Class Note 1997
Issue
May - Jun 2019
Several Dartmouth undergrads had a warmer winter thanks to ’97 generosity. Our class donated $1,000 in winter gear for first-generation and low-income students. We plan to do this annually, and it’s entirely funded by class dues, which also support reunions, mini-reunions, and mailing our revitalized ’97 Sweep newsletter. If you didn’t receive the latest Sweep, check it out at 1997.dartmouth.org. And while you’re there, please pay your class dues, now exclusively online, to keep all of these great things going.
On the international front, I asked classmates living abroad what took them there, what is interesting about the worldview where they live, and when they last visited the United States. This dispatch focuses on Asia.
Dickon Verey has called southeast Asia home since 2003. “I’m actually English, so moving outside of the United States was quite natural. Initially I moved to do development work, but have moved into business since then. I have been living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for nearly three years. In all the southeast Asian countries I have lived there tends to be a singular feeling that their country is the center of things. One gets a very local feel in that respect. Interest in global occurrences tends to be a little more low-key, as their immediate impact isn’t felt.
“I haven’t been in Hanover in a long time, unfortunately, but do hope to go back in the next few years. I’ll be getting married in April and one of my ushers will be Robert Rogers. Also in attendance will be Cristina (Hallenbeck) Rogers, Will Taylor, Micke Morn, Robert Leathern, and Torbjorn Dimblad.” Congratulations, Dickon!
Feng Hsiung moved from New York to Hong Kong as a third-year Goldman Sachs analyst to be closer to his home of Taipei. After four years in Hong Kong, Feng spent three years in Tokyo, returned to New York for one year, and then came back to Hong Kong for good 10 years ago.
“Hong Kong is to some extent the intersection of Chinese and Anglo-Saxon spheres, thus perspectives on current events differ greatly depending who you ask. More interaction, not less, will, I hope, bridge the gap between universal values and historical context.”
Feng last visited campus years ago. “I really miss Dartmouth and hope to bring my family there in the coming years. There is a great group of alumni and parents in this region, which I see with increasing regularity as the endowment office now visits the region frequently. I also connect with classmates Will Taylor, Jimmy Franzone, and Ervin Tu on various travels.”
Lisa Hosokawa relocated to Tokyo in 2008 with husband Kenji Hosokawa ’98 and their two daughters for Kenji’s job with a law firm. “We were tired of moving around, and so we said, ‘Let’s stay for at least 10 years.’ Ten years have passed and we think we will stay here permanently.
“ ‘Race’ is built into all systems in the United States. In Japan the categories impossible to escape are ‘Japanese’ and ‘foreign.’ These categories are about more than legal status. They are part of a worldview that is starting to be challenged by increasing numbers of non-Japanese living, working, and studying here.
“We visit my parents in Massachusetts every summer. I was last in Hanover for the 2013 reunion. Kenji is president of the Dartmouth Club in Tokyo, and most of my connection to other Dartmouth alumni is through him. Alex Smith ’95 tutored me when I was taking Japanese at Dartmouth, and seeing him always brings back memories. I wish there were more Dartmouth women here. I enjoy occasionally connecting with Mayuka Kowaguchi ’11 and Yan Fan ’12.”
More international updates to come!
—Jason Casell, 10106 Balmforth Lane, Houston, TX 77096; jhcasell@gmail.com
On the international front, I asked classmates living abroad what took them there, what is interesting about the worldview where they live, and when they last visited the United States. This dispatch focuses on Asia.
Dickon Verey has called southeast Asia home since 2003. “I’m actually English, so moving outside of the United States was quite natural. Initially I moved to do development work, but have moved into business since then. I have been living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for nearly three years. In all the southeast Asian countries I have lived there tends to be a singular feeling that their country is the center of things. One gets a very local feel in that respect. Interest in global occurrences tends to be a little more low-key, as their immediate impact isn’t felt.
“I haven’t been in Hanover in a long time, unfortunately, but do hope to go back in the next few years. I’ll be getting married in April and one of my ushers will be Robert Rogers. Also in attendance will be Cristina (Hallenbeck) Rogers, Will Taylor, Micke Morn, Robert Leathern, and Torbjorn Dimblad.” Congratulations, Dickon!
Feng Hsiung moved from New York to Hong Kong as a third-year Goldman Sachs analyst to be closer to his home of Taipei. After four years in Hong Kong, Feng spent three years in Tokyo, returned to New York for one year, and then came back to Hong Kong for good 10 years ago.
“Hong Kong is to some extent the intersection of Chinese and Anglo-Saxon spheres, thus perspectives on current events differ greatly depending who you ask. More interaction, not less, will, I hope, bridge the gap between universal values and historical context.”
Feng last visited campus years ago. “I really miss Dartmouth and hope to bring my family there in the coming years. There is a great group of alumni and parents in this region, which I see with increasing regularity as the endowment office now visits the region frequently. I also connect with classmates Will Taylor, Jimmy Franzone, and Ervin Tu on various travels.”
Lisa Hosokawa relocated to Tokyo in 2008 with husband Kenji Hosokawa ’98 and their two daughters for Kenji’s job with a law firm. “We were tired of moving around, and so we said, ‘Let’s stay for at least 10 years.’ Ten years have passed and we think we will stay here permanently.
“ ‘Race’ is built into all systems in the United States. In Japan the categories impossible to escape are ‘Japanese’ and ‘foreign.’ These categories are about more than legal status. They are part of a worldview that is starting to be challenged by increasing numbers of non-Japanese living, working, and studying here.
“We visit my parents in Massachusetts every summer. I was last in Hanover for the 2013 reunion. Kenji is president of the Dartmouth Club in Tokyo, and most of my connection to other Dartmouth alumni is through him. Alex Smith ’95 tutored me when I was taking Japanese at Dartmouth, and seeing him always brings back memories. I wish there were more Dartmouth women here. I enjoy occasionally connecting with Mayuka Kowaguchi ’11 and Yan Fan ’12.”
More international updates to come!
—Jason Casell, 10106 Balmforth Lane, Houston, TX 77096; jhcasell@gmail.com