HlaMin

Category: Anniversaries

  • Saya Pu Zaw Pwe

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Aug 2025

    SPZP–2000

    Formal and Informal Gatherings

    • USA hosted the First RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe in October 2000.
    • The Celebrations kicked off with an Informal “Welcome” Dinner / Gathering” at a Sea Food Restaurant.
      The Main event was the Reunion and SPZP at Embassy Suites Hotel near San Francisco International Airport.
      The Family event was the “Farewell” Lunch / Gathering at a High School.

    Donors

    • Saya Allen Htay‘s article, “Can you spare US$500 and more?” was a major factor for having Donors — large and small — for SPZP-2000.
    • There were Five Golden Sponsors.
      Steeve Kay (U Thaung Sein, EC70, Southern California)
      Benny Tan (Tan Yu Beng, M70, Northern California)
      Ivan Lee (U Khin Maung Oo, M69, New Jersey)
      David Ko (U Tin Myint, GBNF, M67, Northern California)
      U Maung Maung Than (M79, Texas)

    SPZP-2000 Organizers

    U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76, web master) copied the names/tags from the very first posting from his album.

    Sitting L-R: Saya U Mya Htoo (Civil 68), U Benny Tan (Yu Beng, Mech 70), Saya KC Chiu (Dr. Tin Aung, Chem 63), U Hla Min (EC 69) Editor Extraordinaire, Saya U Allen Htay (GBNF, Civil 58), Saya U Nyo Win (Dr. K H Chen, Mech 65), Saya U Tin Htut (Mech 60), Saya U Maung Maung (George, Chem 66), Daw San San Nyunt (Sandra, Mrs. Thein Aung, Mech 76)

    Standing L-R: U Soe Aung (Mech 75), U Gordan Kaung (Kaung Kaung Oo, Mech 83), U Myint Swe (EP 74), U Anthony Ng (Aye Tun, Mech 76), U Mya Thwin (Phillip, EP 75), U Maurice Chee (Hla Myint Thein, Mech 75), U Thura Thant Zin (Mech 76), Sayalay U Thein Aung (James, Met 72), U Myint Lwin (Henry Chee, GBNF, Civil 63), U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76), Daw Yi Yi Khaing (Audrey Wong, Civil 84), Daw San San Swe (Mrs Myint Swe, EC74)

    All of them, except KMZ, live in various cities across Northern and Southern California. KMZ lives in a city near Seattle, Washington State.

    Publications

    • The Commemorative Issue of “RIT Alumni International Newsletter” was published for SPZP-2000.
      I served as Chief Editor. Henry Lim (U Aung Myint, BAPS) and U Thein Aung (Met72) volunteered as Associate Editors.
      Maurice Chee (M75) served as Publisher (in addition to being Co-Chair, Working Committee; Financial Controller; Logistics Head)
    • It featured articles by Sayas and Alumni.
    • My poem “SAYA PU ZAW PWE” was published in the Newsletter as well as in the ex-RIT website (designed and implemented by U Khin Maung Zaw). Several sayas and alumni contributed to the two series :
      64 “Countdown to the Reunion” articles
      and
      36 “Post-Reunion” articles

    SAYA PUZAW PWE
    Poem by Hla Min

    S eems like it was only yesterday
    A t our alma mater in a land far away
    Y ou taught us to work, play, laugh, even cry
    A nd coaxed us, forced us to aim for the sky

    P roblems in real life, lab, computation, survey
    U nderstand concepts, design, display, …
    Z eal, zest, ardor, grit, passion to make it “our day”
    A rchitects, engineers, we’ve come here to say
    W e honor your metta, your cetana — we fully can’t repay

    P resently we meet, alum from five decades we greet
    W ith memories true, fond, sweet
    E cstatic yet sad that the GBNF could not join this memorable fete

    Notes

    • The term “SAYA GADAW PWE” has religious connotations.
    • Since the SPZP-2000 organizers and attendees profess different religions, the term SAYA PUZAW PWE (meaning honoring the mentors and paying respect to them for their metta and cetana) was chosen.
    • GBNF means “Gone But Not Forgotten“.
    • As of March 1, 2024. the GBNF list for the Class of 69 is 128 (about 40%).
    • Of the 20 (or so) EE sayas of our RIT days, almost half are GBNF.

