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FEATurE STOriES
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Alumni mentors
The Upper School Business Club matched eight students to alumni mentors working in fields of interest to the members. The Club’s faculty sponsor, Michelle Bruce, explained this program, “The experience allowed students to interact with their mentors in a professional manner. The mentors imparted industry-specific information and shared their personal experiences with the students. This level of insight is beyond the scope of the curriculum and offers an insider’s perspective for a student to gain a deeper understanding of what they hoped to pursue.” The feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive. They valued the chance to ask questions specific to their interests. Albert Chen’17 developed a very close relationship with his alumni mentor David Tang ’94 and even visited David’s factory. He reflected, “I started the Club with Thomas Fujimoto ’17 because I wanted to expand my field of interest beyond the math and sciences. My mentor was a great listener. Since I was interested in engineering, I talked to people with a background in mechanical engineering and those in electrical engineering.” For David, the reason he agreed to be an alumni mentor was the opportunity to help a future generation make better decisions. He shared, “I wished we had the chance to talk to older alumni when we were in high school. I had no idea what engineering was all about although I had chosen it as my major. I tried to offer advice from a broader perspective so Albert might understand how different people work together in a company and how different industries interact with each other. Each specific area requires a set of skills that all fit together in a big complicated system.” Two new graduates also had the opportunity to work as interns at WeMo Scooter, founded by five TAS alumni. WeMo allows Taipei customers to rent from 1000 economic and environmentally-friendly electric scooters managed by a smart phone app. Alvin Lu’17 and Harris Chen’17 joined the engineering team and developed a program for charging stations to monitor and display the charging of scooter batteries. After his five-week internship, Alvin shared, “Working on these projects was immensely rewarding because I had the chance to apply skills I learned in school, including those from robotics class and AP computer science, which I took three years ago! I was also given more independence. It was interesting to see how ideas were turned into physical products that you can see (and ride) on the streets!” Jay Cheng ’97 praised the two interns, “TAS students are great. They are hardworking, intelligent, and polite. However, they lack real world experience and that is what they can gain from a summer internship experience. They need to understand the dynamics of a work place because they haven’t been treated as equal adults in a work setting while at school.” Alumni mentors are in a unique position to connect with students and offer insights because of a shared TAS experience.
Students present on Social responsibility at les enfants
Upper school students Emily W. ’18, Nicole H. ’18, Alex H. ’18, and Janice Y. ’18 learned about social entrepreneurship and how businesses can create social value in addition to earning a profit in the Honors Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation course. These students had the opportunity to put their learning into action when they were invited by Brenda Lin ’94, Assistant VP for Corporate Social Responsibility, to present at a workshop on socially responsible business practices sponsored by les enphants and B Lab Taiwan. Emily reflected, “I was inspired by the number of companies who want to make a difference in the world, especially one run by TAS alumni.”
TAS welcomed back Tiffany Chang ‘04, a former IASAS delegate, as this year’s IASAS Festival Orchestra Conductor for the 2018 IASAS Music and Art Cultural Convention. During her four years in the Upper School, Tiffany studied cello and was very involved with the music program. She performed,
composed, conducted, collaborated, and took AP and IB music courses. As Tiffany continued to explore various musical interests at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, she realized conducting allowed her to engage in multiple interests, including cello performance, music education, composition, and music theory. She commented, “Being a conductor is being a leader. Being an effective and inspiring leader is the most challenging ultimate goal, as in any field. In a performance, the conductor does not make any sounds, but the conductor guides the musicians to make the music meaningful for the players as well as for the audience.” A former IASAS participant inspired by the opportunities to travel to various countries and meet musicians from different schools, Tiffany provided an equally engaging and unique experience for this year’s participants following in her footsteps, not only in making music but in making connections. Tiffany is currently the Interim Director of Orchestra Studies at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and Assistant Professor at the Berklee College of Music.
