OneºNorth, Vol 10, June 2013

Vol 10 June 2013

The Alumni Magazine of UWC South East Asia

Overland from Singapore to Wales, 35 years ago Alumni profiles Graduation 2013 Campus updates Reunions

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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: OneºNorth The alumni magazine of UWC 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.

Reunions and get-togethers A reunion of the 40, 30, 25, 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 three times during the academic year, containing College news and reports of events and activities.

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.

Gap year-type opportunities for alumni Check the Volunteer page of the website for short to long term volunteer work opportunities in Southeast 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, we would be more than happy to show you around anytime.

Please keep in touch!

Contents Letter from the Head of College ..............4

Events and activities at UWCSEA ......... 20

Note from the Alumni Office ...................5

UWCSEA statistics ................................... 22

Shelby Davis inspires ...................................5

House Calls Mark Nowaczynski ’77 treating seniors in their own homes..................................................24

Cover story Overland from UWCSEA to Atlantic College Amazing 16,000km road trip exactly 35 years ago; five students and a staff member drove an old Land Rover from Singapore to Wales .....6 Graduation 2013 Another 324 students become young alumni...............................10 Mr. Rambo, I presume …

Sebastian Brack ’94 reflects on being a delegate of the ICRC.............. 12 The Budden Initiative A sponsored student project ...........................................14 Campus updates ........................................ 15 From beneficiary to benefactor Linda de Flavis interviews Mike Ogutu ’08 ......................16 Coming of age Louise Okatch ’14.......................................19

Conscious capitalism Shradha Agarwal ’04................................ 26 Kids win life-changing scholarship .........27 My gap year in India Michaela Vebrova ’11 Not a spoiled sausage! ............................ 28 Become involved UWCSEA’s Centre for International Education............................ 30 Careers Fair ................................................ 30 UWCSEA Foundation update ..................31 Teo Eng Seng living and breathing art Former UWCSEA art teacher/Head of Art 1971–1996................................................... 32 Reunion 2012 ............................................. 34 Recent reunions ........................................ 36 Long-serving teachers leaving ................ 38 Upcoming reunions ................... inside back

OneºNorth is published by UWC 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.

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

Editor Brenda Whately Design Gregory Parker MICA (P) 034/03/2013

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Cover photo: A river crossing on the Overland trip from UWCSEA to Atlantic College.

Photo courtesy of Tony Dilley

Letter from the Head of College In September 2012, we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the UWC movement.

When Atlantic College opened its doors on 19 September 1962, it was hailed by the Times of London as “the most exciting experiment in education since the Second World War.” The concept was innovative, and whilst international schools existed, never before had anyone sought to so deliberately bring young people together from so many different nations to be educated. The aspiration was to promote intercultural understanding; the inspiration was Kurt Hahn.

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Hahn was by all accounts an extraordinary man, a man of ideas, a man of words and a man of action. People who met him were not only struck by his intellect but also his compassion.

He had an intuitive feel for what an education should be about. He believed strongly in the notion that it was about personal development—a preparation for life, not just university; he believed in the importance of students taking responsibility for themselves and their actions; and he was adamant that service to one’s fellow beings should be central to that education. It is clear beyond any

possible doubt that active service to those in need of help does, both in deed and reality, constitute a common bond between people, nations and cultures.

Hahn was an entrepreneur, a man ahead of his times, a visionary. As well as being instrumental in the development of UWC, he founded the Outward Bound Movement and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, which later morphed into the National Youth Achievement Award.

The Round Square movement, of which there are now over 100 schools, was one of his initiatives and the structure of the IB Diploma Programme including the requirement to study a range of subjects (although science was not offered), CAS and the Extended Essay evolved from the curriculum at Atlantic College.

His legacy is huge.

So what of the future? Hahn could not possibly have imagined the world we live in today and the impact of technology in creating globalization. The need, and I do mean need, for schools of a similar ilk to UWCSEA is more pressing today than it has ever been before. The UWC movement was founded at a time when the world was faced with the very real possibility of a nuclear holocaust and

whilst that threat has receded, the tensions that exist within and across national boundaries, among and between peoples, are ever present.

When I have the opportunity to spend time with our students I am always inspired by their optimism, and it leaves me optimistic that they are developing the skills and qualities necessary to lead by personal example and courageous action to tackle the issues the world is facing.

There is no doubt in my mind Hahn would have been immensely proud of what we are doing here at UWCSEA.

Julian Whiteley Head of College UWC South East Asia

Note from the Alumni Office This is our tenth issue of the alumni magazine! It’s been a full year since the last issue, and the time has gone by very quickly. We now have 324 new alumni from the Class of 2013.

Brenda and Sona with Niru at the New York alumni gathering May 2013

Photos of the graduation day ceremony have been included in these pages as well as photos of Reunion 2012 and alumni gettogethers that have taken place around the world since then. Further photos can be viewed on the event calendar of the alumni site. This issue again features updates about the College along with a number of interesting profiles and articles by and about some of your fellow alumni.

One of these articles describes a road trip taken 35 years ago by five graduating students and a teacher who drove from UWCSEA in Singapore to UWC Atlantic in Wales! Please read on—I hope you will enjoy the stories that follow.

There are a number of teachers retiring this year, each having taught for a significant number of years at UWCSEA. They will be missed. We wish them all the best.

If you have any contributions or suggestions for the next issue of the alumni magazine, or for the alumni programme, please do let us know.

On behalf of Sona, Siti and myself, Alumni Relations wishes you all the best!

Regards, Brenda Whately Director of Alumni Relations UWC South East Asia alumni@uwcsea.edu.sg

Shelby Davis inspires

By Wyclife Onyango Omondi UWCSEA 2011-2013 Class of 2013 On 21 February, Shelby Davis, philanthropist and founder of the Davis UWC Scholars Program visited UWCSEA with his wife Gale.

Grade 12 student, Wyclife Onyango Omondi shares his experience of the visit: The much-anticipated Shelby Davis visit coincided with Mother Language Day. Dressed in our fabulous cultural costumes, a group of UWCSEA Dover students and staff welcomed Shelby Davis and his wife, Gale Davis, with a lunch at the Nelson Mandela Library.

I was greatly inspired by his story. His first encounter with the UWC movement was when he met two boys—one Israeli, one Palestinian—discussing their countries’ conflict at UWC-USA. This was his inspiration to embark on an exciting but challenging journey—the Davis UWC Scholars Program.

At the student presentation after the lunch, Mr. Davis stood up and held the

attention of all in the room with his first words, “There are three types of people in the world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. I invest in you because you make things happen.”

Mr. Davis is a great leader and mentor to our community. Not only a generous donor who has helped many of us to achieve quality education regardless of our backgrounds, he is also a role model to students, reminding us of the power of determination in helping us make positive changes to our communities.

Over 12 years, 233 UWCSEA students have received scholarships to US universities through the programme.

Since its establishment in 2000, 4,843 scholars from 147 countries have been provided with scholarships to 90 different US universities and colleges.

Visit www.davisuwcscholars.org to learn more, and visit the eDunia on the UWCSEA main website to watch a video of Shelby Davis explaining his commitment to the programme.

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Overland from UWCSEA to Atlantic College

By Brenda Whately At the end of the 1978 academic year exactly 35 years ago, an amazing twomonth, 16,000km road trip took place.

After many months of planning, four new UWCSEA graduates, a young UWCSEA alumnus and a teacher drove a secondhand Land Rover from Singapore to

Atlantic College in Wales, through many countries that would not be possible to travel through today. The teacher was Head of Biology at the time, Tony Dilley. The alumnus was Giorgio Conti, Italian and the four new graduates were Paul Cummins, Australian, Hans Kleppa, Norwegian, Nicolai Foong, Malaysian at the time and Monica Lugato, another Italian. Unfortunately, the students who originally proposed the idea ended up being unable to participate for various reasons.

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Starting out on 30 June, the group drove across the causeway from Singapore to Johore Bahru, up to Kuala Lumpur and into Penang, Malaysia. From there they

took a ferry to Madras (now Chennai), India, because at the time it was not possible to go through Burma (now Myanmar). They drove from there to Bangalore, Goa, Bombay (now Mumbai), north to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and on to Delhi where they picked up visas that would allow them to continue their trip.

From there they crossed into Pakistan and Afghanistan. From Islamabad they travelled to Peshawar, Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and then on to Tehran, Iran. They proceeded on through Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey; Athens, Greece; Rome, Italy; Geneva, Switzerland; Paris, France and London, England, finally arriving in Wales on the first of September.

Although they arrived on schedule, there were many unforeseen difficulties along the way, involving delays due to bureaucracy and mechanical problems with the vehicle, attempted thefts, constant changes in diet and a few serious health issues. They were six adults cramped into an old Land Rover, two in front and four in the back. Despite the inevitable problems, meeting the people, observing the culture and seeing the scenery in many parts of Asia that became unsafe for travellers soon afterwards and remains that way today due to politics and war, it was an amazing experience for five young UWCSEA alumni and one teacher.

The following article is based mainly on Tony Dilley’s article The Overlanders that appeared in the UWCSEA Mengembara magazine of September 1979 along with some recent updates.

On the very first day of the trip, the group encountered problems entering Malaysia because they didn’t have the correct paperwork for the Land Rover.

After a delay of 24 hours, the trip finally began again, stopping on the way to Penang to pick up new tires that had been donated to them. Four days later, on the fourth of July, the Land Rover was loaded onto a ferry heading to India.

For four days they steamed across the Indian Ocean in third class, eating curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Monica says, “It was very tough indeed.” Nicolai managed to entertain himself with a grand piano that they found ludicrously out of place on the old ship. Arriving in what was then Madras, they met up with another 24-hour delay at Customs. It was here that they first undertook repairs to the fuel pump, a problem that would plague them for most of the remainder of the trip until it was eventually identified and solved by the group themselves after countless mechanics along the way had failed to do so.

One of the official aims of the trip was to spread the word about the UWC movement. To aid in this goal, the sides of the Land Rover had been painted with ‘United World College of South East Asia’ and the group met up with representatives from some of the National Committees along the way. A further goal of the trip was to provide a challenging and unique educational

experience that included fundraising, planning, organising, as well as lessons in teamwork and group welfare. It would also introduce the students first-hand to a huge area of the world that they might not otherwise see.

When the group landed in Madras, the dirt and the street beggars were their first introduction to the extreme poverty of so many in that area. From Madras, they travelled through agricultural country where they found that life appeared to go on as it had for thousands of years, the people working to provide just enough food to eat, clothes to wear and a roof over their heads. Up into the hills the air got colder, and it rained to the point where the group couldn’t get dry in the cramped quarters of the Land Rover.

