Taipei American School Alumni News Magazine | 2021

TAIPEI AMERICAN SCHOOL ALUMNI NEWS

UNIVERSITY MATRICULATION BY REGION

Institutions where TAS graduates from the Classes of 2018, 2019, and 2020 enrolled. Boldfaced print indicates institutions attended by graduates from the Class of 2020.

UNITED STATES

Arizona State University

Babson College

Barnard College

Berklee College of Music

Boston College

Boston Conservatory Boston University

Brandeis University

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University, Idaho Brown University

Bryn Mawr College

Bucknell University California Lutheran University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California State University, Northridge

California State University-Long Beach

Carnegie Mellon University

Case Western Reserve University

Chapman University Claremont McKenna College Colgate University College of William & Mary Colorado College Columbia University Cornell University

Curry College Dartmouth College De Anza College

Duke University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversityDaytona Beach

Emory University

Endicott College

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles

Fashion Institute of Technology Fordham University

Georgetown University Georgia Institute of Technology Grinnell College

Harvard College

Harvey Mudd College

Haverford College

Indiana University at Bloomington Johns Hopkins University

Keene State College

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola University Chicago

Marist College

Maryland Institute College of Art Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Middlebury College

Minerva Schools at KGI

New York University

North Carolina State University Northeastern University

Northwest Vista College Northwestern University

Occidental College

Pepperdine University

Pomona College

Pratt Institute

Princeton University Purdue University Reed College

Regis University

Rhode Island School of Design

Rice University

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Santa Clara University

Savannah College of Art and Design

Seattle University

Simmons University

Stanford University

Stevens Institute of Technology Stony Brook University

Syracuse University

Texas A&M University

The Curtis Institute of Music

The George Washington University

The New School

The University of Alabama

The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas, Arlington

The University of Texas, Austin

The University of Texas, San Antonio

Tufts University

United States Coast Guard Academy University at Buffalo The State University of New York

University of Arizona University of California, Berkeley University of California, Davis University of California, Irvine University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Riverside University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz University of Chicago University of Colorado Boulder University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign

University of Maryland, College Park University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of Michigan University of North Dakota University of Northern Colorado University of Notre Dame University of Oregon University of Pennsylvania University of Puget Sound University of Rochester University of San Diego University of San Francisco University of South Carolina University of Southern California University of the Pacific University of Virginia University of Washington Utah State University

Vanderbilt University Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Tech Washington University in St. Louis Wellesley College Wesleyan University

EUROPE

Durham University École Hôtelière de Lausanne Erasmus University Rotterdam

(Netherlands)

Goldsmiths, University of London

Imperial College London

Jacobs University

King’s College London

Polimoda International Institute of Design and Marketing

The London School of Economics and Political Science

The University of Edinburgh

The University of Warwick Universiteit van Amsterdam University College London University of Bristol University of Cambridge (UK) University of Glasgow University of Manchester University of Oxford University of Sheffield

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Bond University Massey University

The University of Melbourne University of Canterbury University of New South Wales University of Sydney UNSW Australia

CANADA

Humber College

Queen’s University University of British Columbia University of Lethbridge University of Ontario Institute of Technology University of Toronto University of Waterloo

ASIA

Beijing Film Academy

Chinese University of Hong Kong

City University of Hong Kong

Fudan University

Hosei University

Keio University

Korea University

Ming Chuan University National University of Singapore

NYU Shanghai Seoul National University

Shanghai Jiao Tong University of Medicine

Singapore Management University

Sophia University

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The University of Hong Kong University of Tokyo Waseda University

Yale-NUS College Yonsei University

ABOUT THE MAGAZINE

The TAS Alumni News Magazine is published by the Advancement Office and is circulated free of charge to alumni, faculty, and former faculty. Update your contact information with us: Send an email to alumni@tas.tw with your current contact information. Fill out the online update form: www.tas.edu.tw/alumni > Stay Engaged with TAS > Contact Information Update Form.

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TAS iGEM TEAM

The TAS International Genetically Engineered Machines team took home the Grand Prize for best high school project at the 2020 iGEM World Jamboree held in November 2020 with their home test for COVID-19.

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ALUMNI AIDING COMMUNITIES

As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread to touch almost every aspect of our lives, four alumni share their experiences as a public health nurse, a Red Cross caseworker, an EMT, and a contact tracer, and helping their communities in unexpected ways.

TAS CHICKEN LEG

The TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg has become an iconic symbol of the TAS experience for many since the 1980s. It was added to the TAS lunch menu almost 40 years ago.

The front cover features longtime faculty members Brian Tobey and Kathy Cutler beside the TAS Bell. All photos courtesy of TAS, unless otherwise indicated.

Shan Lee Ives, Assistant Alumni and Community Outreach Officer

Connie Ma, Alumni and Community Outreach Officer

INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL LETTER TO ALUMNI

The events of this year have challenged our organization in many ways. And our alumni have in turn challenged us to meet important issues head-on. These events have spurred our community to engage deeply in difficult conversations, ones that have brought us closer together through a shared purpose, all the while knowing that we live in volatile and uncertain times.

Please know that we have appreciated your candor and feedback, and we have heard you. And, like you, we will continue to work to improve this school that you know and love. If we are to succeed in keeping our school steady and strong in this unusual year, we need a vibrant alumni community that is willing to share ideas and values. It has been both challenging and inspiring to work with you this year.

We know there are generations to come through Taipei American School behind you. This year, you have helped us realize that our school’s mission can be boiled down to one core sentiment: to always put students first while staying true to the other laudable goals embedded within our mission of preparing graduates for the world beyond the walls of our campus, beyond the comfort of our neighborhood in Tianmu, beyond the city limits of Taipei, and beyond the borders of Taiwan.

In order to continue to work towards this mission, our entire community, which includes you, will require to go through an important cultural change. We will need to continue to work on expanding our partnership with alumni, our current students, faculty, and past and present parents as we embrace our ability to bridge between the east and the west. Parents and families deliberately choose TAS to provide an American education for their children in Taiwan. This means we have lots more to do to educate all community members on our values, expectations, and the promise that we will prepare graduates, not just academically, for the world beyond TAS.

It has been my honor to serve as the School’s interim head of school for this past school year. I look forward to continuing to work alongside my fellow Tigers as we keep redefining excellence in our community and attempting to set a good example for those in our care and beyond.

Grace Cheng Dodge, Ed.D. Interim Head of School

Photo (top): TAS Athletics, Photo (left-middle): Dustin Rhoades, Photo (lower right): Curtis Lee '21

STUDENT SAFETY IS AN “INSIDE JOB” FOR SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS: LEARNING LONG DISTANCE WITH DR. SCOTT POLAND, STUDENT SAFETY EXPERT

By Lindsey Kundel, Director of Communications and Marketing

Taipei American School welcomed Dr. Scott Poland, Professor of Psychology at Nova Southeastern University, into our community – albeit digitally – in December 2020 for a 3-day digital residency to work with parents, students, faculty, staff, counselors, nurses, and administrators in the area of school safety.

Dr. Scott Poland is a licensed psychologist internationally recognized as an expert on youth suicide, self-injury, school violence, school safety, threat assessment, and school crisis. Dr. Poland is a Professor at the College of Psychology and is Co-Director of the Suicide and Violence Prevention Office at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has authored or co-authored five books and many chapters and articles on these subjects including, Suicide in Schools, published in 2015. He has nearly three decades of experience in this field and has led lectures and training for parents, school administrators, psychologists, and many others around the world. Dr. Poland has worked full-time in schools for 26 years and for 24 of those, he directed psychological services for a very large Texas school district.

During his time at TAS, he conducted several live and prerecorded training sessions with many different members of our community.

Interim Head of School, Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge, explained the importance of providing education for all of our community members and not just our faculty. “I think it’s

important for our community to partner together and talk about important subjects like this to keep everyone healthy, happy, and watching out for one another,” she said. “We learned from Dr. Poland that talking about suicide can actually help to prevent it, not the opposite myth.”

Dr. Poland met with the KA-12 counseling team for three hours on December 2 and again on December 4 for a series of talks titled “Contemporary Issues in School Crisis Prevention.”

He also presented to all faculty and staff members with important information relevant to coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and TAS’s specific situation as an American international school in Taiwan. His talk to faculty and staff was called “Safeguarding Students and Building Success and Resiliency.”

On December 3, Dr. Poland met with our parent community in a webinar called “Raising Children in a Challenging World.” Over 200 of our parents signed up for this important session. For parents who were unable to attend, a video and slide deck were made available in the TAS Parent Portal.

Finally, throughout the three days, Dr. Poland presented a talk called “Navigating the Teen Years Successfully” to both middle and upper school students. Teachers then led breakout sessions to follow up on the presentation.

Dr. Poland’s work with our community is part of a larger multi-year commitment to safeguarding our students and emphasizing the importance of mental health awareness in our community at large. Each student, parent, and employee has a role in fostering meaningful relationships with one another that will help make all of us feel valued and safe.

Dr. Poland’s digital consultancy was generously funded through an anonymous donation from a TAS family.

Dr. Poland met with the KA-12 counseling team.

JEDI AND DEI - NEW GROUPS FORMED TO PROMOTE INCLUSIVITY AT TAS

By Sabrina C. ’21, The Blue & Gold

The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) faculty committee and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) student group are newly formed initiatives focused on fostering open discussions about social issues in the TAS community and beyond, serving as a platform to create change and improvement.

The initial idea of the JEDI Committee was sent out to the faculty body via email and met with wide enthusiasm, with many volunteering to be part of the program across all school divisions. The committee has already had a series of meetings, featuring divisional check-ins, collaborative conversations with the TAS administration and discussions about issues at TAS.

Improving the diversity and inclusivity of the TAS community and curriculum is a large task to tackle, thus the committee only recently solidified its official mission statement.

“Before you can make any plans for anything, you have to figure out what the issues are,” said upper school history teacher and representative of the JEDI Committee Dr. Erika Soublet. “What I am focusing on right now is collecting data to understand what concerns people may have right now.”

Mr. Ryan Haynes and Mr. Jaami Franklin, upper school representatives of JEDI, recently facilitated an open dialogue discussion for seniors, with about 20 students showing up. The conversation progressed quickly, with seniors readily speaking about uncomfortable yet necessary topics and school events.

“I was pleased that people felt safe and comfortable in that setting to speak up on a variety of topics,” Director of Upper School Academic and Personal Counseling Mr. Haynes said.

The seniors who attended were very passionate about their thoughts on issues such as racial slurs and the lacking sex education at TAS.

“It was a great opportunity to widen topics beyond what we talk about in classes and advisory,” said Sofia L. ’21, one of the seniors who attended. “Hearing everyone’s opinions really captivated me.”

The DEI is an upper school-specific student group formed by Mr. Haynes, with students of all upper school grade levels invited to join. The goal is similar to JEDI, but with a greater focus on students voicing their opinions and creating effective discourse. The group had their first few meetings recently, hosted by Mr. Haynes and Dr. Soublet.

“I was impressed that there was a mix of ethnicities, genders and grades [within the students who attended the meeting],” Dr. Soublet said. “I was also impressed with the willingness of everyone to share their reason for attending and how they felt about the issues being discussed.”

The teacher sponsors hope that the group continues to expand, giving more students the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions and feel included.

“I hope we can turn it into a club in the future and get more involvement,” Mr. Haynes said. “We really want the discussion topics to come from the students.”

The TAS community is making great strides to become a more inclusive environment for everyone, and students play a big role in that ultimate goal.

“I want students to know that they have a voice,” Dr. Soublet said. “History teaches us that students are some of the greatest agents of change.”

The DEI student group at a recent meeting during the school year.

EMBRACING OUR DIFFERENCES:

TAS iGEM TEAM DOMINATES INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION WITH HOME COVID-19 TEST

Meeting Library, the world’s largest oncology conference. Wilson was voted as the project head unanimously by his peers, who hold great respect for his skills in graduate-level research and in leading the team’s multi-step research process.

In February 2020, right after Chinese New Year, the novel coronavirus influenza began to become more prevalent in Asia, the team realized that there was a research opportunity to be had. “As soon as China realized it was becoming an outbreak, they released the sequence of the virus genome, which made it publicly accessible for us during our first distance learning session,” said Clapper. “Wilson, without any sort of teacher assisting him literally went out on his own, found the sequence of the two strains of influenza and COVID-19 and did several forms of bioinformatic analysis of the genomes.”

By Lindsey Kundel, Director of Communications and Marketing

The TAS International Genetically Engineered Machines team dominated the field of 66 high school teams at the 2020 iGEM World Jamboree held in November 2020, taking home the Grand Prize Award for best high school project. This is the third time a TAS team has taken home the “BioBrick” traveling trophy (in 2015, 2017, and 2020). Additionally, TAS was awarded eight individual prizes and nominated for a total of 13 prizes, which is a record.

“The kids are unbelievably motivated this year because they’re genuinely interested in the science,” says TAS Director of Scientific Research, Mr. Jude Clapper.

Each year’s iGEM team is composed of students in Grades 11 and 12 who enroll in the course Honors Research in Synthetic Biology, which is co-taught by Clapper, and his colleagues Dr. Jonathan Hsu and Dr. Nicholas Ward across two different class periods. This year’s iGEM team continued its record of success at the annual iGEM Giant Jamboree, which is usually hosted in Boston each fall but which was hosted virtually this year due to the world health crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

This year’s team is led by Wilson H. ’21, a quiet and quickwitted young man, whose independent research was recently published in the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology

In March, when the United States began to feel the strain of the virus and the lack of test kits became a concern globally, the TAS iGEM team quickly realized that this project’s potential impact was greater than they had anticipated. “This is a real problem right now and we are designing a kit that will be very useful, not just for the United States but for the entire world,” said Hsu.

