One°North, Vol 8, Jul 2011 by uwcsea

O One North Vol 8 July 2011

The Alumni Magazine of the United World College of South East Asia

Alumni Profiles Graduation 2011 Reunions Class Notes

Tim Jarvis

Polar Explorer and Environmental Scientist

OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY

Contents 2 4 5 6 10 12 14

Number of registered members on the UWCSEA Alumni website (by country of residence) Other countries represented Albania, Argentina, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay, Zambia, Zimbabwe

OneºNorth The Alumni Magazine of the United World College of South East Asia, first published in December 2007, is published twice per year. Please send your contributions and/or suggestions to: alumnimagazine@uwcsea. edu.sg. UWCSEA alumni online community Our password-protected alumni website located at http://alumni.uwcsea.edu.sg allows you to maintain your own profile, search for and contact other registered members, post photos and blogs, stay informed about news and events, etc. Friends of UWCSEA online community The ‘Friends of UWCSEA’ passwordprotected website located at http:// friends.uwcsea.edu.sg allows parents of former students to stay in touch with each other and with the College.

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Alumni services Every student who leaves UWCSEA, regardless of how long they were here, is automatically a member of the UWCSEA alumni community. Some of the services that we offer alumni include:

Reunions and get-togethers A reunion of the 40, 30, 20 and 10 year anniversary classes will be held each August in Singapore. Other alumni are also welcome. Additional class reunions and alumni gatherings take place in various locations throughout the year, planned by both UWCSEA and its alumni. Watch the alumni website for updates and details, and let us advertise your events! Alumni eBrief The Alumni eBrief is a newsletter emailed to alumni throughout the year, containing brief news and information to keep you updated and informed. Dunia The College magazine is published four times during the academic year, containing College news and reports of events and activities, as well as a brief alumni section. 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. Career services Check this section of the site for career opportunities or candidates, or post your own job opening or resumé. You can even set up alerts to be notified of new postings.

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Alumni services

Helping you to stay connected to UWCSEA and to each other.

Letter from the Head Read about UWCSEA today.

Note from the Alumni office Prapti says good bye

Luke Janssen (Class of 1994)

UWCSEA to me

Two UWCSEA Alumni Give Back

Life is an Adventure ... Tim Jarvis (Class of 1984)

Awards Day 2011 Photos Graduation 2011 Photos Entrepreneur and Volunteer Jorge Vizcaino (Class of 1987)

Cheering up children with books Kimiko Fujioka Matsui (Class of 1985)

Paddleboarding for the Mentawais by Greg Town (Class of 1990)

Serendipity by Ivan Moore (Class of 1981)

A Kaleidoscope of College Events Past Mini Reunions UWCSEA, UBC, Rhodes Scholar

Accountant to Mobile Apps Entrepreneur

Aashna Aggarwal (Class of 2012)

Anita Kapoor (Class of 1989) Paul Foster (Class of 1999)

A Model United Nations Experience

Shipra Khanna (Class of 2012)

In Pursuit of Health and Wellness

Nine Days to Knowing

Junior Round Square

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Mubina Jiwa (Class of 1996)

by Iain Ewing (Parent of alumnus)

by Julia Matheson (Teacher)

UWCSEA Foundation Update A Post in the Tropics Mike Gibby (Biology Teacher)

Class Notes Teacher Leavers Upcoming Reunions

Aneil Jaswal (Class of 2007)

Gap Year-type opportunities for alumni Check the Volunteer page of the website for short to long term volunteer work opportunities in South East Asia working with organisations supported by UWCSEA. Old Interscols Order your old interscol in soft copy format via the store on the website. Visits, tours and other requests We are always happy to help in any way we can. Send your requests to us at alumni@ uwcsea.edu.sg. If you are in Singapore and would like to drop in for a visit or a tour of the campus, we would be more than happy to show you around anytime. Please keep in touch!

OneºNorth is published by United World College of South East Asia twice per year 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. We welcome your feedback. Send your comments to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg.

Editor Brenda Whately

Please send your articles and/or suggestions for articles, as well as your class notes, for the next issue, to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg.

Layout Lenca Yew, Gregory Parker

Cover photo: Tim Jarvis, Class of 1984, walking unsupported across the Antarctic.

Printed by Interprint Communications Pte Ltd

Photo supplied by: Tim Jarvis. Photo credit: Malcolm McDonald.

Assistant Editor Prapti Sherchan

MICA (P) 051/11/2010

OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY

Contents 2 4 5 6 10 12 14

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Alumni services Every student who leaves UWCSEA, regardless of how long they were here, is automatically a member of the UWCSEA alumni community. Some of the services that we offer alumni include:

22 24 26

Alumni services

Helping you to stay connected to UWCSEA and to each other.

Letter from the Head Read about UWCSEA today.

Note from the Alumni office Prapti says good bye

Luke Janssen (Class of 1994)

UWCSEA to me

Two UWCSEA Alumni Give Back

Life is an Adventure ... Tim Jarvis (Class of 1984)

Awards Day 2011 Photos Graduation 2011 Photos Entrepreneur and Volunteer Jorge Vizcaino (Class of 1987)

Cheering up children with books Kimiko Fujioka Matsui (Class of 1985)

Paddleboarding for the Mentawais by Greg Town (Class of 1990)

Serendipity by Ivan Moore (Class of 1981)

A Kaleidoscope of College Events Past Mini Reunions UWCSEA, UBC, Rhodes Scholar

Accountant to Mobile Apps Entrepreneur

Aashna Aggarwal (Class of 2012)

Anita Kapoor (Class of 1989) Paul Foster (Class of 1999)

A Model United Nations Experience

Shipra Khanna (Class of 2012)

In Pursuit of Health and Wellness

Nine Days to Knowing

Junior Round Square

39 40 41 42 43

Mubina Jiwa (Class of 1996)

by Iain Ewing (Parent of alumnus)

by Julia Matheson (Teacher)

UWCSEA Foundation Update A Post in the Tropics Mike Gibby (Biology Teacher)

Class Notes Teacher Leavers Upcoming Reunions

Aneil Jaswal (Class of 2007)

Editor Brenda Whately

Please send your articles and/or suggestions for articles, as well as your class notes, for the next issue, to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg.

Layout Lenca Yew, Gregory Parker

Cover photo: Tim Jarvis, Class of 1984, walking unsupported across the Antarctic.

Printed by Interprint Communications Pte Ltd

Photo supplied by: Tim Jarvis. Photo credit: Malcolm McDonald.

Assistant Editor Prapti Sherchan

MICA (P) 051/11/2010

Note

from the Alumni Office

Letter

It has been a busy and eventful few months since the last issue.

from the Head of College

First, some alumni team news. Although I am extremely sorry to see a very valued member of the team leave the alumni department this month, it is for an exciting reason. Prapti Sherchan will be heading off soon to begin her Master’s Degree studies in the US. She will be greatly missed. I am sure that those of you who have gotten to know her over the past four years will join me in wishing her all the very best in everything she goes on to do.

