This summer International House began a new stage in its ongoing work to enhance international awareness

and encourage global citizenship. I-House began SENDING students abroad! Six fellows ventured off to some

rather atypical study abroad destinations including Egypt, Taiwan, Peru and Czech Republic for scientific re-

search. What follows are excerpts from reports, blogs and letters which the students have written.

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to

improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice,

he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each

other from a million different centers of energy and

daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep

down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

-- Robert F. Kennedy

Winter and Spring Quarters of 2007 mark

the first year of UCSD’s new Intercultural Ambassa-

dor Scholarship Program. The mission of this pro-

gram is to increase cross-cultural awareness among

United States’ youth through education. In today’s

globalizing world, the need for this type of aware-

ness and understanding is becoming more crucial

each and every day. Barriers such as language, skin

color, clothing, music, and food can create an entity

of misconceptions that block our view and hinder us

from seeing the individual. These cultural barriers, if

not broken in the beginning, will only settle and take

stronger root as time progresses. It is the aim of

this program to breakdown such misconceptions

and stereotypes by targeting children while they are

still young.

The Intercultural Ambassador Scholarship

Program does this by creating a partnership be-

tween a local teacher and an international student.

These students go into the classroom and make

presentations to the children on their home culture

and country. In this way, the children are intro-

duced to a culture that they may never have en-

countered before. It is this personal contact that

allows the program to succeed. In this unique envi-

ronment, the children and the international students are given a beautiful space in which to create a sym-

biotic relationship between them: the ambassador

and the host, where both are given the food of

knowledge. Furthermore, the ambassadors are

given a platform on which to share their culture and

thereby an opportunity to clarify any misconcep-

tions that he/she has already encountered in US

society. The children, on the other hand, are given

the amazing gift of vision to see beyond the surface.

The ambassadors, by sharing their home culture and

country, create a link with the students. It pulls

them from a knowledge of the world based on

words and imagination to a knowledge based on

experience.

UCSD is conducting this program togeth-

er with San Diego State University and the

International Studies Education Program, both of

which have been participating in the program for

twenty-one years. This year the program will host

twenty-six teachers from the San Diego area and

twenty-one international students: ten from UCSD

and eleven from SDSU. Each student is coupled

with three different teachers and makes three

presentations for each on their home culture. The

following countries will be represented by UCSD:

Italy, Iran, England, Mongolia, the People’s Republic

Intercultural Ambassadors: Bridging Cultures through Mutual Learning

Written by: Tamami Komatsu, Intercultural Ambassadors Coordinator

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Intercultural

Ambassadors

1-2

Introducing:

Christi Gilhoi

2

Homelog:

Philippines

3

Alumni Spotlight 3

Goodbyes: Emily

and Greg

4-5

Alumni Updates

‘90 - ’01

5-6

Alumni Updates

‘02 - ‘06

6-9

I-Alum F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 0 7 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2

Intercultural Ambassadors ‘06 - ‘07

UC San Diego and San Diego State

Continued on page 2

Q U I C K

I - H O U S E

U P D A T E

Language Con-versation Tables

are expanding!

For Winter 2007,

30 language ta-bles are available,

including Indone-sian, Dutch, and

Persian.

2007 will be a year of innovation

and creativity for I-House! This

marks the year of Christi Gilhoi’s

beginning as the new UCSD I-

House director,

building upon the great work from

Emily Maxon and Greg Mallinger.

P A G E 2

Program

Spotlight

I - A L U M

Director’s Dialogue: Christi Gilhoi

Intercultural Ambassadors, cont. Pg. 1

of China, Brazil, Tahiti, and France. The ambassadors

were each carefully selected for their powerful and

vibrant energy in representing their country with the

aim to improve US international relations. The pro-

gram does not stop however with changing the pre-

sent but extends its influence to the future by grant-

ing each ambassador a $500 scholarship upon com-

pletion.

These scholarships and the funding for the

entire program at UCSD has been made possible by a

generous grant from the Copen Foundation. Mr.

