The High Point Legacy: Alumni Spotlight: Paige Lurie (‘98-‘05)

My Brief Bio—

I went to Brandeis University, just outside of Boston, for a BA in Politics and History with a minor in Law. During my time at Brandeis, I participated in a summer abroad program in the Netherlands, where I studied International Law right in the epi-center: many of my lecturers were judges and attorneys at places like the International Criminal Court and the Peace Palace. I was also on the Brandeis Debate Team, which ranked first in the country twice during my four year tenure.

Now I live and work in the DC area doing legal research. I help our clients locate court documents across the country and around the world for all sorts of reasons. When I’m not working, I enjoy playing board games, exploring the DMV area (DC, Maryland, and Virginia), and hanging out with my cool cat, Latke.

2) My High Point Experience—

I came to HPA in kindergarten and stayed through 6th grade, and then I transferred to Westridge for middle school and high school. High Point was full of wonderful teachers who clearly loved teaching, which made all the difference. Having “experiential learning” like the 49er Breakfast and Night on the Nile made school fun and exciting. It was great having an older brother at the school (Hunter Lurie ’05) because I was able to preview what my future was going to be. HPA was so steeped in tradition it helped connect us all.

The only time I visited HPA after graduation was at the reunion in 2011, when we all graduated high school. I hadn’t seen most of my classmates since middle school dances, but I was shocked how even though we all got older, so little had changed. The friendships I remember were intact and the hallways felt familiar, as if I had never left.

3) My Personal Observations and Reflections—

My favorite teacher was Mrs. Geer. She made kindergarten so very special. I had some fine motor control issues when I was young, but instead of making me feel different, she invented “Magic Pencil Time,” and once a week I would stay after class to do creative writing to help my handwriting. I felt so loved and special because of it.

The funniest memory I have was our sixth grade trip home from Astro Camp. As we were driving down the mountain, the bus started to break down and the police directed us to a fire station until a new bus could come to get us. What a treat! The firemen fed us snacks, gave us coloring books, let us all try on their huge yellow jackets, and we got to fire off the hose! When we finally got a replacement bus, it also broke down just after we stopped for more snacks. Another hour passed and we got another new bus which took us to McDonald’s on the way home. We finally arrived home 8 hours after we were supposed to, but our luggage took two additional days to get back to Pasadena!

I started Westridge in 7th grade. Two of my old High Point classmates were in my class and it was fun to reunite with them. One thing HPA did really well was laying the groundwork for research. I remember a lesson from Mrs. Richman to write our notes for research papers on index cards in different wording than the sources used—that way we couldn’t accidentally plagiarize. While I didn’t use index cards later in life, I used that technique to help me get a better understanding of dense texts and to avoid the accidental plagiarism scandals that occasionally popped up in college.

4) My Additional Thoughts

One thing that makes my friends laugh now is how well I can remember all the lyrics to my elementary school plays. I often find myself singing, “I want a big fat pig to eat,” with Mrs. Bruni’s choreography intact. It’s a very catchy way to brighten any day!