CONTENTS 02
BLUE & GOLD STAFF LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
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LETTER FROM DR. HARTZELL
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WORDS OF WISDOM
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ON THE MAP
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SENIOR SNAPCHATS
11
TIME CAPSULE
13
SUMMER IN TAIWAN BUCKET LIST
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LETTER FROM REBECCA TSENG (CLASS OF 2016)
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BABY PHOTOS
STAFF
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Dear Class of 2017,
amanda huang, co-editor-in-chief
andrew lin, opinions editor
melissa cho, staff reporter
christine lin, co-editor-in-chief
cherice tsai, staff reporter
lindsey kundel, faculty advisor
Congratulations!!! We finally made it. Over the past four years, we each found our own niche and grew into the people we are today. We made mistakes and learned from them, created dozens of unforgettable memories, and met some of the biggest influences in our lives. There is a famous quote from Hubert H. Humphrey that reads “The greatest thing in life is friendship, and I have received it.” Years from now, looking back on high school will be a trip. Thank your friends for giving you the courage to discover more about yourself. Thank your parents for doing everything in their power to help you succeed as a student and as an individual. And thank your teachers for not only making sure you received a great education, but also for taking time out of their day to look out for you. Our class is full of ambitious, brilliant minds and we can’t wait to see what all of you will achieve. As we all head in different directions, pursuing different goals, we can only hope that one day our paths will cross again and we’ll be able to chat about the good old days. Best, Amanda Huang Christine Lin
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LETTER FROM DR. HARTZELL “What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.” —Brené Brown Dear Students in the Class of 2017, You might or might not have heard of scholar Brené Brown, and remembering her name might not be relevant for your current or future life; however, her words are. We here at Taipei American School enjoy immense privilege, and you will continue be privileged at college and beyond. As you depart, I invite you to reflect on the times—no doubt in your turbulent freshman bloom of youth—you considered your life here as something you were entitled to—or worse, obliged to endure. Everyone and everything can and should be better, but TAS provides an educational privilege to which only very few students in the world ever have access. And aat the core of that privilege is the faculty. Before you leave, I hope that you will find time to express your gratitude to the teachers who have invested their time and effort in providing you the best secondary educational experience in the world. Whether or not you will admit it publically, you all know that you have had a privileged experience at TAS; every one of you is taking away skills and knowledge that will make you successful individuals; every one of you had access to incredible programs, places, and people; only a very few of you had to put up with the principal on a regular basis. Good luck with your future studies, career(s), and life, and please remember to stay in touch with TAS. Surely, we will not forget about you! Yours faithfully, Richard A. Hartzell, Principal of Upper School
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WORDS OF WISDOM MS. STEPHANIE CHIANG
The transition from high school to college is one that is filled with an array of emotions: burgeoning excitement for what is to come, an aching desire to hold on to the memories you cherish and the people you’ve connected with, and/or desperate attempts to come to terms with your past mistakes. As you leave high school and navigate your way through the unknown depths of the real world, I hope you don’t lose sight of the values that define you, or lose touch with the people who care about you. More importantly, I hope you won’t isolate yourself, and that you’ll open your mind to new experiences, ideas, and people. Leave your room... have some fun! And leave some room in your heart for kindness, compassion, and tenderness—for others, and for yourself.
MR. LEANDRO LOPEZ
College can be a great opportunity to get destroyed and rebuilt. Your ideals and expectations can meet a great upheaval, get overturned, and be left looking like a ravaged piece of Mr. Chicken Leg. You will question your value as a person, the value of your goals, your identity, and what makes you unique and significant. There may be moments where you realize you don’t know anything and what you thought you knew isn’t quite standing on solid ground anymore. In short, you will realize you have areas where you are pretty stupid. Embrace your stupidity. These moments are critical for your growth as an individual and have a tendency to reveal what is truly fulfilling. It’s these moments when you realize you don’t know everything that can help you truly learn something.
