Alumni and College Events

2012 Alumni College Student Homecoming Reunion

More than 130 alumni from classes 2008-2011 returned to TAS in January to participate in the annual Alumni College Student Homecoming Reunion and enjoyed the all-time-favorite Chinese Chicken Leg for lunch. A panel of alumni shared college experiences with parents in a session co-sponsored by the Parent Teacher Association. Special thanks to the following alumni: Leah Grande '11, Jennifer Chiang '11, Josephine Hsu '11, Derek Meng '11, Sophie Chen '11, Catherine Tung '10, Leanne Lin '07, Linda Soo '97, and Jay Cheng '97. Parents especially appreciated hearing different perspectives offered by alumni who have graduated from college and worked for a few years. Many more alumni spoke about their college experiences with the seniors in small college advisor groups. This has become a fun and useful tradition. Thanks to the participating alumni for giving soon-to-be-graduates a glimpse of what college life is all about.

Charles Hsu ’10 introduced MIT to upper school students who have already applied or were considering applying to MIT.

Surveying Recent Graduates

In partnership with the college counseling office, the Advancement Office conducted the first online College Alumni Survey this school year. Both paper surveys and online surveys were used to collect feedback in January and February. We adapted the young alumni survey designed by the National Association of Independent Schools, and distributed a survey to college-age alumni.

Valuable feedback was submitted, as 322 surveys were returned, with 33% of respondents from the most recent 2011 graduating class. 81% of respondents indicated that TAS prepared them well or very well for the college/university experience. The survey results provided useful information on courses and skills that could be incorporated into the curriculum to enrich student exposure to various areas of study. The suggestions on alumni services that recent graduates would like to see include more alumni events around the world, a networking platform for professional exchange, and - what else - free food for hungry college students!

Two prizes were offered in a drawing from all respondents. Congratulations to Wheaton Welbourn ’09 on winning a NT$ 1,000 care package from Taiwan. Jonathan Chi ’11 won a $20 Amazon gift card. Keep your eyes open for future surveys that can assist us in providing the best experiences to alumni and current students, and more opportunities for great prizes! TAS Superintendent Dr. Sharon Hennessy met with Alex Yu ’11 during her visit to University of Pennsylvania.

Sage wu ’05 returned to TAS in November as a representative of University of Toronto. Her booth outside of the cafeteria attracted many upper school students interested in applying to the university. She shared her experience on the college application process, dorm life, and course selection. She also answered all types of questions from weather, student clubs, to balancing school work and personal interests. TAS alumni are great sources for college information. Sage also met with TAS faculty members Mr. Soja, Mr. VandenBoom and Mr. O'Rourke.

Grace Cheng, Director of College Counseling, met with college alumni in Atlanta, Georgia.