In Bombay they saw big city life, in Bangalore they admired the interesting architecture and in Goa they experienced a place completely unlike the rest of India. After driving through the night to reach Agra and see the Taj Mahal, looking forward to some rest when they arrived, they were discouraged to find that the road they were travelling came to an abrupt end at a river over which the bridge had been washed out by torrential flooding. They camped there that night along with crowds of other people, cars, cows and chickens until a temporary ferry arrived in the morning to take them across to the other side. At this point, it was the 18th of July. By the 20th they were in Delhi, collecting visas for the rest of the trip.

Having to skip Kashmir because of the delays in the schedule, they drove through the Punjab into Pakistan OneºNorth June 2013 7

where they found not just the scenery to be incredible but also the friendliness of the people—with endless cups of tea and conversations about the group, the trip and UWC. Tony wrote, “It was an interesting exercise in communication for although we had a variety of languages within the group, Urdu wasn’t one of them.”

From there, it was into the Khyber Pass and Afghanistan on the heels of a revolution. The scenery of the Khyber Pass was spectacular. They saw numerous nomad settlements surrounded by donkeys and camels, and it was here that they were ambushed by children in search of cigarettes and had to avoid a flight of rocks when they didn’t comply. In Kabul, they found the people very friendly and felt that they made many friends there.

Although there was an ever-present threat of violence with soldiers and tanks in the city along with a curfew, Tony says, “Everyone enjoyed Afghanistan.” They crossed the Kandahar desert next and entered the outskirts of Herat, pushing the Land Rover. Hans says, “We had run out of fuel because the fuel station marked on the map in the extremely hot Kandahar desert had been closed down!

We bought a few litres from a boy by the roadside and were then able to drive into town.” After another day’s delay while

Customs performed a thorough drug search, they crossed the border the next morning into Iran.

In Iran, they found that while people in the desert lived in fortressed villages, in the towns, especially Tehran, everything was modern and busy. On the 10th of August, they crossed into Turkey to another change in diet as well as scenery; from mountains and desert to lush greenery. Crossing the Bosphorus into Istanbul and European Turkey had proved to feel like a home-coming of sorts with its more familiar European culture.

Although Istanbul was a highlight, they were soon headed into Greece due to the tight schedule. It was now 19 August.

They had to hurry through Greece, stopping in Thessalonika for the fourth fuel pump of the trip and in Athens to pick up Paul who had left the group a little earlier to meet his parents who were holidaying there. Paul’s trip after leaving the vehicle to head to Athens, was an adventure in itself—but that’s another story!

It was here that the group found and fixed their recurring mechanical problem.

From there it was another ship to Bari, Italy and a short drive to Rome where they received a huge welcome from the

Conti and Lugato families and a donation from the Italian National Committee.

Paul unfortunately had to leave the group and end his journey here due to severe illness.

On the way to Trieste, which was the proposed home for what was to be the new UWC of the Adriatic, they ran into different mechanical problems and never quite made it. They did however subsequently make it to Geneva, Paris and London where they had a champagne reception at UWC’s London House. The next day, on the 1st of September, they arrived at Atlantic College, right on schedule. One of the biggest disappointments of the trip was that there was almost no one there to greet them after such a long and arduous journey, but they were happy to have made it nonetheless, with no doubt a great sense of accomplishment and a wealth of memories from an unbelievably amazing experience.

To read Tony Dilley’s full Mengembara article, The Overlanders, or the 1978 Harlequin newspaper article, and/ or to view more photos of the trip, compliments of Nicolai Foong, Giorgio Conti and Tony Dilley, visit the following URL: http://alumni. uwcsea.edu.sg/?page=Overland_trip

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“… a challenging and unique educational experience.”

And where are they now?

Here is a brief update about the participants of the trip and a comment from each as they were asked to reflect on their incredible experience 35 years on.

Monica Lugato (UWCSEA 1976–1978), Italian scholar. Monica is a Professor of International Law at the School of Law, and Coordinator of the International Program in Law at Lumsa University, Rome, having achieved her PhD at the University of Rome La Sapienza.

“The trip was a most amazing and enriching experience in all respects— what we saw, the people we met, the day-by-day getting along of the group, the constant challenge of being in unknown places, facing unknown languages and cultures. It had a deep impact on the shaping of my personality, my vision of life, my personal heritage— who I am. The interesting thing is that I have just come to realise that recently.”

Nicolai Foong (UWCSEA 1971–1978) studied economics at Stanford and medicine at the University of Chicago and UCLA in California. He is an obstetrician/ gynaecologist in California with two private practices. In addition, he has also been the pro bono medical director of the Los Angeles Chinatown Free Clinic since 1998. Nicolai further volunteers his time each year to travel with a group of doctors to other parts of the world to lecture at local hospitals.

Paul says, “We were incredibly lucky to do the trip when we did—before Afghanistan was invaded by the Russians in 1980 and before the Shah of Iran was toppled in 1979. Either of these events would have made our passage difficult, if not impossible. The thing that stays in my mind most is traversing the Khyber Pass, something you would be unable to safely do today. It was the most rugged but breathtakingly beautiful landscape I have ever seen. It was the sort of trip that you would only think of when you are 18 and indestructible. It was a fantastic experience.”

Hans Kleppa (UWCSEA 1977–1979) pursued pilot training in the Royal Norwegian Air Force. He currently works on the ground for Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS) and has his own consultancy, Kleppa and Co, that recently project-managed Scandinavia’s largest marina expansion project. With a number of patents to his name, he was a driving force in the development of a new IT system for check-in and gate/ boarding control systems for SAS. Hans lives with his girlfriend outside Oslo and volunteers as a Common Law judge in the Appeals courts.

About the trip, Hans says, “It is incredible how people across different countries seem kind and generous, regardless of their often modest or poor lot in life.

Poverty was often rampant and often it was sad to see how religion and tradition both ‘usefully guide’ and ‘uselessly repress’ so many poor people. However, to personally ‘smell,’ experience and see up close, everyday lives that we otherwise

fly over at 30,000 feet, was awesome.

And the biggest lesson learned? Basic education, more respect for the needs of the poor and a much better spread of the world’s wealth with healthy capitalism bridled by healthy socialism, seem so important for greater world congeniality.”

Giorgio Conti (UWCSEA 1972–1974) was one of the first Italian scholarship students at UWCSEA. After leaving, he pursued European Studies at Lancaster University and is now CEO of Eurolib Srl, an Italian services company that works primarily with scientific research centres, hospitals, schools and universities. He has been involved with Libya over the years, most recently there to help with the repair of the hospitals, supplying equipment and technicians.

Giorgio says, “I was invited on the Overland trip while I was the alumni representative on the International Board of Directors. I accepted whole-heartedly this opportunity. It gave me more reason to try and get a feeling of a region of the world that I had never visited. I cannot but be grateful to UWCSEA for the experiences it gave me which have helped in my work, especially in countries such as Nigeria and Libya.”

Tony Dilley taught biology at UWCSEA from 1976 to 1981 and was Head of Biology at the time of the Overland trip.

After the trip, he returned to Singapore and in 1981 married and returned to the UK. He read for a further degree at Balliol College, Oxford and set up an Oxfordbased educational trekking company taking trips to the Western Himalayas.

After being Science Department Chair at Jakarta International School from ’84 to ’91 he returned again to the UK where he is now retired and writing.

Recalling the experience of 35 years ago he says, “I was recruited at the last minute when the school required that a teacher accompany the group. This is the 35th anniversary of the first serious adventure undertaken by any UWC! The trip turned out to be more difficult than ever expected. Had we known then … !”

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About the trip, Nic says, “I volunteered to go because I was always an avid traveller, and did not want to miss an opportunity of a lifetime—which it was. I am so glad that I made the trip.

It was a life-changing experience. It allowed me the rare opportunity to learn about the life and cultures of countries that are no longer safely available to young tourists; places like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. The trip instilled in me an everlasting interest in global affairs.

I can only hope that in this new, turbulent world, my two sons will be able to have a wonderful experience similar to the one I had.”

Paul Cummins (UWCSEA 1976–1978), Australian scholar. Paul went on to obtain a B.Ec.(Hons) at Australian National University (ANU) and worked for 25 years in the banking industry. His last role was to set up and run the compliance department for the Bank of China in Australia. Interestingly, his job on the trip was to look after the group’s finances!

Since retiring, Paul has continued to do consultancy work. He has been together with his partner, Kevin, for over 20 years.

On Saturday, 25 May, we celebrated the achievements of the Class of 2013.

Three hundred and twenty-four students graduated from UWCSEA’s Dover Campus this year with 62 nationalities represented, our most diverse group of graduates yet.

We were delighted to welcome Heron Holloway as our guest speaker. Heron

Graduation 2013 was a boarder at UWCSEA from 1993 to 2000, subsequently going on to achieve an undergraduate degree in Sociology and Anthropology and a Master’s degree in International Relations. She has worked at the British Red Cross, was twice seconded to the International Federation of the Red Cross and currently works for Habitat for Humanity, improving media relations and disaster communications activity across Asia Pacific.

Heron’s two main messages to the graduates were one, the reassurance that everything will be okay and two, to make the decision to not just be a global citizen but an active global citizen.

Heron was followed by the student speaker, Kris Ferrin, a former member of the Alumni Council, who gave an inspiring message about enduring friendships and the need to remain connected.

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This was a more than special graduation ceremony as it was the last one to be presided over by Di Smart, the Principal of High School. After more than 20 years, Di will be leaving UWCSEA this year. The graduates expressed their respect and love for Di with big hugs as they walked across the stage to accept their diplomas and a standing ovation after her warm and inspirational closing speech.

For more reunion photos, see the event calendar/past events on the alumni site: http://alumni.uwcsea.edu.sg

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Sebastian visiting Bedouin in the Jordan Valley after their camp had been raised by the Israeli army. He was there to get the details and deliver some emergency assistance.

answer. It was in Côte d’Ivoire in 2011.

I was in the first humanitarian convoy of relief into Abobo, a neighbourhood of the capital which had just seen fighting as the rebels closed in on President Gbagbo’s regime. Driving past corpses and negotiating our way through checkpoints manned by armed and dangerously unpredictable feral youth, I decided I had had enough of this lifestyle.

Mr. Rambo, I presume...

By Sebastian Brack UWCSEA 1991–1994 Class of 1994 In the 2005 satire Thank you for smoking, Nick Naylor, a cynical spokesman for the tobacco industry, is asked by a journalist why he does it. Besides paying down his mortgage, he answers that he likes the challenge, and adds, “If I wanted an easy job, I would go work for the Red Cross.”

