Matias Ringel:
It's great to see you all. I hope you can see me and hear me. Good afternoon, good evening, maybe good morning, I don't know, depending on where you are in the world. I'm Matias Ringel. I'm a proud Wien student from 1991 and I actually liked Brandeis so much, that I stayed on another year and completed a graduate degree at the what today is the Brandeis International Business School. I'm originally from Argentina and I live in New York City with my wife and twins, almost 10 year old twins. But importantly, on behalf of Brandeis University and the Wien International Scholarship Program, I, together with all of those that put this together, Karen, for sure, and Taeko, you can imagine how much for sure, has contributed to this. We all welcome you and we hope you're doing well, and that most importantly, you're healthy and safe.
Matias Ringel:
I am so pleased that Wien alumni and students from across the globe representing all decades of the Wien International Scholarship Program, have joined us on this virtual call. Zoom has really changed the world and we can see it here. And we have with us alumni from the class of 1961, through current students. Wiens have logged in from as close as Waltham, of course, but as far away as Buenos Aires and Katmandu, and I see a Singapore background, that's for sure, and I'm sure there is European backgrounds, and we know that Lenny is there in a beautiful Greek island. So welcome you all, it's great to see you. In total, more than 900 alumni from more than a hundred countries have studied at Brandeis as Wiens, and so it only makes sense that we have a fantastic group with us today.
Matias Ringel:
The circumstances that, of course, you know and have forced us into a new virtual world, have remained challenging for all of us, but it has forced us to become creative and provide us this unique opportunity to connect Wien alumni and students from all over the world at the same time. And the Wien alumni network remains committed to fulfilling our mission of keeping Wien alumni connected with Brandeis and one another. And if I may say something, we have tried to start a tradition where every summer or fall approximately, depending on when it works, our house in New York opens for whoever, the Wien students at the moment, in New York City, and we have a nice dinner. I'm hoping, and so is my wife, and so are my twins, that this will be able to reignite soon and restart soon, so all are welcome. But I would also like to in particular, give a special welcome to Jodi Hanelt, who is director and Jingwen Yan, assistant director of the International Students and Scholars Office. Jodi and Jingwen, support the 22 current Wien scholars, as well as more than 2000 international students.
Matias Ringel:
That's a huge number by the way, and congrats Brandeis, 2000 international students and scholars at Brandeis today. So welcome. Before we begin our program, I have the pleasure of sharing a video message from Peter Malkin and Isabel Malkin. Isabel Malkin is Isabel Malkin Wien, as you can imagine, the son in law and daughter of program founders, Lawrence and May Wien. Many of you know Mr. Malkin as a great supporter of the Wien program and Mrs. Malkin as well, as well as alumni and students. Mr. And Mrs. Malkin were not able to be with us today, so they recorded a very nice message for us. James, over to you.
Isabel Malkin:
... speak to you all today. As the younger daughter of Lawrence A. Wien, who was my father and was an exciting man. People who were around him were excited. And on his footstone next to his grave, it says, "He reached for the stars and took us with him." And that's what life with Lawrence Wien was like. So he left a great many things of interest to him, when he passed away, and what was at the very top of the list was Brandeis University. And my sister and her husband, Deenie and Lester Morris, who were not able to be here for this today, have been involved with us in the Wien program. We used to call you all wisps, for many years. We have a granddaughter who is going to be in contact when she can, so hopefully things will go on into the horizon as they have been going and better and better. And I think that's all I should say. I'll give you over to my very special husband, Peter Malkin.
Peter Malkin:
Her only husband, also.
Isabel Malkin:
My only husband... Partner and they were the very closest of fathers in law, and sons in law.
Peter Malkin:
And we were very good friends, and it's a pleasure for us to be with you. The 63rd anniversary of the Wien International Scholarship program, and we understand that there's almost 63 years, there are over 60 wisps on the Zoom. And so we're delighted that you all are continuing this wonderful tradition originally envisioned by Lawrence A. Wien, as bringing outstanding young people from all over the world to the United States, to Brandeis University, where they could learn about America and where they could take back to their own countries, lessons of America and the benefits of a democratic Republic, where people are free to speak their minds and where people really do care for each other. So thank you very much for continuing the Wien tradition and we wish you all the best of everything. And remember, Brandeis and the Wien International Scholarship Program, how important they are and how important you are as the participants in this wonderful program. And now, have a great meeting.
Isabel Malkin:
That's was very good.
Matias Ringel:
Nice, very sweet and great message. Thank you, Isabel, and of course, Peter, for that nice surprise. So let's go over some reminders before we begin our program, very quickly. We will be recording today's program, so it can be shared with members of our Wien community who can't join us today. Please, we ask you to remain muted while our panelists speak, following the panel, we will open it up to questions, please type your questions in the chat, or raise your hand. There's a chat bubble at the bottom, there should be a chat, I can't see it, I'm sorry, there should be a chat bubble at the bottom of your screens, so please do use that and we'll try to respond. And following that, and the very nice discussion that we have, I would very much now like to introduce a moderator, our moderator for today, who really needs no introduction, but her name is Isabel Chiu and she's class of 1982 and that rhymes, but that's a coincidence.
