by kfi | Jul 15, 2025 | In the Spotlight |
Tara Menon is a seasoned alumni relations professional with a rich multicultural background and over a decade of experience spanning education, communications, development, and global alumni engagement. Born in West Bengal, India, and raised in the tea gardens before migrating to Kenya, Tara’s early years were marked by cultural diversity and adaptability. Her formative education across India and East Africa—including time at the Lawrence School Lovedale and St. Andrew’s School Turi—instilled in her a deep appreciation for community, identity, and the transformative power of education.
After completing a triple honours degree in English Literature, Psychology, and Sociology from Christ University in Bangalore, Tara pursued two postgraduate degrees at the University of Edinburgh: an MSc in Literature and Modernity, and a second MSc in International Development and African Studies. These academic experiences cemented her commitment to development and global engagement.
Professionally, Tara has worked across East Africa, the Middle East, and India. Her early roles with the United Nations Development Programme in Kenya and USAID in Tanzania showcased her project management acumen and passion for empowering communities. This was followed by a stint in Dubai with a boutique advertising agency, where she led campaigns for global clients like HTC, Intel, and Hershey’s across the MEA region.
Tara returned to India in 2016 to join Woodstock School in Mussoorie as Alumni Relations Coordinator. There, she built Woodstock’s first comprehensive alumni programme from the ground up—launching a professional networking platform, running global alumni events, initiating mentoring programmes, and strengthening ties between alumni and the school. Her efforts culminated in a cleaner database of over 5,000 active alumni and more than 30 events held across five continents.
Since 2020, Tara has served as the Alumni Relations Coordinator for the Aga Khan Schools, a network of 186 schools across seven countries. In this role, she created and executed a global alumni relations strategy—collecting and managing alumni data, launching professional networking tools, coordinating regional and global events, and building a communications strategy that included newsletters, social media, and brand development. She also established the Aga Khan Schools Alumni Network and supported alumni engagement initiatives that connected graduates with current students through mentoring, career talks, and service opportunities. Her work has extended beyond India, contributing to global strategy from her base at the Aga Khan Academy in Hyderabad.
Tara’s multicultural upbringing and global professional journey allow her to bring a unique lens to alumni engagement—one that is inclusive, strategic, and deeply personal. Her belief in the power of connection, storytelling, and shared history has shaped every programme she has built. She continues to champion alumni involvement as a powerful force in strengthening institutions, building community, and inspiring the next generation.
by kfi | Jun 26, 2025 | Archives |
2023 Kirchenwald Labor Day Reunion
By Charlie Franklin (edited by Bob Edwards)
For those of you who were unable to attend the Kirchenwald Reunion, we missed you, and you missed out! This year’s reunion was attended by 121 Alumni, Staff and Friends, all duly registered and charged by our dedicated treasurers, Joe Kessler and John Gibson. It was truly a great success, smoothly run by the organizing committee, and helped along by all who pitched in.
Organizing this reunion is a huge undertaking and we salute and recognize the dedicated people who accomplish it. The efforts begin in March, lining up stalwarts who will volunteer to cook and prepare meals and getting lists of supplies they will need. Arranging with suppliers of condiments, produce, meats and beverages; checking inventories of paper goods and equipment; reserving the camp and paying deposits and scheduling venues such as rock climbing and swimming pool; placing orders with caterers, Sam’s Club and beer vendors; and many more tasks go in to the event, mostly unseen and underappreciated by those of us who just go along for the ride. This early work is mainly undertaken by two people: Rani Maloney and Bob Edwards, both of whom also work tirelessly through the weekend to keep things flowing. Rani and Bob, we salute you!
This year a small group of campers arrived early, on the Tuesday before to take on the work of setting things up and ferrying new arrivals in from train stations and airports. Each year this group gets larger and comes earlier, enjoying the peace and intimacy of the first few days. Tuesday arrivals included Teresa Teves (T), Lyn Krause, Bob Edwards, Ted Hahn, and Jack and Sarah (Weddington) Smith. More trickle in on Wednesday and Thursday, with the larger groups arriving on Friday and Saturday.
Among the events of this year’s reunion, a number of things stand out:
Of course, Memorable Meals heralded by glorious renditions of the Doxology directed by Wendy Osterling and accompanied by animated conversations were at the heart of everything:
• Ted Hahn prepared a goat biriyani and a chicken biriyani for those who arrived early to help with receiving deliveries and setting up.
