News Detail
Alumni Notebook October 2026
The Jason Yosung Park ’05 Scholarship, one of Shawnigan’s highest honours, was established in 2011 by Captain Sam and Mrs. Jackie Park in memory of their son, Jason Yosung Park '05 (Copeman's), brother of Joseph Park '02 (Lake's). This scholarship includes a financial award and a trip to South Korea generously hosted by the Park family.
This annual award is bestowed on students “who embody the character traits that made Jason so loved and esteemed by his family and this School. Those who have demonstrated the ability to generate goodwill in all circles, a strong moral compass, fierce competitiveness, high standards of personal deportment, loyalty and steadfastness". This past July, Captain and Mrs. Park hosted two of the Park Scholars, Benneit Hall ’26 (Lake’s) and Tomas Klassen ’25 (Lonsdale’s) for a trip to Seoul, South Korea.
Tomas shared, “We met the Parks on the first day and were immediately welcomed into their home in Seoul with open arms. We learned a lot about Korean culture, food, customs, and history, and everywhere we went, the Parks would explain and answer any questions we had. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip… They really taught me a lot, and I feel like I can apply it to my own life, with many things they told me about Jason particularly inspiring me to achieve similar attributes to his one day.”
At the June Major Awards Reception, the newest Park Scholar was announced, Spencer C. ’27 (Copeman’s). Spencer will have the opportunity to travel to Seoul, South Korea in 2028.
Ben Pickens ’23 (Lonsdale’s)
Shawnigan's own Ben Pickens '23 (Lonsdale's) has etched his name in the record books. In August, Ben and the rest of his University of Waterloo Rocketry team launched Polaris, a liquid bi-propellant rocket that reached an altitude of 63,497 feet, taking the record for the highest amateur liquid rocket ever launched. Read more here.
Announcing 2026 Graham L. Anderson Award for Alumni Scholars
Congratulations to Reese Acorn ’22 (Kaye’s), Lisa Jane de Gara ’10 (Strathcona), Junu Dimdung ’19 (Kaye’s), Anastasiia Stelmakh ’24 (Groves’), and Rick Spiller ’09 (Lake’s), the recipients of the 2026 Graham L. Anderson Award for Alumni Scholars. The award supports Shawnigan alumni who wish to further their academic pursuits with either an undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate degree at a recognized university, college, or educational institution. Read more here.
Shawnigan Alum of the Year Award — The Countdown Is On!
We are excited to share an update on the inaugural Shawnigan Alum of the Year (SAY) Award!
Following an incredible response to our spring nomination process, the SAY Award Committee carefully reviewed the many outstanding alumni nominated by members of our community. We were inspired by the extraordinary stories of Shawnigan graduates who are living lives of purpose, service and positive contribution in communities across Canada and around the world. Read more here.
In Conversation with MacKinley Bourne ’22 (Strathcona)
In August 2026, the Shawnigan Lake School Alumni Relations team reconnected with MacKinley Bourne ’22 (Strathcona) when she returned to campus to record two new songs, made possible by C.A.S.E., which donated studio time and technical expertise.
Shawnigan’s C.A.S.E. (Communications, Arts, Sciences and Entrepreneurship) program, built through the initiative and vision of The Bradley Family Foundation, has established a dynamic, hands-on learning environment that inspires, trains, and prepares students for careers in applied arts and technology.
A recipient of the 2022 Stag Award in recognition of her contributions to the Shawnigan community as Co-Head of School, School Prefect, Deputy Head of House and Musical lead, MacKinley was a standout performer on stage, a fierce champion for her peers, a determined athlete, and a steadfast Strathcona girl. She was also a role model whose positivity inspired hundreds of students.
We sat down with MacKinley to discuss her new music, her favourite Shawnigan memories, and what comes next. Read more here.
