Cheap Thrillz, homecoming queen and voted the 'most likely to be remembered': How Petraeus' mistress was driven by naked ambition - even in her teenage years
- Paula Broadwell, then known as Paula Kranz, graduated from Century High School in Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1991
- Named homecoming queen, valedictorian and student council president
- Described by a coach as someone who 'knew what she wanted and would go for it'
- Classmate says she was focused on her studies and 'didn't go out and party'
- She met Gen David Petraeus in 2006 when she was a Harvard graduate student
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Before she went 'All In' with David Petraeus, biographer Paula Broadwell was driven to succeed at a North Dakota high school, where she was named student council president and valedictorian.
Broadwell, 40, was revealed late last week to be the woman who engaged in an extramarital affair with the disgraced former general, forcing him to resign from his position as CIA director.
But in 1991, she was known back then as Paula Kranz, who attended Century High School in Bismarck, where she was voted homecoming queen and 'most likely to be remembered' in the school's yearbook.
A former coach at the school described her as a young woman who 'knew what she wanted and would go after it.'
She also played lead violin in the school orchestra, dominated on the basketball court, and loved a newly-formed band called Cheap Thrillz.
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Driven to succeed: Known then as Paula Kranz, Broadwell was named student council president and valedictorian at Century High School in Bismark, North Daokta
Surrounded by friends: Broadwell, second from left, is congratulated by friends after she was crowned homecoming queen
She was also regarded as an exceptional public speaker, with one telling caption under a Yearbook photo reading simply, 'Paula Kranz gives one of her many speeches to an auditorium full of students.'
Her high school maxim was, the rather earnest, 'God has given me all of these gifts to use to the best of my ability.'
Many people knew her for her numerous awards: the AUU/Mars Milky Way Foundation Scholar, All State Tournament for girls basketball, North Dakota State Student Council President, and a remarkable 36 other achievements.
She held nine leadership positions and was involved in four extra-curricular and community activities during her high school years.
But, as the past few days have shown, Broadwell is only human, despite the promising high school record.
As one faculty member who knew Broadwell said: 'Sometimes her school work and friendships suffered a little from the lack of time she was able to put into them.'
But Paula apparently had no regrets. She told classmates at the time that her experiences 'helped her form a broader perspective on life and on the world.'
Rising star: Broadwell, then known as Paula Kranz, excelled in basketball, left, and was known as an excellent public speaker
Queen and king: Paula Broadwell is pictured with her homecoming king Mike McCormick, who says the future Petraeus mistress was focused on her studies
Of the awards, the one that gave her the greatest satisfaction was making the All-State Basketball team, an honor that also made her father Paul Kranz proud - as he too was a hoops star.
'Working hard for something adds to the satisfaction of achieving that goal,' she told the Century High yearbook. 'I don’t feel I missed out on being a teenager; but through the many opportunities I've been given, I've lived life to the fullest – giving the best that I had so the best would come back.'
At the time, her homecoming king Mike McCormick said his favorite homecoming memories would be 'running 80+ yards for a touchdown, kissing Paula on the cheek, and sitting in the huge throne.'
She was known among her classmates as a go-getter who did not get sucked into the early 90s teen party scene.
Mr McCormick told the New York Post: 'She was devoted and studied and worked hard to get good grades. She didn’t really go out and party like high-school kids do.'
She may have been homecoming queen to McCormick's king but it was Chris Mattern who was Paula's Senior year boyfriend.
Determination: Broadwell, right, held a remarkable 26 achievements when she graduated from Century High School
Like with Petraeus, she shared a love of running - though in those days cross-country was not Paula's preferred sport.
Clean-cut and handsome, Chris was voted Class Scholar of his year and awarded both Hardest Worker and Team Leader Award for his performance in the small cross country team.
Speaking in the year of his graduation Chris said, 'Cross Country may not be the most popular sport, but for building integrity and self-determination, there's nothing like it.'
Shared five mile runs were key to the development of Paula and General Petraeus's relationship.
Competition was a lynchpin of that relationship as Paula and Petraeus tested each other.
Competition was a lynchpin of that relationship as Paula and Petraeus tested each other.
Even back in High School that element of sporting combat came into play in her relationship with Chris.
Beau: Chris Mattern, Broadwell's high school boyfriend, was a fellow scholar-athlete
Both Chris and Paula entered the AAU-Mars Milky Way All-American competition - but only one could be victorious and, according to one from the time, 'It really stuck in Chris's throat a bit when Paula won. But he couldn't hold a candle to her really.'
Yesterday Chris's mother, Mrs Lorraine Mattern recalled Paula as, 'a very nice and talented girl,' of whom that she had only 'fond memories.'
