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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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