Vol 14 October 2016
The Alumni Magazine of UWC South East Asia
JAXA Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide returns to UWCSEA Graduation 2016 Updates and Profiles (c)JAXA/NASA
Our alumni community
Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bermuda, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dutch Caribbean, Egypt, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Macau, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor Leste, Trinidad And Tobago, Turkey, Turks And Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe
Alumni services Every student who leaves UWCSEA, regardless of how long they were enrolled, automatically becomes a member of our alumni community. Some of the services we offer include:
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One°North The alumni magazine is published annually. Please send contributions and/ or suggestions to: alumnimagazine@ uwcsea.edu.sg.
by both UWCSEA and our alumni. Watch the alumni website for updates and details, and let us advertise your events! Alumni and Parents of Alumni eBriefs These are emailed to alumni and parents of alumni throughout the year, containing news and information to keep you updated and informed.
Alumni website and mobile app Our password-protected alumni website and mobile app allow you to maintain your own profile, search for and contact other registered members, stay informed about news and events and more.
Mentor opportunities Volunteer to be listed in the mentor section of the alumni site if you are willing to be contacted by current students or other alumni for information or advice regarding your university or career, or visit the pages if you have questions of your own.
Reunions and get-togethers A reunion of the 40, 30, 20 and 10 year anniversary classes is held each August in Singapore. Additional class reunions and alumni gatherings are held in various locations throughout the year, planned
Career services Check this section of the site for career opportunities or candidates, or post your own job opening or resumé. You can also set up alerts to be notified of new postings.
The UWC Hub Launched in September 2016, the UWC Hub is a web platform and mobile app that brings together the UWC community around the world. Old Interscols Let us know if you would like a soft copy of your Interscol(s). Visits, tours and other requests We are happy to help in any way we can. If you are in Singapore and would like to drop in for a visit or a tour, we would be more than happy to show you around, any time. Send your requests to us at alumni@uwcsea.edu.sg or just drop in! Alumni website: http://alumni.uwcsea.edu.sg Alumni email: alumni@uwcsea.edu.sg
Please stay connected!
Contents Message from the Head ........................................... 4 Note from the Alumni Office and physical changes at Dover ............................... 5 My post National-Service experience Nitin Natrajan, Ethan Barnes and Vinay Mitta, ’13 travel to South America ....................................... 6 An interview with Dr Kling Chong ’79 One of only three full-time Paediatric Neuroradiologists in the UK ............... 8 Graduation 2016 500 students across both campuses graduated in May with an impressive average IB score! ...... 10 Adapting Permaculture in Ubud Roku Fukui ’07 introduces a venture by Nathan Pflaum ’07 and Inochi Fukui ’10 ....................................12 These Circuses that Sweep Through the Landscape Tejaswini Apte-Rahm ’91 describes her creative writing journey ...............14 Cover story JAXA Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide ’87 returns to UWCSEA and speaks to almost 3,000 students .............15
The path to happiness in a forest monastery Pramoad Phornprapha ’85 ................ 18 From Engineering Physics to Visual Artist Elaine Kuok ’95 ....................................20 Recent alumni events Worldwide alumni get-togethers and Reunion 2016! .............................. 22 From UWCSEA to Entrepreneur in two years! John Nnamchi ’14 creates an interactive and intuitive degreeplanning tool at McGill University ....................... 24 Alumni giving Thanks for the support! .......................................... 26 The human cost of fossil fuels Savannah Carr-Wilson ’08 embarks on a book about the human impact of fossil fuel extraction ...................... 28 In Memory of Kay Louise Everett ’91 A tribute to an amazing human rights lawyer and humanitarian .......30 Upcoming reunions Don’t miss out! ..........................................................31
Year in review A sample of the huge variety of events and activities that take place at the College ...............16
Cover photo: The ‘selfie’ taken by JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide ’87 outside the International Space Station. Photo credit: (c)JAXA/NASA
Editor Brenda Whately Design Nandita Gupta MCI (P) 156/07/2016
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One°North is published by UWC South East Asia anually for alumni, staff and friends of UWCSEA. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without written consent. Send your address change to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg and/or update your profile on the UWCSEA alumni website or through the alumni app. We welcome your feedback; please send comments to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg. Please send your articles and/or suggestions for articles, for the next issue, to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg.
Message from the Head A few weeks ago I was sat in Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education as part of a UWCSEA team. We were explaining to Harvard’s world renowned Professor of Cognition and Education, Howard Gardner, what we had been up to in terms of our work on assessing just what impact a UWC education has on students and the world into which we send them. The meeting was another step of a journey we are on to move from anecdotal to research based evidence so that when we are asked “What’s the big deal about UWC?”, we can do more than tell stories.
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But sometimes stories are best. They make real what research shows merely to be true. And so I wish I’d had this magazine when I was with Professor Gardner. Yes, in terms of our extensive alumni diaspora it represents only a few people, but I suspect it has measured the pulse of that larger demographic very well. Rich, varied and riveting, we have here tales of art, forest monasteries, asylum seekers and much more. The accounts are shot through with passion, deep thinking, empathy and success. UWC alumni don’t have all the answers, but you’re asking essential questions. I am enjoying and learning from my meetings with you. I’m not a UWC graduate, so these encounters mean a great deal to me as I try to understand your UWC experiences and extrapolate how those experiences have affected your own ethical dispositions in later years. If truth be told, though, most alumni prefer sharing the hairy rule breaking episodes that all of us look back on with greater clarity than any lessons or lectures. Current students listened in wide eyed disbelief as some alumni at our recent reunion shared tales of derring-do that would most likely now lead to dire retribution.
Back at the ranch we are this year opening Ideas Hubs on East and Dover, sipping coffee in a seriously cool Heritage Centre on Dover (East’s equivalent will be up and running before the year is out) and basking for the moment at least in another set of tremendous IB results. (Conveniently— for me at least—the two campuses managed to secure virtually identical averages, and thus a line of furious parents is kept at bay for another year). I’m constantly told we are the biggest international school in the world (I’m sceptical as there always seems to be something bigger in China if you look hard enough) but the great thing is it just doesn’t feel like that. The UWC spirit seems to make the campuses, indeed the wider world, not small exactly, but connectable. It’s no village school, but neither is UWCSEA a leviathan: our intimacy is not borne of small numbers but rather a prevailing bias for ethical action in the furtherance of the mission. Thank you for staying in touch. We appreciate it. Do check out those funky campus cafes when next you are in Singapore. I recommend the mushroom quiche.
Chris Edwards Head of College
Note from the Alumni Office Welcome to the October 2016 issue of the alumni magazine. Another academic year has begun for the nearly 3,000 students at Dover and approximately 2,550 at East Campus, Graduation saw another 500 students across both campuses become the newest members of the alumni community, and notably, the five-year building plan at Dover is now complete! No more major construction, at least for
the foreseeable future. The alumni office moved into the new High School Block in November—we are now much easier to find. We also have a two-story Heritage Centre on Dover where we can buy you a coffee and by January will have one on East as well.
The UWC Hub, an online networking platform for alumni of all UWCs, was launched on UWC Day, 21 September 2016. We hope you have, or will sign up and take advantage of the news, events, networking and mentoring opportunities therein.
We’ve met quite a few alumni on campus in the first week of classes, settling their own children into the school. We must do an article on second-generation alumni and alumni who are married or partnered with other alumni. Prepare for a survey!