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Having been a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a number of crises and conflicts in the Near East, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, I would have to disagree with Nick Naylor’s assessment. Over my nineyear career with the organisation, I was shot at, kidnapped, caught malaria and hauled over the coals by a government minister. Of the many adjectives I would use to describe my former job, easy would not be one of them.

Why on Earth would someone willingly expose himself to such dangers? I too would sometimes ask myself that logical question. I remember distinctly when I ceased to be able to find a convincing

The ICRC is a unique organisation.

Founded 150 years ago, it is one of the oldest humanitarian organisations in the world, specialised in protecting and assisting the victims of armed conflicts and ‘other situations of violence.’ It is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, the backbone of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), on which its work is predicated.

Much as one is wont to rewrite the past to fit into a convenient self-flattering narrative, I have to admit that altruism was not the main reason I joined the ICRC. As my Oxford contemporaries entered the ranks of banking and consulting in London, I knew I wanted a more adventurous life.

My stint at UWCSEA no doubt influenced me, but so did my childhood readings of Tintin and Corto Maltese! The idea of going to exotic locations, in the midst of war, to bring relief to innocent victims was wildly romantic to me. It suited me down to the ground. Or so I thought.

My first head of delegation took a different view. He had asked Geneva for an old hand, who ideally spoke Arabic, for what was then one of the toughest assignments in the Occupied Territories: Jenin during the Second Intifada. It was a hotbed of militancy, and there were regular Israeli military raids.

The only Arabic word I knew was kebab and, while I fancied myself as something of an expert on conflict, having studied international relations and diplomacy, I quickly realised that my knowledge

was entirely theoretical. The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna had taught me about the Napoleonic wars, the Congress of Vienna and how to dance the Waltz, not how to handle angry armed men at a check-point. My boss almost sent me back to Geneva forthwith, but he was short of delegates, and I had been considered a promising recruit at the ICRC’s training school, so he gave me a chance.

I initially thought he had done me a favour, but after several sleepless nights cowing in the ‘safe room’ of our house, the sound of jets and helicopter gunships overhead, I was not so sure anymore.

What aid we could afford the victims of the fighting, in the form of tarpaulins, buckets, food and the like, seemed pretty derisory set against the wreckage of people’s houses or the corpses of their loved ones. What’s more, we had to work with unsavoury local powerbrokers who were constantly trying to manipulate our assistance and interventions for their own ends.

But it was a far cry from the heroic humanitarian role I had imagined. We did good, but we could not do better.

Trying to convince soldiers and rebels, many of whom were suspected of war crimes, to respect the laws of war led to some of the most surreal situations of my life. I will never forget one particular talk I gave to some (heavily armed) rebel commanders at their camp in the middle of the Congolese jungle. After I had explained the practical benefits of respecting the Geneva Conventions, one of them, who went by the name of Rambo (sic.), asked me what was the penalty foreseen in the Geneva Conventions for killing an ICRC delegate.

After a few uncomfortable seconds spent calculating whether I could reach my jeep before they shot me, the group burst out laughing. Who says warmongers don’t have a sense of humour? We later drank home-made palm wine together from the same (foul) jerry-can to seal our ‘friendship.’

Our ‘humanitarian diplomacy’ with the people involved in the fighting on both sides on behalf of the victims and international humanitarian law proved equally frustrating. We were well received, served litres of tasty coffee and sickly-sweet tea but, ultimately, we were powerless to change matters. In the Occupied Territories, I quickly understood the limits of ‘humanitarian action.’

The biggest reward of those many years ‘in the field’ was certainly the human experience. I don’t know how many people’s lives I actually ‘saved,’ but I certainly learnt more about the world, about life and about myself than I had ever imagined when I joined the ICRC. I had applied for a job; I got a life-changing formative experience. I had set out to change the world, but of course it was the world that changed me.

As mission followed mission, and I changed continents, those basic limitations did not change. Everywhere I worked, I was acutely conscious that we were bit players in a much larger political game on which we had little purchase.

That is not to say we did not make a difference. On the contrary, we saved countless lives, gave the many prisoners we visited protection, hope and medicine they would not otherwise have had, and maybe even prevented some atrocities.

War, and the suffering that comes with it, brings out both the best and the worst in people. It is in those extreme conditions that our humanity is put to the test. I discovered that people are never black or white, but infinite shades of grey, and that you can always find common ground, even with warlords and “terrorists”. At the end of the day, people almost always think they are decent human beings. They always have (or invent) some rationale for their

“It is in those extreme conditions that our humanity is put to the test.” actions, as heinous as they may be. But that means that if you have understood their narrative, you can often get them to support your humanitarian endeavour.

I also learned that a country without a state or the rule of law leads to Hobbesian conditions where man becomes a wolf for man. But I also came to question the ability of outsiders to help create that state. I have become convinced that “development” has to be an endogenous process. Foreigners can help (or sometimes jeopardise) the process, but it is up to those countries themselves to fashion their own future.

Brenda asked me to conclude with a tip for current students and young alumni wondering what to do with their lives. If you want a challenging life experience, don’t listen to Nick Naylor: go work for the ICRC.

Sebastian Brack with Kofi Annan and President Francois Hollande, May 2013.

Sebastian left the ICRC early last year to run a French electoral campaign.

His candidate won, and now sits in the French Parliament, but instead of moving to Paris, he went to work for Kofi Annan, joining the small team that assists him in conflict prevention and mediation.

He is based in Geneva.

planter box. Having been inspired by the Community Garden on East Campus, the box will feature chilli, basil and mint and be open to the whole community to make use of in exchange for a small donation.

The Budden Initiative

By Jonathan Parr

Set up by Andy and Mei Budden, current parents and long-time supporters of UWCSEA, the Budden Initiative is a programme that sponsors senior studentled projects that put UWCSEA’s mission and ethos into practice and make a difference to the College and/or the wider community.

14 OneºNorth June 2013

Having received proposals that ranged from addressing sanitation issues in a slum in India and using art to connect Singaporean and Malaysian communities, to promoting children’s literacy issues in Sri Lanka, the Buddens selected a composting programme for the Dover Campus as the first project to benefit from their funding.

Put together by six Grade 11 students, the idea to build a composting area within the school grounds struck a chord with Andy Budden. He explained, “We had some

really well thought out and articulated proposals, but we liked the fact that this idea would tackle environmental issues and potentially bring about a permanent change in waste management that had the potential to impact a large part of the UWCSEA community.”

In January 2013, the group behind the winning proposal set about putting their plans into place and began working with the Facilities team on Dover Campus to source the ideal location and make the necessary preparation for their composting facility. Keen to make the best use of resources available, they scoured the Mathematics Block refurbishment site for suitable rubble, also known as ‘hardcore’ and collected old bits of wood that would eventually form the base of their vegetable planter boxes. Giving up their Saturdays and after-school time, the ‘hands-on’ group were determined to build a community area that mattered and would leave a lasting legacy for the whole College community.

On 26 February, with the composting bins built and ready for service, the group began collecting vegetable and fruit peelings from the school caterer, Sodexo, and 50kg of peelings later, the composting programme was born.

With stage one completed, the group then set about preparing their first

When asked why the group chose to focus on composting, William Sandlund (Billy) explained, “We saw the Budden Initiative as a fantastic opportunity to put what we have learned at UWCSEA into action and begin addressing a real concern— the amount of waste we produce.

We are passionate about protecting the environment and promoting sustainability. This project allows us to educate others about where food comes from and make much better use of the waste we produce so that it reaps benefits for our community.”

Alexander Smit (Xander) agrees, “It was our chance to be the change we want to see in the world and, thanks to the Budden Initiative, we are making a difference. We hope this will be the start of something special and, over time, transform students’ attitudes to food waste.”

Andy and Mei Budden have been delighted with the progress of the composting programme and that their initiative received such an enthusiastic response from the students. Andy says, “Mei and I are firm believers in the UWCSEA mission, and we also love the diversity in the College community.

Our aim with the Initiative is simply to demonstrate what can be achieved when a diverse group of students comes together to share a common purpose that can enrich the broader UWCSEA community.”

Looking to the future, the group will be spreading the word about their project and building more planter boxes. Based on the response they have received so far and the connections they have made with environmental Global Concern groups, they are confident that composting will be here to stay at Dover.

Physical upgrades at Dover Campus

By Frazer Cairns Head of Dover Campus

Dover has seen a considerable amount of change over the past few years. If you come on campus, the most noticeable change that will greet you will be the new Middle School block. This has provided the campus with additional much-needed classrooms as well as a multipurpose hall, a purpose-built gymnastics gymnasium and a base for the Middle School. The humanities block has been refurbished (discovering once more the arched ceilings of the original design) and, since December, work has also been going on to refurbish the old mathematics block.

It is not always clear what you will find when you strip out a building but, perhaps in fitting with what was a British Army school building, all fixtures and fittings in the maths block seem to be from the UK. In fact, the building was happily using most of the original underlying infrastructure—the electrical main board and wiring, for example, were manufactured using Bakelite in 1958 (and still very compliant to modern code).

Perhaps most surprisingly, the two main air conditioning units still running the whole block were found to be made by a company called Andrews Air-conditioning in Stockport (a town in the north of England), which went out of business in 1963. Until a few weeks ago, the units were still running using their original parts including the original belt driven motor!

The bricks in the building’s construction are stamped with ‘Alexandra,’ which shows that they were sourced locally from the Alexandra brickworks in Pasir Panjang. The brick works closed in the early 1970s and became the current PSA warehouse. However, when in operation, the bricks were made from a combination of Jurong clay and material extracted from the hills of Pasir Panjang.

An old security coordination room was found behind the old college shop, still with posters and emergency contact numbers (and a few familiar names) from the 1990s on the wall.

An old Head’s office door was found upstairs leading to what was a computer lab (though thankfully there was no sign of an old Head).

If you are interested in seeing the improvements in action please do feel free to contact us and we will arrange a tour of the building.

Update from East Campus

By James Dalziel Head of East Campus

Greetings from the UWCSEA East Campus in Tampines. As many of you may be aware, we have a current student body of almost 2,000 students ranging from Kindergarten through Grade 11.

In the 2013/2014 academic year, we will be celebrating our first cohort of 160 graduates from our IB Diploma programme. Over the following two years, we will expand to full capacity and see our student numbers grow to over 2,500 students and over 300 teaching staff. As you well know, success is not about numbers, it is about the unique learning that goes on within the UWCs and the long term impact that has on our lives. While we are pleased with the interest in our campus and subsequent growth, we are most proud of our East Campus community of students, teachers and parents, and their commitment to the mission and values of the UWC movement.