Peter Copen , a man of intense idealism and confi-

dence, saw this program as an opportunity to change

the world. He works to that end each day by seam-

lessly flowing with change and utilizing the power of

technology. In 1988, Mr. Copen founded iEARN

(International Education and Resource Network),

which is a non-profit organization that connects stu-

dents via internet with teachers. The network is es-

tablished through the creation of hundreds of diverse

projects on nearly every subject of interest. These

projects are worked on in collaboration from various

teachers from around the world. It is the hope that

these connections and changes in perception will

bring balance to the world. iEARN has thus become

a facet of the Intercultural Ambassador Scholarship

Program this year and will be used by the teachers

predominantly but by the international students as

well.

It is the earnest hope that the connections

and relationships created between the ambassadors

and the children, the ambassadors and the teachers,

and between the US teachers with those abroad, will

all create the “centers of energy and daring” that

Robert F. Kennedy found to be at the source of revo-

lutionary change.

Greetings. I am Christi Gilhoi, the incoming I-

House Director. My husband Branko, my daughter

Mila, and I are thrilled to be a part of I-House. I start-

ed full time on February 1st after a few weeks of tran-

sition with Emily.

Over the past few years, I have watched Emi-

ly, Greg, and the I-House team expand I-House on

campus. Emily’s legacy of excellent work, tireless ser-

vice, and dynamic menu of programs is not an easy act

to follow. She clearly has a deep and heartfelt connec-

tion to I-Housers and the I-House mission. I know she

will be dearly missed at I-House, UCSD, and in the

community. I wish Emily, Gabriel, and Elias success in

the next chapter of their family’s own international

adventure.

My own undergraduate and postgraduate life

was deeply impacted by working, living, and traveling in

Europe and Asia. My eventual path from Minnesota to

San Diego, my family, and my career all resulted di-

rectly or indirectly from those early adventures. I owe a debt of service to my time overseas and

strive to be a mentor to those who seek to enrich their lives with international

experiences.

I am excited to steward I-House in the next chapter of residence life, programming, and

outreach. I believe that I-House plays an integral part of the continuing internationalization of

UCSD and acts as a vibrant force in the San Diego community. I welcome and value your sugges-

tions as I-House continues to grow and evolve.

--Christi Gilhoi

Christi Gilhoi and her family

EVENTS

Feb, 5 IAG: 'Shi'a

Revival: From Iraq

and Iran to Leba-

non and Be-

yond'with Dr. Vali

Nasr, Senior Fellow,

Council on Foreign

Relations

Feb. 7 Hindi Lan-

guage Cafe

Feb. 12 IAG:

'Looking Back and

Planning Ahead:

Political Evolution

of the Balkans' with

Col. Xhavit Gashi,

Chief of Cabinet at

Kosovo Protection

Corps for Kosovo,

2007 IGCC

Feb. 13 Homelog:

Cameroon

Feb. 20 Homelog:

China

Feb 28 Global

Gourmet: Africa

Mar. 3 Internation-

al Career Day

Alumni Spotlight: Sandra Nakamura

Sandra’s Art Exhibit in Spain

Sandra Nakamura

(US/’03) is now back in

Germany where she is a

MFA candidate at the

Bauhaus University in

Weimar since 2005.

About the exhibition in

Spain, it was a great expe-

rience! She was invited to

live and work as artist-in-

residence for the city of

Huesca, which is located

in the north of Spain,

close to the border with

France. She spent six

months there and pre-

sented a series of pro-

jects, the last one having

to do with the value of

land and the impossibility

of property ownership

these days, especially for

young people.

She covered 35m2

(which is the size of a

small apartment in Hues-

ca) with 1-cent coins,

totaling 1,500 euros. The

coins were laid out one

by one on the floor and

could be easily moved.

This project was also the

counterpart of another

project she developed in

Huesca about buying only

1m2 of land. Sandra pub-

lished a series of classified

announcements asking for

1m2 .

