myself more……..

What is the one thing you know now that you wish you knew then? Life is too short to worry about what other people think of you and parents are not out to make your life miserable.
Cut your parents some slack because it's not easy dealing with a teenager……..I know I'm preaching to the choir now.

What do you miss most about school? I'm not sure I miss high school.....I didn't like homework .....but I do miss living so close to London were I could see lot of shows!

What was the best part about attending school in England? The best part of attending school in England was the opportunity to experience another culture. England has such a rich musical history that I was able to enjoy and experience musical opportunities that would never have been available to me in the United States. I loved being so close to London and having hundreds of concerts, shows, musical, plays, and other cultural evens to choose from. Going to school at LCHS also meant great travel opportunities with family and on school trips. Not many kids can go to France on a school field trip.

Why do you think that we have such a unique bond? Kids that go to military schools overseas are in a very unique situation. They live within the secure surroundings of "little America's" around the world but at the same time are influenced by the culture of the host nation. It's something that relatively few people experience, so explaining your time overseas to someone in the states can be difficult.

What was your favorite class? Choir

Who was your favorite teacher? I should say my husband but ..... Ms. Parrott the biology teacher was my favorite!

What is your favorite memory of LCHS? I have very fond memories of all the musicals that I did at LCHS, though my favorite memories are "dormie" moments! I can remember a particularly silly evening of having a toothpaste, mouse, and lotion fight with Annie and Adina. I'm sure we got in trouble with a dorm counselor, but it was worth it.

Anything else you want to share? For those of you who didn't hear…Mr. Hodge, the music teacher, and I did get married in December of 1988. It sounded very scandalous back then but we are really just your average couple. Like everyone else, life gives us the full treatment! We have had good times and bad times, lived through the sorrow of a loved one's death, had sleepless nights with newborn babies and now worry about choices our teenagers are making!! After all these years, we have stayed in Europe and still love it. We are even wondering if we should retire somewhere in Europe…..can you believe we are old enough to be thinking about retirement!

Unfortunately we can't attend the reunion in July, but we'll be with all of you in spirit!

Best wishes for the next 20 years. Julie, Jon, Louis and Erin