“I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above all, compassion.” Kurt Hahn

Life at the College moves on apace as we continue to develop the educational experience for the students. However much the physical environment of the Dover Campus has changed over the years, the deep underlying philosophy of the College is still firmly based in the Hahnian philosophy.

Prapti Sherchan, Siti Aminah and Brenda Whately.

As part of the process for seeking accreditation with the Council of International Schools, we reviewed our guiding statements, in itself an interesting exercise, but made more meaningful by the fact that we are in the process of writing the next College strategic plan. In rewriting the guiding statements we believe we have encapsulated the spirit of Hahn’s intent when he established Salem School back in the 1920s.

Another academic year has ended and we have another cohort of more than three hundred new alumni. In this issue we have included a few pages of awards day and graduation day photos.

As a College we aim to develop high achieving, socially confident and morally responsible individuals who will embrace challenge and make a positive impact upon the world. In order to achieve this we are revisiting the UWCSEA Learning Programme which contains five key elements: academics, service, pastoral care, outdoor education and activities. As I write, we are about to commence an ambitious project that will clearly articulate our curriculum from K1 through to G12. The purpose of this is to specify the knowledge and understanding we wish the students to learn, not only within their academic programme but also through the other four elements. In addition, we will be identifying how we can develop the skills and dispositions the students will need in order to be meaningful contributors to life in the 21st Century: these will be developed in a progressive way across all five elements. Yes, service and expeditions have always been part of the College curriculum but we have never made it explicit what it is we are trying to achieve: the work we have done so far has made us realise how much more the students could gain from these elements of their education. The nature of the project is such that it will further differentiate us from other schools and Colleges.

As the students progress through the College we are providing them with greater autonomy, giving them increased opportunity for negotiation and self-determination. In so doing, we aim to create an environment in which the students develop a positive attitude to learning which enables them to indulge their curiosity and develop their creativity. Hahn was using the phrase ‘life-long learners’ back in the 1970s long before it became a cliché in the world of education. As I presented the Class of 2011 with their Diplomas at the Graduation Ceremony in May, there was much to celebrate, not the least of which was the knowledge that another group of UWCSEA graduates would continue to make a positive difference in the world.

Working on the alumni magazine continues to be a highlight for me and I look forward to it with each issue. Again I have thoroughly enjoyed the chance to read and hear so many interesting stories by and about our alumni in this eighth issue. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I have. Take care. Keep in touch. Regards,

Congratulations to the Class of 2011!

Brenda

For the first time, we held reunion events in five cities across the United States in

Brenda Whately Director of Alumni Relations

Good bye ... It feels like it was just yesterday that I was excited about joining UWCSEA as a staff and immersing once again in the UWC culture, fondly remembered from my student days in Swaziland. And now it’s time for me to leave UWCSEA and Singapore to embark on yet another adventure in the United States. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last four years of my time at UWCSEA. I immensely enjoyed organising alumni events and having been part of the alumni team. But most of all, I enjoyed meeting, mingling and getting to know many alumni and it has been my privilege to have been able to work with many of you. The UWC movement has always been my source of inspiration, and to be able to see so many alumni go on to make a difference after their UWC years has strengthened my belief and inspired me even further. As I move on to the next phase of my life, I would like to thank you for being my inspiration. Please do keep in touch. I can be contacted via the UWCSEA Alumni website or via email (psherchan@ hotmail.com). Thank you for the great memories. Best Regards, Prapti Sherchan Alumni Relations Manager (2007 - 2011)

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We continue to actively encourage students to use their initiative, embrace challenge by extending the boundaries of their experience, embark upon journeys of self-discovery without fear of failure and develop the ability to cope with the spectre of ambiguity. A good school will ensure that all students experience success in order to develop their self-confidence: exceptional schools allow students to experience failure in a supportive and caring environment so that they learn to persevere and turn such events into opportunities.

In addition to the new Alumni Relations Manager who will be joining the team in the near future, I would like to introduce Siti Aminah who has joined the team in an administrative role. We welcome Siti to the alumni team.

addition to the annual reunions in London, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta between January and June this year. It was great to see so many alumni at these events. We are looking forward to seeing many of those celebrating their 10, 20, 25, 30 and 35 year anniversaries at the big annual reunion in Singapore again this August. Subsequent to that there will be reunions in Australia at the beginning of October and of course the annual December event in Singapore in late December. Please remember to visit the alumni site’s event calendar if you wish to see photos of any of these events.

Note

from the Alumni Office

Letter

It has been a busy and eventful few months since the last issue.

from the Head of College

Prapti Sherchan, Siti Aminah and Brenda Whately.

Another academic year has ended and we have another cohort of more than three hundred new alumni. In this issue we have included a few pages of awards day and graduation day photos.

Congratulations to the Class of 2011!

Brenda

For the first time, we held reunion events in five cities across the United States in

Brenda Whately Director of Alumni Relations

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ALUMNI PROFILE

Tim Jarvis

UWCSEA 1978 - 1982 Class of 1984

Life is an adventure.

[Mother Teresa]

Tim Jarvis, environmental scientist and explorer

“… completing his full journey after three months, with records for fastest unsupported journey to the South Pole and longest unsupported journey across Antarctica.”

By Brenda Whately

im Jarvis is a remarkable person; “a true renaissance man whose interest in the world and its environment is combined with a powerful inner need to discover his personal limits. He has walked solo to the South Pole, and did it more quickly than any man in history. Equally, he can be found trekking in steaming jungles, on mountain ascents and working on development projects in remote areas. He is an expert on Australia’s current drought. Tim now increasingly is confronting what I think is an even more challenging frontier: the boardrooms of big business, where he educates influential leaders about climate change.”

Tim is an environmental scientist, polar explorer, author and public speaker who pursues expeditions to the polar regions and other out-of-the-way places of this world to

Tim was born in the United Kingdom but moved to Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia with his family as a young child. Five years later his family moved to Singapore and he began to attend UWCSEA. In those days, the school had a learning and adventure facility located on the East coast of Malaysia, called Beluntu. Tim remembers a particularly life defining event there which he says taught him to trust his instincts. A group of students were given roles to play and sent into the jungle to collect specimens. One of the roles was that of spy, a person whose job it was to try to influence the other members of the team away from their goal. Tim recalls that the spy played the game too well and they became very lost, wander-

ing into deeper areas of jungle. When most of the students had become quite frightened, Tim decided to take control of the situation and told them that he knew, because of the direction of the setting sun, where the beach was that they could walk along to get back to camp. He later admitted that he wasn’t at all sure that he had chosen the direction correctly, but eventually, to his great relief, they emerged on the beach and reached camp, albeit hours late. Perhaps this was where the first seeds of his future exploration adventures and survival skills development were planted. Tim has a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Masters degrees in both Environmental Science and Environmental Law. Between degrees he spent a year in the mountains of North Guatemala, helping with the reconstruction of the lives and communities of the indigent people there after the army had destroyed their homes. He worked on gravity-fed water systems and gave crop advice in the minimal amount of local language he managed to pick up. He also managed to pick up a parasite, which he discovered, to his great dismay (not to mention fear), living under the skin of his stomach and chest on the flight back to the UK, which took months