Matias Ringel:
Isabel is the senior vice president of strategic alliances and program management at C4 Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company in Watertown, Massachusetts, neighboring town to Waltham. Previously, Isabel served as vice president of translational research at Aveo Oncology, where she was responsible for target and biomarker discovery, preclinical research, as well as leadership of strategic partnerships. She has had a very fruitful career. She contributed to the development of numerous small molecule and antibody programs, playing roles of increasing responsibility at Mitoix, GPC Biotech, Aveo, and numeral biomedical holdings, and with R&D partners that included Atlanta, Merch, OSI, and Astellas. She received her post-doctoral training at Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Holds a PhD in biology from MIT and has a bachelor of arts and biochemistry, from our own Brandeis University. So Isabel, my pleasure over to you and thank you all.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you, Matias. By my long CV, you can tell that I really was class of '82, that really dates me. So welcome everybody. I'm so pleased to be here with you all today, current students and past students as well, thank you. Some of you, we were able to meet at the 60th reunion celebration, and that was fantastic as well. So today we're tackling the very broad subject of being a Wien scholar at Brandeis and what it's meant for each of us. And so we particularly want to connect with the current students and young alumni, to let you know that we are here and we're here to share our presence and share any wisdom we can help and just really to be here for you.
Isabel Chiu:
So let me introduce our esteemed panel today of Wien alumni who have graciously agreed to join us. So we have Nicole Zamora, Nadir Daudi, Jun Pei and Franek Rozwadowski, who may or may not have been able to join as yet, if he comes in in between we'll introduce him in time. So why don't we start with Nicole, if I could ask all the panelists really to introduce yourselves, where you come from, where you currently live and then for you, Nicole, because you're not working yet, what your aspirations are for next year. So why don't we start with you, Nicole?
Nicole Zamora:
Yeah. So first I want to thank everyone who's here, for attending this event. Just by watching that video, I think it's a great reminder of how special this program is, and how it really is a family. My name is Nicole, my full name is Nicole Verinesa Mora Flores, and as you might imagine, in my school records, they can fit in my full name. And so as you can see my screen, I just go by Nicole Zamora. I'm graduating this semester, I'm calling in from my dorm, I live on campus. I'm majoring in computer science and business. And in terms of what I'm about to do post-grad, I'll be joining Athena Health as a software engineer.
Isabel Chiu:
That's fantastic. Thank you, Nicole. Nadir?
Nadir Daudi:
Hello, everyone. Good day to all of you. Really lovely to be here and getting to connect with everyone. My name is Nadir Daudi. I'm originally from Karachi, Pakistan, I grew up between the UK and Pakistan, and currently live in London. I graduated in 2010, with a major in economics and currently work in the online food delivery sector, previously was working in the aviation sector and started my career in Boston, working at a consulting company. So really happy to be here. And it goes without saying, that this Wien program has been very, very special for me and remains to be the case. So yeah, excited to connect with you today.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you, Nadir. So Jun?
Jun Pei:
Yes. Hi everyone. My name is Jun, Jun Pei. I grew up in Beijing and graduated from Brandeis under the Wien program in 1992. Currently I live in sunny California. So I'm going to start a computation with Matias, that my house will be open to any Wien student, come over and it's better weather than New York or Boston, so we'll have dinner, we'll chat. And I'm currently a engineer, also a CEO of a Silicon Valley company. So anybody interested in Silicon Valley, come over.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you. So I see my friend Franek, has not yet been able to join. So I'll sub in a little bit. So Franek and I share two Alma maters in common, so he's very near and dear to me. So we both went to Waterford Kamhlaba School in Swaziland. So I was born and raised in Mozambique until my middle years, and then for high school, we switched to this very special school Waterford Kamhlaba. And while I was there applying to college, all I could hear from the admissions office was, "You've got to apply to Brandeis. They gave Franek a scholarship." So he and I share both a high school and this very special honor of being Wien scholars as well.
Isabel Chiu:
So what we'd like to do then is to maybe ask the panelists to share some of their experience at Brandeis and what it meant being a Wien scholar at the time. And so we have panelists spanning various decades, as you can see. And I graduated in '82. So I guess the number one question really is, what was the greatest experience that you had at Brandeis, that you'd like to share? So Nicole, do you want to start since you're so close to the experience?
Nicole Zamora:
Yes. So I think I have a couple of memories, but one of my favorites is, I think it happened when I was a sophomore, no, at the end of my freshman year. So I had never left my country before coming to the States, and as I said to a couple of Wiens yesterday, the first day I got to the States, well, I attended Brandeis, I met people from more nationalities than I had in my entire life, and I felt really welcomed by the Wien community. I didn't know anyone, I was lost on campus, actually the first day I missed a couple of my classes because I didn't know how to get around. And honestly, the Wien group was really a big part of how I adjusted here.
Nicole Zamora:
And that brings me to the memory, which is, at the end of freshman year I remember Rosa. She was a senior when I was a freshmen. She would invite Wiens and other friends over to her place and we would cook and we would dance and we would play games and things like that. And I remember that it was close to the date when we had exams and we were all very busy, but the fact that they took the time to go buy food, to cook and just the warmth of the moment, the food was delicious too. It kind of clicked, I think we were dancing Afrobeats, I had never danced Afrobeats before, and it just made me realize where I was and who I was with. So I think that's my favorite moment.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you. Nadir, do you want to share yours?