Breaking a Track record 36 years Later
In 2014, a Grade 9 student stood in front of the TAS Hall of Fame and Records display and noticed the 110-meter men’s hurdles record set in 1982. The photo of the athlete stood out because it was the only one in black and white, a sign that the record had not been broken in a few decades. Jeffrey Yu ‘17 looked at the record: 16.01 seconds. His fastest speed was not even close. Inspired by this legend who remained on the wall for so many years, Jeffrey wanted his photo to be the one to replace it, but thought that breaking this record was an impossible dream. Jeffrey started running with the track and field team and had an opportunity to beat the record during his Grade 11 year, but his hip flexors popped before the IASAS competition. He continued training in his senior year and led a hurdle squad during the off-season. In 2017, he set the new school record at 15.63 seconds! Jeffrey felt overjoyed as the black and white photo was replaced with his full colored head shot, showing him grinning with pride. A few months after he graduated from TAS, he received an email message from the Alumni Office introducing him to the legend whose record he had broken. Jimmy Tsung ‘84’s sister, Elena Tsung ‘84, is a parent with a daughter enrolled at the school. She thought her brother might like to know the young alumnus who broke his school record. Jeffrey was back in Taipei during Thanksgiving break from Indiana University and Jimmy flew from Shanghai to Taipei for business, so the two alumni finally had a chance to meet in person. For Jeffrey, meeting the legend who motivated him every time he passed by the wall was another dream come true. He showed Jimmy the 20-second video clip from the run that set the new school record. Jimmy had not realized his record remained on the wall for 36 years. When he set that record in 1982, he was a Grade 10 student. The track facilities were not to the same standard as today, but he was fast and he even competed in several Taipei City events. Amused that his • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• black and white photo would inspire a student three decades later, he posed with a big smile next to Jeffrey in front of the new Hall of Fame Track and Field Records display.
TAS Jackets
Liz Tenny ‘99 and her family lived in Taiwan from 1989 until 1999. Since TAS became a member school of IASAS, Liz was the first graduate to receive a total of 12 varsity letters. She played varsity soccer, basketball, and softball each year for all four years of high school. Liz recently donated her jacket for display in the Upper School Information Commons. She reflected on her participation in the TAS athletic program during an interview with the Alumni Office. “The daily practices with my teammates were engaging and fun and the international competitions really shaped who I am today. I remember all the travels to IASAS and Hong Kong schools for our tournaments. Our host families would house us for a few days. We not only played our hearts out at these competitions, but we learned to respect and understand the cultures of our host families.
My participation in the sports program was much more than just playing soccer, basketball, and softball. I also participated in the middle school drama program and the IASAS Cultural Conventions. I continue to appreciate and engage with the various cultures represented in my current hometown in the San Francisco Bay Area.” Robin Fontaine ‘77 attended TAS from 1973-1975 and received a jacket as a Christmas gift her first year in Taiwan. Her name was embroidered on the front. She loved the colorful stitching of Taiwan on the back and the tiger representing TAS on the sleeve. She commented, “My TAS education really helped prepare me for success in college. The cutting-edge modular/granular approach to classes was really engaging and effective. For example, we didn’t just take ‘English’ because we could select classes such as ‘Adventure Stories,’ ‘Utopian and AntiUtopian Literature,’ or ‘The Underdog in American Literature.’” In 1975, her father was transferred back to an air force base in Washington State. She added, “I was especially proud to wear the jacket after moving back to the States! Most of my new classmates didn’t know anything about Taiwan, so wearing it made me feel special and it was a great icebreaker.” Her jacket is now on display in the Upper School Information Commons.
In March of 2016, Robin returned to Taiwan for the first time. She said, “When the U.S. ended diplomatic relations with the Republic of China in 1979, I vowed I would return to Taipei one day. The 2016 reunion trip helped me realize that goal. Visiting our old neighborhood in Wellington Heights, seeing the impressive new TAS campus, and experiencing firsthand how vibrant and sophisticated Taipei is today made me incredibly proud to say ‘I used to live there!’” We welcome alumni contributions to the TAS archives where meaningful documents and items highlight the history of the school.
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