of intense and unpleasant medical treatments to be rid of. After taking up rowing in his local gym as part of a rehabilitation programme for a knee injury, Tim was invited to compete in the UK Nationals. Winning, with a time good enough to beat some of the members of the Men’s Olympic Squad, Tim started thinking about ways to test himself and his abilities further. His first polar expedition was an attempt to cross the Arctic island of Spitsbergen. He says, “Climbing friends of mine had said it would be an ‘interesting’ place to cut our polar teeth.” After one month in the vast, icy North, they completed the journey. In 1999 he decided to attempt crossing the Antarctic unsupported. That meant no dogs, airdrops, food caches or skis. He found another explorer to accompany him, raised the funds and set off from the tip of South America. He thought his size, six foot five and over 100 kg, would carry him through, but he soon learned it was as much a mental exercise as it was a physical one. When their 220 kg sleds were dropped onto the ice and

they strapped them on, Tim couldn’t budge his. Eventually he told himself that he only had to pull it one kilometer at a time, and through sheer determination, he moved the sled. Although he ended up with a permanent loss of most of the feeling in his right thumb from frostbite, he reached the Pole after just 47 days, completing his full journey after three months, with records for fastest unsupported journey to the South Pole and longest unsupported journey across Antarctica. In 2001, while preparing for an attempt on the North Pole, Tim completed the first unsupported crossing of Australia’s largest desert, the Great Victoria Desert, a trip of 1,100 km in 29 days throughout which, once again he pulled his own food and supplies behind him. These expeditions were followed by another journey to the Arctic to attempt to reach the North Pole across a vast expanse of frozen ocean, which Tim warns is melting at a rapid rate. Alexandra Shackleton, the granddaughter of the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose epic journey Tim is yet to re-create, became a joint patron of the North Pole expedition along with Australia’s then Prime

Minster John Howard who had again agreed to be Tim’s patron, having been the patron for his previous record breaking expedition to the South Pole. After 400 km, due to frostbite resulting in permanent nerve damage to Tim’s expedition partner’s toes however, the attempt on the North Pole came to a disappointing end for Tim. With his experience and success in prior unsupported journeys across deserts, snow and ice in hand however, the idea of undertaking the re-creation of Mawson’s journey had gelled in Tim’s mind. The reasons for wanting to take on this dangerous 500 km journey across Antarctica, which had claimed the lives of both of Mawson’s expedition partners, included among other things, a desire to test that more resourceful part of himself, the alter-ego that he says comes out in difficult situations. He found someone to accompany him up to the same point that Mawson’s companion had died. He sought a film team, which included Malcolm McDonald who had been second unit director on Master and Commander and Wade Fairley, the cameraman responsible for the emperor penguin images in the BBC’s Planet Earth series. Tim

Please send your profile suggestions for the next edition of OneºNorth, to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg.

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ABC filmmaker Alex West wrote these words as the introduction to Tim Jarvis in Tim’s second book, Mawson Life and Death in Antarctica which, along with the awardwinning documentary of the same name, depicted Tim’s successful 2007 re-creation of Sir Douglas Mawson’s epic 1912 expedition to the Antarctic.

promote sustainability messages and to test his own strengths. Tim was in Singapore recently for meetings with the Singapore office of Arup, where he works as environmental consultant. He very nicely agreed to an interview and a presentation to a group of Grade 8 students. Tim mentioned that the most frequently asked question during his public speaking engagements is, “How do you go to the toilet at the South Pole?” Sure enough, that was the first question asked by one of the UWCSEA students. His answer: “Quickly!”

ALUMNI PROFILE

Tim Jarvis

UWCSEA 1978 - 1982 Class of 1984

Life is an adventure.

[Mother Teresa]

Tim Jarvis, environmental scientist and explorer

“… completing his full journey after three months, with records for fastest unsupported journey to the South Pole and longest unsupported journey across Antarctica.”

By Brenda Whately

Tim is an environmental scientist, polar explorer, author and public speaker who pursues expeditions to the polar regions and other out-of-the-way places of this world to

Please send your profile suggestions for the next edition of OneºNorth, to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg.

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6 OneºNorth July 2011

and his expedition partner arranged to use the same clothes, technology, equipment and starvation rations as Mawson - sleeping bags and boots made of reindeer skin, beaver-pelt mitts, a tent with no floor, a wooden sled and food consisting of congealed lard, small amounts of sugar and a few dozen ‘sledge’ biscuits. Tim says in his book, “We were here to deprive ourselves - deliberately - of sufficient food, adequate shelter and modern equipment in a bid to scrutinise events that befell Mawson on the same trip.” Tim finished the journey alone, within the same time frame as Mawson, with a small amount of food left over and a weight loss of about 20kg! It was another journey of success as well as environmental and personal discovery for Tim. Tim insists that, “The environmental sustainability message is key and is always behind

the journeys.” He includes the message in his books and in his public speaking engagements ‘by stealth’ as he describes it, along with his personal messages about testing oneself and pursuing one’s dreams - by weaving them into the stories about his adventures. What’s next on Tim’s adventure schedule? He plans to travel to Greenland to view the snow-and ice-melt, a direct impact of climate change, and perhaps to undertake an environmental trip to Papua New Guinea. He is considering a journey by dog sled through the Canadian Arctic in search of the Lost Patrol, a group of Canadian Mounties who went missing on a routine patrol in 1910. Deep in the planning stages is a 2012 recreation of Shackleton’s amazing journey of survival in the Antarctic after the crushing of his ship Endurance, by the ice in 1914.

Not only is Tim a remarkable person, he is also one of the most interesting and likeable people I have met. He has great stories to tell and tells them very well. He was made a Fellow of the Yale World Fellows Program 2009 for environmental and expedition leadership and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010 for services to environment, community and exploration. Tim volunteers as advisor for the Royal Institution Australia, whose goals are to popularise science and promote scientific learning in the general public. He is a Member of Friends of PLAN Committee and Ambassador for the PLAN Corporate Challenge program, an international child welfare group with a presence in 50 developing countries. Tim is the National Ambassador for the Leukaemia Foundation, Australia, where he participates in raising awareness and funds, including

“The environmental sustainability message is key and is always behind the journeys.” personally donating some of the proceeds from his Mawson expedition book sales.

son, Will, and a very recently-arrived addition to the family, Jack.

Like most of the rest of Tim’s life, even meeting his wife was an interesting adventure. About six years ago, while in South America on a climbing expedition, Tim followed a suggestion from his mother, and looked up a friend from his childhood days in KL, Malaysia who was now living in Santiago, Chile. The two old friends arranged to meet for dinner and whilst talking about friends and family, ended up on the subject of Patrick’s sister Elizabeth. Tim’s childhood impression of her as the sometimes annoying little sister was soon changed, and he and Elizabeth are now married with a two and a half year old

We hope that Tim will come back and speak at the school again and we look forward to hearing about the further adventures and environmental protection that he continues to be involved in. For more information about Tim, his amazing expeditions and his environmental work, please see his books, including bestseller The Unforgiving Minute (Bantam) and Mawson Life and Death in Antarctica (ABC Books), the film Mawson Life and Death in Antarctica (Film Australia) and his URL www.timjarvis. org. Tim can be reached at tim@timjarvis.org

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These pages and previous two pages: Tim Jarvis and photos from his expedition to recreate Sir Douglas Mawson’s journey across the Antarctic. Photos supplied by Tim Jarvis.