Thank you to those of you who have visited the campus for an event or just dropped in to say hello and walk around.

Please know that you are always welcome.

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We will be salvaging some of the bricks and also the large slabs of hardwood that made up the staircase railings and hopefully we will find a way to incorporate them back into the campus. The ‘fins’ on the outside of the building are being retained to try to keep a similar architectural look to the building. Inside, however, will be very different with interactive whiteboards in each classroom and ‘operable walls’ that

will allow two classrooms to be joined together into one multipurpose space for exhibitions or lectures.

From beneficiary to benefactor

By Linda de Flavis

Mike Ogutu UWCSEA 2006–2008 Class of 2008 Have you ever wondered whether National Committee scholarships really benefit the scholars’ communities?

Mike Ogutu is living proof of the difference they can make. Now a Senior Associate at a Boston-based financial securities firm, Mike has travelled far from his roots in rural Kenya. As a boy, walking 14 kilometers each day to an under-resourced school with poor results, Mike longed for a better education. His grades had qualified him for the best government school in his district, but he had to settle for the cheapest, at $125 a year. “And even then, I was turned away when I couldn’t pay—sometimes missing weeks of school until my parents could scrape together the money and I was allowed to return.”

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Despite the obstacles, Mike’s dreams came true when he set a school record in his national exams and won a scholarship to UWCSEA that transformed his life.

He went on to study Economics at Middlebury, an elite liberal arts college in Vermont, thanks to the generosity of Shelby Davis (the American philanthropist whose UWC-Davis Scholars Program has already sponsored more than 4,200 UWC graduates at 94 US universities).

But the story of transformation is not merely personal. Inspired by Shelby Davis’ principle of ‘Learn, earn and return,’ Mike, at 24, is a philanthropist in his own right, launching the Ungana Scholarship programme to enable impoverished students from his district to attend school. The fund currently supports 25 scholars, with a special commitment to girls.

I caught up with Mike recently and asked him about Ungana and his experiences that led up to its founding: How did Ungana begin?

It began informally in my first year at Middlebury, as a way of giving back.

People in my community had been so generous to me, chipping in the little they had to help with school fees whenever my parents ran out of money. From UWCSEA onwards, the world opened up to me and so many people believed in and encouraged me. I went to university on a full scholarship. I’m indebted to all the people who helped me go through my own education.

At Middlebury, I worked several campus jobs to raise $250 so I could sponsor two scholars. In my final year, buoyed up by the stronger performances of the students I’d sponsored, I decided to help many more and let the world know that there is great potential in students from rural areas. They are smart, creative and potential leaders in various fields.

They simply lack $125 to be in school learning uninterruptedly.

I like being resourceful to people who are less fortunate, and I believe that the students I sponsor will be great one day. It’s just a matter of giving them the opportunity and they’ll be the leaders our societies need. UWCSEA also developed my innate desire to give back, through service and Global Concerns. I’m a living witness and testimony, having been a beneficiary and now a benefactor, to how small changes can change the world.

Tell us about your home life prior to UWCSEA I was born and raised in rural Kenya. I relied on a small portable radio for news and used to listen to the BBC—at least, when I had batteries. Getting hold of daily newspapers was not something I could even imagine, so we had little exposure to the world outside, even in school. We had no electricity and relied on small lanterns to do our homework at night. On days when there was no paraffin, there was no studying.

Why were your parents so supportive of your educational goals?

My Dad is a Grade 5 drop out. I don’t know my Mum’s level of education. She dropped out even earlier and never talks about it. As ‘failures,’ my parents always wanted their children to get the best education in Kenya. They did their very best to make this possible. Mum got up at 3am every morning to wake me and make sure I studied before starting the long morning walk. She also prepared breakfast so I would have energy for the long day and journey home.

What were some of the challenges you faced at your school in Kenya?

We lacked the resources that other schools enjoyed—books, lab equipment, even teachers. Learning was a struggle.

Some teachers were really good but others would show up only 10 minutes before the end of class. In my final year, our Biology class had not even finished the previous year’s syllabus. I took it as a challenge and taught my fellow students the concepts we needed to know.

How did you learn about the UWC scholarships?

My friend heard about the scholarship competition on the radio and encouraged me to try it out. I had never heard of UWCSEA or even Singapore back then. I applied with my national exam results— you needed at least an A- aggregate grade—and was called for an interview.

I found myself competing with people from high-performing national schools that had exposure to such opportunities.

The competition was very stiff and, on top of that, there were so many stressful challenges involved in travelling to the interview day, that I have never quite stopped wondering how it turned out in my favour!

I believe you also faced some challenges in joining us at UWCSEA?

While I was still chasing a passport to fly to Singapore, school had already started.

My family didn’t want me to go away so it was a lone battle for me. Finally I went to the Nairobi Immigration Office, and the Kenya UWC chairperson contacted some people there. I got my passport and flew out the next day. By then it was three weeks into the semester at UWCSEA. Weren’t you tempted to give in and bribe the immigration official?

After all, you were already three weeks late for school …

I believe in personal integrity. I change what’s bad and try the best I can to prevent any escalation of a vice. No matter the situation I am in, I choose to not do bad to get to a better place.

What was it like flying for the first time, alone, to a foreign country?

I didn’t enjoy it. I was tired. I just kept telling myself whenever I get there, I’ll be happy. I reached Changi around 9pm but there was nobody to meet me, due to a communication glitch. I even wondered if UWCSEA had written me off by then! Since I had only $10 and a small suitcase, I decided to stay at the airport until 6am. In the morning I took a taxi to Senior House. The first person I met was a cleaner who lent me my cab fare and called the boarding house director for me.

That cleaner’s kindness is one reason I want to come back to Singapore!

“I’m a living witness and testimony, having been a beneficiary and now a benefactor, to how small changes can change the world.”

She may not recognise you as the shy boy she helped that day! Tell us about your career—how does it help you with your NGO work?

I’m in the Professional Development Program at State Street Corporation.

I deal with figures, learn about the regulations, investment opportunities and market trends every day at work.

With this, I’ve learned to appreciate and account for every penny that donors or I contribute to the NGO. From the knowledge I’ve gathered at work, I’ve also learnt how to present our NGO financials to our supporters and Board of Advisors. It gives me ideas about business opportunities we could one day pursue as an NGO for its sustainability.

All this has ensured transparency and easy management.

How much has your NGO grown?

We’ve already sponsored several very smart, creative students, who possessed leadership qualities but lacked funds.

Some are orphans. They’ve continued to outperform other students, which we attribute to being able to spend more time in school studying. We just selected 23 more students for the 2013 academic year. We work with local schools and have volunteers in our Independent Committee who vet applications and choose the most deserving candidates.

OneºNorth June 2013 17

Yes, many challenges! When I boarded an Emirates Airbus in Nairobi, the first flight of my entire life, I didn’t even know where Singapore was. I’d spent the previous month going back and forth every two days to try and collect my passport from

the Immigration Office in Kisumu. The officers wanted a bribe but I don’t do that, so I just kept showing up.

What are the biggest challenges you face?

Raising money is always a challenge, and in most cases I have used personal savings to fund the project. We hope to overcome this challenge since we’re now a registered legal entity and can appeal for donations. Volunteers on the ground can be a headache; things may not get done on time. We have so far solved this by incorporating the Independent Committee, comprising mainly the teachers, within the six schools we sponsor. This committee mentors our students in addition to selecting the new scholars.

Which of your experiences helped you to realise the practical and visionary aspects of your NGO?

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I learned management and networking skills while I was student manager for the calling programme at Middlebury. I also drew on the expertise of people like Thea and Anthony Skillicorn, Peter Dalgliesh, Charles McCormick (President Emeritus of Save the Children), and the Middlebury Center of Social Entrepreneurs which guides aspiring social entrepreneurs in their quest.

My Initiative for Peace experience at UWCSEA and my professional experience at State Street helped shape my vision in sustainability issues. I also believe in empowering students and getting them involved in the project so as to create more opportunities for others. My team and I are discussing potential business opportunities that would make the project self-sustaining in future.

What are your long-term goals for Ungana?

We need to create more awareness.

Then many generous people can join us in creating opportunities. We also need funding for the immediate projects (the scholarship programme, setting up regional arms of the project). Our target is to continue sponsoring at least 20 students every year and to add more schools in rural areas. As our students graduate from High School, we are under pressure to help them continue their education … so I am in touch with a couple of learning institutions in the US, and will be reaching out to others like the African Leadership Academy, the Nobel Foundation, etc.

Longer term, I want to expand this project to cover all the rural areas in Kenya and even reach out to students in other

African countries who need help. We have the brains and great potential, but if we don’t elicit these in the world, we are probably doomed. I want to start a student academy and make it a learning hub for older people as well (such as my parents, who wish they could speak English). Some of the technical skills we are looking into include masonry, nursing, soft-skill engineering, social work, as well as providing an environment where international curricula (IB, IGCSE) could be taught.

What advice would you give a UWCSEA student hoping to start an NGO? If something in society is not done in the way you think it should be, don’t wait.

Just assume that nobody will correct the anomaly other than yourself, and the sooner you start the better, as you’ll learn a lot in the process and become empowered. Be the change you want for the world.

Thanks Mike, it’s inspiring to know that we can all be philanthropists to somebody somewhere, even if we haven’t made our fortunes yet!

For more information, see www.unganascholars.org

Coming of age A UWCSEA Project Week experience

By Louise Okatch UWCSEA 2012–2014 Class of 2014 In many societies around the globe there are a variety of passage rites that children are expected to go through in order to cement their new identities as adults. These rites are often undertaken roughly around the age of 16 and could be anything from the removal of lower teeth as is in my community, to the shooting of game by sons to prove their manhood.

My Project Week experience served the same purpose for me because I came out with a renewed and reinforced sense of awareness of the world around me and consequently, my responsibilities to it.

Each of my group members was of a different nationality, hence none of us had the comfort of shared customs.

Neither did we visit our home countries, hence the idea of comfort was not one we anticipated right from the start.

We chose to participate in the Bayani Challenge which is an annual building challenge in the Philippines organised

by Gawad Kalinga. The idea that I even attempted to mix cement or think of myself as a builder is one people cannot believe, because I generally tend to stay away from activities that demand physical involvement. That is what made this experience so unique, it was something I had never in my wildest dreams thought I would do.