The 2020-21 iGEM Team surround their three faculty advisors. The idea of “impact” is a large component of the iGEM competition philosophy. Every team needs to show that their research project has a component that they call “human practice.” The idea behind this concept is that each project needs to be relevant and helpful to humanity.

“Currently this type of test is a gold standard for most virus or coronavirus tests. Basically, it identifies a piece of the DNA where the genetic sequence of the virus is. If you’re infected, you carry that virus in your own body. The test uses a sample out of that person, like saliva or another viral particle carrier. The test can detect if there is DNA in your sample and the color changes based on the presence of that DNA.”

Hsu and Clapper describe it as essentially a “ph” test for those who are less familiar with this type of test, known as a PCR-based test. “When you measure the pH of your pool or your water, you put in a stick of paper and it changes color based on the equipment. That’s the whole principle behind our work. If it’s a little bit more acidic, then it changes color. This is what is happening in our test because if you have the DNA of one of these viruses, the test makes a lot more copies of it every time, which then changes the color of the

The 2020-21 iGEM Team pose together in the lab.

liquid,” explained Clapper and Hsu. In short, their test works by a simple color change over time—the reaction starts out pink but gradually becomes yellow in the presence of a virus. Their current results show a minimum detection time of around 30 minutes for each of the 3 viruses.

The team’s second part of their research is trying to make sure that these tests could be used by people in their own homes, without much margin of error for people to selfidentify color changes. The team collected results with timelapse videos and wrote an analysis software program that can automatically analyze the color changes in the videos using a cell phone. This allows the user to measure the color change with a simple phone camera and will eventually be easily adaptable to personal home-use.

Project head, Wilson H., thinks that ultimately the TAS project has two advantages over other tests: it’s fast and it’s accurate. “It’s sensitive and specific,” he said, “which are the two parts of accuracy. It also operates at room temperature, which means that you don’t have to work in a special lab in order to process the results.”

Wilson and his other team members feel grateful for the synthetic biology program at TAS. “It has really opened up a lot of opportunities,” he said. “When I started Upper School, I was actually focusing more on the engineering side of learning, like in robotics competitions. But I eventually realized that my true passion is biology and chemistry. It’s something where I can truly expand my knowledge and what I want to do in the future.”

TAS WELCOMES BACK EXPERT IN CROSS-CULTURAL IDENTITY, DR. JOSEPHINE KIM

Her first talk, "Predictable parenting for unpredictable times: Building resilience and self-esteem for success in school and life," focused on meaningful strategies that all parents can begin to employ in today's fast-paced world. While parents cannot control how and when life’s challenges will present themselves to their children, they can build protective factors that will buffer the falls and promote their well-being. At the core of these protective factors are enhancing students’ resilience and self-esteem, both of which can be fostered through trusting relationships with caring adults. Dr. Kim discussed predictable parenting skills that foster resilience and increase self-esteem during unpredictable times.

By Lindsey Kundel, Director of Communications and Marketing

Dr. Josephine Kim visited TAS virtually in 2021 and delivered two presentations live on March 15 and 17 to the TAS parent community and another presentation for TAS faculty. Dr. Kim previously visited and lectured at Taipei American School in 2018, when she presented information about supporting our children's cross-cultural identities.

During this recent visit, she spoke on two subjects she is passionate about, based on both her research and lived experiences: "Predictable parenting for unpredictable times," and "How prepared is your child for the world outside of TAS?"

Dr. Kim is an internationally recognized counselor, educator, author, and speaker with expertise in multicultural diversity, cross-cultural identity, family engagement and parenting, mental health, and child/adolescent development. She is on the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Education as well as the Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Kim has provided professional consultation and expertise on multicultural, mental health, career development, and educational issues to various media sources in Asia and in the U.S.

In her second talk, "How prepared is your child for the world outside of TAS?", she explicitly wanted to help parents think through what their children will experience once they leave their homes, especially those who will study abroad in the United States. While TAS may be seen as a safe cultural bubble, many parents and students do not give intentional consideration to how their cultural identities intersect with privilege and oppression in the global context. While English language skills and STEAM knowledge are important, Dr. Kim believes that diversity and equity literacy are amongst the most sought-after skills in any given field, school, and position when the global platform is the stage where students will perform.

These opportunities were presented in conjunction with TAS’s JEDI and wellness initiatives. Thank you to the PTA for inviting Dr. Kim and partnering with us as TAS builds on our work to appreciate strengths and cultivate diversity and inclusion.

Dr. Kim gave a presentation on "How prepared is your child for the world outside of TAS?

BLACK LIVES MATTER AT TAIPEI AMERICAN SCHOOL

career in the Seattle Public Schools before returning to TAS as a middle school history teacher in 2018.

Anthony Kelley left a chaotic and violent childhood to become a successful college athlete, winning the Rose Bowl while playing football at the University of Washington. Turning toward academia and away from the NFL, he went on to earn a master’s degree in Education Leadership and Policy Studies. He worked at the University of Washington and later at Washington State University as Director of Student Diversity and Outreach. He now helps individuals and organizations realize their true potential through deep self-awareness and negotiating difficult conversations.

By Lindsey Kundel, Director of Communications and Marketing

Taipei American School stands with the Black Lives Matter movement and has begun to formally incorporate these ideas into the School’s professional development and student curriculum.

On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, all faculty and teaching assistants gathered for an important professional development meeting titled “Black Lives Matter: Why Should We Care? What Can We Do?: A Conversation on Empathy, Solidarity, and Action By Building Common Ground.” The School has planned additional conversations on the same subject with non-teaching staff for later this spring.

Led by middle school history teacher and TAS alumnus Weston Cooper ’08 and our guest diversity trainer, Anthony Kelley, this seminar helped our faculty connect the history of Taiwan to that of the U.S., in particular, connecting the movements of Taiwanese identity to that of Black Lives Matter.

Weston Wang Cooper was born in Taiwan to an American father and a Taiwanese mother. He grew up speaking Taiwanese, Mandarin, and English. He attended local public school until 9th grade, graduating from TAS in 2008. After graduation, Cooper attended the University of Washington for his undergraduate degree, where he majored in International Studies and Cultural Anthropology, with a focus on race, ethnicity, and identity formation. He worked at Morgan Stanley before returning to school to receive his masters’s degree in Teaching. Weston began his education

According to Interim Head of School, Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge, this seminar’s primary goal was to introduce points of “solidarity” between Taiwanese and American history in a conversation that demonstrates how two people with very different lives find common ground through empathy. “If you do not know the extensive history of Taiwan and that of the Black experience in the U.S., you also might not know how there are great similarities and parallels between the two,” said Dr. Dodge.

Weston spoke about his own family history in Taiwan and how that paved the way for him to understand the struggle of Black Americans.

Anthony Kelley (left) and middle school faculty Weston Cooper ’08 deliver a seminar called “Black Lives Matter: Why Should We Care? What Can We Do?: A Conversation on Empathy, Solidarity, and Action By Building Common Ground.”

She said that the administration had hoped to feature this event in February, coinciding with Lunar New Year and Black History Month, but she feels fortunate that the School could find a time this month to feature this important presentation, “in light of recent anti-Asian violence, Taiwan’s international isolation, and seeing how our community can be better informed about race relations and cultural competence.”

Cooper and Kelley ended the presentation with a brief discussion of why actively seeking to find common ground with others by learning about them is essential.

This presentation is part of an on-going effort of the Taipei American School administration and its JEDI committee to increase awareness of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the School.

SERVICE-LEARNING TAKES CENTER STAGE IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOD DRIVE

By Lindsey Kundel, Director of Communications and Marketing

The Taipei American School Middle School organizes a food drive every year to help less fortunate families in Taiwan. In 2020-21, the student council received names of 30 families to assist from the Pearl S. Buck Foundation.

Students from each homeroom volunteer to lead and share information with their classmates. Students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 coordinate the service activity and ask that all middle school students sign up to bring in particular goods.

This year’s food drive took place from January 25 to February 2. In that time, middle school teachers and students contributed food and drink items such as rice, soup, juice, powdered milk, as well as cooking and school supplies. All 95 family members were also given a personal gift. In addition, the middle school student council provided each person with a new fleece blanket, bath towel, and a pair of socks. On February 3, TAS shipped the boxes directly to the families.

Middle school student council co-advisor Rhonda Pottorf said, “I’m very impressed with the generosity of our middle school students. Through this service project, our students had an opportunity to make a connection with other families in the community and demonstrated the TAS values of kindness and responsibility.”

Pottorf has been leading the middle school student council for every year of her 16-year career. She currently teaches Grade 7 academic support, which is what she has taught for most of her tenure here except for two years that she spent with Grade 6. She explains why she loves teaching middle school. "Because I teach students in small groups, I get to know my students well. I love being able to work with the students individually to help them meet their academic goals."

Over the last 16 years, many things at TAS have changed,

but Pottorf is most struck by what hasn't changed. "The Middle School has stayed the same in the way that we're very tight-knit," said Pottorf. "We're all very close and we look out for each other."

She does note that the School has increased its attention to character education and homeroom over her tenure, which she believes is equally important to academics because it teaches students to be conscious of how they approach situations in life and how their actions can have a positive effect on society.

Pottorf was initially hired for both academic support and student council from the very beginning. She says that at times her work with the student council feels like a second full-time job, but she knows that every activity – like this food drive or the middle school dances it sponsors – has a lasting impact on the students and their memories of the TAS middle school experience, and that is what makes it all worth it.

"I enjoy working with middle schoolers and helping them develop their leadership skills," she said. "It's rewarding to provide social events for students where they can just relax and enjoy being themselves without the pressure of academics. It's a very important part of Middle School to include social and emotional events."

This year's food drive was larger than in previous years, involving more families and more TAS students than in years prior. "This year we had 134 food drive representatives, which is about two per homeroom who came to the preparation meetings."

Pottorf believes in the power of service-learning and is proud to help students experience this at TAS. "I feel that community service is vital as it gives students the opportunity to think outside of themselves. They also realize the impact of giving back," she said. "When you support your community by helping others, you create a stronger place for everyone."

Middle school student food drive volunteers pose with the shipment of donations for the Pearl S. Buck Foundation.

ALUMNI AIDING COMMUNITIES DURING COVID-19

By Connie Ma, Alumni and Community Outreach Officer

As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread to touch almost every aspect of our lives, many TAS alumni have found themselves involved in helping their communities in unexpected ways. Four alumni share their individual experiences as a public health nurse, a Red Cross caseworker, an EMT, and a contact tracer. These stories are an example of resilience in the face of adversity and remind us to recommit to helping each other through this global crisis.

THE PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE

Now, Sheena works primarily over the phone. “At the beginning of the pandemic, we were telehealth all the time. Connecting with people over video and phone is difficult. I know people feel trapped because they can’t go out, and there’s not the usual care and support they expect from their parents. I know it’s been hard for a lot of people. For example, childcare in San Diego can be quite expensive, like $2,000 per month for one child. It can be your entire paycheck.”

Another part of Sheena’s job is running a COVID hotel. “We are responsible for taking people from the hospital to a hotel. Some have tested positive or are symptomatic but can take care of themselves. Others have been exposed to confirmed positives and need a place to isolate for 14 days. Sometimes, they don’t have their own bedroom or a space to quarantine from their family, so they come here. In the fall, we went from having 20 requests a day to more than 100 requests a day.”

Sheena Sihota ’99 has been a public health nurse since 2014, working in child and maternal health at the Health and Human Services for the County of San Diego. “We visit first-time moms to help them with whatever they need, help them be self-sufficient and leave abusive situations if they need, and reduce the likelihood for child abuse.” Sheena’s work has a personal story behind it. “Working in child and maternal health has always been my passion. I started nursing school when my oldest was a year old, so I went through the peri-partum phase with no medical background. I’ve been where some of the moms I’ve worked with have been.”

On a typical day before the pandemic, Sheena would visit three to four mothers for one to two hours at a time, weighing and measuring kids and answering any questions that the mother had about starting solid food, what kind of diapers are best, developmental assessments, help with breastfeeding, and much more.

Though she is not a front-line doctor or nurse working in a hospital, Sheena has also seen her share of the devastation that the virus can wreak. “I know some people who think it’s a hoax, but I’ve literally seen a thirty-year old person turn blue before my eyes,” Sheena noted soberly. At least for her, the pandemic has had a strong silver lining. “Pre-COVID, I didn’t see my children very often, only when I brought them to school and picked them up. Though we’re now doing learning and work separately at home, I see them all the time.”

Sheena Sihota ’99 is a public health nurse who has been working on the COVID-19 front lines.

Sheena Sihota ’99

THE CASEWORKER

Andrew Bookbinder ’15 has seen the need for help firsthand. After graduating from college, Andrew moved to Los Angeles in 2019 to work for the Red Cross as a caseworker doing housing advocacy for individuals or families who have been impacted by disasters. “When you experience a home fire, there’s no designated government agency that responds to you,” Andrew explains. “As a well-funded non-profit, we try to serve immediate needs of people who have been impacted by disasters and step into that role. We provide financial assistance and partner with organizations to get them rehoused and back on their feet.”

The pandemic has reshaped Andrew’s work; not only is he restricted to meeting clients over the phone or video, but he also has fewer avenues of aid to offer. “Our partner organizations and agencies like the Department of Social Services, Legal Aid Foundation,

or the Salvation Army, have all scaled back services, cut hours, or temporarily closed, all at a time when the demand for resources is skyrocketing. Even food banks have scaled back because their volunteers tend to be older. We are broadening our outreach to different organizations and figuring out creative solutions, but there’s less help available overall.”

Andrew sees this as an extension of the public interest work he would like to pursue throughout his career. “As caseworkers, we can advocate for our clients and provide financial assistance. Sometimes, we can really make a difference. Last week, I worked with a new landlord to reduce the security deposit and first month’s rent for my clients, and that’s incredibly gratifying. Knowing that I’m helping is phenomenal.”