“The environmental sustainability message is key and is always behind the journeys.” personally donating some of the proceeds from his Mawson expedition book sales.

son, Will, and a very recently-arrived addition to the family, Jack.

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These pages and previous two pages: Tim Jarvis and photos from his expedition to recreate Sir Douglas Mawson’s journey across the Antarctic. Photos supplied by Tim Jarvis.

AWARDS DAY

Alumni Stephen Khalek Outstanding volunteer work in the Gap Year Programme Wallace Cuthbertson Outstanding volunteer work in the Gap Year Programme Grade 12 Mansi Gupta English Award Chihiro Isozaki Outstanding Service Award Frances Mayo English Award Georgia Gray Outstanding Service Award James Spencer Chinese Award Andrea Tan Outstanding Service Award Atasi Bhattacharjee Hindi Award Gabriella Santosa Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Maria Martins Da Silva Indonesian Award Lodewijk Vriens Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Chihiro Isozaki Japanese Award Raquel Otarola Flores Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Jung Wook Jae (Richard) Korean Award Maithreyi Raman Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Dalma Foldesi French Award Allen Navasero Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Rufus Raghunath German Award Nikhil Sambamurthy Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Manavi Sachdeva Spanish Award Alf Shen Lim Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Tim Seeger Dutch Award Frances Mayo Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Alf Shen Lim Bilingual A1/A2 Award Dalma Foldesi Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Papa Moda Loum Bilingual A1/B Award Constanza Vidal Bustamante Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Maithreyi Raman Biology Award Anna Sofia Guerra Rodriguez Staff and Student Nominated UWCSEA Award Da Ah Gloria Jung The Shaun Hanley Award for Chemistry Ana Sofia Guerra Rodriguez The Shaun Hanley Award for Chemistry Vivek Jain Physics Award Vaishali Iyer Design and Technology Award Bhargavi Thakker Environmental Systems and Societies Award Sanaya Khaneja Science, Technology and Society Award Charlotte Thomas Sports Exercise and Health Science Award Chung Dong Wook Mathematics Award Nicholas Hanley-Steemers Computer Science Award Rafael EliasManyari Velazco Geography Award Chetan Singhal History Award Tanay Jalan Economics Award Maymay Liu Business and Management Award Giovanna Bettoli Psychology Award Anna Bradshaw Philosophy Award David Bowyer IT Global Society Award Lodewijk Vriens Theory of Knowledge Award Ross Robertson David Watson Prize for Performing Arts Award Nishad More Diana Greenwood Prize for Senior Drama Award Nicolas Carter Outstanding Technical Support for the Performing Arts Award Jonathan Rose Outstanding Realisation of a Character in a Drama Production Oliver Mangham Film Studies Award Frances Mayo Photographer of the Year Award Michelle Yaw Lance Huet Prize for Art Award Dalma Foldesi Gavin Waddell Prize for Art Award Maymay Liu Windplayer of the Year Award Tim Seeger Strings Player of the Year Award Justin Lutian Vocalist of the Year Award Suh Seung Hyun Senior Pianist of the Year Award Rufus Raghunath Robert Lutton Creative Writing Award Choe Sue Jung (Claire) Public Speaking Award Shrey Shetye Publications Award Srikripa Krishnan Publications Award Raquel Otarola Flores Contribution to Senior School Boarding Life Award Benjamin Howitt Contribution to NYAA Award Anna Bradshaw Student Initiative Award Sanaya Khaneja Student Initiative Award Kalen White Student Initiative Award Chihiro Isozaki Student Initiative Award Dipro Bhowmik Environmental Award Wesley Jyh-Wei Fuh Environmental Award Zoe Petard Outstanding Contribution to the Expedition Programme Award Nicolette Meyer Outstanding Contribution to the Expedition Programme Award Chung Dong Wook Overall Academic Attainment Award Wu Yu Jie Overall Academic Attainment Award Yuri Hirayama Overall Academic Attainment Award Anna Bradshaw Outstanding Service Award Joaquin Gonzalez Milburn Outstanding Service Award

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Awards Day 2011

AWARDS DAY

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Awards Day 2011

GRADUATION

Graduation 2011! 308 graduates, 53 nationalities

n Thursday, 26 May, we recognised and celebrated the achievements of the class of 2011. Three hundred and eight students graduated from UWCSEA this year, with 53 different nationalities represented - testimony to the wonderful diversity within our student body. With well over 1,000 guests at the ceremony and a further 600 alumni and friends of UWCSEA watching from 37 different countries worldwide, there was a wonderful feeling of community celebration. Many parents and guests had travelled thousands of miles to attend the ceremony and it was good to see siblings and grandparents there to help mark the occasion. We were delighted to welcome Ng’ang’a Muchiri as our Guest Speaker. Ng’ang’a, our Kenyan scholar in 2002, graduated from UWCSEA in 2004. After graduating, Ng’ang’a took a Gap Year, representing UWCSEA along with five fellow scholars from Mexico, Albania, Canada, Colombia and Sierra Leone, to help set up an education centre in Kigama, a small village in Kenya. In 2005, he began his studies at Lafayette College and was awarded a Development Project Management Certificate from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Ng’ang’a returned to Kenya to become involved in the Kathryn Davis Peace Project, during which time he organised youth leadership workshops for Ikutha secondary schools. After graduating from Lafayette with a B.A. in Engineering Studies & English he began his PhD Doctoral program in English Literature at the University of Miami. In July 2010 he delivered a presentation to the African Theatre Association in Kampala, Uganda, on contemporary African poetry and political activism and in April 2011 he delivered a paper to the International Society for African Philosophy and Studies on trauma, recovery and Congolese literature. On completion of his doctorate, Ng’ang’a hopes to have more time to spend on his writing. Ng’ang’a was followed by our student speaker, Allen Navasero, outgoing Chair of the Student Council. Allen, who will be studying Environmental Sciences at Cornell University next year, described what he had gained from his four years at the College and wished his peers every success in the years ahead. We hope our Graduates and their families thoroughly enjoyed the ceremony and the evening celebration that followed and will have fond memories of it in years to come.

