Students know Randy Kriewall as a math teacher and photographer, but have you ever wondered what he was like at your age? Was he athletic, nerdy, an outcast? Did he always know he wanted to be a teacher? Well, now you can find out. The Kirkwood Call brings MTV’s show When I Was 17 to the classroom. Look into the lives of four of Kirkwood’s most well-known teachers when they were 17.

Randy Kriewall

When he was 17, Randy Kriewall, math teacher, attended Pattonville High School. He was involved in football, soccer and baseball, but really excelled in basketball. Never wanting to let his parents down, Kriewall’s main focus was to get good grades, and he maintained a 3.8 or 3.9 GPA.

“I was a pretty safe, semi-nerdy kid,” Kriewall said. “I had this sheltered kind of life…I wasn’t bold.”

While Kriewall was good in school and every subject came easy to him, teaching wasn’t his dream job at age 17, and photography had never crossed his mind. Instead, he wanted to be a professiona; basketball player. Kriewall recalls he “didn’t have a plan.”

As a 17-year-old, Kriewall felt as though everyday was embarrassing for him.

“I was too tall to fit anything fashionable,” Kriewall said.

In order to fit in, Kriewall found himself wearing pants that were too short and looked awkward on his lengthy legs. Kriewall also admits to having cut holes and slices in the toes of his shoes because they were always too small.

“I was always uncomfortable being who I was,” Kriewall said.

Looking back at his high school years, Kriewall feels as though a lot has changed with regard to teenagers.

“Kids today are much less effected by race,” Kriewall said. “I see much more compassion in [them] these days.”

While he doesn’t regret the choices he made as a 17-year-old, Kriewall does look back and sometimes wish he had done things a little differently.

“I wish I would’ve experienced more…or risked more, maybe,” Kriewall said.

Anna Yarborough

Anna Yarborough, history and sociology teacher, was an early graduate at Mehlville High School. She attended her high school for only three years, graduating and beginning college at age 17. While in high school, Yarborough was a part of Mehlville’s band, playing the clarinet all three years. She was also involved in softball, but only because the team was desperate for a player. She was not into the social scene of high school.

“I kind of flew under the radar,” Yarborough said.

Yarborough moved to St. Louis when she was in 8th-grade, and immediately noticed a change in her surroundings.

“I grew up in a place where I was allowed to be an adult,” Yarborough said. “Then I got to high school and I couldn’t be.”

Yarborough graduated from Mehlville High a year early, and could not wait to start her new college life at MSU (Missouri State University).

Yarborough’s most embarrassing and vivid memory happened while she was enrolled in an anthropology class. Her class was going on a dig, and she could not wait. When she arrived the next day, Yarborough was ready to go. However, she was the only one carrying shovels and picks.

“This is when you know you’re 17 and in college,” Yarborough said. “I was a little socially immature.”

Now, Yarborough believes 17-year-olds are much nicer and less self-centered than back when she was a teenager.

“Teens are more globally aware and see the bigger picture,” Yarborough said. “Now, we aren’t labeled to being one kind of person.”

Stephen Platte

Stephen Platte, history teacher, was an involved student at Clayton High School when he was 17. Platte was a member of Student Council, Spanish Club, the water polo team and the swim team.

While in high school, Platte wasn’t attached to a single group of people.

“I was the kind of guy who had friends everywhere,” Platte said. “It gave me an understanding for people.”

Platte was an honors Spanish student, and helped his teacher in his free time by grading tests and papers. His most embarrassing moment as a 17-year-old  occurred one day in the Spanish room.

“The teacher was talking about a student who did horrible on a test,” Platte said. “I started grading it and realized that the test was mine.”

When he was 17, Platte was “told” by his counselors and parents that he was going to college, it was just a matter of deciding where to go. He applied to Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Mizzou and Miami (OH) University.

“The Vietnam War was going on at the time, so my main incentive to go to college was so I wouldn’t be drafted as a student,” Platte said.

He attended Mizzou, where he ended up on the water polo team and got a degree in history.

While many adults think teens today are self-centered, Platte admits the teens of his generation were self-centered and idealistic as well. Looking back, he sees the differences between teens of today and his generation.

“My generation was a whole lot more naive,” Platte said. “Now, [teenagers] are a lot more worldy.”

Amy Barker

Amy Barker, English teacher, was a very nerdy and political KHS student at 17. Her main focus was The Kirkwood Call, which she joined as a sophomore and continued through her senior year.

“I started as a news writer and worked my way up to copy editor,” Barker said. “Call late nights were always very intense, but very fun.”

Barker said she liked school as much as a teenager can.

“I had wonderful teachers who really helped me see how alive the stories and language were,” Barker said.

The main reason Barker enjoyed school was because she loved to learn. While English was one of the main subjects she excelled, as well as Spanish and history, Barker had no idea what she wanted to do once she graduated.

“I was really excited and completely scared about the possibilities,” Barker said.

As a 17-year-old, Barker believed her entire life was embarrassing. She looks back on her teenage wardrobe and is ashamed with the outfits she wore.

“I had a gold belt that I can’t believe I wore out in public,” Barker said. “I’m sure my parents were laughing at me behind my back.”

But to their credit, Barker said, her parents never said a word about her 3-inch-thick belt with the big, gold buckle.

Being surrounded by teenagers everyday, one of the most wonderful things for Barker is seeing how much more accepting they are.

“It’s beautiful how people can be themselves now,” Barker said. “I think that the internet has made that so much easier.”