After the pandemic started, Andrew actually deferred law school for a year to do more client advocacy work with the Red Cross. “When I first moved to LA, I had an inkling of the housing crisis here. But working here in the community has really changed my understanding of the scope of the problem and the failure to address it on a large scale. This has strengthened my resolve to work in public interest law.” In the fall of 2021, Andrew will start law school at the University of Pennsylvania as a Toll Public Interest Scholar.

THE EMT

For the past four years, Jeremiah “Jerry” Hsu ’17 has been an emergency medical technician or an EMT for the Berkeley Medical Reserve Corps (Berkeley MRC). In May 2020, Jerry assumed the directorship of the corps as a senior at UC Berkeley. Like many university EMT groups, Jerry and his fellow students often staffed campus events and sporting events, but unlike most university groups, Berkeley MRC is chartered as a federal program and can be deployed by the university, local, or state authorities to respond to disasters. They have been active throughout the pandemic, responding to a wide range of needs in California.

“In April, we were activated by the City of Berkeley to staff their COVID-testing center for essential workers, vulnerable populations, and healthcare workers. Our EMTs did nasal swabs and logistics until September. Starting in

May, we deployed people to skilled nursing facilities when RNs [registered nurses] would test positive, and their whole team needed to isolate. In September, COVID-19 deaths in skilled nursing facilities accounted for as much of 37% of our state total, which was made worse by the staffing shortages.” In July, Jerry and fellow Berkeley MRC members were deployed by the California Medical Assistance Team to Tulare County. “For two weeks, we worked in a gigantic gym that acted as an overflow site for hospitals, treating low acuity COVID-19 patients. We worked 12 hours on, 12 hours off, and we slept on cots.” During the fall, Berkeley MRC also responded to wildfires by deploying to shelters and providing medical aid in Santa Cruz County. As of February 2021, they are working with the Berkeley Fire Department to administer vaccines at the City’s first community mass vaccination site. “As EMTs, we’re entry level medical providers, and

Andrew Bookbinder ’15 (furthest right in group photo) is a Red Cross caseworker in the Los Angeles area.

Andrew Bookbinder ’15

Jerry Hsu ’17

in California, our scope is quite limited. This is the first time in the history of the U.S. that we’re being allowed to give vaccines,” notes Jerry.

The lowest point for Jerry and his fellow corps members was in May and June of 2020. “This isn’t what we signed up to do. Most students become EMTs because they’re pre-med, and they do work like stabilizing critical trauma patients, reversing overdoses, or performing CPR on the street. All of a sudden, we’re being deployed to bedsides in skilled nursing facilities with COVID outbreaks and parking lots to swab patients, during a national PPE shortage that forced us to reuse N-95s, isolation gowns, and face shields for days and weeks. We’re also students with our own lives, and that sudden transition to online classes was hard for everyone.”

Jerry has picked up some unexpected lessons as a part

THE CONTACT TRACER

In fall of 2020, Leon Yim ’16 was not working at the cancer immunology lab he expected to start at after graduating from MIT. Instead, while waiting for a hiring freeze at school to end, he found himself working as a COVID-19 contact tracer for the MIT community. Leon’s work officially began in November, just as the U.S. began to experience a winter surge of COVID-19 cases. “Here, we have a very robust COVID-testing program, where people test once or twice a week depending on how often they access campus. When I started, I took the Johns Hopkins Coursera course on contact tracing 101, which defines terms like quarantine, isolation, close contact, why isolate for 14 versus 10 days, etc. I started by checking in on people who were already in quarantine to see if they had symptoms after a close encounter with a positive case. But very

of this work experience that he feels will apply to any industry he chooses to work in. “I’ve learned to work with people who have much more experience than me. I’ve been thrust into this situation where I’m working with people who have decades of experience in emergency medicine and management, and we’re sitting at the same table discussing a plan. Talk about imposter syndrome!” Jerry laughs.

“I was initially hesitant to voice my opinions, because especially with COVID, you don’t want to get it wrong and waste people’s time. But in this unprecedented kind of situation, you realize everyone around you is also figuring things out on the fly, so it’s ok to speak up and share how you can help. For a long time, I thought it would be off the table for EMTs to administer vaccines, but once I proposed it, we got the ball rolling really quickly. When you feel uncertain in these unprecedented situations, that’s when you actually have the most flexibility to propose new ideas.”

quickly, because of the caseload, I started making the initial call to inform people they tested positive or was a close contact.”

As a contact tracer on the ground, Leon worked 9 AM to 5 PM most days, but the actual workload was off set from that schedule. Because testing began in the morning, they received new positive results in the afternoon. “At 4 PM, that’s when the day really starts. You start seeing new cases, and you get their basic demographics and information. As soon as you’re on the call and get a few names as close contacts, you’ll quickly start new sheets for your co-workers to divide up the work; after a few hours, we come back and cross-reference each other’s sheets to get a better picture. Contact tracing depends on honesty. We don’t know anything about you if you don’t share it.”

While MIT has a very liberal leave policy where people can take up to 10 days of leave with pay, Leon

Berkley MRC members are administering vaccines in California.

Jerry Hsu ’17 (far left) and fellow Berkeley MRC members.

Leon Yim ’16

still makes many calls where people are automatically worried about how to make ends meet. “When you’re on a call and you’re hearing the person you’re talking to having to stop to catch their breath between sentences, those calls are always hard to make. It’s hard to tell a single father with an autistic daughter to isolate, because he can’t.”

Working as a contact tracer has strengthened Leon’s aspiration to work in medicine. “It is a phenomenal clinical experience to have this direct relationship with patients. I call them every day. I deliver medical packages to those in quarantine. I can ask them questions and answer questions. People want to know about our policies, the science behind the testing, possible false-positives.” The experience has also helped him learn some new skills. “With my generation, growing up with the Internet, people have this weird

MOVING FORWARD

The pandemic has taught many of us different lessons which we are carrying forward with us, whether it is about our communities or ourselves.

Sheena reflects on the importance of taking care of our community. “I think we need to look out for the people who don’t have the same support and coping skills that we have and do our best to support them. People need to be reminded to take care of each other.”

Andrew hopes that people will come back to the lessons they were taught at school. “Don’t forget the message of service that we’re given on our way out at TAS. Enduring the draw of money and other opportunities is hard, but there’s always a need in the world for service. People who don’t have a voice will always be treated as lesser, so people who do have a voice should keep advocating for them.”

Jerry has a new perspective on his identity and roots.

anxiety about picking up the phone. But I staff our COVID hotline sometimes and get occasional calls from far-away places like Nebraska. So I have to respond on my feet and improve my communication with people.”

As of spring 2021, Leon has finally started his research job in the cancer immunology lab, but he still helps out with the contact tracing team. As a part of his work, he created a mastersheet, which contains all the positive cases and close contact they are tracing and their important notes, and helps MIT with their mandatory reporting to the state government. “Figuring out what tools work best for us has been mission critical, and I’m continuing to work on it, because when you develop last-minute software solutions during a pandemic, it’s never perfect.”

“As TAS alumni, a lot of us think of ourselves as global citizens, and we don’t really get attached to a certain place. I’ve had to deal with this struggle like many of my classmates, between coming home to Taiwan where it’s safe or staying in Berkeley. What I’ve learned is that you do have to adopt a community to invest in and care about in order to be motivated to do this type of work. I can only do the work I’m doing in relation to COVID if I care deeply about Berkeley, and I didn’t expect myself to care that much until I started doing this.”

As important as his work has been, Leon knows its limitations. “People have a false sense of security from being in their quarantine bubble or being regularly tested, but you’ll continue to test negative until you don’t. Testing doesn’t prevent transmission. We don’t even know if the vaccine does that. This has gone on for a long time, and people aren’t necessarily as vigilant as they were. The sooner we all work together, the sooner we can leave this behind.”

Leon Yim ’16 worked as a contact tracer for MIT Medical (Photo by MIT Medical).

TIFFANY HUANG ’08 BRINGS BLACK IN ASIA VOICES TO A BROADER AUDIENCE

By Connie Ma, Alumni and Community Outreach Officer

Tiffany Huang ’08 experienced culture shock for the first time moving from Taipei to Omaha, Nebraska, at the age of 16. After being among so many Taiwanese American peers at Taipei American School, Tiffany felt like a fish out of water in Nebraska, questioning if she really knew what it was to be Asian American. Her experiences convinced her of the importance of storytelling. In 2018, Tiffany started Spill Stories (https://www.spillstories.club/), a storytelling platform that elevates intersectional stories for women of color.

Most recently, in July 2020, Tiffany published “Black in Asia,” a compilation of 23 stories from Black writers who have lived in Asia. By publishing and sharing these stories, Tiffany hopes to amplify the voices of other women of color and at the same time broaden experiences for third culture kids like her who grew up in Taiwan.

Tiffany’s interest in writing started from an early age. “I attended fourth through tenth grade at TAS, and my favorite subjects were the humanities,” remembers Tiffany. “I was a mediocre student, but Ms. Aleasha Morris was able to tease out my talent in writing. In eighth grade, she taught us different units of creative writing and poetry. At the end of the school year, when I was awarded the award for English and walked across the stage, that was one of the defining moments of my life at TAS. As someone who was okay academically but not the best, this was the first time I felt like I was the best at something, and that gave me a lot of motivation that I could really excel.”

Tiffany’s journey took a turn after

tenth grade. “After TAS, I finished high school in Nebraska. A lot of people in Omaha wondered, ’Oh, you’re from Taiwan, why are you speaking English?’ And that was a step above the people who didn’t know Taiwan from Thailand.”

The experience of attending high school in a majority-white environment, as one of the only Asian Americans, was a jarring one for Tiffany, but one that had a silver lining. “I found that my time at TAS didn’t prepare me to mingle with people who aren’t Asian American or who aren’t from a certain kind of background. After attending high school in Omaha, I felt like I had better social skills because I was forced to learn, so when I went to the University of Michigan, it was really easy for me to make friends.

After college, Tiffany started working in management consulting, moved into user experience design, and is now working in marketing. She moved back to Asia in 2015, working for Marriott International in Hong Kong in the Asia Pacific region. She has always kept her interest in storytelling and amplifying the voices of people who had different experiences. “In 2018, I found myself wanting to carve out a space to talk about what people were really thinking and feeling because it’s easy to get caught up in this superficial atmosphere in Hong Kong where people are sizing you up all the time. I also have always been hyper-aware of my identity as an Asian American and wanted to elevate stories of non-white women whose voices are underrepresented in pop culture.”

Thus, Spill Stories was born. Through Instagram posts (https://www.instagram.

Tiffany Huang ’08 founded Spill Stories which published Black in Asia

com/spillstories/), Tiffany has shared over 130 stories from over 110 writers, hailing from cities in Asia and the U.S. like Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

As discussions in the U.S. around racial identity gained broader awareness, Tiffany began to feel it was important to use the platform to amplify the voice of Black writers. In March 2020, Tiffany invited Boipelo Sweswane, a South African woman living in Seoul, to manage a writing workshop for Black writers in Asia to write about their experiences. In a Spill Stories writing workshop, writers come to write and interpret prompts however they like. After writing for 40 minutes, each person reads their piece aloud, and other participants provide feedback, giving suggestions on how to make the piece stronger through more character development or a different ending. “I feel like these workshops often feel like therapy sessions,” Tiffany joked.

After George Floyd’s murder in May 2020 and the spread of the Black Lives Matter movement, Tiffany decided it was time to bring these stories to a broader audience. They began with six stories, but more writers soon chimed in with their own stories, and thus, “Black in Asia” was born. The book encompasses 23 non-fiction diaspora stories from 22 writers who have lived in Asia. They recount their experiences of what it means to be Black in Asia; some are sad or whimsical, some are joyful and empowering. One woman in Myanmar writes about managing her kinky hair in Asia and how much effort it took her to create her own hair care products. A man in Shanghai writes about his career in modeling and his experience with Chinese people, who were curious about whether he was grateful to be lighter-skinned. A woman in Seoul writes about how a hospital stay led to becoming friends with the elderly Korean women who shared her ward. A woman in Taiwan writes about meeting a souvenir vendor in Jiufen, who prayed for her to Buddha to make her skin whiter so she could find a job in Taiwan. The book was published in late July 2020 and has sold over 600 copies already, mostly through Amazon. Tiffany is enthused about the positive reception so far and hopes to get the book translated into Chinese in the future to reach even more readers.

She hopes “Black in Asia” can be an opportunity for the TAS community to learn more about other people’s experiences. “You need that education on how to move through a diverse society in the U.S. or anywhere,” Tiffany concludes. “Because education has done you a disservice if you’re book smart but don’t know how to interact with people.”

“Black in Asia” is available internationally through Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Black-Asia-SpillStories-Anthology-ebook/dp/B08DN5VCHP/).

Black in Asia had a Taipei reading with two authors in September 2020.

A diverse audience gathered to hear stories from Black in Asia during the Taipei reading in September 2020.

During his time at TAS, Darryl Loke '17 led his grade to multiple victories in the Spirit Week class video competitions. They were just a starting point of his ongoing Emmy-winning career in filmmaking. He is currently at Temple University, studying psychology to delve into the human condition of films and ultimately reach a wider audience.

Darryl’s passion for filmmaking began during his freshman year at TAS, when his interest in cameras led him to Mr. Tobie Openshaw, TAS video production specialist. “Mr. Openshaw gave me a lot of opportunities and gave me access to the film equipment at TAS, which was very helpful,” Darryl said. He took advantage of them to produce class videos and short films that Mr. Openshaw allowed him to showcase in student assemblies.

His first film that garnered a lot of attention was the freshman class spirit week video, which he directed and filmed along with one of his friends in 2014. The video won first place, much to the shock of the upperclassmen, but more importantly helped Darryl create a stronger connection with his peers. “I feel like after that people just understood who I was and how I saw the class, and I just wanted to showcase that and share it with everyone,” Darryl said. “It was sort of my calling.”