Nadir Daudi:
Sure. I always struggle with the greatest experience questions, just because there were so many wonderful ones, but I'll pick out maybe two specific ones. One was right after I joined, the US, the Southern coast was devastated by hurricane Katrina. And we, as a Wien group, went down to New Orleans and the region there, to help with hurricane relief efforts. It was really eye-opening for me, it was relatively early in my time at Brandeis and as a Wien scholar and just coming together as a community and giving back and helping others who had been so devastated, was really a fantastic experience, to be able to give back, but also get to know others. We went down by bus, from Boston down to New Orleans, which was about a 36 hour journey, which was quite intense. I hadn't been on a bus for that long ever before.
Nadir Daudi:
And another one, as part of that, we got to experience Mardi Gras, it happened to overlap with that very crazy experience in New Orleans. So something that as a 19 year old in the US, was nice to experience. At the same time, I was also fortunate to experience the 50th anniversary celebrations on campus, which was a really exciting event, in terms of getting to meet so many wonderful Wien scholar from all around the world, as well as the Wien family. So yeah, I'd highlight those two in particular, as really, really rewarding experiences.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you so much. Wow. So, Jun?
Jun Pei:
Oh yeah. Well, I came to the Brandeis campus in August of 1989. And for some of the old timers, you probably can recall that 1989, there was this Tiananmen Square in China, this big incident. And actually, I was attending Peking University at the time, so I was really in the center of it. There was chaos, people who really went into this commotion and lots of them died. And then I was extremely lucky, two days before they changed the all visas and passports, actually I flew out and actually came to the States. Actually I remember the director of the international programs, Farah Goldstein, actually called me and saying, "Are you coming or not, given the circumstances?" So I came.
Jun Pei:
And after I arrived on campus, with all the things happened behind me, you can imagine, everything was striking, everything was new, everything was welcomed. So we went to parks, we had the food. Yeah, food was a big part of it. But then really all these things, I couldn't really name one incident that was not striking, it's just a crescendo, all the way leading up to my first day of class, economics class with a hundred some people, big, big class. And I was sitting, not at the front row, the second row, and the professor came to me at the beginning of the class, say, "Are you a Wien student?" Because he looked at my face, with my broken English and all that. And it's that moment I realized how privileged I was and how fortunate I was to be in this program. And actually it is a feeling remained until today, when seeing the video at the top of this meeting. So that's my experience.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you. So for me, I'm just stepping in for Franek, but for me, one of the best experiences, all of you panelists have already touched on, is the widening world for a 19 year old to see the rest of the world. My friend from Bangladesh had never seen snow before, and he was going crazy, running around the Brandeis campus. That was a lot of fun. But also for me to realize that you may come from less developed countries, but you're no poorer. A lot of us came with a lot of rich community feelings and very rich support from our communities. And I understood coming from Brandeis, that even if you're in a rich country, you are not necessarily happier. And so that was a profound culture introduction for me.
Isabel Chiu:
So maybe because we know that this year has been really hard for many of our Wien scholars, because of the pandemic and effect on them. So I thought maybe you could share what has been hard for you at Brandeis, when you were here. So maybe we can reverse and Jun, do you want to? And how you overcame it.
Jun Pei:
Sure. I actually saw the question, and this is one question I couldn't answer. There was nothing hard, brandies did everything. I came from a very humble background in China, with this Tiananmen square thing behind me, so everything was easy, there was no hardship, from academics, to the food, to accommodations. I was given $1,200 of spending money every semester, that's more than my mom and dad combined, their salary in those days. So there was really nothing hard. If I can pick one thing, in my senior year, almost my mentor and a very close professor in physics, his name was Steve Berko, suddenly he was given a class to us on Thursday and Friday, he passed away. So that was a hard moment for me, seeing somebody that was active and very, very intelligent and somebody I admire, just left us. So that was a hard moment.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you. And Nadir?
Nadir Daudi:
Sure. So I came from a system where generally exams were at the end of the year and tested your knowledge of everything you learned over that period, and adjusting to the US system, particularly Brandeis, which is academically so rigorous, which required constant contribution in terms of assignments and projects and midterms, et cetera. That was very new for me, and something that took quite a bit of adjustment. But I think being surrounded by so many incredibly talented and smart people, especially within the Wien community, kept me motivated. I don't think I'd ever worked that hard before in my life, and it was a great preparation for entering out into a career in the US and globally after that.
Nadir Daudi:
So I'd say, yeah, just keeping up with the consistent nature of the coursework was probably quite hard in the beginning, but once I navigated that, it really allowed me to explore new opportunities. And I'd say the other thing for me, it might sound fairly minor, but in my first couple of semesters, I really struggled with pop culture, US pop culture, late night dorm room conversations, we'd play all sorts of games and I could barely answer any of the questions. So I remember just smiling and nodding a lot, and by my junior year, finally feeling like I could contribute to some of those. So that was hard, but I made some progress in that regard.
Isabel Chiu:
Yeah. I think we can all empathize, we've all been there. I grew up in Mozambique where we had no television all those times, so I had no context for a lot of the conversation at the time. Nicole, do you want to share any difficult times you've had?
Nicole Zamora:
Yeah. I agree with Nadir, in the fact that academics are rigorous here at Brandeis. And I think when I first came in, I was fearful, I was like, "If I do something wrong, I'm going to be deported. If I get a B or something, I'm going to be kicked out of the program." I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, it wasn't someone telling me, "You have to do this, you have to do that." But I think that as Wiens, we are high achieving people, we want to give our best all the time. And I think my first semester, I wasn't really giving myself the space to transition into a completely different culture, a different place. So many things were changing. One of the things that also struck me was the work-life balance, the idea of seeing people eating while they were working, having lunch, not really having lunch, but just working all the time.
