The HKIS Alumni Magazine Alumni News
Begbie brothers – the recipients of the Bob Christian Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award 2009 Alumni PROFILE
Jonathan & Eric Mueller
Faculty News
Veteran teacher George Coombs HKIS News
St. Baldricks at HKIS
Volume 11
Summer Edition 2009
Support the Alumni Scholarship in Memory of David F. Rittmann In honor of the unique legacy David Rittmann left to our school, HKIS named a new Alumni Scholarship in his Memory: The Alumni Scholarship in Memory of David F. Rittmann. The scholarship will go to a local student from Hong Kong chosen from our High Achievers Program or English Language Leadership Program. Through this scholarship, the memory of David will literally live on in the recipient. What better tribute to David, who spent a full life serving the Lord and making a difference in the lives of so many students? The Scholarship is open for donations. To direct a gift, you may do so at https://www.paydollar.com/ b2c2/project/hkis/payInfo.jsp. Please select Alumni Scholarship in Memory of David F. Rittmann where it states “please direct my gift to”. To learn more about the Annual Fund, review our Annual Report and Report of Giving online at www.hkis.edu.hk
Register Now! http://www.hkis.edu.hk/newmember.php We need you to keep us up-to-date on your current whereabouts. Please login to review your current personal details and provide updates where necessary by using the Alumni Registration & Update Form to fill in as many fields as possible. Please also help circulate to Alums you may know that have been out of touch. The HKIS Alumni Office needs you to help find these Lost Alums! You can also write directly to alumni@hkis.edu.hk and tell us about your recent developments in life. We will include your submission in our next edition of the Alumni Magazine, DragonTales. Once registered, the Alumni office will keep in regular contact and update you on Alumni news, events and school developments. If you have new contact details, keep us informed and up to date. Please help your Alumni Office!
Volume 11 • Summer Edition 20 09
DragonTales is published twice a year by the Office of Institutional Advancement of Hong Kong International School.
Contents 5
Leadership Updates
n Message from Head of School Richard W. Mueller Mark L. Sheldon Director
6
Sylvia Evans Deputy Director Connie Chan Public Relations Manager James Manning Communications & Publications Manager Loretta Fung Development Coordinator Kathy Wong Administrative Assistant
DragonTales Editors Irene Loh James Manning
23
Vice-President Rohini Balani Chotirmal ’89 Treasurer Simon Lau ’80
E-Board Members David Christian ’69 Robert Dorfman ’72 David Kohl (former faculty)
n Jonathan and Eric Mueller
n Nancy Kroonenberg’s Annual Thanksgiving visit to Hong Kong
n Alumni Homecoming 2009
HKIS News & Updates n George Coombs – DragonTales Reviews the “Good Old Days” with the Veteran Teacher
n St Baldrick’s Hero Escapes to the “Big Shave” 2008
n Dame Jane Goodall Visits HKIS
n HKIS Math Students Achieve a World First
n Dragon Ladies and Spirit Boosters
36
Former Faculty Updates
n Farewell Reception for Leaving Faculty and Administrators
38 Designed and printed by Impressions Design & Print Ltd
n The Begbie Brothers – the Recipients of the Bob Christian Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award 2009
n Michael Swaine – A Man with China Running Through His Veins
Alumni Board President Kenneth Koo ’79
Members Lincoln Chan ’88 Justin Hardman ’99 Ken Rohrs (faculty) Joyce Yin ’89
Alumni News & Profiles
Class Notes
10 Year Reunion for
Class of 1999 July 24-26, 2009 New York July 4, 2009 Hong Kong
It’s time to celebrate the 10 years since we left HKIS and the memories of those wonderful high school days!
The US reunion will take place in New York, NY over the weekend of July 24, 2009. Tentative plans include:
Friday, July 24
HOTEL ROOMS! Please email: jessihk@hotmail.com if you
plan on staying in a hotel. We will put together a block of rooms once we have a sense of need.
Dinner and Drinks in Chinatown! 8pm until late
The HK reunion will take place on July 4, 2009
Saturday, July 25
BBQ and Drinks! 6pm until late
Brunch in the East Village 11am-1pm Depending on RSVPs either: • A boat cruise around Manhattan (with drinks and food)! • Bowling night (with drinks and food)!
Saturday, July 4
We realize some of our classmates may have limited financial resources and we’re aiming to be as cost conscious as possible.
MORE INFORMATION! Updates and more specific
Dancing and Drinks 10pm until late
information will be provided by email and Evite when we receive RSVPs and get a better sense of attendance numbers so please RSVP as soon as possible!
Sunday, July 26
RSVP! If you have not already RSVP’d through the Evite or
Dim sum brunch! 11:30am-2pm
Smaller Group Activities! After dim sum some small group trips will be organized to museums, zoos, parks and shopping areas around the Manhattan and Brooklyn area for those who have time.
Facebook pages, please send your email address and RSVP to jessihk@hotmail.com (NY leg) and eleanor.shing@gmail.com (HK leg).
IT’S GOING TO BE A GREAT REUNION WEEKEND!
leadership updates
Dear HKIS Alumni,
I
t has been a busy and successful year at HKIS as we educated 2,650 students from around the world. It was a year which saw our strategic directions lead to significant improvements in our educational programs, based on our Mission Statement and Student Learning Results, in building our faculty through professional development and training, and bringing on line new facilities such as the new Middle School building. Stay tuned for the School’s Annual Report in September for more on these changes. It has also been a year during which our school reconnected with many alumni. At this year’s Alumni Homecoming in January, for example, 80 alums made the journey back to Tai Tam for the day where they participated in campus tours and reviewed new additions to HKIS built under the school’s Master Facilities Plan. They also enjoyed a barbeque lunch at the edge of the newly installed artificial turf of the Tai Tam sports field, an afternoon of activities, and a rekindling of friendships at a reception in Lan Kwai Fong. So many former students continue their close relationship with our school long after graduating. I am constantly impressed when I hear of the different paths and adventures alums have taken and how HKIS has made a positive difference to their lives. I know the school had a lasting impact on our sons, Jonathan (’94) and Eric (’96). Their broad and deep educational program and experiences at HKIS helped to shape them into the people they are today. Several activities and events with seniors during the year were designed to build interest in a continuing connection with their alma mater. One such initiative is a video project that involved local alumni sharing their HKIS and career experiences. These videos were shown and discussed in Senior Transition Classes this year. We also held a College and Careers Night where many alumni returned to talk with seniors about their choices. Graduation 2009 was on June 12 this year. Some 183 members of the Class of 2009 became newlyminted alumni of HKIS. At Graduation, alumni took center stage as I awarded David “Biff” Begbie ‘94 and Joshua Begbie ’96 the Bob Christian Alumnus/ Alumna of the Year Award. The Award was established in 2006 to recall the service of Bob Christian as Head of School from 1966 to 1977 and to give recognition to the Alumnus/Alumna who has made a strong, positive contribution to HKIS, our community, and the larger Hong Kong community. The Begbie brothers are the Award’s first recipients and worthy winners, having dedicated their lives to serving the local and international communities and the world. With their parents, they established the Hong Kong-based charity Crossroads Foundation in 1996. See page 6 for a fuller report. Alumni are an integral part of both the heritage and the future of our school. We will continue to find ways to connect with you and support creation of an active alumni network. It is a challenging task at times since our alumni reside all around the world. Please stay in touch and let us know by emailing alumni@hkis.edu.hk if you have new ideas on how we can improve contacts or ideas for new events and programs. Have a wonderful summer! Sincerely,
Richard W. Mueller Head of School
DragonTales
alumni news & profile
David ‘Biff’ Begbie ’94 AND Joshua Begbie ’96 are the recipients Bob Christian Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award 2009
DragonTales
I
n recognition of their exemplary contribution to society and living out the ideals of the HKIS Mission Statement, The Bob Christian Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award 2009 was presented to brothers David “Biff” Begbie ’94 and Joshua Begbie ’96 by Head of School Richard Mueller at the HKIS Graduation in June. David and Joshua have dedicated their lives to serving the local and international communities. With their parents, they established the Hong Kong-based charity Crossroads Foundation in 1996. Today, Crossroads is improving lives for impoverished people around the world, providing relief, creating jobs and rebuilding communities. The charity continues to grow and is now working in more than a hundred countries. Crossroads has four main areas of work: Global Distribution for dispensing aid
Global Hand to connect people who want to help those in need Global Village to promote awareness through simulated experiences
Global Handicrafts to offer a market where handicrafts produced by people in poverty to be sold at fair trade prices. The Begbie brothers have embraced Chinese culture, even learning to speak Mandarin. They have also generously given of their time to HKIS. Each year, they run activities for hundreds of HKIS students at the Crossroads Village. They also speak at HKIS high school assemblies and other school functions. HKIS is proud of David and Josh; they provide an excellent example of service and dedication for us all. HKIS thanks the Award’s selection committee members Linda Anderson, George Coombs, Justin Hardman, Joyce Yin and Sylvia Evans.
David and Josh pictured with a group of HKIS Freshman students, Jason Hinojosa who were at Crossroads for the Refugee Run on May 16, 2009
About The Bob Christian Alumnus/ Alumna of the Year Award: The Bob Christian Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award was established in 2006 during the school’s 40th Anniversary to give recognition to the Alumnus/Alumna that have made a significant contribution to HKIS, our community, and/or the larger Hong Kong community. To be nominated, candidates should: u Exemplify our Mission and Student Learning Results u Contribute to the HKIS community, the local community, or
the broader community
This school year the Award’s Selection Committee met several times and reviewed in detail the merits of a number of outstanding nominees. We thank those alums and community members who nominated candidates. The high caliber of candidates was truly outstanding, and this made the selection process very difficult. The Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award presentation was held during graduation on June 12, 2009. In the winter 2009 edition of DragonTales, there will be a special feature on the Begbies and the work of Crossroads Foundation. n
DragonTales
alumni news & profile
DragonTales
For Mueller brothers Jonathan ’94 and Eric ’96, HKIS journeys inspire outdoor education and space adventure...
J
onathan has never forgotten the three years he spent at HKIS Elementary School from 1983-86. “The diversity of the student body and the exposure to different cultures at HKIS was unbelievable. I would never have gotten this experience had I not attended HKIS,” he says. His daily interactions with fellow students from all parts of the world motivated the young Jonathan to look through maps in his classroom to figure out where all his classmates were from. “Students would give reports to the class on their country,” he says. “I will always remember a report on Chad in Grade 2 from one of my classmates. Prior to his presentation, I had no idea that Africa even existed, let alone that there was a country in it with the same name as one of my friends.”
NASA at the Ames Research Center. “Getting into NASA involved a lot of luck. Having worked for NASA since 2000, I still don’t fully understand how they hire new people,” he laughs. According to him, he got lucky, because his boss came to Princeton and wanted to meet with students. “He interviewed me and other students for the one opening his NASA team had, and I was successful.” Jonathan followed a less conventional, but equally impressive track from study to career. He attended the University of Virginia, graduating in 1998 with a degree in Asian Studies and Economics. On gradu-
ating he worked as a management consultant in Chicago and then in sales and corporate strategy for a technology company in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, after five years, he realized that his heart was not in the corporate world; rather it was in education and the outdoors, a realization that was cemented during a six-month sabbatical he took in-between jobs to hike the Appalachian Trail, a 2,160-mile trail that runs from Georgia to Maine. Soon after this sabbatical in 2003, Jonathan took the plunge, followed his heart, and said goodbye to the relative financial security of the corporate world. He then moved to Tanzania, where he spent nine months volunteering in business development and microfinance.