The class video did more than just kickstart Darryl’s

filmmaking

the high school

which started as an introduction course. “At first, they would teach us the common concepts of films like using cameras and setting up a shot and how to tell stories,” Darryl said. “Later, they started bringing out things like field trips.”

The film trips to various places ranging from the outskirts of Taipei to Berlin served as a huge part of Darryl’s high school experience, and the team was able to win numerous competitions with their creations.

“All those trips gave me a very worldly view, and it is amazing to see how rapidly the film program innovated,” Darryl said.

Filmmaking became Darryl’s priority and greatest interest, and he lost track of time while working on his projects more times than he could count. “In 2017, I actually held the record at school for the most tardies,” Darryl said. “I had detention almost every lunchtime because I’d always show up late to class from the film studio, but I think it was worth it.”

Darryl’s filmmaking projects allowed him to learn a lot about teamwork while also inspiring others to join the program, which in turn helped him grow as a person. “I just kept putting my work out there and it helped me gain new connections with people while learning how different people see different things,” Darryl said.

DARRYL LOKE ’17 WINS MID-ATLANTIC EMMY AWARD FOR HIS COLLEGE FILM “STRAYS”

By Sabrina C. ’21 and Lana L. ’22, The Blue and Gold.

journey though; his passion helped inspire Mr. Jaami Franklin, Mr. Brett Barrus, and Mr. Openshaw to start

film program,

Darryl Loke ’17

“Filmmaking is not a solo piece of art, you have to make it with your team.”

After TAS, Darryl enrolled at Temple University, where he felt he adapted to the American culture more readily compared to the “Tiger Babies” around him, because he had spent his childhood in a different country every four years. When he realized that he had limited his scope of interests and knowledge to film since eighth grade, he chose to major in psychology. “I feel like [psychology] benefits me and my films,” Darryl said. “Almost every film consists of humans. … Psychology allows me to delve into people’s roots because I understand how to approach them better.”

faced. The film had an extraordinarily low budget of USD$2000 to USD$3000, and it was funded independently by many people. Darryl’s extensive exposure to books and films played a key role in recruiting actors, as he used them as conversation starters to connect with others. “Seventy percent of making a good scene has to do with just getting to know people, which is why I think it’s very important to be very inspired,” he said. “It’s an easy way to work with people in any career.”

He found the most value in working with local Philadelphians and actors from various states from the entire process of filming “Strays”. “Acting is a very emotional process,” he reiterated, “So I was forced to really get to know their backgrounds and where their emotions are”.

Now in his senior year at Temple, Darryl ultimately hopes to make a career in filmmaking and expand his audience. “I feel like [winning the Emmy] solidified that I will always be in film because I saw that my work does impact a lot of people,” he said. “I’m not striving to win more awards. My main goal is to reach more people [and get them to] understand who I am, and hopefully [my films] will make them happy.”

Our Art, Our Voices (2015), winner of the 2016 THIMUN Northwestern-Qatar Film Festival.

Since his freshman year at college, Darryl has prioritized getting to know diverse people after filmmaking helped him realize the value of relationships and networks. His film producer roommate, who invited him to the Emmy-winning film team as a cinematographer, is one of the people he met as a result of this endeavor.

From this invitation, Darryl’s casual offer to help write the script quickly turned into a six-hour task everyday, and he was eventually offered the role of director and writer. He attributes this to his ability to creatively connect with people. “When I came into the project, I was able to instantly connect with the original writer of the film,” he said. “Making a film is all about finding the right people who vibe with you emotionally and creatively.”

“Strays” is a short film about Shane Shephard, a young adult who inherits a family-owned thrift shop after the death of his mother. The film explores his “failed attempts to help people as he turns to unconventional methods in order to prevent others from feeling his pain” through encountering unusual customers that stop by the shop one day.

Darryl’s team submitted this film to the festival circuit and received a Mid-Atlantic Emmy award in the college division. “I definitely had a very ambitious goal in mind. I wanted [the film] to be seen by a big name,” Darryl said. “So hearing that we had won this award was great.”

Time and money were the biggest challenges his team

Strays (2019) won a 2019 Student Emmy for College-University Student Production - Long Form.

For students who want to become filmmakers, Darryl urges them to try to become “Renaissance men” and women. “The most important thing,” he believes, “is making sure you are very inspired and you consume a lot of different things. Read books, play video games, play sports, read philosophy, just know a lot of things about a lot of different topics”.

Check out “Strays” on www.templetv.net, and see more of Darryl’s work and past class videos on his YouTube channel (darrylloke).

COLLEGE DURING COVID BY THE CLASS OF 2020 CLASS AGENTS

By Emily Hsu '20 and Yan Ying Mor '20, Class of 2020 Class Agents

Emily Hsu ’20 is a freshman at Stanford University pursuing a major in science, technology, and society. Yan Ying Mor ’20 is a freshman at the University of Chicago pursuing a public policy major. They have both been attending college remotely from Taipei since the beginning of the school year. Both Emily and Yan Ying hope to go to campus in the fall of 2021.

As we click “submit” on our last Canvas assessments, we breathe a sigh of relief as the first quarter of college comes to an end. Fall quarter had gone by in a flash. Without the traditional orientation week, move-in day, and social events, it feels as though college never started.

With COVID-19 at its peak in the United States, many TAS alumni have opted to take class remotely from Taiwan. Online learning comes with its ups and downs. For those who choose or are required to attend classes synchronously, it means staying up for gruelling hours with heavy ramifications on mental and physical health. 24/7 UberEats options become our sole food source and fatigue becomes a constant companion as one’s circadian rhythm is misaligned with daylight hours. Even noting down meeting times has become a hassle, considering the drastically different time zones and the puzzle that is daylight saving time. Fortunately, both of us have the option of watching lecture recordings asynchronously, offering us newfound flexibility in our work schedules. Nevertheless, our

first quarter of college has become a cycle of mildly awkward Zoom calls broken up by meals and the occasional study session with high school friends.

As a result of the uncertainty and stress surrounding the pandemic, college professors have adjusted their curriculums to adapt to online learning. For example, at Stanford, formal midterms or finals were replaced with personal projects and biweekly quizzes. At UChicago, humanities seminars, the heart of the firstyear experience, were partially migrated to discussion modules on Canvas. In general, professors have been generous with extending deadlines for international students -- recognizing the stress of learning in dramatically different time zones. Especially during election week, the shared wave of apprehension between professors and students alike, led to numerous assignment extensions.

However, online assessments still come with its challenges. For Emily’s linear algebra class, questions became more difficult due to the open-note, openinternet nature of the quizzes, and the multiple-choice format is less sympathetic towards partially correct answers. For Yan Ying’s calculus class, close note assessments are regulated by strict guidelines, requiring students to make their desk clearly visible through their computers’ webcam frame with close monitoring throughout the exam by the professor.

Remote learning aside, we have found college academics to be much more rewarding and challenging than high school. As we browsed our respective course catalogs, our fall quarter course “wishlists” grew longer,

Emily’s desktop where she is attending college virtually. Photo courtesy of Emily Hsu ‘20.

quickly expanding beyond the limits of what we were permitted to take in a single quarter. From “Busting Energy Myths” to “Physics for Future Presidents,” the specialization of courses at the university-level lay in stark contrast with the standardized nature of the high school core. Emily took this opportunity to enroll in “Technology and the 2020 Election” this past fall and engaged in exciting discussions on online filter bubbles and its effects on polarization among many other topics with guest speakers from Twitter, Facebook, and government agencies. Yan Ying particularly enjoys her social science core sequence “Self, Culture, and Society”, where she analyzed the modern issues ranging from fast fashion to the role of immigrants in the US economy, through the lens of the founders of numerous social scientific fields.

Another defining feature of college academics is that our learning has become less reliant on the instructor. As Stanford and UChicago both run on ten-week long quarters, we zoom through content at almost three times the speed of an honors-level high school course. Passing classes is no longer an individual endeavour as we have learned to seek out help whenever we need it at Zoom office hours or weekly Discord study sessions. Working through challenging problem sets has become a collective struggle and has strengthened our bonds with our peers working from all over the world. Since we are given the freedom of watching pre-recorded lectures in our own time, we have also

come to realize the importance of self-discipline and accountability, especially given the distractions of studying from home. Emily keeps a weekly planner where she writes her schedule to keep herself on track, while Yan Ying creates and decorates a variety of organizational spreads in her bullet-journal. The area of school in which we have missed out the most is extracurriculars. Given the time differences, we have been unable to participate in many club meetings, guest speaker events, and informational sessions. As a result, we have disengaged from most of campus life beyond academics. It has been much harder to make new friends in college without the avenue of clubs and shared interests on top of the online communication barrier. Even at the “bonding” Zoom sessions our schools had planned for orientation week, with almost every participant’s camera off and mic muted, the environment is not exactly conducive to making new friends.

Against all odds, Yan Ying has found a home in the K-Pop fan community at UChicago by joining biweekly Zoom dance classes where she learns her favourite K-Pop choreographies with fellow student fans as early as 8 in the morning. Emily also made new friends through a course called “Frosh 101”, a small class with six other freshmen where she engaged in meaningful conversations about the transition to college and other college-related topics like the

Emily Hsu ’20

“imposter syndrome”, the fear of not belonging. The pandemic has also shed uncertainty over our summer plans as we do not know if we will be able to go to America for work or on-campus research in the summer. Because we are studying remotely, it is also especially difficult to find and seek guidance from upper-level students in similar fields. Nevertheless, Emily has moved forward with applications over the winter break for remote summer internships and research positions. As first-years with limited work experience and access to on-campus resources, we have found building our career profiles quite challenging and would love to get advice from the TAS alumni community!

Despite the nontraditional freshman year, we never seize to find blessings in disguise. Staying in Taiwan also means that we have more time to spend with our families and to further explore the city. Juggling extracurriculars on top of eight classes in high school, there were rarely moments where we could enjoy a coffee at a local cafe or have a meal with friends on a weekday. Although the pace is faster and the workload is heavier in college, being home for the bulk of the time has opened up time for us to chat with our parents and banter with our siblings. For example, Emily’s

brother has been back in Taiwan since his campus shut down in the spring and Yan Ying’s family has reunited once again with her older brother returning to Taiwan following his completion of his mandatory military service in Singapore. Moreover, most of our high school friends have stayed by our side this fall. As most TAS alumni are going through the same experience, we find comfort in sharing our successes and struggles, encouraging each other in these unprecedented times.

During this abnormal chapter of our lives, we have learned to actively seek help when we need it. Whether among friends, classmates, or professors, we have built wide support systems and have grown stronger as a result. While the pandemic rages on in other parts of the world, Taiwan has been a safe haven with a competent government and compassionate citizenry. Although freshman year is not quite what we expected it to be, we welcomed the new challenges and still found reasons to be grateful.

Emily and Yan Ying are the Class Agents for the Class of 2020. Feel free to reach out to them at 20emilyh@ alumni.tas.tw and 20yanyingm@alumni.tas.tw!

Yan Ying Mor

DHIRPAL SHAH ’20 TAKES A GAP YEAR TO PURSUE A PROFESSIONAL SOCCER CAREER

By Nicole C. ’21, The Blue and Gold

Like many other students from the Class of 2020, Dhirpal Shah ’20 decided to take a gap year during these unprecedented times. He wanted to take this year off of school to pursue a professional career in soccer. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, was not the only reason as to why he decided to take this gap year; in reality, Dhirpal had always been planning to do so after graduating high school. “I had actually begun to plan on [a] gap year during the end of 2019,” he said. “And because football (soccer) did not relate too heavily to the pandemic at the time, I would have considered [a] gap year regardless [of the circumstances].”

His parents were fortunately very supportive of his decision and were relieved that he would be staying in Taiwan for longer, where the pandemic has been mostly controlled. Dhirpal was also optimistic about taking a gap year. “I am confident that I will look back and acknowledge that this was one of the best decisions of my teenage years,” he said. “Football is great and all, but the chance to stay near my family and appreciate this country for what it has done for me is truly a blessing.”

Since the beginning of his gap year, Dhirpal has been dedicating around three hours of his day to soccer, training with his team members four to five times a week and playing weekly games semi-regularly. He also spends an additional three hours in the weight room, and sometimes travels across the island to play soccer matches with his team.

After his season ends, he plans on taking some time off to “sit back and relax,” and even travel abroad to India or European countries, where soccer clubs have already

expressed interest in signing him as a player. However, this will only be possible if vaccines are widely available and the COVID-19 situation improves. If that is not the case, he is happy staying in Taiwan and taking time to pursue his other passions such as reading and yoga. Dhirpal really enjoys the flexibility that he now has. “The best thing about taking a gap year is the freedom to pursue the things you love to a greater extent than in high school or even college,” he said. “Although there are moments of anxiety when I worry about what the next few months will look like, [having] a good plan about what you want to spend your time doing, [reminds you that] there really is nothing to worry about.”

Dhirpal does not know whether he wants to go to university in the fall of 2021 or push it back even more as he is still at a “crossroads of trying to pursue professional football and attending university.” However, he is definitely excited about reuniting with people of his age if he does decide to go back to school in the fall. “[Since] I am playing with a professional men’s team here [in Taiwan], I am training with some people twice my age, and it’s fair to say that there is a bit of a generation[al] gap between us,” he said. “I miss the reassuring feeling of people around you that understand what you are feeling and going through.”

For current seniors, Dhirpal recommends taking a gap year. “Even if COVID-19 magically disappears as you graduate, do not throw the thought of a gap year away so easily. Many teachers I consulted in high school encouraged me to take it because they believed that it would help in innumerable ways. If you have a plan, or even a passion, a gap year may be the best decision of your life,” he said.