The community rallied around us in such a special way that many times it forced us to rethink our definition of poverty.

Their inability to furnish our stay with fancy meals did not matter one bit. One of the media crew that interviewed us as we worked, later stopped by our ‘house’ bearing a parcel of pandesal, a local bread. That is what made the Filipinos so special to me—the readiness to give and the gratitude that someone else had given their time to come to partner with them. As we laid the bricks that week, it was not just bricks we laid. The bricks embodied the trust, patience and perseverance of a people with hope for the future.

The trip forced me to search deep within and finally call myself an adult, not because of age but because of the change in my heart.

I thank UWCSEA immensely for the platform to do such fulfilling projects that have rightfully so changed my point of view.

I feel these words embody my experience as a whole and I believe that of my group as well:

SOMEDAY Someday on this side of heaven the rainbow will stay one minute longer to keep the next storm even further away, Someday whence my heart will beat twice, once for me to survive and twice for me to ensure someone else’s survival, Someday I will not long to be fire proof but to be the firefighter so that my fulfilment will not be from staying safe from the fire but from pulling out one last soul that needs saving, Someday I’ll have two palms more to find my handkerchief, lend it to the widow and wipe my own tears for the sorrow of one denied the love of a father by too untimely a death, Someday I look up and see an abundance of stars because it will be a sign that even nature thinks the future is one of promise and hope, Someday I’ll look inward, search my heart and find that I had all these all along.

OneºNorth June 2013 19

Each team that registered for the challenge had to stay on site and was tasked to finish a house by the end of the week. Staying on site did not sound quite as scary until we were faced with a half finished house and no beds to sleep in; just the cold floor and bare walls for comfort. However, it is sobering to be in such an environment because it is someone else’s existence each and every day, and they do not have the luxury to run back to the warmth of a boarding

house. I believe it resonated even more strongly for me because for the first time since I came from Kenya, I felt a sense of home in the environment around me. There was a certain inexplicable warmth that flooded my heart, with the willingness of a people to rise above their current circumstance and strive for a better future; an attribute that could be traced in their smiles and felt in their hugs.

Events and activities at UWCSEA

This is just a sample of some of the activities and events taking place at UWCSEA during the year. Thanks to Hector, Devora and Rose, Grade 11 students and members of the Alumni Council, for pulling out some of the highlights from the College calendar.

By Hector Poveda Morales, Devora Khafi and Rose Benjamin

Professional development fosters cross-campus collaboration East Campus hosted the first UWCSEA cross-campus teacher professional development day, 8 February. Both campuses were closed to students. Discussions covered current initiatives such as iLearn and the K-12 learning programme.

Middle School masterpieces The visual art programme in Middle School seeks to develop students’ abilities both practically and aesthetically. These projects that combine art history, theory and practice are producing remarkable works and provide skills and techniques in the creation of art.

SEASAC Arts Convention

Reading Rocks The annual Book Week events on our campuses celebrate reading through fun and educational activities. This year’s Book Week brought the entire community together in new ways as parents and older students were involved in sharing the joy of reading and celebrating their mother languages.

G2 trip to zoo

20 OneºNorth June 2013

The Outdoor Education programme is a powerful part of the UWCSEA educational experience. The Grade 2 overnight trip to the zoo reflects a progression in the programme, moving students from the classroom to a new location.

Game changers Minecraft is a combination of frustration, excitement and pure adrenaline. Through games, students explore and refine problem-solving and decision-making skills through logical thinking, sequencing and strategymaking. Minecraft promotes critical thinking, problem solving, creation and innovation.

In February, 17 UWCSEA East students attended the 2013 SEASAC Arts Convention at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong.

Students participated in workshop sessions facilitated by teaching professionals in the arts including music, drama, dance and visual arts.

Opus 2013 The annual Opus concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall involved months of practice and planning in order to provide an unparalleled opportunity for students to perform in a world class venue. This year’s Opus saw many students on stage not for the first time but for the third, fourth and even fifth time.

Advocacy and Global Perspectives gain invitation to film festival UWCSEA High School students are provided with a course called Global Perspectives to explore a wide range of issues concerning our world. As part of the curriculum, Grade 10 students were not only able to create films on the topic of ‘advocacy,’ but were also able to submit them to the Qatar THIMUN Northwestern University Film Competition. One of these students, Madhulika, was invited to attend the festival due to her excellent film and effort in the course!

All the fun of the fair The Community Fair at the Dover Campus sums up the entire Global Concerns programme. Bringing together the families of both students and staff, the day is filled with activities, showing the great commitment to fulfilling the aims of working together to make a difference.

Aperture In early March, the UWCSEA Dover annual Dance Show took place— a student-directed production showcasing the skills and creativity of our students. This year’s theme was ‘Pandora’s Box,’ exploring the uncertainty, isolation, chaos and then resolution of human interactions across cultures.

Minister for Education visits the Dover Infant School On Thursday, 28 February, the Dover Campus welcomed Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat and his colleagues. Their interests lay in UWCSEA’s approach to childhood learning. Throughout the day, the team was treated to a short presentation of UWCSEA’s learning programme, a question and answer session and, more importantly, a chance to converse oneon-one with students.

Giving from your heart

SEASAC sport

On 3 December 2012, Grade 4 student George and siblings Alfie, Tilly and their parents, went to Cambodia to visit the Green Gecko Project to learn how the organisation provides education, a home and medical care to families who lack such necessities.

To read more about activities and events taking place at UWCSEA, see eDunia at www.uwcsea.edu.sg

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Dover Campus hosted the boys Football in November and Gymnastics in its new facilities in March. East Campus hosted its first SEASAC girls Softball competition, also in March.

In preparation for Grade 1’s shoe box project for Chinese New Year at East Campus, parents and teachers helped provide a rewarding and successful service experience. Donations came in and Happy Lodge residents were treated to morning tea and a performance by the students.

A personal action to make a difference

UWCSEA statistics

eaSt aSia UWC SoUth al annU RepoRt 2011-2012

Below is a selection of statistics from the 2011–2012 Annual Report.

The full report can be read online at www.uwcsea.edu.sg/AnnualReport.

1

Alumni

50% 158 Known alumni who are contactable

Universities represented in the Mentor programme

Community

Service

Students on both campuses

Global Concerns across the College

4,557 74

303 Alumni volunteer mentors

1,995 Clients interacting with UWCSEA students through local service

76 $930,950 Nationalities

Raised by students across the College

Outdoor education

Activities 318 238

PS

194

MS

US

136

SS

22 OneÂşNorth June 2013

Number of events each week across the College* *Senior School was for Dover Campus only

585,622 Student hours spent overseas

IB Diploma May 2012

28%

78.4%

Worldwide

99.7%

UWCSEA

UWCSEA students receiving a bilingual diploma

Pass rate

29.8

4.6

36.0

Worldwide

Worldwide

UWCSEA

5.6

UWCSEA

Human Resources

52 Posts advertised

2,937 Teaching applications received

Average diploma score

Average subject grade

Gap Year – 10% National Service – 4% Asia – 6%

22%

Average years of experience of College teachers

Europe – 3%

UWCSEA

North America – 47% Australia – 8%

5.85% Worldwide

UK – 22%

Students receiving 40+ points

17 71

Destinations of Class of 2012

IBDP Examiners

Financials Central Admin – 1% Depreciation – 6% Boarding exp – 4% Maintenance and Operations – 5% Marketing and Communications – 1% Educational resources – 4%

Central Admin – 0.5% Depreciation – 4% Boarding exp – 1% Maintenance and Operations – 11% Marketing and Communications – 1% Educational resources – 7%

Administration salary and benefits – 6% Boarding salary and benefits – 1% Educational support salary and benefits – 9%

Dover expenditure

East expenditure Administration salary and benefits – 5% Boarding salary and benefits – 0.5% Educational support salary and benefits – 10%

Teachers salary and benefits – 60%

OneºNorth June 2013 23

Teachers salary and benefits – 64%

House Calls Mark practiced in Canada, slashed social spending and many house-bound seniors lost access to social services.

By Brenda Whately

Mark Nowaczynski UWCSEA 1975–1977 Class of 1977

24 OneºNorth June 2013

From early on in his medical career, Mark worked with seniors. The first group practice he joined after completing his medical training in 1992 had a high concentration of senior patients, and he made house calls to those who were too frail to make it to his office without great difficulty. In 1995, however, the Ontario provincial government where

In 1998, Mark began to photograph his patients (with their permission), to document their lives and to raise awareness about their situations, noting that, “Photography has a venerable history as a tool for advocacy and social change.” In 2002, he first showed the images and told the stories at a seminar he gave at the University of Toronto.

The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, subsequently ran a threepage spread on the issue of geriatric home care using his images. This began to open doors. The National Film Board of Canada made a Gemini Award winning documentary film (released in 2005) depicting the plight of house-bound seniors called House Calls. In the film, ‘Dr. Mark’ is seen caring for three elderly patients over the course of a year, and advocating for improved access to care.

His patients describe how they want to continue to live at home and in the process, they reveal poignant stories about their past. One of the women had been a professional dancer in Europe, another a pianist. The elderly man had been at Normandy on D-Day during the Second World War. The film emphasizes the fact that these patients are people, not numbers. At the end of the film, Mark made a plea to the Minister of Health to bring about a change in funding that would allow physicians like himself to dedicate their full time practice to treating house-bound patients.

The biggest problem in Western countries, Mark says, is that many elderly people end up in Emergency Departments and become hospitalised because they haven’t been cared for properly beforehand. Home-based primary care serves to delay and reduce the need for hospital and nursing home care, which would in turn reduce the burden on

tax-payers. As an example, Mark says a year of care in a nursing home costs the government over $50,000, while a year of government-sponsored home care would cost about one-tenth of that.

The three key ingredients to Mark’s choice of career and how he has gone about it, are his willingness to take risks, his love of photography and his need to perform social service. These are three things that he attributes to his two years in Singapore. At 16 years of age, having travelled to the other side of the world from his home in Montreal, Canada as one of the first UWCSEA scholars, he says, “I was inspired to buy a camera, and I wandered the nooks and crannies of Singapore with it.” Art teacher Gavin Waddell soon convinced Kodak to donate 100 rolls of film for him to document the diversity and culture of the region. At this time, Mark also became involved in the friendly visiting service programme in the Paediatric Oncology Department of NUH, Singapore’s National University Hospital. In the second year, Mark gained permission to supervise the programme himself. He says, “It exposed me to vulnerable populations, and the work I do today is very much focused on marginalised elders—frail elders who are housebound, without support to get to the doctor’s office. The friendly visiting must have made a lasting impact on me. Some seeds were clearly planted at UWCSEA!” Mark never planned to get into clinical medicine. He completed a Bachelor’s degree at Queen’s University and a PhD in physiology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and became a research scientist. He began his medical studies in order to further his research career but soon found that being a practicing medical doctor was much more appealing.

