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Message from the President of SEBS |
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the newly elected executive committee of SEBS for the year 2006-2007, I would like to extend my warm
greetings to all the members and well wishers of SEBS in Nepal and abroad.
You might be well aware of the fact that SEBS is in its glorious 25th Year and the new Excomm has taken this
tremendous challenge to make this Silver Jubilee Year a great success. I believe that 25th year celebration is in itself a
unique opportunity for us to bring everyone together with renewed vigor and commitments in achieving the noble goals of
SEBS to serve our alma mater and the nation through community services.
I would like to thank the previous team of SEBS executive committee under Bishan Wagle (952B). With due
acknowledgement of the support SEBS has received from members and wellwishers, I would like to request your
continued cooperation in the days ahead.
Thank you.
Dinesh Kumar Rokaya (317B)
President, SEBS
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Message from the President of SEBS-North America |
Warm greetings to all members and well-wishers!
This is the first of the quarterly newsletters that SEBS-NA will be publishing together with SEBS. This newsletter will
communicate the programs of SEBS-NA and SEBS and the latest news from Budhanilkantha School (BNKS) and
Friends of Budhanilkantha School (FOBS) to our members.
As you might be aware, SEBS had its Annual General Meeting in Kathmandu on August 19. The meeting elected a
new committee headed by Dinesh RC (317B). We look forward to working with the new team to better serve our
members, BNKS and the Nepali community. On behalf of the SEBS-NA executive committee and all the SEBSers in
North America, I would also like congratulate the outgoing SEBS committee headed by Bishan Wagle (952B) for a
successful year. Despite the political turmoil last year, SEBS was able to serve its members, BNKS, and our
community. Just recently, amidst a function, NRs. 147,314 collected by the SEBS-NA members and friends was
distributed to 27 victims of the Jana Andolan. SEBS deserves a special praise for the tenacity in identifying and
disbursing funds where several other non-profit organizations have faltered. Especial thanks are due to Prashant Subba
(445B), who is also the erstwhile General Secretary of SEBS. I would also like to thank all the donors who made
generous contributions for this noble cause.
SEBSers in North America have grown rapidly in the last few years. Along with this growth there are also increasing
expectations from our SEBS-NA members. As expressed by our members, the newly formed SEBS-NA executive
committee will emphasize on providing increased networking and interaction opportunities for our members. We will
also actively strive to support BNKS in whatever way we can. Finally, I hope you will enjoy and appreciate the collage of
information provided in this newsletter. We look forward for any contributions or suggestions to improve it.
Thanks,
Bhupendra B. Pant (550B)
August 19, 2006, New York
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Editor’s Note: Feedback Is All We Need |
Dear Reader,
Your feedback matters to us. It is possible that we have not been able to take care of every piece of feedback we have
received in the past. But we would like to assure that we do listen and consider your suggestions in every way possible.
So if you have any suggestions, which could range from changing the look of the website to changing our work style,
please feel free to contact us at sebsna@sebsonline.org. To make communication more effective, each member in the
SEBS-NA team now has a special responsibility, and we hope you take advantage of this new provision.
If you have any complaints, comments, or suggestions regarding SEBS-NA’s policy (or lack thereof) toward
undergraduate members or SEBS-NA’s role at BNKS, please contact Ekta Ghimire (402C). Similarly, anything related
to SEBS-NA’s role with regard to student organizations at BNKS, please contact Hari Sharma (353C). Financial issues
should be addressed to Laxman Pandey (328B). If you have issues related to the Nationwide Scholarship Program,
please forward them to Roshan Shrestha(002B).
Two-years ago, SEBS-NA set up the Emergency Assistance Fund to help members in North America who are in
financial constraint. Please forward inquiries related to this program to Rupendra Pant (766B). Rahul Rauniyar (542B)
coordinates other membership and networking-related programs in the US. I am sure you are aware that web-related
issues are best forwarded to Rajan Nepal (418B). Finally, if you have any issues related to the broader goals and work
of SEBS-NA, please contact our president, Bhupendra Pant or write to sebsna@sebsonline.org.
With regard to the newsletter, we hope to incorporate a few new features going forward. The Class Notes (see below)
will continue. We also plan to include interviews with prominent SEBS members, SEBS/SEBS-NA financial disclosures
as well as information of initiatives taken by SEBS members. If there is anything you would like to include, please let us
know. Also, please remember to update your profile in the SEBS directory.
Let us know if you have any questions.
