10 November 2009

"Long Time No See!" IPC Alumni Association Reunion Dinner

First Official Reunion for the forthcoming 20th Anniversary of IPC

Translated by Shirley Ghozalli. Edited by Dianne Beatson.

In May 2010, IPC is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. To mark the start of the forthcoming celebrations, the IPC Alumni Association held a series of reunion dinners, inviting IPC graduates from all over Japan. Dinners were held in 4 cities: Fukuoka, Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, coinciding with the Parents' Assembly in October.

From New Zealand, IPC President Wayne Edwards, accompanied by Takahiro Kojima who is the Dean (ESOL) of the Faculty of International Studies, and Miho Fukuda, Deputy Director of Corporate and College Administration, attended the dinners. Dean Takahiro Kojima has been involved continuously in English education at IPC since it was established in 1990 while Miho Fukuda, an IPC graduate, has played a continuous role in the Student Support area since she graduated.

Many IPC graduates from different years attended the dinners even though they were held on weeknights. There were graduates who have been working for several years and graduates who have just graduated last year. Two of them are now mothers. The range of participating graduates was from the class of 1995 to those newly graduated. The most talked about Palmerston North, with discussion about each other's current occupations a close second.

One of the participants expressed her feelings in a thank you email. She said that she was really glad to be able to meet the seniors that she could only see previously as photos on IPC pamphlets and to get to know about the Alumni Association.

Because many are already close friends from their time at IPC, the night was filled with memories and participants smiling and laughing wholeheartedly. With the IPC 20th Anniversary next year, all hope that these friendships will last for many, many years.

The Alumni Association Reunion Dinner in Fukuoka	The Alumni Association Reunion Dinner in Nagoya
The Alumni Association Reunion Dinner in Osaka	The Alumni Association Reunion Dinner in Tokyo

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