I first saw Nammon late on Saturday evening of July 8th in the first year of the 21st Century. I shook her hand the following Monday and saw her smile. It was a smile I would see again and again in the years that have followed, although it wasn’t always because Pu Rorke was acting silly to teach a cultural lesson. She smiled when she had responded successfully to a challenge. She laughed when interacting with friends, and she glowed when she was teaching others — including me.
Dr. Mananya Tantiwiwat was brilliant, as her dissertation demonstrates, but a long time ago she was nervous about going to St. Mark’s for prep school. She asked herself, “Will I be lonely?” “Will people like me?” “Will I be successful in this new culture?” The answers were yes (at first), yes (after a while) and YES!
She arrived at this traditional Episcopalian boarding school doing what was required. Academically she was a WOW, of course, but that did not make her friends. It was sports, specifically, field hockey, that brought her into the community that was St. Mark’s. She struggled with this lower level team to make it into a team that could work together and celebrate each other. She wasn’t lonely anymore — she was admired and she had friends. She developed a confidence in herself that remained for the rest of her life in America.
The next challenge was college. I don’t remember to which colleges she applied other than Dartmouth. Dartmouth had a history of accepting only King’s Scholars, but they accepted Nammon. Why? I would guess that two things made a difference. First and foremost, her recommendations were outstanding, both from teachers and her college counselor, William Mason with whom she was close. The other was the fact that she was a welder. I would be willing to bet that no other applicant to Dartmouth was both a welder and very, very smart. Nammon stood out, as she should have. (Nammon disagrees with the part about the welder.)
Nammon loved Dartmouth and Dartmouth loved Nammon. She rarely talked about what an outstanding physics student she was. The number of graduate schools who wanted her, however, attests to her success at Dartmouth. She did discuss the difficulty of reading The Brothers Karamazov — which was not quite her cup of tea or should one say, Diet Coke. Yet it was through that literature class that she met Karen Gocsik, a mentor and a true friend, even if they never agreed about the value of The Brothers. They did agree on cheering for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While Nammon was humble about her academic success, she was passionate about the Thai Scholar Program. She attended every Christmas Program from 2000-01 to 2010-11. She was a TA at every Orientation Program from TS 44 (2001) until her research demands at UCSB consumed her summers.
Nammon understood the nature and value of the Thai Scholar Program probably more thourghly than anyone in the US or Thailand. She figured out ways to make the program better by developing systems of connection between older Thai Scholars and the nong nong. She consoled the distressed during the Orientation and at Christmas in a way no American could accomplish. When the end of program became overwhelming at Brewster, she stepped in to bring order out of chaos. With her smile and her care, Nammon inspired Thai Scholars to do their best and with her smile and insights she taught Americans how to work together to improve the program.
I am proud of all that Nammon accomplished. I am sad that I have lost a friend. I am a better person because she touched my life. Dr. Manaya Tantiwiwat was a beautiful person.
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