    Singapore SPZPs

    • Singapore hosted SPZPs in December 2002, April 2007 and December 2010.
    • Saya U Moe Aung was Chair of SPZP-2002 and SPZP-2010.
    • U Nyan Win Shwe (William, M72) chaired SPZP-2007.
    • Commemorative Issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” was published for each SPZP.
      Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) served as Chief Editor.
    • My poem “SAYA PU ZAW PWE” was reprinted on the Back Cover of SPZP-2002 Sar Saung.
    • My poem “SWE DAW YEIK” was printed in SPZP-2007 Sar Saung. In my later writings, I use SWEL DAW (following Saya’s usage) instead of SWE DAW.
    • My article “A Sad and Short Clip : EE Sayas” was published in SPZP-2010 Sar Saung”.

    Yangon SPZPs

    • Yangon hosted SPZPs in December 2004, December 2012 and December 2016.
    • There was a slight earthquake on the day of SPZP-2004.
    • A follow-up SPZP was scheduled for Yangon in December 2006, but changes in Political Climate dictated the SPZP to be rescheduled for Singapore in April 2007 (around Thingyan).
    • SPZP-2012 was the first to be held at the Gyogone Campus.
    • Thanks to H.E. U Aye Myint (EP72) for his initiative to bring back glory to our beloved alma mater, and to the sayas, sayamas, and alumni who made the “Home Coming Reunion” possible.
    • There were tears of joys.
    • On a sad note, the higher authorities transferred U Aye Myint to another Ministry before he could help the alma mater to the fullest extent.
    • SPZP-2012 led to the founding of Swel Daw Yeik Foundation (SDYF), the Shwe YaDu Celebrations (with the planting of 50 Swel Daw Bins), and the RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association (ARITA) — to name a few.
    • SPZP-2016 was a FREE All Day (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) at the Gyogone Campus.
    • Due to the pandemic, SPZP-2000 was cancelled.
    • Not sure if there will be a SPZP (as comprehensive as SPZP-2016) in a foreseeable future.
    • Jara, Byadi and Marana have hit many sayas and alumni.
  • University Days (1963 – 69)

    University Days (1963 – 69)

    by Hla Min

    Update : July 2025

    Hla Min (Lifelong Learner)
    • 2500+ articles in my web site hlamin.com
    • Difficult to revise all articles
    • Events described here cover my journey as a University Student
    • Other events (e.g. 1946 to 1970s, Top Matriculates) are covered elsewhere

    1963

    • Took Matric Only exam in May
    • Most exams were held in March
    SPHS63
    Hla Min (7th Place)

    Collegiate Scholarship

    • Paulians had 5 in the Top Five, 7 in the Top Ten, and 10 in the Top Twenty
    • Khin Maung U (1st in Burma)
    • Min Oo (2nd)
    • Myo San (Freddie Ba San, 3rd, GBNF)
    • Nyunt Wai (Victor Nyunt, 4th)
    • Thein Wai (5th)
    • Hla Min (7th)
    • Johnny Maung Maung (Aung Kyaw Zaw, 9th)
    • Maung Maung Kyi (11th, GBNF)
    • Aung Thu Yein (Brownie Way, 13th, GBNF)
    • Frank Gale (Khin Maung Zaw, 17th)

    Leik Khone

    • Attended last ever I.Sc.(A) class at Leik Khone.
    • Following the “Anniversary of 7th July, 1962” events, most classes at Rangoon & Mandalay Universities were closed for an unspecified period.
    • Engineering & Medical Classes were spared at that time.
    • As a result, those who were a year senior in High School graduated 2.5 years ahead of us (Guinea Pigs of the Education Systems).

    RUBC

    • Joined Rangoon University Boat Club.
    • Paulian Crew was Runner-up for Senior Novices.
    • Maung Maung Kyi (Bow, GBNF)
    • Hla Min (2)
    • Kyaw Wynn (3)
    • Willie Soe Maung (Myint Soe, Stroke, GBNF)
    • Myint Thein (Cox, GBNF)
    • We were awarded Full Green.
    Maung Maung Kyi
    Kyaw Wynn (2nd from Left)

    40th Anniversary Gathering

    • President Sithu U Tin, VP U Po Zon & U Tin Htoon compiled Souvenir Magazine for the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of RUBC
    • Due to Security Concerns, the 40th Anniversary Annual Regatta was cancelled
    • Sithu U Tin & the Patrons decided to hold the “40th Anniversary Dinner of the founding of RUBC” at Orient Hotel in Kandawgyi
    RUBC 40th Anniversary

    Burma Institute of Technology

    • My elder brother and several sayas graduated from BIT in 1963.
    • They were from the second batch of BIT.
    • The degree conferred was B.Sc. (Engg).