We are looking forward to seeing many of you at upcoming alumni events this academic year. All the best. Warm regards, Brenda Whately Director of Alumni Relations
Some physical changes at Dover … 1
The new High School Block opened in November 2015 on the footprint of the original Languages Block, Small Hall and Library. It houses the Library, Exams Hall, Black Box Theatre, Art Gallery, Conference Centre, University Advising and High School offices, English, Drama, Admissions and the Foundation and Alumni Relations offices. Please do drop by and have a look next time you are in Singapore.
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The Dover Heritage Centre is an informal meeting place located at a focal meeting point between the Main Hall, the Tent Plaza and the High School Block. It features some old photos of the campus, some posters of former students and the original stone tables that used to sit along the side of the Main Hall. It’s open late and on weekends, making it a great place for our community to stop in for a coffee and snack!
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The Tent Plaza received a nice new Tent this past summer that’s larger and higher than the previous one and the Plaza floor now has a flattened surface, making the space much more usable.
My post-National Service experience By Nitin Natrajan ’13
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The time-period between finishing school or National Service (NS) and starting university can be one of the biggest unknowns you will ever face. In my situation, I ended up with a gap of eight months between the completion of my National Service and the start of university. I had received an enlistment date of December 2013 and although I then spent two years proudly working for the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the delay in enrollment and the two years of NS resulted in my university entrance being delayed by a solid three years. When my time in the SPF was coming to an end I was faced with a dilemma— what am I going to do between December 2015 and the start of university in August 2016? The university I been admitted to didn’t have a spring intake for freshman students. I had eight months of absolute nothingness and I had to make the most of it. I decided to go crazy and chart out an adventure which ended up changing my life for the better. This voyage came in the form of a six-week South American Adventure. I travelled with two fellow alums from UWCSEA Class of 2013 who had also just completed their National Service. These two characters were Ethan Barnes and Vinay Mitta. Ethan came up with the idea for this trip and when he pitched it to Vinay and I, we jumped aboard. We ended up planning a backpacking adventure that would take us through Bolivia, through the Andes into Peru and along the Pacific Ocean to Ecuador. From there we would fly to Rio in Brazil and then home. The trip allowed the three of us to really broaden our horizon as it was a part of the world that none of us had
The beautiful prelude to the most dangerous road in the world, in Bolivia.
ever been to. This was also the best time for us to do it, as once we are all at university, who knows when we will be able to do such a trip again. With a limited knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese under our belts, we set forth into the unknown with a jam-packed schedule ahead of us. On this trip, we visited some truly beautiful places and we learnt that no matter how many photos you take, they will never do justice to the beauty that is out there. The trip took us through all kinds of terrain. We had to be prepared for climates ranging from desert fun to a desolate nightmare in the form of a glacier. With 20 kilos worth of clothes (and in my case, an extra seven kilos of camera equipment) we were ready. In Bolivia, we got to experience the charm that the people of the Andes had to offer. We did a wide array of activities ranging from the salt flats at Salar De Uyuni to riding a bicycle down the most dangerous road in the world—the ‘Death Road.’ Afterwards, we explored the world’s highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca, at the Bolivia-Peru border. In Peru, we got to experience a wide range of natural landmarks and Incan ruins. First, we celebrated Christmas in the town of Cusco where we not only took part in the local celebrations but we invented our own wintertime drink. The recipe is a closely guarded secret, but message one of us to find out what’s in this delightful concoction! After Christmas, we started what I named ‘Andean hell week’. This was due to what some might call our insane scheduling. We trekked for four days to Machu Picchu on the famous Inca trail. Not content with that effort, we decided to
Cycling fun in Bolivia.
take an overnight bus in order to climb a 5,800-metre volcano. After that, we headed to a beautiful oasis in the desert and then trundled up north on a 30-hour bus ride that would take us into Ecuador. In Ecuador, we experienced the adventure town of Banos, Cayambe (or as we called it, ‘Death Mountain’) and Quito, one of the world’s first UNESCO Heritage cities. Why did we call Cayambe, ‘Death Mountain’? All three of us fell violently sick there and it took us a full three days just to be able to walk again. Sadly, we explored only a bare minimum of the city of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. This was mostly due to time constraints, weather, and budget issues, and we owe it to ourselves to visit these wonderful places again.
Our view on New Years Day after summiting 5,800 metres to the top of a volcano in Peru.
Through the various pitfalls along the way that included a GoPro being stolen, we learnt some valuable lessons on this trip. We realised that there will always be places in the world that can stun you and that Ecuador was the biggest surprise of all, as we fell in love with all aspects of it. The main lesson from this trip however, is that you have to work as a team, especially when the times are hard. You have to swallow your pride during moments when you disagree and do what is right in order to ensure you have the most amazing trip ever.
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At the end of those six crazy weeks, everything worked out fine and we came back with a lifetime of stories and a huge desire to travel more. This past year I have been trying to make the most of my time. My new mantra is, “Go crazy and say yes to opportunities that will change your life for the better.”
Salt flat shenanigans at Uyuni, Bolivia.
An interview with Dr Kling Chong ’79 Paediatric Neuroradiologist and photographer W.K. ‘Kling’ Chong ’79
by Brenda Whately
Can you describe that impact?
Dr Kling Chong is currently one of only three full-time Paediatric Neuroradiologists in the UK. Paediatric neuroradiology is the investigation of neurological diseases of the brain and spine in children, using diagnostic imaging.
Some time last year, on a flight to the UK, fellow alumnus Robert Milton ’78 happened to find himself sitting next to a man he thought he recognised. The man was Kling Chong—they had been boarders together in Senior House at UWCSEA from 1976 to 1978! Robert mentioned Kling Chong to us as an example of someone who has lived the UWC values throughout his life and career.
These were really the formative years of my life in terms of exploring the world, relationships and experiences away from home. I’m still in contact with several fellow boarders as life-long friends and remember very many more with fondness as family. My fellow boarders were in essence my family for those years.
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Dr Chong attended the University of Sheffield UK where he received a degree in Medicine in 1985 as well as a degree in Medical Physics. Specialising in Radiology and then Neuroradiology, he completed his MD thesis, a higher research degree that is the medical equivalent of a PhD, in 1993 on the application of Quantitative Neuro-MR techniques. Since then he has worked at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London and has given lectures at numerous National and International courses and conferences. With a number of research papers to his name, Dr Chong currently conducts research in the application of magnetic resonance techniques to the investigation of brain development, as well as research into paediatric stroke, epilepsy and central nervous system tumours.
Dr Chong kindly agreed to an interview: Where are you from, originally? I was born in a small town in Malaysia and completed my primary schooling there before joining UWCSEA as a boarder. How long did you board at UWCSEA? I was a boarder from 1972 through 1979; first in Lim House and then Sharp House and Senior House. Why did your parents wish to send you to UWCSEA? For my older brother Wui Kheong, my sister Su San and myself, it was the opportunity to complete our education in an English medium school whilst retaining most of the cultural aspects of living in South East Asia. I don’t think any of us realised at that time how much greater an impact our experiences there would have on our lives.
The teachers were all fantastic. Mr Wilkinson, a truly inspirational Physics teacher and Mr Kerr, Chemistry and Photography, both significantly shaped me for my career in Medicine and then Radiology. Mr Engmann was a larger than life father figure throughout those years. So very many others tried to round me off with a broader education. I remember them well for the various lessons in life which I still carry with me; Mr Butler for Maths, Che’gu Parwati for Malay, Miss Archer for English, Mr Burgess for Sports. The multinational, multicultural understanding that came from the privilege of sharing learning and other experiences with scholars from many continents, formed the world view that I have had ever since. We should all thrive in the richness of diversity. In many ways, these values have guided my personal and professional relationships, my continued travels and also paved the way for making London my home. It was the reason why I chose to do my medical elective in Zambia, Africa.