After graduation, she

moved to NYC where

she worked in arts admin-

istration for a year, be-

fore moving to Germany.

After Germany, Sandra is

not really sure what is

going to happen, but she

would love to spend

some time in Asia. Sandra

is Peruvian, but her grand-

parents came

from China and Japan, so she says that it

would be very special for her to be able to

go those places.

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2

Philippines Homelog featuring Karl Hyden

Homelog: Sinulog Festival of Cebu

By: Ivy Dulay

Homelogs are an integral part of the

I-House experience. Many students come

through our doors with a desire to teach

others about their interests and cultures. I-

House has welcomed its very own residents

to tell their stories from places like Nigeria,

Chile, Algeria, India, Mexico, Brazil, Ethiopia,

Malaysia, and most recently, the Philippines.

Despite the colonial history of the

Philippines, the beauty of this land is still evi-

dent in the faith of the Filipino people and

their celebrations. Karl Hyden, born in Cebu,

Philippines, presented various cultural aspects

of the Philippines such as food, dance, lan-

guage, people, and religion. After an overview

of the history and present state of the Philip-

pines, he shared the story of his hometown’s

annual festival with the International House

community. On the third Sunday of January,

Cebu holds its annual festival honoring the

Santo Niño, or “Child Jesus.” The procession

involves dancers of all ages wearing ornate,

colorful costumes dancing to the sequence of

two steps forward and one step backward.

This dance replicates the Cebuano word

“sulog” meaning “like a water current mov-

ing.” While dancing, the crowds yell “Pit Se-

ñor! Señor Santo Niño, Manoy Kiloy" in order to have their prayer petitions and thanksgiv-

ings heard by the Santo Niño. Before Christi-

anity was introduced to the Philippines, the

Sinulog dance had been performed honoring

wooden statues of pagan deities. How ever,

when the Spaniards brought the Santo Niño

in 1521, the religious icon became the

focus of this annual festival. To this date,

devoted pilgrims continue to travel to Cebu

to honor their faith through this elaborate

festival.

Vibrant Costumes are a Feature of

Many Sinulog Street Performers

Karl Presenting his Homelog

I - A L U M

P A G E 4

Farewell from Emily! Dear I-Alumni,

I am bidding a fond, fond farewell to all you I-Housers - both past and present - as I begin my next international adventure in Argentina. Please stay in touch - email will be emaxon@gmail.com - and definitely do contact me

as you pass through Buenos Aires on your South American adventure.

As the longest I-Houser of all time (2 years as a resident and almost

4 years as Director for a grand total of six years!), I want to thank I-House for all that it has given me and remind you that I-House offers all these things to

each one of you too. Here's the short list:

- Lifetime friendships with people from a vast diversity of backgrounds who

have challenged my assumptions about the world. And I can tell you that with

just a little effort, these friendships will last (Go Skype!)

- Mind blowing sessions of IAG and Homelogs that have enhanced my aware-

ness of what's going on in the world and sometimes even brought me to tears.

Thank you for giving me a chance to see your countries through your eyes

- Enormous changes in my career choices and decisions about what I want to

be, where I want to do it and who I want to do those things with. Is it I-House

which is sending me off to Argentina now???

- A vast recipe book of dishes from all over the world

- The confidence to go almost anywhere in the world and know that I have the

skills to make the connections to find myself at home

So thank you, thank you, thank you for keeping me young and ener-

gizing me every day with your enthusiasm. I will miss you all so dearly. Live life with passion, simplicity, and openness and remember to reduce/recycle/reuse!

Please stay in touch.

With great fondness,

Emily

Greg Mallinger and Emily Maxon at

Sunday Supper, Jan 21 2007

How do you say goodbye?

Having been a part of International House for over the past three years, one of the most difficult times is saying goodbye to students as they leave. Your year at I-House was spent making memories and friends that will last a lifetime. As the International House Assistant, I leave with similar memories of my time here. I have enjoyed getting to know many of you

through Sunday Suppers, IM Soccer, I-Sports, Language Conversation Tables, Homelogs… the list goes on and on. I look for-

ward to carrying on these relationships.