Dhirpal Shah ‘20 (back row, right, in orange) is playing with the Taipei City Tatung F.C. 2020-2021. Photo courtesy of Dhirpal Shah ‘20.

(02) 2654-6188 No.104, Sec.3, Nangang Rd., Nangang Dist., Taipei City (02) 2277-1338 No. 60, Zhongzheng Rd., Xinzhuang Dist., New Taipei City

THE TAS CHINESE ROASTED CHICKEN LEG CONTINUES TO

SATISFY

By Shan Lee, Assistant Alumni and Community Outreach Officer

The Taipei American School Chinese roasted chicken leg has become an iconic symbol of the TAS experience for many since the 1980s. The cafeteria lunch lines are the longest on the days it is served, and it has been the best-selling lunch entrée since appearing on the school lunch menu. Alumni talk about it well after graduating and always request it be on the menu at on-campus alumni events. While this dish can be found all around Taiwan, alumni claim the TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg is superior to all.

The TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg is a tender chicken leg that is marinated and then braised. It is traditionally served over white rice with a variety of vegetable sides, most often with Chinese broccoli. Nowadays, brown rice is also offered as a healthier alternative to white rice, though many alumni and students insist that “the right way” to have the chicken leg is over white rice. At present, the Chinese roasted chicken leg appears on the lunch menu about once a month, only because it is such a popular dish.

THE ORIGIN STORY

The Chinese roasted chicken leg was added to the TAS lunch menu almost 40 years ago by Shirley Chang, who was the Chef of Chinese Cuisine at the time. Before TAS, Chang worked for a local catering

restaurant that provided lunches for the School before it had its own kitchen. When the School opened one, Chang was offered a job. She joined the food service team in 1986 and stayed on for 30 years until she retired in 2016. Chang said she was hired because her manager appreciated her work ethic, her methodic and disciplined way of doing things, and how she takes pride in everything that she creates. Chang was instrumental in ensuring the kitchen operations ran smoothly and efficiently and also fundamental in creating recipes for the school lunch menu. She is still known and respected for her meticulousness, persistence, dependability and resolve for ensuring that all work she does or manages is done well. Shawn O’Neal, TAS food service business manager who worked with Chang for many years, describes her to be “legendary, special, a one in a million.”

Chang created the TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg recipe and it took her at least 30 iterations before coming up with the final version that is still used today. Creating a recipe for such a large quantity of servings that is able to satisfy the palate of students over generations and stand the test of time is no small feat. Thanks to Chang’s diligence, dedication and attention to detail, the TAS community has its famous and beloved Chinese roasted chicken leg.

A SPECIAL DISH

We received a variety of responses from alumni and students when we asked them why they love the TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg and what makes it so special. The general consensus from alumni is that the flavor of the TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg and the feelings and memories that are connected with it make it extra special.

The Chinese roasted chicken leg (紅燒鷄腿) is a very popular dish in Taiwan and can be found all around the island. It contains a dozen simple ingredients that when combined create an aromatic and balanced flavor profile that is fundamental in Chinese cuisine: sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and spicy. As O’Neal explains, the likely reasons for this dish’s popularity are the tenderness of the meat and the flavor penetration throughout each piece.

The process for making the TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg is straightforward but time-consuming. The recipe requires mixing the ingredients together, leaving them to marinade, and then letting all then letting everything simmer together. The chicken is marinated for at least 48 hours and this step, according to O’Neal, enables the flavors to penetrate the chicken and makes all the difference. Chang emphasizes the importance of removing the chicken from the pot before it overcooks so that the meat stays tender.

To be able to serve the Chinese roasted chicken leg for lunch, the food service team makes at least 1300 servings on that day, and they are still able to maintain the quality and flavor of this recipe that continues to satisfy the appetites of TAS students and alumni.

When alumni talk about the TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg, they frequently refer to their memories and experiences from lunchtime. Some alumni describe the experience of waiting with friends in long lunch lines for the Chinese roasted chicken leg, ordering two portions (if not more) because one order was not enough to satisfy their cravings, or preferring it a certain way. Alumni Rosalind Wu ’04 recalls, “I would always ask for extra sauce over rice!” Current TAS students tell similar stories about Chinese chicken leg lunch days. Nicolas I. ’30 declares, “The chicken leg line is always super long but totally worth it!” The different versions of the stories that alumni and current students tell all express a similar sentiment, energy, and enthusiasm.

Over the years, the TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg has become an example of comfort food and for many students and alumni, a cultural touchstone — something with nostalgic and sentimental appeal that links generations in a community together. Food can be a powerful tool to help trigger memories and past emotions, particularly in a place like Taiwan where it is an important part of the culture and everyday life. Research has shown that there is an association between comfort foods and the feelings of belonging tied to our relationships with others and that “comfort foods remind us of our social ties, which means they may help us feel less lonesome when we feel isolated.” This is particularly interesting given the current pandemic situation where social distancing and other safety mandates make the need for real connections

even more crucial to people’s mental and emotional well-being.

THE TAS CHICKEN ROASTED CHICKEN LEG TODAY AND HOW CAN YOU GET IT?

After leaving TAS, alumni rarely have the opportunity to get the TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg. An alumnus might be lucky enough to be visiting campus when it is being served in the cafeteria and get to enjoy it unexpectedly. The TAS Chinese roasted chicken leg has been served at on-campus alumni events such as the Alumni Homecoming and the Alumni Thanksgiving Dinner events. Due to the recent pandemic, the Alumni Office has instead organized special Chinese Roasted Chicken Leg Pick-Up events where alumni are invited to come back to campus for a lunchbox, see their peers, and take home something deliciously nostalgic.

The Alumni Chinese Chicken Leg Lunch Pick-up held in September 2020 was the first event in eight months where alumni could come to campus, and it drew alumni from Classes of 1972 to 2020. In addition to pick-up participants, alumni who could not attend, current students, faculty, and former parents had enthusiastic feedback about the event. “There’s something to be said about investing in your alums this way, but look at the meal — this is promoting healthy living for the students, as well. I wish I’d had a plate like that back in high school! Go TAS!” exclaims TAS parent Wilson Ruark. Those who attended expressed excitement and appreciation along with a request that we hold another chicken leg giveaway. Those that weren’t able to attend made the same request, most emphatically. Hiromi Fong ’98 responded to the event post on Facebook, “If only you could deliver overseas! Enjoy, everyone!” The TAS food service Chinese Roasted Chicken Leg recipe is available from the digital version of this article in the News section of the TAS alumni website.

From left to right), Shawn O’Neal, TAS food services business manager, Shirley Chang, former chef of Chinese cuisine, and Sharon Wang, TAS cafeteria supervisor.

Alumni enjoyed the Chinese roasted chicken leg meal as a lunchbox at the September 2020 pick-up event.

Nick Yeh '13 became inspired by the recent demand and enthusiasm in the TAS Alumni Facebook group for a kitchen-friendly recipe. He took upon himself to experiment and come up with his modified version of the School's Chinese Roasted Chicken Leg recipe to share with the TAS community.

NICK YEH’S CHINESE ROASTED

CHICKEN LEG RECIPE

METHOD

Prepare the marinade by combining all the ingredients above (excluding the chicken) into a pot and bring to boil for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, it should be salty and sweet. I tend to have it a bit saltier because the chicken will absorb the flavor. Additionally, you may later need to add water to have enough marinade so that all the chicken is covered.

Cool the marinade to room temperature (this can take up to 45 minutes to an hour) before adding the chicken. Mix well and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator anywhere from 4 hours to 24 hours.

INGREDIENTS

Ginger: Five ½ inch pieces

Garlic: 3-4 cloves

Scallions: One bunch

Rock Sugar (or any sugar): One handful

Sesame Oil: 2-3 Tablespoons

Dark Soy Sauce: ½ cup

Light Soy Sauce: ⅓ cup

Soy Sauce: ½ cup

Chinese Vinegar: A splash

Shaoxing Wine: A splash

Oyster Sauce: 2 tablespoons

Shacha Sauce or Chinese BBQ

(Bull Head Brand): One spoonful

Chicken (I used Leg quarters)

Set the oven to 375F. Lightly grease a heavybottomed pan (such as a cast-iron pan or dutch oven). Remove chicken from marinade and place in the pan. You can cook in multiple batches if the pan is too crowded). Cook for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F. You can also cut one of the chicken pieces to see if the juices run clear. Rotate the pan 180 degrees at 15 minute intervals while cooking.

Strain and boil marinade (this will be used for sauce). Taste for seasoning.

After 30 minutes, remove chicken and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving over hot rice with sauce splashed on top.

You can reboil the marinade after cooking and store for future. Dump after 10 days, or freeze.

FOR 6 PORTIONS

Recipe and photos courtesy of Nick Yeh ’13

Nick Yeh’s Chinese Roasted Chicken Leg

ALUMNI VOLUNTEERS

What do you wish you had known when you were a student at TAS? Each year, many TAS alumni share their perspectives and experiences with current students as mentors and speakers. To give back as an alumni volunteer, please contact us at alumni@tas.tw.

Alumni volunteered as mentors and judges at the NOVA entrepreneurship competition. In this one-day competition in March 2021, over twenty student teams brainstormed and pitched ideas to solve problems in a post-pandemic world. Many thanks to Kent Wu ’95, Jay Cheng ’97, Paul Torkehagen ’04, Awu Chen ’16, Alethea Wang ’17, Tiffany Ma ’17, Tiffany Lo ’20, and Ryan Chou ’20 for your help!

At the annual Girl-Up Summit, three alumni shared about their experiences of gender norms in culture and in the workplace, how to be a trailblazer, and how the future is very different and, in most ways, better than what they envisioned when they were teenagers. Thank you to panelists Jennifer Melyan ’02, Smrit Narang ’04, and Bayeshan Wang Cooper ’06!

An alumni panel of nine former TAS journalists returned to campus to share their wisdom and advice with current Blue & Gold staff members. Thank you to Melissa Cho ’17, Jing Tang ’18, Daniel Wang ’18, Maxwell Chen ’19, Christine Lin ’19, Abbey Foreman ’20, Charlotte Lee ’20, Marcus Wang ’20 and Francis Yang ’20!

Annie Chen ’15 shared her experience in corporate and personal finance as a quantitative analyst at Goldman Sachs with the TAS Business Club.

Vermont State Representative Michelle Bos-Lun ’84 spoke to students at TASMUN in April 2021 about her path to serving in state government.

ALUMNI AND VARSITY GIRLS VOLLEYBALL GAME

Our alumni team played against the TAS girls varsity volleyball teams to provide competition for their first game of the season in August 2020. Thanks to all the players for participating, and thanks to TAS Athletics for supporting!

FRESHMAN OUTREACH PROJECT

Seniors wrote postcards sending words of encouragement to their friends from the Class of 2020 who are now in their first year of college. The Alumni Office enclosed a present of reusable blue and gold metal straws and sent the package in November 2020.

TAS PAGODA

The TAS Pagoda now has a sign so that current students can learn about its long history as a part of the school. Each senior class will continue the tradition of painting and signing the Pagoda.

ONLINE TIGER SHOP POP-UP

In November and December 2020, the Alumni Office opened an Online Tiger Shop Pop-Up, where alumni were able to order a limited selection of items from the school store. Alumni all over the world received TAS gear just in time for the holidays. Valerie Fazzini ’88 and Tricia Fazzini ’81 (left) and Alexander Goudsmit ’89 (right) are enjoying their new purchases.

2020 ALUMNI CHICKEN LEG LUNCHBOX PICK-UP

Miss the TAS Chinese Roasted Chicken Leg? The Alumni Office

Chicken Leg for lunch in September 2020.

treated a hundred alumni in Taipei to the famous Chinese

Above: Congratulations to the Class of 2011, who celebrated their 10-Year Reunion in Taipei in January 2021.

Right: The Class of 2019 held a virtual Thanksgiving reunion in November 2020 with classmates from all over the world.

Alumni from classes of 1976 all the way through 2020 attended the Alumni Homecoming Chicken Leg Lunchbox Pick-Up event in March 2021. Current juniors and seniors also enjoyed the Chicken Leg Lunchbox courtesy of the Alumni Office. Junior students and upper school parents heard from two panels of young alumni, moderated and organized by College Counseling. A special thank you to Class Agent Catherine Chang ‘19 who helped to hand out lunch boxes to alumni, and to those young alumni who shared their valuable insight and advice about their college experiences: Eric Lin ’16, Sherry Tseng ’16, Victoria Yeh ’16, Melissa Cho ’17, Keanne Chang ’19, and Donna Chen ’19

ALUMNI REUNIONS

Members of the Class of 2004 gathered in Taipei to celebrate the Year of the Ox together in February 2021.

Members of the Class of 1993 got together in Taipei to enjoy a few minireunions in winter 2021.

ALUMNI HOMECOMING CHICKEN LEG LUNCHBOX PICK-UP AND STUDENT PANELS

ALUMNI GIVE BACK THROUGH THE ORPHANAGE CLUB

In the spirit of giving and as a part of Hunger Awareness Week at TAS, many local alumni participated in the Orphanage Club’s Hunger Day Donation Drive by dropping off donations of essential items for the Taitung City Food Bank. Alumni also signed up as Christmas Angels and provided more than 50 gifts for children in Taiwan through the Orphanage Club for the Pearl S. Buck Foundation. Every year since 1980, the OC has partnered with the Pearl S. Buck Foundation to fulfill the Christmas wishes of hundreds of children in Taiwan with the support of the TAS community. Thank you to all our alumni who helped OC bring joy to these children.

VIRTUAL EVENTS

COLLEGE AND CAREER PANEL FOR YOUNG ALUMNI

Young alumni signed on from around the world in September 2020 to listen to our four panelists share anecdotes about all-nighters in the library and give advice on how to make friends over Zoom. Panelists also shared their insight on how to move into the workforce by acing those interviews and cover letters, and encouraged college students to prioritize their mental and physical wellbeing. Thank you to our panelists Tiffany Huang ’08, Nick Ackert ’13, Nick Yeh ’13, and Sheridan Harris ’14!