In 2007, he closed his family practice to do geriatric home care on a full time basis. At the time, he says he knew that financially it was a bad decision, but from an advocacy point of view, a very wise one. He felt that if he waited for the government to act, he would be long retired so he decided to go ahead and hope that he could sway the situation.

Mark is still using photography to document social issues and try to influence change. In 2010, a solo exhibit of his photographs, House Calls with my Camera, opened at the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada’s largest and most visited museum, and remained on display for over a year. In 2012, he gained much success when the Ontario Minister of Health extolled the virtues of his home visit programme and made a commitment to provide funding to bring house calls back.

The current provincial government in Ontario is supportive, and he feels that his photo documentary project helped to connect with and encourage input from people and organisations who he wouldn’t have otherwise had access to.

He says, “From new and unusual alliances, comes change.”

Among a list of other awards he has received, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto has recognised Mark with the Educational Excellence for Community Care Award and the Ontario College of Family Physicians has honoured him with the Award of Excellence in recognition of his commitment to providing home-based care and his advocacy for the role that family doctors play in homecare.

Mark’s wife is a banker, his son is a business student and his daughter works, like himself, to help marginalised communities.

To watch the documentary film House Calls, visit www.nfb.ca/film/house-calls OneºNorth June 2013 25

He is the Clinical Director of House Calls, an interdisciplinary team consisting of a nurse practitioner, two occupational therapists, a physiotherapist, a social worker and two additional physicians— a team now funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health. He is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and makes it a point to take young doctors-in-training on home visits to elderly patients. Two former medical residents have now joined his team. He says, “There is great interest in my unusual type of practice.

From an idealistic viewpoint, it is viewed favourably by many physicians. Physician

funding for home visits has improved, making this a more appealing career choice for some.” Mark also volunteers on a number of advisory and advocacy panels, steering committees and task groups.

Conscious capitalism— finding the sweet spot …

By Brenda Whately

Shradha Agarwal UWCSEA 2002–2004 Class of 2004 Shradha Agarwal is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of ContextMedia.

A content media company, it provides screen media technology for the purposes of imparting lifestyle and health-related information to educate patients waiting in hospitals and medical offices. The company has doubled in growth year over year since launch in 2006, and its content reaches more than a million patients monthly in over 2,500 hospitals in 50 American states. Starting out with three co-founders and some interns in 2006, the company has now grown to 38 employees and 24 content partners.

Shradha describes herself as, “founder, investor, strategist, executor; passionate about great ideas and purposeful people.”

When asked what she thinks being an entrepreneur means, she says, “Someone who challenges the status quo and suggests better products or services to improve an industry or society.

Being an entrepreneur is an attitude, skillset and philosophy. It’s about being curious and fearless.”

The entrepreneur behind several original businesses since the age of nine, Shradha started out loaning her books in fourth grade, to make money to buy more books. In university she co-founded a magazine that is still being published.

Her most recent entrepreneurial venture, ContextMedia, is one for which Shradha has received a number of awards.

26 OneºNorth June 2013

Honoured at the White House last year along with her co-founder, Shradha was named as one of the top 100 young entrepreneurs in the US. She was also recognised by Crain’s Chicago Business

as one of the Tech 50 individuals leading Chicago’s startup businesses, and she was named to their 40 under 40 list of young achievers, also in 2012. In November, she won the Gold Award for Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year globally, at the 9th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, out of 300 businesswomen from around the world.

Also last year, ContextMedia was selected as a 2012 recipient of the 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, by the National Association for Business Resources.

Shradha spends her considerable energy not only on her own company, but also as a conference speaker and startup advisor, a mentor and angel investor, a board member of Northwestern Student Holdings and a participant on several councils and committees.

Having grown up in Delhi and Kolkata, India, Shradha came to UWCSEA in 2002 as a National Committee scholar.

After graduating from the IB programme in 2004, she then went on to study at Northwestern University in the United States, graduating with a degree in journalism, with a concentration in economics and international relations.

The Northwestern alumni association named her as one of the 30 most promising graduates in her class of 2,000 students.

Shradha has always had a passion for communication and speaks five languages. Her other passions include exploring new cultures and helping others, something influenced and enhanced by her time at UWCSEA. In her article, ‘Doing Well vs. Doing Good: How about Both?’ recently published by Forbes, she writes, “Many young women today want to align with an organisation that is changing the world somehow, but

most of us are not quite ready to give up our salary or live in a shared apartment at 32 in order to join a non-profit we believe in. I attended UWCSEA where we were taught that in any given situation, a solution that works for both parties (or countries, or disputed areas) can be created. Yes, the magical intersection in the Venn diagram is real! More plainly put, we learned that you can always create a win-win situation to benefit both sides. For companies and startups today, making a profit and serving others are the two big circles—and that sliver in between is the sweet spot, a.k.a. conscious capitalism.” Shradha feels that business should have goals that reach higher than simply adding to the bottom line. She sees her own company as providing a social benefit, branding it as ‘for-benefit’—a for-profit business that exists for social benefit. She insists that, “Business has the power to really make the world a better place.”

In October 2012, Shradha and her co-founder of ContextMedia pledged to invest five million dollars in Chicago’s startup community over the next three years and to give a thousand hours of mentorship yearly, especially to womenled initiatives. She has already started, having co-founded Jumpstart Ventures, investing in at least 14 startups so far and mentoring the entrepreneurs involved.

To read the Forbes article quoted above, see http://onforb.es/VKkEEg

Kids win life-changing scholarship Excerpt of an article from the Phnom Penh Post

By Kevin Ponniah UWCSEA 2006–2008 Class of 2008 Orphaned and homeless at the age of seven, Sayorn Chin and his younger brother hopped on the back of a truck in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, and made their way to Phnom Penh. With no family to care for them, the pair picked and sold rubbish at the Stung Meanchey dumpsite, a mountainous, seething mass of the capital’s detritus. “Somehow we managed to buy food,” Chin, now 18, said. “Perhaps something in my mind pushed me to survive in those circumstances.”

Looking back now, Chin said that the time he spent homeless feels like “a different world.” He was back in Phnom Penh to assist with the scholarship programme that changed his life five years ago. At eight, he was taken in by the Centre for Children’s Happiness (CCH), an orphanage that gives children from the dumpsite a clean place to live, three meals a day and a chance to receive an education. Topping the class from the get-go, he skipped ahead and found himself in Grade 9 at the age of 13.

included provincial examinations in mathematics, English and Khmer, selection days and rounds of interviews.

The scholarships, now given annually to Cambodian students, cover boarding expenses, school fees, flights and provide a living allowance. The students will eventually graduate with an International Baccalaureate Diploma, an internationally recognised High School qualification.

“The scholarship is a life-changing opportunity. I would not be the person I am today without the scholarship,” Chin told the Post. “When I see kids on the street, I feel like I was them before. They don’t know what their life could be like.

All they think about is how to survive on a daily basis. I want them to think they have a future.”

Sinath Keo, 18, was also present over the weekend to mentor prospective scholars, having received a scholarship in the same year as Chin. Her parents died when she was a child, leading her and her four siblings to work on the dumpsite until they were also taken in by CCH. “We didn’t have money to pay for school,” she said. “Anything that could be recycled we would collect and sell. Between us, we made maybe $2.50 a day.”

UWCSEA is one of a number of UWC schools around the world that provide merit-based scholarships and deliver a “challenging and transformative educational experience,” according to their website.

Adapting to a large and academically intense international school in a metropolis like Singapore is not easy, something that Keo knows well.

“Honestly, it was a huge culture shock, and it took a year to adapt,” she said, adding that simple things such as chatting during mealtimes and hugging the opposite sex were initially confounding for someone who had grown up in Khmer culture.

Despite having won scholarships for further study in the US, both Keo and Chin intend to return to Cambodia to assist with the country’s development after university. “I really want to help kids who have a dream, just like me. Education is a source of success to me,” Keo said.

The writer, Kevin Ponniah is a former student of UWCSEA (Class of 2008). He did a gap year in Cambodia before studying politics at the University of Melbourne and subsequently achieving a post-graduate degree in journalism at RMIT.

In 2008, he won a five-year scholarship to UWCSEA, a progressive international school in Singapore, frequently recognised as one of the top High Schools in the world.

This past weekend, four more five-year scholarships to UWCSEA were awarded to Cambodian nationals in a small ceremony at the offices of NGO Equitable Cambodia, attended by teachers from the College, proud relatives and friends, and former recipients like Chin.

The scholarships were handed out after a rigorous vetting process that OneºNorth June 2013 27

My gap year in

India

By Michaela Vebrova UWCSEA 2009–2011 Class of 2011 “Every year, the UWCSEA factory produces some 300 sausages,” Mr. Morley, Head of Gap Year Projects, once said at an assembly, “which are then shipped straight to packaging facilities to get their colourful labels. Then they are ready to be distributed to shops.”

By packaging facilities he meant colleges and universities; my friends and I were the sausages.

28 OneºNorth June 2013

When I heard this, I thought it might be worthwhile to hop out of the conveyor belts of educational systems for a year, just to see what else was out there. I disobeyed my parents, who wrongly supposed that an unsealed sausage would spoil, and took a gap year.

Although I would have been happy to opt for any of the many projects offered by the UWCSEA Gap Year programme, one attracted me more than others—Akshara, an NGO located on the campus of UWC Mahindra College (UWCMC), UWCSEA’s sister school in India’s Western Ghats.

The prospect of committing myself to

service in rural India while remaining under the UWC influence for one more year was irresistible.

As a National Committee scholar, I was neither able to finance such a venture nor qualified enough to be sure I would contribute meaningfully.

However, I would have been naïve to think that UWCSEA wouldn’t offer its students opportunities to overcome such challenges. I was encouraged to enrol in the ELT (English Language Teaching) course. In the boarding house, it was not hard to find a friend who was willing to teach me the basics of Marathi, the official language of the Indian state of Maharashtra. And finally, to my great amazement, the UWCSEA Foundation agreed to sponsor my gap year project.

Nothing could prevent me from deferring college and booking a flight to Mumbai.

When I arrived to Khubavali, the village where the Akshara project was based.