Eric, right, and Jonathan – during a trip to Macau in the 1980s
It is also the people that Eric remembers most. One clear memory is of the Interim trips he went on during his HKIS high school years (1994-96). “These were real bonding experiences with teachers and friends,” he recalls. Eric fondly remembers joining an aviation themed Interim in his Junior year at HKIS. “That was my first time in a helicopter; it was so much fun. That Interim I learned what it means to actually work in the aviation field, rather than what it’s like to study the field. It gave me the motivation to do the latter.” And powerful motivation it proved, because Eric went on to study a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Princeton University. He credits that Interim with sustaining his interest in aerospace engineering during the less than glamorous problem sets he encountered in high school and University. After graduation, he moved to the San Francisco Bay area and took a job with
alumni news & profile
Mueller family Christmas holiday in Hong Kong 2007
He describes his time in Tanzania as “a profound experience... It opened my eyes to the non-profit world and to a continent that I knew only a little more about than when I was discovering it in Grade 2 class presentations at HKIS.” Upon his return to the US in 2004, Jonathan fully transitioned his career to outdoor and environmental education, working in New Hampshire before moving back to California – first in the San Bernardino Mountains, and then in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area in 2006, where he has been ever since. Though happy to be at last working in education and outdoor pursuits, it was not long before Jonathan was exploring new possibilities beyond just getting students outdoors. “I realized teenagers are naturally inclined to take risks, and face many potential negative risks, like drug taking and gang involvement. My ambition was to help young
10 DragonTales
people re-channel their energy to positive risk taking.” In pursuit of this, he established the nonprofit Sierra Nevada Journeys (SNJ), in Reno, NV in 2006. SNJ set about building programs to give students powerful experiences and outcomes through experiential and place-based education. Since 2006, SNJ has grown to a staff of 20 and last year served more than 3,000 young people in a variety of programs: residential outdoor schools, in-school programming, and teacher professional development. SNJ is now an Approved Educational Vendor in the Washoe County School District and serves dozens of schools. With SNJ’s growth, Jonathan’s role has evolved from that of day-to-day education of students to fundraising, strategic planning, and organizational management. This has meant more deskwork, but he says this is a natural transition. “I am able to combine the best of what I like about the cor-
porate world, like strategic planning and problem solving, and marry these with a mission driven organization.” His one caveat, he says, is that he gets out at the weekends to do some rock climbing or something active. “Being an Instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) helps, as it means I am able to ‘escape’ for a few weeks each summer to lead student courses in Wyoming.” Back at NASA, Eric Mueller is engaged in pursuits right out of a science fiction novel: building, testing and flying a three-meter hybrid rocket, and constructing an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for an Air Traffic Control system, for example. “Most recently I have been running simulations with astronauts and test pilots to determine the best ways to fly the new generation of spacecraft that NASA is building.” Eric’s working day varies significantly de-
pending on the project and its phase. “If I am conducting a simulation on Spacecraft Handling Qualities, then I start the day briefing astronauts or test pilots on the experiment we’re running and how to interact with the vehicle model we have developed.” “We fly what’s called the Vertical Motion Simulator to train astronauts in the task at hand, and then walk them through our experiment matrix to collect data.” Eric and his team then debrief the astronauts to get feedback on the vehicle (usually the Orion spacecraft, which is replacing the Space Shuttle) to improve the next round of simulations. Even as a child, Eric loved building things, whether by hand, with tools or on the computer. He says he derives a similar mental stimulation and pleasure determining the best ways to fly the new generation of spacecraft as he did all those years ago building model aeroplanes and rockets as a child. When not conducting simulations, he could be designing the ‘models’ NASA uses to simulate a vehicle, coordinating engineers who implement those specifications, testing the model by flying it himself, analyzing the data from previous experiments, or writing papers and presentations for technical conferences. He says one of the best things about working for NASA is the professional development and training. “I have always felt that the people you interact with make the most contribution to your growth and development, so staying connected with amazing people at institutions like NASA, Stanford and Princeton is a great way to stay challenged and interested.”
A Clear View Jonathan and Eric are fine examples of successful HKIS alums, albeit in very different fields. Jonathan holds some significant long-
Brothers Jonathan and Eric Mueller first attended HKIS Elementary School in 1983. Later, when the family returned to Hong Kong, Eric attended the high school, graduating in 1996
term ambitions that involve SNJ transforming the entire educational system. A longer-term strategy is to transform the relationship SNJ has with schools to impact how schools teach. “I hope to influence schools so they teach in a manner to appeal to a range of students’ intelligences, inquiry based learning, hands on based learning,” says Jonathan. “This is why I started SNJ.” For Eric it is hard to think beyond finishing his NASA sponsored PhD at Stanford, or even beyond the May/June simulation. “I guess I’d like to do something that helps further an important endeavor, like returning astronauts to the Moon, or that
helps a great number of people live a bit better, even if that is spending just a little less time waiting on delayed flights.” He says while those would be nice achievements in the next decade or so, he thinks longer term life/career goals will go beyond that, even though he has not fully decided what they should be. “I like to continually push out my goals as I approach them, otherwise I get complacent and don’t accomplish as much as I could!” To learn more about Sierra Nevada Journeys, visit their website at: http://www.sierranevadajourneys.org/
DragonTales
11
alumni news & profile
After their parents – Richard and Claire Mueller – moved back to the US from Hong Kong in 1998, brothers Jonathan and Eric did not return to Hong Kong for a number of years. Back home in the US, Richard Mueller made a career change himself: from that of a career diplomat to Head of School of Northfield Mount Hermon, a well-known college preparatory boarding school in Northfield, Massachusetts. This career move would lead to an interesting turn of events seven years later in 2005 when Richard was chosen to lead HKIS as its new Head of School. Eric says he was “surprised and excited” when he heard his Dad was going to be Head of School at HKIS. “I knew it was a great opportunity for Mom and Dad, both of whom had really enjoyed their lives in Hong Kong,” he says. “We had not been back to Hong Kong for a number of years and had a fantastic time there. So from a selfish point of view, Dad’s appointment meant that we could return to Hong Kong regularly for family Christmases,” says Eric. Between 1998 and 2004, the traditional Mueller family Christmas gatherings were spent in the midst of the Massachusetts winter. “These were special family occasions, but always cold and often snowedin. The thought of Christmas in warm, familiar Hong Kong was enticing,” says Jonathan. Richard commenced his duties as Head of School in August 2005. Jonathan and Eric made their first trip back to Hong Kong in December that year. In their seven years’ absence from the city, many of their friends had moved on and Hong Kong had changed.
12 DragonTales
Hong Kong Revisited Jonathan (right) and Eric Mueller at Shek O in 2005. Inset: Jonathan and Eric same place ten years earlier in 1995
“We were especially devastated to learn that Kublai’s in Wan Chai was no longer around. When we were at school, we used to love to eat there,” says Jonathan. Notwithstanding this, he and Eric have still managed to eat out at many different Chinese restaurants over the last four Christmases. “Shanghai 369 is still a favorite. I get to practice my Mandarin when I order,” says Eric. Besides trying to cram in as many authentic Chinese dining experiences as possible, when in town Eric enjoys revisiting old haunts he remembers as a teenager. During the last four Christmas breaks in Hong Kong, you might have seen Jonathan Mueller trail running through Tai Tam Country Park, swimming at Repulse Bay, or rock or bolder climbing at Shek O. “Last year I went swimming at Repulse Bay on Christmas Day,” he says. Two years ago, Jonathan invited Mom and Dad to Shek O to watch him and his brother climb. “Mom had to turn away to face the ocean, she couldn’t watch,” laughs Jonathan. “She would rather I sat at home and read books, but understands what it means to me.” Another time, Eric and Jonathan managed to get Dad Richard into a harness at Shek O. “We got him up a few notches, which was a lot of fun to watch,” he says. Jonathan and Eric expect to be back in Hong Kong again this Christmas, which will be their last here before their parents retire in the summer 2010. “We always enjoy returning, so I am sure there will be many more return trips in the future. Hong Kong and HKIS have a very special place in our family’s heart.”
In their own words... Jonathan on the work of SNJ: “Our activities and programs are designed to empower youth through positive risk-taking. We get a person to climb to the top of a totem pole, balance atop of it, and jump off, attached to a safety rope of course… “…When this is something new to them, they need to think it through. The sum of this process is often an intense, emotional learning journey. But it is safe, positive risk taking, and helps them realize that they can confront a fear and overcome it… “…This experience can have the power to positively impact an individual’s life, so when they sit down to do a math problem, it is something they know they can work through and overcome.” Eric on what motivates him: “I love examining a problem, determining the fundamental source of that problem and formulating a solution. Many problems in engineering require an understanding of the politics, finances and interpersonal relationships that accompany a problem.”
DragonTales
13
alumni news & profile
Eric (right), Jonathan (left) with Dad Richard Mueller in Thailand in 1984. Note the boys are wearing PFO World’s Fair t-shirts!
Eric and Jonathan on the teachers we remember... Eric remembers that Mr. Klammer and Mrs. Harvey were instrumental in training and encouraging him in physics and math. “I was so fascinated by the three classes I took from Mr. Klammer that I’m pursuing a PhD in the same material and find my most enjoyable days (at work) to be those when I’m actually working with the same types of equations and problems that he first introduced me to, albeit in a slightly more advanced fashion. Mrs. Harvey gave me the mathematical background upon which I built my understanding of the concepts I’m still using today.”
14 DragonTales
Today, Eric finds he is called upon to write and present, even more than solve equations or write computer programs at NASA. He says without the training that Mr. Ewing (AP English, senior year) and Mr. McCarthy (AP American History, junior year) gave in organizing my thoughts and writing them down in a coherent manner, he would never be able to communicate his technical findings. “More than my technical expertise, my ability to write and communicate in front of a group has had an absolutely fundamental impact on my success as an engineer,” he says. He also recalls the strong support of Eric McDonald, his cross country coach and home-room teacher, as well as that of Jim
Handrich, his Elementary principal in the 1980s and later as his High School principal in the 1990s.
Jonathan on his memories of teachers... Jonathan fondly remembers teachers Mrs. Marie Byrnes in Grade 2, Mrs. Tina Adams in Grade 3, and Mrs. Mary Hoff in Grade 4. “Each of them challenged me and helped shape me in some of my most formative years.” He also remembers his math and Wrestling Coach, Mr. Jim Reuter in Grade 4, who turned him onto a sport that he enjoyed immensely. “I still have the certificate from my first tournament wins!” n
Athletics Sponsorship On behalf of the Board of the HKIS Alumni Association, Simon Lau ’80 (Treasurer) presented Scott Johnson (Athletics Director) a check for HK$10,000 from the HKIS Alumni Association towards purchasing commemorative polo shirts and t-shirts for our school coaches and our departing Senior Class athletes. The Alumni Association sincerely hopes that the spirit of this donation will contribute towards the demonstration of the partnership between HKIS alumni and our school towards promotion of several qualities as enshrined in the Student Learning Results especially in the areas of Spirituality and Character Development.
Class of 1984 25th Reunion Party
The Class of ’84 is planning their 25th reunion in Los Angeles on the weekend of October 10-12, 2009 (Columbus Day weekend) at a venue to be announced. The reunion is not limited to class members. Please contact Anita LAU McElvane via email at anita.mcelvane@gmail.com for updates and more information.
