History of My Family Attending Regis
By: Rook Smith
Regis high school was established in 1963. One of the founders was my great-grandfather Harvey Keudell. His daughter Paula (Keudell) Smith attended Regis High School from 1968 to 1972. Throughout the 70s and 80s, her five brothers attended Regis as well. My father Brayden Smith graduated from Regis class of 2001, which makes me the third generation to attend Regis.
I sat down with my father to ask him about him attending Regis as an incoming freshman in 1997-1998. His first ever time in a classroom at Regis the teacher asked him if he had an older sister named Whitney Smith and from there on he felt like he was doomed from day one. In his first world history class he had a pop quiz. The quiz consisted of a whole packet he said “everyone ran through it but didn’t read the instructions”. The instructions stated to flip the quiz over, write your name on the back, and you’re done. From that day forward he always read the instructions. One of the highlights of my dad’s freshman year was being able to be a part of a great football team that made it to the semi-finals.
In the fall of my dad’s sophomore year, he dressed down for some varsity games, plus he got to start some because of injuries. This was a big highlight in his football career as a Ram. A big moment in his life was turning 16 and getting his driver’s license that year. A big memory was walking the halls with his buddies talking about the home run chase with Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Next his Junior year was 1999-2000. He started every football game on the offensive line and defensive line, however the Rams only made it to the quarter-finals. A fun memory this year was he took a road trip with a buddy to go watch and root for Rams basketball in Pendleton. Another great memory was celebrating dinner and prom with friends for the first time.
Finally, we come to my dad’s senior year 2000-2001. It started off by him earning all-conference and all-state offensive and defensive lines as a Ram, he was also named a captain and voted team leader. A memory of his last football season was taking an icy road trip to Nyssa for the first round of playoffs. It paid off because they came out victorious. The team ended the season by finishing 2nd place in football as a Regis Ram. Another fond memory of his is being in person and watching his cousin win a state championship in baseball. A memory that not a lot of people can say is graduating with four first cousins all in the same class. To celebrate graduation my dad took a post-graduation trip to Disneyland with his classmates.
I have embarked on my first semester as the third generation to attend Regis. After chatting with my dad about his days in high school I’m looking forward to making memories with friends and family and sharing them with generations to come.