Nicole Zamora:
It struck me because back home there's a time in the day where people go back to their place, they eat with their family or their friends, and then they go back. So that struck me like, is my purpose here to just work, work, work, and not give myself space and time. And I think it took me a while to understand that that's a decision and if I'm not working all the time, it doesn't mean I'm less achieved, less successful, but it took me some time to realize that, I think that was a difficulty.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you. For me initially, there was quite a bit of culture shock, but what really helped me at Brandeis was the gospel choir. Maybe because I was from Africa, but the Brandeis gospel choir was mostly African American, a couple of US international students joined, but that group really held me up and we sang all over the country, we actually went on tour with Brandeis. It was really an eye-opening experience for me, also a great way to learn about the US through the lens of the gospel choir with Brandeis. So thank you.
Isabel Chiu:
So maybe now we can change, turn a little bit to what really impacted you, what were the big events while you were at Brandeis? I know Jun, you already talked about Tiananmen and how transformative that was for you. And so in my day it was apartheid and it was really good to see that the whole community was coming together over the sanctions and everybody wore ribbons at the graduation as well. So that was a very eye-opening moment for me, also seeing Southern Africa through the lens of the Western world. So maybe Nadir, Nicole and June, you want to expound on the big moments that we are facing and how that actually informed what you decided to do with your opportunities at your work and in your life.
Nadir Daudi:
Sure. I can start, I'm assuming that was the order you were intending. So I was class of 2010, and 2008 was quite a landmark moment in US politics, with Obama coming in, Barack Obama, coming in as the president. I just remember, having grown up in Pakistan for the most part, politics there, very unstable region as well, and it was always a very established hierarchy of political figures that would generally make it to the top of the country, either those or it was army controlled. So I didn't have a lot of faith in politics, I would say, but I always viewed the US system as a bastion of democracy. And I think witnessing that shift in 2008, where the US saw its first African American president, was absolutely incredible. I remember the scenes at Brandeis, sitting at the Shapiro Campus Center, it felt like a big party and a celebration, as if the local Boston sports teams had won the Super Bowl or the NBA finals.
Nadir Daudi:
So witnessing that just proved to me that anything really is possible, I think, if you work hard and you pursue your ambitions, it can be realized. And witnessing that, along with so many of my American friends who were so passionate about politics, just showed me that one has to believe in those causes, believe that change can happen. And while I myself don't consider myself to be a very politically inclined person, I can say for sure that those four years at Brandeis and witnessing that shift, made me a lot more concerned about it, and it's something that I now take a lot more seriously. Even though I don't live in the US anymore, I still keep up with all the events of the political landscape in particular and what happened this year as well. So yeah, I'd say that had a very lasting impact on me, and I think despite not being there, I will continue to have an interest in that topic that impacts us all globally.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you. So, Jun? Do you want to expound?
Jun Pei:
Yeah, so my year at Brandeis, first year 1989 was quite a, how should I say, I can't even put ... It started with Tiananmen Square in the summer timeframe, and when I came to the States in November, there was the fall of Berlin Wall, and very soon after, there was the first Gulf War. So that was quite a transformational year for the entire world affairs and leading to really the American dominance in democracy and all of the political transformations in many countries, including China. So fortunately, or unfortunately, I was not studying politics, what I learned is given all the changes, I'd better just focus on my academics and get good grades. Embarrassingly, that's all I did for my years at Brandeis, leading to a career later on in engineering. So I still watch politics and perhaps are more involved nowadays than before, because after all I live in the States, but I am an immigrant, a minority and intellectual, to a certain extent. So I'm much more paying attention to the politics and somewhat involved as well currently, than in the past.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you. Nicole?
Nicole Zamora:
Well, I think the things I have to share are very recent because I'm still a student. When I first joined, I remember my family and I, we were scared because of the administration. I think maybe two months before I came here, we were watching the news, how in different universities, students were protesting and they wanted to throw out their international students. And I remember having a conversation with my mom about whether or not it was worth it to move to the States at that specific point in time. I'm grateful to say that that has not been the case at Brandeis. Brandeis is really welcoming to international students. And in the past year, so many things can happen, I don't even know where to start. I think racial discrimination and biases were highlighted with many things that happened, the pandemic, big, big, major events that have made the last year or so, more difficult.
Nicole Zamora:
And in terms of how that informed the things I see myself doing in the future, when I started my journey at Brandeis, I was taking a lot of different classes and I was leaning more towards marketing and business. One of the reasons why I came to Brandeis was because I'm passionate about servicing, about service and about having an impact in my community. And I thought that through strategy and marketing, I could help with the execution. And when I started taking computer science courses, I realized that through technology, you actually get to work on the products that are making a tangible impact. And that was even more highlighted when the pandemic hit. I mean, even the fact that we're having this call on Zoom, is a testament to how technology can unite people. And it's also something that not a lot of people have access to, like back home when the pandemic hit, students couldn't go back to school because 70% of students didn't have internet or laptops.
