Visiting OBs in California

This September, we made the journey of over 5000 miles to engage some extraordinary Old Bristolians who have made California their home.

Meeting Six OBs, including a wonderfully generous donor, who has committed to supporting a full 100% bursary award for a child to study at BGS for 7 years, we glimpsed the lives of some of our most accomplished and talented alumni.

On a ferry trip across the San Francisco Bay to Larkspur- a stunning part of the country - we met Professor Peter Wright OB 1978, a respected Anaesthesiologist, who remembered his time at BGS warmly.

Dr Hayden Taylor OB 1999 gave us a tour of Berkely where he holds the position of Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering; currently pioneering world class research and development in 3D printing, capable of replicating human cells. Isobel (Izzy) Surkes OB 2015, a young corporate lawyer has made San Francisco her home, remembers many of the teachers who encouraged her during her school days and we had a fantastic time meeting her, arriving in one of San Francisco’s famous driver-less taxis!  

We met Richard Pawlowski OB 1993 and Dr David Wilkes OB 1974 in Palo Alto, where Richard is pursuing several projects as an entrepreneur. David is one of the most respected software engineers in the world, having held his position as the Principal Engineer at Google for over 20 years.

Finally, we met the extraordinary Dr Steve Kelsey near his home in Santa Barbara. Steve is now enjoying semi- retirement after gaining global success through his oncology consultancy, which recently achieved a major breakthrough in advanced pancreatic cancer.

We are proud of all our OBs and this remarkable group that we had the privilege of meeting are among the best in their field.

We made some new friends- all willing to support young OBs with questions about careers and working in the USA. We also know that all those that we met feel warmly about their experience of BGS and will help us to champion the 500 Campaign to enable more bright and motivated children to be educated at BGS and in turn go on to change the world as they have.

Huge thanks to you all and we will be back!

Nadine Latte

Director of Development

Bristol Grammar School