Di Smart

12 OneºNorth July 2011

High School Principal

Photos by Henry Chang and Dav Rue Media Pte Ltd

GRADUATION

Graduation 2011! 308 graduates, 53 nationalities

Di Smart

12 OneºNorth July 2011

High School Principal

Photos by Henry Chang and Dav Rue Media Pte Ltd

ALUMNI PROFILE

Jorge Vizcaino

Entrepreneur and Volunteer Diver

UWCSEA 1985-1987 Class of 1987

By Brenda Whately

bout once a week for the past 14 years, Jorge, a biologist, environmental conservationist and entrepreneur, has donned a wetsuit and dived into the waters of the Kelp Forest and Monterey Bay Habitat Exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. There, he swims with rockfish, garibaldi, leopard sharks, and seven-gill sharks; all animals indigenous to Monterey Bay. Although none are considered dangerous, Jorge says, “It helps that all the fish are kept very well fed!” Jorge’s volunteer work at the Aquarium involves providing information and education about exhibits to the visiting public along with maintenance, husbandry and feeding activities. One of his favourite duties is to conduct once a month, interactive, narrated feeding shows for which he uses special dive gear that allows him to communicate with the narrator, the dive tender and the public.

Jorge’s three higher IB subjects at UWCSEA were Biology, Chemistry and Maths, the subjects which would shape his university studies and career thereafter. Jorge had arrived at UWCSEA in 1985 from Mexico on a National Committee scholarship. In the true spirit of multiculturalism at the College, he says, “The highlight of my UWCSEA experience was being probably the only Mexican ever in the history of Morris Dancing and then to perform it in the annual Chinese New Year parade!” He also recalls a Theory of Knowledge final paper in which he had to describe the arguments for the existence or non-existence of God, as well as a month-long graduation trip to the Himalayas with John Page and Ann Mayer, as

After completing the IB programme, Jorge went on to study Biology and Chemistry at the University of Texas at El Paso. The hard work may not have come as a surprise but he says, “The shock of going directly from a tropical environment to a desert environment, not to mention the massive cultural differences, came as somewhat of a challenge.” In 1993 Jorge pursued and achieved a Master’s degree in Fisheries Science from Texas A&M University and began a career in the field of fisheries and aquaculture as a hatchery manager for two abalone culture facilities in California. After a few years he decided to ‘switch gears’ as he says, and he took a job in the wine industry where he eventually worked his way up to the position of assistant winemaker. In the year 2000, a biologist friend presented him with the opportunity of moving in a new direction once again and he entered the field of environmental consulting, working for the following couple of years in a large corporation in Monterey as an environmental scientist. The idea of starting his own company began to take shape at that point, and in 2002, with the support of his wife Leah, he launched his own environmental consulting business, Aero-Environmental Consulting. Through a lot of hard work, professional development and sound business development, Jorge’s company has grown considerably since then. He has successfully pursued a number of certifications and in October 2010 he achieved his Industrial Hygienist certification. This involved a long and arduous process requiring five years of qualifying experience, a Bachelor of Science degree which he fortunately already had, and an extensive exam covering everything from ventilation to radiation, noise, ergonomics, toxicology and bio-hazards, to name but a few. He says, “I felt as if I was either re-taking the IB exams or getting a PhD, both of which are pretty tough.” Jorge maintains that, “Without the discipline that I acquired at UWCSEA I would not have been able to accomplish all of the goals that I set myself in building my business.”

Clockwise from top left: Jorge performing his volunteer duties at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Jorge and alumni friends, Jorge and his sons Emilio and Andres. Jorge, Leah and their sons. Jorge with other volunteer divers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

His consulting business performs environmental assessments and investigations on commercial, residential and industrial properties. These include checking for hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead, biohazards like mold and bacteria, indoor air quality, and environmental assessments of possible petroleum hydrocarbon releases into the environment by commercial properties. He says, “Our work and actions have a direct impact in protecting workers and community health, in developing appropriate risk management strategies for residential and commercial properties and in evaluating the impact of certain chemicals in the environment.” Aside from building his successful business, Jorge still spends time scuba diving, volunteering at the Aquarium,

playing tennis, hiking, reading travel adventure books and spending time with his wife Leah and his two five year old twin sons, Emilio and Andres. Jorge has managed to keep in touch with several of his old classmates including Alex F, Erik T, Ravi R, Naramsiha R, Daniel H, Haerul B, Sean G, Mark H, Francesca T, Aki H, and Patrick J, to name a few, and he attended his 20 year reunion in Singapore in 2007 as well as the minireunion held in San Francisco last year. To contact Jorge, please visit the UWCSEA Alumni site for his personal email address. For more information about his company, Aero-Environmental Consulting, or to contact Jorge through his company, please visit his website at www.aero-enviro.com

Please send your profile suggestions for the next edition of OneºNorth, to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg.

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His other diving activities are conducted with normal SCUBA equipment. Jorge says that his interest in diving and in volunteer work actually started at UWCSEA where he gained his open-water PADI certification and also became involved in the school’s social service programme. He has continued to dive over the years since that first introduction to the sport and currently holds certification as a PADI Dive Master. He has also never stopped donating his time and expertise in volunteer work. Jorge says, “Not only do I love the work at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, it’s a fun way to connect with the marine environment and make a personal contribution to the conservation of the oceans, while at the same time, achieve great satisfaction from educating and inspiring conservation in others.”

being particularly memorable. Jorge involved himself in tennis, soccer, rugby and the scuba diving that he went on to use in his future volunteer work, while pursuing his IB studies at UWCSEA.

ALUMNI PROFILE

Jorge Vizcaino

UWCSEA 1985-1987 Class of 1987

Please send your profile suggestions for the next edition of OneºNorth, to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg.

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being particularly memorable. Jorge involved himself in tennis, soccer, rugby and the scuba diving that he went on to use in his future volunteer work, while pursuing his IB studies at UWCSEA.

ALUMNI PROFILE

Cheering up children with books

Kimiko helps out in quake-hit North Japan

fter 15 years in publishing, Kimiko established her own publishing comp a ny “ M i g h t y book” in 2004. At the time she had just had her first child and she was noticing that many Japanese children were preferring television and the internet to reading books. She felt the need to get children more interested in reading. She began to look into the Books of the World for Children by Bookbird. She joined the activities of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People), talked to the editors and attended their World Congress in Denmark in 2008. In 2010 she started to publish their Journal of International Children’s Literature, Bookbird in a Japanese version called Bookbird Japan. She says that many librarians and the Japanese Board on Books for

Young People (JBBY) are now promoting Bookbird Japan. On March 7th of this year, Kimiko held a celebration to mark the first anniversary of the Japanese version of the children’s literature journal. Just four days later, on March 11th at 2.46 pm she was in her Tokyo office preparing for a book fair launch when she felt the first tremors of one of the largest earthquakes to hit Japan in recorded history. She says, “Suddenly I felt a shaking. The shaking made an awful shuddering noise and books were falling down from the bookshelf. It came in two or three continuous waves. I felt it was dangerous to stay in the building. I could see the tall buildings bending like rubber sticks from the outside. All the public transportation in Tokyo was stopped. After things quieted down, I walked to my home, which took about four hours, a distance that normally takes 40 minutes by train. I got there at 9.30 pm. Some of my employees said I should not leave my office and should stay in a safe place. I had to go because my son, a sixth grade student, had been at school when

the earthquake struck. Telephone lines were down after the quake, so we really did not know the real damage in each area. Luckily my son was safe and waiting for me alone at home. Broken glass and dishes were spread all over the floor and my son was wiping them up. I couldn’t stop my tears. He said that he was at school after the quake for a while, and then went to his friend’s house to eat dinner but he thought that I would not be able to find him, so he returned to the house by himself. He was also scared of losing mobile contact with me. My husband walked home from his office the next morning. I have never had such an experience in my life in Japan; it was too awful to think that I could have lost my son or husband. But after that, I had more shocks from the TV reports. The tsunami had swept over the land in the North and swamped cars and houses - it was a nightmare. A lot of families lost children or parents.” Kimiko says she lost confidence in her work at that point, wondering what books could do for people in situations of tragedy. One day one of the internet distributors, Fujisan magazine services, and its direc-

