Chan Lai On (陳麗安)(’65)

The class of 1965 reached our 55th graduation milestone in 2020. Many of us had planned to attend a class reunion to be held in Hong Kong last March to coincide with the celebration of the official opening of the new Ying Wa campus. But the COVID-19 pandemic changed all that!!

As the pandemic wreaked havoc on our lives and everyone tried to cope with the challenges, four of our classmates from four different North American cities decided to stay in touch by meeting regularly on Zoom. In early January this year, they invited other classmates in North America to join them. Twenty-one classmates from across Canada and the United States participated. Everyone had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the virtual reconnecting and catching up.

The success of the January gathering prompted the organization of yet another on 25 February to celebrate the Lunar New Year. This time, classmates from across the globe were invited. Taking part were 31 classmates from Hong Kong, Sydney, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Colorado Springs, New York, Vancouver, Kamloops, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Oakville, Burlington, Mississauga and Toronto! Some of us had not seen each other at all since leaving school! It was a memorable evening—or morning or afternoon—depending on where one lives.

We chatted for over two and a half hours, sharing recent or not-so-recent life experiences. We inspired one another as we shared how to cope with the challenges of the pandemic and make the best of the situation. There were also much interesting discussions about COVID-19 vaccinations which most of our American classmates already had! It was well past midnight for those of us in Toronto when we reluctantly ended the meeting and bid farewell, promising that we would meet again soon.

On behalf of all the classmates who participated, here is a big THANK-YOU to classmates 郭桂玲 (host), 黃麗梅, 陳巧鎔 and 馮可玲 for making the gathering possible!