2026 Shawnigan Alumni Golf Classic
Thank you to everyone who joined us at University Golf Club for the 2026 Shawnigan Alumni Golf Classic. We were treated to good golf, great weather, and meaningful connection for the 30th Anniversary of the tournament. Whether you drove in from Vancouver, took the ferry from the Island, or travelled from farther afield, your presence meant a great deal. This event thrives because alumni and friends of Shawnigan choose to show up — and many of you have done so year after year.
Congratulations to the Competitive Division winners: Giuseppe Laudisio '99 (Copeman's), Conor Finucane '00 (Copeman's), Will Eddy and Sean Scott. Click here to view the 2026 Shawnigan Golf Classic Foursome Photos on our Alumni Facebook Group.
As well as the Recreation Division winners: Kelly Gave, Cindy Willson, Colin Whitney and Rhys Blumer '18 (Ripley's).
Register before December 31, 2026 to receive 20% off your entry fee for next year. Complete the short form to secure your discount for 2027.
The Class of 1976 returned to campus to celebrate their 50th reunion. The class enjoyed a campus tour, lunch and even joined in the Track and Field inter-House competition. We look forward to welcoming the class back on Founder’s Day to officially induct them into the Gold Club.
The Class of 1969 gathered together for their second annual “Great Okanagan Slobfest” earlier this summer.
Our Vancouver Young Alumni Gathering took place at UBC on September 10. It was wonderful to see so many of our young alumni back together again!
Young alumnae Morgan Jackson '24 (Groves’), Neha Gill '24 (Strathcona), Meera Smith '24 (Renfrew), Grace Szadkowski '24 (Groves’), Abby Whitworth '23 (Renfrew), and Alex Nelson '24 (Kaye’s) returned to campus earlier this summer to help coach an ice hockey summer camp.
Jordan Smith ’15 (Renfrew) and her partner, Matthew, have been selected to dance in Swinging with the Stars, a fundraiser for the Central Okanagan Hospice Association (COHA). Jordan and Matthew are learning the Cha Cha and will perform on February 27, 2027 at the black-tie gala at the Delta in Kelowna, BC. To learn more or to support this cause, please visit www.teamfreshsteps.com
Alumni Sports Round-Up
It was an incredible summer season for our alumni athletes! From our newest alumni getting signed to their respective teams to our older alumni winning gold and traveling the world, there’s no doubt Shawnigan produces outstanding athletes.
Rugby
Our rugby athletes have had no shortage of accomplishments. In July, the U19 Vancouver Island Rugby Team won the BC Rugby PRC championship. The team included alumni Massimo Ruben ’26 (Lake’s), Simroy John ’26 (Ripley’s), Greg Putterill ’26 (Lake’s), Easton Sangris ’25 (Lake’s), and Cole Mekelburg ’25 (Duxbury) on their roster, and they were coached by Shawnigan staff member Clay Panga and alumnus Oliver Nott ’13 (Ripley’s). Congratulations to the team on an incredible achievement!
Greg, Massimo, and Simroy were all chosen for the U19 BC Bears roster as well. Also selected for the U19 BC Bears were Amelia Handysides ’26 (Groves’), Gwenlili Jones ’25 (Strathcona), and Sophie Hayes ’25 (Renfrew)! Amelia was also selected for Rugby Canada’s U18 Women’s West Camp, which was held on campus this summer. Shawnigan also hosted Rugby Canada’s U20 team, welcoming back alumnus Jonty Nicholas ’24 (Lonsdale’s). Jonty went on to represent Canada at the 2026 World Rugby Under 20 Challenger Cup in Chile in October.
Rugby alumna superstar Ava Ference ’23 (Renfrew) had a spectacular summer, winning the 2026 FISU Rugby Sevens Championship in South Africa with her Rugby Canada Next Gen Women’s team. Ava was also selected to the NIRA All-Academic Team with her Harvard women’s rugby team. This fall, she has been named Harvard’s captain. Well done, Ava!