KIMIKO FUJIOKA MATSUI

By Brenda Whately

UWCSEA 1979-1984 Class of 1985

tor Mr Nishino urged her to send books to Northern Japan, indicating that they had had a request from people in refugee camps that they needed a sense of hope and future that they could get through reading. He had teamed up with a partner publication house and another internet distributor specialising in children’s book sales and created a delivery network. This magazine and picture book delivery project become a large network and brought more than 30,000 magazines and 15,000 children’s books to about 1,000 refugees in April. Encouraged by Mr Nishino, Kimiko contributed Bookbird Japan and other Mightybook art magazines worth a total value of ¥2,600,000. After receiving the first positive comments from a reader, Kimiko says, “Through this project, I was able to believe in the power of books again.” According to Kimiko, reports from the National Police Agency and Ministry of Land in July indicate that there are about 23,000 dead and missing people, more than 5,000 injured, more than 220,000 houses destroyed, and about 68,000 refugees still in camps after four months. She says, “Japan is still struggling to fix

the damage. We don’t know the exact number of children who lost their family or school friends; we just see many are in deep sadness. What can books do for them? When I open a story book, I feel a positive power. Children’s books are not only effective for children; the gentle words that a child understands also ease the feelings of adults. I hope these books become a door for re-opening the dreams of those in the northern part of Japan and go some way to fostering world understanding.” Kimiko says in addition, “Through this experience, I also realised the power of my friends all over the world; in Australia, Malaysia, India, England, the USA, Spain, France, Italy, Korea and elsewhere. I received many messages including those from old UWCSEA friends. When I was feeling sad, the short words “Kimiko! Are you OK?” encouraged me a lot and filled me with gratitude.”

About Bookbird Japan “Bookbird Japan” is a comprehensive children’s books information magazine which has a license from “Bookbird,” the journal of International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). “Bookbird Japan” provides complete Japanese translations from “Bookbird” and original Japanese editorial reports and articles. It describes what children’s books are being read in Japan now and reports on groups involved in children’s literature. For more details, please e-mail bookbird@mightybook.net in English or Japanese.

To contact Kimiko, please visit the UWCSEA Alumni website.

“Through this experience, I also realised the power of my friends all over the world...” Above: Kimiko (photo courtesy of IBBY Spain.) Below left: Refugees in Miyagi prefecture with donated books, April 2011.

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Opposite page, bottom: Ishinomaki, April 2011. It was a pretty town in Miyagi prefecture in North Japan. (Photo courtesy of Mr.Atsushi Ishihara, Mightybook partner photographer.)

ALUMNI PROFILE

Cheering up children with books

Kimiko helps out in quake-hit North Japan

KIMIKO FUJIOKA MATSUI

By Brenda Whately

UWCSEA 1979-1984 Class of 1985

To contact Kimiko, please visit the UWCSEA Alumni website.

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Opposite page, bottom: Ishinomaki, April 2011. It was a pretty town in Miyagi prefecture in North Japan. (Photo courtesy of Mr.Atsushi Ishihara, Mightybook partner photographer.)

ALUMNI ARTICLE

By Greg Town

UWCSEA 1983-1986 Class of 1990

Jackson English

Paddleboarding for the Mentawais I recently arranged to meet with one of UWCSEA’s Grade 2 teachers, Jackson English, while working on a report for my day job – a story about the innovative aid work underway in the West Sumatra region.

Training involves dawn paddles on a 10-foot plus paddleboard back and forth along the southern beaches of Sentosa. Each session takes about one to two hours and he does at least three or four of those a week.

“Come down to Sentosa on Saturday morning,” said Jackson. “I’ll be paddling off Tanjong Beach. Go out to the rocks on the right and you’ll see me come past. I’ll be done by about seven.” Usually I schedule my meetings for more convenient times, in the comfort of a preferred cafe somewhere in town. However, I was very keen to see Jackson in action, on the water, so as soon as the weekend rolled along, I headed down.

To balance his busy schedule, which includes school work and spending time with his wife and three children, Jackson has to get out on the water early to train, especially on week days.

Jackson originates from the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It was on this coast, renowned for its beautiful beaches and big waves, that he developed a passion for surfing, a sport which he says helped him to become one of Australia’s top competitive surf lifesavers.

This will be Jackson’s seventh time back to do this race and once again he is looking to raise money for SurfAid, the only international non-government organisation (NGO) dedicated to providing health and community support, disaster relief and emergency preparedness to the remote Mentawai Islands, which are about 150 kilometres off the coast of West Sumatra.

“Life’s pretty full on,” he added. “I train in the mornings when the kids are asleep. It’s just something that I’m used to. I wake up at 4.30am every day. I’ve just got into the habit ... I love being fit and active.” Jackson, who first entered the Molokai 2 Oahu race in 1999, describes the event as a huge personal challenge. “It’s not like a marathon where you slug it out on the road … you’re fighting against currents and the heat, being dehydrated.” About halfway through that first race, Jackson vowed never to do it again. “I got so sunburnt and was in an incredible amount of pain. I had no idea how to train for an event like that.” However, he did go back. In fact, he has now done it six times, finishing in the top three in his category on four occasions, including two second placings.

Previous page: Jackson English. This page from left: Jackson English paddling off of Sentosa Island; SurfAid engineer working with Mentawai villagers (Photo by Matt King, SurfAid); Family in Masokut rebuilding with the support of SurfAid’s Shelter Project.

“More than anything, I just love being there,’ he said. “You go out and race and you are in the middle of the ocean, and there are sharks and whales, dolphins and turtles. Beautiful blue water and … sometimes you can paddle for 50 metres but then ride an ocean swell for a hundred. That’s pretty amazing.” What is equally amazing is that through his paddleboarding and other UWCSEA-related events, Jackson has become the largest individual fundraiser for SurfAid. The organisation’s activities are aimed at raising awareness and funds to help people on these islands who have suffered from a combination of a poor quality of life and the devastating effects of recent earthquakes and tsunamis, said Jackson. “We are just trying to get the awareness out. We live so close geographically to the Mentawais, yet Singapore and the Mentawais are just worlds apart in terms of quality of life. So anything we can do is a bonus. In the last six years, we’ve raised over US$300,000 for [SurfAid] through events at school and through things like the Molokai,” he added “That’s one of the good things about our school. It is so active in raising awareness and money for people less fortunate.” My interview with Jackson happened to be a week prior to the massive earthquake and tsunami which wiped out large parts of northern coastal Japan. A couple of weeks after that event, I spoke by skype with Dr Dave Jenkins, founder and medical director of SurfAid. Dave explained that, like Japan, West Sumatra, including the Mentawai Islands, Nias Island, Padang, and Aceh, are especially prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. Here, the islands are located directly above a major fault line – the Sunda Trench – where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate slides beneath the Eurasian tectonic plate. Indeed, this mega fault has created a string of major quakes since the December 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami – in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010.

