Alumni News Archive

Summer School at Woodstock 2023 was the most successful, hustling, and bustling summer program on campus to date! The program provided a wonderful opportunity for community members to return to campus...

20 June, 2023

After developing the concept during his master’s degree work in the UK, Arsh Bansal ’11 returned to India and launched Tenpy, a startup providing nature getaway living in “tiny homes...

26 April, 2023

Congratulations to Woodstock School Distinguished Alumni awardees for 2022 Dave Rugh ’66 and Daphne Wysham ’79. These awardees have made remarkable accomplishments in the fields of ecology...

23 March, 2023

Alumni-staff collaborations are illuminating the history and magic of local nature! Hanifl Centre Director Akshay Shah and Distinguished Alumnus Stephen Alter ’74 have collaborated on a new book ent...

02 March, 2023

Scotland’s Finance Secretary Kate Forbes is a Member of the Scottish Parliament for an area of the Scottish Highlands. She also holds a post in the government as the Secretary of Finance. Having att...

23 February, 2023

Met at Woodstock? Married at Woodstock? Found a kindred spirit in another Woodstocker years later? We celebrate Woodstock love this month in recognition of Valentine’s Day and the recent Indian ...

23 February, 2023

We recently spoke with Anirudh Vohra, ‘10 during a visit he made to Woodstock and Mussoorie for his most recent film project. Anirudh completed his law degree after graduation. However, a passion fo...

23 February, 2023

Woodstock: A Writer’s Muse Saksham Garg ’13 recently published his first book, Samsara: Enter the Valley of the Gods. Sahiba interviewed Saksham about his book that draws much inspiration from the...

21 February, 2023

On October 10, 2022 three alumni made the most of a clear and beautiful day on the hillside together by taking a bike tour around Nag Tibba. One alum was making one of many return visits to campus to ...

28 November, 2022

Please offer a warm Woodstock welcome to our newest members of the Advancement and Alumni Office Team! Sanchali Chakraborty is the Office’s new Advancement and Alumni Office Coordinator and Dat...

16 November, 2022

Regional Schools Take Part in First-Ever Woodstock Entrepreneurship Fest Supported by WS India, UK Alumni, and Knowledge Partner Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs  On 15 October, Woodstock School’s firs...

04 November, 2022

Principal Dr Craig Cook, Advancement and Alumni Director Katie Jo Walter, and Director of Communications Kenton Beachy ’78 visited the UK this past September to bring together and meet alumni w...

03 November, 2022

When Katie Jo Walter asked her soon-to-be short-term alumni host in the U.S. if she could bring him anything from the hillside, Marlin Schoonmaker ’67 replied, “There is one goodie from...

20 September, 2022

On Saturday, 28 May the Class of 2022 Graduated from Woodstock School, the first students to have an in-person graduation ceremony since 2019 and Woodstock’s second ever class to graduate with both ...

08 June, 2022

Team Woodstock visited Bangkok last week to meet with our diverse community of prospective parents and alumni as well as former staff and friends!   Over the Weekend, our school team hosted Alumn...

10 May, 2022

The Woodstock School leadership team’s ongoing alumni engagement and admissions outreach trips took a stop at Kathmandu, Nepal in the recent weeks. Nepal has always been an important region for Wood...

21 April, 2022

With travel restrictions easing in the region, we have been making the most of this opportunity to travel to different regions to meet with members of our community. Earlier this month, a team from W...

31 March, 2022

This May, the first ever Woodstock Alumni Artist Residency will take place at Woodstock School’s campus! The residency is a collaboration between Woodstock’s Centre for Imagination, Art Depar...

23 February, 2022

Glenn Conrad has been honoured as a Distinguished Alumnus of Woodstock School for a lifelong achievement in philanthropy and voluntary service. A 1968 graduate of Woodstock, Glenn arrived in India as ...

31 December, 2021

Ajai Thandi, Class of 2009, gave up his corporate career as an investment banker to co-found one of India’s most popular coffee brands, Sleepy Owl Coffee. In this interview, Ajai shares how Woodstoc...

21 December, 2021

  WOSA Asia’s formation last year has provided some much-needed encouragement for many alumni groups and networks in different regions to re-engage and strengthen their communities. One effort ...

12 December, 2021

It’s always exciting to see how our alumni community are finding new ways to reconnect with one another. Over the past few months, a few alumni artists from our community got together to brainstorm...

29 November, 2021

Yasmin Padamsee Forbes, alumni from the class of 1987, shares her wonderful stories of travelling and change among the world with us. Having experience in sustainable tourism, human rights, and global...

26 November, 2021

Saturday, 30 October, was Worldwide Woodstock Day, our annual celebration for everyone in the school community, wherever they are in the world. In a typical year, alumni gather together in far-flung p...

01 November, 2021

Jamie Alter, Class of 1999, a successful YouTuber, actor, social media influencer, and a sports journalist, talks about his life experiences and journey. Jamie is the son of the late actor and Padma S...