    1964

    Education System

    • New Education System was implemented in November 1964.
    • Most Faculties of the Rangoon University became Institutes with their own Rectors.
    • Youth Affairs Department implemented Luyechun (လူရည်ချွန်) Program in the Summer of 1964. Eligible students from 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th Standards were chosen to attend Ngapali Shwe Wah Gyaing Camp in the Summer of 1964.

    Rangoon Institute of Technology

    RIT Student

    In November 1964, three batches of students entered RIT (Rangoon Institute of Technology).

    • 400+ were admitted to the first ever 1st BE using Intelligence Level Aggregate (ILA). Zaw Min was admitted as Roll Number One. Tommy Shwe (GBNF), Cho Aye (GBNF), Peter Pe (GBNF) & Thaung Sein (Steeve Kay, GBNF) were among the top students.
    • 300+ who had passed the last ever I.Sc.(A) exam were chosen by merit to attend the first ever 2nd BE. I was admitted as Roll Number One. Taing Oke, Kenny Wong, Tun Aung Gyaw, Tin Tun (GBNF) & Thein Swe (GBNF) were among the top students.
    • About 200 students who had passed the last ever I.Sc.(B) exam were admitted to the 3rd BE. Tun Aung (Jeffrey, GBNF) was a top student.

    RUBC

    • Elected Honorary Treasurer
    • Had to report to Professor William Paw (President)
    • Last Executive Committee member to be elected at the Annual General Meeting
    • Served as Vice Captain the following year
    • Higher authorities prevented me from becoming RUBC Captain by discarding the Bye Laws and using their ad-hoc rules (e.g. selecting instead of electing Captain)
    • My affection for Rowing & RUBC did not wither. I served as Contributing Editor for the RUBC 90th Anniversary Souvenir Magazine in 2013
    RUBC Souvenir Magazine

    Matriculation

    • Cherry Hlaing (Than Than Tin, St. John’s Convent) and Lyn Aung Thet (MEHS) had Joint Highest Marks.
    • Based on ILA, Cherry was admitted as Roll Number One to IM(1). Was selected Luyechun in summer of 1965. Grandfather U Hoke Sein & father U Saw Hlaing were First in Burma.
    • Lyn Aung Thet had four distinctions and joint Highest Marks. He had lower ILA than Cherry. Scholar Athlete who excelled in Swimming, Water Polo, Tennis & Chess. Was Luyechun in a later year.
    • Aung Win Chiong (SPHS64) has the next best raw score. Had perfect ILA score. Admitted to IM(2) as Roll Number One.
    • Maurice Hla Kyi (Min Lwin, SPHS64) had the 5th highest marks. Admitted to IM(2) as Roll Number Two.
    Maurice & Aung Win

    1965 – 1969

    Matriculation in 1965

    • Bernard Khaw (SPHS65) had four distinctions (with 80+ marks in English) and stood First in Burma. Due to the revised policy (e.g. 3 NRC requirement), he could not apply for professional courses.
      Majored in Chemistry before moving to USA. Retired as a Chemical Engineer & Pastor.
    Bernard (Center)
    • Maung Aye (SPHS65) had second best raw marks. He and his twin brother moved to USA
    • Winston Sein Maung (SPHS65, GBNF) had third best raw marks
    • Cherry Than Tin had fourth best raw marks. She was admitted as Roll No (1) to MC (2)
    • Yi Thwe (SPHS65, GBNF) had 5th best raw marks. Admitted as Roll No (1) to MC (1)
    • Paing Soe (Freddie, SPHS65) had same marks as Yi Thwe.
      Admitted as Roll No (2) to MC (1)
    • Forty four Paulians were admitted to MC in 1965. They are from the Last Batch of True Paulians.