DragonTales
15
alumni news & profile
Robin Gvodzen ’87, John Hyun ’89, Rohini Chotirmal ’89, Nancy Kroonenberg, David Wu ’88, Bob Kroonenberg, Derek Kwik ’86, Ken Koo ’79, Rebecca Chien ’92, Simon Lau ’80
An Alumni reception was held on November 28, 2008 to welcome Nancy Kroonenberg during her annual Thanksgiving visit to Hong Kong. Nancy taught high school French from 1970s through to 1990s. Many Alums joined our gathering in Central. Other than Alums who came to see Nancy, current Faculty members and long time friends Ken and Karen Rohrs and Eric MacDonald also joined the evening. Bob and Nancy Kroonenberg, David Wu ’86, Ken Koo ’79, Peter Fishel ’68
Nancy Kroonenberg with Vanessa Chien ’88 and Rebecca Chien ‘92
16 DragonTales
Mark Sheldon (Director of Office of Institutional Advancement) chats with high school teacher Eric MacDonald and Mrs. MacDonald
Derek Kwik ’86, Nancy Kroonenberg, David Wu ’88
James A. Handrich Service Leadership Endowment
Nancy Kroonenberg with Ken and Karen Rohrs
On behalf of the K.H. Koo Charitable Foundation and in the spirit of demonstrating continued alumni support for our school, Kenneth Koo ’79 presented a HK$100,000 check to Head of School Richard Mueller for the benefit of the James A. Handrich Service Kenneth Koo ’79, his daughter Ellen Koo (Freshman), Leadership Endowment Claire and Richard Mueller and Bill Leese at the High School Community Assembly held on April 29, 2009. This donation was approved by the Committee of K.H. Koo Charitable Foundation based upon the merits of this Endowment in working with HKIS students to nurture the qualities of service leadership and promote the Student Learning Results of Self Motivated Learning, Character Development and Contributing to Society. The James A. Handrich Service Leadership Endowment Fund was established in June 2007 by HKIS and alumni Desmond Chu ’91 and Kenneth Koo ’79 in honor of Associate Head of School James (Jim) A. Handrich, who retired in July 2007. Over his 24 years with HKIS, Jim served as the Elementary School Principal, High School Principal, Interim-Head of School and Associate Head of School.
Simon Lau ’80, Rohini Balani Chotirmal ’89, John Hyun ’89, Nancy Kroonenberg and Ken Koo ’79
Head of School Richard Mueller and Kenneth Koo ’79 Vanessa Chien ’88 and Derek Kwik ’86
DragonTales
17
alumni news & profile
T
his year’s Alumni Homecoming was held on Tuesday, January 6 and attracted around 80 alums back to Tai Tam for the day. Their first encounter once through the front gate was with a 60-foot helium balloon dragon which had implanted itself on the high school island.
Tent reunion with George Coombs
Following registration, alums participated in campus tours provided by high school student ambassadors, where they reviewed new additions to HKIS built under the school’s Master Facilities Plan.
Tim Chen ’92 and Grace Chen ’00
The tours were followed by a barbeque lunch at the edge of the renovated Tai Tam sports field. Richard Mueller, Head of School and faculty and staff members joined the lunch and swapped HKIS stories old and new. An unplanned high school fire alarm meant alums had a rare opportunity to see all high school teachers and students assemble on the field to be counted. In the afternoon, alums reconnected with their former teachers at a tent reunion in the High School Plaza. They especially enjoyed the opportunity to update their teachers on their lives and careers. The afternoon was energized with sporting activities and competitions, including competitive matches between alums and the current HKIS Rugby Girls’ and Boys’ teams. After a nostalgic day of rekindling friendships and reliving their school days, approximately 30 alums joined a Happy Hour reception held at Finds Bar in Lan Kwai Fong. Faculty and staff also made the trip downtown to join in the fun. A highlight of the evening was the Lucky Draw. An iPhone sponsored by Ken Koo ’79, President of the Alumni Association was the top prize and was won by Lisa Tan ’97. Dana Park ’00 took home a bottle of Champagne sponsored by Rohini Chotirmal ’89, Vice President of the Alumni Association; and David Li ’96 and Edward Koo ’08 each got a bottle of red wine sponsored by Mark Sheldon, Director of the Office of Institutional Advancement. n Happy Hour at Finds LKF Central, Gary Cheung ’97, Lily Cheung ’97, Connie Chan – OIA PR Manager, Irene Loh – Alumni Relations Coordinator, Ken Koo ’79, Thomas Wong ’78, Simon Lau ’80
18 DragonTales
Justin Hardman’99, Director of ETS welcomes returning Alums at the BBQ lunch next to the Field
Richard Mueller, Head of School chats with Alums about the latest school developments Ken Koo ’79 (right) and Rohini Chotirmal ’89 (third from right) presenting the prizes to the lucky draw winners Eddie Koo ’08, Dana Park ’00 and Lisa Tan ’97
Returning Alums chat with Marty Schmidt
Tent reunion with Janet Tan Rugby Challenge, Alums vs. Girls Rugby team
Mark Sheldon, Director of OIA welcomes visiting Alums
Student Ambassadors helping out at the registration desk
Rugby Challenge, Alums vs. Boys Rugby team
alumni news & profile
Michael Swaine ’69 was president of his junior class in 1967-68 and head of the HKIS student council in 1968-69. DragonTales caught up with Michael to find out what he has been up to in the 40 years since graduation...
A
fter graduating from HKIS in 1969, Michael Swaine entered George Washington University (GWU), where he majored in Chinese Studies. He attended GWU with Dennis Minich, another HKIS alumnus from his Class of 1969, but they lost touch with one another after graduation. “I went on to pursue graduate degrees in political science, focusing on international relations in Asia, and especially Chinese foreign policy,” says Michael, who later obtained a Masters and Doctorate in these subjects at Harvard University. During the early 1980s, Michael studied in Japan as a Fulbright Scholar in Tokyo. It was during this period that he made his first trip to Mainland China, in 1984. “Everyone was still dressed in Mao suits, there were few electric lights, no ads, and the only vehicles on the roads of Beijing and Shanghai were buses, government cars, and bicycles.” He remembers that most Chinese stopped to stare at the tall foreigner with the beard; and crowds gathered when he spoke Mandarin. Shanghai was wonderful, he says, with parts of it exuding the colonial European charm of the twenties and thirties. “In Beijing, I stayed in a hotel built in the fifties for Soviet advisers, complete with creaky 20 DragonTales
Peter Swaine, Tay Bosley and Michael Swaine on the Peak during their visit back for the 40th anniversary HKIS reunion
beds and loud shaking pipes. The first person to flush a toilet in the morning would wake the entire building. Yet Tiananmen Square and the imperial palace were as impressive then as they are today.” Michael graduated from Harvard in 1986, after many long years studying, writing his dissertation and learning both Mandarin and Japanese. After receiving his doctorate, he spent a year at UC Berkeley as a post-graduate student at the Center for Chinese Studies and taught in the Berkeley Political Science Department. “It was at this point I made a career choice to stay in the San Francisco area and work for a small trading firm active in China, rather than take a tenure track teaching job at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY. I worked in the Bay area for three years, and had the opportunity to travel to China several times.” Can you identify the old codgers in this photo? Michael eventually tired of working in the private sector: “The job became very tedious and did not pay much,” he says. He joined the RAND Corporation in 1989, a private, non-profit think tank specializing in U.S. national security policy analysis based in Santa Monica, California. He says from that point on his career path was set. “I worked at RAND for over 12 years, travelling frequently to Asia and writing many monographs and articles, and delivering lectures and presentations to primarily US government audiences, in the Department of Defense, the State Department, the White House, and elsewhere.” He became a Senior Political Scientist and was quite happy at RAND. However, the organization changed considerably over the years, and he says the working environment continuously deteriorated. In addition, Michael’s girlfriend at the time had to move to the East Coast (Baltimore) for job reasons. “I decided to leave RAND and took a job at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. I had been a Senior Associate at RAND for seven years, since 2001, and enjoyed it very much.” Michael now lives in rural Maryland on four acres of land, and works several days a week from home. Nevertheless, he still gets to travel to Asia, especially China, a fair amount.
DragonTales DragonTales 2121
alumni news & profile
“I do very much the same type of work I did at RAND, i.e., research, write, give talks to advise the US government on Chinese defense and foreign policy issues, except I have more freedom to do what I want and less pressure to obtain funding for my work.” He says he has the opportunity to influence US policy toward China and learn from a small but very thoughtful group of Asia specialists. “As I often say, it is just about the best job around for someone with a doctorate in political science and a focus on China.” “Mom passed away in 1981 and dad in 2003. My girlfriend Monique (who is Dutch) and I, never married, but we had a beautiful daughter, albeit late in life. Her name is Evelynne Fabienne and she is five years old and a bright, booming, happy little girl. Now in kindergarten, Evelynne is the center of Michael and Monique’s life. “She lives with Monique in Baltimore, but I spend time with them once or twice during the week and on weekends. We also travel together to Europe to see Monique’s parents and sister in Holland, and my relatives in the UK.”
Evelynne
“It also gave me a sense of living life that was more intense than at any other time in my life, and some very vivid and exciting memories.”
“I am very close to my brother Peter, his wife Jo-Ellen and son Trevor. Peter and Jo have lived in Richmond, Vermont in the country for many years and love it.” Peter is a senior manager at Seventh Generation, the leading manufacturer of environmentally friendly home products. “Although I love my job and enjoy travelling to Asia, I have also developed hobbies that I enjoy just as much. I collect early editions of children’s classic books, such as Beatrix Potter, Winnie the Pooh and various types of Old West items. I also exercise regularly, ride my bicycle, attend the Baltimore Symphony and socialize with friends.” Michael is first to admit that life has not quite turned out to be what he had expected: “But then again, when does it?” 22 DragonTales
Both Michael and his brother Peter attended HKIS 40th anniversary in 2007 where they reestablished contact with a dear friend from their HKIS days, Tay Bosley, who lives and works in New Jersey.
He says he does not have a family in the traditional sense, and has a rather unusual job that is endlessly interesting.
“We had not seen one another for nearly 40 years. I have also reestablished contact via email with Christy McCaskill and a few other HKIS alums from my class, which is wonderful.”
“My personal life has been a struggle at times, but it has also brought significant amounts of joy. And I treasure my friends, relatives and, to a very great extent, my memories of two fabulous, life-shaping years in Hong Kong and HKIS. Those two years literally changed my life, sparking an interest in China that has survived to the present day and provided me with a very decent living.”
“That’s about it,” says Michael, who informs us that from his office window he can see the sun is coming up over the Maryland hills, setting alight the trees and reflecting off the beaver pond at the bottom of the hill. “I must get to work. Be happy.” You can contact Michael at Mdswaine5@ gmail.com n
Evelynne, Michael and Monique
HKIS news & updates
DragonTales reviews
the “good old days” with veteran teacher
The Coombs family – Jonathan, Ame and George
V
eteran HKIS teacher George Coombs says teaching for him is a vocation, a calling. “I always wanted to be a teacher. My own high school teachers as well as my uncle who taught high school inspired me.” George grew up outside Philadelphia and attended a Catholic boys’ school. He remembers his 10th grade English teacher’s name was Ed Smith. He was a religious
brother with a social conscience who became a role model for George. “He used to take us down town where we repaired and painted houses in the poor sections of the city. We met civil rights’ leaders, and we participated in marches in support of the poor. Literature and scripture came alive in his classes. We had to practice our faith!”
Those formative years had a lasting impact on the young George, to such an extent that he started the first Interact Club in his high school as a teenager. “When I was growing up service was a regular part of my high school experience, but when I came to HKIS there was just a ‘Day of Giving’. There was no Humanities I in Action.”
