Recently, Ajay and Sanjaya Mark, teachers at Woodstock School, visited Bhutan and relived the deep connections between the prestigious Woodstock School and Bhutan.
The first Bhutanese student graduated from Woodstock in 1988. Presently, 16 students from the land of the Thunder Dragon are enriching the Woodstock experience.
Sanjaya Mark, Director of Community Engagement at Woodstock School says that it was a wonderful experience meeting WS alumni in Bhutan.
“The relatively longer mid-term break in October this year made it possible for us to visit Bhutan at a time when the weather was perfect. Ajay and I have spent most of our lives in the Himalayan Mountains - in Darjeeling and in Mussoorie. However, visiting Bhutan was an impressive lesson on how well it has preserved its spectacular natural beauty, kept its rich culture intact and preserved its historical monuments, dzongs and monasteries,” she said .
“The most wonderful moments were spent with Woodstock alumni-most of them were either our students or advisees. They ranged from very recent graduates to those who were the first we saw graduating out of Woodstock. It was a pleasure to see each one of them doing very well in their adult life.”
She said the best part of the visit to Bhutan was the time when they remembered and laughed over stories and incidents from their shared times at Woodstock. “These seemed never-ending. These are times which each one of us treasures and are the reason why our relationship remains strong; it does not matter if we do not meet for years!”
She said they were proud to see that most of the alumni were working on strengthening Bhutan’s economy by providing excellent services in the tourism industry or were engaged in the Government’s administrative services.