    Nationalization

    Consequences of Coup d’etat include

    • End of Democracy
    • Nationalization of industry & schools
    • Indiscriminate demonetization
    • Increased censorship
    • With every turmoil (effecting “National Security”), the universities, institutes and schools were suspended.

    SPHS

    • The schools were nationalized on April 1, 1965.
    • St. Paul’s High School became No. (6) Botathaung State High School. Some Brothers left Burma. A few indigenous Brothers remained in Ady Road. Brother Joseph was ordained as Father Joseph.

    Luyechun

    • Program was extended to include Universitites & Institutes in Summer of 1965
    • I attended Inlay Khaung Daing Lu Ye Camp in the summer of 1965 along with Ko Sein Shwe, Khin Than Myint Tin and Zaw Min
    LYC 1
    LYC 2
    • MC(1) sent Cherry Hlaing, Khin Maung U, Anita Aye Pe and Kyaw Sein Koe (Victor, GBNF).

    RIT

    Eight engineering departments

    • Architecture
    • Chemical
    • Civil
    • Electrical
    • Mechanical
    • Metallurgical
    • Mining
    • Textile

    Most departments have associations. The RIT Mechanical Engineering Association was active. Ko Win Thein (M67, GBNF) was a Prime Mover. He co-founded Set Hmu Thadinzin & Mechanical Magazine. He organized activities.

    RIT Sports Council was headed by Saya U Maung Maung Than (GBNF). U Maung Maung (Burma Selected in soccer) was Sports Officer. The associations for the various sports were headed by sayas.

    Several RIT students were Burma Selected. They include Sai Kham Pan (Badminton) and Htay Aung (Water Polo).

    Htay Aung

    Saya Mao Toon Siong (former Burma Champion) was National Coach for Table Tennis. He also coached RIT team which won the Inter-Institute Championship.

    Saya Mao

    Electrical Sayas

    EE Sayas
    • Electrical Engineering was headed by Saya U Sein Hlaing (Professor & Head).
    • Senior sayas included U Kyaw Tun (saya of our sayas), U Tin Swe & U Sein Win. All are now GBNF.
    • There were about 20 sayas. Five were on deputation for further studies abroad.
    • I wrote “A Sad and Short Clip : EE Sayas” for SPZP-2010. Sayas U Thein Lwin and U Nyi Nyi have since passed away.

    EC and EP

    There were two options : EC (Electrical Communications) and EP (Electrical Power). Per advice from the industry, only a quarter of students were accepted for EC.

    • 80+ EE students in 3rd BE.
    • 40+ EE students graduated in 1969
    EE69ers
    • EP students outnumbered EC students 3 by 1. Several bright students played safe by choosing EP (which provided a job guarantee).
    • We studied EC (Electrical Communications). Twelve of us graduated in 1969.
    • Five EC69ers — Kyaw Soe, Aung Thu Yein, Chit Tin, Oo Kyaw Hla & Sai Aik Yee — are now GBNF.
    • Several years later, EC became Electronics Engineering.
    • A few decades later, Electronics Engineering and Electrical Power became full-fledged departments.

    Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76) wrote :

    AFAIK, EC was the hardest and strictest discipline at the RIT in those days as we’ve been told. Some even asked us why we had to go there. Of course, I am not going to mention the easiest discipline there, but we joked like, “they had 109 students and 110 passed the exam”. I do not mean any disrespect to Sayas and friends from other majors!! At times, it made us wonder why were we there for god’s sake. CRAZY TIMES!!! Indeed.

    Volunteer

    I served as

    • Treasurer & Vice Captain of RUBC (Rangoon University Boat Club)
    • Class Representative, Joint Secretary & Secretary of RITEE (Rangoon Institute of Technology Electrical Engineering Association)
    • Member of Committee for “Hlyat Sit Sar Saung”
    • Editor of the Bulletin published by RIT English Association
    • Member of UTC, Rowing, Scrabble, and Chess Assocations / Clubs
    • Free lance writer (articles, poems, translations). My poem “Men on the Moon” was sent to NASA by USIS, and it was published in the Guardian newspaper in July 1969
    Men on the Moon