Best wishes,
Yubraj, 063B
Editor
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FAQ |
FAQ 1 : What’s the EAF that I hear every now and then about?
Three years ago, SEBS-North America set up a special fund to help SEBS-NA members in financial needs with their
emergency health- or education-related expenses. Under the provision of the Emergency Assistance Fund (EFA),
SEBS-NA provides a loan of upto $1,500 with nominal interest rate. So far two SEBS-NA members have benefited from
this fund. To learn about how you can be eligible for this fund, click here.
FAQ 2: I would like to donate $1 a month. Can I?
Of course. SEBS-NA has now set up a Monthly Giving program where you can donate as little (or as much) as you like.
The process is easy: all you have to do is sign up once and every month the specified amount get sent to SEBS-NA
from your credit card (or a bank account if you chose). You can cancel it at anytime. When you make a donation, you
can select where you want your money to go—the alternatives could range from the Nationwide Scholarship Program in
Nepal to the Tsunami Relief Fund or the Emergency Assistance Fund.
FAQ 3: Why are you guys (SEBS and SEBS-NA) always asking for money?
Good question. Both SEBS and SEBS-NA rely exclusively on the donation from their members for the day-to-day
administrative costs. We need your support so we can provide better service to you, so we can design better programs
for members in need, for our fellow bhai/bainis at BNKS and for needy people in Nepal. As of now, none of the executive
members are paid for their time and expertise. We are working to reduce other administrative costs, such as the
website costs, transfer fees, etc., by developing partnerships with related organizations, so that all your dimes go to the
place they are intended for. For example, currently we are working with Thamel.com to come up with a plan so that all
money transfers to Nepal are free. Other plans are in the offing – please check the website for updates.
FAQ 4: What happened to all the guff about professional assistance to members regarding job search, graduate
school applications, yaare yaare yaaraa?
It’s on our to-do list. Because of other more pertinent issues we have been swamped with, we have not been able to
spend much time on this one. Meanwhile, if you need any such help right now, please write to us at
sebsna@sebsonline.org. We are well-connected to a vast network of other SEBS members who are experts in their
fields, with whom we will be glad to hook you up (in traditional sense). If none of the SEBS members can help you, we
will be glad to keep you in touch with someone outside of SEBS. Just write to us!
FAQ 5: This newsletter is useless. Where do I file a complain?
Same address: sebsna@sebsonline.org. Please feel free to be as open as possible about what you liked, what you
didn’t like and what else you want included in the newsletter going forward. We will also be glad to publish your
feedback (unless you choose otherwise, in which case we will try to incorporate your suggestions and not share your
identity with anybody outside of the executive committee).
FAQ 6: How can I get more involved in SEBS/SEBS-NA?
There are several ways in which you can get involved in SEBS/SEBS-NA. If you are in Nepal, please visit our office in
Putalisadak or call 4-411390. If you are in the U.S. or outside of Nepal, where you have regular access to the Internet,
you can simply email us about your interest. We have a set of advisors, who advise us on critical issues. We have
several sub-committees that require members every now and then. Or if you are really interested in undertaking a new
project of your own, feel free to send your idea to SEBS-NA. If you too busy, but still would like to get involved, just
keep any eye on the website (sebsonline.org). That way, you can find out about SEBS gathering taking place near your
place. SEBSers in Boston and Washington DC love barbeques. Attending a barbeque organized by a SEBS member
counts as being involved in a SEBS activity – keep that in mind!
FAQ 7: Your bureaucracy is so complicated. There is SEBS, SEBS-NA, NSP, NSP-NA and I hear there is the 9th
Batch Initiative? How are all these groups linked?
Expect a nice map outlining the relationship in the next newsletter. A quick answer for now. SEBS and SEBS-NA are
registered separately in Nepal and in the U.S. and are independent of each other. But we work together as much as
possible. We also have a working guideline that outlines what is expected of each other. Basically, to simplify
bureaucracy, SEBS-NA is considered a chapter of SEBS. You can think of NSP as an initiative of SEBS. But, like
SEBS-NA, the Nationwide Scholarship Program (NSP) runs independently from SEBS. NSP-NA is more like a parallel
to NSP, but in the U.S. Unlike in NSP, however, the NSP-NA team is nominated by SEBS-NA. Thanks for letting us
confuse you more! In all seriousness though, all these distinctions are meant to simplify our work to meet the same
overall goal, which is giving back to the society, rather than to complicate it.