I went to Dr. Joshi, my new boss, and demanded to be assigned tasks to complete. “Do whatever you want!” she told me with a bright smile on her kind face. I was advised to spend a week getting to know the organisation and then decide how I would spend the remaining seven months.

Akshara was founded by Mr. Tyagi, a UWC-USA graduate who saw UWCMC’s potential to be more than an isolated enclave of excellence—he thought the College’s interaction with the surrounding region did not need to be limited to employing cooks and gardeners and allowing UWCMC students occasional stints of service in the villages. In the

seven years of its existence, Akshara has helped hundreds of children from the surrounding villages succeed in their High School leaving exams and find vocational training, university or a job.

The NGO’s additional activities range from providing counselling to dozens of families in the valley, including those from socially excluded tribes, to running a playgroup and a youth centre. Moreover, Akshara organises a rigorous UWC selection process every year. The best of the children from the local schools are awarded UWC scholarships – can you think of a better link between the UWC movement and the local community?

After my first week, I told Mrs. Joshi I had found myself an occupation.

In the mornings, I would walk down to the village to accept the challenge of taming a class of 30 eighth, ninth or tenth graders, preparing them for their national English exams or rehearsing a play with them. Initially, my chalkboard was my only ally. It took me several days to figure out how to explain grammar rules of English in English, the students’ third language. However, we soon learned to work together—after all, I had once been in their position, reciting irregular verbs from the very same Cambridge University Press book, only sitting under a Czech birch instead of a Maharashtrian palm tree.

In the afternoons, I would spend most of my time with the four soon-to-be UWC students. They had just started their year-long pre-IB course designed to mitigate their potential transition shock.

I looked at their timetable and took over all their free classes—it seemed obvious that this was the place for me. Designing a curriculum we would follow for the next seven months was a piece of cake— having just completed my two years at a UWC school, I knew exactly what to prepare these children for.

It was an exciting task. I had never met anyone whose culture would be so diametrically different from mine.

Even the most ‘exotic’ people I knew at UWCSEA spoke some English, knew how to use a computer, owned at least one pair of shorts and didn’t have a problem talking to members of the opposite sex.

For this reason, it was also a delicate task.

I was set on exposing these children to everything that could later surprise them, but the last thing I wanted to do was to preach Western values. It went well beyond language teaching, and I knew that if I didn’t make the right decisions at the right time, my mistakes would leave my students confused about their potential to succeed in the classroom.

The children were not the only ones affected. I too found myself completely transformed. I started as a stereotypical TEFL teacher, then felt like a Victorian-era governess for some time and eventually became … you could call it an older sister. My students moulded my methods of instruction until it perfectly suited their personal and academic demands.

Without realising it, they caused me to

change my educational philosophy and convinced me to dedicate my life to education reform.

As I write this, Asmita, Amit, Saraswati and Deepali are in the middle of their first year at UWC-USA, UWC Waterford Kamhlaba and UWC Pearson College.

According to what they tell me on Facebook, they are doing excellently, taking advantage of the world-class education, reading, talking, cooking, painting, hiking and choreographing dances. As for me, when I hear my classmates at Colgate University dismiss non-traditional educational models that we discuss in class as utopian, my thoughts wander back to India; to India, where I met four children who would be happy to prove my classmates wrong.

Asmita, Amit, Saraswati and Deepali are vegetarian, and they do not like sausages.

Michaela is a first year student at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, USA. She intends to major in Educational Studies and go on to pursue a Masters of Education degree. She says, “I am hoping that the sense of idealism UWCSEA nurtured in me will not leave me anytime soon.”

OneºNorth June 2013 29

The absolute freedom with which Dr. Joshi bestowed me brought along a huge challenge—I was determined to

find the right pedagogical approach for this particular context. I had only four kids to worry about most of the time and so I could afford to experiment.

My students soon made me scrap the classroom teaching model. We read books in a tree house, on a lawn or on a terrace overlooking the valley. We would all squeeze onto my bed and watch and discuss movies. We cooked together. We danced. We wrote essays in a gazebo. We climbed school buildings and mountains.

We swam together. We celebrated birthdays, attended weddings, rode motorbikes. After those seven months of work disguised as fun, my pre-IB students became confident speaking English, creative in their thinking and able to present their culture with pride.

Become involved

The Centre for International Education

By Caroline Meek

30 OneºNorth June 2013

UWCSEA’s Centre for International Education has fast become a national and international hub for some of the best professional learning opportunities offered in East Asia. The Centre, as it has affectionately become known, was established in 2011 to provide an enriched educational experience for teachers, students and parents of the College. The Centre organises workshops, courses, meetings and conferences, bringing in top trainers and speakers from around the world. In addition, the Centre hosts the provocative Kishore Mahbubani Speaker Series, a blend of TED Talk and BBC Question Time, which takes place once a term, three times a year. The latest events can be found on the Centre’s website at www.uwcsea.edu.sg/centre.

Recent highlights at the Centre include the 24-hour student-led TechLIFE conference, organised by six Middle and High School students. The student organisers utilised connections through UWCSEA parents at Google, Apple, Microsoft and other companies to find speakers and technology ‘gurus’ to lead workshop sessions in addition to planning their own student-led workshops. When it came to selecting the featured speaker, they went for the biggest name they

could think of: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who agreed to speak via Skype.

The Middle School Principals’ Meeting, Teachers’ Conference and Parents’ Mini Conference took place over three days from 18–20 April. Principals from 30 international schools, over 200 teachers from 12 countries around East Asia and more than 300 parents attended the three respective events. Of the three plenary speakers, two ran sessions for East Campus Middle School students during their time at the College.

The Centre is always looking to bring outstanding presenters, trainers and speakers to the UWCSEA community.

Could you be one of those? During the past term, a recent graduate who received a top score in her IB, addressed students and answered their questions about exam preparation and her current career.

Another alum was so popular with the Dover students that he was invited by the East Campus to run his project management workshop there too.

If you would like to get involved by sharing your stories or expertise with our current students or by taking part in the Kishore Mahbubani Speaker Series, please contact Caroline Meek, Director of the Centre for International Education, at centre@uwcsea.edu.sg.

Careers Fair 2013 The March 2013 annual Careers Fair for High School students was held at East Campus this year. With more than 90 volunteer participants from the parent, alumni and external communities, students were able to speak directly with professionals from many diverse fields.

Organised by the Parents’ Association East, the event provided students with practical advice to assist them in their study and career path choices through both one-on-one interactions and presentations. Aside from the career booths, 10 speakers gave 15-minute presentations on their careers, which proved quite popular, with some having standing room only.

Kamal Sidhwa Taraporevala of the Parents’ Association East said, “While students benefited from the presentations and conversations with professionals, the professionals were equally impressed by our students— how well prepared they were and how thoughtful their questions.” One of the speakers commented, “I kept thinking to myself that I really could have benefited from something like this when I was in High School.”

Thank you to all of the alumni who helped to make the 2013 Careers Fair a wonderful success! We look forward to having such a great level of support again next year.

UWCSEA Foundation UWCSEA alumni join the Trustee Board of the Foundation

We are delighted to welcome Dale Fisher ’78 and Heinrich Jessen ’86 as Foundation trustees. They will be joining Michelle Sassoon ’82 and nine other committed volunteers who give their time, energy and experience to govern the Foundation.

Trustees bring a vast range of knowledge and expertise from the education, finance, government, business and legal sectors.

After graduating, Chi has chosen to go to Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Robert’s alma mater, where she was recently awarded a further Lizanne and Robert Milton Scholarship. Chi says, “This has been the most eventful two years of my life so far. All my friends are people who have a vision for a better world and the courage and initiative to carry that vision out. To imagine that I would not have been able to come had it not been for Robert and Lizanne.”

The Foundation looks forward to working with Robert and Lizanne on their second endowed UWCSEA scholar for August 2013.

Class of ’78 National Committee scholar graduates

Alumni giving Lizanne and Robert A Milton UWCSEA Endowed Scholarship (Robert ’78/Lizanne ’83) Robert and Lizanne’s first endowed scholar, Chi, has graduated this year. Whilst at UWCSEA, Chi has been passionate about sharing her culture with other students.

She represented Vietnam in cultural events such as International Evenings and UN Nights and baked traditional dishes to sell for Global Concerns. In addition to her studies, she also has been a part of Peace for the Kids GC, helping Agent Orange child victims in Vietnam.

It’s been almost two years since members of the Class of 1978 welcomed their new scholar Kengthsagn from Haiti, to begin her IB education. Kengthsagn had this to say to them: “I will make a change happen somewhere in the world.

I will make a change in someone’s life like you did in mine.”

The Sassoons fund a two-year scholarship Victor and Michelle Sassoon ’82 have generously gifted a two-year scholarship to our first-ever Israeli scholar starting in August 2013. The Israeli National Committee recently completed their selection process, and we look forward to introducing this scholar to you soon.

Class gifts of 2012 and 2013

Last year, the Class of 2012 sponsored a wishing well with a swirl feature that allows students to ‘race’ coins into the well. All of the coins collected from the well will help support UWCSEA’s Foundation Scholarship Programme.

The wishing well was unveiled earlier this year with the help of current Grade 12 students and the Head of Dover Campus, Frazer Cairns. Frazer’s message was this: “We would hope that UWCSEA will remain a part of you long after you have left the College, through the friendships you have made, the memories that you carry away and in terms of how you view this exciting but complicated world.”

Annual Fund gaining momentum Since its launch three years ago, UWCSEA’s Annual Fund programme has provided additional student scholarship positions, supported over 200 teachers to take part in a variety of professional development opportunities and enhanced the landscape of both Dover and East campuses through the tree planting project. These are key programmes that will enrich the UWCSEA experience for all current and future students.

With your help, we can keep this momentum going. Please consider making a donation to UWCSEA’s Annual Fund today and empower, enable and invest in the future generation of global citizens that are following in your footsteps. Gifts of any amount can make a real difference. (http://foundation.uwcsea.edu.sg)

Continuing the tradition that started in 2008, the Classes of 2012 and 2013 have chosen to leave unique and very thoughtful gifts to UWCSEA. This year, the graduates chose to sponsor a recreational lounge for the facilities staff who work tirelessly to maintain and clean the campus every day.

OneºNorth June 2013 31

Teo Eng Seng living and breathing art two months after setting out. There he worked and studied to achieve a Bachelor’s degree in Painting and his postgraduate teaching certification. There he also met and married his wife, Diana, who he has been with for more than 45 years.

They have one son.

By Brenda Whately Accomplished and celebrated artist, teacher of art, subject of an art book, owner of an art gallery and winner of Singapore’s prestigious Cultural Medallion, Teo Eng Seng is a man whose life has revolved around art.

