Saved by the Bell wasn't just a show about six high school (and college) students who always seemed to make it out of bad situations unharmed. The gang from Bayside was a beacon of hope for what our futures would hold. Because of them, we all thought high school would be one long chat session by the lockers and that college would so liberating that we'd get to actually live with the opposite sex.
But, we never got to find out what happened to Zack, Kelly, Lisa, Screech, AC, and Jessie after college. What did they do? Were they successful?
We may never know, but we decided to use all the clues we could to figure out where they are today and how their careers are going.
Zack Morris
What We Last Saw
While in college, Zack ran off to get married to Kelly in Vegas, with a special cameo from Principal Belding. In school, Zack showed a lot of promise in his anthropology class and seemed to be maintaing a solid GPA, but ultimately failed to show passion for any one area of study. But since he got a 1502 on his SATs, we know he had the brains to do whatever he wanted.
What Zack Probably Did After College
After graduating from college with an anthropology degree, he pulled a 180 and went straight to finance to work as a junior analyst for a major bank. Having shown a penchant his entire life for making dangerous bets and taking shortcuts to make a lot of money, he found a loophole in the housing market that allowed him bundle many loans together and sell them off to unsuspecting buyers. It was going very well for him until about 2008.
Where Zack is Today
As the financial sector went bust, Zack and Kelly moved back home with his parents. Just when things seemed down and out, Zack realized the error of his ways and had an epiphany to change his life and do something good for the world. He started a Kickstarter to once more save The Max. He succeeded—and used his business acumen to turn it into a successful national chain, giving high schoolers throughout the country a place to kick back and never go to class.
Kelly Kapowski-Morris
What We Last Saw
After a tumultuous relationship with her college professor, Kelly finally came to her senses and realized Zack was her one true love. They eloped in Vegas and returned to school after what we can only assume was a magical honeymoon. Kelly showed a passion for nursing, but oddly, was not in nursing school.
What Kelly Probably Did After College
Following college, Kelly pushed Zack to start a family. While Zack was working in finance, Kelly started using her free time to follow her passion: helping people. She started several charities, including one called Pause for Paws, which encouraged people to stop and give back to help abused animals. Because, well, as Kelly puts it, "Puppies are so cute!"
Where Kelly is Today
When Zack's career went down the drain, Kelly did what Kelly does best: Step up. Much like when her father lost her job, Kelly took the stress of the family upon herself and decided to find a way to make sure the family made it through its tough time. One day, while shopping at the mall with a friend, she took a picture with her phone of an outfit she liked. While discussing the outfit over BBM, a light went off. Within six months, Kelly had created the first social fashion app. Today she runs her own company and is routinely named to 40 Under 40 Lists.
Screech Powers
What We Last Saw
Ignoring his genius brainpower and love of science, Screech opted to return to Bayside to help Mr. Belding out as an assistant principal, positioning himself for a promotion when Mr. Belding retired. After all, Bayside was his one true love outside of Lisa and Zack.
What Screech Probably Did After College
One day while living at home, Screech noticed how lonely his dog, Hound Dog, looked. While attempting to speak to Hound Dog to understand his pain, he realized that Hound Dog was just looking for love. This inspired Screech to create Barkr, a Tinder-like app for dogs to find love. He later sold the company for $100 million.
Where Screech is Today
After the sale, Screech has become a staple in the Silicon Alley scene and often invests in small educational startups. Sam Biddle writes about him often in ValleyWag for his routinely embarrassing social screw-ups. Oh, and Zack doesn't know it, but Screech was the mystery investor who helped his Kickstarter to save The Max succeed. After all these years and success, he just can't quit Zack.
Lisa Turtle
What We Last Saw
Lisa was always a bit of a loner when it came to the pack. So it wasn't shocking that, instead of staying close and going to college with the group, she followed her heart to pursue her fashion degree at FIT in NYC.
What Lisa Probably Did After College
Lisa used her parents' connections to land an exclusive internship at a well-respected fashion house. She spent a full year getting coffee and answering phones, until one day, during Fashion Week, she had a chance encounter with a buyer from Gucci. Upon learning that one could be a professional buyer, she nearly collapsed. As we all know, the only thing Lisa loves more than herself and fashion is shopping.
Where Lisa is Today
Lisa still lives in NYC, and has a pretty much lost all contact with her California gang. Following Kelly on Instagram is about the extent of their friendship (and she's still embarrassed when Kelly tags her in #TBT pictures, where she's wearing the ugliest overalls imaginable). However, she has successfully made her way up to a buyer in women's accessories at Polo Ralph Lauren. She looks forward to her next high school reunion so that she can flaunt her career success over Jessie, who always looked down on Lisa.
AC Slater
What We Last Saw
Slater went off to college with the rest of the gang. While he struggled early on to adapt, he soon found his groove in the classroom and on the wrestling team.
What Slater Probably Did After College
Slater felt a sense of pride and responsibility to enlist in the Army after college, a decision that made his father extremely proud. He was deployed to the Middle East. While little is known about what he did over there, he was honorably discharged and returned home for civilian life.
Where Slater is Today
Slater proudly walked back into the halls of Bayside and asked Mr. Belding for a job. Without even an interview, he was hired on the spot to replace the gym teacher, who had just retired that very same day. How fortuitous! Today, he teaches gym at Bayside and coaches both the football and wrestling varsity teams. He still has to be reminded to keep his shirt on and stop flexing every five minutes, since that's not really appropriate behavior for a teacher.
Jessie Spano
What We Last Saw
Jessie had a rough fear years in high school. She dealt with addiction, dating problems, and rejection from her top college—Stanford. However, she did end up getting accepted to Columbia University in NYC.
What Jessie Probably Did After College
Inspired after a trip to Washington while she was senior class president, Jessie landed a job as an intern on Capitol Hill right after college for her local congresswoman from California. She worked her way up and eventually became a full-time staffer, but became disenchanted by the corruption and walked away.
Where Jessie is Today
After waiting tables around DC and being a regular in the karaoke bar circuit, she finally landed her dream job with a charitable NGO that is devoted to helping young kids and adults become less dependent on caffeine. Oddly, upon receiving the job, she didn't mention how excited she was to any of her friends. Today she is a director of communications and routinely speaks at local schools on the stresses of being untrained and in an all-girl pop group managed by a friend and how it can lead to substance abuse. And yes, the students are thoroughly confused when she speaks.