    Updates

    • Some joined the Faculty. Some worked in the Industry. A few worked for private or family business. Some moved overseas.
    • Danny suggested to have a Class Reunion. It was realized as 30th Anniversary of Graduation & Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe in 1999.
    • I started “RIT Alumni International Newsletter” in April 1999. It partially helped to have SPZP-2000.
    SPZP-2000 Orgsnizers
    • 69er Health Care Fund was established. Ko Aung Min is current Chair. He and his team maintain the finances & activities.
    GBNF List
    • 69ers hold monthly Breakfast Gatherings (except during the pandemic). They have major Reunions in 1999, 2009, 2014 and 2019.
    40th Anniversary (2009)
    Golden Jubilee of Admission (2014)
    50th Anniversary (2019)

    Awards

    • Received Alumni Appreciation Awards in October 2000, August 2016 and September 2016.
    • Received Distinguished Toastmaster in 2017
    Award 1
    Award 2
    DTM 1
    DTM 2
  • Album — 69er

    Album — 69er

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    Highlights

    Guinea Pigs of Edu System

    • Last 7th Std Government exam in 1960
    • First HSF Only exam in 1962; Those from Rangoon had to take exams in March & August
    • Matric Only exam in 1963; My older brother entered Yankin College in 1957 after passing 9th Std (HSF & Matric) exam.
    • Attended last ever I.Sc(A)
    • Admitted to 2nd BE in Nov 1964
    • Graduated with BE (a few with BArch) in 1969

    Long After Graduation

    • First major Reunion in 1999
    • Anniversary Reunions in 2009, 2014 and 2019
    • Except for pause during pandemic, Monthly Breakfast Gathering (usually at Taw Win Hnin Si)

    Jara, Byadi & Marana

    • Over 40% are GBNF
    • Remaining 69ers try to be active physically, mentally & spiritually.
    • Two are Sayadaws: Ashin Ukkamsa & Ashin Pannagavesaka
    • Many hosted and/or attended Monthly Breakfast Gatherings.
    • One gathering had a record of nine hosts.
    • Gifts — 69er towel, 69er mug, 69er cap, 69er hat, 69er pen, medicine — are given at selected gatherings; Albert & company gave out towels; Millie was represented by her cousin; Kyaw Zin was represented by his elder daughter; Fred gave some gifts via 69ers that visited USA (e.g Kyaw Nyunt)
    69er towel
    69er mug
    69er cap
    69er cap
    • Some donated and/ or joined virtually (via Zoom or Messenger).

    Will go on Sharing & Charing

    until the Last 69er

    • The following gives an account of 69ers & their gatherings.
    • Need input, feedback & suggestions to have a comprehensive album.

    Donors & Volunteers

    • Aung Min (M) is Chair of 69er Health Care Fund. He & his team organized 69er events. They have updated Contact List several times.
    Aung Min (Right)
    • Myint Myint, Ivan & Sein Myint are major donors. Others (e.g Mehm Aye Chan) make recurring and lump sum donations.
    Myint Myint
    Ivan (Right)
    Sein Myint (2nd from Right)
    • There are many unsung heros. Despite having limitations due to an injury at work, Ko Shwe drove long distance to collect donations.
    Ko Shwe (3rd from Left)
    • Others visited 69ers in hospitals & homes (e.g to aid health care or offer Kutho donation).

    1964 – 65

    • About 320 were admitted to 2nd BE in Nov 1964
    • Most graduated in 1969.
    • Luyechun program started in 1964 for high school & middle school. The program was expanded in 1965 for Universities & Institutes.
    2nd BE (1964 – 65)
    LYC (Summer of 65)

    See also

    • From BIT to YTU
    • Luyechun
    • Memories of a 69er
    • RIT Days

    1966 – 69

    Tennis

    • Inter-Institute Trophy winners
    • Kyaw Nyunt (M, GBNF)
    • Than Htay (EE)
    • …
    RIT Tennis
    Kyaw Nyunt (2nd from Left)

    Badminton

    • Inter-Institute Trophy winners
    • Sai Kham Pan (EP) : Burma Selected
    • Bishnu (EP, GBNF)
    • Myint Sein (M, GBNF)
    • …
    RIT Badminton 1
    RIT Badminton 2
    Sai Kham Pan

    Track & Field

    • Aung Gyi Shwe (EP, GBNF) : Secretary
    • Margaret (Khin Than Myint Tin)
    • Myo Nyunt (C) : Joint Secretary — for Henry Khin Maung Lay (T68)
    • …
    Aung Gyi Shwe (Standing Left)
    Myo Nyunt