VIRTUAL ALUMNI INTERVIEW WITH DR. AUSTIN CHIANG

ALUMNI PANEL ON CAREERS IN STEAM

What does it take to work in the fields of STEAM: science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics? In January 2021, four TAS alumni STEAM professionals led a discussion about knowing (and not knowing) what you want to do when you graduate from high school or college, how imposter syndrome can strike anyone, and why communication is the most valued professional skill. From small start-ups to international corporations, these alumni panelists shared their experiences and encouraged younger alumni to stay flexible and persistent. Thank you to Stanley Song ’99 (Oren Technologies, Inc.), Nina Shih ’01 (Google), Terence Tse ’06 (Geltor Inc.), and Remmy Chen ’12 (Space X)!

“THE TIKTOK DOCTOR”

’03,

Dr. Austin Chiang ’03 is a gastroenterologist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia, PA, and also the Chief Medical Social Media Officer. Known as “The TikTok Doctor”, Austin uses social media to reach patients and inform them about public health. During a live Zoom interview by upper school student Nicole L. ’21, Austin shared his favorite memories at TAS as IASAS concertmaster and Operation Starship, about how he became a social media sensation and a practicing gastroenterologist, and thanked influential teachers at TAS including Mr. Olson and Ms. McDowell.

Find Austin on TikTok at @ austinchiangmd. Thank you to Austin and Nicole!

ALUMNI PROSPECTIVE PARENTS SEMINAR

Alumni heard about the admissions process from Director of Admissions Michael O’Neill and the lower school Mandarin program from K-8 Coordinator Caroline Hsu.

TAS alumni events have gone virtual to keep our alumni around the world connected! Log in to the Alumni Portal to watch recordings of our virtual alumni events.

Front row (left to right): Brenda Lin ’94’, Betty Chang ’92, Maria Peters ’89, Weston Cooper ’08, Jessica Huang ’11, Adrian Town ’13; Back row (left to right): Michelle Kao ’03, Stephanie Hsieh ’04, Evelyn Chen ’03, Sarah Peters ’95, Stacey Ward ’76, Irene Fang ’01. Not pictured: Cheryl (Quek) Lagerquist ’98, Nicky Yeung ’99, Mike Leu ’03, Stephanie Lee ’04, Karen Wang ’04, Joan Ho ’08, Stephanie Chiang ’09, Samantha Lee ’12, Sanders McMillan ’13, Iris Hsu ’13, and Lily Yang ’14.

CLASS NOTES

In May 2020 Paul Courtright ’72 published Witnessing Gwangju, the only memoir about the Gwangju Uprising written by a foreigner. Paul was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in South Korea from 1979-81 and was one of few foreign witnesses to the massacre of civilians known as the Gwangju Uprising in May 1980, which became the foundation of democratic change in South Korea.

Robert Milstead ’69 was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant General in December of 2010 and assumed the duties as Deputy Commandant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, where he served until retiring from active duty in November 2014 culminating a career spanning forty years of service. His personal decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two gold stars in lieu of second and third awards with the Combat V, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with 6 Strike/Flight Awards, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Navy Commendation Medal. Robert and his wife have four children and grandchildren.

Frank Boring ’72 is the producer for the full-length documentary “The Great Experiment: CSU at 150”, produced in honor of Colorado State University’s 150th birthday. Frank interviewed former coaches, staff, administrators, and many more about the history of the university. The documentary aired on Rocky Mountain PBS in October 2020.

Gerald Branch ’72 retired from the U.S. Army in 2010 after 26 years of service and lives in Grambling, LA.

George Smith ’77 writes, “After years of moving around the world I am fully retired now here in Woodlawn, TN with Jo, my great wife of 42 years. I served in the Army from 1977 to 1998 right after graduation. “Upon retiring from the United States Army, I worked for the government, which like the Army, moved us around.” We had 6 years in Korea which allowed us to go to the 2010 reunion in Taipei, and my wife and I had a blast. Afterwards, I returned to Fort Bliss, TX, and after five deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, I had to retire and we chose Tennessee as home. Looking forward to going to a reunion soon. I am still in contact with classmates from my time in Taiwan and love hearing from them on Facebook or MEWE. Please look me up.”

Joel Emerson ’78 recently moved to Maui, HI from San Diego, CA.

Elizabeth (Bette Ann) Molloy de Coluby ’83 is a Senior Vice President at KeyBank in Cleveland, OH. She was recently promoted to Digital Tribe Leader and is responsible for the financial wellness and lending origination squads. She lives in northeast Ohio with her husband Manuel, two sons, and two dogs. Her oldest son is studying film at the University of Utah. Elizabeth is one of the organizers for a TAS reunion scheduled for the summer of 2022 in Seattle, WA. This reunion will include events spread over multiple evenings. TAS alumni, faculty, and friends are welcome. Details will be shared in the “TAS Reunion Summer 2022 Seattle WA” group on Facebook. Please join the group or contact Elizabeth at ecoluby@aol.com to learn more.

Alexander Hoyte Goudsmit ’89 writes, “Today, March 12 is 10 years ago to the day that I met my wife Anouk. We met during a ski trip in Austria where my friend was speaking to Anouk and asked where she grew up and when she said Brazil and Taiwan, he immediately introduced us! Taiwan was instrumental in us meeting! We got married 2 years later and our son Jasper was born in 2013. I love to travel, especially in combination with photography, listening to music and going to concerts (I have been to over 100 concerts). I still ski and play tennis; I play regional competition in a team at a local tennis club. In recent years a few TAS alumni have made their way through Amsterdam and it was great seeing them and catching up! I currently work in Amsterdam for Mambu as a Senior Customer Support Manager, where I am responsible for global support function and creating and implementing programs, tools, and processes to improve customer experience. But most of all, I am the proud dad of our 7-year-old son Jasper and can’t wait to see what he will be up to next.”

In January 2021 Michelle Bossard Bos-Lun ’84 began her two-year term as a State Representative for the Windham 4 district in southern Vermont which includes the towns of Westminster, Putney and Dummerston.

Sabastian Blum ’92 writes, “After eleven years in San Francisco working in startups and as a venture capitalist (which brought me in touch with Brett Trentham ’92 and Ronen Mense ’92 after many years away from Taipei), I moved back to Berlin, Germany in 2019. I founded a VC firm for crypto/ blockchain (Greenfield One) and am still getting used to the city as it has been on lockdown since March of last year. Still a bachelor…so let’s see what is coming re: that part of life :) Since leaving TAS after sophomore year, I have not been back. Once the world opens up again, I would love to stop by and meet as many people from our class as possible :) And to you all who are passing through Germany and Berlin, hit me up!”

Timo Carlier ’92 reports that he has gotten back into songwriting and music production. Along with several collaborations with musician friend & classmate, Dennis Ho (@TheDeeWho on social media), Timo recently put out an album of experimental music titled We Used Your Track!, available on all streaming platforms. The album has had some success in terms of international radio play. If you like experimental, ambient or tape music (e.g. Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois), check it out!

first world experiences back ‘home’ (despite that part of our hearts are in Ethiopia with our family and friends). We’d love to connect with TASers when you’re in town or Zoom until traveling returns.”

Patricia Chen ’92 lives in Scottsdale, AZ with her husband and two kids who are 11 and 13. Together they run a small architecture studio that focuses on modern architecture. Check out their studio on Instagram at @ chensuchartstudio.

Tim Chen ’92 and his wife, Mimi Wu ’92, spent over three months last year in quarantine and did over 18 COVID tests. Tim works at VIA Technologies, and it is his 24th year there. When he is not in quarantine, he lives in Hong Kong with his wife and their three children Toby, Micah and Evan and spends his time reading books or Zooming.

Ying Chen ’92 and his wife Diana have been living in Shanghai since 2015. Ying now works for S2C, a company founded by Toshio Nakama ’93, which specializes in electronic design automation for integrated circuits design validation.

who does dance and drumline, is a sophomore in high school. Jenny works at a nearby school district, volunteers with VITA (a program through the IRS which offers free income tax preparation for the elderly and low income), and is taking classes at a local community college.

Betty Chang ’92 returned to Taipei in 2016 with husband Samson, and their kids, Naiya and Tedy. After interning at TAS many moons ago, Betty taught different mediums of music (choir, band, strings and general music) at different international schools in Bangkok, Warsaw, Jakarta, Addis Ababa, Dhaka and now back at TAS. Betty writes, “One of the joys of serving as a faculty member at TAS is that I get to teach the next generation from our Class of 1992! I love being able to see our classmates’ mini-me versions in middle school choir. The hair flips, stances, even speaking similarities to their parents, our classmates, are uncanny! Aside from work, Samson and I enjoy a simple life with our kids and are grateful for our

Jeanne Chou ’92 lives in Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn, NY and spends four months a year in Taipei. She is an interior designer and co-owns two dogs named Matzoh Ball and Henry. She recently earned a PADI Open Water scuba diving certification and has taken up boxing. Jane currently trains at Gleason’s Gym, where she was told by several old professional heavyweight fighters that she has a nice hook but has no idea how to use it...yet.

Jenny (Henna Bharwani) Chugani ’92 has been living with her husband and two daughters in Rowland Heights, CA for the last 23 years. Their oldest daughter is a second-year pharmaceutical chemistry major at UC Davis, and their younger daughter,

Ali Clarke ’92 writes, “Hello Everyone! Since graduating from TAS and NYU, I’ve been living in New York City. My son Soren is a freshman in high school and an aspiring rapper, and my daughter Simone loves art, design, and jujitsu. Professionally, I am a real estate broker at Compass and have worked with many TAS home buyers in NY! I love my work, as it takes me all over the city. I get to meet new people and stay in touch with old friends. In my spare time, I love exploring all the restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and I work it off by doing a lot of Crossfit and yoga. Right now, I’m also in the midst of renovating a farmhouse in the Catskill Mountains and hope to make it a vacation rental/wedding venue in the near future.”

Matt Davies ’92 works as a freelance writer and editor. His first novel, This Thing of Darkness, was published in 2018 and his second is due for release in 2022. Matt lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two kids. Check out Matt’s books at www. mattdavies.com.au.

Kaori (Shingledecker) Emery ’92 and her family live in Massachusetts. She has finally learned how to endure the winters in New England (with two pairs of pants, five layers on top, a thick scarf, and a face mask help). She and her family often enjoy Gloucester beach, state parks, ice skating on the lake, playgrounds, and more in the area.

Margaret Jen ’92 has been living in the Bay Area for the past ten years (and moved to Oakland with her husband Paul two years ago). She writes, “Come visit! I spend my days as the Head of Global Events for Dropbox and recently all my spare time is being a new paw-rent to our new puppy Nigel! Would love to see anyone if they’re ever in the area!”

I hope we all remember this period of under-tourism as a great change of perspective. More than just a business or a privilege, or an escape or delight, travel perhaps was always to bring you closer to understanding your family and your home.”

After years working as a fashion designer at Converse and Abercrombie & Fitch, Jean Liu ’92 has launched Verity & Daughters, a womenswear line that mixes vintage-inspired workwear with quirky period costume details using modern fabrics and tailoring. Jean and her family live in Brooklyn, NY.

Vicki (Tchen) Garneau ’92 writes, “I am living in McKinney, Texas! I am the proud mom to a wonderful 25-year-old son, Benjamin, and amazingly precocious nine-year-old twin girls, Elise and Lauren. My husband David and I have been married for 13 years and with our wicked senses of humor, have decided that we still tolerate one another. Ha! I won’t bore you with the ‘in my spare time’ notes because let’s be honest, who has spare time? All joking aside, I am just grateful for my family.”

Dennis Guh ’92 is living in Long Island New York and working as a tax accountant/attorney.

Carter Hassebroek ’92 reports, “I live in Nashville, TN. I have been working in the touring side of the music business for the past 20 or so years and am looking forward to getting back to it soon.”

Karin Keijzer ’92 is married to her husband Jacco and is the mother of two boys, Ties (14 years-old) and Jens (almost 12 years-old). Since 2015, she is back in Holland after having lived in London (2004-2006) and Dubai (2006-2015). Karin is working for Make-A-Wish Nederland.

Dennis Lee ’92 lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has been practicing Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) since 2002 and is Co-President at the Alberta College of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Ben Liao ’92 returned to Taipei in 2008 with his wife Crystal and their two daughters, Rafi and Mila. He shares, “I’ve been busy with Forte Hotels and Howard Plaza Hotels. There are now 17 hotels, and with COVID, we’ve adapted four Taipei Orange Hotels into quarantine hotels to survive. Our Yamagata Kaku onsen hotel in Jiaoxi has done well during this period, but I’m working on building even stronger relations with Japan and the Yamagata prefecture and finding the next tourism product after COVID. It was a tough year for tourism. But since holding the Smart & Sustainable Tourism Symposium at WCIT 2017, I’ve been watching trends and consulting with Taiwan Tourism. It’s amazing how domestic products have grown. We all hope to travel soon, but let’s also remember the benefits of the time spent with less travel and more time for family and friends. Travel is returning, but before it does,

Lynn Loo ’92 reports, “I am based in New Jersey and am presently a professor in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at Princeton University. I also lead the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment on campus. I came to Singapore for my sabbatical in January 2020 and stayed on because of COVID. My seven-year-old is attending Singapore American School. We hope to return to the U.S. this summer. A nice perk about being in Singapore: I reconnected with Vivian Oh ’92, who just moved back to the island nation with her family after a long stint overseas. Our families get together regularly giving us a chance to reminisce about our TAS days!”

