In June 2004, Mulgrave School graduated its first grade 12 class since the school opened in 1993. With this first graduating class came of course our first group of Mulgrave Alumni.

Graduates of Mulgrave School have flourished and gone on to many different parts of the world to work and study. Students have gone abroad, to the United States, to eastern Canada and some have remained here in British Columbia.

Many students have kept us up to date on their whereabouts and what they have accomplished to date. It is wonderful to hear of all the news and the superb achievements that the Mulgrave Alumni have accomplished.

Sarah Fenwick (2005)

Sarah Fenwick (2005)

Here is a little update on what I have been doing........

I graduated from Queens last spring and have taken a 6 month break from school. I have been in Africa for the past four and a half months. I spent four months in Tanzania volunteering at a small women and children's clinic in Arusha. I went through Basecamp International Centers which is based out of Kingston, Ontario. They are a great organization if any students are looking for volunteers placements once they have graduated. While in Arusha I was lucky enough to venture out on weekend trips, I went to Zanzibar Island, Safari through Terengeri, Ngorogoro and the Serengeti, and I traveled to Uganda on my last weekend to raft the Nile.

These past two weeks I have been in Cape Town visiting Nolo and exploring the area. Jessica Hardie flew over and met us for the two weeks it has been great catching up with both of them.

I must say that I have had the greatest time in Tanzania, it is making it hard for me to leave the continent of Africa. Our trip to Kenya had me longing to come back, and Tanzania has finally hooked me. I am starting nursing school at BCIT in January which will keep me tied down for a few more years, but I am already looking at career opportunities that can bring me back to Africa (I think Rwanda is next). I have been keeping a blog while I have been away, it is rather long now, but if you are interested feel free to have a look through!

I have 2 more days in Cape Town and then I am off to Toronto, I will be sure to pop into Mulgrave when I get back into Vancouver.

Nabila Pirani (2004)

Nabila Pirani (2004)

Nabila Pirani, who was a member of Mulgrave's first graduating class in 2004, has recently been accepted into the very prestigious Master of Arts programme at Columbia University in New York City. She will be pursuing studies in Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Culture. Nabila was a recent graduate of UBC.

Alexandre Curaudeau (2006)

Alexandre Curaudeau (2006)

Currently attending the University of Michigan, Alex is studying Aerospace Engineering. His studies have been going extremely well, and he has come to greatly appreciate the power of calculus! Alex’s excitement was very evident as he told us about his involvement in Michigan’s solar car team. Over 150 students work together to design, construct and develop a solar car to race in the World Solar Challenge. Alex, having just completed his first year at the University of Michigan, has been named the Interim Engineering Director. He will gain valuable experience working with the current race team on their car, Continuum, and have a central leadership role in the development of the next car in 2009. Profiled in SolEx, the University of Michigan solar car team newsletter, Alex shares his enthusiasm about being part of an incredible team.

“I have been a part of athletic teams and service groups for the majority of my high school life. I knew coming into the University that I wanted to remain active and join a team, but was still unsure as to which one to commit to. The Solar Car Team got me hooked from the beginning. From the first mass meeting, I knew this would be a chance for me to learn a lot and share my passion for cars and technology with other inspired students. The opportunity of designing, building, and racing a car on the other side of the globe was something I couldn’t let pass by.”

Hillary Angus

Hillary Angus

While most of her peers were going to class in giant lecture halls or hanging out on the quad, Hillary Angus, an 18 year old student from North Vancouver, BC pushed herself to new heights by trekking through cloud and rainforests and over mountains by foot across Costa Rica from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast , rafting down class IV rapids, surfing warm water breaks, volunteering in Nicaragua, and SCUBA diving in Panama.

During her Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound School (CRROBS) 85 day Tri-Country Semester course, Angus became part of a self-reliant group stating, “Whether it's a new sense of self, new friends, or just a head full of crazy memories, you will take something valuable away from CRROBS.” She adds, “I loved rafting and kayaking because I really felt like I was learning something and could see myself improve”.

Angus arrived back to North Vancouver yesterday with added survival instincts, long-lasting friendships and a lifetime of memories that are an integral part of the CRROBS experience. This experience will further impact her education as she begins the next phase in life.

CRROBS courses are based on experiential education for which Outward Bound is famous worldwide. CRROBS has differentiated itself from other Outward Bound schools by offering an array of wilderness adventure courses throughout Central America since receiving its Outward Bound International membership in 1994.

Brandon Ayers

Brandon Ayers

Mulgrave grad dedicates year to volunteer teaching
Kian Khoshnevis, North Shore News
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Brandon Ayers went five months without taking a hot shower.

But that didn't stop the 18-year-old from helping out children in need in Kathmandu, Nepal.

A resident of West Vancouver and a 2007 graduate of Mulgrave School, Ayers embarked on a year-long mission to South East Asia in July 2007, during which he volunteered for several aid organizations and sought to have a positive influence on people in need.

Brandon Ayers (centre) enjoys his time with students in Nepal. The North Vancouver resident spent a year in South East Asia where he helped teach English, social studies, sciences and computers.

Ayers was inspired by another teenager, Tsering Dorje, an 18-year-old Buddhist monk from Nepal, who came to Mulgrave school on exchange in 2005, and stayed for two years with the Ayers family.

"Tsering had a big influence on me," Ayers said. "Hearing him talk about his home motivated me to do something."

Ayers embarked on his mission without knowing much about where it was taking him.

"I didn't really set any specific goals for my trip, because when I went into it, I was pretty blind towards what I would be doing," he said. "I didn't really know whether I would be building, taking part in physical labour or teaching. I just wanted to get a feel for it and help in any way that I could."

Seventeen at the time, Ayers helped children learn in the small Himalayan village, teaching them subjects such as English, Social Studies, Sciences and Computers. He also taught first aid, worked in a medical clinic, and helped set up an earthquake evacuation program for the area while raising funds for supplies.

As a qualified lifeguard, he even created the area's first swimming program.

"I took around 170 students who had probably never seen a body of water, out to swim," Ayers said . "It was an amazing experience to see the different reactions of the kids."

After spending close to five months in Kathmandu, Ayers left Nepal for India where he continued his humanitarian efforts. In Calcutta, Ayers volunteered for a special Loreto School, where a mix of wealthy Indian children and underprivileged street kids received an education.

He spent valuable one-on-one time with students, teaching them whatever they wanted to learn.
"Street kids would come whenever they had free time, and I taught them whatever they were interested in," he said.

"It was a pretty flexible system over there. A lot of kids wouldn't be able to leave their houses during the day, or had to work at certain hours. These one-on-one sessions gave them a chance to learn no matter what."

After his time in Calcutta, Ayers took three weeks of vacation in Thailand, where he relaxed and took time to prepare for his second trip to Kathmandu, which lasted 4 months.

Ayers returned to Canada at the beginning of June, and was very happy with what he accomplished through his year-long trip.

"One of the best things was seeing that some sort of product came out of my efforts," he said. "It's great to know that you've made some sort of difference in the lives of people."

Ayers said he has changed through his experience and has learnt not to take anything for granted.

"The little things really do matter," he said. "Having access to electricity and hot or cold water is something people don't really think about, but they should really appreciate the fact that they have access to them."

Ayers will attend Capilano University in the fall where he will begin studies in the global stewardship program. And he will head back to Nepal in the summer of 2009 to continue with his foreign aid efforts.