A popular foreign exchange student from Spain who spent the 1994-1995 school year in the Climax-Scotts School District, has returned for a short visit and he’s enjoying some memories and visits with people that have been special to him.
Eduardo Uribe, who grew up in Madrid, Spain, returned to the Village of Climax with his 13-year-old son, Altair last week, staying with Bob and Gloria Doxey.
While the Doxeys weren’t Eddie’s host parents when he was here for his senior year, he adopted them as his U.S. parents and a strong bond formed with the family.
Now 47 years old, Uribe, who is making his fourth visit back to the area since he graduated from C-S, said “everything” when asked what some of the memories were that stood out for him during the 1994-95 school year when he was here.
“Gloria still has recordings of that time and you know, we go back to it every time I’m here. And even in this last time that we were watching the movies and I slept in the living room. Yep, when I woke up the next day, everything felt like it was in that moment. And they kept asking me if I was upset when I knew I was coming to a small town like Climax. I said no, no. I was excited to come to the U.S. It didn’t matter where it was. And I was so glad. After all these many years,
I’m so grateful that I landed here, and still in touch with them,” said Eddie, who said he grew up in a small part of Madrid, where his parents still live.
While Eddie doesn’t recall the names of many of his classmates, he does recall many of the memories that were created here.
“So I remember almost everything. I don’t remember the names of most of my colleagues and most of my teammates. But I remember faces. I remember the times. It was amazing times and it made such a difference in my life. Coming here and learning English. It took me awhile to start working in English, but if it wasn’t for those moments, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. I’m really, really thankful. Grateful for everything,” said Uribe.
Many good memories for Eddie came on the basketball court.
Eddie quickly became a popular player on the C-S varsity basketball team. He was a big contributor to the teams’ 12-10 finish that season.
He scored a season high 27 points in a 71-55 win over White Pigeon. However one of his most memorable games came against Galesburg-Augusta when he picked off an offensive rebound and sank a basket underneath with four seconds left to break a 48-48 tie to lift the Panthers to a 50-48 win in a game Paul Morgan of the Kalamazoo Gazette labeled him “Eddie The Eagle.” He also had 11 rebounds in that game.
Mendon ended C-S’ season in the district championship game, 63-59, however Uribe was C-S’ leading scorer, pouring in 17 points.
Eddie said Doug Robinson, his math teacher, was one of his favorite teachers at C-S. He recalled during the basketball season when some frustrations surfaced Eddie got a technical foul. He said D-Rob asked him if everything was alright. “Great role model,” said Uribe.
After leaving C-S, Uribe returned to Spain where he earned a degree in Computer Science. A while later he met the mother of his child.
Eddie landed a job with Oracle in 2011 and he has continued to work for different companies in computer technology ever since.
After Altair was born in 2011, Eddie felt Spain wasn’t the place he wanted to raise his son. “Europe was going through a very harsh time and I wanted to get out.
So we moved to Australia in 2015 and became Australian citizens,” said Uribe.
After living seven years in Australia, Eddie and his son moved to Mexico in 2022 where he continues to work in computer technology.
He felt he wanted to do something different and took a brief period of time away from the computer industry in 2002 and 2003, working with his parents in the printing company they own.
However he quickly discovered he missed working with computers and resumed working in the computer industry.
Altair, currently in the 8th grade, said he is enjoying his second visit to the United States with his father. While he hasn’t had much of a chance to see the area, the C-S Jr./High School looked impressive to him. Altair said he’s seen video recordings of when his father was a foreign exchange student and enjoys seeing how some parts of the town and school look the same while admiring any changes.
“I haven’t seen much but I think it looks like a very nice community here in Climax,” said Altair.
Uribe said he was able to see the changes in the layout of the new gym during his last visit, however he and his son received a tour from Angela (Bowman) Gilbert November 13 of the new facilities and other improvements at the Jr./Sr. High School and was impressed.
“What a nice place. Both classes and the rest of the facilities are just amazing and big. A new cafeteria, two gyms, a weight room. Very nice,” said Uribe.
Outside of a few emails, Eddie said he didn’t stay in contact much with friends he made here. He said between work and his responsibilities as a parent, it was easy to lose touch with people. There was a period of time when Facebook was launched, he did reconnect with a few of his classmates, but he has since deleted all of his social media accounts due to privacy concerns.
He enjoyed visits with some local families and friends during his nine day stay here.
Eddie and his son especially looked forward to a trip to Detroit to watch the Lions game November 17 and a visit with his adopted U.S. brother, Devon Doxey, who now works as Director of Content Production for the Detroit Lions.
“I’ve seen him (Devon) getting to all of these places and to where he is right now. Where he is right now, it’s a pretty good place. For him to be busy, but happy with what he’s doing, it’s great to see,” said Eddie.
He especially enjoyed his time playing on the basketball team at C-S, which he discovered was a little different then what he was accustomed to in Spain. He said in Spain, basketball opportunities for teenagers his age at the time, are club based and not school based. “So the people who follow basketball (in Spain), it is not as big as it is right now here. What it was or what it is. Because people follow the school and the kids. Over there (in Spain) they don’t. So imagine coming from a full gym, full of people watching and cheering for you and then going back there where not all parents make it to the games. That was sad. But it was an experience that I had to go through, and again, so grateful for those years,” recalled Eddie.
He also played baseball and said former long time C-S Hall of Fame baseball coach Robert Weessies taught him a lot about the game.
Eddie said he plans to visit again, but is hoping the Doxeys will be able to visit him and his son sometime soon in Mexico.
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