As I move on to pursue other opportunities at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, I look forward to still being a part of I-House community and not having to say goodbye just yet. However, I do want to say thank you first of all to Emily who

has been a great boss and friend. We started with an empty office and built an empire! I wish you the best of luck in Argentina with Gabriel and Elias and I will make sure to call before visiting. Thanks also to all the facility monitors, interns and office staff that has made my job and life more enjoyable. Managing all the weddings, conferences and I-House events in the Great Hall is no

small feat and I appreciate your support in these endeavors.

Goodbye from Greg Too!

Hasta Luego,

Greg

I-House

Farewells

Thank you first

of all to Emily

who has been a

great boss and

friend. We

started with an

empty office

and built an

empire!

-Greg

Live life with

passion, sim-

plicity, and

openness!

-Emily

P A G E 5

Messages for Emily: compiled by Maura McElhone

As evidenced by all of the above, our lives post-I-House have already taken on many new directions, and will continue to do so. One

person in particular, is marking the New Year in fitting fashion. Emily Maxon is enjoying her final strolls down I-Walk before heading off to start the next stage of her life, with her husband and son in Argentina. Or that’s what she says… I’m more inclined to believe

that she just couldn’t face the thought of another year without the I-House ‘04-’05 lovelies.

Year after year Emily, and others, sifted through applications, selecting just the right combination of cultures, attitudes, interests

and passions to form the I-House community. (Might I add that for the 2004-2005 group in particular, you all out did yourselves). It is because of you that each of us can read this newsletter today- as I-House Alumni. As the time since our I-House experience in-creases, through memories, friendships, emails and visits, we continue to reap the benefits of our time there. And we have you to

thank for all of this. --Maura

‘Gratitude is the memory of the heart’

(French Proverb)

‘Emily, I will forever remember you as being an essential part of my I-

House experience and a true friend. From day one you made me feel

more than welcome (despite pointing out the obvious effects of the

San Diego sunshine on my delicate Irish nose…) and were always

there to support, encourage and inspire. Your genuine enthusiasm

and love for I-House is evident in the hours you put in and the smile

you wore throughout. It was always a pleasure to work, or chat with

you and I wish you and your family ALL the luck in the world in your

next chapter of life.’

Maura McElhone (2004-05)

‘Emily, thank you for all the amazing I-House memories that will no doubt last

forever. Seems only yesterday when my plane landed in San Diego. All the best

for Argentina with many more successes to come!’

Kapil Gohil (2004-05),

‘Dear Emily, I wish you the very best in Argentina. They're lucky to have you! Your smile and warm greetings on chance meetings at I-walk always brightened

up my day.

Love,’ Margret Gonzales (2004-05)

’My dear Emily!!! I am sure that you will always keep in your mind a good

memory of "The autonomous Italian province of Cuzco-216". It was a lot of fun sharing my culture in that funny way... And of course, I hope you won't forget

the special cornmeal of yours that we used to make "polenta" at the ECN!!’

Lorenzo Cappallari (2004-05)

‘Emily, I-House will not be the same without you! I wish you luck in everything you'll be doing and hope to meet you again, anywhere in the world. I have many memories of you and I-House- among my favourites are your promises to pay

for my Sunday Supper.! Should I return any time to attend one, your dancing abilities shown at our 2005 semi-formal and the feeling of welcome you give to

anyone at any time.’

Carola Croll (2004-05)

‘Emily, I have many fond memories of watching Eli grow up- riding on my scoot-er…. and then deciding he didn’t like me- I still take that personally! I wish you well in all your endeavours. You and your family will be greatly missed! (But I’m

happy we will never have to hear of the Sunday Supper Tradition again!)’

Issadora Saeteng (2003-06)

Dr. Steven Rounsley (US/‘90-’91) is now a professor of Plant Biology

at the University of Arizona after teaching in Boston for 8 years.