Another rugby superstar, Eloise Blackwell ’08 (Groves’), won her third straight Super Rugby Aupiki Championship with the Blues in July. She also became the second-highest New Zealand woman in first-class games played and, in September, played her 100th game with Auckland Rugby, as captain no less! We’re so proud of you, Eloise!
In September, we had alumni play against each other in a BC university battle: Seb Isherwood-Gruver ’24 (Lake’s), Jeffrey Young ’22 (Duxbury), and Kale Jones ’23 (Duxbury) played for the University of Victoria against Jonty Nicholas’ ’24 (Lonsdale’s) UBC team, with UBC taking the win.
Many of our alumni played rugby internationally this summer as well. Cohen Huisamen ’26 (Duxbury) and Logan Jones ’26 (Duxbury) were in Argentina in August playing for the Dog River Howlers. Additionally, two of our alumni, Simroy John ’26 (Ripley’s) and Greg Putterill ’26 (Lake’s), headed off to France to play with Nissa Rugby Academy.
Many of our alumni are starting the university rugby season, with Logan Jones ’26 (Duxbury) committing to the University of Victoria men’s rugby team. In Ontario, Massimo Ruben ’26 (Lake’s) and Chase Kittleson ’24 (Lonsdale’s) played in their season opener for Queen’s University on September 12. Finally, at Dartmouth College, Brady Zhang ’26 (Lonsdale’s) was named Man of the Match against American International College, and Amelia Handysides ’26 (Groves’) played against Army, winning 41-8.
Rowing
Gabe Dyer ’23 (Lonsdale’s) was selected to Rowing Canada’s FISU team for the World University Games, where he won the bronze medal as the stroke seat in the Men's 4-.
Two Shawnigan alumni took to the world stage at the Henley Royal Regatta this year. Congratulations Ally Tuttle ’23, who raced with Brown University B in the Island Challenge Cup (University Women’s 8+), advancing to the Round of 16. Brown University’s A crew went on to win the event and to Gunnar Platt ’22, who competed with Syracuse University in the Temple Challenge Cup (Men’s Student 8+), reaching the quarterfinals before falling to the University of Washington, who later finished as runners-up to Cambridge.
Other Sports
In other sports news, Benjamin Kim ’22 (Lonsdale’s) won a bodybuilding competition in July, while recent grad Harrison Pelz ’26 (Copeman’s) finished in second place in his first golf competition.
Shawnigan field hockey legend Casey Crowley ’15 (Strathcona) captained New Zealand’s national field hockey team in the Field Hockey World Cup! Well done, Casey!
Mersaya Hughes ’26 (Strathcona) signed with the UBC Thunderbirds women’s softball team.
Charlie Guinn ’24 (Ripley’s) continues to pursue his dream of becoming a top rodeo champion, competing in many competitions throughout the summer, including the Dog Pound Stampede, where he placed first in ranch bronc, and second in novice horse riding; and the Didsbury Rodeo, where he placed second place in novice horse riding.
Many of our ice hockey alumni also signed with new teams over the summer, including:
- Brandon Kendall ’25 (Ripley’s) with the Kerry Park Islanders
- Ryder Kerr ’26 (Lonsdale’s) with the Victoria Cougars Junior
- Phoenix Hinks ’26 (Lake’s) with the Chilliwack Jets
- Marcus Hughes ’24 (Lake’s) with the Westshore Wolves
- Josh Polak ’24 (Lonsdale’s) with the Seattle Thunderbirds
- Charlotte Lawson ’26 (Strathcona) with Liberty Women’s D1 Hockey
In NHL news, Aaron Trotter ’20 (Ripley’s) was selected for the New York Islanders' rookie camp, while Ben Berard ’17 (Copeman’s) was invited to the Canucks' 2026 Training Camp! Ben is under contract with the Canucks' AHL affiliate in Abbotsford, where he scored 20 goals and 37 points in 63 games last season and went viral with a jaw-dropping goal in the AHL All-Star Skills Competition. Dylan Compton ’23 (Copeman’s) attended the Colorado Avalanche rookie camp over the summer and transferred from Northeastern University to the University of Wisconsin.