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NEWS |
SEBS
SEBS successfully held its Annual General Meeting 2006 on August 19 at Nag Pokhari, Kathmandu. Over 100
SEBS members attended the event. The meeting also elected a new executive committee headed by Dinesh RC
(317B). For details, click here. Details,
other than those posted in the link above, will be included in the next newsletter. Stay tuned.
Several members of the executive committee attended the farewell program organized on June 18 at BNKS for the
outgoing class of 600C. For details, click here.
Birendra B. Basnet (245A), who is the representative of SEBS to the Senior Management Team of BNKS, is
spearheading efforts to produce an education audit of the school. For details on this project, please contact the SEBS
executive committee at sebs@sebsonline.org.
SEBS-NA
The fourth annual general meeting of SEBS-NA was held in Newark, NJ on July 2. The constitution was amended and a
new committee was elected with Bhupendra Pant (550B) as the president. A total of 47 members from all over
the US attended the meeting. Details of the changes in the constitution, and new committee members and their
portfolios, are available here.
The first meeting of the newly elected committee was held on July 15, the minutes of which are posted here. One of the major decisions made was that
we would now publish a financial report every quarter. As per the decision, the first report was publicized on August 1.
The report is available here.
SEBS members in Washington, DC, under the initiative of Ron (268B) organized a barbeque on July 16 to raise funds
for Help Nepal when actors Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bamsa Acharya were in the US. Navin Dhakal (706A),
Kamal Upadhyay (287B), Manoj Acharya (274B), and Gyanu Lamichhane (476B) coordinated the event. For details, click here.
Hemendra Bohra (978A) organized a barbeque for SEBS members in the Boston area. Over 30 members and
their spouses attended the event. SEBS-NA would like to thank Hemendra Bohra for this! For details, click here.
The money raised by SEBS-NA, amounting to $2,018, for the victims of andolan in Kathmandu was distributed to a total
of 27 victims amidst a function organized by SEBS at Mahila Prasikchan Kendra, Kathmandu. Several SEBS members,
including two of the former presidents, the current president, and the general-secretary, were present. General
Secretary of SEBS, Prashant (445B), coordinated the event. For details, including the pictures from the program, click
here. We are receiving an additional $2,000 from Samudaya.org and the Alliance for Human Rights and Democracy in
Nepal. This money will be dispatched to Nepal soon.
SEBS Online
SEBSOnline now has a new look, thanks to the efforts of webmaster Rajan Nepal (418B). The details of the
new features are listed here. Praswas Shakya
(929B) and Kushal Pandey (217C) have kindly agreed to work as the interns this year. We are looking for more interns.
If you are interested, click here.
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Ongoing Projects |
Issues Currently Being Discussed in the SEBS-NA. Please check the website for updates….
• BNKS Endowment Fund – Is It Doable?
• Proposal from Nyaya Health, a health-related organization in Nepal, to support their activities
• Proposal to build a school at Barabise
• Member services in the U.S. – What programs can/should we do?
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CLASS NOTES |
Editor’s note: With this issue, we start a special section called Class Notes. We cover 100C in this issue. We intend to
expand this eventually to cover all classes by the end of next year. If you have any suggestions to improve it, email
sebsna@sebsonline.org. We would like to thank Shalaj Tater (157C), Jay Pant (169C), Saurav Dhital (180C), and Sonali
Rana (194C) for collecting this information. The informal presentation of these notes is intentional.
As we expected when we decided to start this special section with 100C, everyone in the class had a wonderful year
full of events.
Ayush (193C) lives in Pune, India. He is a law student there and will be graduating with an LLB next year. After
that he plans to continue his masters in law.
Abhishek (103C) was finally able to bring back his business in Kathmandu, after struggling for the most of
2005. He plans to take his business to greater heights in coming years.
Amit (168C) lives in Birmingham, UK. He recently finished his degree in Engineering, Economics, and
Management from Oxford University. He will be working for Ernst and Young LLP as a tax consultant beginning
September 2006.
Amrita (173C) is working as an analyst at UBS Investment Bank after graduating from Connecticut College in
May 2006. She lives in Stamford, CT.
Anita (140C) graduated from Salem College this May with a B.A. in Economics. She will be pursuing a PhD in
Economics in Clark University, Worcester, MA.
Anul (127C) also lives in Worcester, MA. He graduated from DePauw University this summer with a degree in
Mathematics and Computer Science. He is currently working for the Brattle Group as a Research Analyst.
Aswin (150C) lives n Zurich, Switzerland. He completed his undergraduate studies from International University
Bremen in Germany. He is currently doing an internship at the Institute of Molecular Cancer Research in the University
of Zurich. He plans to do his masters next year. Good luck, Aswin!
