CLASS NOTES ( Continued )
1993
Monique Gaffney , Marshall , received a Fox Foundation Fellowship supporting her work with San Diego ’ s Old Globe Theatre to create and develop a multimedia theatre piece inspired by the true story of a woman who survived the Rwandan genocide .
1994
Alondra R . Nelson , Marshall , a sociologist , author and researcher who explores questions in science , technology and social inequity , has been appointed professor and Harold F . Linder Chair in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study .
1995
Ellen C . Chen , Marshall , is the owner of Mendocino Farms , with her husband , Mario Del Pero . The sandwich market will open in Houston , its first location outside California , with plans for continued expansion in Texas .
Olivia A . Graeve , Revelle , a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering , received the 2018-2019 Chancellor ’ s Associates Faculty Excellence Award for Community Service .
Finding Home
BY DAN CHANG , MS ’ 68 , PHD ’ 70
I AM PROUD to have called UC San Diego my home , especially because it almost wasn ’ t . I emigrated from Taiwan in 1966 , initially to study at University of Pennsylvania , where the winters were a shock to my subtropical sensibilities . I was often snowed in , unable to go anywhere to practice my English , just staying home every day babysitting my host family ’ s 5-year-old daughter , whose vocabulary was no better than mine .
The day after Christmas , however , I received mail from my dad — a letter from UC San Diego offering me a research assistantship . It had arrived in Taiwan only a few days after I left , but airmail was very expensive then , so it took a month by ship to get to me in the U . S . I immediately bought a train ticket , spending two days to get to San Diego . A meal on the train cost around $ 10 , which was my dad ’ s one-month salary in Taiwan at that time , so I decided not to eat any meals . Instead , I bought two big bags of apples and oranges for those days . To this day , I am unable to touch apples and oranges any more because I had enough of them on that trip .
UCSD was definitely much warmer , but my early days were quite hard — it was competitive and academically challenging , especially as I was learning English . Young professors would answer my questions with slang phrases like , “ You bet ,” which I didn ’ t understand as a “ yes ” or “ no .” As I struggled with life in America , what really saved me was the kindness shown to me by Professor Booker , who was my PhD advisor , but so much more as well .
Professor Booker and his wife , Adelaide , often invited me over for dinner to teach me about American customs and culture , such as table manners like using a fork and knife and napkins , not chopsticks and handkerchiefs as I was used to . He told me about tipping at restaurants and addressing a person by their first name , not using Mr . or Mrs . as was the formal practice in Taiwan . I learned these and many more customs through Professor Booker , and while it may sound so basic and ordinary , they were extremely helpful for me to mingle into mainstream society in the U . S . Not only that , the Bookers also invited my girlfriend , Cecilia , another foreign student who would become my wife three years later .
Cecilia and I stayed very close with the Bookers over those years , practicing our English , sharing the stories of our days ; Prof . Booker even taught Cecilia how to parallel park so she could pass her driving test . One day , Cecilia and I asked Mrs . Booker how we could pay back their kindness , since they had done so much for us . She simply told us to pass along the love that they had shown us on to others . We have spent our lives since trying to do just that . Sharing kindness and generosity — it is that spirit where you can truly find home , and help others find theirs , no matter where you are in the world .
— Dan Chang , MS ’ 68 , PhD ’ 70 , established the Henry Booker Award for Exemplary Engineering in honor of his PhD mentor to encourage engineers to broaden their perspective and use their knowledge to make a positive impact on society . Read more about Chang ’ s life and career , including his efforts in nuclear disarmament , at tritonmag . com / chang
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