Nicole Zamora:
So I think that technology is as space that has the opportunity to lend a hand and make an impact, that I want to be a part of. So that is something that I had in my mind, in back of my mind before the pandemic, but when the pandemic hit, I think it became stronger.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you, everyone. So we have maybe one more question and then we'll turn to the Q and A, because we'd like to get to know as many of you as possible, even just to say hello, if you have no question, that would be good. So I know that this is something that we struggled during my time here, is that some of my colleagues had a difficult time deciding whether they would stay in the US after Brandeis or go back to their home countries. And so just wanted to open that to discussion. In my case, I decided to go to graduate school at MIT and my family, my father got a job, was transferred to the US, so blissfully, I didn't have to make that painful choice. But I guess part of the message is that it doesn't have to be painful either, there many ways to live out your lives and contribute. So maybe Jun, you want to take up that question first?
Jun Pei:
Yeah, for me after Brandeis, even though I studied physics and computer science, I decided that my passion was actually in engineering. So I attended Stanford Engineering School for graduate school, getting my PhD here in the Bay Area. And of course, Bay Area being the melting pot for technologies, it was just a natural extension. It wasn't too much of a decision for me to stay in the Bay Area and continuing to work in the tech industry, not to mention that actually I met my wife here at Stanford, and then we started a family, even when actually I was a graduate student.
Jun Pei:
So I have to say, this is something that I was quite torn about throughout the past 20 some years, almost 30 years now, that I understood that when I came into this program, that one of the spirit is actually for Wien students to come here, get an American education and go back to their country or other part of the world and proliferate the spirit of democracy and all those bigger ideals. And frankly, where I was torn is really I'm not quite contributing to that, I've been doing technology engineering and all of those things, and I admire everybody around here who actually are doing that. I want to say that as time goes by, I would like to get more involved, if given the opportunity, to contribute within the States, as well as all over the world, wherever I can, for the Wien spirit.
Isabel Chiu:
Nadir, do you want to go?
Nadir Daudi:
Yeah, sure. I always find it a little bit a tricky question to answer in some ways, because home is many places for me, Pakistan is a big part of my heart as well, but also the UK and I have had wonderful years in the US. So I decided initially to stay on for about five years after Brandeis and the Wien program, to pursue my initial career there. Really enjoyed it, I think the Wien program set me up really well to tackle the complexities of a demanding corporate world, in terms of the consulting role that I did. But I think I reached a point where in many ways it was support from my Wien colleagues and friends from the program, who gave me the strength to make that decision of walking away from it. It was a very difficult decision at the time, I was in a role, I was doing well in that role, I could have chosen to stay on in the US for longer and continue down that US immigration process.
Nadir Daudi:
But I also knew I needed a bit of a break and a bit of a reset button. I wanted to try something new. And one of the challenges within the US immigration system at the time at least, was I couldn't just take time off work and choose to travel a little bit and explore. Unfortunately, you do have to be linked to a job to stay for the H1B program. So yeah, I decided to move away and spend a few months traveling away and really just reflect in that moment in terms of what I wanted to do, and that's what led me then to my time here in Europe. I spent a few years working in Switzerland, and then now back here, a second home for me in the UK.
Nadir Daudi:
And where I go next, not really sure. I think the point that Jen just made, I'm not physically back in Pakistan, but I still have quite a lot of family there and certainly have found ways over the years to keep contributing to initiatives and foundations over there and play my part. I know one could always be doing more and that's, I would say, a daily struggle for me, something that I do hope over the years, I can be more and more involved with, especially in terms of raising my daughter here in the UK. I want her to know also the importance of roots and home. So that's a topic I'd love to hear more about from perhaps some of others here who may have faced that over the years. But yeah, that's me.
Isabel Chiu:
That's great. Thank you, Nadir. And Nicole, before we turn to Q&A.
Nicole Zamora:
Well, I'm still in school, but my plans for the future. I remember when I first came in, my idea was I get my diploma, the next thing you know, I'll be climbing up the stairs in that plane to go back home. Things have changed. I've experienced some things that made me realize that I want to get experience here in the tech field and then take that back to Ecuador. So long-term, I do see myself in Latin America, but I think, and I've been speaking with some of my friends who are software engineers from Ecuador, and the way things are approached here, I think there's something to take that I can bring back to Ecuador. Who knows, I might be able to collaborate, because I'm sure that there are things that people do in Ecuador, that can inform some of the things that are being done here. So long story short, I plan to stay here for a few years and then go back. That's the plan for now.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you.
Nicole Zamora:
Ask me in five years, it might be different, who knows.
Isabel Chiu:
I'd like to think that by being Wien scholars, you are marked for life. It's a privilege and honor, we carry for life. So no matter where we serve, that impact is going to be felt locally, as well as with the wider communities. So thank you. And I think we've set aside, Karen, you've set aside time for Q and A, so we'd love to hear from you.
Karen Rogol:
It looks like Eleni has raised her hand. Eleni, did you have a question or a comment?
Isabel Chiu:
You're on mute, Eleni.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
Mute, okay. Am I on now?