• Teresa Teves made a marvelous Sri Lankan Shrimp Curry (with a chicken version for those of us who can’t eat shrimp) to greet early arriving campers on Wednesday.
• Rob Granner’s Tandoori was exceptional. Of course, calling it ‘Rob Granner’s Tandoori’ is just shorthand since it is cooked in the space-age Tandoor Rocket Oven that he designed and built. We could call it Mario Bellido’s Tandoori, or Bob Edward’s Tandoori, or any of many others who pitched in to chop and grate to make the marinade and skewer the chicken pieces. Many hands were involved and this time they got the timing just right in spite of a major setback when the critical S-hooks turned up missing.
• Rani Maloney’s Keema was perfect! It was even better as a leftover. She also made her famous idlis with coconut chutney for one breakfast, supplemented by Ted Hahn’s Sambar.
• John Franklin greeted us all with hot, delicious coffee every morning from six o’clock onward, supplemented by Joyce Hauze’s Pandi coffee straight from Kodai on Saturday morning.
• Charlie Franklin chimed in with his Battlagundu green chili omelets (made with fresh red Thai chili peppers from California) for Thursday breakfast, as well as brinjal masala and bhindi masala which accompanied a number of meals. Premu Ninan was instrumental in getting the flavors of the masala’s just right.
• Manjusha Ninan whipped up a succulent, delicious Kerala Eggplant dish.
• Bob Edwards was the genius behind the tandoori marinade, and turned out a fabulous dry bean curry.
• Mike Kolumban and his ‘sous-chef’ Deniece Mason made fresh, hot crispy Dosai supplemented with Ted Hahn’s sambar and Rani Maloney’s coconut chutney for Friday’s breakfast.
• Joe Rittmann outdid himself with eight or nine dishes garnered from his travels and time in India and elsewhere, including Chapli (lamb) kebabs, Jeffrey Kashmiri meatballs, Mathias ki tarkari (meatball curry), Chikpea meatballs, Kaccha Kheema Kofta curry (meat ball curry), Kerala style chicken fry, chicken Bhuna curry, cauliflower cutlet, shalgam ke kebab (turnip Pattie’s) and mint and tomato chutneys. He was assisted by a whole army of helpers who somehow put up with his aggressive style of management.
• Ray Weddington gave us Bombay toast, bacon and sausage for Sunday breakfast.
• Saturday lunch was catered Biriyani from Bollywood Restaurant in Hershey, and this year they made it right.
• Delicious garden salad made by Dash.
• Karis Llewellyn brought a celebratory cake in Kodai colors with iced wording from the old Kodai School Song.
• And all the trimmings you can imagine! Raita, papadam, fresh fruit, chai, chutneys, just to mention the ones that spring to mind.
All of these meals were supported by wonderful crews of volunteers, organized and supported by Rani Maloney, who set up the banquets, brought out leftovers, cleared and wiped tables, washed pots and pans and cleared the decks for the next meal. Honorable mention goes to Steve and Margaret Holler, Emily and Beth (the Grumm sisters), and others, too many to mention here.
Some of the Main Events:
• Official Kodai Business was discussed: KFI President Meg Greene gave an inspiring presentation about the activities of KFI. The KIS Presentation was by Kalyani Ghandi who brought us up to speed on how our contributions are making a difference in Kodai. Manjusha Ninan also welcomed us to COME TO kodai, to have our class reunions in Kodai, and as Alumni Coordinator (speaking from personal experience) she really does roll out the red carpet!
• Charlie Franklin offered a Book Signing session, signing many copies of Manjampatti Passage and answering questions. Proceeds from the sales of his book, totaling $589, were donated to Bethania Kids.
• Sunday Services featured an enlightening message from Deniece Mason about true love based on the Old Testament story of Hagar and Ishmael. The ad hoc choir supported the message with songs of love and faith, directed by Wendy Osterling and accompanied on piano by Barb (Pickard) Hays. Also Rob Granner and John Franklin provided a duet (title: “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief”) for communion during the church service, accompanied by our keyboard artiste, Ellen (Dash) Walter. After the final blessing was spoken it was sung by Deniece Mason and Chris Granner (also on guitar).