Dr Chong has taken up underwater photography in recent years, which he says gives him the opportunity to blend his passions for travel, diving, photography and love of nature.
Playful hawksbill turtle who came to check us out as strange invaders to her home, taken at Papua New Guinea.
What was that like? It was in the early ’80s and a very good learning experience to see how to provide good medical care with limited resources. I witnessed many young people coming in to hospital and dying from unexpected illness. Years later, back in the UK, I realised that I had witnessed the first cases of African AIDS. Soon after starting basic training in Radiology, I undertook a higher research degree (the equivalent of a PhD) in MRI. I applied the MRI technique to investigate and understand AIDS and its effect on the brain in the UK population. I continue to apply what I learned then in my daily practice and teaching, so you could say that much of what I do was inspired by what I saw in Zambia. I also collaborate with research teams in Kenya and Vietnam and to analyse scans for them.
Tiny blennie peeking out from its home in the reef, with huge eyes and long eyelashes, taken at the Similan Islands, Thailand
I understand that you are an avid photographer?
The local villagers at Papua New Guinea were also curious about us and a bunch of children came out to investigate in their dugout canoe, peering at us through the crystal clear waters.
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Two of the UWCSEA friends that I have stayed in contact with over the years, Shahrin Merican and Zain Willoughby, share with me a common love for photography, which really developed whilst at UWCSEA. Zain shared my passion for Physics and IT. Shahrin, like me, continued into medical school and then subspecialised in Radiology. Perhaps it has something to do with visual memory, but it is amazing to note what a large proportion of Radiologists have photography as a hobby!
GRADUATION 2016
Raphael Bijaoui ’16, Dover graduation speaker
Outstanding IB Diploma results of Class of 2016
500 Students
36.4 30.1 UWCSEA
Worldwide
Average points
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For further details, please see the UWCSEA website, www.uwcsea.edu.sg
UWCSEA alumna Georgia Gray ’11, guest speaker at the Dover graduation ceremony. A graduate of Oxford University and a competitive swimmer, Georgia is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health. Her message to the Class of 2016 was, “Don’t live someone else’s life. Find your dream and promise yourself that you’ll never let it go.”
Blake Bullwinkel ’16, East graduation speaker
99% UWCSEA
Pass rate
80.8% Worldwide (2015)
28.4% UWCSEA
5.1% Worldwide (2015)
Percentage receiving 40+ points out of 45
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Peter Dalglish, guest speaker at the East Campus graduation ceremony. A graduate of Stanford University and Dalhousie Law School with three honourary doctorates, Peter is the founder of Street Kids International and a leading authority on working children, street children, and war-affected children.
Adapting Permaculture in Ubud By Roku Fukui ’07
Nathan Pflaum ’07 Inochi Fukui ’10 When we think of entrepreneurs, we typically think of tech-savvy individuals working in large metropolitan cities. Nathan Pflaum and Inochi Fukui, however, are a new breed of innovators; they’ve established a permaculture farm in rural Bali. Located in west Ubud, Nathan launched this venture almost two years ago. After a stint in the corporate world, he soon realised he needed to be his own boss and create something more meaningful. As a natural leader and manager (he was the captain of the UWCSEA rugby team) he began to think seriously about how he could make material contributions true to his values. He started by renting a quarter acre plot of land in Bali, which sat on an unused rice paddy. Inochi, who has always gravitated towards ecological ventures, responded to Nathan’s job advertisement soliciting farming and agricultural experience. A year later, the small farm has goats, Balinese ducks, local chickens, Balinese heritage black pigs (a less common breed since being replaced by a faster growing Australian pig), as well as an aquaculture system with fish. They compost, save seeds and cultivate a variety of fruits and vegetables ranging from papayas to ginger and chilies. The underlying principle of the farm is permaculture;
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Top to bottom: Inochi Fukui ’10; Nathan Pflaum ’07; Good Earth Farm, Bali.
the development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self-sufficient. Nathan and Inochi started everything from scratch. Putting together effective business processes was as important to them as the timing of the harvesting of ripe bananas. The farm, named Good Earth Farm Bali, also hosts volunteers and runs education initiatives to empower others about permaculture and sustainable ways of living. The website maintains informative resources and effective social media. The local community is consciously involved and incorporated whenever possible, which admittedly, is often disconnected from expats in Bali. The tropical Indonesian island of Bali, home to specific cultural practices found nowhere else, proves to be an interesting location to apply permaculture practices. Nathan hopes the techniques they use are easily transferred to a larger scale, as well as to their neighbours, without the need for extensive training. He aims to “bring back the diverse variety of crops that used to be grown in the fields and backyards of the local Balinese.” In the same way that Nathan learns from the locals, he hopes that his volunteers share this same experience and are able to “take back some of what they have learned on the farm and apply it back home.”
Nathan talks thoughtfully about the corporatisation of the global food industry and jokes about how he should have paid more attention in his GCSE science classes at UWCSEA when learning about the relationship of planting in specific soil acidities. No longer students, the two are often barefoot and shirtless, though they dismiss any labels of being hippies. Hippies, they say, don’t sweat as much as they do. The two men acknowledge the fact that UWCSEA provided them with a world-class education and their current paths in life are atypical. However, they maintain the critical thinking learnt at UWCSEA and remind me that along with peace, working towards “a sustainable future” is a pillar of UWC’s mission. Their interpretation of sustainability is very much literal. Inochi says the farm differs from most permaculture initiatives because they are intentional in making farming scalable and easily accessible. He believes “organic” food has become a modern fad and is mindful of avoiding the trendy and fashionable side of current farming. Decisions are based on ethical and egalitarian forms of consumption. He wants to incorporate more teaching into the farm and hopes to empower the local community to take on more permaculture practices. They distribute some of their harvest to
the neighbouring rice farmers and aspire to see more biodiversity in Bali’s crops. Nathan and Inochi also innovate. They experiment with environmentally conscious designs and are constantly attempting to better their farming processes. Their latest undertakings include a natural water filtration system, a seed bank and a farming cooperative within Bali. This year they also started milking their goats and experimenting with teas. Inochi wanted geese, but in their community, only priests are allowed to own geese. Both Nathan and Inochi are learning Indonesian. Nathan took Malay at IB, which is helpful, if he could remember it. He is conscious of his surroundings and says the best part of his job, other than working in nature, is “immersing myself in Balinese culture and tapping into the wealth of knowledge of the community and the endless experience of the older generation.” While many UWC alumni go into successful careers in finance and consulting, Nathan and Inochi are breaking ground (literally and metaphorically) with their permaculture venture in Ubud. They are continuously improving their practices, how they live, and how they relate to their community and world. For more information about the Good Earth Farm Bali, visit the website at: http://www.goodearthfarmbali.com/
Roku Fukui ’07 received a B.A. in International Development from Vassar College and a M.A. in International Economics and International Relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He now works for the World Bank in Washington D.C.