DR. ROBERT BRUCE
Dear Class of 2017, Congratulations on all of your hard work and dedication! As you graduate at this most exciting time, I hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on all of the people who have helped you get to where you are, and then take the time to thank them for their support. Gratitude is one of the key ingredients of happiness in life. And as you journey into college and life at large, I have two pieces of overarching advice: (i) work hard at developing and maintaining integrity in your life, as it is a major determinant of your identity; and (ii) do your best to leave the world in better shape than when you first entered it. Good luck!
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WEST COAST Brigham Young University - Lily Weddle, Rebecca Weddle, Kate Weddle UC Berkeley - Angela Chiang, Kevin Lin, Mitchell Wan, Rosalyn Wang, Angela Wu, Melissa Wu UC Davis - Abby Dzeng, Jenny Hsiao UC Irvine - Austin Bao, Jonathan Chang, Kelson Lin, Jack Tobey UC Los Angeles - Cashua Wang, Ryan Wang UC Riverside - Jocelyn Tsai UC Santa Cruz - Don Taylor Chapman University - Melissa Cho, Teagan Robinson Claremont McKenna College - Amanda Huang University of Colorado-Boulder - Nicky Chen Colorado College - Patricia Pi Loyola Marymount University - Sean Hsu University of Nevada-Las Vegas - Ivan Yang Occidental College - Stephnie Lin University of Oregon - Vincent Chen, Natalya Langford Pomona College - Christine Lin University of Portland - Dane Uhlman San Diego State University - Victoria Tennant Santa Clara University - Florence Su University of San Francisco - Grace Shiue, Andrea Wijaya Seattle University - Catrina Farrell University of Southern California - Ariel Chen, Harris Chen, Justin Chen, Fred Chien, Jesse Kao, Bryan Koh, Andrew Lin, Sophia Wei Stanford University - Ryan Chen, Katie Fong, Avery Wang University of Washington - Amy Lin, Allen Liu
HAWAII University of Hawaii-Manoa - Nicole Hsu, Kevin Lee
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ON TH EAST COAST Babson College - Ray Lam Barnard College - Julia Lin Boston College - Stephanie Chang, Melanie Chiao Boston University - Alison Chen, Steven Chen, Huiru Huang, Meghan Lee, Myles Silsby, William Sun, Katherine Tseng Carnegie Mellon University - Albert Chen, Christine Chen, Alvin Hsu, Aaron Kuo, Nathan Kuo, Vivian Teng, Megan Yang Columbia University - Terry Chung University of Connecticut - Mason Skeels Cornell University - Katie Chang, Charissa Chiu Emerson College - Fiona Chen Haverford College - Emma Chen Johns Hopkins University - TJ Kim University of Massachusetts-Amherst - Stephen Hsiao Massachussetts Institute of Technology - William Chang, Angel Huang, Isabelle Yen New York University - Alec Chang, Bryan Chen, Harrison In, Hae Kyeung Kang, Jasmine Kwak, Li-An Pan, Brandon Tsou Parsons School of Design - Karen Kuan, Aileen Pan University of Pennylvania - Andrew Hu, Josephine Hu, Rachel Lee, Fiona Tsai, Jason Wang, Serena Yiin Pratt Institute - Crystal Tang Temple University - Darryl Loke Tufts University - Emily Chen, William Hsu Wellesley College - April Chu, Abby Hau, Phoebe Kao Yale University - Jonathan Wu