A big earthquake is due in the area, said Dave. “The one that occurred last year was a small one. We know there is a 200year cycle and statistically, it’s many years overdue.” The last big earthquake caused a tsunami that killed more than 500 people and destroyed homes and villages throughout low lying coastal areas of the Mentawais. Since then, about 14,000 people from the islands have been forced into makeshift camps in the hills; this out of a total population of about 74,000. The damage that was inflicted further confounded existing health problems in the islands, where malnutrition and child mortality was already high. I asked Dave how SurfAid spends its money. He replied, “Our community-based health program, which is based around getting the highest return per dollar investment, [is] a business model rather than a traditional aid model. When you teach a woman to breast-feed correctly, she teaches her daughter, and her grand-daughter, and that echoes on for generations. When you crunch the returns per initial dollar investment, it’s much higher than if you were running a clinic there.” He went on to say that SurfAid has approximately 90 field staff involved in several key programs over a wide area. Its major programs are those involving malaria prevention, communitybased health, water and sanitation, emergency preparedness and disaster response. It is credited with distributing over 60,000 insecticide-treated nets and provided malaria education in over 300 villages in the Mentawais, Nias and Aceh. It also helps to provide clean water to those internally displaced by the recent tsunami, and it is planning to help communities build their own toilets and better manage their sanitation and hygiene.

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Several years ago, Jackson relocated to Singapore to pursue a career as a teacher at UWCSEA. Despite being far away from the open ocean he had been accustomed to, however, he has somehow managed to maintain a strong attachment for his sport and this year, at the end of July, he plans to once again compete in the Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard World Championships in Hawaii, a gruelling 32-mile race from island to island.

“There’s nothing better than coming out here and paddling early, as the sun’s coming out,” he said. “[Amid] the craziness of Singapore, it’s a nice quiet kind of thing to do. I also love doing the Molokai race. Every training session I do drives me to that. It’s such a hard race. There are never ever guarantees that I’m going to finish it, let alone do well. It’s incredibly rewarding to get across that finish line and to know that I’ve done the best that I can.”

“… through his paddleboarding and other UWSEArelated events, Jackson has become the largest individual fundraiser for SurfAid.”

ALUMNI ARTICLE

By Greg Town

UWCSEA 1983-1986 Class of 1990

Jackson English

To balance his busy schedule, which includes school work and spending time with his wife and three children, Jackson has to get out on the water early to train, especially on week days.

Please send your profile suggestions for the next edition of OneºNorth, to alumnimagazine@uwcsea.edu.sg.

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“… through his paddleboarding and other UWSEArelated events, Jackson has become the largest individual fundraiser for SurfAid.”

ALUMNI ARTICLE Given the impact of recent natural disasters, SurfAid has had to evolve. Crisis management, both in terms of preparing and responding to emergencies, has become a crucial component of its operational structure. One of the more innovative programs SurfAid is implementing involves the provision of psychosocial support for those with post-traumatic stress disorder. This program is designed to help local people and communities cope with the aftermath of a disaster and to give them the necessary support to help them become self-sufficient and motivated again. “The top priority for SurfAid however, is to stop children dying,” said Dave, adding that the most important advances in reducing child mortality are coming from well-designed community development processes. “This approach creates self-reliance and behaviour change across whole communities. These things are washing hands, building their own toilets, breastfeeding, not delivering babies on a dirt floor – high impact, low-cost behaviours.” Jackson has travelled to the Mentawais regularly over the past decade, to surf but also to observe and get involved in the work that SurfAid is doing and he says, “They have made a pretty significant difference. It’s nice to see that not only do they have anecdotal evidence of improving quality of life, but they’re also backing it up with lots of data now as well.”

he UWCSEA reunion held in Singapore last August was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and reminisce about the good old days. One thing that we all seemed to share was a sense of appreciation of our time, however long, at the school. We recall with fondness, our friends and teachers, as well as the unique UWCSEA events, many of which were tied up with raising money for charity. These days, UWCSEA continues to be a leader in philanthropy.

Dr Dave Jenkins and SurfAid staff with a mother and child at Betumonga Village. (Photo by Bob Barker, SurfAid).

For more information Molokai 2 Oahu race: http://www.molokai2oahu.com SurfAid International: www.surfaidinternational.org SurfAid Schools Program: www.surfaidschools.org

Ivan Moore attended Years 1 and 2 (now called Grade 6 and 7) at UWCSEA from 1974 to 1976. He caught Mr Singh's bus to school every morning and has vague memories of slowdancing to "I am Sailing" at the school dance - with whom, he doesn't remember. He is a public opinion pollster in Anchorage, Alaska, where he has lived since 1988. He says his career goal is to arrange a very hard debate between Sarah Palin and Tin Pae Ling. He is married to Shelley and has two children, Savannah, 20 and John, 18.

Greg Town

Greg attended UWCSEA from 1983 to 1986, after which he returned to his home town, Auckland, New Zealand, where he completed his schooling and university. Since then, he has worked as a writer specialising in health for various publishing companies and communications agencies. He enjoys traveling, particularly around Asia and says that he was especially struck by the awe and mystique of Sumatra on the two occasions he visited - the first being an unforgettable UWCSEA white-water rafting trip and the second, a subsequent trip to Nias Island, just north of the Mentawais. A few years ago, Greg and his partner Brooke relocated from New Zealand back to Singapore, both having managed to line up work here. In 2009, they got married in Bali. Greg is the brother of Paul (Class of 1992) and David (Class of 1996).

Have you registered with the UWCSEA alumni website?

http://alumni.uwcsea.edu.sg Simply visit the above URL and click ‘Register’ to become a member. Registering with the alumni site allows you to maintain your own profile page, search for and contact other alumni, post photos and notes, stay updated regarding UWCSEA alumni and College events, etc. So go ahead and register today! If you are registered, remember to keep your contact details updated so other former students can get in touch. To reset your password and be automatically reminded of your user name, simply visit the ‘Sign in’ screen, click on the password reset button near the bottom and enter your email address. It’s quick and easy!

Ivan writes a weekly column for his local paper, the Anchorage Press. He writes primarily about politics, but is given license to stray off the beaten path every now and again. This piece was published in the Press on June 1, 2011. The girl on the bus is Caroline Grimont.

Serendipity Reproduced from the Anchorage Press, Wednesday, June 1, 2011 by Ivan Moore

I've told you before, I was born in Singapore. An island nation, the Garden City, it has a land area of about 250 square miles. You could pick up Singapore, turn it sideways and it would fit, with a bit of a squeeze, onto the Anchorage Bowl. Except, instead of having a population of 300,000 like we do here, six million people live there.