    Swimming & Water Polo

    • Htay Aung (M) : Burma Selected; Fifth SEAP Games
    • Hla Kyaing (M)
    • Han Sein (C, GBNF)
    • Jimmy Kyin (T, GBNF)
    • Sein Myint (EP)
    • Swan Kong (?)
    • Win Maung (Lake)
    • Moe Hein (ChE)
    • …
    Htay Aung
    RIT Crosslake Swimmers

    Rowing

    • Chit Po Po (M, GBNF)
    • Hla Min (EC) : Treasurer & Vice Captain of RUBC
    • Sein Myint (EP)
    • Win Maung (Lake)
    • Win Naing (Dicky, M, GBNF) : recruited David, Fred, Ohn Mg & Sein Tun
    • …
    Chit Po Po
    Win Naing (Dicky)
    Sein Myint, Hla Min, Tin Myint

    Table Tennis

    • Tin Myint (John, M, GBNF) : also Luyechun for 4th BE
    • …
    Tin Myint

    Basketball

    • Han Sein (C, GBNF)
    • Soe Win (EP, GBNF) : RIT Captain
    • Tommy (EP, GBNF)
    • Lyo Kyin Sein
    • …

    Body Building & Weightlifting

    • Aung Gyi Shwe (EP, GBNF) : also T&F, Soccer
    • Jimmy Kyin (T, GBNF) : also Swimming & Water Polo
    • Khin Win (EP, GBNF)
    • …

    Chinlon

    • Tin Shein (M)
    • Htin Aung (C)
    • …

    Thaing

    • Tin Tun (M, GBNF) : Secretary
    • Tun Aung Gyaw (EC) : Jt. Secretary
    • …

    Hiking & Mountaineering

    • Win Lwin (M)
    • …

    Engg Associations

    • Hla Myint Thein (C) — Secretary
    • Myo Khin (C) — Secretary
    • Mehm Ye Win (EC) — Secretary
    • Hla Min (EC) — Secretary & Hlyat Sit Sar Saung
    • Aye Lwin (M) — Secretary & RIT Annual Magazine
    • …
    Myo Khin (3rd), Hla Myint Thein (Right)

    Ah Nu Pyinnya Ah Thin

    • Taing Oke (ChE) — Zat Saya
    • Kyaw Htin (T) — Lu Shwin Daw
    • Than Myaing (M) — Violin
    • Tin Maung Aye (M) — Accordion
    • …
    Taing Oke
    Floor : Robert, Han Sein, Aye Lwin; Seated : Alice, David, Uzin, Tin Mg Aye, Albert, Aung Min; Standing : Lake, Oscar, Harry, Khin Ng Gyi, Allan, Mehm Aye Chan, Walter. Win Lwin, Ngwe Tun, Myo Nyunt, Aung Gyi Shwe

    Writers

    • Aung Myint (Pet) : Kyant Ba Hone (Cartoon); Tech & Edu Notes
    • Taing Oke : Yin Maung; National Literary Award
    • Tin Htut (Harry, M) : Mon Yu
    • Win Thein Zaw : Wai Lu
    • …
    Kyant
    Wai Lu

    69ers at Inya

    • Nay Win, Yee Pin, Khin Mg Gyi & Chit Po Po are GBNF
    69ers at Inya

    See also

    • Activities
    • Celebrations
    • Publications
    • RIT & Burma Selected
    • Sports

    EE69

    • See post with annotations by Thein Swe (GBNF, Luyechun for 3rd BE) & me
    EE69
    Ko Shwe (L), Thein Swe (R)

    Graduates

    • Mostly Mech
    • Aung Thu Yein (E), Kyaw Than (Met?), Nay Win (M), Khin Maung Gyi (M) & Toby (A) are some of the GBNF
    • Most worked for government and industry. Some joined the Faculty. A few worked for private & family business. Some went overseas.
    Grads
    A69

    See also

    • 69er — Memories
    • Then & Now
    • How Time Flies

    1970 – 1998

    • There were no formal Reunions.
    • Most were busy with their work and family.
    • In the mid 1990s, Danny discussed with some friends about a 69er Reunion.