21 May, 2021

Rehan Khan,  Class of 1988, is on a journey to serve others and make a difference in peoples lives. He has been actively involved in the pharmaceutical industry as one of the top leaders and truly be...

26 April, 2021

Over the last week, as one surveys the hills surrounding us, tell-tale plumes of smoke have signalled forest fires burning through the tinder-dry Himalayan woodland. They are always a feature of th...

17 April, 2021

Kilang Yanger, alumni from the Class of 2002, shares her journey of discovery and growth following her graduation from Woodstock. Being a scientist and having a Ph.D in cancer biology, as well as havi...

23 March, 2021

This subject of this month’s Alumni Spotlight, Stefan Eicher, is an artist who helped found the arts organization Art for Change and currently teaches in the Art Department at Woodstock School. ...

27 February, 2021

Anah Iqbal, Class of 2011, shares with us about her journey, influences and Woodstock experiences that helped her become an artist. Anah is the creative director at Muse Global India and has accomplis...

28 January, 2021

Ashwin Chacko ’07 is a digital designer based in Dublin, Ireland. He is a multi-disciplined illustrator who creates various conceptual illustrations. Ashwin uses art as a way of storytelling and tak...

18 November, 2020

Rose Sandy, a fellow graduate from Woodstock School, has achieved many great accomplishments that have created her legacy of being an established writer and avid thinker. Being the daughter of a diplo...

01 November, 2020

Joshua John, alumni from the class of 1998, has been exploring the wonders and thrills of art and motorcycle culture since his years at Woodstock School. Born in Darbhanga, Bihar, Joshua grew up in Ut...

20 September, 2020

Ruchi Narain is a Mumbai based film maker and has fond memories of Woodstock to share with us. Her 20 years of vast experience in the Film Industry includes films such as ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisiâ...

20 August, 2020

Davina Stephens, a New Zealand born artist, discovered her love for art right here in Woodstock. Having lived in some of the world’s most culturally diverse places like Indonesia, India, and Italy, ...

21 July, 2020

At Woodstock School we absolutely stand against the terrible injustice perpetrated on George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, as well as ongoing structural racism that persi...

10 June, 2020

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing away of Mrs. Phuntsok Dolma Chophel. Dolma has been an integral part of the Woodstock story for more than 43 years. She...

13 April, 2020

Woodstock School has temporarily closed its campus. This is a precautionary measure and at present there are no known or suspected cases of COVID-19 within the Woodstock community. Students will con...

14 March, 2020

Our Principal, Dr Craig Cook pays a tribute to Thomas Chandy, who served as the Woodstock School board president on two occasions and sadly passed away in November 2019. As a community of learners, W...

05 December, 2019

What were your interests and passions as a student at WS? Woodstock was the place where many of the interests and passions I still have today really took shape. Curriculum wise, the literature and soc...

13 September, 2019

What brought you and your family to Woodstock? What years and which grades were you at Woodstock? My story of ending up at Woodstock is unique just like so many of us in this community. My parents wer...

28 August, 2019

This is a piece Wayne wrote for his retirement home newsletter and for his son and daughter and Stephen Goheen.  He attended every class but second standard at Woodstock from Lower Kindergarten to te...

28 August, 2019

When did you graduate and how many years did you spend here? I graduated in 1945 after spending 9 years at Woodstock School. Where are you from? I am from North India and was born in Lahore which was ...

27 August, 2019

Stephen Alter is an author of both fiction and non-fiction. He has received the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada, 2002-03 for his book Elephas Maximus. He worked as the directo...

12 July, 2019

Dear Alumni and Friends, Two weeks ago our seniors graduated and left Woodstock.  They have come a long way and reached the end of a journey – their school days are over and now new journeys and ne...

06 June, 2019

A lyre tree symbolises many things, including longevity and virtue. Woodstock is an embodiment of longevity; the history and the stories of many alumni are still heard, and names are up on the plaques...

28 May, 2019

Ashima came to Woodstock on the 20th of May as the Guest Speaker for WOSA (Woodstock Old Students Association) Assembly. Each year, the Alumni Office welcomes the graduating class into the Alumni Comm...

28 May, 2019

Key speeches from 2019 Graduation service, including from Valedictorian Award winner, Khushi Agarwal and Best All-Round Graduating Student Award winner Faisal Qadir.   Valedictorian Award –...

28 May, 2019

Taeho Kim became a parent at Woodstock when his son Jihoon joined Grade 8 in July 2018. Where are you from and what do you do? I am from Busan which is a large port city in South Korea and I am an ...

07 May, 2019

Woodstock School has announced the appointment of Dr Craig Cook as Principal Designate. Dr Cook will join Woodstock in the new academic year starting in July 2019.   Dr Cook brings to the positio...

15 April, 2019

Woodstock School is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Craig Cook as our new Principal. Learn more about his journey, life and passion.   Craig has family connections with Asia which str...

15 April, 2019

KAPIL GUPTA ’92 (Woodstock Board Member since September 2018) My connection to Woodstock is through the Indian side of my family, which has lived in Dehradun for several generations. My father atten...

