The Class of 1981Reunion Survey

(Six-Minute Slide Show)

Homes

• The typical ‟81er has lived in 8 homes since 1981

• 10% have had 15 or more homes since 1981

Where We Live

• 65 percent of „81ers still live in Missouri

• 33 percent in Rolla area

• 32 percent elsewhere in MO

Movin’ On

• The typical ‟81er has lived in 2 different states since

1981

• 15% have lived in 5 or more states

Other States

• 6% of „81ers live in

California

• 3% live in Texas

• 2% each live in

Arkansas, Colorado,

Florida, Kansas,

Minnesota, Virginia

• 24% live in other states

Marriage

• 86% are currently married

• 14% single/divorced/widowed

• The typical married ‟81er has been married 20 years

• 62% have been married for

10 or more years

Kids and Grandkids

• 85% of „81ers have children

• 2.01 children per graduate

• (Estimated 678 total children)

• 20% of „81ers are

grandparents

Education

• 84% of „81ers attended college at some

point

• 62% have a college

degree (2-year or more)

• 29% hold an

advanced degree

Jobs

• The typical „81er has

had 5 jobs since 1981

• 13% have had 10 or

more jobs

• The typical „81er has had 2 careers since 1981

Jobs and Change

• 45% of „81ers work at jobs that existed in 1981 and

haven‟t really changed

• 41% work at jobs that existed in 1981 but

the jobs have changed a lot since then

• 14% work at jobs that didn‟t exist in 1981

Cars

• 69% of „81ers drive American cars

• 25% drive Japanese cars

• 2% drive German cars

• 2% drive Korean cars

• 1% don‟t own a car

Favorite Rolla Restaurant

Favorite restaurant in Rolla

during high school…

28% - Maid-Rite

19% - Alex‟s Pizza

9% - Tim‟s Pizza

Honorable Mention:

5% - La Posada

5% - Taco Bell

Off-Campus Hangouts

• Favorite Off-Campus Hangouts of „81ers

• McDonald's 22%

• Friends' houses 8%

• Maid-Rite 8%

• The Strip/Loop 7%

• Kingshighway 7%

• Low Water Bridge/Creek 3%

• Boyfriend's House 2%

• Smith's Grocery 2%

• Lane Springs 2%

On-Campus Hangouts

• Favorite On-Campus Hangouts of „81ers

• Hallways 15%

• Front Foyer 13%

• Cafeteria 8%

• Band room 6%

• Football Field 2%

• Latin Room 2%

• Freshman High 2%

• Ag Building 2%

• Gym 2%

Would Have Done Differently in High School…

• 33% - Wouldn‟t change a thing

• 15% - Worked harder to make better grades

• 14% - More effort to get to know people outside

my usual circle

• 11% - Taken different classes to serve me in the future

• 7% - More social activities with friends

• 20% - Other

Proudest RHS Moment

• 25% - Graduation Day!

• 15% - Athletic

• 14% - Clubs or activities in school

• 10% - Academic

• 10% - Didn‟t have a proud moment

• 8% - Social (in school)

• 8% - Social (out of school)

• 6% - At a job

• 4% - Other

Rate Your Rolla High School Years

• 24% - Wonderful – it was a great time in my life

• 41% - Pretty darn good – not necessarily magical, but I enjoyed them

• 26% - Okay – I came, I saw, I graduated

• 8% - Not that great – It wasn‟t

horrible, but I was prettyhappy to get out of there

• 1% - Nightmare – Why am I

even talking to you people?