Like many of her friends from 100C, Bhumika (174C) graduated this year, from Saint Anselm College. She is
working as a Research Assistant for National Opinion Research Center of the University of Chicago in Washington DC.
Bhumika plans to work there for a year or two and go back to Nepal.
On the other side of the globe, Bibek (170C) lives in Kavrepalanchok, Nepal. He is a fourth year medical
student at the Kathmandu University Medical School.
Coming back to the U.S. again, Bibhav (109C) graduated from Haverford College, PA this summer with a
degree in Chemistry. He is currently working as a Research Assistant in the New York State Department of Health.
His plans for next year include going to graduate school or medical school or working abroad. As a side note, he was
wearing a blue shirt when he filled out this survey!
Bickey (111C) graduated from Colgate University with a degree in Chemistry and Economics. He is currently
living in Fairfax, VA. He says that he spent the last year partying in college and now he is working as a Research
Assistant at ICF International. He plans to get promoted next year. He is also planning to spend about three months in
Nepal next year between June and September 2007. He is asking people to holler at him if they are also there at that
time.
Brikha (120C) lives in New York, NY. After graduating from Brown University this summer, he started a pre-
doctoral fellowship at Columbia University’s Program in Neurobiology and Neurophysiology.
Dezy (182C) graduated from International University Bremen (IUB) in Bremen, Germany in June 2004. She will
soon complete her M.A in Integrated Social Sciences at the same university, after which she plans to work. Going from
Germany to Dharan (hey, that rhymes! Oh, well…),
Dhruba (114C) is currently finishing his medical studies and lives in Dharan.
Elen (115C) graduated with a major in Economics and a minor in Mathematics from Smith College in May
2006. She works at Lexecon Economic Consulting in Cambridge, MA. She lives in Allston, MA.
Gitendra (190C) lives in Gettysburg, PA. He will be graduating from Gettysburg College in the
summer of 2007. These days he is preparing for his GREs. He is planning to go to grad school or get a job after
graduation.
Harit (153C) is currently living in London, England. Last year he was working for Today’s Youth, a national
magazine in Nepal. He is planning to move back to Nepal later this year. It seems like there will be a big jamghat of
100Cs in Kathmandu next summer.
Helina (117C) graduated from Reed College with a B.A. in Chemistry. Currently residing in Worcester, MA,
Helina works for Aspen Aerogels, Inc.
Jay (169C) lives in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from Colgate University this summer with a degree in
Molecular Biology and Economics. Currently he is working for IMS Health, Inc in the management consulting division.
Jui (176C) is pursuing a B.A in government and urban studies at Colby College. She spent her junior year at
Columbia University, NY and Paris, France. She also did an internship in Philippines this past winter. After graduation,
Jui plans to work or go to graduate school.
Kanchan (118C) is currently living in Miami, FL. Last year he was in college and chillin’. This year he is
working and just chillin’. And next year he plans to stack the cash and just chill. He also has a message for the rest of
his classmates: “Everybody just chill … life is a bouncing ball.” (Editor’s note: Miami is the “chillin-est” town in the
country).
Lalima (121C) is attending Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University in Springfield, MO. She is
doing a five-year undergraduate program with majors in architecture and art history and minor in global studies. She will
be graduating next year. In the summer of 2005 she studied in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Barcelona. Lalima recently
completed an internship at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in Seattle, WA.
Niyam (199C) lives in Olney, MD. He is currently juggling work and studies.
Pranij (125C) lives in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Prashant (101C) graduated from Sewanee: the University of the South this summer with a BA in Economics
and is currently pursuing his PhD at Arizona State University.
The other Prashant, Prashant (126C), lives in Adelaide, Australia where he is currently finishing his
undergraduate studies at the University of Adelaide.
Pratigya (177C) recently completed her MBBS from Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal.
She will be starting her internship at the same college soon.
Prem (156C) lives in New York, NY working for National Economic Research Associates, Inc. He graduated
from Bates College in 2005 with a BA in Economics. He might apply for business school next year.
Rishav (108C) lives in Cedar Rapids, IA and plans to go to graduate school in Economics next year.
Sagar (141C) lives in Kathmandu, Nepal. He recently completed his BA in Information Management from
Tribhuvan University and hopes to start his MBA next year at James Cook University in Sydney, Australia.
The other Sagar, Sagar (172C), lives in Guangzhou City, China. He has been studying medicine at the
Sun Yat-Sen University’s School of Medicine since 2002. He will graduate in summer 2008.