DragonTales
23
HKIS news & updates
Micah Schmidt, Zella and Marty with Ame and George
High School Principal Jim Handrich wanted a more formative service program, and in response, high school teacher Marty Schmidt and George began to explore ways to deepen the service ethos at the school. “The two of us took a trip to Anteneo High School – a Jesuit school in Metro Manila. They had a well-developed service curriculum with a weekly service experience. We were inspired,” he says. Today, half of HKIS high school students participate in service on Saturday and almost half of our 9th graders take Humanities I In Action, which includes service.
Mr. Schmidt has also been a more recent inspiration and hero for George. “For the past four years he has been working on his PhD in Service learning. His research has added much to our understanding of the transformative power of service in the formation of social conscience. His work is a real labor of love and a gift to the school.” George joined HKIS in 1988, the same year as the new high school opened at Tai Tam. He remembers it was a spectacular October day. The building, however, was not completed, and high school students had to share the Repulse Bay campus with the Middle School. “We attended class on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It was a rough transition. Two weeks after we moved in, we had one of those rare October typhoons. Windows leaked. Drains were too small. Water damage was extensive. There are about four of us still on the faculty who remember how challenging that year was. However, we made it through the year. For me, it was ‘baptism’ by lots of water!”
George with Bijoy Goswami ’91
24 DragonTales
What George liked most about those early years was the size of the high school. Even if he did not teach a student, he knew who they were. “Be-
tween concerts, plays, sports and extracurricular activities, you could meet just about everyone.” George lived in Kowloon and had to commute to school. He remembers getting on the MTR at 6:23 am each morning. “I rode the same car each day. The journey lasted about 40 minutes and after 6 months I began to speak to some of the people who rode in the same car every day. After a year, we were celebrating birthdays and knew all about each other’s families. We even went to Yum Cha occasionally. My Chinese was basic, but it was heart-warming to connect to so many local people in a simple community. It made the journey special and memorable.” George’s first teaching position in Hong Kong was at Maryknoll Convent School in Kowloon Tong where he taught for 10 years 1974-1984. In his first two years there, he was fortunate to work with Ame Lee, who eventually became Mrs. Coombs. “We taught an interdisciplinary humanities course. It was a great way to teach language and culture. It was innovative in those days. We designed several units on science, technology and society. It was an amazing opportunity and a challenge to teach in a local school,” says George. He remembers there being 40 students in each class, and he had to have a seating
George and his extended HK family, fifth from the left is Grandma, Ame’s mother who is 95
“It’s part of the Maclehose Trail that goes to the beaches. It’s the most beautiful beach in Hong Kong! When you come over the hill and see three beautiful beaches with spectacular waves, you can hardly believe you’re in Hong Kong. This has been my still point. While the rest of Hong Kong continuously changes, Dai Long Wan has remained untouched,” he says. George also enjoys classical music and opera. He says while his passion for opera came late, he has become a big fan. “Thanks to the efforts of people like Warren Mok, I can even experience live opera in Hong Kong.” George and Ame with Emi Takahashi ’96
chart in each of his six classes. Nevertheless, the students were enthusiastic, disciplined and well-behaved. Their standard of English was also very high which made teaching them enjoyable.
Outside of School In his free time, George loves to hike and swim. For each of the past thirty years, he has traveled to Tai Long Sai Wan in the fall.
George is currently promoting the art form in his Humanities II classes. Each year, in the spring, he shows The Ring of the Nibelung by Richard Wagner. “Of course, I only show excerpts. However, for the dedicated few, we have “ring parties”. This past year, he has shown all four parts of the Ring Cycle. “We set up the big speakers in room 417. We bring food. I have even made Philadelphia Cheese Steaks! But the sound! The music! You can’t help but be af-
fected by the power of the drama. It speaks to the yearning for transcendence and the music takes you there! Next school year, I will organize a similar experience for adults,” he promises. George lives with his wife Ame and their son Jonathan who works in the financial service industry. Ame’s mother, who is 95, lives one block away. Her older brother lives nearby as well. “So it is very easy for us to get together for ‘Yum Cha’ on Sundays,” says George. “We have three nephews and one niece living in Hong Kong. There have been a couple of family weddings to celebrate recently. I have been very lucky in many ways. I am very close to my own family and when I decided to live in Hong Kong, it meant a lot to me to be part of a large family,” he says. Ame’s family has provided George with an understanding and insight into Chinese culture. “My life in Hong Kong has been richer because of the bonds of family. And I am truly grateful.” n
DragonTales
25
HKIS news & updates
W
hen he moved to Hong Kong three and a half years ago, HKIS parent Richard Kligler expected his lifestyle to be akin to that of a sabbatical; an expectation based on his wife Marcia being on assignment, and he being a stay-at-home Dad to daughter Jill (Grade 4) and son Sean (Grade 7). However, Richard soon found himself busy juggling various roles and responsibilities: Scoutmaster of Troop 1 – Hong Kong, Chairman of the Troop 1 Committee, and the organizer of the Hong Kong St. Baldrick’s Day event to raise money for Childhood cancer research. He also continued to run his New York-based business remotely from Hong Kong from 9 PM to the wee hours each day. Not surprisingly, the sabbatical never materialized.
Brave lady...
Leading up to St. Baldrick’s Day in March 2008, Richard was putting in serious hours juggling his duties and responsibilities. “I was having a grand time doing it, though I needed to recharge,” he says. Fortunately, the Boy Scout Troop had an overnight campout planned the weekend before St Baldrick’s Day on April 10. “This
26 DragonTales
was it, my chance for rest and relaxation along with a quality weekend with my son Sean,” he thought. “The Friday night before camp I worked until 4:30 AM, grabbed two hours’ sleep and woke up at 6:30 AM. I drank a couple cups of coffee, which I generally do not drink, packed lunch and loaded up my backpack.” Richard woke his son Sean and they picked up the bus headed for Hoi Ha Wan Bay north of Sai Kung. Richard remembers an interesting conversation with one of the scout-Dads. Though this is all he remembers. For the rest of the events of that day, Richard depends on the accounts of others present on the hike. So as it goes: Richard and Sean started out on the hike in the middle of the pack of twenty scouts, while the other Scoutmasters held up the rear. It was hot and humid. Half way through the hike, the scoutmasters noticed that Richard had started to fall back and eventually was at the end with them. “They recalled I didn’t look well, a little offcolor,” says Richard. “They also said I wasn’t
Marcia told Richard his condition was serious. He had a hematoma of the brain, which means a vein had burst in the brain and was hemorrhaging. “Here I am in a hospital ward with my brain bleeding and neurosurgeons contemplating opening my skull up to relieve the pressure and stop the flow of blood,” says Richard. “Quite unbelievable...” “Marcia and doctors impressed upon me the need to take care. She would manage the St Baldrick’s event. I took their advice.” Richard ended up hospitalized for four days before being released. “Thankfully the bleeding stopped, I avoided surgery and was able go home.”
Sean and Richard Kligler
my usual jovial self.” Richard told them to continue, he would hold up the rear. The two Scoutmasters agreed they should keep an eye on Richard. “They hiked a little further and apparently I fell out of sight,” says Richard. “The scoutmasters decided to wait. Next thing, I came around the bend in the trail, my head bleeding and with some leaves stuck to it.” The Scoutmasters asked Richard if he had fallen. “Apparently I said no, what do you mean?” That was surely a high-sign trouble was coming.
campsite and they called for a helicopter. The main obstacle to a helicopter rescue was that Richard was in a wooded area and the only clearing was down a steep hill. The Scouts made a makeshift stretcher to transport him down to the open field. “Once I was settled in, the volunteer firemen and paramedics took care of me until the helicopter arrived to take me to hospital,” says Richard. “I may add that I was told Sean was so brave during this episode and rode with me on the helicopter.” The next thing Richard remembers is waking up in bed. “I had no idea where I was and my wife Marcia was looking over me with owl-opened eyes and the look of fear and says, ‘Do you know who I am?’”
Richard took a couple of steps, fell down and went into severe convulsions. “Thank goodness I was with the Boy Scouts, because they immediately went into action. The fastest runners ran in both directions. One scout went back along the trail where there was an emergency telephone and another ran to the campsite up ahead.”
“I responded ‘Of course I do, you are Marcia. Where am I?’” Marcia proceeded to tell Richard he was in the Eastern Hospital on Hong Kong Island.
The Scoutmasters thought that Richard might have had a stroke and took care of him with that assumption. The Scouts were able to alert volunteer firemen at the
“There I was,” says Richard, “hooked up to several IVs and knowing I must be in big trouble. Thankfully I didn’t feel much pain, other than a major headache.”
Richard was told by his doctors he needed to be confined to his flat for six months; he needed to convalesce because the chance that his brain would start to hemorrhage was great. Richard says being Chinese, the Doctor would translate in English some proverbs for him to ponder. “He told me ‘Life is a gift, it is precious’ and ‘This is hope of renewal for you.’”
Nearly there...
He also said, ‘Make believe you are in a communist country and you are under house arrest.’ Richard replied, “Aren’t we in a communist country? He didn’t find that funny. And surely I wasn’t going to make any more wisecracks again with my life in his hands!” Being confined at home to bed 24/7 was a difficult experience for Richard, even DragonTales
27
HKIS news & updates
though he enjoyed the pampering by his family. Richard was also worried about the St. Baldrick’s Day event just days away. “Knowing that I was going to miss St. Baldrick’s was weighing heavily on my mind. I thought to myself, What if I snuck out and made a cameo appearance?” Well, on Thursday April 10, the evening of the big shave, Richard went AWOL and took a taxi to the St. Baldrick’s Day 2008 at the HKIS Black Box Theater. “I was so moved by the greeting I got from the many people in attendance,” he says.
Ken Rohrs and Peter Dratz enjoy a close shave with Versace the snake
“Thankfully Sean had not gone under the clippers. Even though Sean and I had been shorn three years in a row for St. Baldrick’s, we had never sat down side-by-side and got shaved together. So Sean and I got up on stage and got shaved together for the first time. It was a heartwarming experience. Afterwards I said my goodbyes and returned to house arrest.” Richard has no residual medical problems
28
from this incident. He has also learned to eat a hearty breakfast and avoid coffee before hiking. “I have been involved in Boy Scouting all my life and am thankful and proud of the Scout leaders and Scouts of Troop 1 – Hong Kong that helped save my life.” He now lives by the proverbs shared with him by his neurosurgeon. Richard will always remain thankful to Marcia for her compassion and poise during this journey and her great management skills, which made last year’s St. Baldrick’s Day 2008 such a success. Richard was back at the helm of St Baldrick’s Hong Kong 2009 to raise money for Childhood Cancer Research in Hong Kong in the Black Box Theater on Thursday, April 23, 2009. Some 85 students were shaved and HK$1,000,000 was raised for Childhood Cancer Research Hong Kong. Some familiar faces got shorn that night – check them out… n
UP Principal Bruce Kelsh in the chair for St Baldrick’s
Peter and Cristy Dratz became the first HKIS couple to be shorn for St Baldrick’s
Like father, like son
DragonTales
29
HKIS news & updates
H
KIS welcomed the renowned primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist Dame Jane Goodall in December 2008. Best known for her 45-year study of chimpanzee social and family interactions in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, Dame Goodall spent the entire day at HKIS interacting with students on both campuses. In specially arranged assemblies and classroom gatherings she shared some of the experiences that had shaped her life and made her determined to follow her dreams to Africa to study wildlife. She told students that since she was a young girl she had always wanted to travel to Africa. “But back in those days the idea was preposterous and people laughed at me. No one had ever heard of a girl wanting to go to Africa alone. It was too dangerous,” she said.