We left Singapore quite suddenly in 1976, when I was 12 years old. I didn't return for any significant amount of time until 22 years later. And I went to see the house again. I didn't want to be rude and just walk up and knock on the door, so I left a note in the mailbox with my phone number at the hotel. The owner called, we set up a time and over I went.

The sun comes up at 7 a.m. every morning and sets at 7 p.m., year round, and goes straight overhead. It is a hot and humid place, with no seasons to speak of except the monsoon, a time when it rains impossibly hard, a time when you don't just see the rain, you hear it too, on tin roofs, a deafening sound. I remember the food, the hawker stalls at night, the chatter and the sounds and the lights. It was an electric place to grow up.

I spent an hour there, walking from room to room in the house. It was essentially unchanged, all of it intimately familiar, yet 30 years removed from when I knew it. The people who lived there understood and just let me wander through their home, connecting with my long-ago memories. We sat and had a drink after. They were wonderful people who knew they were doing a good thing for me.

When I became old enough to remember, we lived in a big house, a black and white house, an iconic, architectural remnant of the colonial days. With whitewashed walls, timbers and drainpipes painted black, and black and white striped bamboo blinds. Open verandahs, high ceilings and polished wooden floors, with whirling fans moving the air and forestalling the heat. I was there ages four to seven, a time when all of a sudden your brain learns how to make memories. Even now, I could draw a map of that place, with minute detail.

So I'm on Facebook the other day and I find an alumni page for a school I was at in Singapore. I get friended by a girl (used to be a girl anyway) I used to take the school bus with when we were 10, and we chat. Forgotten friends who were now remembering again. And she checks out my photos and sees a picture of her house. My house. She says, "I can't believe you lived there too!" She told me her mother always said that once someone came by who said they used to live there. That was me, I said.

Of course, as we sat on the bus riding to school, she had no idea about the house. She wouldn't get to know it until five years later. We were just kids, in that present moment, bumping along to school on the bus. And as I wandered the house 25 years later, I had no idea I was with her parents. Serendipitous moments like this only come along once in a while. Sometimes, a sequence of them happens all at once. Life is composed of long stretches of not a lot of much interesting going on, and then sometimes the air just crackles with stuff that it's just not possible to explain. Connections. Coincidences. Relationships made and lost. Forgotten and remembered. Favours done, passed forward, only to reemerge when we thought they were gone. Tell your mother thank you, my friend. Those were good times on the bus. And it was a great house, wasn't it? Ivan Moore is a public opinion pollster based in Anchorage who works with both Democratic and Republican candidates. The views expressed here are his own. Ivan can be reached at ivan@ ivanmooreresearch.com.

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Ivan Moore

UWCSEA 1974 - 1976 Class of 1981

Dr Dave Jenkins and SurfAid staff with a mother and child at Betumonga Village. (Photo by Bob Barker, SurfAid).

For more information Molokai 2 Oahu race: http://www.molokai2oahu.com SurfAid International: www.surfaidinternational.org SurfAid Schools Program: www.surfaidschools.org

Greg Town

Have you registered with the UWCSEA alumni website?

Serendipity Reproduced from the Anchorage Press, Wednesday, June 1, 2011 by Ivan Moore

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Ivan Moore

UWCSEA 1974 - 1976 Class of 1981

A Kaleidoscope of College Events

COLLEGE EVENTS

On 24 November, UWCSEA, and in particular the grade 10 and 12 Dutch mother tongue classes were graced with a visit from the Dutch Ambassador to Singapore, H.E. Mr. Johannes W. Gunivortus Jansing.

The Dover K1 Morning of Sport proved to be a great success with children demonstrating their skills through fun activities including an obstacle course, jumping and throwing stations and even an egg and spoon race.

In the weeks before the end of Term 1 break, UWCSEA Dover held a Local Service Appeal in the Junior School. Grades 2-5 were asked to contribute items, each for a designated organisation.

In recognition of the 10th AIDS Benefit to be held at the college, the event was elevated to a ball. Our 70 senior students did us proud as usual in their various roles as waiters, sellers, entertainers and presenters.

In February, Peer Support launched its annual Drug Awareness Week. This week included lunchtime awareness activities and adopting a new healthy habit.

This year’s Kalahari Cocktail’s clink of glasses hummed along with the melodies of the Jazz Band. Once again the National Muesum provided a glam setting and Diagio mixers kept a fine supply of pretty cocktails to fuel thirsty patrons.

During October break, 15 students, 15 parents and three staff from grades 5 and 6 at UWCSEA East travelled on the first annual ‘Colours of Cambodia’ service trip.

SEASAC touch took us to The Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur this year. We did regain the trophy we lost last year to Patana by beating Mont Kiara in the final 4 - 2.

Opus 2011 was a fabulous evening of music making at the Esplanade Concert Hall that featured over 400 Dover Campus students, several members of staff and some of our musical parents.

Called ‘Skate to Dream’ G11 student Anja gave 67 intellectually disabled participants a goal and a dream that they could be the first special athletes from Singapore to participate in figure or short track speed skating at the Special Olympics World Winter Games.”

This year’s rock show took place on two nights. The first had a more acoustic theme and an alternative sound while the second night had a more hard rock feel. The performances brought the audience to their feet.

Four G8 students traveled to Montreal, Canada for the Junior Round Square Conference ‘Come In, It’s Cold Outside.’ The participants reported that it was fantastic and something they will remember forever.

The beginning of 2011 saw all of the Dover Grade 5-8 and East Grade 5-6 students visit the high ropes course for a day of challenges and fun.

Five UWCSEA students had the wonderful opportunity to attend a one week astronaut training camp run by the Singapore Space and Technology Association.

In this year’s theatre festival, students got to improvise with other students from UWCSEA, Dunman High, the Australian International School and Teatteri Satama of Finland.

Photos from Dunia

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The East Campus Infant students celebrated their UN Day on 1 December. The students and staff had obviously put in a great deal of effort to produce three performances in the new hall on the Tampines Campus.

and member of the Alumni Council)

UWCSEA held a workshop entitled “Youth Volunteering - Just a Part of Growing Up” at The International Association of Volunteer Efforts (IAVE) conference held at Resorts World Sentosa in January. The theme of the conference was ‘Volunteering to Change the World.’

There is something about musicals (Oliver!) that brings the cast and crew together to showcase something spectacular. The near effortless ease some actors display in the shoes of their characters is a result of a packed rehearsal schedule.

Thanks to the creative talents of Michael Wheeler and a group of energetic staff the Primary students were treated to a pantomime. The UWCSEA version of “Rindercella” had children working out which teacher was playing each character.

Every class produced a performance that told a tale and reflected their culture. This show was based on street theatre.

In the grand finale of the APSM U19 girls’ tournament, UWCSEA met with Tanglin Trust School again. UWC continued to play their style of fast paced basketball and triumphed against the taller Tanglin team.

by Aashna Aggarwal Class of 2012 (Current student