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These Circuses that Sweep Through the Landscape Tejaswini tells us about her creative writing journey and her first book of fiction. When her collection of short stories, These Circuses that Sweep Through the Landscape is launched at the end of 2016 this description will appear on the book’s cover: A murderer stands behind his victim with a hammer, ready to strike— the culmination of a mind-game played out over decades. A woman is trapped in a mall for a year, unable to find the exit. A servant girl experiences a cruel loss of innocence when she eats something never meant for her. Two couples are about to play a candlelight game to find a missing silver bottleopener, but what are they really after? A schoolgirl in Mumbai feels the ground slipping beneath her feet, except when she watches Star Trek. This remarkable collection of stories is about lives that are never ordinary—because the people living them are never quite what they seem.
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Funny, dark, richly layered and emotionally complex, Tejaswini Apte-Rahm’s debut collection of fiction excavates human frailties with a selection of sharp and blunt instruments. For more information about Tejaswini and her writing, visit www.tejaswiniapterahm.com
By Tejaswini Apte-Rahm ’91 My favourite question in the world is “What If …?” It’s the big, magical question fiction writers must ask themselves, and it leads to a thousand different stories. These Circuses That Sweep Through the Landscape is my first collection of short stories, to be published in December 2016 by Aleph Book Company, India. Many of the stories are a bit dark and twisty, about different forms of violence, passion, and love. My characters are tussling with some kind of dilemma or facing a moment of truth, and often they make choices with the dark part of their minds. I am inspired by observing people and by reading widely and whimsically. Everything from literary fiction to a film magazine exposes you to wildly varying ways of seeing, living and writing. I think it’s important to read beyond your own genre of writing—for example, if you’re writing short stories or a novel, you should also read screenplays and poetry. I’ve found that inspiration is not enough for writing fiction. It needs to be harnessed to writing techniques and experience which can only be gained over time—and lots of writing. This often involves throwing away what you’ve laboured over, and starting again. This is essential for experimenting with creative decisions like, for example, whether to write in the first person or third person, or finding the most convincing narrative voice or story arc. It also helped that throughout my career I’ve been writing in one form or another, whether as a journalist or environmental researcher and writer, and that I had already written two non-fiction books. One of the best decisions I made was to join the Bangkok Women Writers Group which met every fortnight. Each writer brought along three pages of writing to share. Discussions were always respectful of each others’ writing, but the comments were honest, and my stories benefited hugely from being read by fresh eyes. It was also empowering to hear my writing being analysed by other serious writers, and showed me that my stories could soon be sent out to publishers. There is no doubt in my mind that a large part of my creative writing journey started in UWCSEA. In the classes of Mrs Farmer, Miss Moorhouse, then Mr Farmer and Mr Millichamp—all memorable teachers of English language and literature—I learned to think from different perspectives and write in diverse styles. There are classes that I still remember, even after more than two decades: creating and writing my own fashion magazine; recreating the style of a famous short story to write my own nail-biting ending; doing a Freudian reading of Wuthering Heights and a post-colonial reading of Robinson Crusoe; writing our own original sonnets. I could go on with my list of the endlessly creative ways in which we approached the English language. Much of my confidence in getting on with the job of writing fiction surely has its roots in the mental acrobatics performed so long ago in the English classes at UWCSEA. So deep down, I knew when I started writing my stories, that I was already in good hands! I’m now writing a novel, and loving the process of working in a new genre.
JAXA Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide ’87 returns to UWCSEA JAXA astronaut, Akihiko Hoshide ’87, came back to UWCSEA in May 2016. Over a very full day, he spoke to almost 3,000 students from K1 to Grade 12 on Dover Campus answering questions about his career and experiences in space. The youngest students enjoyed an informal session with Aki, as he answered their questions “Can you eat in your space suit?” and “Where do you land?” He met
separately with a group of Higher Physics students who had somewhat different questions. Aki also spoke the following day at East Campus to a packed auditorium of students and parents. Aki has made two trips to the International Space Station (ISS), completing three space walks during his second mission. On his second mission he took a UWCSEA bandanna which he
hung in the Japanese Kibo Lab at the ISS and which now hangs in the Alumni Office at UWCSEA. During a video-link through NASA between the ISS and Dover Campus in 2012, Aki gave the students and staff a tour of the ISS and discussed how his time at UWCSEA had influenced him and his career, noting that from space, “I see the world; I don’t see borders.”
Cover photo: Aki’s ‘selfie’ taken outside the ISS in 2012. Above and below, Aki speaking to students at UWCSEA in May 2016.
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Year in review A sample of life on our campuses during the 2015/2016 academic year.
Asian Arts and Culture Week Focus 2016: Cambodia
By Nicole Yaw ’14
An afternoon with the Orchestra This interactive performance introduced the instrument families in the orchestra and guided the audience to listen for the intended representations and meaning in the music. The performance was followed by an animated question and answer session.
CultuRama The most valuable aspect of CultuRama is the learning that students gain through their efforts to build a unifying community event. Almost a third of the High School at East Campus was involved in one way or another, with teachers, administrative and facilities staff supporting, and parents providing food to be shared. It has become a tradition that brings us together while learning to appreciate each other’s differences.
Senior sports round up The 2015/2016 academic year marked the 20th Anniversary of the South East Asia Student Activities Conference (SEASAC) and a year of significant athletic achievement for both the Dover Phoenix and East Dragons teams. UWCSEA is a founding member of SEASAC, and each year senior teams from both campuses compete in regional SEASAC sport championship tournaments, SEASAC Model United Nations and Arts Festivals. Overall, it was the most successful year in SEASAC to date for the East Dragons and in recent times for the Dover Phoenix.
reThinking Literacy Conference The inaugural ‘reThinking Literacy Conference,’ held in April at Dover Campus in partnership with 21st Century Learning International, was an opportunity to engage with what that evolution might or should look like. It was a stimulating, enriching experience for all who attended.
In February, East Campus’ Asian Arts and Culture Week celebrated Cambodia’s rich history of traditional art forms. It aimed to deepen understanding of the culture by providing multiple perspectives on the arts of Cambodia. Respect, empathy and connections were fostered through participation in activities such as workshops for students with visiting artists.
Davis scholarships open doors to better opportunities In October 2015, American philanthropists Shelby and Gale Davis paid a visit to UWCSEA, on their way to the official opening of UWC Changshu China. Shelby Davis took the opportunity to meet our Grade 12 scholars on both campuses, to talk about his Davis UWC Scholars Program and why he believes so strongly in the mission and vision of UWC.
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RSIC 2015: A significant step towards a sustainable future During a week in October 2015, the College hosted nearly 1,000 student and adult delegates from 128 schools worldwide, for the Round Square International Conference, with a theme of ‘Act Today, Change Tomorrow’. Over five days, delegates discussed the complexity and challenge of sustainability in small group sessions led by UWCSEA students. Keynote speakers included UWCSEA alumni Tim Jarvis ’84, Patrick Rouxel ’84 and Nidhi Kapur ’01.
Artists-in-residence teach the art of sustainability Middle School students on East Campus had the opportunity to explore issues of sustainability through creative expression. Thanks to support from the UWCSEA Annual Fund, two artistsin-residence spent a week in the Art Department sharing their passion and flair for sustainable art forms.
SOS (students of singapore) campaign against haze Gauri Shukla, Grade 9 from Dover, says “I was inspired to look at the deeper causes of the haze, and my research made me realise that essentially, we as consumers are responsible for the haze, as our demand for products containing palm oil continues to grow. I have launched the SOS campaign to educate people about the causes of the haze, and help them find ways to reduce their usage of products from unsustainable sources.”
A great day out at the Dover Campus Community Fair The Community Fair, held on 30 January at Dover Campus, involved parents, staff, students and alumni and raised just over $69,000 which will be split between the Initiative for Peace and Global Concerns groups.