However, her mom held faith in her African dream. “She told me ‘never to give up. To follow my heart; and I did.’” Dame Goodall encouraged students to believe in themselves and to think big. “Set the bar high for yourselves. Create a better tomorrow for human beings, for animals, and for our environment,” she said. Dame Goodall finally got to live her African dream when she was 23. She was enthralled with the continent and its wildlife. In Africa she met the notable anthropologist Louis Leaky, who she impressed with her interest in wildlife. He subsequently hired her as his assistant and secretary. “Some time later Louis asked me to study the chimpanzees of Gome Stream National Park. I arrived there with my mother because the authorities insisted that a young girl should not be in such an inhospitable place alone.” It was during this period that she initiated her pioneering research that exposed the relationships and politics that are within any chimp family. This world acclaimed research has continued for the past four and a half decades.
30 DragonTales
humans are the most intelligent creature and we only have one world, yet we are doing a pretty good job of destroying it?” She said this is because we may be clever, but we have lost our wisdom.
“I started Roots & Shoots because I believe that young people like you, when informed, empowered, and you realize what you do truly makes a difference, can indeed change the world. I Travel 300 days a year delivering this message.”
Dame Goodall asked students to consider their responsibilities to the planet and fu- Jane Goodall’s message served to both ture generations. “It is vital that you do, or complement and further HKIS mission of we may not have much of a planet left to “dedicating our minds to inquiry and our pass on. hearts to compassion.” n
HKIS thanks Alumnus Calvin Lo and his wife Emily who arranged for Dame Goodall to visit HKIS. Calvin studied in HKIS from kindergarten through elementary, before going to study in Vancouver. “I later completed my undergrad at Queen’s University in Canada, MBA at UC Berkeley, and Law at Harvard.” Calvin says his fondest memory of HKIS was ordering McDonald’s for lunch every morning. “We were asked to fill in a form indicating what we want. By lunchtime, our cheeseburgers and fries would have arrived. Amazing times when the concept of cholesterol, blood pressure, etc., did not even exist.” He is now in estate planning/wealth management. His job requires him to be on the road almost as much as Dr. Goodall. “The interesting thing is as I travel all continents, I meet people who have attended HKIS. These people are from all cultures, in different lines of work, just a mosaic of people from around the world.”
A committed environmentalist, her involvement in tropical forest conservation led to her establishing the Jane Goodall Institute in 1985, and then the Roots & Shoots youth group in 1991. While visiting the high school she met with members of the HKIS Roots & Shoots chapter. Dame Goodall challenged HKIS students to think about their own place in the world and their responsibilities. She asked them to ponder the question: “How can it be that
DragonTales
31
HKIS news & updates
The Dragon Shop has come of age turning 18 this year. DragonTales pays a visit.
E
stablished by the Booster Club in 1991, the Dragon Shop has grown into an HKIS institution in its own right. Located near the high school cafeteria, it is more than a shop; it is a meeting place for school and community. At any given time you will find parents, students and teachers gathered within its walls. “The shop is a microcosm of school life,” says Lisa Nisky, President of the Booster Club Board. “The candy jar stashed with free treats ensures a steady stream of children of all ages to the shop.” She adds there are few volunteer clubs in HKIS where you get to directly interact with students and parents from across
Mary Lou Thompson, Nancy Kroos and Mrs. Ford
32 DragonTales
Lisa Paterson (left) with Lisa Nisky
all four divisions of the school. There is actually a waiting list of parents wanting to volunteer to help in the shop, which is staffed by about 40 parent volunteers at the moment. All Dragon Shop volunteers are members of the Booster Club, as are all members of the HKIS community. “They are called Dragon Shop volunteers or as our aprons say, ‘Dragon Ladies’. On rare occasions, usually during the Back to School Sale in August, a few Dads sign up to be Dragon Men... and, without complaint, wear the Dragon Lady aprons,” smiles Lisa. The genesis of the Dragon Shop can be
traced back to Mary Lou Thompson, who, along with several other parents, foresaw a need to have a shop on campus. Mary Lou says the shop grew from the idea to provide school outfits for HKIS sports teams. “Prior to this, teams had either shown up without uniforms for inter-school competitions or each team designed their own kit, which did nothing to brand our teams or build school spirit,” she says. “Individuals like Nancy Kroos, Sarah Rego and Elinetsa Pena designed the famous dragon logo. I got involved shortly after, and we decided to expand efforts to source uniforms for school teams while promoting team and school spirit,” says Mary Lou.
Mom volunteers always enjoyed seeing their children and getting to know others… Students would pop into the Dragon Shop to say hello and chat on their way to class. Over time, I got to know many of the students and their moms who volunteered in the shop. Our volunteer moms are too many to mention by name, but many of them spent many hours with me organizing activities such as the Start of School Sales, the Christmas Basketball Tournaments, and helping with bookkeeping and inventory. More recently we started a candy jar in the shop which attracted more children in. For the mom’s who volunteered in the shop, they enjoyed seeing their children, and getting to know other children. Over time the Dragon Shop became a focal point for ‘what’s going on at school’ and our volunteer moms always enjoyed being in the middle of student activities. We also got to know the sports teams quite well, as we were very involved in supporting the teams and their events.
Mary Lou Thompson
Nancy Kroos
Soon a location was needed for this work. Hence the Dragon Shop was established and started selling “spirit” items in a closet-sized room adjacent to the high school cafeteria. Trade however, was brisk, and soon the shop expanded to its present size. Mary Lou says she remains grateful to the then High School Principal Jim Handrich for his early support for the shop. Mary Lou designed the present shop (an expansion of the original closet), along with much of the merchandise. As the shop grew, she officially became the Dragon Shop’s Purchasing Manager, which was
Mary Lou and family
and continues to be the only paid position in the shop. In this capacity she played a vital role in extending the range of merchandise the shop sold. “Over the years I added ‘special items’ to appeal to students, including shirts, sweatpants, windbreakers, etc. We also designed a tee-shirt for each year’s basketball tournament,” she says. Today the shop sells clothing for primary grades, middle school uniforms, and PE clothing for high and middle school students, as well as lunch boxes, caps, pens,
The Dragon Shop’s four Purchasing Managers: When the Dragon Shop’s first Purchasing Manager MaryLou Thompson left, Lisa Nisky unofficially and un-salaried took on the role while retaining her Board position on the Booster Club.”I did the job while it was decided what the new Purchasing Manager’s role would be and while we looked for a replacement,” she says. Parent Lisa Wallis was selected to take on the role next. Lisa Nisky says she did a fabulous job: “She practically lived in the shop and didn’t want to leave this position, but had to because her family moved to Shanghai.”
The Thompsons: Hilary (’00), Mary Lou, Douglas and Rachael (’95)
Chris Van Katwyk has been the Purchasing Manager since December 2008 and in a short amount of time has made amazing changes to the shop: “Organizing the inventory, creating new shop displays, giving the shop a ‘fresher’ look, sourcing and designing new products and creatively marketing the merchandise,” says Lisa. 33
HKIS news & updates
and a variety of other merchandise. “All our profits are allocated through the Booster Club to athletic, club, and service activities in all four divisions. Last year these donations topped the HK$450,000 mark,” says Lisa Paterson, Booster Club’s VP, Communications. The shop gets busiest in August as parents and students visit to collect their uniforms for the coming year. “This August we took about HK$800,000,” she says.
Mrs. Ford
“Parent volunteers have to work additionally hard in the weeks before school commences, but it is fun. The shop is full of energy in those first weeks of a new school year. Families returning to school from long summer vacations often reconnect with friends in the Dragon Shop,” she says. “What’s more, often our volunteers are the first to greet new families arriving at HKIS. The welcome is always warm.” As for Mary Lou, she retired after 14 years of service with the Dragon Shop in 2005. Now that her husband has retired, they split their time between Hong Kong, Malaysia and New York. “But Hong Kong is still home” she says. “Both our daughters – Rachael ’95 and Mary Lou and baby Oliver
Sally Kahler, Mrs. Cuddyre and Mary Lou Thompson
Hilary 2000 – attended HKIS and enjoy visiting Hong Kong whenever possible. They now live in New York. Rachael and her husband had a 7lb, 4oz baby boy named Oliver on October 17, 2008.” Mary Lou says she is thrilled to be a Grandmother and little Oliver is a happy, healthy little boy who looks very much like Rachael did when she was a newborn. “Both Doug and I were lucky to be in New York last October at the time of Oliver’s birth and it was a real joy to be able to hold our grandchild.” She says she now plans to spend more time in NYC with Oliver. “Simon, Rachael, Oliver and Hilary were in Hong Kong last Christmas and New Year. We spent time together in Hong Kong and visited good friends in Penang, where we lived prior to coming to Hong Kong in 1986.” n
34 DragonTales
A World First Good Teamwork sees four HKIS Math students achieve a World first
E
ach year, high school students from across the world participate in the High School Mathematics Contest in Modeling (HIMCM) organized by the Consortium of Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP). The competition involves teams of up to four students working on real-world mathematical problems for a grueling 36unbroken hour period. In February, HKIS learned that high school students who participated in the 2008 HiMCM had done exceptionally well, especially the HKIS team formed by Gillian Tay, Larry Au, Justin Hui Bon Hoa, and Stephen Suen. Their team was one of only four globally that earned an ‘OUTSTANDING’ level placing, putting them in the top-tier of this international competition. Discussing their team’s strategy, Justin Hui Bon Hoa says they spent the first couple of hours on preliminary research to decide which question to do. “This was important in making sure the question selected was the best, given the collective interests and knowledge of our team.” The real-world problem the team decided to focus on was national debt in the US. Gillian Tay says she did not know about
national debt and the different fiscal policies that affect it before the competition. “In terms of the mathematical modeling of this issue, one of the hardest tasks was determining how to generalize factors that impact national debt so that they could be easily modeled.” Through good teamwork and communication, the students started to make progress on the problem. They discussed each step and allotted tasks according to individual team member’s strengths. The team’s working relationship was egalitarian in nature. Larry Lau, another team member explains: “We gave the harder math related tasks to Justin, who’s in a higher math class, and we gave a lot of writing related tasks to Stephen, who’s a good writer.” Gillian remembers that as time passed the team’s dynamics increased. “Team members would give each other verbal updates; they also reviewed each other’s work, so that our final submission could be seamlessly tied together. We learned to trust each other’s instincts and ideas,” she says. When the team submitted their paper, they did not know how well they had performed. “As with most things, there is always that nagging feeling that maybe something crucial was accidentally left out
or forgotten. Especially in this case, due to our lack of sleep and continuous working for 36 hours,” smiles Gillian. Stephen Suen was more confident: “With over 50 pages of work, we better have done well! However, I was not expecting to earn an ‘OUTSTANDING,’ let alone be on one of only four teams in the world to do so.” He says it is an exhilarating achievement, and one that has given him newfound bragging rights among his math classmates. The students’ teacher and mentor, Bill Stork, explains that this is the seventh year that HKIS has been designated an ‘OUTSTANDING’ School for the entries submitted by student teams. “HKIS is the only school in the world to receive “OUTSTANDING” level placing seven years in a row. Quite an achievement,” he says. The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) organizes this competition annually to promote teamwork among students. It also hopes to stimulate and improve participants’ problem-solving and writing skills in mathematical modeling. HiMCM offers students the opportunity to work as team members in a competition using mathematics to present solutions to real-world modeling problems for a consecutive thirty-six hour period. n DragonTales
35
former faculty updates
HKIS Alumni Association – Farewell Reception for
Departing Faculty & Administrators
A farewell cocktail party was held on May 21, 2009 at Tandoor Indian Restaurant in Central. The party was hosted by Ken Koo, President of the Alumni Association Board. Richard and Claire Mueller, DJ Condon, and Bruce Kelsh came to bid farewell to departing faculty and thank them for their tremendous contribution to HKIS.