Isabel Chiu:
Yes. Yes, we can hear you.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
All right. I must be the oldest participant in this group, I don't see anybody very old, as old as I am. I'm 76 years old, I was at Brandeis when I was 18. So that makes it 52 years ago. All right. It was one of the very few first classes. I don't know what I should say about Brandeis, I had a very hard time, my first two years. That was not the fault of the Wien program or Brandeis, I came from a very different educational system in Europe, completely different, and that made it very hard for me because I was planning to do science because I was ace in everything. And I thought I'd do science, but I had no background for science, so that was very hard. So until I did change and the change came with a very brilliant man, I am one of the few people in the world who had Herbert Marcuse as a teacher.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
I don't know if you know who Herbert Marcuse was. He was a great, great philosopher, political scientist, and refugee from Hitler in Germany. And that man and the political science course that I took, which was theory of political science, changed my life. Brandeis had hosted him as a refugee because that's what he was. So that was a wonderful thing. From a very bad performing student on a Wien scholarship, I became an A student after that. And of course, I was doing very well with languages because I was learning four languages, I speak five languages now and fine. The other thing, I'm thinking of the questions that you have raised before, an event that that was something very powerful in our lives. When I graduated in 1966, my class had Arthur Goldberg, who was the foreign secretary of the United States, speak and address, he was the keynote speaker at our graduation.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
But this was 1966 and it was Vietnam. My whole class wore black bands, arm bands to protest the United States actions in Vietnam. That was one of the first things that happened in the country, in protest. And I was very proud to be part of that class, very proud. Well, since then, what can I tell you? I have spent my life teaching in Massachusetts and writing and translating and singing and painting. I have a multiple career. And I think that the Wien experience was very important in all that, it was a very eye opening idea, of you can do everything, you can do everything, that sort of thing. And that's all I have to say. But I have to go because I have another Zoom meeting on another computer.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you so much Eleni, for sharing your thoughts. Helge wants to say something now. Thank you.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. I have to go. Thank you. I'm sorry.
Isabel Chiu:
Stay well.
Helge Evju:
Well, first of all, I would like to say thank you to Eleni and hope you remember me from '62, '63?
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
Yes, I do, I do.
Helge Evju:
You remember, the musician, the pianist from Norway?
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
Yes, I remember everyone from '62 to '66. Yes.
Helge Evju:
Yes. You remember me? Oh, you were such a lively girl, very wonderful temperament.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
Yes, I'm still like that.
Isabel Chiu:
Yeah, she still does.
Helge Evju:
Yeah, but I want to just say that I'm older than you. So I am now 79 and it's 60 years almost to the date since I opened the letter from Brandeis. I was sitting in an architect's office, making drawings, and I thought this was not my future, I wanted to do music, and the letter from Brandeis made me able to do that. And so I came and got the music education that at that time was very difficult to get in Norway, and so it changed so much. I had to use those two years to the maximum, to perfect myself in piano or other musical things. I think the other things came later in my life, such as political awareness and these things, they came later. I was very naive, but I had a wonderful time. And the funny thing, that I thought I would disappear and not be noticed, but it was like the little swan that came into the pond, I was expected to be different, I was expected to be something special and it was a wonderful, wonderful experience. It changed me from introvert to extrovert.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
Right, right. Very good, very good.
Helge Evju:
And I'm still working, I'm an author now, writing a biography of a famous Norwegian composer. Work never ends. So I will greet everyone now and I will finish and say good luck. And you are very lucky to come to Brandeis and study. It's a time that never returns.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you so much, Helge, thank you. Greta, you'd like to share something.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Greta Rosenberg Michael, class of 63 also. Eleni, I'm a little older than you also.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
Yes, but that's all right, but that's all right.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Yeah, will be 79 next month. And it's interesting how I can relate to some of the current students, particularly some of the things that Nicole was saying, and to the older, the way back students. I grew up in Newfoundland in Canada and I had an aunt and uncle in Boston and we were visiting family and I was looking at colleges. I did not know, did not understand the competition of today. And my relatives said, "Why don't you take a look at Brandeis while you were here?" And we somehow went with my parents and found somebody in the admissions office, and they said, "We have a wonderful scholarship for international," I think they said, foreign students at that time. I said, "Who's foreign? I'm from Canada." "How do you do in school?" I said, "Well, I do okay." And my father said, "She comes first in her class."
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
I was very shy, I was very naive, I was very modest at the time. And again, I spoke the language, but I did, I was obviously thrilled and terrified at the same time to be accepted to the program. I've never heard of such a wonderful scholarship. I also remember, I didn't get lost, there weren't quite as many buildings as there are now. I live in Evanston, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. I don't have a career as such, but some of the things that stand out in my memory, in my era, and maybe Eleni and Helge, when you were there, there was a Wien trip in the spring time, you went to Philadelphia and visited...
