High School for a Track Star

“Now the race is on and here comes pride in the backstretch.” Sawyer Brown's track “The Race Is On” was, track star, Mrs. Amy Tvedt's favorite song of '93. During that year she was a graduating senior at Oakes High School, North Dakota. Currently, Tvedt is Deuel High School's Algebra I and Geometry teacher.

Pranks such as throwing fireworks in the burning of the letter were the least of your prank worries at Oakes. “My class put an outhouse on top of the entryway of the school for homecoming,” said Tvedt.

Tvedt, the tomboy, was a dedicated athlete. She even went as far as getting detention for her desire for sports. “I skipped out of class early for a drill team meeting, which I wasn't involved in so that I could go to basketball practice early,” said Tvedt. That dedication paid off in the long run though. “I was the two mile track state champion my junior and senior year. I was also the mile champion my senior year,” Tvedt said. She was a state track attendant from grade seven to grade twelve. However, she didn't run cross country until she received a scholarship for NDSU because the sport wasn't offered at her high school. With so much athletic talent it's no surprise that Tvedt was voted most athletic in her class. “When I was in the seventh grade I ran in the National Hershey's Track Meet, and the summer after my senior year I got to go to the Caribbean for a team USA trip to play basketball and run track,” Tvedt said. She was also able to go the State Girls Basketball Tournament her senior year. “In one game I scored two three-pointers in the last thirty seconds,” said Tvedt.

Her success didn't come without regretful moments. “I tripped during a warm up in basketball on my first varsity game. I pretty much just got up with a red face and hoped no one saw it. It always feels worse than it really is,” Tvedt said.

Other then Tvedts activeness in sports, she also did boys basketball stats, she was a member of NHS and student council, she participated in 4-H, she taught Sunday school, and she was on the yearbook committee.

“My parents were my role models. They taught me to always finish what you start and to do your best,” said Tvedt.

“I can remember playing school at home with my sister and her friends, but I didn't decide I wanted to be a teacher until my sophomore year of college,” Tvedt said. In high school Tvedt really only had one plan for her future. “I wanted to join the Air Force, but my dad kind of put an end to that,” said Tvedt.

The early '90s was the era of rolled jean cuffs, silk shirts, and spiral perms. Cruising was a typical trend as well. “I had a junker, '75 Capri Classic. Then I got an El Camino, but as a senior I drove a Le Baron.

There seems to be more differences than similarities when comparing high school in the '90s to high school now. “Students didn't have jobs or extra things to do after school. I only remember having a job in the summer,” said Tvedt. However, majority of the differences relate to technology, of course. Tvedt said, “I took keyboarding as a sophomore on an electric typewriter, and our teachers didn't have computers.” Oakes High School only had one computer lab in the early '90s. “We didn't get to use the lab very much. We didn't even use it to type papers. I used a typewriter to type a senior English paper,” said Tvedt. Students used calculators but typically not graphing calculators. Tvedt said, “I didn't get my first graphing calculator until I was a sophomore in college.” Other common technology uses were overhead projectors, film reel projectors, VHS tapes, and eight-tracks.