UN Night Yes, all of the work is choreographed by the students; yes, the food is magnificent; yes, the rehearsals are often carried out in the funniest of places; and yes, the final performances are an extraordinary explosion of student talent and enthusiasm. This annual event at Dover Campus is as fantastic as ever.
Service lunch menu: hospitality, respect and sustainability
The theme for the 44th Annual Art Exhibition was ‘Transformation,’ representing not only the transition of the annual show from the Main Hall to the Art Gallery in the new Dover High School Block, but also the prescribed theme for the Grade 10 art and photography mock exam. Many Grade 11 students worked with the theme and wore their artwork on their heads as they served canapés to the hundreds of attendees at the opening night. To read more UWCSEA news, see eDunia at www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia
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The East Campus service groups hosted their annual Chinese New Year luncheon in February. Students welcomed 150 guests from local service partners representing some of the community relationships that form the backbone of our Local Service programme, involving student groups from all grade levels in authentic service interaction.
Dover Campus High School Art Exhibition
THE PATH TO HAPPINESS By Brenda Whately
Pramoad Phornprapha ’85 While chatting with Pramoad at an alumni get-together in Bangkok recently, I learned that there were two major experiences in his life that had a great impact on him. One was the seven years he lived at UWCSEA as a boarder from the age of 11 to 18 and the other was the three months during which he had lived as a monk in a forest monastery at the age of 37. I was intrigued and I asked if I could call him the following week, to hear why he had entered the monastery and in what way the experience had impacted his life since then. He kindly agreed. Here is his story: “With the threat of communism in the region during the ’70s, and a desire for me to have a good international education, my Singaporean mother and Thai father made the decision to send me to school in Singapore. They chose UWCSEA and I moved into the boarding house in 1978 at the age of 11, graduating seven years later. In the ’70s and ’80s, UWCSEA was not a typical school. I was exposed to students of many nationalities and their cultural differences made a profound impact on me. In those vital years between 11 and 18, UWCSEA taught me to be independent and to have empathy for others. It provided me with opportunities and flexibility and yet, a regimen and discipline that didn’t allow me to go too far astray.
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At the same time, having grown up in a Chinese family I had been taught that to
seek excellence in life, one must strive to do well at everything—do well at school, go to the best university, attend the best graduate school, get the best job, marry well and, with wealth and fame, live happily ever after. I soon found out that life doesn’t work that way. After leaving UWCSEA, I attended Northwestern University where I completed a degree in Electrical Engineering and worked for Proctor and Gamble in their sales and marketing division for two years. I returned to Northwestern to complete a MBA at the Kellogg School of Management and worked at Goldman Sachs during my summer breaks. I followed this up with a MPA (Master’s in Public Administration) from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, got a great job at BCG (Boston Consulting Group) and married. Nine years later, at the end of 2003 during my partnership tenure at BCG, I entered an early mid-life crisis. I began to question what it is that really drives happiness. I spoke to my wife and with her support, I left BCG and entered a forest monastery in Northeastern Thailand. For three months I lived alone in a forest hut with no electricity and no communication with anyone outside. My days began at 2.30am for morning meditation and chanting before a 5.30am alms round in the nearest village, 2.5 kilometres away to which we walked barefoot to ask for food. Breakfast was the one and only meal of the day.
IN A FOREST MONASTERY There was no teaching at the monastery—we were left alone to meditate in whatever way worked best for us; walking, sitting, doing chores. The idea was to become more mindful of physical and emotional movements—for instance, while moving your hand, be mindful that you are moving your hand. When you do it often enough, you are mindful of your emotions as they arise. The insights and learning I had obtained during the three-month experience were primarily from doing chores while being mindful. One great learning was from sweeping leaves from a grass lawn. Being a perfectionist and a goal-setter, my goal was to sweep the lawn completely clean of dry leaves. I was 80% through when a breeze came and blew the leaves back all over the lawn. I was instantly annoyed and then the most amazing thing happened—I was also instantly mindful that I was having an “ill-thought” and suddenly realised that I had led my life the “wrong way”. My happiness was so dependent on achieving the goals I had set but in reality, there are multiple factors that influence the outcome of the goal—factors that are beyond my control. As such, I will forever be unhappy if my happiness is dependent on achieving the goals I had set, as I cannot possibly control everything. The incident completely changed my mindset. I still set goals but worry less about the outcome. I simply live in the present, do my best and simply “let go” of the outcome. There is a quote by Lao-Tzu that I love, reflecting this learning experience:
If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. Another insightful moment came while we, as forest monks, were performing a live cremation ritual for a recently deceased woman from a nearby village. Seeing a body being burned is not a pretty sight. As such, I used the opportunity to meditate on death by contemplating what it would mean to me if the body being cremated was someone I loved. I had always taken for granted that people around me (including myself) will die old, but it is simply not true. Anyone could die at any time. I realised that it is important to make every second count so that there are no regrets and no emotional debts left to be cleared. Those three months changed my life fundamentally and what I learned has stuck with me ever since. The biggest impact has been mindfulness and learning to “let-go”. When things happen that would upset me, I find it easier to let it go, free my mind and find inner peace. I am now driven by what truly gives me happiness—the quality of my relationships with my loved ones.” I thank Pramoad for sharing his inspiring life journey.
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From Engineering Physics to Visual Artist By Brenda Whately
Elaine Kuok ’95 Elaine Kuok is a full-time visual artist with a degree in Engineering Physics from Cornell University and a Master’s in International Economics from SOAS, University of London. While in Middle School at UWCSEA, Elaine studied art, but didn’t pursue it as a subject in Grade 9, 10 or the IB years of Grade 11 and 12, because her parents wanted her to direct herself towards subjects that they felt would lead to ‘more useful’ university degrees. She credits art teacher Mr Teo Eng Seng with fostering her love of art in those early years and beyond. She says, “He would let me paint in the classroom outside of art class hours. He critiqued my work and encouraged me to continue doing art even after he was no longer officially my teacher. He still does even now, through social media!”
While at Cornell, Elaine met her now husband. After graduation they moved to Capetown, South Africa and then to Oxford and London in the UK. Craving
Over the next several years, Elaine and her husband lived on five different continents, following their evolving careers. Like Elaine, her husband has also changed his career path more than once; in his case from academic physicist to diplomat, to writer and documentaryfilm maker. Elaine says she was very happy moving around because her love of languages almost equals her love of art, and she enjoyed trying to learn the local language of all the locations they lived in. In 2006 Elaine and her husband moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was here that she finally took the plunge and went into art full-time. She says, “Santa Fe had a thriving art community and it was easy to get plugged in. The area had such a distinctive landscape and an energy that seeps into your bones, making you feel like you have to respond to it somehow. My years there were a really special time. The encouragement from my husband and the art
community there in Santa Fe convinced me that this was my path.” Elaine has since settled into New York and continues to pursue her career in art. She says, “New York City is electric. Stimulus comes in so many forms, you see so many different things and meet so many different people. My goal is to express that energy through my paintings and sculptures.” Primarily a figurative painter, more recently Elaine has expanded into abstraction. She has also developed a strong affinity for clay sculpture and spends at least four hours a day, five days a week, sculpting, devoting herself as much to sculpture as to painting. Reflecting on her time at UWCSEA, Elaine says, “I’m glad my parents chose UWCSEA, because it exposed me to so many different cultures and to get-up-and-go people with a sense of global civic-mindedness that I hadn’t encountered elsewhere.” And when asked what advice she would offer to students and alumni interested in art as a career, she says, “Art is certainly not a smooth ride. I put in long hours every day and the pay is uneven. And when I’m not painting or sculpting, I’ve always got my present and future projects at the back of my mind. That’s all right with me because I view art-making not as work, but as a necessary part of myself. My advice is only pursue art if you can’t imagine not doing it, and if you do go the art route, then put everything you have into it because it is incredibly rewarding in and of itself.” For more information about Elaine Kuok’s art, visit her website at elainekuok.com
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When she applied to Cornell, which she describes on arrival as, “a shock to the system coming from tropical Singapore to the merciless winters of upstate New York,” she had intended to enter the architecture programme. The application however required an art portfolio which she didn’t have. She says, “I cast around for something else that, in my imaginings anyway, might have a visual element. It came down to materials science or engineering physics and I ended up choosing the latter. While physics was interesting, the classes I most enjoyed were my art and language electives.”
