Bay Area: From One Atherton to Another

Our next stop on the Mid-Pacific alumni tour in California brought us to Atherton, in the heart of the Bay Area. How fitting that a bunch of Owls would get together in a place called Atherton!

A big mahalo to Carole (Tsuchiya) Harlow ’67 for graciously opening her beautiful home in this charming city! 

You may remember Carole’s story from a recent travel blog post about being recruited to Northwestern University her senior year at Mid-Pacific. One day, she wandered into a college recruitment meeting with friends, and the rest is history! She also met her husband at Northwestern. 

Mahalo also to Ted Jordan ’71, who kicked off the group share of memories from the good ‘ol days – everything from band with Mr. Nii to baseball championships, spinning pottery wheels, and kolohe dorm antics. While our time on campus spanned decades, we shared a common gratitude for the teachers who shaped our education and, ultimately, our lives. 

Shout out to the two couples who met during their time together on campus — Jason ‘91 and Kim (Koga) Kubo ‘91 and Shusei Yokoi ’15 and Mei Shimizu ’18! A great education isn’t all one can get at Mid-Pacific!

As often happens at these alumni gatherings, unexpected connections were made across the generations. We were reminded once again just how small – and connected – the world truly is. 

Another highlight from our Bay Area visit: We got a chance to catch up with Christine (Murashige) Koidin ’93, now part of Alta Vista School’s senior administration. From school leadership and family ties to shared memories of growing up on Kaua‘i, it was wonderful to connect with Chris both personally and professionally.

We rounded up our Bay Area visit over coffee with Zain Saidin ’86. 

Zain shared his passion for coaching FIRST Robotics and his excitement about spending more time mentoring bright, motivated students. Fun fact: The founder of FIRST was one of his teachers at MIT!

Overall, it was a very successful trip to California, filled with camaraderie and nostalgia. We’re so grateful to our Owl ‘ohana who came out, and we look forward to reconnecting with more of you at future alumni events!