Career & Academic News
Janie Zhang ’22 (Renfrew) graduated from Columbia University Engineering with a Bachelor of Computer Science and a minor in Psychology. Janie was also the recipient of the Theodore R. Bashkow Award as well as the distinctions of Senior Marshal and Columbia Alumni Association Scholar. Janie has recently started a new position with Google as an Associate Product Manager on the Android XR, AI on Glasses Team. Congratulations Janie on all of your accomplishments!
Three years ago as part of her Shawnigan Capstone project, Dinah Oldfield ’25 (Renfrew) founded the Inky Pen, an organization focused on publishing and editing young writers.
Under The Inky Pen, she runs a literary journal called The Fresh Ink Collective. It is designed to be a safe, easy, and fun way for students in Grades 8 - 12 to experience a taste of being published.
All those who send in writing have a chance to win "The Inkiest Pen Award," which is a $25 gift card to a bookstore of the winner's choosing, as well as a certificate to mark the achievement. Information on how to win this award is available theinkypen.ca.
Read more about Dinah in this July 2026 Cowichan Valley Citizen article.
Dennis Ren ’14 (Duxbury) launched Neuron Industries, a company created to help bring industrial automation to AI. Previous to Neuron Industries, Dennis built hardware for the Apple Vision Pro, Amazon Go, and Tesla Fremont, and was Freeform’s founding electrical engineer. Read the full story here.
After many years of work and dedication, Sophie Suarez Crespo ’22 (Strathcona) recently published a book with Porrúa, one of the top five publishing houses in Mexico. Her book, entitled “La ciudad de las historias perdidas” which translates to “The City of Lost Stories” is a collection of short stories that combines elements of Mexican folklore with personal experiences and emotions she has experienced while being on the autism spectrum. Each story explores a different idea, emotion, or experience, while drawing inspiration from Mexican culture and folklore.
“One important part of my story is that I am on the autism spectrum. At first, I began writing as a way to process and express my emotions and frustrations, as I sometimes find it difficult to communicate them in the way other people might. Over time, writing became much more than just a way of expressing myself, it became a project that I truly wanted to share with others,” says Sophie. “Through writing, I found a way to give shape to emotions and experiences that were sometimes difficult for me to communicate otherwise, and that process eventually became the foundation for this book.”
Sophie always wanted to become a writer and even began writing some of her stories when she attended Shawnigan. For any of our alumni community based in Mexico City, you are also invited to attend Sophie’s book launch on November 4 to celebrate this milestone.
Sarah McDonald ’23 (Renfrew) recently published her first byline in Maclean’s Education. Her article, ‘How I found My Place at University’ is about her first year at McGill. Read the full article here.
Tarek Alakkad ’21 (Duxbury) recently completed his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a specialization in software systems at the University of Victoria. Tarek is now a software developer (AI focus) at Leadpages, part of the Redbrick portfolio of companies in downtown Victoria.
“AI is redefining the role of a software developer, and I feel very privileged to be working at the frontier of these technologies,” shares Tarek.
His main focus has been building Converted (https://www.converted.io), a new Leadpages product, where he is implementing the autonomous agentic layer that manages marketing campaigns, among other things.
Tarek shared some advice for young students, “learn to work responsibly with AI coding tools (like Claude Code and Codex), develop your management skills, and study software architecture early on. As AI tools commoditize code, the industry's real bottleneck has become deciding what to build and why.
Many developers, myself included, now spend far more time directing AI tools than writing code by hand. In a world where anyone can write code, understanding what to build becomes far more valuable, and knowing system design helps you build scalable products.”
Tarek’s time at Shawnigan helped him develop his management skills and gave him lasting connections with teachers and staff whom he still considers mentors.
