Commitment to Our Community

By Kulvadee Siribhadra, Director of the Foundation Board Office

Besides its leading role in international school education in Bangkok, our school has also long been recognised for its strong commitment to community service. The many community projects at school through the activities of teachers and students illustrate the many ways we try to be respectful contributors to the local community. Our Foundation Board is another vehicle through which our school shares this commitment to support the community, both here in Bang Na and the larger community beyond.

Every year the Foundation Board donates used assets and money to support and foster the education of underprivileged children and activities of other communities. The Foundation determines where the needs are and then donates good condition used computers, educational equipment, furniture and fittings. These destinations range from temple schools to government schools, government agencies to non-profit organisations. In 2019, the Board donated 460 used computers to 18 schools, 12 government agencies and three non-profits around the country. Other used asset donations including educational equipment, furniture, fittings and books were given to 16 schools and government organisations across Thailand.

In addition to these annual donations, in 2005 the Foundation Board helped established the Pongploy Novice School in Bang Na in conjunction with Wat Pongploy. Wat Pongploy is the only temple in Soi LaSalle and Pongploy

Novice School is the only novice school under the patronage of the Supreme Patriarch. A new building was just constructed on the grounds of the school with the support of the Foundation.

The COVID-19 crisis has not gone unnoticed; the Foundation works with the local community to distribute essentials such as food, dried food, cooking oil, rice and other necessary items. A Community Pantry was set up across the street from the school and is supplied regularly with needed food and food items for the Bang Na community.

The Foundation Board has also been involved with working with the Ministry of Public Health offering support of the management of COVID-19 through the supply of PPE equipment including masks, face shields, gel alcohol and other PPE for medical staff.

Being a good institutional citizen is an important part of our school culture; building goodwill and strengthening bonds within the community is something we have done since the school’s inception and is part of the very fabric of our long history.

ALUMNI STORIES LIFE AFTER PATANA

Venture Capitalist and Entrepreneur

Matthew Kang Holding, Class of 2014

Although Matthew only spent three years at Bangkok Patana School, he felt it played a key role in his long-term education and goals.

“Having attended many schools, I can confidently state that I had a superb experience at Bangkok Patana. The campus was modern and the staff cared about their students. I was able to participate in a variety of extra-curric ulars (e.g. orchestra) as well as filming talent shows – students were delegated responsibility.

The International Days were unforgettable. Having an exposure to a variety of cultures and being able to celebrate them was a fantastic opportunity. Moreover, I cherished the Year 7 Residential. This was unique to Bangkok Patana and I was able to go on an adventure with my friends. For instance, I remember snorkelling near a cave full of sea urchins and swimming near a blacktip reef shark.

At Bangkok Patana I learned that the greatest tragedy is unfulfilled potential. I recall teachers being stimulating and providing a world class education. This significantly impacted my academic and professional career. The challenging academic environment also motivated me to work harder. My teachers taught me that it was not wrong to have an enquiring mind and question the norm.

I attended the University of Birmingham where I obtained a Bachelor of Medical Science in Biomedical Materials Science and am currently pursuing a Masters (MPhil) in Bioscience Enterprise at the University of Cambridge.

When I was at university, I thought that it would be a ‘fun’ and challenging

experience to create a side hustle. Inspired by my father’s entrepreneurial endeavours in Asia, I founded a startup that developed a range of plastic free, plant-based snacks featuring high fibre and high protein snacks for the growing number of health conscious and environmentally aware consumers. Recently, Virgin Startups provided a loan for the project and I have held numerous discussions with angel investors. We are speaking to Sainsbury’s Future Foods, Healthy Nibbles and Snack Nation (USA). I have been stretched many times; however, I am thankful for the lessons I have learnt regarding management and execution.

Aside from founding the startup, I ran numerous societies on campus and participated in the Vice Chancellor’s Challenge at university. For instance, I was involved with the investment society in the first year. In an increasingly com petitive world, I recommend this to any student who wants to break through into a specific career. If these societies don’t exist, start one! I hope that you do the same at your university. Get stuck in with extra-curriculars and you won’t regret it.

After graduating, I interned at an early-stage, deep science venture capital fund in London. The fund backed ambitious founders, specialising in breakthrough biotech and AI (Machine Learning) technologies. There I worked in investment and analysis

and developing growth strategies. This experience opened more doors, and I now serve as a part-time executive am bassador with HS Ventures, an innovation ecosystem that scales healthcare startups to tackle global health issues.

Currently I am a venture capital investor at Midven which operates six funds in the UK. We fund new market entrants that are looking to scale quickly. We are sector agnostic, so that means I get a lot of exposure to many industries, such as: biotech, consumer products and nuclear fusion. My role involves conducting due diligence, deal sourcing, investing, and fund management. Of course, this also involves a lot of networking. A previous fund I worked for,

UFP Fintech, seeded a major unicorn (Revolut) and numerous market lead ers. I am learning a lot about venture capital and the UK startup ecosystem. I have been able to attend events such as Expanse Summit, Web Summit and meet with the Czech Republic embassy to discuss fintech regulations.

I enjoy tackling questions. I actively engage with science and philosophy organisations, such as Christians in Science (based at the Faraday Institute in the University of Cambridge). Leading the Birmingham chapter allowed me opportunities to interview scientists such as Reverend Dr Rodney Holder.

