1985: Grade 7
What have you been doing since leaving HIS?
After HIS I continued to enjoy math and science and briefly pursued an academic career, getting my Bachelor’s in Physics from Caltech in ’93 and a Master’s at BU shortly after. I since settled in the Boston area where I have been a software engineer for 21 years.
What are your fondest memories of your time at HIS?
So many. When I reflect on my time at HIS I think of the faculty and my fellow students, some of whom I reconnected with on social media. It was such a different experience from that of my friends since then. The classrooms all spanned multiple grades and the teachers had to be super creative to engage kids at all levels. We had guest teachers from within the community to help fill in the gaps, like Dr Munch and Mr Reiland (I’m sure I’m misspelling that).
I have especially fond memories of our extended class trips. We had an amazing camping trip on Miyajima where we played “Capture the Flag” at night in the woods, and trips to Kyushu and Shikoku. These were great bonding experiences with my friends then.
What impact has your time at HIS had on your life?
It’s hard to really nail it down, but I believe my experiences at HIS have formed me into a fundamentally different person than I would have been otherwise. While at HIS I had friends from all over the globe so that even today I think of myself as a citizen of the world as much as I am an American. It instilled in me an empathy for peoples of other cultures that I think is so important in these troubled times.
Any other comments that you would like to share?
HIS was a wonderful experience. When I’m feeling nostalgic I love seeing how it evolved of the decades since I was at the Ushita building.