It would be hard to imagine a more focused student or a High School record that spoke more of ambition than Paula's.
Many people knew her for her numerous awards: the AUU/Mars Milky Way Foundation Scholar, 1990 Homecoming Queen, All State Tournament for girls basketball, North Dakota State Student Council President , and a remarkable 36 other achievements.
Julie Stavn, who coaches track and cross country at Century High School, told MailOnline: ‘The one thing that stood out about Paula was that she was so assertive.'
'She knew what she wanted and she would go after it.'
School: Paula Broadwell left her mark on Century High School by the time she graduated in 1991, excelling in sports, academics and extracurricular activies
That determination is Coach Stavn’s abiding memory of the pupil who was, by any measures an extraordinary student.
Fellow track coach and close family friend, Ron Wingenbach, agreed, saying: ‘That was the thing about Paula. Whatever it was, whatever she was focused on she’d "just git her done."'
The hallways of Century High School today pay tribute to their famous – perhaps now more infamous – former student.
A team photo of the 1990 All State Champion Basketball team, the first women’s team from CHS to win the title, takes pride of place above the school’s main entrance.
In the photo, Paula is where Paula always liked to be - front and center.
Coach Stavn recalled, ‘Danny Jacobs was the coach for that game and I remember him telling me after he didn’t even coach it. He said, "I just handed it over to Paula and let her do the rest."'
Success: Paula Broadwell's high school coaches say that she 'always had her eye on doing something bigger and better'
She added: 'That’s what she was like. She was a natural leader, she thrived in those positions.'
That desire to lead, according to Coach Stavn, was enthusiastically nurtured by Paula’s mother, Nadene.
‘Her mother was a big influence on her. She had her on her radar in every accomplishment she ever did. She had a resume with things on it that most people, really, wouldn’t even think of putting there. Everything, from "Student of the Week" - in second grade.
'I don’t suppose that would do it in itself - make Paula so focused and driven. It must have played a part but some of it is just in the genes I think.'
Broadwell’s parents divorced when she was in her early teens but Mrs Stavn and Mr Wingenbach, recall that Paula never bore ill will, speaking highly of both parents.
They both continued to live in Bismarck with Paula’s mother only leaving the state recently.
Towards the end of her schooling Paula spoke about a desire to go to medical school or study law. For once, it seemed, she was less than certain about the path she wanted to follow.
Coach Stavn said: ‘That may have been part of her motivation in attending West Point. It could take her on the path to other things, better things.
'She always had an eye to doing something bigger and better.’
Winning the AAU-Mars Milky Way All-American award, a national accolade encompassing academic, sporting and extra-curricular achievement, put her, both agree, within sight of that ‘bigger, better,’ world. ‘She travelled across America, she got to meet other outstanding students from all over the country. That was a huge thing for Paula,’ Mrs Stavn said.
Still, she added, for the longest time, ‘The only thing she really seemed to know is that she wanted to be significant. She wanted to make a difference.’
She has certainly done that.
Down the hall from the main cafeteria area in Century High School is the school’s Hall of Fame. Everywhere the notion of patriotism is writ large. The American flag flies at the gate, the school motto affirms that students are ‘committed to graudate,’ as if their very education was a pledge to be taken daily along with that of allegiance to the flag.
Here in this hothouse of national pride a plaque of Paula is displayed behind a glass case.
She was presented with an identical one of her own, when she was inducted to the CHS Hall of Fame in 2006.
But will the plaque remain here now?
'Time will tell,’ said Mr Wingenbach. 'I don’t think anybody is in a place to comment on that.'
Family ties: Paula Broadwell is pictured with family members during a recent gathering
‘People make mistakes, have poor judgement, do things badly,’ said Mrs Stavn. ‘But she has been an incredible role model, all this saddens me really.’
Mr Wingenbach added: She was a very well rounded student. She was very popular. She stood out - there are some students who do. She’s not the only one but she definitely did. We always knew she would go on to do something remarkable.
Speaking about the Petraeus scandal, he said: 'She’ll get through this. She'll land on her feet.'
Whether the same can be said for her family, neither would hazard a guess. Mr Wingenbach would only say: 'Her dad isn’t handling this very well. It’s very difficult.'
Getting along: Broadwell met Petraeus in 2006 when she was a student at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the two casually exchanged emails for two years
Those who know her suggest that, if anybody is able to cope with this maelstrom it is Paula. Speaking in her Senior year she herself claimed that her experiences, 'helped her form a broader perspective on life and on the world.'
Of all her awards the one that gave her the greatest satisfaction was making the All State Basketball team. But then that was the one that pleased her father the most – basketball was, after all , his sport.