the kind of multicultural environment she had had at UWCSEA, and increasingly interested in international affairs, she decided to pursue her Master’s degree in International Economics at SOAS and then work for the UN. With her Master’s degree in hand, she was recruited into UNESCO’s Young Professionals Programme where she worked on science ethics. She says, “While I found the job not particularly riveting, the diversity of cultures in the workplace was endlessly fascinating.” Working at the UNESCO Headquarters also meant that Elaine was located in Paris where she was able to spend a lot of time sketching at the museums, immersing herself in world-class art throughout Europe, and gaining proficiency in French.
RECENT ALUMNI EVENTS Boston, 17 September
Hong Kong, 7 November
Autumn in North America was a great time for a group of alumni in Boston to get together and make some UWCSEA connections.
This was a casual gathering of alumni, hosted by UWCSEA’s Head of Admissions, Jonathan Carter and Head of Boarding, Gabriel Abad.
Singapore, 22 December Held at the American Club for alumni of all class years, more than 260 alumni and guests gathered to enjoy this festive time of year together.
Alumni Careers Week at Dover (1–5 February) and East Campus (15–19 February) Thanks to 17 alumni taking part, offering more than 20 talks to students either in person or via Skype and from as far and wide as the UK, Turkey, the USA and Myanmar, this year’s Career Week was a great success. The event was organised by the Student Alumni Council of Grade 10 and 11 students.
Amsterdam, 12 March
Again this year, the bi-annual event took place with young alumni of both campuses returning to UWCSEA to share their university experiences and advice with current students.
London, 11 March More than 150 alumni, former staff and guests gathered in central London for the annual alumni get together. The group included members from the class of ’75 through to the class of 2015, with some travelling from as far as Bermuda and Switzerland to catch up.
Shanghai, 9 April
This year we resumed our “almost annual” event in the Dutch capital, for a fun night of canapés and drinks for just over 30 alumni.
An intimate dinner was the perfect setting for reconnecting in Shanghai. The event was generously hosted by alumna Deborah Widjaja ’02, in the Westin Bund Center Hotel.
Hong Kong, 14 April
Singapore 7s, 16–17 April
Although the Hong Kong event was open to alumni of all class years, it was the young alumni from the classes of ’06 through to 2013 who came out and enjoyed some drinks, snacks and great conversations.
Six UWCSEA alumni representing six year groups hooked up to watch the rugby 7s together and reminisce about their time at UWCSEA. They were kind enough to send us this great photo!
Jakarta, 12 May Kindly sponsored once again by Time International, with drinks, snacks and a live band, more than 30 alumni enjoyed an evening together at Artoz in Jakarta.
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University Alumni Week, 5–11 January
St. John’s, 3 June For the second time, we held a lunch for more than 50 alumni of St. John’s School from the 1960s and early ’70s on Dover Campus (which had housed St John’s School until 1971). Two years ago the group donated funds to plant a tree in their name and this year they generously supported a solar panel on campus.
Bangkok, 9 June A cozy and casual gathering was held in Bangkok in early June, with plenty of great conversation.
University Alumni week, June 2016 The second University Alumni Week of the year, organised by the University Advisors attracted more than 60 young alumni to host a table at Dover and over 20 at East, to offer advice and information about their university.
REUNION 2016 By Natasha Hornell-Scott ’15 Reunion 2016 saw over 350 alumni, guests and staff crowd the Conrad Hotel ballroom on Friday 26th August for a night that was filled with laughter, nostalgia and shouts of excitement. Saturday saw most return to Dover Campus for tours, barbecue lunch, and for a few intrepid alumni, a game of football in the intense heat with and against a group of staff. From all reports, for the returning classes, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2006, it was a memorable weekend. From lion dance to Korean drummers, football to Asian buffet and Western barbecue, we hope everyone had a great time reconnecting with the College and with each other.
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FROM UWCSEA TO ENTREPRENEUR IN TWO YEARS! By Brenda Whately
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John Nnamchi ’14 John Nnamchi was born in Singapore and attended the French school until transferring to UWCSEA’s Dover Campus in 2010 as a Grade 9 student, to prepare to pursue the IB diploma. When John graduated, he headed to McGill University, a choice he says was a simple one to make as he is Canadian, has extended family in Montreal and
because McGill has a recognised Life Sciences programme that would prepare him for his goal of studying Medicine as a post-graduate. John credits the environment at UWCSEA in which students are encouraged to strive to ‘do great things and be impactful’, as being the driver for his desire to create an impact when he got to university. He credits it also for developing in him strong values toward a good work ethic. He says, “During
IB I was constantly in an environment where I could apply myself. Working closely with Barry Daniels, my Extended Essay Supervisor, I was encouraged to produce ever higher quality writing. In Grades 9 and 10, I was barely getting a 5 in my science classes, but by the end of the IB, I was constantly hitting the high ’90s in Biology and Chemistry. Thanks to Barry I put in extra work for my Extended essay in Biology and actually earned full marks. As a result,
I finally understood the importance of applying oneself, and how the ability to assess your hard work and know that you have produced good work, is a very valuable tool.” The combination of his desire to make an impact, combined with his pledge to put in maximum effort is what led him to the project that he took on at McGill in his first year there. He describes the project thus: “The process of choosing university classes based on your major is a confusing, time consuming one. For many students, by the end of their degree they may not have satisfied their credit requirements. Although I am not a software designer, I decided to create, with the help of a student programmer, an interactive and intuitive degree planning tool we call S!MVO, that helps students design and plan their academic curriculum (i.e., the courses required for their major) from their first freshman year through to graduation. We began first by collecting promising and valuable market research, and an overwhelmingly positive student response and advisor support for S!MVO. This was followed by our team successfully collaborating with the Department of Electrical Engineering to run a beta test involving real users and advisors. The success of this beta test (students could plan their entire degree in 5% of the time it would normally take, and advising sessions took half the time) led to more meetings with numerous faculties to fully discuss the aspects of the software and, we were subsequently awarded a prize for Entrepreneurship in Engineering partly because of these efforts.