    1999

    • 30th Anniversary of Graduation; See Danny’s post about the event
    • I started “RIT Alumni Newsletter”; See my posts
    Newsletter

    2000

    • First RIT Alumni Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe (SPZP-2000) in the SF Bay Area : Oct 29 – 30, 2000 ; See posts about SPZP-2000
    • I was an Organizer & Chief Editor of the special issue of “RIT Alumni Newsletter”
    • (First) Alumni Appreciation Award received at SPZP-2000; Also given to KMZ (webmaster) & Maurice (core organizer)
    • Tint Lwin (Danny, M), Tin Myint (John, M), Lyo Kyin Sein (Mabel, T), Mg Toung (Tom, EC) & Myo Khin (C) attended SPZP-2000. Danny came from Singapore. John & Mabel live in Union City, California. Tom came from Connecticut. Myo Khin & Winsome (C73) came from Japan.
    SPZP-2000 Organizers
    SPZP-2000 attendees

    2009

    • 40th Anniversary of Graduation; See post for the event
    • Group photos : Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Textile, Chemical
    Electrical
    Mech
    Civil
    Textile & Chemical

    2014

    • 50th Anniversary of RIT; See post about the event
    • Pseudo Golden Jubilee for 69ers
    GJ of Admission

    2015

    • Myint Myint (C) hosted a Welcome Lunch Gathering at Western Park for Nyunt Nyunt Wai (Millie, T)
    Welcome Millie in 2015
    • Six 69ers at Ivan’s house. Ivan hosted annual RIT-UCC gathering for over a decade. Eventually, MASTAA was established with Ivan as CEO.

    2016

    • (Second) Alumni Appreciation Award at the Birthday Soon Kyway Gathering in August; Organized by Maurice Chee (M75); Most attendees from California
    Award 1
    • (Third) Appreciation Award at NorCal RITAA Annual Dinner in September
    Award 2
    • SPZP-2016
    • Gathering — Welcome Sein Myint & me; Farewell to Tint Lwin
    Gathering

    2017

    • Monthly Gatherings
    • Ad hoc Gatherings
    • Annual Gathering
    BFG 1

    2018

    • Monthly Gatherings
    • Ad hoc Gatherings
    • Annual Gatheting
    BFG 2017
    BFG 2018

    2019

    Golden Jubilee of Graduation

    • Home coming for Tin Tin (Ann)
    GJ

    2020 – 2021

    • SPZP-2000 canceled due to Pandemic
    • Several 69ers & family members succumbed to Covid
    • Gatherings put on hold

    2022

    December

    Tin Shwe

    2023

    August

    September 2023

    အလှူရှင်

    • ဦးငွေထွန်း၊
    • ဦးတင်ရှိန်၊
    • ဦးသန်းဝင်း၊
    • ဦးချမ်းငြိမ်း၊
    • ဒေါ်ခင်သန်းမြင့်တင်၊
    • ဦးစောမြင့်နိုင်၊
    • ဦးဖေဟန်ထွန်း
    • U Zaw Win (Thailand)
    • Albert Kyaw Min

    Dear RIT 69++friends

    ဖိတ်ကြားအပ်ပါတယ်

    September breakfast gathering သို့ မပျက်မကွက် ကြွရောက်ကြပါခင်ဗျား။

    တော်ဝင်နှင်းဆီ / ၂၄/၉/၂၀၂၃ (တနင်္ဂနွေ) ၊ ၇:၀၀ မှ ၈:၃၀ နာရီ မှာဆုံကြမယ်။

    ကိုငွေထွန်း၊ကိုသန်းဝင်း၊ကိုတင်ရှိန်၊ကိုစောမြင့်နိုင်၊ကိုဖေဟန်ထွန်း၊ကိုချမ်းငြိမ်း၊မာဂရက်၊Albertနှင့် ကိုဇော်ဝင်း(ထိုင်း) ပေါင်း ၉ ဦးတို့က အာဟာရ ဒါန ပြုကြပါမယ်။နီး/ဝေး/ပြည်ပ သူငယ်ချင်းများရဲ့ စေတနာပါ။ကြွလာချီးမြှင့်ဖို့ ထပ်မံတိုက်တွန်းပါရစေ။