Maki (Hsieh) Mae ’92 writes that after her sister Katy Hsieh ’95 passed suddenly from a brain stroke, she switched from private equity to philanthropy. Her charity violin and vocal album inducted her into the GRAMMY Recording Academy whose members are only 3% Asian. As Asian Hall of Fame CEO, her Stop Asian Hate video went viral, and she has been featured on NHK (Japanese

Broadcasting Corporation) and American media raising awareness of anti-Asian violence. Maki was honored as California State Senate Woman of the Year and represents 2% Asian female executives on the Forbes Council. Her mother Masae Toyochi Hsieh who formerly taught Japanese at TAS is a breast cancer survivor and lives in Taoyuan.

Ronen Mense ’92 writes, “Hey all, Ronen here, living in Bangkok and I’m the janitor at a tech unicorn called AppsFlyer. I can’t wait to get back to Taipei and eat 牛肉麵 . Hope to see you all at reunion v3.0!” (Ronen serves as the President and Managing Director of AppsFlyer.)

Janet (Chen) Mi ’92 joined Green Monday as GM of Operations and Partnership in October 2020 to further Green Monday’s expansion in China. Green Monday, founded in Hong Kong, is a multi-faceted social venture that promotes eating green/vegetarian at least once a week to address environmental concerns such as carbon emissions, worldwide water and food shortage, and decreased human health. Green Monday was the first in the world to produce OmniPork, a plantbased protein substitute for pork, and to open retail-restaurant combination shops to offer delicious vegan options for those interested in helping the environment. OmniPork is already in City Super and 八方雲集 restaurants across Taiwan.

Masu Ota ’92 lives in Taipei with his wife Lulu and one and a half yearold daughter Midori. He is now a dedicated Tibetan Buddhist and goes on pilgrimage regularly. Masu maintains his interests in photography and speeding around in his Porsche.

Brett Trentham ’92 reports, “I have happily settled down in Seattle keeping busy with a 19-month-old and an almost five-year-old. If you come through Seattle, shoot me an email to meet up: brett@senzacare.com.”

Toshiu Nakama ’92 shares, “I am currently living in Taiwan, and I have two children. Since both are studying in TAS, I get to visit TAS quite often! Even though the layout of campus has changed, I feel like I’m back in my high school days every time I visit. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Taiwan someday!”

Heidi Stiegmann ’92 writes, “I spent just three years at TAS, but it was enough to sell me on the international school lifestyle. I went on to teach at international schools in Japan, Norway, and England. Then I met a guy in the States, and I’ve been here in the U.S. ever since. I am currently the coordinator of a teacher certification program in Vancouver, Washington where I teach future Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers. I am active in the local dragon boat community and act as the president of the non-profit Paddle for Life. As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, I put in the required time on trails, in kayaks, and in taprooms. Bill and I hope to marry in the summer of 2021, even if we can only take a couple witnesses down to the county courthouse with us. We are fixing up a 1910 home. It’s been a fun COVID project. Love to you all!”

Alfred Wang ’92 is currently living in Taipei with his wife Victoria and sons, Ander and Andric. Ander is currently enrolled at TAS. Alfred and his wife are devoted Christians serving in the International Family Church in Taipei 101. His company SWHZ Design is an architecture design company providing services in architecture design, interior design, project construction management, and construction management. Their specialty is in design integration with BIM technology.

Cheney Wang ’92 and Class Agent Sherry Hsia ’92 reside in Taipei with their three children. Cheney currently heads up the Taipei office of Latch Inc. as the general manager and VP of supply chain. Latch is a company that aims at delivering a full-building operating system designed to help owners, residents, and third parties like guests, couriers, and service providers seamlessly experience the modern building. Sherry returned to school to remedy her midlife crisis. She graduated from Teachers College Columbia in June 2020 with a degree in Change Leadership under Social Psychology and later became certified in Hogan Personality Assessments, Myer Briggs Type Indicator, and Intercultural Development Inventory. Sherry has since started Baiyan Global Consulting, providing services in change consulting, female leadership development, and team-building workshops.

and love the variety of it! We were scheduled to visit Taipei in February of 2020 before COVID hit but alas, had to cancel at the last minute. Can’t wait for our next Taiwan trip!”

Linda Wong ’92 writes, “Hi 92-er’s! I have been living in Brooklyn, NY for the last decade with my husband and two kids, Will and Maya. We get some taste of Taiwanese food here in NYC but nothing compares to Taipei’s night markets! I started my handbag line, Canopy Verde, ten years ago. It’s an eco-friendly, vegan accessories brand. I’m also a startup consultant for brands launching new products and services. I advise on everything from branding to marketing to logistics. I split my time 50/50 between these two ventures

Class Agent Edward Wang ’93 shares that when Fong Liu ’93 came back to Taiwan in December 2020 and was in the middle of his 14 days of quarantine and 7 days of self-management, Ed joined local classmates Angela Pan ’93, Amy Hsin ’93, Debbie Shapiro ’93, and Stephen Liao ’93 to gather in front of the hotel to greet Fong on his balcony, cheer him up, and keep him company.

forward to school daily. He’s made lots of friends and even has his first crush! Addison has been making friends and adjusting to middle school life. She recently made it onto the school tennis team. Although, originally coming back under the decision of retiring or taking a break, I’ve invested and joined a start-up in the dark kitchen space, Just Kitchen. We’ve grown to 200 people in one year and have ambitions set on expansion to Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, and the U.S. (in that order), all in 2021. My wife May is enjoying her time off for now but will be back to work soon. In the meantime, she’s keeping busy with kids, house remodeling, and trying all the delicious food Taiwan has to offer. We are very grateful to be in Taiwan with so many friends back in the country. It’s truly a paradise during this worldwide pandemic and we are very thankful. We look forward to connecting with you if we have not already.”

Ed Deng ’96 is the co-founder and CEO of Health2Sync, a Taiwanbased digital health startup. In September 2020, Health2Sync entered into a partnership with Sanofi, the pharmaceutical giant. Health2Sync aims to help patients and healthcare professionals manage diabetes in an integrated and digital way through software and a mobile app through 300 Sanofi-contracted clinics and hospitals.

Class Agent Kent Wu ’95 writes: “Hello!! We’re very fortunate to be here in Taiwan right now. Coincidentally we had planned on moving back for a few years to provide the opportunity for our kids to learn some Chinese and expose them to the international and cultural background not usually afforded them in California. We moved back officially in April of 2020, and we’re very excited that they are both currently at TAS (Addison Wu, Grade 7, and Trenton Wu, Kindergarten). They are with great classmates including many alumni children. It’s been great to have them experience living and growing up in another country. And the best thing has been how much they love it! Trenton is having a blast in school and this is the happiest we’ve seen him. He looks

Tulaya Pornpiriyakulchai ’96 invites you to take a moment to read UPRISING - Making the Invisible Visible by Clive Anderson, an eBook she recently helped illustrate and produce for the Jamaican-Canadian lawyer who, in the wake of the incomprehensible loss of Black lives, discovered his inner poet. This book of poetry reflects Anderson’s emotions as a result of the murders that took place in the United States (e.g. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks) and recent world events. Download the e-book for free at www.invisiblevisible.com/about. All donations from this website will go to a university scholarship and community initiatives in Toronto.

After college, Chris Day ’98 briefly practiced law before becoming an urban public school teacher in Boston. In the summer of 2020, while quarantined with his wife, two-year old, and incontinent pets, he discovered that a story he wrote 23 years earlier had been published in the book, Taiwan Through Foreign Eyes: Stories from the Miracle Days, and that in an article

about the book, the Taipei Times referred to him as a former “schoolboy.” He misses Taipei, his extended family, and perfect bowls of beef noodle soup.

Joseph Vo ’98 recently relocated from sunny San Diego, CA to the cold Chicagoland area.

David Chang ’99 was invited to speak on National Education Radio (國立教 育廣播電台) as a part of the program 教育行動家 hosted by 張慧心. NER is funded by the Ministry of Education. David shared his work and motivations for starting his organization Crossroads (台灣全球連結發展協會), as well as his thoughts on Taiwan’s internationalization, general strategy for promoting the Bilingual Nation, and Crossroads’ plans for developing experimental education.

Nadia Hatta ’99 made her North American television debut in Away, the Netflix fictional series that premiered in September 2020 and is about the first international manned mission to Mars. Nadia plays Mei Chen, a CapCom at NASA Mission Control Center, alongside Hollywood stars and fellow actors including Hillary Swank.

Sheena Sihota ’99 writes from San Diego, CA: “I currently work as a Public Health nurse supporting pregnant and parenting women in the community. Recently I had to make the transition to working COVID19-related services due to the national emergency. Public Health nurses take care of the community during natural disasters and outbreaks - staffing shelters, distributing vaccines, and providing testing. I’ve been working long hours, sometimes 7 days a week... working in a COVID hotel for the last few months, managing the positive cases in our community. We have an amazing team and I’m appreciating the holidays with my family more than ever because of all that I have seen and done recently.”

Debra Chou ’00 writes, “2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the Class of 2000. Our reunion was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though we could not reunite in person, I decided to reunite virtually with songs we grew up listening to. So far, I have created videos with fellow alums Rosie (Pearson) Girardi ’00 and Kathy Wen ’00. Upcoming collaborators will include Mari Kobayashi ’00, Amanda Triplett ’00, and Katrina (Hoggatt) Ridlon ’00.

I just released a single called “There Goes”, a song I wrote one year ago at the height of the pandemic. When I recorded it in March 2021, the U.S. death toll surpassed 500,000. Those who perished never got to see better days to come. I dedicate this song to them, to everyone in isolation, to the essential workers, and to anyone who lost their jobs this past year. The music video (available on YouTube) features my personal photo collection during the COVID-19 pandemic, with additional photo and video contributions from my friends and people I’ve never met.”

buzzer and standing on an insanely lit stage made for primetime national TV while surrounded by double-masked camera operators and zero audience. If spending months taking tests and doing auditions over Zoom wasn’t weird enough, imagine being flown to LA to be in an extremely controlled COVIDsafe production set.”

Edward

’99

Karen Chu ’00 writes, “As if 2020 wasn’t unusual enough, I gave birth, the world went into lockdown, and then I got onto a gameshow. I was one of 27 people selected to be on the U.S. reboot of popular UK trivia game show, The Chase. I’ve spent my life absorbing random knowledge and there I was, fist clenching over a

Calvin Chen ’01 was ordained and installed as Minister of Word and Sacrament at Church on The Ave, a Christian Reformed Church in Seattle, WA in January 2019. Prior to his new role, he attended seminary at Regent College in Vancouver, BC and worked as a college minister through InterVarsity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Darwin Huang ’01 attended TAS from Grade 4 through 9 and remained very close with friends from TAS. He left TAS to finish high school in Vancouver. His older sisters YuChing Huang ’00 and Amy Huang ’98 both graduated from TAS as well, and he is married to Sabrina Lam ’00 Darwin has been a real estate attorney in New York for the last ten years and was promoted to partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres. His practice focuses on representing developers, institutional and private investors and lenders in projects in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and other major cities throughout the U.S.

William Lin ’01 was commissioned as a U.S. Air Force officer in 2017 and has been serving soldiers, airmen, dependents and retirees as an OMRS physician. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, he’s been working overtime at the frontlines at Laughlin Air Force Base to ensure the health of all members. William also writes articles for the base service members, local DHA, and public to raise awareness and he praised Taiwan’s

Wang

was elected to be the President of National Taiwan University Global MBA Alumni Association in August 2020. The

NTU-GMBA program was founded in 2006.

capabilities in one of them. There is a possibility that he may get deployed to New York to help U.S.N.S. Comfort, and he prays for all TAS family and alumni to stay safe and healthy, because “we still need to do the reunion where everyone’s present!”

Icy Liu ’01 moved to New York City after graduating TAS to attend Columbia University and NYU. After working in real estate finance, she changed her career to wine and never looked back. In New York City, she worked in wine retail, wine distribution, and wine auction. She was the valediction of the International Culinary Center’s Intensive Sommelier Course and is a Certified Sommelier. She has her WSET Level 3 Diploma with Distinction. She has a Wine MBA (with Distinction) from the Burgundy School of Business and her Enology Diploma from the University of Burgundy. She has done harvests all over the world, including the Finger Lakes, Argentina, Burgundy, Champagne, and New Zealand. Icy made her own wine in 2020 and has a podcast called Ungrafted about wine, humanity, and the planet.

Elliott Wang ’01 reports, “We are a family of four now! Two boys, a five and a two and a half year-old named Beckett and Pendleton, respectively. Everything is amazing and difficult and hilarious and trying and new and repetitive in the way that only COVID family life can be. We are in Los Angeles and eagerly awaiting the end of the pandemic. Pre-COVID I was a partner at Everson Royce, a group of wine retail shops, restaurants, and bars, but for the past year or so, I’ve taken time off to spend with family. Hope everyone is well!”

Jenny Lee ’05 and Harold Li ’06 launched You’ll Manage, a podcast about how to become an amazing people manager—one that everyone will want to work for. In addition to drawing on their experience as executives at successful startups like Uber, ExpressVPN, and WeLab, the show features interviews with other experienced managers. One recent episode features Victor Chang ’05 and Maggie Cheung ’06, who co-founded Furbo Dog Camera, a pet tech startup in Taiwan which makes the #1 bestselling pet camera in the world. If you’d like to be featured in a future episode, email feedback@youllmanage.com!

Alex Wang ’05 hosted a virtual meet-and-greet in March for ten TAS alumni who are Apple employees: Albert Lin ’00, Jerry Tsai ’00, Kelly Wang ’00, Janice Lin ’02, Jimmy Wu ’08, Emily Sun ’14, Alida van Gelderen ’14, Austin Young ’14, and Ryan Chen ’17. He writes, “We had representatives from the Classes of 2000 to 2017. We discussed our current roles, our favorite teachers, our trajectory from TAS to Apple, and shared words of wisdom for work. We had siblings, couples who met at TAS, and employees from interns to executives, and in different roles spanning from Product Design, Software Engineering, Sales and Marketing, Procurement, to Electrical Engineering. Most of us work in the Cupertino or Santa Clara Valley, and the SoCal office. We all miss the food, the hiking, the safety of the city as young students, and the great street food.”

