Alumni

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Dear Alumni,
We are curious to know where you are and what you have been up to since you have graduated from RC Palmer Secondary School. Kindly fill out the form below and send us a selfie, so we can add you to our alumni community below.
 
 
We hope you all are doing well!

 

Where are they now?

Daniel Adelstein, Grad Class 1989

After my degree in sociology in 1993, I emigrated to Israel, where I received my masters degree in social psychology at Hebrew University, specializing in racial relations and discrimination. I grew up as a pretty privileged kid in a majority white neighborhood, so I never had many problems in life. However, I knew that there was a lot of discrimination and injustice in the world, especially towards minority groups, and I wanted to fight to destroy those hateful ideologies. After my degree, I went back to the US and worked for many anti-hate organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the National Holocaust Museum. Words of advice for future grads: My message to grads is to always believe in yourself and never, ever question the power of love and diversity. There are many hateful forces out there today but don’t let yourself be torn by them.


Peter Hsue, Grad 1991

Worked as a mechanical engineer in Japan, Germany, Taiwan, China. Started a new chapter of my life since last 6 years ago in China. Teaching outdoor skills, canoeing, SUPing, Kayaking, snowboarding. Currently located in Shanghai, China with my family. (Son and two daughters). Advice to future graduating classes: Travel outside of your comfort zone, to see the world.


Michael Conlin, Grad 1997

Founder of Foundation for Sustainable Coffee Excellence; Conlins Coffee; Henry and Sons.  2019 World Barista Championship Semi Finalist, 2019 National Barista Champion.  Social Entrepreneur on a mission to make a beautiful coffee future.  Advice to future grad classes - Dream Big and Keep Chasing your Dreams!


Ariana Heidarkhoei, Grad 2007

Hello Palmer graduates, its Ariana over here. I have been in the Royal Canadian Air Force since 2009 as an avionics system technician. I have worked on F18 fighter jets for over 7 years in Cold Lake, Alberta, and I have recently have been moved to Greenwood, NS working on the Aroura. I have had a successful and very rewarding career. I have traveled the world, and worked with many different nations. I have gained a huge family and a support system through this career. I guess I just needed a bit of discipline through the military to finally buckle down. Advice for future grad classes: Show up, stop being distracted, and get learning.


Tim Lung, Grad 2008

Since graduating, I've been in the culinary industry working my way up (Thanks Ms. Naidu!). Now I am a sous chef for a catering company in Richmond called Boy With a Knife Catering. On the side I also own a company focusing on the import and sales of rare tropical plants. Follow me at @urbangreenroomtropicals!  Advice for future grads: Everything always works out in the end with a little bit of dedication and hard work.

 


Jonathan Kol, Grad 2008

Still dancing professionally. Also a hairstylist now downtown, been doing colour and cuts for 4 yrs now. Also heavily involved with the LGBT community, as a backup dancer and a Drag Queen, her name’s Mary-Kol Whip. Advice for future grads: Stay true to yourself and follow your dreams, regardless of what anyone else tells you. It’ll pay off in the long run!


Aman Bindra, Grad Class 2009

I currently work as a commercial real estate and corporate/commercial lawyer at Fasken, a law firm in downtown Vancouver. After graduating from Palmer in 2009, I obtained a commerce degree from the UBC Sauder School of Business and then a law degree from the UBC Allard School of Law. I briefly lived in England during my undergraduate studies.


 

Andrea Valdez, Grad 2011

I graduated from Northern Arizona University with my Bachelors degree in Interior Design. I started my own business, AV Drafting & Design, while working as a project manager for a commercial construction company. I currently live in Phoenix, Arizona and am in the works of purchasing my first home. Advice to future grad classes: Dont be afraid to go out there and try everything your heart desires. Even if you think you cant, do it. Fail, learn and try again.

 


Kevin Luong, Grad 2011

Hello Palmer community, this is Kevin and I am currently attending post-secondary at Douglas College heading into my 4th year of a Bachelor's in Physical Education and Coaching. This is my last year at Douglas College and my plan after graduation is to head to UBC in the Fall to attend their post degree program in Education and pursue a career in teaching.


Tyler & Allyssa DeBeer, Grads 2012

Since graduating from Palmer, we have gotten married and became parents to a beautiful baby boy! We have chosen the path of entrepreneurship as it allows us to be home full time as a family. So I guess you can say we’re stay-at-home parents! Advice for future grad classes: Everything happens for a reason, but only a season - it’ll always work out in the end!