Neil Dilley (United States, ’92-’93) went on to finish his PhD in phys-

ics from UCSD in 1999. He got a job that year at Quantum Design, Inc., a San Diego high tech company just up the road which designs scientific instrumentation. He is still there and is currently an applications physicist,

a job which gives him a chance to travel and see exotic places like India, Estonia, and New Jersey. Neil met his wife Dawn in 2001 and they got married in 2003. They live in North Park.

Neil has kept in touch with Joel Naegerl (Germany, ’92) and is the godfather to one of Joel’s children. He has visited them in Munich several times over the last few years. Neil has also stayed in contact with Ulfar

Haraldsson (Iceland, ’92), who is married to I-House alum Roberta Cimenti (Italy, ’92). Ulfar is a composer and music teacher at the Uni-

versity in Reykjavik.

Bobby Hedjazi (France/ ’93-’94) is finishing up his PhD in Architec-ture in Los Angeles. Will be relocating to Geneva, Switzerland where he has a job as a professor.

Torsten Brylla’s (Germany/ ’93-’94) family is growing. He is now married to Micky from Italy and they have two little ones, Veronica and

Leo. Torsten works for Procter and Gamble and is living in Geneva, Switzerland.

Alumni Updates: ’90-’01

V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2

P A G E 6

Alumni

Updates

I - A L U M

Be an I-Alum Correspondent! Help keep the I-

House spirit alive! If

you would be

interested in

providing updates on

fellow I-Housers who

lived in I-House the

same year you did,

please contact

ihouse@ucsd.edu.

Updates will be

published twice

yearly in I-Alum.

UPDATES

Marta and Chuck

Chuck Hassenplug (US/’02-’03) After graduating in

2004, he spent the summer in Italy with his I-House

sweetheart Marta Gozzi. He returned to the US briefly

and then spent 3 months in Honduras working as an

intern for the international NGO Project Concern Inter-

national. There he worked on HIV prevention, education,

and treatment research. The following summer, he re-

turned to Italy and started a master program in Interna-

tional Healthcare Management, Economics, and Policy.

Studying in Milan Italy with 27 other students represent-

ing 20 different countries was an incredibly rewarding

and enriching experience for him.

After the Master program, he worked as an intern for

three months at the United Nations World Food Pro-

gramme in Rome, Italy. Now he is en route to Washing-

ton DC to live and find a job in international health de-

velopment. He is still together with Marta, and she will

be working at the US National Institute of Health in Be-

thesda, MD as a research fellow in Cognitive Neurosci-

ence.

Mara Evans (US/’02-’03) is currently doing her PhD in

UC Davis.

Michele Schafer (Italy/’02-’03) is in Italy and has been

working all over Europe during the last year. She is still in

contact with some of the I-Housers and they have annual

reunions. Michele often meets with some of her former

flatmates.

Marta Gozzi (Italy/ ’03-’04) After going back to Italy

and graduating in 2004, she started a PhD program in

Milan in the field of Cognitive Neuroscience. She is now

in the third year of the PhD

program, which will mean

spending time abroad at the

National Institutes of Health.

Alba Ponce de Leon

(US/’03) is currently an ac-

tress/ singer/barista in NYC. She

is a member of a jazz band that

plays French music. She got

married on Labor Day last year

to her high school sweet-

heart.

Matthias Colas (France/’03) just wanted to let every-

one know that his band, the McFly Clan, is now back to

spread P-funk across the web at www.myspace.com/

mcfclan. Check it out!

Katie Husar (US/’02-’03) After graduating from UCSD

in 2005, Katie worked in San Diego for 6 months and

then ran an eyeglass clinic for a month in Kenya. She is

currently studying for her MS in Creative Advertising at

Boston University.

Alba Ponce de Leon

Marta Gozzi and Chuck Hassenplug

Alumni Updates ‘90 - ‘01 cont. from page 6

Barbara Carasso (United States, ’93-95) is currently doing a Postgraduate degree in London on Public Health in

Developing Countries. She had previously worked for 5 years with various NGOs including MSF in Africa and Cen-tral America.