HE MAP SOUTH Columbia International University - Kirsten Long Duke University - Michael Wen Elon University - Bryan Yang Emory University - Tiffany Chen, Jeremiah Hsu, Dennis Jang, Felicity Lin, Andrew Sun, Oscar Wallace, Stephen Wu, Annie Yu Nova Southeastern University - Jackie Chang Rice University - Brendan Wong Tulane University - Jennifer Li Vanderbilt University - Avery Mann University of Virginia - William Huang, Paul Imbrogulio Virginia Tech - Aden Brown
MIDWEST Carleton College - Reese McMillan Case Western Reserve University - David Chang University of Chicago - Liam Chai, Kelly Chen University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign - Pauline Chang, Kevin Tung, Irene Yeh University of Michigan - Wenny Chou, Brandon Lee, Alex Lin Michigan State University - Elena Faber University of Notre Dame - Nicole Cheng Purdue University - Junior Cheng Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology - Kevin Chou, Lee Thrush St. Olaf College - Venus Su
INTERNATIONAL University of Amsterdam - George Harn University of Bristol - Stefanie Mayer University of British Columbia - Ellen Chiu, Jonathan Chou, Jimmy Park, Moka Sera, Mone Sera University College London - Juliana Kao Durham University - Andreas Yau École Hôtelière de Lausanne - Nancy Zuñiga University of Edinburgh - Thomas Hall University of Hong Kong - Thomas Fujimoto Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Catherine Tsai, Jun Seong Woo Imperial College London - Albert Hung, Daniel Loney, Felix Meng, Solomon Wong Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Leo Kim Keio University - Nathan Chang McGill University - Carmel Ciceron, Renee Lo University of Melbourne - Lauryn Van Dooren University of New South Wales - Yash Kalwani Royal Northern College of Music - Lawrence Chen Simon Fraser University - Angela Wang University of St. Andrews - Benjamin Kao, Victoria Pi University of Toronto - Brian Chiu, Amber Kao, Gary Liu, David Tseng, Benita Wu, Ervin Wu, Brandon Yih Vancouver Film School - Kendrick Hew University of Warwick - Jing Yi Ng Waseda University - Elaine Chiu, Serena Kung Western University - Benjamin Chen
OTHER Singapore Military - Gerald Foo, Jin Ho
Photo by Mononymous, www.flickr.com
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Class of 2017, all of your beautiful faces will be missed.......
“Walking 400M when everyone else was running during a track meet because I was upset at the coach.” -Brian Chiu “Freshman year when I gave a class presentation with a video game still open.” -Brandon Tsou “Trying to stall time during Field Day by singing ‘We’re All in This Together’ in front of the entire high school.” -Brendan Wong “I farted with Mr. Vandenboom behind me.” -David Chang “I stepped on a banana peel in the snack bar and slipped.” -Sophia Wei “Getting called out by Mr. Vandenboom for setting up a tent in the cafeteria.” -Meghan Lee “Was late to Les Mis Pit Band rehearsal because I got lost after getting off the MRT.” -Venus Su “Being friendzoned by every girl in TAS.” -William Chang “I called my friend but didn’t know he was in class. Mr. Simonton answered my phone call.” -Yash Kalwani
#HOTTOGO
2017
TIM
CAPS
2016
2014
ME
SULE
2015
Taiwan Summer Bucket List Before you leave this beautiful island, make sure you check all these things off your list!
