Victor Fingerhut

It has been a pleasure reading the bios of our classmates.  I confess to having attended the reunion of the class of ’56 (which I hope doesn’t disqualify me from this one).  It was wonderful…not only re-connecting with friends I had not seen for years, but also having a marvelous time talking with and learning about folks whom I did not know very well while in school. I’m sure ours will be every bit as much fun and rewarding. Recognizing that these experiences are always very particular and personal, it’s difficult to refrain from echoing the view expressed by so many others who have provided their bios that we, indeed, were blessed with all the ingredients of a wonderful high school experience – great teachers, nice folks, and the bounty of classmates of so many different backgrounds, interests and talents. (I will quit that stuff here:  I know there are others in our class who can wax nostalgic much better than I can. In fact, I’ve already heard some of them.) I am married and have six children – three of my own and three brought to me by my second wife, Caroline, who teaches English as a second language and who – a few years ago – was a Fulbright Exchange teacher in Romania.  My single contribution to her effort was introducing baseball into Transylvania where I repeatedly admonished the competing Hungarian and Romanian high school kids they should enjoy the game -- and not play for blood.

My own life and career has been rather simple and straightforward. I’ve always had an interest in politics and for nearly 40 years I taught politics and international relations at a college in Virginia while also being involved in the field as a consultant. I’ve worked with folks ranging from Hubert Humphrey to Lloyd Bentsen and for many American and Canadian labor unions.  Most recently, I have been an advisor to the labor movement in Australia and the Premiers of several state governments there – the major benefit of which is that it allows me the opportunity to regularly visit my eldest son who now lives in Australia and who manages sports events down there (of which the Australians have many). Needless to say, our five grandchildren are the most talented and brightest kids on the planet.