Helen Pataki (’94-’95) started working for US Agency for International Development in October 2006. Previously, she worked for Leary Gottlieb until September 2006.

Amir Axelrod (RA’94-’97) is married to fellow I-House alum Sherry Wang (’95-’96). Amir recently received a job

contract for Kaiser in Vallejo, California, a city about 40 minutes away from San Francisco.

Katherine Radeljic (USA/Croatia, ’95-’96) works in marketing for an investment advisory firm in the Bay Area. She travels frequently to Europe, especially Croatia in the

summer. She has recently moved to New York City.

Karen Francis-McWhite (United States, ’95-’97)graduated in 1997 and taught middle school and high school for two years before pursuing a PhD in Literature at Duke University. Currently, she is wrapping up her dissertation

while teaching at a community college in Washington & keeping up with Anouk Ride (1994 alum from Australia, due to publish her first book in May 2007), Omer Kamran

and Ann Quinn. Nandini Harihareswara (’99-’00) graduated in Dec. 2000

and is now pursuing an MBA-MA in International Trade and Investment Policy dual degree at George Washington Uni-versity. Her professional and research focus is the manage-

ment of infrastructure building in emerging markets.

Alumni Updates: ’02-’03

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2

Alejandro Salinger (Chile/’03-’04) is now studying for his PhD in

Canada. He also says that his old friend Bige Camahran from

Turkey is doing his PhD at Yale in Economics.

Valeria Herskovic

(Chile/ ’03-’04) finished

an engineering degree in

2005 and started a PhD

in computer science. She

is currently teaching an

introduction to compu-

ting class to first year

engineering students in

Chile. She has traveled a

little, but mostly for

vacations to Brazil, Ar-

gentina and the U.S.

Jean Philippe Bernardini (US/’03-’04) finished his Masters in

Paris and is currently working for the UN in Brazil as an advisor to

the Resident Coordinator.

Miho Hayashi (Japan/ ’03-’04) graduated from her university after

going back to Japan. She is now working for a language school doing

sales and management. Big News! She got married last May and her

husband is Atsushi Suzuki, who also lived in Asante ‘03-‘04. She is

glad to tell everyone since her time at I-House has given her many

precious memories with Atsushi. They often talk about San Diego

and hope to visit again in the near future.

Alexandra Hilger (Germany/’04) After leaving I-house, Alexan-

dra obtained her masters degree from Maastricht University. She is

currently working in Dusseldorf for the Metro Company and does

extensive business travel. Luckily, English is the company language, so

she can use her vocabulary every day. In addition, she travels quite a

lot since her company is doing business with Asia. She saw Hong

Kong and Beijing, China. Alexandra is still in contact with Nina, Ulf,

and Juliane. Juliane visited her in Düsseldorf and they shared their

memories of California.

Valeria Herskovic and Niece

Alejandro and Emily

Ryoko Suzuki

(Japan’02-’03) is in

London working as an

administrative officer at

Embassy of Japan in the

UK since last Septem-

ber. She will be there

for two years and has

been really enjoying her

work. Johannes from

Germany is also in Lon-

don for work, and they

sometimes meet up there. In addition, Janet from Hong Kong visit-

ed a few months ago, and they went to Brighton together. Ryoko

says that London is totally different from Japan, but she really likes

living here. If anyone is in the UK, don’t hesitate to get in contact

with her!

Joshua Wortman (US/’02-’03) is working as a Statistical Analyst

at a San Diego company called Encore Capital Group. He develops

model driven techniques to entice debtors to pay on their delin-

quent credit accounts. It may not sound glamorous, but it’s a very

interesting industry serving an important purpose.