During our meetings with Enrolment services, potential applications to recruitment surfaced and we were
We used all of the above as leverage and evidence for the potential success of S!MVO when we were asked to present to the Enrolment and Student Affairs Committee—these were the deans, principals and leaders of each faculty at McGill. This was well received and we subsequently earned initial funding (over $10,000) from the Office of the Deputy Provost, to complete our operations during this past summer. We now have an agreement established that as long as we successfully satisfy all our programming requirements and demands, a licensing agreement will follow. Once each faculty is satisfied with the software, we will be introducing S!MVO for all undergraduate students to use to not only plan their degree, but to contact and facilitate academic sessions with their academic advisors
as well. The recruitment potential is powerful—I saw this first hand when I came to the UWCSEA alumni university session where I was able to convince a Grade 11 UWCSEA student to apply to McGill after I used the programme to go through his degree requirements with him. Overall, including prospective students, we would estimate a user base of around 20,000 McGill undergraduates and another 1,000 to 10,000 prospective student users by the time we are fully integrated—for McGill alone.” John and his programmer partner now have six other students and a paid intern working for them. He hopes to continue to develop this tool as a business and expand it to other universities while pursuing his interest in Medicine as well. John continues to play soccer, ran for and was elected VP Events in McGill’s First Year Council, and remains connected to UWCSEA. Back in Singapore to see his parents in June, he volunteered at the alumni university sessions, as he mentioned above, providing information and advice to current students about his university and programme of study. He has also remained in contact with a Singaporean boy that he tutored and befriended in the Beyond Social Services programme at UWCSEA. He appears to have taken more than just the entrepreneurial spirit with him from his time at UWCSEA.
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“We were subsequently awarded a prize for Entrepreneurship in Engineering”
subsequently invited to attend McGill’s Campus Connect events. There, our exposure increased exponentially as we interacted with several hundred interested and eager prospective students and parents. From Campus Connect, we generated an interest list of over 100 prospective students asking to use S!MVO once we have launched officially. In addition, McGill recruitment representatives will now be showcasing S!MVO for prospective students to use during recruitment conferences all over the globe.
Installing Phase 2 of the Solar for Dover project, Raghav Shukla ’15
ALUMNI GIVING Gifts from our alumni community are making a significant difference to life at the College. Last year alumni donated over S$480,718 to UWCSEA. Those gifts have been hard at work. From supporting the creation of the innovative IDEAS Hub, to funding additional scholarship opportunities, enriching the scholar experience and supporting environmental and teaching and learning programmes. Endowment giving is transforming the lives of promising students
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The Lizanne ’83 and Robert A. Milton ’78 Endowed Scholarship Fund was the first endowed scholarship opportunity for UWCSEA. Now into its sixth year, three promising young individuals have benefitted from the transformational gift of a UWCSEA scholarship. Lizanne and Robert’s current scholar, Sivhuo ’17, from Cambodia has just entered Grade 12: “Being a part of the diverse UWCSEA community, I know my time here will be a great journey that will lead me to a brilliant future. At UWCSEA, we are taught to put our values into action through service and that’s something very meaningful to me.” Previous recipients of the Lizanne and Robert A. Milton UWCSEA Endowed Scholarship Fund, Chi ’13 and Ahn ’15 are currently studying in universities in the US. Chi was awarded the Lizanne and Robert Milton Scholarship at Georgia Tech, while Ahn
received a Shelby Davis Scholarship to Wellesley College. Alumni inspired Gap year Class of ’86 In honour of a fellow classmate, Michael McErlain, who was passionate about service the Class of 1986 came together to set up the Michael McErlain Service Scholarship Fund. Specifically supporting scholars to take part in service projects during the summer holidays or a gap year, the classmates have been able to provide an immediate opportunity for students to give back to society. Alumnus sees his vision of a more sustainable future in action Inspired by his Grade 5 project, Raghav Shukla ’15 had a dream to make UWCSEA more sustainable by installing 900 solar panels across the Dover Campus. In 2014 he joined forces with the UWCSEA Foundation to raise support from the College community, and over 500 solar panels have now been adopted. Raghav ’15 is currently a student at New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business, USA. Understanding the long term impacts of a UWC education The UWC Impact Study is a specially commissioned research project with the Harvard Graduate School of Education to gain a clearer understanding of the impact of the UWC mission on students and on society.
S$480,718 Total gifts from alumni 2015/2016
13% of 2015/2016 donors are alumni
33%
of Reunion 2016 attendees participated in Reunion Class Giving
INNOVATIVE IDEAS HUB OPENS AT UWCSEA DOVER Tinkering, making, creating and innovating are just some of the things you will be able to do in the pioneering new IDEAS Hub at Dover. Funded through gifts to the UWCSEA Foundation, this world class facility will run an international speaker series, inspiring workshops and courses on key 21st century skills such as robotics, app building, digital communication and upcycling. The community area Complete with custom built benches to provide a viewing area, this non-intrusive performance and speaker space features presentation screens and speakers fitted in the ceiling. Fabrication zone
Initial findings from the study, which is funded by a generous alumni donor, have demonstrated that the majority of alumni believe that their UWC ethical values are evident in their daily lives and that they are making meaningful contributions either through their career or everyday interactions.
There are two areas for making and tinkering. One is designated for large scale work using drills and electronic cutters, the other is for light work such as textiles, soldering and 3D Printing.
Work to complete this study is ongoing. We look forward to keeping you posted on the findings moving forward.
Here students will be able to use computers with built in coding technology and other specialist programmes, as well as recondition and recycle old computers.
Class of ’91 scholarship initiative in memory of former classmate The Class of ’91 is embarking on the raising of funds to support a scholarship for a student of refugee or stateless status to attend a UWC. This initiative is in memory of former classmate Kay Everett who passed away in August 2016. See Kay’s memorial tribute on page 30. Four lives changed by the Class of ’78
The current Class of ’78 scholar Carmen, from Honduras, is now entering her final year at the College. Gifts from alumni have made it possible for students of promise and potential to receive a world-class education.
Green room Two high specification green rooms provide ideal space for creating videos and animations. They will also be equipped with Padcaster technology which will enable users to easily create, edit and share high quality recordings. Get involved There are lots of ways for our alumni community to be involved; from using the facilities and the space, delivering workshops, mentoring students, creating corporate partnerships and funding. To find out more contact Colin Peter, IDEAS Hub Manager at colinuwc@uwcsea.edu.sg IDEAS Hub has been kindly supported by many members of the UWCSEA community including the following alumni: Reza Safavi and Imelda Sasmito Safavi ’90, and Mayank Singhal ’92.
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The Class of 1978 Scholarship has raised over S$180,000 and supported four UWCSEA scholars since it was established in 2010.
Coding and robotics area
The human cost of fossil fuels By Anne-Marie Parnell
Savannah Carr-Wilson ’08 Alumna, Savannah Carr-Wilson, says her two years as a Scholar at UWCSEA gave her the chance to make friends across the world and have mind-opening discussions about the political, social, and environmental issues faced in their home countries. She says “It gave me the intercultural fluency, curiosity and confidence to embark upon a book telling the stories of people in two very different parts of the world whose lives are dependent on fossil fuel extraction.”