Also, I am passionate about problem-solving and the environment. I believe that startups and translational research are the best ways to overcome such challenges. As a result, I recently started a podcast on Anchor.fm, The Future Impact Show. We interview scientists, entrepreneurs and investors about actions that we can take now in order to sustain a growing population. Feel free to give it a listen. I welcome new ideas and criticism!

In ten years, I hope to be tackling the issues that will sustain our new world as the popular grows. The UN predicts that the human population will reach 10 billion in 2050. I have quite a few ob jectives some of which include alleviating diseases with AI enabled drug discovery and utilising nature to improve our designs in biomaterials and medical devices.

With my experience in venture capital, I hope to launch and manage global healthcare/ biotech funds. Particular interests of mine include digital health, longevity and regenerative medicine. It is clear that this has to be the new focus in light of COVID-19. As a species, we are very unprepared.

Scott Kupor from venture capitalist Andreesen Horowitz once told me: “Never underestimate your network”. My experience testifies to this and I hope that anyone reading never doubts this. Keep working hard in whatever you do!”

ALUMNI STORIES LIFE AFTER PATANA

Midwife in a Global Pandemic

Grace Lawry, Class of 2012. Grace Lawry left Bangkok Patana School at the end of Year 4 but the skills she learned and experiences she had at Bangkok Patana were carried with her to life in the UK.

How long were you at Bangkok Patana? What life skills do you think you learned while you were living and going to school here that have inspired you or helped you on the path you chose? I realise you were here in Primary only but what experiences did you have that had an impact on your choices? Was there anything there that sparked the passion for your chosen profession?

“I spent Years 1-4 at Bangkok Patana and to this day attest to how for tunate and happy I am to have been a part of it. I have fond memories of playing a dog in ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, performing an S-Club 7 dance with my friends at Splash Day and competing in heaps of swimming galas with an orange paw print on the back of my swimming costume. My parents still laugh because I can sing (a somewhat butchered version of) the Thai national anthem.”

“I’ve never had any qualms as a midwife engaging with and making people from all walks of life feel comfortable in my care. I attribute much of this to spending my formative years at an international school.”

“Eating foods foreign to me and sharing activities from different cultures on International Day were all part of my global education and something I very much enjoyed. I speak partly in my blog post ‘Being a Midwife in a Global Pandemic’ about language barriers and the skill of having to rely on ‘non-verbal communication’ at times. I’m sure I must have fine-tuned this skill as a child, rely ing on charades in the desperate search for a ‘hong nam’ somewhere in the depths of Thailand.”

“Although not directly related to Bangkok Patana, my experiences of growing up in Thailand did form part of my application to become a midwife.

Our much adored maid would quite often have her children come to stay with her at our apartment during the holidays. One day her daughter quite abruptly disappeared. When my mother asked our maid where her daughter had gone, she noticed our maid’s face darken quite uncharacteristically. Our maid went on to mime a rounding of the stomach – implying her daughter had fallen pregnant. She elaborated that she had sent her daughter away, for fear of bringing shame to our family. My mother insisted that our maid call her daughter to come straight back to the safety of our apartment. And so it happened that I, an expat Australian child, got to observe a 19-year-old Thai woman navigate the fears and anxieties of transitioning into motherhood unexpectedly.”

“It was incredible how life at home adapted after the baby was born. It became quite normal to be greeted by the baby in her high chair on arrival home. If a puzzle piece was missing, the first place you’d check was the baby’s mouth. I recall you’d often have to stop the baby from launching at her own reflection in the mirror. I (a petulant eight year old) would often storm into the maid’s room to retrieve toys that had found their way into the baby’s cot and eye roll when both my maid and her daughter were, quite understandably (but perhaps not to an eight year old), too busy to play catch with me. I did so love them all. Part of my fascination with pregnancy and the strength of women coming together started here.”

What kind of coping mechanisms have you developed to deal with the emotional and mental stress of working in this pandemic? Any tips that you would like to share that you feel may help our readership?

“I will admit that initially I didn’t manage my stress related to working amongst COVID-19 well. I became quite breathless with anxiety, convincing myself I was therefore symptomatic, sky rocketing my anxiety all the more – and a vicious cycle ensued.”

“Gradually, I found comfort in know ing that a lot of my colleagues felt much the same. We spoke openly and eventually, through relying on each other, we found the novelty and initial fear of the virus wore off. We were stronger than we gave ourselves credit for. I found I was glad of work, something to throw myself into to pass the time. There was peace in knowing that, for now, life was otherwise on pause. It was time to find contentedness in the now.”

“I had always toyed with the idea of starting a blog, literally for years. It wasn’t until I found I had nothing but time between shifts that I figured I couldn’t put it off any longer. I get satisfaction from knowing I’ve managed to use my time in lockdown effectively. I always find a ‘To Do’ list helps to structure my day.”

“Funnily enough this isn’t my first experience of quarantine. I had two weeks off school while I was at Bangkok Patana during the SARS outbreak. Granted my only regret from this time was that I missed out on my role as a seagull in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. Alas, what could have been. Hopefully this serves as a reminder though, that this too shall pass.”

You can follow Grace’s blog here: https://thebestofbirthworlds.com/