'Working hard for something adds to the satisfaction of achieving that goal,' she told the Century High year book. ‘I don’t feel I missed out on being a teenager; but through the many opportunities I've been given, I've lived life to the fullest – giving the best that I had so the best would come back.'
Mom: Paula Broadwell is pictured with her mother, Nadene Kranz, who lives in Boise, Idaho
Mr McCormick, 40, told the paper that he was surprised by the allegations that she carried on an extramarital affair with Gen David Petraeus as she followed him around while writing his biography.
The statement was echoed by friends of Broadwell, who said the allegations of an affair with America's top intelligence official was out of character.
David Bixler, a wounded soldier who met Broadwell through a charity in 2010, told ABC News: 'I have some serious questions about who is connecting these dots... Paula Broadwell is not the type... she isn't.'
She lives with her husband Scott, a radiologist, and their two children in a suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, neighborhood.
Ed Williams, a neighbor who lives two houses down from the Broadwell family in Charlotte, North Carolina, neighborhood, told Reuters: 'Everyone is surprised and shocked.'
Husband: Broadwell is married to Dr Scott Broadwell, a radiologist
Castle: Paula Broadwell lives with her husband Scott and their two children in this home, located in a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina
Earlier in the week, Williams, a retired editor, saw Broadwell with her two children when she was voting in last week's U.S. presidential election.
He told Reuters that Broadwell appeared chatty and cheerful. Neighbors were working on putting together a belated party to celebrate the release of her book.
Broadwell's father Paul Kranz, a retired high school basketball coach, sprung to his daughter’s defense today.
Mr Kranz told MailOnline that the shock of the past few days is 'just the beginning of a process.'
Family: Broadwell's father Paul Kranz, left, said he is standing by his daughter. He is divorced from her mother, Nadene Kranz, pictured right, who lives in Idaho
He spoke briefly this morning on the snow-covered drive of his modest bungalow in Bismarck, North Dakota.
He said: 'I've been advised by attorneys not to talk right now. This is private property.
'I hope you understand this is the beginning of a process. I can't say more than that. I couldn't if I wanted to.'
Paul Kranz is divorced from his wife and Paula's mother Nadene Kranz, who lives in Boise, Idaho.
From Century High School, Broadwell moved on to the West Point Military Academy in New York.
She met Petraeus in 2006 when she was a student at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the two casually exchanged emails for two years.
In 2008, Broadwell bonded with Petraeus while interviewing the four-star general during runs on the Potomac River as she pursued her Ph D in public policy.
Glamor: Paula Broadwell with her husband Dr Scott Broadwell at a black-tie event to raise money for military charities'
Affair: Broadwell is pictured just behind Petraeus as he walks with his wife Holly at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing
'A few months into my research, General Petraeus, who was then leading Central Command, invited me to go for a run with him and his team along the Potomac River during one of his visits to Washington,' she writes in the biography, titled All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.
'I figured I could interview him while we ran.'
She explained that, after earning varsity letters in cross-country and indoor and outdoor track, she wanted to test him to see if he could keep up with her as she interviewed him.
'Instead it became a test for me,' she said. 'As we talked during the run from the Pentagon to the Washington Monument and back, Petraeus progressively increased the pace until the talk turned to heavy breathing and we reached a six-minute-per-mile pace. It was a signature Petraeus move.'
Promoting the book on The Daily Show with John Stewart in January, she insisted that these mile-long runs together were nothing out of the ordinary.
'This is a typical mechanism for him to get to know young people,' she said. 'He's done it throughout his life. That was the foundation of our relationship.'
In another often awkward radio interview in January, host Don Imus said that the pair must have 'obviously' liked each other.
On TV: Promoting the book on The Daily Show with John Stewart in January, Broadwell insisted that these mile-long runs together were nothing out of the ordinary
She responded: 'You know, as I said earlier, he has a number of mentees and that's one thing that's different when you compare him to other Senior Commanders.
'But, yeah, we had a lot of rapport. I think some of that comes from a common ground of having gone to West Point [to the U.S. Military Academy].'
Of her reported rival, she added: 'He is married to Holly Petraeus, who is a wonderful military spouse and done so much for their children and for children of fallen soldiers. I respect her immensely.'
The book's description explains how Broadwell conducted research for three years and was 'afforded extensive access by General Petraeus, his mentors, his subordinates and his longtime friends.'
Its website adds Broadwell was embedded in Afghanistan with Petraeus for a year between July 2010 and 2011.
VIDEO: Paula Broadwell on All In: The Education of David Petraeus
VIDEO: Congress turns up the heat on Petraeus affair
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2231851/David-Petraeus-scandal-Paula-Broadwell-voted-homecoming-queen-high-school.html
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