For readers who don't know you – you graduated in 1993. How many years were you at HKIS? Where did you go to college, what did you study?
I’m a TCK, born and raised overseas, but I spent my senior year at HKIS. After that, I went to basketball country – North Carolina, where I studied history and secondary education at Guilford College in Greensboro.

Who or what influenced you at HKIS? What are some of your favorite memories from back then?
HKIS enabled me to connect with good friends and teachers from diverse backgrounds who really helped me figure out my own faith and identity. Shout out, Dr. Marty Schmidt! But I have so many great memories from that year: Jumping off waterfalls in the country park, Far East Basketball in Japan, trekking up to glaciers in Nepal on my dad’s Interim trip, getting schooled by Riz Farooqi ’94 at the Battle of the Bands.

You're now a teacher in the Humanities Department –What drew you back to HKIS?
I always wanted to come back to Hong Kong and specifically HKIS. So when I learned that there was a basketball and AP US History opening, I jumped at the chance. It was trippy to come back as a colleague of some of my favorite teachers. The interdisciplinary approach, professionalism, and passion of this Humanities department helped me grow tremendously as an educator. Here we get to explore the connections and experiences that make us human and enable us to live empathetic, integrated, and meaningful lives.

There’ve been a lot of other perks as well. I’ve led Interims ranging from Reefs to Rainforests in Thailand to rafting the Ganges to service projects in Vietnam and Laos. But some of my most enjoyable Interims have been local ones – surfing in Hong Kong and exploring the culture of this amazing place.

Basketball is also a big passion of yours. Was that true when you were a student, too?
Yes, I’m fortunate to be a part of such a proud tradition of HKIS basketball, joining the many great players and coaches through the years. In 1992, we lost the final game to a tough Singapore American team. Shout out to Coach Brian Brumsickle and our captain James “The Aircraft Carrier” Caradonna!

Under normal circumstances, you’re active in basketball both through playing alumni regularly on Wednesday nights and coaching current students. What’s your favorite part about all this?
I’ve coached here for 15 years, so many of my former players are back in Hong Kong working and starting families. It’s been great to reconnect with them. Playing with them on Wednesday nights is…humbling, but I still get them with some crafty ‘old school moves’. These are fantastic young men and women, of whom HKIS should be proud. Some of them still help me scout at tournaments and hype up my team pre-game.

The main reason I coach is to help each of my varsity players bring out his best in service to the team and in pursuit of a common goal. But I also learn much from them too. Two years ago, I expected a rough season, but we wound up having one of our most successful ones. I learned a lot about not putting limits on what we believe and can achieve together.

Now, with my own kids Miles (G6) and Macy (G5) playing in the HKIS basketball and soccer programs here, I feel like life is coming full circle.

Tell us a basketball story, please!
Two years ago, Super APAC [Asia Pacific Activities Conference] was crazy. We played an undefeated Brent team, and boxing champ Manny Pacquiao was here to watch his son play. The gym was packed and the energy was electric. Our guys rose to the challenge, went undefeated, and won our first Super APAC! Then, last August, the Sierra Canyon HS team (with LeBron Jr. and Zaire Wade) got stranded in Hong Kong due to the protests. We invited them over to practice here in the MS gym. Cool stuff like this happens at HKIS! Thanks to the Dragons fans near and far. Hopefully once the Covid situation improves, we can all celebrate our 50th Holiday Tourney and keep this amazing tradition going strong!