Anh Hoang, Grad 2012

Hello Palmer students and fellow alumni! I graduated from UBC with a Bachelor in Kinesiology for my undergrad, and received my Bachelor in Education in Physical and Health Education soon after. I'm currently working in the Richmond School District as a Teacher Teaching on Call (TTOC), and it's been absolutely rewarding. I'm hoping to change my career up a little and apply for the RCMP sometime in the near future. Advice for future grads: Go forth with an open-mind, an open-heart and a positive attitude to what life throws at you and what you'd like to achieve. Best of luck!


 Janice Wong, Grad 2012

After graduating high school in 2012, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to help people. I completed my Bachelors in Psychology and Special Education and now I am doing my Masters in Applied Behaviour Analysis. I love my job as I get to help families with children with special needs attain their personal goals! (I also spent a lot of time travelling so I definitely recommend that!). Advice for future grads: Don't compare yourself to your classmates as everyone has their path and a timeline to reach their goals.


Ben Samy, Grad 2012

After my beautiful 5 years at Palmer, I was undecided on which career to pursue. I was doing post secondary courses part-time and did some travelling around Europe and Asia. 7 years after Palmer (wow time really flies after high school)... I work in the insurance industry and love what I do. Advice for future grads: Cherish every moment during your last year at Palmer, you really will miss this point in your life. Give it your all at everything you do and you will be surprised at how much you can achieve.


Gary Ye, Grad 2012

I graduated back in 2012 and now I am currently employed at TD Canada Trust as a Financial advisor. Advice for future grads: Try new things, challenge yourself and meet new people!


Alisha Atwal, Grad 2013

Since graduation, I have been through the ups and downs of “adulting.” The ups led me to continue to strive and hold on to my passion towards helping others and the downs taught me valuable life lessons towards learning how to grow, which helped me find my confidence and strength. I have accomplished retrieving my Social Service Worker Diploma and now work for a non-profit organization, Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver. Advice to future grads: When you feel like giving up, when you feel judged, when you feel alone, when you feel helpless, or when you feel like your whole world is crashing down… take time to know yourself, because you are in control of your own happiness and where you want to be.
 
 
 

Denise Ticman, Grad 2013
I went straight to Langara to study Kinesiology after high school. Long story short, it wasn’t working out for me and I decided to take a different path in my studies after two years. I got accepted into SFU for Communication and found myself feeling much better about what I was studying and where it was taking me. I’m still in school working on finishing up my program—taking it slow because I have a full-time job as a public servant for the Canadian government (yay, pension plan!!). Advice for future grads: Don’t. Worry. You have a whole future ahead of you. Don’t rush into anything and don’t feel bad about taking detours along the way. Move at your own pace and don’t let others dictate that pace for you. You’re gonna be absolutely fine!


Trovina Zhuang, Grad 2013

I graduated with a BA in Applied Linguistics in December of 2018 and now live with my dog Lady in Victoria. I work two jobs and hope to pursue a career in hospitality management. Living life with all the ups and downs that comes with it, but blessed to be alive. Advice to future grads: Keep your eyes and ears open. Opportunity comes when you least expect it.


Inayah Manji, Grad 2015

After doing three years of undergrad in Microbiology and Immunology at UBC, I was accepted into UBC Medicine! I am halfway through my second year now, and working on figuring out what type of doctor I’d like to be. In my breaks I have been doing some travelling, most recently I visited Thailand and Northern Vietnam and loved every second of it! Advice for future grads: 1) Take everything people say about you with a little grain of salt, they only know one part of who you are and what your story is. Never let what someone says derail you from your path. 2) You are capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for. 3) These upcoming years will be some of the most adventurous, exciting, thrilling, challenging, and wonderful years of your life; revel in them.


 
Ashley Yang, Grad 2016
Attending UBC, currently on my last year towards an Honours in Biochemistry degree. I've been working in a research lab at the Life Sciences Center (website: https://crg.ubc.ca/VanPetegem/index.html), where I've gotten some exciting data on X-ray protein crystallography. My dream is to publish in a high-impact scientific journal by the time I graduate.
 

 


Manesha Dulay, Grad 2017

Since graduating from Palmer I’ve graduated from a certificate program at Emily Carr and BCIT in Communication Design. Now, I’m obtaining my degree in Graphic Design for Marketing at the Wilson School of Design. Currently, I’m working in Sales at London Drugs as a cosmetics sales rep. Advice for future grad classes: Working hard early gets you to your goals faster!

 


Megan Tolentino, Grad 2017

Since graduating from Palmer, I'm currently in Langara college. I was in the kinesiology program but then transferred into general education and am hoping to get into the recreational leadership program. In the meantime, I've been helping out the athletic department by coaching both volleyball and basketball teams in Palmer. The best achievement I've gotten from this experience was helping to bring the grade 9 girls basketball team to 12th place in the province. Other than that, I've just been working and living my best life! Advice for future grad classes: The advice I've been given and learned throughout the years was, do things that make you happy. Time doesn't matter when you're at your happiest. The more you're happy with what's happening, the more you'll achieve!


