Favorite Sons & Daughters

View welcomes announcements of recent achievements of Favorite Sons & Daughters who have graduated from local high schools. Achievements may run the gamut from earning a college degree to successfully climbing Mount Everest. Please include the name of the area high school and year graduated. Send announcements by mail to: Stephanie Coll, View, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070; by fax to 477-3852; or by e-mail, referencing Favorite in the subject line, to scoll@viewnews.com.

Lance P. Aja, Marine Corps Sgt. Graduated from Durango High School in 1997. Aja and his unit from Newburgh, N.Y., recently returned from Bahrain where they provided air support and maintenance for the troops in Iraq. While there, Lance received the Navy Achievement Medal and his sergeant's stripe. He will now be assigned to New River, N.C., to provide electronic support on various helicopters. He is the son of Cathy and Mike Aja of Las Vegas.

Derek A. Babcock, Army Private. Graduated from Bonanza High School in 2002. Babcock recently completed 12 weeks of Basic Combat Training as part of the Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery, Fourth Platoon "Rough Riders" at Fort Sills, OK. He is the son of Allan C. and Lilia Babcock of Las Vegas.

Crystal J. Bridges, Marine Corps Pfc. Graduated from Cheyenne High School in 2002. An Athletic All Star throughout high school, Bridges made the varsity basketball team during her freshman year. Bridges also was named to the Who's Who list of high school students in 2001 and 2002. She recently completed 13 weeks of basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. She is the daughter of Jo Ann M. Starks-Bridges of Las Vegas and Retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Steven M. Bridges of California.

Julio Aleman Castillo, Navy Seaman Apprentice. Graduated from Desert Rose High School in 2002. Castillo recently reported for duty with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Three, Port Hueneme, Calif.

Todd W. Cecil, Coast Guard Fireman Apprentice. Graduated from Basic High School in 1996. Cecil recently graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, N.J. He is the son of Kathie R. and Brent A. Cecil of Henderson.

Cassie Clark, who will be a freshman at Green Valley High School this fall, attended Level 1 of the Future Astronaut Training Program at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kan. The weeklong program incorporates actual astronaut training with briefings on subjects ranging from how the body reacts to spaceflight to principles of rocketry. She is the daughter of Greg and Julie Clark of Henderson.

Scott F. Lord, Navy Midshipman. Graduated from Clark High School in 2000. Lord was recently inducted into the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and will begin six weeks of Plebe Summer at the academy. He is the stepson of Budd and son of Janis L. Burns of Las Vegas.

Ambrose D.A. Murray, Navy Fireman. Graduated from Eldorado High School in 2002. After completing 14 weeks of Boot Camp and Schooling in Great Lakes, Ill., Murray was assigned to the Amphibious Assault Ship USS Essex and is currently in Sasebo, Japan. He is the son of Ambrose and Roxanne Murray of Las Vegas.

Jason M. Peterson, Marine Corps Pvt. Graduated from Valley High School in 1996. Peterson recently completed 12 weeks of basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego.

Kenneth B. Slagle, Coast Guard Seaman. Graduated from Vocational Technical High School in 2002. Slagle recently graduated with honors from the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, N.J. He is the son of Sheila K. Mato of Rockford, Wash., and Timothy R. Slagle of Las Vegas.

Carolyn D. Ward, Navy Seaman Recruit. Graduated from Cheyenne High School in 2002. Ward recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill.


<<--[back]