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Still a work in progress and, fresh from a research visit to Jharia in India with her co-author, Savannah took time out to talk to us and explain what it’s like to live under the fossil fuel curse. “The idea to write a book started several months ago, at the start of my Erasmus Mundus Masters course in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management in Budapest, Hungary. The world was on the cusp of the Paris COP21 climate talks, and fossil fuel extraction and its destructive impacts were a global topic of conversation. I had just co-authored a report on water policy and was showing it to my Indian classmate Sandeep. We got talking
about our respective countries’ most pressing environmental issues and we realised we were both passionate about energy issues in our home countries and the impacts fossil fuel extraction is having. We developed a book proposal by writing out detailed chapter ideas, used it to find a Canadian publisher who is now very interested in publishing our book, found partial grant funding and ran a successful kickstarter crowd funding campaign.” What case studies are you concentrating on? “We chose the coal-mining belt in Jharia, India and the oil sands in Alberta, Canada as case studies because, within our respective countries, these areas are the most impacted by fossil fuel extraction and both face an uncertain future because of increasing global pressure to limit it. In the book we want to explore what will happen to people and communities living in these areas if a transition to renewable energy comes.” You have already visited Jharia in India, what did you find there? “The town of Jharia in eastern India
sits on top of fire. The fire comes from coal seams, which have been burning for the last 100 years due to unscientific coal mining and government mismanagement. While there are fires in the town itself, the people worst affected live on or near the coalfields surrounding the city in small villages called basti. While the coal fires used to be outside of their homes, recently fires have sprouted inside the walls of their houses. People in the basti live in incredible heat and amidst toxic smoke from the fires. There is little clean drinking water and people have to walk very far to take a shower from the river or wash clothes. Recently, something very troubling has begun to happen. While there was always land subsidence in the area, it has now begun to affect peoples’ homes. We spoke to one man who told us that fifteen days earlier, the floor of part of his house collapsed and he was trapped in the rubble until other villagers heard him and came to his rescue.” How willing were local people to tell you their story and the impact that fossil fuel extraction is having on their lives? “They were very vocal about the impact that coal extraction and coal fires are
From Left to Right: Coal fires in a local basti; Coal cycle wallahs carry their load of scavenged coal; Savannah feeling the heat of the ground in Jharia
having on their lives. Many people took us to their homes and showed us the fire inside. They face a terrible dilemma—die slowly in Jharia from the health issues associated with the toxic environment, or die quickly of hunger away from Jharia where they could no longer make a living by helping load and unload coal or scavenge coal to sell in the cities.” You are now looking ahead to visiting the oil sands in Alberta in Canada, what do you expect to find there?
In May, a large natural disaster added a new dimension to our research. As
What do you hope to achieve by writing your book? “We want to bring global attention to both situations, and also bring policy makers’ and the general public’s attention to this new issue that few have considered: What will happen to current communities dependant on fossil fuel extraction if these countries make a transition to renewable energy? Before a transition comes, policymakers must think about the old as well as the new. Our book is the wake-up call and will be one of the first to highlight this issue. Writing this book will also involve a great deal of personal learning for myself and my co-author and allow us to learn more about our main interest area—energy and its environmental impacts—in our home countries, through on-the-ground experiences. We see it as the most enriching, interesting, and meaningful way we could spend our summer and any free time during our Master’s programme.”
Savannah graduated from UWCSEA in 2008, received a B.A in International Politics and History from Jacobs University Bremen, Germany, and a law degree from the University of Victoria, Canada specialising in Environmental Law and Sustainability. She is currently completing an Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management, having so far studied at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, the University of the Aegean in Lesvos, Greece and Lund University in Sweden. You can follow the progress of Savannah’s book and her new-found stories of hope on her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/UpcomingBook-The-Fossil-Fuel-Curse1602533246729692/?ref=bookmarks
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“Extraction has devastated the landscape and wildfires are impacting oil sands extraction. In particular, we will be visiting Fort McMurray, a city that is the main hub of oil sands extraction. We want to explore the following questions: what will happen to people and communities in this area if a transition to renewable energy comes? What will happen to their livelihoods? How will they acquire new skills and jobs? Can governments help, and how exactly? What will the human cost be and what do people living on the front lines of a looming global energy transition think about it?
we were developing our research plan, we were surprised and shocked when massive wildfires broke out in the Fort McMurray area. We hope to explore how this tragic event will impact the oil sands industry in the future.”
Kay with her partner Anand and her niece Freya.
IN MEMORY OF KAY LOUISE EVERETT ’91 25 November 1972 – 7 August 2016 by Maliha Hassan ’91 and Mai Luen Wong ’91 Kay was ever ready to expand her travel horizons and jumped at the opportunity to attend UWCSEA to do the IB while her parents lived in Indonesia. The UWC ethos appealed to Kay and she was a forever fan. Of course, there is also the possibility that she just loved the heat and Asian food too much!
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She was a gifted lawyer and in 2003 decided to use her considerable talents to fight for human rights. Kay left the city and studied for a Masters in International Human Rights Law. In 2008 Kay joined Wilson Solicitors LLP and specialised in immigration and asylum cases becoming a formidable human rights campaigner. She was appointed a partner in 2012 and was pivotal in establishing Wilson’s public law department. Kay was also co-convenor for the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association’s (ILPA) Detention Sub-committee and a member of the Law Society’s International Human Rights Committee for a number of years. In 2012 Kay was recommended by Chambers & Partners as being “a champion in dealing with extremely vulnerable individuals”. In June
2015 she spoke at the European Law Academy Conference on human rights and asylum in Strasbourg, on detention and Article 5. She also gave powerful evidence on detention to the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Migration. Kay keenly felt the injustice of any immigration detention and was tenacious in the cause of liberty. She was a ray of light for her clients; she was on their side, listening to and eloquently speaking for them. The case was never her case—it was always the client’s case. This will come as no surprise to her beloved Class of ’91. She had a prodigious ability to first find the positive in any situation, person or relationship and then nurture it. There is a Kay-shaped hole in our hearts … and in the world. Of course, we would much rather have this hole than to have never been blessed with knowing this special person. Kay, may you rest in peace knowing that the world is a better place because you were a part of it—till we meet again. The Class of ’91 is working on an initiative to support a UWC refugee scholarship in Kay’s memory. For more information, write to kayclass91@gmail.com
UWC Congress Trieste Oct 2016
Singapore December 2016
London 2017
Upcoming reunions
Amsterdam 2017
Reunion 2017! Tenth annual milestone anniversary reunion. Celebrating the 40, 35, 30, 25, 20 and 10 year anniversary classes.
Kuala Lumpur 2017
August 2017 The Classes of 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2007 are invited to celebrate in Singapore in August 2017. All six classes will be hosted at a Friday evening cocktail reception and buffet dinner party to kick off the weekend. On Saturday afternoon, a barbecue lunch is organised at the Dover Campus of UWCSEA. Revisit your memories and take a tour guided by current Grade 10, 11 and 12 students, all members of our Student Alumni Council. Saturday night and Sunday are left open for you to plan your own class year group activities. Join us for a weekend of fun, fond memories and reconnection with old friends and new.
Perth 2017
Sydney 2017
Registration for all events is via the UWCSEA alumni website: http://alumni.uwcsea.edu.sg/events Check the website for more details, to view the regularly updated attendee lists and/or to register for an event. You may also contact the alumni office at reunion@uwcsea.edu.sg for information and registration. We hope to see you at an upcoming event soon!
Melbourne 2017
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Singapore 2017 If you are not registered on the UWCSEA alumni website with an up-to-date email address and location, please send us that information by email to reunion@uwcsea.edu.sg so that we can keep you informed about alumni get-togethers in your location. Don’t miss out!
Stay connected Websites and email www.uwcsea.edu.sg http://alumni.uwcsea.edu.sg alumni@uwcsea.edu.sg
Social media and app ‘official’ UWCSEA alumni page: UWCSEA Alumni various locationspecific groups: UWCSEA [location] Regional Alumni Group LinkedIn group: UWCSEA Alumni Community Twitter: @UWCSEA_Alumni Alumni mobile app: Download EverTrue app and select UWCSEA
UWCSEA Dover 1207 Dover Road Singapore 139654
UWCSEA East 1 Tampines Street 73 Singapore 528704
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