Our Growing Asian Community...
Asia Pacific
Our Asian Pacific Mount Holyoke network consists of over 1,600 alums living across Asia and the Pacific Islands, with 14 local Alum groups representing more than 10 countries. We are growing quickly, and focus on connecting, having fun and supporting fellow alums as well as potential and current Mount Holyoke students
A long history...
The Asian community at Mount Holyoke College has seen exponential growth since around 2010. Although the presence of Asian students dates back to 1889 with the arrival of Toshi Miyagawa, and the Asian Student Association was founded in 1974, the past 15 years have marked a dramatic increase in enrollment from Asia. This growth has fueled an expanding network of alums living and working across the Asia Pacific region.
Today, Mount Holyoke’s alum network includes over 1,600 Asian and Pacific Islander graduates and is growing as students from Asia now make up the majority of international students on campus.
Our alums reside not only in China, India, and South Korea, but also in Australia, Bangladesh, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and beyond. Despite being geographically dispersed, many maintain strong cultural and social ties to their countries of origin.
Meet our Asia Pacific Country Representatives
Our Regional Facebook Groups:
MHC Asian Alum Facebook group
MHC South Asian Alum Facebook group
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Bangladesh: Tamazer Ahmed ’04
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China*:
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Beijing: Songqiao Yao ’11
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Shanghai: Danyue Chen ’97
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India:
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All India: mhcindiagroup@gmail.com
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Mumbai: Vijaya Pastala ’89
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New Delhi/Gurgaon: Shireen Nausheen Alam ’97
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* There are multiple WeChat groups for across China, Shanghai & Beijing, and a WhatsApp group in Hong Kong
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Japan: Alison Birch Harada ’87
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Malaysia:
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Oysim Chin ’92
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Janice Shiu ’14
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Yen Ping Teh ’12
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Kelly Lim ’16
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Philippines: Maria S.H. Gochoco-Bautista ’78
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Singapore: Laura Rieber ’04
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South Korea:
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Frances Hyun-Sook Lee ’85
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Australia: Olia Petkova ’01
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New Zealand: Megan E. Couture FP ’11
How we connect...
Social media plays a central role in keeping our community connected.
While global platforms like Facebook and Instagram are widely used, country-specific apps—such as WeChat in China and WhatsApp in India and Hong Kong—are essential tools for communication. Numerous local social media groups foster community engagement, and our Asian Alum Facebook group, with over 550 members, brings us all together.
Country Representatives help facilitate alum interactions both in person and online
Hosting events, supporting local initiatives, offering career networking opportunities, and building connections through shared interests - this is what we do.
We also welcome and support students on study abroad programs. Most importantly, we love to connect, have fun, and build lasting friendships.
We organize online and in-person events, regionally and globally
While our community is globally connected, we especially cherish celebrating Lunar New Year with Mount Holyoke alums from around the world.
In the past, we’ve hosted inspiring symposia and dynamic Zoom panels for alums and students—and we look forward to doing so again soon.
Based in Asia Pacific? We want to hear from you!
Our network is thriving—but as the largest regional community of international alums, we know there’s still more to do! We aim to celebrate our successes, create new local groups, organize more events, and strengthen our bonds across the Asia Pacific region.
We’re also actively seeking alums interested in leading future symposia and events across Asia.
We want to hear from you—your ideas, your energy, and your voice matter!
To help us grow our alum network—whether you're living and working in the Asia Pacific region or simply eager to stay connected from elsewhere—reach out to:
• Eleanor Chang ’78 (China)
• Vijaya Pastala ’89 (India)
• Kim Hunter ’75 (Other Asian countries)
by emailing MHCGlobalAA@gmail.com
Or contact your local alum representative above!