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
All over, Washington.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
We went to Washington DC, and then we went to... And I think there were maybe about 30 of us at the time, 30 to 40. Some of you, like Helge, were two years. I was there in 1959, freshman year at that Wien trip. And I think we bonded, all the Wien students at that time. So that was one of the things. It was an era of civil rights, but prior to the protests, just before the protest on Gryzmish, the administration building and so on and so forth. Another thing I remember, again, I had also not met people from as many countries growing up in a small town, a small country, big country but small town, a small province, and American students from all over the country. And I remember being in my dorm and thinking, somebody down the hall has a very different accent, they were American, but somebody from Virginia and somebody from New York, and somebody from Massachusetts. So there was not a language barrier.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
I remember somebody saying, it was just before Kennedy was elected and there was something called a mock convention. Well, I didn't have a clue. What was that? No, I don't know what it is. But I did watch and learn something about the political system here. And yes, I did not have a class with Marcuse, but I did hear him lecture periodically. Professor Stephen Whitfield had a program, I listened to so many alumni programs and he has written a book called Learning on the Left, I believe, and mentioned the faculty of that era. So that was some of that.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
One of the things, I do agree, it was rigorous academically, and I also have a lot of pressure on myself to keep up a grade that was good enough to make sure I got the scholarship back the next years.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
Yes.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
You can relate to that. One of the small things I have done where I live, we live a few miles from Northwestern University. And probably about 45 years ago, somebody introduced me to a local program for the international students from Northwestern, it's called Community Council for International Students. And I have been on the board of that small organization for many years, and we do things to make the international students feel more comfortable, feel part of the community. We had what we used to call a foster relative program and a home stay program, we had some students stay for a few days at the beginning. We had from Brazil, from Australia, from France.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
And I remember when students were first allowed out of the People's Republic of China, and they were very much in demand. I don't know if you can hear me, Jun, but the local community was very eager to meet people from People's Republic, we didn't personally have a student from there. A student from Israel who was a music student, who lives now in Australia, in Tasmania actually. And we visited him several years ago and also our other Australian student. He is a musician with the Tasmanian Orchestra, plays the trumpet. So there have been a lot of experiences and we have in our Community Council for International Students, help with English, one on one, that some volunteers help students with their colloquial English, or sometimes with making corrections on a paper they're writing. And you're getting to know families in the area because students meet other students. And I think Boston and Waltham and so forth, have many of these programs.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Anyway, I've talked enough. I thank the Wien family, without which I never would have had these experiences. My husband, by the way, is an MIT graduate, but from the early '60s.
Isabel Chiu:
Greta, thank you so much for sharing. We need to do this again, we are coming up to the hour and we're closing. But before we close, for those who can stay, I just wanted to welcome Franek. So Franek, maybe next time.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
I'm sorry, I have to go.
Isabel Chiu:
Yeah. Yeah. Do you want to introduce yourself-
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
I thank you very much, it was great.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Bye, bye, Eleni.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you Eleni.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
It was lovely. Thank you. I'm sorry I have to go. It's been a very nice event. Thank you very much. Congratulations for a very nice event. Sorry, I have to go.
Helge Evju:
A toast for everyone.
Eleni Mahaira-Odoni:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Cheers.
Isabel Chiu:
So Franek, I'm sorry, maybe got with the time zone difference or something, but I spoke for you in the panel, if that's okay?
Franek Rozwadowski:
Okay. I'm really sorry. I thought I was just tuning in at the beginning, but it's evident now that this is the end of the event. I had it on my calendar for five o'clock my time, but I must've messed up. I really apologize for that.
Isabel Chiu:
We'll save it, you're on the hook for next time. Thank you. And so Karen and Taeko, in closing, I know that there are people, there's a chat here going about how to stay connected. Maybe you want to say something.
Karen Rogol:
Sure. Thank you so much everyone, for being with us today. It's such a pleasure to connect, even virtually. And I know you all want to continue the conversations that we've been having here. So there is, for those of you who are on Facebook, there's a Wien Facebook page. For those you who are on LinkedIn, there's a Wien LinkedIn group. Students also, please join those groups. We also just rolled out a new version of the Brandeis online community called B connect, which is a really great, it's a closed community. So if you don't like LinkedIn and you don't like Facebook, but you want to connect with your fellow Brandeisans, join, B connect. It's a way to stay connected with each other and with the current students.
Karen Rogol:
And I'll send a follow-up email to everyone on the call and actually everyone who RSVPed, who even couldn't be with us, with links to all of those groups. And I highly recommend students and alumni alike, please, please join it. There's so many opportunities to connect. I am making notes of, this person's here and that person lives there, how can I help connect them? So please join and keep the conversations going. Isabel?
Isabel Chiu:
Yeah. And thank all of you for attending, with special thanks really to the panelists. So Nadir, Jun, Nicole, who had to sign off and Franek, who came in just in the Nick of time and Matias. And then really, really special, thanks to Taeko and Karen, for everything that they do to keep the Wien community together. So that's all from me.
Karen Rogol:
Thank you everyone. Good to see you. As Helge said, cheers to you and cheers to the Wien International Scholarship program. Hopefully we can all be together in person sometime soon, but we'll hopefully see you on Zoom again as well.
Isabel Chiu:
Yeah, hopefully this is the first of many. Bye.
Karen Rogol:
Bye.
Helge Evju:
Bye, bye, take care. Thank you.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Thank you Karen. I have met you at Brandeis programs here.
Karen Rogol:
Yes. Good to see you Greta.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
In the past.
Karen Rogol:
Thank you, bye. Bye everybody.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Thank you. Thank you for Isabel, and the panel, very, very good, very interesting. As more things change, the more they remain the same.
Karen Rogol:
There is a common thread, common thread.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
That really resonate, even with the current or recent, well, I think of the 1980s as being recent, being from the '60s, but so many things to do. When we have been in Boston for visits, we have gone to Brandeis when possible. And I reconnected with an old friend several years ago and she lives in Waltham and worked at Brandeis at some point.