Alumni Connections
From our campus to around the world, we meet Shawnigan Lake School alumni almost everywhere we go. Above is a collection of photos from recent visits with Shawnigan alumni.
Some of our recent alumni connections include:
- Nigel Mayes ’89 (Ripley’s) and a group of Grade 9 students on their Beyond the Gates kayaking experience ran into Simon Bruce-Lockhart, who served as Shawnigan’s Headmaster from 1990 to 2000, and his wife, former Shawnigan teacher Joanne, as they arrived back from their weekend trip.
- Julia Szabo ’11 (Renfrew) returned to campus this past August.
- Stephen Koerner ’71 (Groves’) and Larry Chung ’71 (Lake’s) visited campus for a tour and lunch.
- Young alum Rhyd Samuel ’20 (Groves’) toured Samuel House with her uncle and Director of Alumni Relations, Rhod Samuel.
- Teacher Vince Hale spent time hiking with Angela Chiu ’24 (Kaye’s), Zoe Bown ’24 (Groves’) and Beatrice Hoerle ’24 (Renfrew) this past summer.
- Jessica McCready ’05 (Groves’) and her family came for a visit to campus and enjoyed a campus tour, including seeing the Alice Jones Studio of Dance, named in memory of her grandmother.
- Chaplin Tong ’00 (Ripley’s) and his family visited Shawnigan all the way from Hong Kong.
- Georges Gave ’25 (Ripley’s) explored Uzbekistan over the summer. Georges is currently attending Duke University.
- Florence Sun '04 (Kaye’s) and Meiying Shen Sun family visited Shawnigan on July 10.
- Richard Lonsdale ’62 (Groves’) visited in July with his wife, Susan, and sons, Tim and Chris. Shawnigan’s Founder, C.W. Lonsdale was Richard’s great uncle.
- Graeme Johnston ’03 (Ripley’s) and Stephen Johnston ’06 (Ripley’s) visited the campus with their families.
- Shawnigan’s Director of Admissions, Julia Pollock, was in Singapore and ran into two of our alumni, Pol Hosakul ’19 (Copeman’s) and Sammy Chan ’94 (Copeman’s)!
Please let us know if you are in the area and we would be happy to arrange for a tour. Contact advancement@shawnigan.ca.
Births & Weddings
Diana Chang ’06 (Kaye’s) and her husband, David, welcomed their first baby, Jack Edward Farris on July 10, 2026.
Owain Samuel ’09 (Ripley’s) and his wife, Courtney, had a new addition to their family, Wynn Samuel on June 28, 2026.
Megan Cholack ’16 (Kaye’s) married Reid Boulter ’16 (Copeman’s) this past summer on campus.
Passages
In this section we recognize those members of our alumni and greater community who have passed away. Please reach out to Rhodri Samuel at rsamuel@shawnigan.ca if you have information or updates you would like to share with our wider community.
Malcolm Swann ’79 (Lake’s) passed away in Edmonton, Alberta on July 9, 2026. Malcolm was born in Calgary, Alberta and attended Shawnigan Lake School for four years. During his time at Shawnigan, Malcolm was Cross-Country Captain, Head of Lake’s, a School Prefect, a Stag Award recipient, and excelled at Track and Field and cycling.
Malcolm was also a talented musician and played the guitar as part of Shawnigan’s Jazz Quartet. An excerpt from 1979 yearbook: “Malcolm Swann has been an invaluable asset to the jazz program at Shawnigan. It is rare indeed to find a high school musician of his calibre… His outstanding performances have drawn praise from professional circles and have gained distinction for the School.”
Read his full obituary here.
Long-serving School Governor and past parent Eveline Goodall passed away on July 30, 2026. Eveline is survived by her sons, Christopher ’89 and Michael ’92, and their wives, Janet and Cindy. Eveline and her late husband, Bruce, were generous supporters of Shawnigan Lake School
Read her full obituary here.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 12 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
