Where are they now? : Catching up with 2000 Homecoming king and queen, Mike Neglia and Becky Heimback

In the first of a series, the Fallbrook High Alumni Association has provided the stories of two alumni who went their separate ways but whose lives have followed similar themes.

The numerous alumni of Fallbrook Union High School have taken different paths through life, some that have taken them far away and some not so far. No matter where they have ended up, some of their stories have striking similarities, as with two graduates from the class of 2001.

Mike Neglia and Becky Heimback were elected Homecoming king and queen in October 2000.

According to his father, Nick Neglia, Mike was the first homecoming king that wasn’t on the football team. He wasn’t even an athlete but was popular as both a singer in punk rock bands and as a lead actor in school plays. By his own account, he was clearly not known for outstanding academic achievements, as he squeaked by any class that required homework, such as algebra and government.

After barely graduating from Fallbrook High in 2001, Mike studied at Calvary Chapel Bible Colleges in Murrieta and Siegen, Germany. After graduation (with much better grades this time) he spent a summer hitchhiking throughout Europe.

His last stop was at a Calvary Chapel Church in Cork, Ireland, where he said he volunteered as its youth pastor for a very small group of teenagers. He returned briefly to Fallbrook to get married to his high school sweetheart, Rachel Boren.

In October 2005, Mike took over leadership of that Cork, Ireland church and has been growing the congregation and serving as its teaching pastor ever since. For more of Mike’s surprising story, “From Punk to Pastor”, can be seen on youtube.com.

His father added that Mike has spoken at several Christian conferences throughout the United States and Europe and has been a guest on Calvary Chapel’s radio program called Pastor’s Perspective. He writes articles for Calvarychapel.com and will soon be contributing articles to Gospelthread.com.

Mike and Rachel have two children, Eoin, 10, and Rosie, 1.

Becky Heimback, now Becky Simpson, was tracked down through Facebook and provided an account of her life since graduation.

She went to Palomar College and then transferred to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she was roommates with her sister. And yes I am a Mormon, she added.

In Utah, she met her husband, Chip Simpson, who lived down the street from her cousins. During their college years, Chip left to serve a 2-year LDS mission in Japan. Right before he got home, Becky left to serve a mission in Montana and Wyoming for a year and a half.

Becky said, “Chip and I wrote letters and sent home-made pop-up cards back and forth as friends throughout our missions. This was a total of 3.5 years…In February of 2007, Chip got down on one knee and proposed to me with the most incredible pop-up card!”

They have been married since the summer of 2007. Becky graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in public health and worked as a wellness coach. They had their first daughter in 2009 and she decided to stay home with her. They now have three girls and a seven-month-old boy. Staying home with all of them, she is trying her best at homeschooling and works as massage therapist on the side.

Chip is a social worker and they live in Escondido but her family still lives in Fallbrook which she visits often. “In fact, my younger sister, who was just 3 when I graduated, just graduated from Fallbrook High. She [Jordan] was an awesome swimmer and water polo goalie."

Anyone who knows a Fallbrook High alum, or who is one, who has an interesting story may send the details and some photos to Lorena Geyer Thomas, a former FUHS librarian who is heading up the alumni association’s "Where are they now?" project at [email protected].