In 1971, Eng Seng joined UWCSEA to teach art and stayed for 25 years. He had trained to be an artist in England and completed his post-graduate teaching certification there. He was working in London when he was recruited along with about 60 others to join the first group of teachers at what was then called the Singapore International School (SIS), the name changing to UWC South East Asia (UWCSEA) four years later. He says, “The idealism of the new school attracted me—the international understanding and good will. I didn’t feel that I was making enough of a difference in England, so I decided to return to Singapore.”

32 OneºNorth June 2013

A man of high energy, perseverance and need of a challenge, Eng Seng had first arrived in England in 1961 to pursue his study of art by hitchhiking across Asia, travelling by ship to India and then hitchhiking again through a number of countries including Iran, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and what was then Yugoslavia.

He finally reached London with about five pounds sterling in his pocket about

In the years since returning to Singapore in 1971, these same personal qualities led to his battling many situations that he considered unfair or unequal, whether it was at the College or in his personal life. On consulting his colleagues in the Mandarin Department about the meaning of his name, Eng Seng, he was told that it could be interpreted as “Never say die.”

He is still happy with that description and notes, “I’ve always liked a good struggle.”

When he first arrived at UWCSEA, he and the rest of the Art staff immediately saw an opportunity to use their position to contribute to and enhance the arts in Singapore. They began to persuade artists from within and outside Singapore to send their work to be displayed at the annual UWCSEA Arts Festival, and they invited local schools, other international schools and universities to visit. Eng Seng remembers having trouble getting customs clearance for a piece being received from England. He was asked by a customs official how much it was worth. He had no idea but off the top of his head, he told her $1,000. She asked how he could prove this and he said he would sell it to her for $1,000 on the spot to prove that it was worth no more than that. He says, “She was not amused, but cleared the piece for me.” Defeat has never been an option for him.

Several pieces of the art that came into UWCSEA to be exhibited during the early Arts Festivals were purchased by the

College and remained until recently when six of the pieces were donated to the Singapore Art Museum with Eng Seng’s encouragement, where they are being restored and will eventually be exhibited.

The UWCSEA Arts Festival became an important event in Singapore, Eng Seng notes. He believes that this helped to develop good relationships between the College and the Singapore government.

He says, “Those were exciting years.”

He introduced, stretched and guided his students through a wide variety of interesting and innovative art projects. From 1986 until 1990, he was a Member of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Curriculum Board’s Art/Design Subject Committee and contributed to the production of an IB Art/Design Teachers’ Guide and several international workshops for teachers.

Having contributed significantly to the development of IB Art/Design, to fairer incentives for teachers from different countries, a reputable Art Department and successful students, it was time to be a full time artist.

He had been telling his students for years that it was possible to make a living as an artist. One day in 1996, he says, he was asked by a student why he was teaching and not working as a full-time artist. He gave notice to the Head that same day that he would be leaving at the end of that academic year. And he did.

Since that time, Eng Seng has lived up to his word—that it is definitely possible to make a living as an artist. His work has been exhibited in a long list of solo and group exhibitions and celebrated by a number of awards. He has played an advisory role to various art institutions

and national committees in Singapore.

Many of his students keep in touch with him still, and he is happy to note that some of them are also working as artists.

“It is only a challenge to greater things.”

Eng Seng doesn’t have a favourite medium to work in. He produces paintings, relief work, three-dimensional works, sculptures, etc. He is perhaps best known for his invention of the ‘paperdyesculp’ medium in which he makes paper, dyes it and shapes it. In 2000, he created a GRC (glass reinforced concrete) relief on the Outram Park MRT interchange wall, one panel of which is shown here.

Turning his beautiful shophouse home on Marshall Road into an art gallery called Muse House in 2008, Eng Seng not only exhibits his own art and the work of other artists there, but also uses it as a place for people to meet, learn and hold discussions around the topic of art.

In 2011, art historian T.K. Sabapathy published a beautiful book called Teo Eng Seng. Art and Thoughts. In an article in the Straits Times in April 2011, he is reported to have said of Eng Seng, “He has strongly-held opinions about the world, himself, other people, art and life, and he’s unafraid to speak these when they need to be spoken.” I think that’s a good description of the man I have come to know a little.

Among a long list of art awards, Mr Teo is a recipient of the prestigious Singapore Cultural Medallion Award. When accepting it, he is reported to have said, “It is only a challenge to greater things.”

He has not slowed down since.

OneºNorth June 2013 33

Reunion 2012 Over a full weekend in late August 2012, the classes of 1982, 1987, 1992 and 2002 celebrated their 30, 25, 20 and 10 year anniversaries, respectively.

The turnout was tremendous and everyone seemed to have a good time reliving old memories and making new ones.

34 OneºNorth June 2013

For more photos of the event, please visit the alumni site’s event calendar, choose ‘Past events’ and find ‘Reunion 2012.’ If you’d like copies of any of the photos, please write to reunion@uwcsea.edu.sg.

OneยบNorth June 2013 35

Recent reunions Singapore 27 September 2012

Vancouver 4 October 2012

Washington DC 9 October 2012

Toronto

Singapore 2012 (September)

Vancouver 2012

Toronto 2012

Zurich 2012

11 October 2012

Zurich 24 October 2012

Frankfurt 27 October 2012

Shanghai 26 November 2012

Mumbai 1 December 2012

Singapore 21 December 2012

London 18 January 2013

Amsterdam 19 January 2013

Seoul 22 January 2013

Tokyo 25 January 2013

Singapore 28 March 2013

Boston

Singapore 2012 (December)

1 May 2013

New York 3 May 2013

36 OneยบNorth June 2013

For more reunion photos, see the event calendar/past events on the alumni site: http://alumni.uwcsea.edu.sg

Singapore 2012 (December)

Tokyo 2013

Boston 2013

Boston 2013

Seoul 2013

Amsterdam 2013

OneยบNorth June 2013 37

New York 2013

London 2013

Long-serving teachers leaving UWCSEA this year Pete Garrett UWCSEA 1981–2013

Thea Skillicorn UWCSEA 1987–2013

Some of you will remember me as the man who taught CDT, Design and Communication or Design and Technology, others as the man who looked after boarders in Mahindra House. Some as the man who taught waterskiing, wakeboarding and golf. Some as the man who joined a number of expeditions.

Some will remember me as a tutor and others as the man who ran the sound for the school productions throughout the ’80s. Some will remember me as the producer of the annual Rockshow for three decades and others as a washboard, bass, guitar and cajon player. Some as the man who used to come to school on his motorbike with his daughter reading on the back! Some of you will remember me as an energetic 30 year old and others as a 62 year old retiree. Goodbye UWCSEA. It’s been 32 great years!

Thea is looking back on 26 fulfilled and happy years at UWCSEA in Singapore. Caring for boarders, bringing up Nick and Chris, taking charge of the German Department and utterly enjoying teaching German, being part of Global Concerns projects and Initiative for Peace, Thea is taking away very happy memories of working with students and making special friends. She and Skilly are ready for the next chapter in Berlin. Auf Wiedersehen!

38 OneºNorth June 2013

Anthony (Skilly) Skillicorn UWCSEA 1987–2013 Anthony Skillicorn leaves UWCSEA after 26 busy, productive and fun-filled years.

After getting to know Dover students as Head of Senior House, Head of Grade and Head of Global Concerns Skilly moved to the new East campus to start the High School Service programme there. Identifying a defining moment is impossible, but Skilly feels the many highlights were when teachers and students both enjoyed achieving the same goals beyond the classroom.

He leaves taking many precious memories with him.

Di Smart UWCSEA 1992–2013 Di Smart has been the Principal of High School at Dover Campus since 1999. Before this, she was Principal of the Senior School and prior to that, Head of English. She has been a teacher of GCSE and IB English Literature, a mentor, a supervisor and a friend to a huge number of past and current students and staff. She is leaving UWCSEA this year to spend time with her family and hopes to remain very much involved in education in the UK. If time permits, she would love to pursue a PhD in English Literature. She will be sorely missed. Di has this to say to her former students: “I feel blessed and privileged to have taught for the last 20 years, here at UWCSEA and will always remember and value the students I was fortunate enough to get to know in my English classes. I sincerely hope you are all still reading and continue to have a love of language in all its forms.”

Judy O’Byrne UWCSEA 1992–2013 Thanks and goodbye to all the wonderful students and marvellous colleagues who have made my time at uwcsea so fulfilling and interesting.”

Peter O’Byrne UWCSEA 1992–2013 To quote Edith Piaf, “Non, je ne regrette rien.”

Thanks to all for a fantastic 21 years.

It has been a blast.

Jo Ann Kennedy UWCSEA 2000–2013 I have been associated with UWCSEA since 1990, first as a parent and then for the last 13 years as a staff member. I know that UWCSEA has positively shaped my life and that of my family. As I retire, I am very satisfied knowing that the majority of my career was spent in Singapore at UWCSEA. I now look forward to the next chapter in my life.

Melbourne 27 September 2013

Upcoming reunions Reunion 2013!

Sixth Annual Reunion celebrating the 40, 35, 30, 25, 20 and 10 year classes

Sydney 8 November 2013

23–25 August 2013 The Classes of 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993 and 2003 are invited to celebrate in Singapore in August 2013. Any other alumni who wish to join the reunion are welcome as well.

As in previous years, all five classes are hosted at a Friday evening cocktail reception and Asian-themed buffet dinner party, this year at the Conrad Hotel, Suntec City, to kick off the weekend. Unlike previous years however, the barbecue lunch hosted at the Dover campus of UWCSEA will take place on Saturday afternoon rather than Sunday. Revisit your memories and take a tour provided by current Grade 12 students. Saturday night and Sunday are left open for you to plan your own group activities. Join us for a weekend of fun, fond memories and reconnection with old friends and new.

Brisbane 9 November 2013

Reunion 2014!

Seventh Annual Reunion celebrating the 40, 35, 30, 25, 20 and 10 year classes 22–24 August 2014 The Classes of 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994 and 2004 are invited to celebrate in Singapore in August 2014. Any other alumni who wish to join the reunion are welcome as well.

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!

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 (alumni@uwcsea.edu.sg) so that we can keep you informed about alumni get-togethers in your location.

Don’t miss out!

Singapore 19 December 2013

UWC South East Asia 1207 Dover Road Singapore 139654 www.uwcsea.edu.sg alumni@uwcsea.edu.sg http://alumni.uwcsea.edu.sg

Printed on 100% recycled paper.

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