Darlene Navis, Bruce Kelsh, Udai Singh and Ben Robertaccio
Greg Ladner, Melita Shillington, Rhoda Johnson, Rhonda Masters and Scott Johnson
36 DragonTales
Mark Sheldon, Director of Office of Institutional Advancement and Udai Singh Sungeeta Singh and Richard Mueller, Head of School
DJ Condon, Associate Head of School and Ken Koo
Maureen Freeman, Beth Glynn, Alysia Lutz and Tony Freeman
Ken Koo’s son Eddie Koo ’08 and Emily Koo ’06
Jim Carlson, Claire Mueller, Darlene Navis and Sarala Carlson
Gary Cheung ’97 and Ken Koo ’79
DragonTales
37
class notes
rgahum@gmail.com
Scott Clayton ’74 sclayton@thesuccessfulinvestor. com
Scott Clayton lives in Toronto with his wife and four children. They have a 17-year-old son, a 15-year-old daughter, an 11-year-old daughter and a nine-year old son. Scott works for a company that publishes stock market newsletters and manages money for high-net-worth individuals. He has been in this position for about 10 years, and before that he was with the Financial Post newspaper for 10 years.
Scott Clayton and son
Email Scott if any classmates want to reconnect, and he is also on LinkedIn.
Dean McCaskill ’76 DeanMcCaskill@aol.com
Additionally, Scott has traveled a lot over the last few years. He’s been lucky enough to be in Hong Kong four times over the last four years, usually on holiday with his wife or one of the kids.
I was in the original “apartment building” at HKIS where odd grades were housed. I was lucky enough to be in the third grade. I spent one year at The Maryknoll Catholic Missionary school in 196566, then 66-67 in the temporary HKIS school and my third and final year at the Repulse Bay HKIS. It was a great time for me and my two older sisters. We were in Hong Kong with our parents where my father worked at IBM.
Scott was in India last August with his son (shown in the photo at the Taj Mahal). They were in Mumbai just before the terrorist
I have since lived all over the world and owe a lot to my foundation at HKIS. Being a part of the very first years of HKIS was
In his spare time Scott enjoys skiing, tennis and watching his children in their sports activities.
38 DragonTales
attacks, where the terrorists attacked the restaurant where they ate every day (Leopolds).
’76
’69
Richard (Rick) Hum ’69
Rick Hum retired this past year from the US Air Force Chaplain Service after 30 years. Chaplain, Major General Cecil Richardson, Air Force Chief of Chaplains presided over the ceremony held at Community Center Chapel US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs Colorado in June 2008. Rick and his wife Gretchen will continue to reside in Colorado Springs.
’74
Where are They Now?
The entire family came to celebrate Rick’s retirement and enjoy a mini-reunion. From left to right: Front, Ashleigh Hum (daughter), Jane and Dick Hum (parents), Ginny Hum Barnett, Shannon Barnett Middle: Gretchen and Rick Hum, Tiz Lum, Sandie Hum Back: Jim Barnett, Brian and Amber Hum, Adam Lum, Branimir and Laura Rakuljic
randrobinson@hotmail.com
Rand Robinson sends greetings and warm wishes from Haiti where he is currently working as a program officer for the U.S.Agency for International Development. For only approximately $300 million/year, or what it recently costs to run USG operations in Iraq for just a day, USAID/Haiti is financing the provision of basic health services to almost four million Haitians, generating more than 200,000 short-term jobs per year rebuilding roads, markets, irrigation systems, cutting the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate from 5.5% in 2004 to an estimated 2.2% today, and introducing sustainable watershed management plans. Haiti’s governance practices and private sector activity remain very weak, poverty remains widespread, and it was also hit by a terrible series of storms last summer. Still, Haitians are some of the most hardworking, delightful people I’ve ever had the chance to meet and know. And I really encourange any and all associated HKISers to come on out and spend some time here!!
’78
J.R. McMullen ’78 mcmullen@us.ibm.com
I have not written in with an update for a while, but I do enjoy seeing and reading about HKIS events and what people have been up to. My family always seems
McMullen Family. Back: Tim, J.R., John, Janet; front: Eileen, Carline, Mary
to be busy enough just keeping up with kids’ schedules. I still work at IBM and the last few years I have also been working for H&R Block part time preparing taxes. I am pretty active with both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. My wife, Janet, has been working as a long term substitute teacher at local schools the last couple of years. The kids are getting big. John, our oldest, is attending Fishburne Military School and is doing quite well. He is part of the Band Company and this Spring he played on the baseball team as well. Tim, our second, is active with Boy Scouts and baseball. He was elected to the Order of the Arrow and just got his own patrol within the Troop. In baseball he plays center field and pitches. He is throwing hard enough now it makes me a bit uncomfortable to catch for him. Mary, our oldest daughter, plays the flute and is active with Girl Scouts and soccer. We attended a solo performance of Mary’s a couple of weeks ago and I am amazed at how good she is. Music ability comes from her mother not from me. Last year I started a Brownie troop for my two younger daughters. Mary and her friends have helped me run several meetings. The girls in my troop are a lot better behaved for the older girls than they are for me. I am sure anyone who has worked with kids will have had this experience. Eileen is our Lacrosse player and Caroline is our golfer. Both girls play soccer in the Fall. Our family is also active in our Church. Four of the five kids are alter servers, makes for a quiet pew when they are all scheduled. Janet is a Eucharistic minister, a CCD teacher, and helps organize and run our Vacation Bible camp. I enjoy driving the parish truck down to Appalachia from Connecticut once in a while and helping out.
This winter we got together with my sisters’ families in Orlando. Some of you will know my sisters Julie and Susan. We visited Disney World, Busch Gardens, and Discovery Cove. I have included a group picture minus my mom and Janet; they weren’t too excited about swimming with an animal the size of a dolphin. I hope this note finds everyone enjoying a pleasant summer.
’79
Rand Robinson ’77
McMullen, Valenti and Turner family in Florida
Jeff West ’79
Hello all, I was in Hong Kong from February 1976 until Graduation in 1979 (my family had a penchant for moving in the middle of school years.). Some of you may know my older brother Larry (Class of 1978) who was on the Varsity Basketball team the year HKIS won the Christmas Tournament. Memories; the Shack, water skiing in Repulse Bay after school (man, I didn’t know how good I had it until it was too late), the Go Down, the Peak, night markets, camping on Lamma Island, playing squash at the HK Country Club, Ocean Park, the Bull and Bear, and of course, Dim Sum (hide the bamboo baskets under the table, quick!). People who ask me where I am from get confused when I ask back “from when to when?”, but most here could easily understand the reply. I am grateful for my overseas experience, and cannot understand why some people I meet have no desire to even leave the state from where they originate.
’80
’77
absolutely great. I have been back to Hong Kong many, many times on business since then, but have never made it out to the school. Next time, I will make a point of visiting the school.
Deborah R. Smith ’80 hkdrs@yahoo.com
Hello from DC! After living in the Washington, DC suburbs for 19 years, I finally moved into the actual District of Columbia two years ago – and I love it! I live about a mile from the National Zoo, and can see the 4th of July fireworks from the roof of my building. It’s quiet and beautiful DragonTales
39
class notes My boys and Naomi’s family in her backyard
where I live, but it’s so close to everything. I’m about 15 minutes from downtown DC on the Metro (subway), but I can still rent a car and drive down to see my sister Cathy and her family in Virginia about 45 minutes away.
I’m still a huge sports fan and one of the things I love about DC is that it’s got its regular American sports (and yes, I’m a long-suffering Redskins and Nationals fan, as well as a very happy Caps fan right now), but it’s such an international city that I can walk into just about any bar and see world class soccer or rugby -- and people who know what the games are! I am so glad I followed Cathy’s suggestion back in 1986 and moved to the DC area. It reminds me of Hong Kong in many ways – cosmopolitan, all sorts of ethnic food, international sports, and generally no need for a car – but it also has very close-knit neighborhoods that make you feel at home. And of course, it’s hot, hazy, and humid with a chance of thundershowers all summer long, too!
’81
I love living in DC, and if you’re ever in the area, I’d love to show it to you!
Jenny (Fung) Brandemuehl ’81 jennybrandemuehl@earthlink.net
I thought I’d send some news. I’m still living in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband Mark and my two boys, Wesley (15 years old) and Adrian (13 years old). They 40 DragonTales
Sheila Baker Gujral ’82
’82
I’ve been working since 2001 as a project manager for a non-profit organization in downtown DC. I take the Metro or bus to work every day, so 2001 was also when I sold my car. I guess growing up in HK made me more comfortable on public transportation than on the Beltway! My company, NCQA, does quality assurance on health care insurance plans, and my major project for the last few years has been a partnership with U.S. News & World Report magazine to produce the “America’s Best Health Plans” issue. I enjoy working for a company whose mission is to improve the quality of health care, but it sure takes a lot of my time!
My family in Tuscany
are fun kids though it does make me shudder to think I will soon be the mother of a driving age teen. Mark and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary in Italy last summer with friends and family. We had a fabulous time in Venice, Cinque Terre and Tuscany. I left the Gap a couple years ago and am now VP of Global Talent Management for JDS Uniphase, a telecommunications equipment company. Mark is Chief Marketing Officer for an internet real estate start-up. Even though I’m working in a different industry now, I have kept a love of fashion from my time at Gap. Most of my focus these days is on Executive Leadership Development and Succession Planning. It’s an interesting time to be working with executives in the current economic climate. Leaders are trying to lead their teams through so much uncertainty. You really can see who the true leaders are. I had fun recently visiting with Naomi (Greenberg) Evon ’81. We hadn’t seen each other since college years and it was a wonderful surprise to find out Naomi and her family live in Novato, CA. Naomi and her husband Eugene have three adorable kids – Sophie and twins, Ryder and Riley. We reminisced about how fun it was to be a teenager living in Hong Kong. We all had so much more independence than kids growing up in the U.S. with the one exception being if you grew up in NYC. It was unique.
sheilamcneila@hotmail.com
Class of ’82 update
There is not too much news this time around. I’ve reconnected with a lot of folks via facebook and it’s been a blast. I just found Pam Flinn ’82! She writes in, “After Hong Kong we moved to Berlin for a couple of years, then back to Washington state. Graduated from Lakes HS, went to community college while working, married an Air Force guy, moved around the globe some more, somehow “acquired”... two girls, oldest is 18 next week, youngest is eight. Built a home in Steilacoom, live by my parents and sister, I’m widowed, work for the town of Steilacoom and still, after all these years, have never been to Scotland!” I saw Shannon Sullivan ’82 in New York earlier this year. We had a blast hanging out on the lower east side. I also saw Lisa (Pearce) Gary ’82 last winter. She and her daughters Savannah and Annalee, her sister Donna Pearce ’88 and Donna’s husband Erik came over to our house to spend the evening. (Donna didn’t bring her son, Niko. Baby hog!) From Lisa Pearce Gary – “Still living in Oklahoma City. The biggest small town in the world. Savannah, 15, is studying for her driver’s test so I can unleash her on unsuspecting drivers all over the city. I’m not sure if my heart can take it. Why can’t she just hop in a pak pai like a normal teenager. The younger one, Annalee, is building a robot. She has let me know that as I grow older, she has my back. She is making arrangements for me to sleep in her poolhouse, complete with locks on the
outside so I don’t get out and hurt myself. She thinks I’m 100 years old. She is eleven. My marriage ended after a fairly long run about three years ago so it’s just the three of us. Life is good! I work in the mortgage industry as a Compliance/Investor Relations Director. That means I close my eyes real tight and hold on and wait for the madness to subside. I’m a lucky woman with great friends. Hope all is well with my HKIS friends.” Anna M. Martinson ’82 just received her PhD in Information Science from Indiana University. Congratulations, Anna!
adore their grandparents and have quickly developed English accents. Meanwhile, my parents are now living in Beijing, and my sister Mingson Chou ’86 will soon move to Vancouver to help NBC produce their coverage of the Winter Olympics (after covering the Summer Olympics in Beijing for them).