Susanne Millman-Heim (US/’02-’03) was I-House Program

Coordinator 2002-2003 after Craig left. Her fiancé, Doug Heim,

was also an I-Houser. She worked for Urban Corps, San Diego as

Recycling Manager for water improvement issues. Doug and Susanne

have relocated to Reno, Nevada. She is currently working at a wet-

land regulatory and hydrologic consulting firm and attending gradu-

ate school at UNR (University of Nevada Reno) where she is work-

ing towards a Masters of Public Administration with a focus in Envi-

ronmental Policy. Her goal right now is to work towards sustaina-

ble use of water resources in Northern Nevada and to bring recy-

cling to the state of

Ryoko Suzuki and Friends

Alumni Updates: ’03-’04

Visiting Scholars (‘02 - ‘04) Dhaval

Bhavsar and Noopur Pathak and Ishya

P A G E 8

Alumni

Updates

Continued

I - A L U M

Excerpts from I-House Alumni Correspondent Dhwani Vahia

Brian Bettencourt (US/’01-‘03) is

working in the insurance field in the San Diego area. And while his day job may not sound all that exciting (sorry Brian!),

he more than makes up for it by going on wild motorcycling adventures in the Alps and visiting soon to be Professor Michael

Sauter (Germany 02-03) in Augsburg.

Kate van der Merwe (South Afri-ca/’02-‘03) is busy studying and working in Ireland where she is trying to plan an I-House reunion before everyone gets

bogged down with inflexible jobs and significant others (or maybe ‘significant jobs and inflexible others…). Update: She

has recently relocated to Singapore.

Dhwani Vahia

(US/’02-‘04) is mov-ing into a condo in San Francisco and will

soon be found sub-sisting on Top Ramen

and Cheerios.

After getting an MBA in Politics and Social History in Edinburgh, Pete Zhong (Singapore/ ’03-‘04) headed straight

back to Singapore…well, after a “brief stint searching for elves and goblins in Middle Earth” (aka New Zealand). Upon

arriving in Singapore, he found himself working for the Navy, and has now

joined the submarine squadron where he

has been forced to live in quarters even

more cramped the I-House apartments!

After working for Telefonica Mobiles in Brazil, Vivian Nunes (Brazil/’03-‘04) is

currently getting her Masters in Econom-ics in Rio, along with one another carioca, Tamrara Wajnberg (Brazil/’03-‘04),

who after working at an investment bank, once again has her nose perpetually stuck in some Economics book. In the mean-time, fellow Brazilian JP Bernardini

(Brazil/’03-‘04) is currently an aide to

the UN Ambassador to Brazil.

Alumni Updates: ’00-’04

the company expand its operations.

Vincenzo Di Nicola (Italy/’03-’04) is currently

living with fellow UCSD I-Houser Murtaza Mogri in

Stanford where he is finishing his studies.

Madonna Perez (US/’03-’04) is currently doing an

MA program on Pacific Island Studies at the University

of Hawaii.

Hiromi Okano (Japan/’03-’04) obtained her bache-

lors degree after she left I-House. She currently works

as an import and export coordinator of newspapers/

magazines/books in Tokyo. She has visited many of her

I-house peers all over the world.

Julie Nielsen (Denmark/’03-’04) obtained a graduate

degree in PoliSci/International Relations from the Universi-

ty of Copenhagen after leaving I-House. She worked for

the Danish Foreign Ministry for a year. Currently, she is a

first year graduate student of European Politics at the Uni-

versity of Cambridge.

Joseph Sherman (US/’04) is learning Torah and He-

brew during the day, and working on his MBA thesis at

night in Israel. He just had an amazing Shabbat at Moshav

Modiin, the Carlebach town.

Vu Kim Trang (Vietnam/’04)

After the exchange program at UCSD, Vu Kim went back

to the National University of Singapore to study for anoth-

er 1 and 1/2 years. She just graduated from university.