Sajjan (151C) lives in Salt Lake City, UT. He is currently a second year student in a Molecular Biology PhD
program at the University of Utah.
Santosh (142C) is a senior at Whittier College, studying Biochemistry. He is planning to apply for
graduate school or job for next year. He wrote to us that he is very happy to have formed a strong bond with most of his
high school buddies and he misses them all.
Saurabh (166C) lives in Sydney, Australia and recently completed his BA in Accounting. He is planning
to join Maquarie University next year for his Masters.
Saurav (180C) (please note the V!) lives in Nashville, TN. After graduating from Swarthmore College, PA
with a BA (that rhymes too!) in Astrophysics and History last summer, he has joined a PhD program in
Physics/Astronomy at Vanderbilt University.
Sharad (113C) graduated from Stanford University this summer and lives in CA. He plans to continue his stint
with full time inebriation until he starts his job later this year.
He also plans to be as dashing as Shalaj (157C) by next year.
Shova (131C) is attending Hope College, Holland, MI, and will graduate in May 2007. This summer she interned
at the University of Michigan.
Shraddha (183C) studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at International University Bremen,
Germany. She works for Proctor & Gamble, Germany as a technical manager in the engineering section.
After leaving Nepal in 1996, Shradha (188C) did part of her schooling in Auckland and then went on to
University on Auckland to do medicine. She completed that last year and is currently working as an intern/house
surgeon in Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.
By the way, Shalaj lives in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from Swarthmore College this summer with a BA in
Economics, Statistics, and Public Policy. Before graduation he was spending his last months as a college student --
cutting classes, drinking multiple times a week, maxing out credit cards, and of course writing papers, doing
presentations, and taking exams. Now, he is working as a Business Consultant for CGI Group, Inc, where he tells State
Governments how they can save taxpayers’ dollars (and they listen). He is planning to continue the job for a couple of
years before heading back to school.
Sijan (188C) lives in Bellevue, NE. After completing his BA in Business Administration in Kathmandu College
of Management, Nepal, he is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Bellevue University and hopes to complete
it by next year.
Silva (134C) graduated from Salem College in the summer of 2006 with a major in Economics. She is now in
the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to pursue a PhD in Public Policy.
Sonali (194C) graduated in May from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. She majored in Economics and
minored in Communications and Mathematics. She plans to go to graduate school next fall and so is researching
universities and preparing for the GREs.
Since there are two many people who name starts with “S”, it’s now time to change the paragraph again.
Soniya (179C) completed her MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India in February 2006. She is
currently interning in the same hospital.
Stuti (180C) recently completed her MBA from Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM). She is
the editor of Shangrila in-flight magazine and is in the managerial trainee program at Laxmi Bank, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Subodh (186C) lives in Boston, MA. He graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) this summer. He is currently working for Teradyne, Inc and plans to continue the job next
year.
Sudip (139C) lives in San Francisco, CA and works for Oracle. He graduated from Dartmouth College this
summer with a degree in Engineering Sciences, Computer Science, and Mathematics.
Suraj (196C) lives in Cebu, Philippines. After completing his medical studies, he is currently interning at Cebu
Doctors’ University Hospital. He is planning to move back to Nepal and do a post-graduate internship there next year.
Utsav (143C) graduated from Williams College this summer with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. After
graduation, he headed to Kathmandu. He is returning to the US this fall to pursue his PhD in Aerospace Engineering at
the University of Texas, Austin.
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Congratulations and Best Wishes!!! |
We would like to congratulate the following SEBS members for their wedding this year.
Sneha (407C)
Amulya (004B)
Jaya (049B)
Alok (752B)
Sacheen (730B)
Rahul (542B)
Samin (566B)
Hrishikesh (403B)
Sanjay (404B)
Sarad (414B)
Navin (428B)
Puskar (429B)
Sabin (452B)
Gyanu (476B)
Laxman (328B)
004B Amulya and 407C Sneha
We would also like to congratulate:
1) All members of 600C for successful completion of their A-levels or 10+2
2) All SEBS members who graduated from colleges and universities this year.
[To include your information in this special section, please send it to us at sebsna@sebsonline.org.]
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Do you have anything to add to our next Newsletter? |
Do you have anything to add to our next outgoing newsletter? Are you organizing any
get togethers or other events? Do let us know at news@sebsonline.org and we will include it in our next Newsletter. You can
submit greetings and photos as well. Thanks.
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