Isabel Chiu:
That's great.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Terry Castellano, do you remember? She at some point worked at Brandeis and then went on to do other things. And I keep in touch with my former roommate whose husband was also at Brandeis and recently passed away, unfortunately. So yeah, I do maintain some connections and do a lot of the programs that are very well worth listening to, that either the president or the alumni group put on, that's been very good. Thank you all. Jack. You all.
Isabel Chiu:
Thank you.
Karen Rogol:
Thanks, Greta. Good to see you. Franek, good to see you. I'm sorry we had a time zone confusion.
Franek Rozwadowski:
Yeah, I don't know, I don't usually mess up on something like that-
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Where are you?
Franek Rozwadowski:
I'm currently in Iceland. And so usually Iceland's on the same ... Iceland is on Greenwich Mean Time. And sometimes that means that we're on the same time zone as the UK, but sometimes the UK switches off Greenwich Mean Time, but Iceland stays on Greenwich Mean Time.
Isabel Chiu:
It just depends on the time gap.
Franek Rozwadowski:
Right, right.
Karen Rogol:
As Isabel said, we're going to do this again, so you're on the hook for next time.
Franek Rozwadowski:
Okay, count me in. And again, I really apologize. I'm sorry, Isabel, sorry Karen. I was looking forward to this. And so, well next time.
Isabel Chiu:
It's good to see you.
Franek Rozwadowski:
It sounds as though it went well though. Were there many current Wien students there or not so many? On the list, I saw a few, but not all that many, it was mainly us old folks.
Karen Rogol:
I think we maybe had 10, 10 or so. You never know with students in the middle of the day.
Isabel Chiu:
A lot of young alums though, right?
Franek Rozwadowski:
Were there?
Taeko Yamamoto:
Yeah. There were a lot of young alums, I think, but it looked like, I was counting, I was counting the squares, I think the vast majority were alumni. There were maybe, I think, seven or eight students.
Franek Rozwadowski:
Right, that's what it looked like. Somebody sent a list around of those who had signed up. I quickly scanned it, it looked like it was three quarters or four fifths, were alarms, and then 10, 20% students. But this is good, this is good too.
Karen Rogol:
It's a start, we're hoping. I mean, I do think, and Taeko said this before, the silver lining of this past year, has been everyone wants to hop on Zoom and make some connections. So we have alumni from across the globe who-
Taeko Yamamoto:
I can't wait until we do this in person though.
Franek Rozwadowski:
No, you're absolutely right. I mean, we're all longing for that. But we shouldn't forget this either, because even when COVID is better under control, The distances will still be there.
Taeko Yamamoto:
The technology is just amazing, look at all of us, Nadir's in London, you got two people in Massachusetts, Greta in Illinois, you said, and you're in-
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Near Chicago.
Taeko Yamamoto:
I'm sitting in New York City.
Isabel Chiu:
Jesus, I see that you came on video right now, did you want to say hello? No, that's okay.
Franek Rozwadowski:
There's a waving hand there.
Isabel Chiu:
You're on mute.
Franek Rozwadowski:
It's really dark-
Taeko Yamamoto:
Days of the pandemic, you're on mute.
Franek Rozwadowski:
I can see your face, but it's in the dark.
Isabel Chiu:
Okay. All right.
Karen Rogol:
I can't mute her.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
We have to be grateful for Zoom, because we would really have been isolated without this, without our class.
Taeko Yamamoto:
And for the internet overall, right?
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Absolutely.
Taeko Yamamoto:
If we didn't have the internet to connect all of us and broadband and all these other things, video cameras. I mean, I'm class of '91, I mean, we would never have imagined this. Calls to home were really expensive in those days.
Karen Rogol:
Now you're un-muted.
Jesus Kelly:
Yes, yes. I'm sorry. I have to apologize. It's in the dark because it's three o'clock in the morning here in Australia and I over slept.
Nadir Daudi:
I think you definitely win the award for most complex time zone.
Isabel Chiu:
That's really dedication.
Jesus Kelly:
It is not the time zone, it's just that I overslept. Sorry about that.
Karen Rogol:
We're glad you're with us.
Jesus Kelly:
And last time I was not, I was awake one hour ahead, but then they changed the time zone and now I didn't hear it, I just woke up now. I'm hoping next time there won't be any mistakes. Sorry.
Taeko Yamamoto:
Karen, next time we should figure out the time zone issue. Do another night?
Karen Rogol:
What's the perfect start time, 9:00 AM east coast?
Jesus Kelly:
No, no, this is perfect. This is perfect. It's perfect. It's perfect. Last time, it was perfect too, when Ron Liebowitz was speaking. I was on time. So sorry. But yes, I'm looking forward.
Taeko Yamamoto:
Asia and the US are the same, reasonably good time zone kind of thing.
Jesus Kelly:
Yes. It's okay.
Taeko Yamamoto:
The US alone has three times zones, the west coast and the east coast. And the west coast of the US and Australia is basically almost like 18, 20 hours.
Karen Rogol:
Yeah, I would say as long as someone like Jesus doesn't mind waking up in the middle of the night, her time, we can keep doing it here. Thank you.
Jesus Kelly:
Yes, I will, I will.
Isabel Chiu:
I have to sign off-
Karen Rogol:
I also have to sign off which means that this call is going to end. So it was wonderful to see you.
Greta Rosenberg Michael:
Thank you so much.
Franek Rozwadowski:
Bye everyone.
Jesus Kelly:
Bye, nice to see you. Bye.