Keith Lutz ’83 keith_lutz@yahoo.com Just moved to Philadephia in March, visitors welcome!
Johnny Reizman ’82 john.reizman@yahoo.com
Connson (Chou) Locke ’83 cclocke@gmail.com
After working for non-profits in Boston and management consultancies in Hong Kong, I am now an academic in London. I recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a PhD in organizational behavior and joined the faculty of the London School of Economics. My research focuses on leadership and communication, and I teach on the LSE Masters in Management degree as well as executive education courses. My husband, Jason Locke, is English and was reluctant to return to the gray skies of London. He thought he had escaped by moving to Hong Kong (where we met and married) and then to Berkeley with me. But his parents’ offer of free babysitting was too good to give up. Our two girls
’85
Chad Forrest ’85
Keith Lutz ’83 (right) pictured with some friends at a wedding
Francois Duchastel ’84
’84
’83
Johnny Reizman, is currently working for the Novato Unified School District (13 schools) in Marin County and oversees the Landscape/Maintenance functions there.
married to Jennifer since 1996. We have a two year old daughter Chloe who is, of course, our pride and joy. Jenn was a 4th grade school teacher and now stays at home full time. I am a freelance musician, working mostly from my home recording studio but also doing some live music. I stay in touch with Kian Holstead ’83, and of course, my siblings, John Langford ’77, Donna (Langford) Maibuecher ’82 and Devra Langford ’86. Donna lives near me here in the Chicago area, with her three sons and husband, and Devra and John live in Texas so I don’t see them as often as I’d like. Websites are www.paullangfordmusic.com and www.langfordfamilyblog. blogspot.com, or email me if anyone from my year wants to get in touch, that would be great!
fduchastel@hotmail.com
In 2007, my three partners and I sold our architectural firm to one of the world top 20 engineering firms, called the Poyry Group (www.poyry.com). I am now in charge of the Group corporate strategy, developing our future businesses in five areas: forest and industry; energy; water and environment; transport and construction and real estate.
cforrest@santafe.com.cn
All is well with me. I have been living in China for the past 13 years and it’s been a treat to continue to be an expat and to have had the chance to see and participate in China’s transformation. I have been with Santa Fe Relocations for 10 years and was recently promoted to China Manager.
Paul Langford ’84 paul@paullangfordmusic.com
I have lived in Mundelein, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) since 1997, and have been
Chad and race partner Stuart after day 6 of the 9 day stage race
Haekyoeng (wife) and Jerry Forrest (father and former Dupont expat) at South Africa race providing race support and drinking all our cold wine
DragonTales
41
class notes
’86
Lara Jacqueline Hartzenbusch ’86 Lhartzenbusch@aol.com
I’m now back in the Washington DC area after nearly 13 continuous years abroad (this time). I moved in October from London where I’d lived for five years and worked at BBC World Television as a news producer. Before that I’d been back in Hong Kong for two separate stints – with NBC Asia (1995-1998) and STAR TV (1999-2003). I’ve been freelancing at BBC News here in Washington. I covered the historic election in November and the inauguration in January. I have been producing various news and feature segments and interviews for the BBC’s World News America program. My mother and my sister, Rima (Catherine), who’s a federal attorney, live in the area too. I went to school at HKIS from 1977-1979 – 4th and 5th grades. I’d be delighted to hear from anyone from those or other 42 DragonTales
Derek Kwik ’86 ktderek@hotmail.com In June 2008, I fully ruptured my achilles tendon while playing in my company dodge ball league, underwent reattachment surgery and months of rehabilitation. Contrary to pundits and skeptics that said I would never run again, by October 2008, I completed the Macau Marathon and Hong Kong Marathon with no ill affects. On May 17, I will attempt to run 260 kilometers across the Namib Desert in Namibia for the benefit of my charity, The Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (SPCA). The Namib Desert is home to the highest sand dunes in the world which are more than 300 meters high. The Skeleton Coast is considered to be one of the most desolate and remote regions in the world. I am the first Chinese individual to have run across the world’s four most extreme deserts (highest, driest, hottest and coldest). To date, I have run across five deserts, two jungles and one alpine event. I am also a motivational speaker to local governments, corporate and professional organizations and an inspirational speaker to children’s schools. In June, my motivational book titled “Kwik Fix” will finally hit bookstores with the proceeds going to the SPCA. I have made Hong Kong my home since 1994 and continue to establish my career in venture capital. I would love to hear how everyone is doing. Please feel free to contact me.
Darien Hsu Gee ’87 www.miaking.com
My husband Darrin and I are still living on the Big Island in Hawaii where we just celebrated our tenth anniversary. We have three children now – Maya (8), Eric (3), and baby Luke, who was born at home last year. Darrin and I are owners of Darrin Gee’s Spirit of Golf Academy, which was in the most recent Golf Magazine ranking of top golf courses and golf courses they love, which was a huge thrill for us. We’re
still writing books, too—Darrin writes non-fiction golf and I write women’s fiction under the pen name Mia King. My third novel, Table Manners, is out in August and sold rights to Doubleday, Literary Guild, Rhapsody and Book of the Month book clubs. It’s the sequel to my first novel, Good Things. I’m on Facebook and can also be reached through my website, miaking. com. I look forward to re-connecting with more classmates—it’s been great getting in touch with everyone again.
Andy Arenson ’88
’88
I am an avid mountain biker and participate in long distance multistage endurance races. I participated in a nine-day, 950 k, 18,500 meters of climbing mountain bike race last year in South Africa where my teammate and I came in 78th out of 600 teams. When I am not on the mountain bike or working we are out enjoying the Beijing countryside on my Harley. The weekends are all about being on two wheels. Beijing really is a special place and if anyone visits please contact me.
years and any others in the television/journalism world.
’87
My wife Haekyeong (from Korea) and I have been married for 10 years and live in Beijing. Yes, the Olympics were cool but best of all the beers were only 5 RMB at all the venues! We have no children. However we have developed a soft spot for stray animals and to date have rescued five dogs and a cat from the streets of Beijing.
arenson@spatzel.net
Since graduating from HKIS in 1988, I’ve gotten an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Rice University, worked on the Human Genome
My wife, Karen Alfrey, and me at a gaming convention in 2008
Project, performed with a semi-professional a cappella group (http://www.lagerrhythms.com/), gotten married (no kids), and worked as an Internet consultant. I now live in Indianapolis, where I manage a group of programmers at Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis that help life sciences researchers access and manage data, and advise a teen youth group at my temple.
Rob Coleman ’88 robert_h_coleman@yahoo.com http://rtmg.blogspot.com Greetings HKIS Alums, Life is busy. I switched jobs twice last year. I left CNA Insurance after six years to work for Infosys as an Engagement Manager. I was surprised by the amount of travel required and left to go to work
for a small software firm – 100,000 person company to a 20 person company – amazing differences. What a ball I’m having now. Our company sells school management software as a service to elementary and secondary schools. All our engineers are right out of school – suddenly I’m the gray hair in the office (literally – see photo). I worked for the same boss I did a decade ago and I’m really enjoying the experience. At a such a small company, the title’s irrelevant. I do some of everything. Tracey and I have been married 14 years now. Tracey’s a stay at home Mom and President of the PTA. Our girls – Melinda 11 and Gretchen 9 are great kids. They’re into reading, piano and being kids. OK, they’re not so into piano, but I like to hear them practice – so they play. I’m regularly amazed at how quickly they’re growing up.
’89
A photo of my very close HKIS family – parents, siblings, spouses and kids from our summer vacation last year: Back: Tom Coleman ’86 and his wife Kim, my parents Tom and Winnie, Rob Coleman ’88, Susan’s husband Rick, my wife Tracey, Julianne Coleman ’85, her husband Todd, Susan Coleman ’89 Middle: Melinda, Elise (Julianne’s kid), Brooks (S), Gretchen, Quinn (S) Front: Gavin (S), Meghan (T), Lauren (T), Collin (J), Kaitlyn (T)
Maria Celine (MADAMBA) Abueg ’89 cmabueg@yahoo.com
I attended HKIS from 1st until 6th grade. Although my memories of my time there are rather vague, I still recall singing in a choir, rehearsing for a play, swimming, playing on the monkey bars and playing
family and I had to leave Hong Kong in 1979. We moved to Bangkok and there, I attended the International School of Bangkok. We moved to Malaysia two years later and there I graduated from the International School of Kuala Lumpur in 1989. After graduation, I studied at Wellesley College, MA, spent a year at the London School of Economics, and returned to the Philippines where I spent over 12 years working in marketing and public relations. I then moved to Singapore with my husband in 2005 and after a year, moved here to Hong Kong. We now have two children – Antonio Ramon (who’s turning three in May) and Celina Isabela ( who’s 20 months old). After 30 years, it’s great being back!
Eric Muther ’89 erik_muther@yahoo.com Erik continues to survive the economic downturn by leading his health care nonprofit organzation in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Health Care Quality Alliance (www.phcqa.org) aims to align and standardize an approach to measuring hospital quality through a multi-stakeholder and consensus-driven approach. Erik’s two boys, Simon (4) and Toby (3) are doing well and especially enjoy swimming, boating and watching/riding trains. Erik visited Jennie (Boblet) Rushing ’89 in December and will see Michelle Neff ’89 in April.
Rita Ting-Hopper ’88 rtinghopper@yahoo.com I am in the Washington DC area practicing law. Married to Mike Hopper and have two great boys Matthew eight and Jason six.
kickball, singing songs like “He drew a circle” and “Rattling Bog”, attending services, and listening to wonderful stories read by my teachers like “James and the Giant Peach” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. I fondly remember two of my teachers – Mrs. Dickoff and Ms. Bethell – who inspired me to be the best I could be. Studying at HKIS was a wonderful experience, so much so that I was sad when my
Eric Muther family
Erik welcomes any HKIS alumnae visitors to Philadelphia to look him up when they are in town. DragonTales
43
class notes
Susan Coleman Olesek ’89
Jason Thatcher ’89
swanolesek@yahoo.com tel: 408.829.1807
jthatch@clemson.edu I was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Management at Clemson University. If anyone is ever in the Greater Greenville, SC area or has questions about Clemson University, do not hesitate to contact me! kornbergp@gmail.com
Eric Sun ’89 eric_o_sun@yahoo.com I’ve been married to Irene since May 2003, and we have three kids: Matthias (May 2004), Nathaniel (December 2005) and, just recently, Anna (February 2009).
