Page 7 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 93, No. 3 Spring 2013

Asia Council
Fifteen alumni and two SPS parents, repre-
senting six Asian countries and the United
States, gathered in Hong Kong on March 14
for the inaugural meeting of the recently
formed Asia Council.
The group, co-founded and co-chaired
by Sabrina W. Fung ’89 of Hong Kong and
Hyun-Joon Cho ’87 of Seoul, South Korea,
was formed to build a stronger and more
productive community for St. Paul’s School
in each represented region; to increase
and support opportunities to develop
programs that strengthen relationships
between the respective nations and the
School; to assist the SPS Admission Office
in its mission to attract the best students
from around the world; and to increase
financial support for St. Paul’s.
Asia Council members represent Sing-
apore, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines,
China, Thailand, and the United States.
In addition to Fung and Cho, members of
the Council include Julian Cheng ’92 (Hong
Kong), Maxwell Federbush ’92 (Thailand),
Ingrid Kwok P’98, ’01, ’05, ’12 (Hong Kong),
Janice Lee ’90 (Hong Kong), Alexander
Prout ’82 (Japan), Shaun Rein ’96 (China),
Calvin Tien ’91 (Hong Kong), Andy Yung
’01 (Hong Kong), A. Ajai Zecha ’88 (Singa-
pore), Jaime Zobel de Ayala P’06, ’12 (the
Philippines), Douglas Schloss ’77 (New York),
Robert Lindsay ’73 (New York), SPS Rector
Mike Hirschfeld ’85, and Director of Alumni
and Development William Kissick P’12.
In Hong Kong for business, Trustee Jim
Waterbury ’75 attended the March 14 meet-
ing, as did Hong Kong resident Francesca
Carega ’92, a member of the Board of
Trustees Investment Committee. Jaime
Zobel de Ayala was unable to attend.
The Asia Council was created through
the initiative of the SPS Board of Trustees,
which recognized the growing importance
of the Asian continent on the world stage.
Asian countries account for roughly 70 per-
cent of the School’s international alumni
body, with Hong Kong (96) and South Korea
(87) leading the way.
“The Asia Council provides a way to
effectively represent the interests and
perspectives of a fast-growing Asian
student body and alumni community,”
said co-chair Hyun-Joon Cho, who will
host the Asia Council’s next meeting in
Seoul in March 2014. “The Council gives
this group a voice, and I think St. Paul’s
will greatly benefit from its foundation.”
During his visit to Hong Kong, Hirsch-
feld met with the heads of three different
schools to help build stronger bonds with
those institutions. When the Asia Council
met, discussions included ways that its
members can serve as ambassadors and
advocates for the School in their home
countries, how to foster exchange oppor-
tunities for SPS faculty and students, and
ideas for opening paths to communication
and understanding between St. Paul’s and
its Asian counterparts.
“The promise of the Council is that we
will better understand the educational
landscape in Asia,” said Hirschfeld. “It will
also provide a platform for strengthening
the School community in the region.”
Sharing a School Prayer
Bishop Walker School, named in honor of
the late John Walker, Bishop of Washington,
D.C., adopted its School Prayer from SPS.
Bishop Walker was the first African-
American faculty member at St. Paul’s
(1957-66) before moving on to Washington
National Cathedral. “The School Prayer,”
says BWS Executive Director James Woody,
“serves as a daily reminder of the boys’
shared responsibility to each other and
their community.”
Founded in the fall of 2008, BWS is a
Washington, D.C.-based Episcopal school
for boys from low-income families. Board
members include Bishop Walker’s widow,
Maria, SPS Alumni Association President
Sam Reid ’81, Tony Parker ’64, the Reverend
Canon Preston Hannibal (SPS faculty
member, 1974-86), and his wife, Sandy.
Cornel West
“The examined life is painful,” Dr. Cornel
West told SPS students and faculty gath-
ered in Memorial Hall. “You have to begin
with yourself. What kind of person do you
want to be?”
Dr. West, an activist, author, and profes-
sor at Union Theological Seminary and
Princeton University, spent April 5 at the
School as a Conroy Visitor, addressing
the School community first and then con-
tinuing the discussion with about 45 stu-
dents and faculty at a smaller luncheon
in the Captains Room of the Matthews
Hockey Center.
With a dynamic style that captured and
held the attention of students at mid-day,
Dr. West told those gathered that humans
are “all beings toward death.” “What kind
of person do you want to be in that short
amount of time?” he asked.
Dr. West’s 30 minutes on the Memorial
Hall stage offered guidance from philoso-
phers and civil rights leaders. Referencing
the Bible, Sophocles, the blues, Franklin
Roosevelt, pop artist Beyoncé, and SPS
founder George Cheyne Shattuck, among
others, Dr. West spoke of the importance of
“learning how to die in order to learn how
to live.” He spoke of loving thy neighbor
and “lifting every voice.”
Letting go of one’s assumptions and pre-
judices, he said, is a form of death. Humility
is central to learning how to live, he added.
He spoke of “paideia,” the blending of
practical education and socialization. He
spoke of the need to address domestic
poverty, the myth of male supremacy, and
American arrogance.
“I come from the old school,” he said,
addressing the students. “Instead of money,
it was: ‘How can I be of service to others?
How can I be a blessing to others?’ Today
I see too much imitation in the younger
generation; too much greed, envy, and
resentment. That’s the challenge of your
generation.” 5