President Nora Kay
滕偉廉會長
Click to see 7 pictures below
I attended St. Emilie's Convent as a boarder from 1956 to 1960. My childhood life at SE has been sweet memories for me. In 1961, after finishing 4th Standard there, my father transferred me to Hwa Chung High School. This allowed me to study a little more advanced Chinese language. After a year in a class that taught almost all subjects in Chinese, I switched to a foreign-language class and continued studying there until I matriculated in 1964. That year I entered Rangoon Arts and Science University as a Chemistry major. After obtaining my bachelor's degree, I attended graduate school. I did research at Gyogon Agricultural Institute for my graduate thesis "To Find The Most Efficient Method To Measure Available Nitrogen in Paddy Soil." After graduation with an M.Sc. degree, as a holder of a foreign registration card, I had no job opportunities in the country of my birth.
I immigrated to the United States in late 1971 and settled in Chicago, Illinois. My first job was a file clerk at an insurance company in Downtown Chicago. After passing a state exam, I landed a job as a lab technician at Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and worked my way up to a Chemist. To work closer to home, I ended up working in several companies - Interlake Steel Company, Gulf Coast Laboratories, etc. In 1989 we moved to Augusta, Georgia where I got a diploma in Medical Technology from Medical College of Georgia. I worked for Aiken Regional Medical Center in Aiken, South Carolina as a medical technologist and later at Medical College of Georgia Hospital, Augusta. After 14 years of a peaceful and comfortable life in the South, I took on the challenge of moving to the West Coast.
I first arrived in Southern California in 2003 and took a job with Fountain Valley Regional Hospital. I worked there for a year and then moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and worked as a clinical laboratory scientist at Walnut Creek Kaiser Permanente Hospital until my retirement in 2011.
In 2006, to my surprise and delight, I found out about Wan Hua Alumni Association through a friend. Felix Chin was serving as president of WHAA at the time. I remember attending the association's first picnic in Milpitas, California. In the years that followed, I attended many Wan Hua alumni functions and participated in activities held under the leadership of former president Stanley Liou, who put in a lot of time and efforts in this association for many years and wanted to step down. With the support of alumni, I was proud to take over the association from him. I wish that all alumni, far and near, will continue to stay in touch and support the association to make it thrive further.
Nora with her husband Kenneth Kay, youngest son Dr. Kenneth Kay, Jr. (bioengineering), eldest son Dr. Kelvin Kay, (medicine) and two granddaughters
Nora with her daughter Dr. Kendra Kay (medicine)
Nora's daughter Dr. Kendra Kay (medicine) and youngest son Dr. Kenneth Kay, Jr. (bioengineering)
Nora with her middle son Dr. Kendrick Kay (neuroscience), eldest son Dr. Kelvin Kay (medicine) and husband Kenneth Kay
Nora with her youngest son Dr. Kenneth Kay, Jr. (bioengineering)
Nora's middle son Dr. Kendrick Kay (neuroscience)