I am currently living in Prague, Czech Republic, with my wife and young daughter, having been here since 1996 except for a three-year ‘break’ in
I hope all is well with everyone out there and look forward to our 20 year reunion. Here is a picture of the Plunkett girls.
’91
Peter Kornberg ’90
’90
I am living in Los Altos, CA and teaching The Enneagram to small business, churches, privately and to the local community. This has long been my passion and I am thrilled to have found an endeavor which ultimately fosters compassion for others and deeper self-realization. With my wonderful husband, Rick, I am also raising my three sons: Brooks (11), Quinn (8) and Gavin (4) who are some of the best company I know. Be in touch!
Hilary (Goff) Shirven ’91 BabyBodyBirthPeoria@gmail.com
I gave birth to my daughter, Esther Alma, at home at 4:20am on January 28th, 2009. Esther weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces
I am on the cusp of finishing up my Master of Divinity studies at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. Never thought that, after an MBA, I would follow it up with an MDiv, but the Lord moves in mysterious ways! Looking forward to seeing where God has us next, whether in formal pastoral ministry or some different wine skins; enjoying resting in Him right now. Blessings to all teachers and classmates from the HKIS years! Thanks especially to the team that made an excellent ’88/’89 reunion last summer in San Francisco.
Matthias, Irene, Anna (sitting on Irene), Nathaniel
44 DragonTales
My wife and young daughter
New York. I am a co-owner and managing partner of an advertising agency working throughout the Central and Eastern European Region and have a few gray hairs to prove it! If anyone is ever in the area, feel free to look me up.
Mike Plunkett ’90 ukka@mac.com All is well and living in New York. I am currently a Police Officer in Mount Vernon New York. I have been on the job for almost 3 years now. My wife and I added a new addition to our family in September 2008. Our third girl Alexis was born. My oldest Monica is 8 years old and is getting ready to go into 3rd grade. My other daughter Taylor is going to be 7 years old and is getting ready for 2nd grade. My wife (Lisa) and I will be celebrating 13 years of marriage in October.
Hilary with her husband, Bret, and children, Caleb and newborn Esther
and was 19 inches long. My husband and I feel incredibly blessed by her. I enjoy staying home with Esther Caleb and Esther and my 7-year-old son, Calebboth of whom I homeschool. I’m living in the countryside of Central Illinois with my family. For work, I teach BabyBodyBirth childbirth classes and support laboring women as a Doula. I have found the work to be very rewarding and enjoy every minute of it. Recently, I’ve connected with a lot of fellow HKIS alumni through Facebook. It has been wonderful to reminisce and renew friendships! I’m still looking for some of my old HKIS friends, though. I look forward to hearing from you!
’93
Amy Ruhter McMillan ’93 aruhter@IESabroad.org
Tara Gillet Liloia ’93 has published her first book this spring, titled Lake Champlain Islands. It’s a pictorial history of the five island towns nestled in the Vermont side of Lake Champlain. She’s blogging about the book at champlainislandsbook.com<http://champlainislandsbook. com> – stop by and say hello!
Danielle Cummings (Driscoll) ’93 danielle_cummings@msn.com
The picture above was taken right after the Warriors-Rockets game in Oakland.
Desiree Monteiro Rogers ’94 dmmonteiro@yahoo.com Currently living in Los Altos, California. We welcomed our second son, Connor Monteiro Rogers on Nov 3, 2008. Big brother Andrew was thrilled to get his wish for a little brother granted and has
A picture of me with celebrity cake designer, Ron Ben-Israel and Richard from Atelier Weddings at the NY Magazine Weddings Showcase this Spring
Hope all is well in Hong Kong and thanks for reaching out! I definitely have to get better about staying in touch with my fellow Dragons.
’97
My boys are now 6 and 2. I am still taking time off from teaching high school. In the meantime I started teaching group fitness and have been working on some personal goals like completing the 10K here in Prescott, Arizona. I am on facebook so look me up!
Arvin Bautista, John Bautista, Lermin Kwan, Kevin Lam, Albert Leung, Jackie To
ning Parties at Home” as helping her create all the beautiful tables capes photographed in the book and I was recently asked to possibly be a guest judge on a network cooking show with other experts from the wedding and event industry. Filming would happen this summer and the show would premiere in the Fall. Here’s hoping the trend continues.
Catriona McGregor ’97
’94
cat_mcgregor@yahoo.com.au After high school I spent 4 months in Chile before I began my undergraduate degree at The University of Melbourne. Having majored in marketing and economics, I began work at Toyota Motor
John Dennis V. Bautista ’94 johndennis_bautista@yahoo.com
I recently went on a trip to San Francisco for my long-delayed visit to the US. Stayed at the place of Arvin Bautista (94) for two weeks of eating, shopping, and a LOT of video games. The other SF residents and ex-HKIS people were Albert Leung (94), Jackie To (94), and Connie Joe (94). Lermin Kwan (94) and his fiancee Kitty Lo flew-in from Boston, and Kevin Lam (94) arrived from Toronto to complete a mini-reunion.
been a great help. 2009 has us looking forward to our 15-year reunion this summer and a visit to Hong Kong during Christmas time.
Hannah Soule ’94 Hannah.Soule@bloomingdales.com Greetings from NYC! Just thought I would share that I am still working hard at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street to be the best of the best when it comes to the wedding industry. I was recently acknowledged in Karen Bussen’s latest book, “Simple Stun-
Catriona and Chris
DragonTales
45
class notes
Ran into a fellow Eight Days of Hope (Cedar Rapids) volunteer in Biloxi, MS
Corporation Australia and travelled widely as part of the Australian marketing team. After a few years, I returned to university to complete a degree in graphic design and began working in an art gallery.
We are looking forward to spending this Christmas in Europe with a stopover in Hong Kong on the way. I can’t wait to show Chris the city where I grew up!
Jason Weber ’97 jason@theweberhome.net Well, I’ve moved on to something new! Life has sped along and lots of interesting 46 DragonTales
things have transpired. For a short version, visit http://www.fellowshipoffaith.org <http://www.fellowshipoffaith.org/> or http://groups.google.com/group/FOFMALP.
’98
two years in Queensland. I am completing my masters degree in writing and editing and hoping to continue working in a publishing house as well as continue with graphic design.
souichen@gmail.com
Hello! I graduated from HKIS in 1999. After working a couple of years for the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA, I moved to Michigan in 2007 to get my masters in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University (MSU). I am graduating from MSU this summer and will be moving back to California to attend University of California, Davis to work on my PhD with a focus on environmental and resource economics. I’m currently engaged to David Brandenburg who I met in Los Angeles, and we’re getting married this fall!
End of the final work day in Thailand building a church on the Thai/Lao border. Pastor and his wife in front Catriona and Chris on Frenchmans cap Tasmania
I got engaged to Michael Lemma in November 2008 and we are getting married in Grand Bahama Island November 14, 2009. Many HKIS graduates will be in attendance. We moved from NYC in January 2009 and are living on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I’m currently studying for my Master’s in Education – Early Childhood Education and will graduate in 2011.
Susan Chen ’99 Ft Myers, FL. Dad (Michael Weber, faculty alum) to the left of me in the middle.
I met my husband Chris during my part time work at an outdoor adventure company and our mutual love of the outdoors has seen us complete many adventures. Our recent trip was down the wild Franklin River in Tasmania. Chris and I were married in 2007 and have spent the last
talsness23@yahoo.com
’99
Catriona and Chris Fox wedding
Stopped in Dade City on my way to Biloxi, MS on Boxing Day and visited the Elliotts. Michael Elliott ’93, Diane Elliott ’00, and myself
Lisa Talsness ’98
My sister, Lilly Chen, attended middle school and high school at HKIS as well (Class of 2002). She’s currently working for an engineering firm in Irvine and is heavily involved in dragonboating--traveling to compete in races around the world and in the US.
Jonathan Lee ’98 jon@thismusicstudio.com
Hard to believe it has been 17 years since I left HKIS, however I remain a true Dragon at heart. Since coming back to Hong Kong, I got my Bachelors in Psychology and my Masters in Journalism. However, aside from writing freelance, I am now a full-time music producer with my own recording studio in Central. Would love to see any of you if you’re ever in the area.
From left to right: My mom and dad, myself, Dave Brandenburg – my fiance, Brandon Masuda – a friend of the family, and Lilly
joannechow@alum.syracuse.edu I recently married my long time, long distance boyfriend Christopher Lee. Attendees at our wedding in Vancouver include my maid of honor, Patricia Ho (’99), Bridesmaid Emma Lam (’99), and Bridesmaid Loretta Lee (’98). Other HKIS friends that were present at the wedding include Carlos Wong, Wendy Sheu, and Annie Wu.
Chan has been interning at Mercy Corps, an international humanitarian organization based in Portland, Oregon, and Jeffrey Keller has been teaching for AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education (ACEE) in Austin, Texas.
My husband and I now reside in San Francisco.
’03
Jennifer Sundqvist ’03 jennifercsundqvist@hotmail.com
Jen is still living it large in New Zealand, spending her hard-earned dollars on adrenaline junkie type activities and expensive shoes (about 50-50 between those categories)!
’07
Joanne Chow ’99
in front of of the largest cathedral in Hungary, located in the city Esztergom right next to Slovakia. I will return to the States for summer school in June after my math program here, but will come back in August to visit Hong Kong.
Colin Hanna ’07 hannaday@hotmail.com
Colin Hanna is doing a lot of swimming at Princeton where he was named an Academic All-American, broke three University Records and was the Ivy Champ in the 400IM. But his highest honor was being voted “Cowbell Man” in charge of the team cheers for the next three years. Free time is consumed with surfing so spring break found him catching the waves in Ubatuba, Brazil.
Daniel Quinn ’07 dan_p_quinn@hotmail.com Ching Li Chan and Jeffrey Keller at graduation
Becky Hanna ’04 hannaday@hotmail.com
’05
I graduated from Wellesley in June with highest honors in Economics. I am now working in New York City doing economic consulting. Free time is spent training for a marathon and hanging out with old HKIS friends including Andy Condon ’04 and Alex Cleary ’04.
Danny Quinn (Queen’s University), Indy Shome (Brown University) and Ben Gagnon (Indiana University) all of HKIS ’07 having a mini reunion at Tufts University, Boston
Bianca Lee ’05 blee921@gmail.com
’04
Ching Li Chan ’04 chinglichan@gmail.com
Ching Li Chan ’04 and Jeffrey Keller ’04 graduated from Lewis & Clark College last summer. Since then, Ching Li
’06
Bianca has just gotten into the Masters program of Arts in Art Therapy at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago!
Andrew Yip ’06 yipcma@gmail.com
My parents and I had a wonderful trip in Hungary. We went to some smaller towns and walked around in castles, museums, and opera house. We are pictured here
Cathedral at Esztergom
DragonTales
47
Wedding announcement Susanna Wong â&#x20AC;&#x2122;00 and Henry Wong â&#x20AC;&#x2122;00 will tie the knot this October at HKIS! *Blink* It is unbelievable how quickly time passes, in a blink of an eye and 12 years later, we are now ready to move onto the next stage of our lives together! *^_^* We will be having our wedding ceremony here at school on October 3, 2009.
We and our families really appreciate HKIS for letting us host our wedding ceremony back at the place where our relationship began!!! We would like to invite everyone: alumni, teachers and staff, all those who knew us during our time at HKIS to be a part of our special day. Please email us at weddingbu@gmail.com to RSVP. We look forward to seeing you ! Love, Susanna + Henry