Food: Bubble tea
Shrimping
Stinky tofu
Waterfalls in Shifen
Beef noodle soup
Old streets in Jiufen
Taiwanese breakfast food
Biking along the coast of Taiwan
仙草 (grass jelly)
Houtong Cat Village
刨冰(shaved ice) 小籠包 (soup dumplings) 紅油炒手 (spicy wontons) 鹽酥雞 (popcorn chicken)
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Travel & Adventures:
Cat cafe Dragon caves (ocean cliff jumping) Sightseeing at Yilan and Hualien Sun Moon Lake Sunset at Dansui
滷肉飯 (minced pork rice)
Tonghua night market
蔥油餅 (scallion pancakes)
Enjoy Taipei nightlife (if you’re legal)
From the Class of 2016 Hey, hey! Happy graduation, Class of 2017! Congratulations on finishing high school! I hope you’re excited, and if you’re not, GET EXCITED! If you’re heading off to college, let me start with the most important, practical things I realized freshman year. Pack an eye mask. And ear plugs. And if those don’t work, consider bringing a bullhorn to yell at people down your hall to quiet down at 3 AM (but that might get some negative feedback, so bring your patience instead.) Make friends with someone who has a vacuum (but not just because of the vacuum.) Don’t leave delicious, unwrapped food in the common room fridge without a threatening note. Getwoke, staywoke. Remember to call home. Remember self-care is most important. Make an effort to remember people’s names. Clean up after yourself — respect others by respecting their space. And drink all the bubble tea you can before you leave (cannot stress this last point enough.) I learned that college is all about that math concept we learned in third grade: Trial and Error. And that’s about the extent of the math I will ever face in college (hallelujah). Trial and Error isn’t just about classes, but also about the clubs you join, friendships you make, and finding a routine that best suits you. In my first semester, I joined the knitting club, ultimate frisbee, and the gardening club. I met some incredible people and had amazing experiences. Use your first year to your full advantage; join clubs just because they sound fun! But I also learned to not be afraid to quit. Balancing and time management is hard and sometimes you just have to narrow down your activities. And that’s okay. Find where you’re happiest. But half of Trial and Error is “error.” You might fail some tests. Get rejected from clubs and internships. Think you’re not smart enough to be in that college; that the admissions people messed up somehow. That is not true. And honestly, that’s probably how most people feel. But it’s okay to fail. There’s this strange phenomenon where students are expected to perform above all expectations), while there simultaneously exists a “stress culture”, where being stressed is valued and seen as admirable. But those people who truly “have it all together” are either robots, lying, or incredibly lucky. Study hard — tuition is hella expensive; make both you and your parents proud. But also don’t feel guilty for having fun! Last of all, while this whole letter is about looking forward to college. I think the most important thing I realized is that college doesn’t dictate what I will be doing for the rest of my life. For me, it felt like my whole life was working towards that one goal of getting into college: now that I’m in it, I realize that there’s so much more beyond and besides it. So yeah, get excited! Before you know it, Ms. Helen Chen from the alumni office will be emailing you about chicken leg and your high school friends will be making plans to meet up! I wish you all the best! HAVE FUN! :) Rebecca Tseng Class of 2016
Washington University in St. Louis
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JUST A FEW YEARS AGO.... Jason Wang
Jeffrey Y u
i a Tsa Fion
Huiru Huang
Felicity L in
u han W t a n o J
Kao Phoebe
Sophia
Cherice Tsai
Serena Wei
George H arn
n Dooren Lauryn Va
Emma Chen
a Thom
Pauline Chang
Benita W u
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Christine Chen
en Kelly Ch
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Elena Fabe
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Venus Su
Myles Silsby
Angela Wu
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Natayla La
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Mare Ryoki
uliana Ben & J
Katie Ch ang
n Wong Brenda
Melissa Cho
Winni eC
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Renee Lo
Alison C
Nathan Kuo
Carmel Ciceron
Megan Yang
Nancy Zun
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u Brian Ch
Amanda H uang
ya Wija a e r And
Angela Chiang
se ine T ather
angford
Alex Geddes
ang Cashua W
Victoria & Patricia
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Reese M cMillan
hen Tiffany C
We’ve gathered here today to celebrate the Class of ______, a ___________ group of ________ students YEAR ADJECTIVE NUMBER hailing from ____________ countries to create a NUMBER BELOW 51 ____________ community like nowhere else. Since ADJECTIVE
_________________ founded the school in _______, HISTORICAL FIGURE YEAR it’s produced students like __________________ and RANDOM NAME ________________, people who understand what our BELOVED CELEBRITY
motto means when it tells us to “______ the ________ NOUN VERB _____________.” We know you will do the same, ADJECTIVE
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because even if you go on to be a _______________ OCCUPATION or _______________, you all share one thing in OCCUPATION common: a ____________ from this fine institution. NOUN
THE TASSEL WAS WORTH THE HASSLE CONGRATS CLASS OF 2017!