Melody Li ’06 now resides in Taipei after a decade in finance in the States. Melody started and sold a literature company and has published several series related to Chinese fantasy and romance. Her wuxia and xianxia exploits commands an audience of several million a month, and she is more than happy to chat with fellow alumni about startup life, switching from the life of an MBA/CPA/CFA, and Asian culture export to the west.

Jane Yuch Chen ’08 has a new startup business, Empress Hot Sauce (辣太 后). Jane writes, “Our sauces combine Taiwan’s delicious fruit flavors with the spiciness of local chilies to be your meal’s perfect companion. We’re not your typical hot sauce - we hit you with flavor, first then comes the heat. Every bottle of Empress is hand-made in Taipei with all natural ingredients that are locally sourced and vegan friendly.” To order, visit www. EmpressHotSauce.com.

Tiffany Huang ’08 is based in Hong Kong but currently working remotely in San Diego. She has just published Black in Asia through Spill Stories, a publisher which collects prose and poetry uniting womxn of color. Black

in Asia is an anthology of personal stories from over 20 Black writers living across Asia, from Taiwan to Hong Kong, S Korea, Japan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, China, and Mongolia.

Caitlin (Beer) Hall ’09 and her family welcomed their second son in early January 2021. In 2020 she also co-founded Rodlera (www.rodlera. com), a training consulting company, with her husband Joshua. She uses her experience as an educator to create online, live, and webinar training for companies across the country.

Eric Sze ’11 and Andy Chuang, co-founders of 886, were named in Forbes’s 2021 30 Under 30 in Food and Drink. They plan to open a new restaurant with a focus on “homey Taiwanese fare” and modeled on “a Taiwanese grandma’s home” in Brooklyn, NY.

Sarah Ruggiere ’12 shares her story: “On Dec. 13th, 2019, I was a pedestrian hit by a drunk driver. It’s thanks to the paramedics that performed an emergency tracheotomy surgery in the 8-minute ambulance ride that I am alive today and able to share my story. Drunk driving hurts and kills. Drive sober. Ryan Long ’19 filmed a video about Sarah’s story, Drunk Driving Hurts, that is available on Vimeo.

Alumni cellist Phoebe Tsai ’12 and violinist Sunny Sheu ’14 performed with The Sixth Sense Ensemble in a concert at the Eslite Performance Hall in April 2021. This unique concert program featured six string players (two violinists, two violists, and two cellists) performing string sextet pieces by Brahms and Tchaikovsky, which are not often performed in Taiwan. Phoebe founded The Sixth Sense Ensemble, a chamber music ensemble focusing on classical music that aims to bring audiences together for classical music experiences that go beyond the sixth sense! All members of the ensemble hold master’s degrees from the most prestigious music schools in the U.S., including Juilliard School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, and Manhattan School of Music.

Meredith Banks ’13 was recently sworn in to practice law in the State of Michigan. She is currently working as an insurance defense attorney in Kalamazoo, MI. She represents insured persons from major insurance companies like State Farm and Farm Bureau.

Celine Chen ’13 recently relocated back to Taipei and is currently working in a major private equity firm. Prior to that, Celine had been working at global investment banks in Hong Kong. She is looking forward to attending alumni events, catching up with classmates, and meeting new friends.

Stephanie Chen ’13 graduated from TAS and went to the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester) to study cello performance. She then went to the New England Conservatory to obtain her master’s degree. Most recently, Stephanie started teaching cello at the Boston Latin School and has built her own private studio, Stephanie Chen Cello Studio, in Boston, MA.

Alvin Choi ’13 founded an LA-based restaurant tech venture, Orderspot, in 2019. The startup offers small businesses and local chains a suite of services including online ordering, QR payments, and AI-empowered marketing automation tools that cater personalized experiences to guests.

Kevin Huang ’13 is currently a personal trainer and a medical student in the New England area, hoping to go into orthopedic surgery. Kevin previously worked as a healthcare consultant and administrator at research hospitals in the New England area.

Caitlin McGee ’13 performed with Baron Jan ’16 and Julian Wittich ’17 in a special TPO Big Band live studio session concert event on March 30, 2021 where audience members sat in the studio and witnessed the TPO recording in real-time while wearing wireless headphones and hearing the music directly from the soundboard. This rare experience was the first of any kind in Taiwan’s music history and the video and audio recording was broadcasted as part of the virtual Eau-Clarie International Jazz Festival in April. Caitlin writes, “Together with the involvement of 27 musicians, including 3 TAS alumni and multiple TAS music tutors, a camera crew and multiple sound engineers, we are very proud to represent Taiwan as the international headliners for this prestigious Jazz festival.”

Andrew Bookbinder ’15 attended the College of William and Mary as an undergrad and graduated in 2019. He has been working at the American Red Cross in Los Angeles for the last two years and will be attending law school in the fall of 2021.

Darryl Loke ’17 won a Mid-Atlantic chapter Emmy Award in the University Student Production – Long Form category for the short film Strays, which he wrote and directed at Temple University. Darryl was one of the pioneers of the film program at TAS and found and cultivated his passion for filmmaking here.

Julian Wittich ’17 is studying double bass at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Since the spring of 2020, he has been back in Taipei and studying online. In Taiwan, he is working as a freelance musician in the Taiwanese jazz and pop scenes, recording with GMAnominated artists like 9m88 and 林俊 傑 (JJ Lin), and performing with his own quartet. More information about Julian’s music can be found at www. julianwittich.com) or on Instagram (julianwittichmusic).

Rachael Lee ’18 recently took home three top prizes at the internationally recognized Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition, which was held virtually this year. Rachael won the Vivaldi Prize, the New Music Prize, and the Media Prize, taking home total prize winnings of USD $7500. She is a junior at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA.

FORMER FACULTY

Eli Morimoto ’16 was awarded a Schwarzman scholarship to study at Beijing’s Tsinghua University in the fall of 2021. She is one of 154 scholars chosen from 3,600 applicants. After graduating from Brown University, Eli will be pursuing her master’s in Global Affairs at Tsinghua. She hopes to humanize the China-U.S. relationship through storytelling and journalism.

Former administrator D.J. Condon writes, “My three kids, who graduated from TAS in 2003 and 2005, have done quite well since leaving TAS. After earning an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa, our daughter Anya Ventura ’03 worked as a writer at MIT’s Center for Art, Science and Technology, then at Harvard’s China Art Media Lab, and is now working as a senior content producer at the Getty Research Center in LA. Her brother Louis Condon ’05 was a Peace Corps volunteer in Lanzhou, China, then earned a law degree and now works with a start-up company in Chicago. His twin brother Miles Condon ’05 earned a PhD in marketing and is now a professor at St. Norbert College, a small liberal arts college in Wisconsin. My wife and former faculty member Catherine Ventura and I are proud of our kids, attribute much of their success to the excellent education they received at TAS.” DJ himself will start as director of the International School of Luxembourg (ISL) in August 2021.

RUTH CHANG

IN MEMORIAM

and his family. Condolences can be sent to the following email: jacobsderegt@gmail.com. The family requests that friends and family abstain from sending any flowers.

Former faculty Ruth Chang, 80, of Nedosha, KS, passed away on January 16, 2021 after a long battle with dementia. Ruth began teaching at TAS in 1972. In 1978, she created the Guidance Counselor role in the elementary school, where she remained until 1989 when she moved to Hong Kong to serve as guidance counselor at Hong Kong International School. In 2001, she lost her husband Jose to colon cancer and two years later she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat the disease and finished out her successful teaching career of 44 years, retiring in 2006 to the United States.

Timo Carlier ’92 writes: “Hubert Jacobs was my IB Diploma Language A: Dutch teacher from 1990 to 1992. The Dutch classes were taught on a separate stream, company sponsored, but Hubert made sure that I was able to participate. I thoroughly enjoyed his lessons, characterised by his direct, sometimes outrageous sense of humour, and constant references to European philosophy and culture. Through our literature and film studies, Hubert prepared me for my return to Europe; having lived in Asia for so many of my formative years, this preparation turned out to be essential in readjusting to Dutch societal norms.

brother Frank Lott. Dr. Guy Lott, Jr. became superintendent of Taipei American School in 1981. He served as our 10th superintendent and leader of our educational community for a decade, from 1981-1991. During this time he oversaw many fundamental changes to our school including the historic move to our current Shilin campus. He was also a strong supporter of arts and music education, pioneering the expansion of the program which led to the building and naming of the Guy Lott Jr. auditorium.

STUART HOLLIS ’60

2020 surrounded by close friends of many years at her home in Truckee, CA in the California Sierras near Lake Tahoe. Anne loved travel, hiking and music (from Bob Dylan and the Band to Weather Report). When possible, she combined her interests, like the time she flew to Egypt to attend a Grateful Dead concert at the Pyramids. Anne was a professor of English as a Second Language at Truckee Meadows Community College—still teaching until several weeks before she passed and despite having a debilitating illness. She attended Taipei American School and Santa Clara University, and has maintained many friends from both institutions through all these decades. Anne was always an enthusiastic participant at TAS reunions, both Stateside and in Taipei and her trademark smile was a joy to us all.”

She traveled and settled in Orlando, FL where she worked for four years as a park greeter at Disneyland. She moved to Los Angeles in 2014 to spend the rest of her life with her daughter and beloved granddaughter. She will be remembered for many things, but above all, her infectious laugh, love of travel, independent spirit and warm fuzzies. Ruth is survived by her son Jose, her daughter Christina Chang ’89, son in law Soam Lall, and their daughter Samara.

HUBERT JACOBS

Former faculty Hubert Jacobs passed away on April 7, 2021. He taught Dutch at TAS in the 1990s. He later moved onto Antwerp International School where he taught mathematics and Individual & Societies in the IB curriculum at AIS from 2000 until 2018 when he retired. He is survived by his wife Tineke

Thanks in part to Hubert, I was able to complete my university degree in Leiden and became an English Language and Literature teacher. My partner, Vanessa, and I moved to Belgium in 2006 to teach at an international school there. To my great surprise, I ran into Hubert and Tineke at a new staff welcoming party. We were colleagues for 12 years, and I really enjoyed working with him. As a colleague, Hubert showed me the value of calling a spade a spade, especially when it comes to ensuring fair treatment of individuals. Hubert was a popular teacher at our school, especially amongst the middle school students whom he mainly taught while with us. When he retired in 2018, Hubert received a standing ovation from the whole school. We will miss our colleague, teacher and friend.”

DR. GUY LOTT JR.

Stuart H. Lollis ’60 passed away on December 13, 2020 of kidney and respiratory failure at age 78. Stuart graduated from TAS in 1960 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1964. He served in Vietnam and received his MBA from Harvard Business School before beginning a career in marketing. He went on to start a business with his father, helping U.S. manufacturing firms to export their products abroad. Stuart and his wife Mary lived in Edgartown, MA, on Martha’s Vineyard. He is survived by his wife Mary, children Scott and Kristen, daughter-in-law Liz Hunt, son-in-law Brendon Bates, and grandchildren William, Matthew and Julia Lollis and Andrew and Henry Bates.

ANNE WITZLEBEN ’73

BENJAMIN TSAI ’00

On June 19, 2020 one of our school’s educational leaders and giants, former TAS superintendent Dr. Guy Lott Jr., passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. He is survived by his son Karl Lott, his sister Helen Wanke, and his

Benjamin Tsai ’00 passed away on February 2, 2021. Benjamin grew up in Taiwan and bravely moved to New York to pursue his dreams of getting involved in the computer science program at Stuyvesant. He attended Carnegie Mellon University where he studied Computer Science, Business Administration; and achieved his masters in Information Technology and Software Engineering. After college, Ben moved to San Francisco, CA where he spent his years enjoying his favorite field, working for Salesforce, Waymo, and Airbnb. Benjamin also had a passion for technology, adventure, sailing, and piloting. Ben’s love for his family and friends was apparent in the way he always showed up. His kind, generous, and caring nature has been felt by many. He is survived by his parents Chiung Ying and Che Ming Tsai; and his siblings Benson, Tiffany ’08 and Jay Quin.

Janel Wire Pratt ’71 writes: “Anne Witzleben ’73 left this world peacefully on October 30,

PLEASE HAVE A SEAT

Members of the TAS community have the opportunity to name a seat in the Guy Lott, Jr. Auditorium. For NT$90,000, an inscribed plaque will be on permanent display on a chair in the Guy Lott, Jr. Auditorium.

By participating in “Please Have a Seat,” part of the Building Excellence initiative, your gift will benefit the development and enhancement of TAS campus facilities, which will support student learning from KA through Grade 12. In the past few years, gifts to Building Excellence have made possible the construction of the Solomon Wong Tech Cube, the installation of our new lower school playground—the Tiger Garden, the renovations to the Guy Lott, Jr. Auditorium, the construction of the recently named Dr. Sharon DiBartolomeo Upper School Building, that of the Liu Lim Arts Center, and much more.

This year, the family of Benjamin Tsai ’00 honored his memory with Chair #036. In 2019-2020, Harry A. Cockrell ‘68 honored the Cockrell Family with Chair #269. In the 2018-2019 school year, Janel Wire Pratt ‘71 and Stacey Wire Ward ‘76 honored their father Dr. Howard Wire with Chair #55. Chair numbers matching class years have been reserved for alumni. Contact the Development Office at development@tas.tw to name a chair in honor of your class, family, or a former teacher.

Back cover collage photo (top-left): Dustin Rhoades.