After the final exams, she went traveling in Cambodia,

Thailand, and Malaysia. She is now working for one of the

largest real estate corporation in Southeast Asia named

CapitaLand. Currently she is in Ho Chi Minh City helping

Hiromi Okano

Julie Nielsen

P A G E 9 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2

Thank you to everyone who responded to my

rally cry for alumni updates! And to those of you who didn’t? Well, if Ireland is known for being the land of a thousand welcomes, you just dropped to

999. (I’m open to bribes. Strictly cash though.)

Anyway, it’s January 1st 2007. What better way to mark the New Year than with a new batch of

achievements, exploits, hopes and dreams of some familiar names?

Here’s a taste of what your fellow I-House alums have been doing this past year.

Libby Loft spent some time on Patch Adams' organic farm in West Virginia and completed her ride for world health from San Francisco to Washington D.C to raise funds for Partners in Health. Former Asante RA Libby Loft stud-

ied at a school for social change in Urbana, Illinois. She is now back in Seattle, Washington working and looking forward to a trip to Southern Africa in Sum-

mer 2007.

Misako Ozawa: On returning to Japan, Misako landed a job the following May

as an interpreter on a cruise line ‘which was fabulous!’ She graduated this past

March.

Lindsay Harris, a former Kathmandu RA, is in her first year of a J.D at Berke-

ley's Boalt Hall School of Law. She will be

working with the University of Witwaters-rand's Forced Migration Studies Programme and Lawyers for Human Rights in South Africa

in summer 2007 documenting human rights abuses on the border affecting women and children. She's living in Berkeley and welcomes

I-Housers and alumni!

Lorenzo Cappellari: Master Chef Lorenzo earned his PhD in December 2005 and is now a research contractor at University of Padova,

Italy.

Brian Israel (‘03-‘05), a former IAG intern, is in his first year of a J.D. at American's Washington College of Law in D.C. He is working as an articles editor on the Human Rights Brief and hoping to intern for the California Su-

preme Court in Summer 2007.

Jill Gersh spent 8 months working in AIDS education in rural Zambia and

returned to take classes in Seattle, Washington. Jill is now travelling in South America, learning and practicing Spanish before starting medical school in New

York in Fall 2007.

Featured Alumni Updates: ’04-’05

Lorenzo Cappellari

More Alumni Updates ‘04- ‘06 Mary Paulet (US/’04-’05) obtained a bachelors degree from UCSD in

Political Science and International Relations. She is currently working on her MA in Latin American Studies at CSU Los Angeles.

Chui Ying (Cherie) Cheung (China/’04-’05) is currently doing her PhD at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Michelle DiMeo (US/’04-’05) is currently in Washington DC working

on a masters in psychology at The Catholic University of America .

Kristina Muehlheim (Germany/’05) Since leaving I-house in June

2005, Kristina has obtained her degree from Maastricht University. She is

currently working for a pharmaceuticals company in Munich.

Tat Koh (Singapore/’04-’05) After leaving I-house, Tat went back to Singapore and worked there for a while. He is currently working in Los Angeles for a software company as a user interface designer. He is still

together with his I-house sweetheart from South Korea.

Raghavan Selvaratnam (UK/’04-’05) obtained his degree from his

home university in July 2006. He now works for an advisory firm in the

UK.

Antoinette (Toni) Roth (US/’04-’05) recently returned from Aus-tralia and met up with an old roommate from England. She is undecided

as to pursuing a master's degree or finding a job.

Maxwell Harrington (US/’05-’06) is currently in Myanmar teaching English, fundraising for an orphanage and working as an editor at a local

English weekly

Marito Hayashi (Japan/’05-’06) is currently in his final year at his

home university, ICU, working on a thesis. He is also preparing for his

GRE exams as he intends to attend further studies in the US.

Special Thanks to Media Intern ‘06-’07, Mulloy Morrow, for being so gracious about articles and photos for this issue of I-Alum. Also, thanks to Ivy Dulay for

her article on Karl Hyden’s Philippines Homelog and to the I-Alum correspondents for providing I-House with alumni updates. A shout out to Intercultural Am-

bassadors Coordinator, Tamami Komatsu, for her wonderful article on the newest addition to I-House programming.

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