ALUMNI

Alumni events, typically part of our school calendar, once again had to be postponed or canceled due to the pandemic. Nonetheless, our alumni were determined to remain active and connected.

Our local alumni stayed in touch via social media, keeping up-to-date on the news from ISB and Thailand. While in-person alumni events were impossible this year, our locally-based alumni look forward to a return to normalcy next school year. Overseas, the ISB Network Alumni Association did its part in keeping alumni connected as the organization, led by Reunion Director, David Wilkerson, hosted a very successful reunion in July in Tucson, Arizona. Additionally, Janet Lowe Craven (Class of 1981) once again hosted frequent Zoom meetings throughout the year, keeping ISB alumni all across the globe connected to each other and the school. Janet’s focus this year was on Thai food and ISB Lady Panther athletics.

The ISB Alumni Office kept busy compiling more than 70 stories from alumni worldwide featuring talented alumni in the arts, business, athletics, politics, and community service. Our Alumni Office has continued to extend its reach by connecting with ISB alumni via Facebook and LinkedIn. Scores of our alumni have reconnected to ISB this year, and with a new, dedicated website on the horizon, we anticipate reaching even more Panthers during the 2022-23 school year.

During the 2021-2022 school year, we also endeavored to celebrate our 70th anniversary as the school that was to become ISB officially opened its doors on May 14, 1951. Our Marketing & Alumni Office took on various projects to celebrate this milestone, including a blog series telling the 70-year history of ISB through seven videos lovingly presented by our ISB Alumni Coordinator, Harold Albert. Each one highlighted a decade or so of ISB’s rich history. Not only did they reach hundreds of ISB alumni around the globe, but they will also serve as a written and audio-visual history to be enjoyed by future ISB Panthers.

Another project that commemorates 70 years of ISB is our 70 Stories book. The idea for this book was borne out of discussions between ISB Director of Marketing, Harriett Gething, and ISB Alumni Coordinator, Harold Albert. The goal was to collect 70 stories from alumni (students and staff)snapshots of times at ISB that created memories to cherish forever. Whether it’s tales of snakes in Soi 15, school being closed during the Gulf War, Pancho’s tacos, memorable IASAS matches, something called ‘The Big Stick,’ or ‘How met your Mother at ISB’ love stories, it’s clear how much this school means to so many people and the lasting impact it has had on so many lives.

Thailand is and always will be my home away from home. The people, the smiles, the beauty… it is just all so wonderful, and find myself daydreaming about it on a regular basis.

So, when I tell my students that ISB is home, mean that ISB has given me all of the things that we tend to associate with that word - happiness, joy, and perhaps most important of all, family. While my childhood was certainly not void of obstacles, when I look back on those early years, I am filled with gratitude and awe for the anchor that ISB provided.

I will always be proud to have been a part of this great school.