• Class of ’66 Happy Hour with wine, cheese and appetizers, was offered in the Schreiber Haus foyer Saturday evening, hosted by Maureen Aung Thwin.
• The cabin crew had happy hour every evening, competing with the pavilion, and making it hard to find Lyn Krause to get him to serve up his famous G & T’s.
• Friday night Karaoke style was a song fest, with Dash providing live piano accompaniment to a number of talented singers, interrupted occasionally by background shouts of “JENGA, JENGA, JENGA!” It was a blast!!!!
• Saturday night Canteen, with great music, tested the stamina of all who participated and brought back fond memories of Wednesday nights at Kodai.
• Campfires were an end-of-day favorite, with impromptu campfires blossoming in front of the cabins every evening. The highlight campfire on Saturday night featured Chris Granner on guitar and Ron Nunn on mandolin, Daniel LaChance from Quebec on guitar. Campfire kicked off with the trio of Chris Granner, Rob Granner and Bob Edwards singing ‘Helplessly Hoping’ and ‘Attics of my Life’, followed by many more favorites joined by the wonderful voices of Kodai alumni and friends.
Activities:
• Swimming for 3 hours a day was offered, and many took advantage of cooling off in the large camp pool. The swimmers were also accompanied by two swimming, jumping, barking dogs and Champagne and appetizers provided by Dash.
• Rock Climbing and five segment high tree walk (a thirty foot high, five segment walk on a wire … strapped in,) lead to a zip line, where one has the reward of sailing a couple hundred yards above a grassy field.
• Hikes also were organized for various scenic destinations including the observation tower on Mt. Gretna.
There are so many more details that I can’t include here, but ones that each of us will carry memories of for years… Joe Kessler manfully downing the worm from the bottle of mescal; corny jokes told by Hans Schmitthenner; rounds of ‘Naughty Shakespeare’ sponsored by Dash, with quotes from Shakespeare’s plays inserted into suggestive phrases; private conversations and quiet moments. The weather was glorious, with sun, puffy clouds and gentle breezes. Fabulous!
The key to the whole reunion is the camaraderie born of our mutual experience of Kodai School, a fabulous school set in the green hills of South India. What fun we had!!!! We’ll do it again next year on Labor Day weekend, and we want you to join us!
by kfi | Jun 26, 2025 | Announcements, North America Alumni Events |
Please come and join us at the annual KIS Labor Day Reunion and reconnect with your classmates, teachers, and other alumni. And of course, eat wonderful home cooked Indian food! All ages are welcome. Although the new Principal Bradford Barnhardt won’t be able to join us, two administrative staff from KIS will be in attendance to answer any of your questions on the exciting things happening at the school. The KFI Board of Directors will be having an in person meeting on Friday, so please approach our Board Members during the weekend to ask questions about KFI, how to donate, and share your ideas.
There is a Sunday service for those who would like to attend, complete with an always amazing volunteer choir, as well as swimming, zip-lining, rock climbing, volleyball and hiking. The days are spent for the most part sitting about in/outside cabins or at the tables in the pavilion chatting with classmates and alumni, those you know and new friends you meet. You may end up ‘chopping and chatting’ while in the pavilion. This usually involves the chef of the day placing vegetables and cutting boards in front of you to chop while you chat with your old and new friends. All meals are family-style Indian food cooked on site by our own alumni. Meals may include dosai, sambar, idli, tandoori chicken, Kerala fish fry, and various vegetarian dishes, among other dishes. There are also non-Indian kids’ meals available for anyone.
The camp has a number of different styles of cabins that sleep between 4 -20 people, some with attached bathrooms, as well as Adirondack lean-to’s. You will need to bring your own bedding/sleeping bag and towel for these cabins. There is also plenty of space to pitch a tent. All accommodations are first come, first served. If you are not the camping type, higher-end rooms with attached bathroom, provided bedding, towels and AC are available but limited and in great demand. Please contact Theresa Teves or Ted Hahn at kodaireunionusa@gmail.com. There are also plenty of hotels and motels in the area.
Dates:
Wednesday, August 27 – Monday, September 1, 2024
Where:
Camp Kirchenwald
1 Cut Off Road
Lebanon, PA 17042
For more information, find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @KISLaborDayReunion or email kodaireunionusa@gmail.com
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