Justin Mackey, Grad Class 2017

Since graduating, I decided to pursue a degree in English Literature and Language where I hope to mainly focus on contemporary literature and pragmatics. In my post-grad I am aiming to go teach overseas on the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET). In my off-time I create bespoke mechanical keyboards as a hobby, and I am involved in the local Lower Mainland esports community.  If you ever attend a UBC Esports event, be sure to say hi! Words of advice for future grad classes: In high-school I had an idea of what I wanted to be, but I found out quickly that it wasn't really the path for me. Don't be afraid to take that extra year to switch so you can pursue something that you find worthwhile!


Jonathan Lee, Grad 2017

I've produced a post-apocalyptic short film called "Can Someone Hear Me?" which is going around in film festivals (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10794444/). I'm VA Directing 300 or so Voice Actors in a Fan game/Mod Project called Fallout: The Frontier (https://www.falloutthefrontier.com/) with the help of my content creation Discord Community, Creator's Network. Finally, I'm studying Journalism at Tsinghua University after graduating from the Vancouver Film School Film Production Diploma Program with honors. Here's a video on life (https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p08dy7tk/the-value-of-not-having-a-plan-for-life). I've found it helpful. Keep in mind that this shouldn't be taken as a recommendation to be lazy, but rather a recommendation to explore and not stress out.


Jean Keith Godinez, Grad 2018

I’m studying mechanical engineering at the University of Alberta. I’m currently in my second year and I will be taking my first co-op work term in January. It’s midterm season so I’m super busy studying


Ben Dominguez, Grad 2018

I went to KPU and graduated a year later and I have been working at Amazon and I am now in the process of reapplying to KPU for another program.

 


Joaquin Marco, Grad 2018

I'm doing film acting and learning of its history. Advice to future grads: Satisfaction is an indescribable feeling so do it.


Jonah Flores, Grad 2019

I am currently taking a graphic design program at a career college called VCAD! I also work part-time at a retail store. Advice to the next graduating class:

Enjoy the rest of your high school days! Join that sports team, try-out for that play, volunteer for that event. High school is going to be one of the most memorable times of your life so don't let it go to waste! Cause once you start college/university life starts to get a lot more trickier. Don't be in a rush to grow up, just enjoy the ride :)


Emmanuel Fernandez, Grad 2019

I am currently enjoying the hardships and struggles of working in a professional kitchen! I also applied to the Canadian Armed Forces and hope to pursue that in the coming year. Can't wait! Advice to future grads: Enjoy your grade 12 year. If the grass is greener on the other side, there's probably more manure there. :)


Juliana Manansala, Grad 2019

I took some time off to help with our family business in the Philippines! I’m also excited to spend the holidays with my family for the first time in 6 years. But in January, I will be flying back to start my post-secondary education. Advice to the next graduating class: Cherish your last year!! It might sound cheesy or cliché, but time flies so fast. Before you know it, the whole year is over and you’re finally graduating. Don’t be in a rush and have fun!
 

Christian Zhao, Grad 2019
 
I'm studying cognitive science at McGill now : P

 


Zachary Chao, Grad 2019

I am currently enrolled in the Fashion Design & Technology program at Wilson School of Design in KPU. I lived and breathed for the textiles program and the fashion show when I was at Palmer. I also loved being a part of grad committee, the SOGI+ club, and the Dance Squad!! Advice for future grad classes: Enjoy your last year of high school by joining and attending every event! Immerse yourself with the school spirit, because I can guarantee that you will miss it


Maggie Yu, Grad 2019

I am attending UBC exploring social inequalities in the world and working at South Arm Community Centre for the Out of School Care for the elementary kids. Advice to future grad classes: Don't care about what others think, be yourself, pretty cliché but true.


Ismail Gani, Grad 2019

Right now I am working in the North West Territories with my father. In the near future after my work is done I hope to come back to Vancouver and go into graphic design and animation. I want to work on projects with my cousin who has an education in computer programming and also wants to develop video games. Advice for future grads: Your future is a complete mystery so do your best to take care of yourself now and the progress will come as you grow and learn.


Abdulah Suliman, Grad 2019

I took the year off to work and enjoy life. I've been hanging out with friends and family, seen a dozen movies, made 3 dozen more friends. Advice for future grad classes: After this you'll be able to do whatever you want but that doesn't mean you can relax, this is just the start of your life, best of luck in your endeavours.


Neo Zhu, Grad 2019

I am at the UBC Sauder School of Business currently in first year. Advice to future grad classes: Enjoy high school while you can. Be proud of showing up to class because it starts with just showing up.