’81ers and the Paranormal

• Believe in …

• 31% Life on other planets

• 29% Ghosts

• 23% Extrasensory Perception (ESP)

• 21% Visits to earth by UFOs

• 20% Legendary high school parties we weren‟t invited to

• 15% Bigfoot

• 9% Loch Ness Monster

• 5% Yeti

• 2% Predictions of Nostradamus

• 2% Mayan and other predictions of 2012 doom

• 43% None of the above

Health

• 53% rate their health as

“very positive”

• 88% rate their health as

“very positive” or

“somewhat positive”

Happiness

• 64% rate their general happiness as “very positive”

• 100% rate their general happiness as “very positive” or “somewhat positive”

Career

• 45% rate their career satisfaction as “very positive”

• 79% rate their career satisfaction as “very positive” or

“somewhat positive”

Family Life

• 75% rate their family life as “very positive”

• 95% rate their family life as “very positive” or

“somewhat positive”

Mid-Life Crisis

• Have you had a

mid-life crisis?

• 25% Yes

• 57% No

• 19% Not Sure

Expectations Vs. Reality

Different from

Their Plans at Age

18

Similar to Their

Plans at Age 18

Career 51% 39%

Personal Life 41% 55%

Activities/Interests 29% 67%

I Fought the Law and…

• 11% of „81ers have spent a night in jail

• 15% have at some point “run from the cops”

Better in 2011

• Things that are better in 2011

than in 1981

• Clothing and hair

66% vs. 16%

• Movies and TV

43% vs. 37%

• 1st number is % who think it’s better in 2011,

2nd number is % who think it was better

in 1981

Better in 1981

• Things that were better in 1981 than in 2011

• State of the nation 13% vs. 65%

• State of the World19% vs. 63%

• Long-term prospects for a typical 18 year old 23% vs. 62%

• Music 21% vs. 51%

• American culture28% vs. 51%

Adventure and Risk

• 79% have visited a

foreign country

• Median – 3 countries

• 10% have visited 10 or

more foreign countries

Adventure and Risk

• 67% have spoken in front of more than

100 people

Adventure and Risk

• 49% have owned a motorcycle

Adventure and Risk

• 42% have started

a business

Adventure and Risk

• 14% have climbed a mountain

Adventure and Risk

• 32% have held a large

reptile

• 11% have encountered

a large carnivore in the

wild

Adventure and Risk

• 19% have scuba dived

• 10% have swum with

sharks

• 9% have sailed a boat

on the ocean

Adventure and Risk

• More

Adventure • 11% have run a marathon

• 5% have walked across fire

• 4% have skydived

• 4% have bungee jumped

• 0% have run for office

Church …

• 39% are regular churchgoers

• 20% occasionally attend

• 19% rarely attend

• 21% not at all

… and State

• 41% are Republican

• 32% are Independent

• 27% are Democrat

Leisure and the ‘81er

• Ideal Vacation Type• Tropical beach – 40%

• Classic American road trip – 23%

• Classic European City– 16%

• Cabin in the middle of nowhere – 12%

• Visiting family or friends – 5%

• Relaxing Staycation – 2%

• Exotic Third World – 2%

Retirement

• Financially…

• 11% are ahead of schedule

• 45% are on schedule

• 17% are a little behind schedule

• 14% are waaaaaay behind schedule

• 6% don‟t think they‟ll be able to retire

• 7% are already retired or don‟t want to retire

Desserts

• Favorite desserts

• Cheesecake with strawberries – 27%

• Chocolate cake – 19%

• No dessert – 17%

• Apple pie with vanilla ice cream – 11%

• Carrot cake – 10%

• Hot fudge sundae – 7%

• Lemon meringue pie – 6%

• Brownies – 2%

Bringing It Back

• If you could bring back one thing about yourself from 1981, what would it be??

• Waistline – 33%

• Wrinkle-free skin – 16%

• Energy – 15%

• Hair – 12%

• Eyesight – 7%

• Innocence – 7%

• Athleticism – 5%

• Outlook on life – 3%

• Brainpower – 1%

Reasons For Coming To The Reunion

• 95% - Catch up with high school friends

• 27% - Visit family

• 20% - Visit favorite Rolla places

• 14% - Visit old friends not in our class

• 12% - Enjoy the heat and humidity of a central

Missouri summer

• 9% - Check out an old boyfriend/girlfriend

• 9% - See how Rolla has changed

• 7% - Check out someone I had a

secret crush on