05 March, 2019

Rishi Thomas is currently a junior at the University of Southern California. He is majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Applied Analytics at the School of Engineering.   Where are you ...

21 February, 2019

  Marie Saleem visited Woodstock during the fall of 2018 to attend her 25th class reunion. Originally from the Maldives, she currently lives in Sri Lanka and works with Reefscapers as a consultan...

20 February, 2019

  Unknown to them, 1947 was a pivotal year for two children coming to Woodstock School for the first time.  Ashok Mayadas was enrolled in Standard One in March, and Judith Dillingham joined the Stan...

19 February, 2019

Key speeches from 2018 Graduation service, including from Valedictorian Hyechan Jun, Salutatorian Hah Yeon Lee, and guest speaker, former Head of High School, Jonathan Seefeldt ’00.   Valedic...

19 December, 2018

When did you graduate and how many years did you spend here? I graduated in 2006 (Intrepid) and while my time there was divided in two, I spent about 8 years altogether. Where are you from? I’m ...

02 June, 2018

The Class of 2018 has spread out across the world to new destinations and adventures   On Saturday 26 May, the Class of 2018 graduated and left Woodstock! For everyone in the school community –...

26 May, 2018

With the Class of 2018 quickly approaching their Graduation, we caught up with the three students – Jayant Singh, Abhishek Bhandari and Avanya Joab, who have been at Woodstock the longest to fin...

27 April, 2018

Annie Dieselberg graduated from Woodstock in 1982, having spent her senior year at the school. Describing herself as a true Third Culture Kid, her citizenship is American but she started moving at a ...

02 April, 2018

Woodstock alum Susan K Rits ’79, founder of Rits & Co, is leading a practical course for budding entrepreneurs at this year’s Summer at Woodstock programme. She tells us more about wha...

11 March, 2018

Dr Long announces the establishment of Woodstock’s Guiding Principles, along with a new arrival to his family.   I never saw it coming! I’d thought about it – but it was always somethin...

06 March, 2018

Woodstock alum Stefan Prakash Eicher ’90 – pictured above with Joshua John ’98 – is returning to the hillside to lead Summer at Woodstock’s Art for Change course. He tell...

06 March, 2018

Have you ever considered that there are many ways to be a part of life at Woodstock, including giving us your time? Darab Nagarwalla ’80 joined the staff at Woodstock because of his passion and...

05 March, 2018

Varun Kedia graduated in 2013, having spent 10 years at Woodstock. He went to the Cass Business School in London and graduated with a BSc in Business management. While at university he started and r...

09 February, 2018

Duc Pham graduated from Woodstock in 2003, having spent five years at the school. He moved to Woodstock from Ho Chi Minh City, in the South of Vietnam. He is the co-founder of Freelensia, the world&#...

24 January, 2018

Nikhil spent grades 5 to 10 at Woodstock, but did not graduate from the school. He moved to Woodstock because his father was Head of Finance at the school. From warm memories of hosting boarders at ho...

06 January, 2018

The less connected you make yourself, the more meaningful connections you can develop. Dr Long shares his New Year resolutions for 2018.   Welcome to 2018! For many of us the New Year is a time t...

01 January, 2018

Anjuli graduated in 2005, having spent her senior year at Woodstock. She went on to Tufts University and studied Peace & Justice studies and Community Health as an Undergraduate Degree. She then ...

29 November, 2017

When Grishma finished tenth grade in Nepal and was waiting for her final results, family friends whose children were at Woodstock encouraged her parents to send her here. They had also visited the sch...

14 November, 2017

On 28 October, Woodstock alumni from across the globe came together for Worldwide Woodstock Day. From Arizona to Toronto, and Sydney to (of course) Mussoorie, Woodstockers met to catch-up over delicio...

14 November, 2017

One of the most rewarding aspects of spending a lifetime in teaching is following the lives of the children you teach onto adulthood, finding out about their incredible achievements and reflecting on ...

10 November, 2017

A sense of adventure brought Madhvi to Woodstock from Mumbai! She remembers how hard she had to work to get her parents to say yes. Fortunately, they had friends who had their children at Woodstock, a...

05 November, 2017

Dr Eleanor Nicholson has spent the last month at Woodstock running the Women in Leadership Program. At Woodstock, she has dedicated her time to the Centre for Imagination, as well as staff and student...

20 September, 2017

A more literary title would be Passage to India, The Return of the Native, or Richer by India (to duplicate the title of my mother’s book about our life there in the 1950’s), but all of these woul...

22 August, 2017

Our graduates leave Woodstock for prestigious universities and colleges the world over   On 26 May, our seniors graduated and left Woodstock. They have come a long way and reached the end of a jo...

05 June, 2017

Sara graduated from Woodstock in 1981, having spent two years at the school. Born in Bombay, her family moved to Tehran in 1971, where she lived until they had to return to India to escape the Iranian...

31 May, 2017

All the speeches from 2017’s Graduation and Baccalaureate services, including from Valedictorian and Salutatorian Shar and Shanti Mathias, pictured above.   Valedictorian Speech – Shar Ma...

27 May, 2017