    စားပြီးရင် ၉၃ နှစ်ပြည့် ဆရာ ဦးဘသန်းအား သွားရောက် ဂါရဝ ပြုပါမယ်။ဆရာနေကောင်းပါတယ် အပြော နဲ့ သတိ အားနည်းလာပြီ။အလှူငွေများကို နောက်ဆုံးအချိန်ထိ လက်ခံပေးသွားပါ့မယ်။လိုက်ပါလိုသူ အကန့်အသတ်မရှိပါ။

    2025

    June

    KMT
    KMT 2
    Roland, Oscar, Albert
    Four Young-at-heart
    Myo Nyunt

    Request

    • Please share your memories
    • Please add captions
    • Please provide corrections
    • မ ပြီး သေး သော ပန်း ချီ ကား


  • RIT Gatherings

    RIT Gatherings

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    Types

    • Micro-gathering
    • Mini-gathering
    • Gathering
    • Mega-gathering
    • World Wide SPZPs (SPZP-2000, SPZP-2002, SPZP-2004, SPZP-2007, SPZP-2010, SPZP-2012, SPZP-2016).

    The following is a glimpse of some gatherings.

    Welcoming Sayas

    San Francisco Bay Area Alumni welcomed several sayas. They include

    • U Ba Toke (Myanmar)
    • U Num Kok (Oregon)
    • Dr. Aung Gyi (Napean, Canada)
    • U Aung Khin (Windsor, Canada)
    • U Khin Aung Kyi (then in Thailand)
    • U Soe Paing (then in Myanmar)
    • U Maung Maung Win (Australia)
    • Dr. Hla Myint (Mack, Australia)
    • U Hla Myint (Charlie, Australia)
    • U Kyaw Myint (then in Beijing)
    • Dr. San Hla Aung (then in New Orleans)
    • U Win Kyaw & U Nyunt Htay (after attending 2015 LA Reunion)
    CD

    2006

    • Attended the RIT Alumni Dinner in Sydney, Australia. Met Saya U Hla Myint (M65), Saya U Myo Win (M/Ag65), Daw Phyu Phyu Latt (Christine, A70), U Aye Win Hlaing (Abel, La La, EE7x), U Myo Lwin (Stanley Saw, M71), U Htun Aung Kyaw (EC73), U Kyaw Thu (Dennis Mackey, C73), George Peters (C73), U Thet Htun (Henry, M75), U Wint Khin Zaw (A79), U Htay Aung (EC80), U Sein Win (C80), and several alumni.
    Reunion CD

    2007

    • Due to time, resource, and delivery constraints, I do not always get the official CDs. I sometimes get (a) preview versions (b) copy of the “master gold” (c) alternate to the official. It’s better to have something rather than nothing.
    Preview CD
    Official CD

    2011

    • The Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65 (aka Class of 70 & 71) had hosted Reunion & Acariya Pu Zaw Pwes for almost two decades.
    • The group usually published booklets at their main events.
    Magazine 1
    Magazine 2

    2012

    • Thanks to U Aye Myint (EP72), SPZP-2012 was a true Home Coming at the Gyogone Campus.
    • Pu Zaw Pwe was held at YTU.
    • Reunion Dinner was held at MICT Park.
    PZP
    Dinner
    Official CD

    2014

    • In November 1964, three batches of students were admitted to 1st BE, 2nd BE and 3rd BE classes.
    • RIT 69ers celebrated the pseudo Golden Jubilee (50th Anniversary of the Admission to RIT) in 2014. Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe was held at the YTU Assembly Hall. Reunion Dinner was held at Panda.
    CD 1
    CD 2

    2016

    • SPZP-2016 : Full day event at Gyogone Campus; Free Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Entertainment
    SPZP-2016
    • Aug 2016 : Birthday Soon Kyway at Dhammanda Vihara, Half Moon Bay; Received Alumni Appreciation Award
    Birthday Soon Kyway
    Award 1
    • Sept 2016 : NorCal RITAA Annual Dinner; Received Alumni Appreciation Award
    NorCal RITAA
    Award 2

    2019

    Golden Jubilee of 69er Graduation

    Posts

    • Alumni
    • Associations
    • Celebrations
    • Memories of 69er
    • SPZP

  • Thanks for your appreciation

    by RIT Alumni

    Updated : June 2025

    • Dr. Soe Thein (C75) wrote :

    ကျွန်တော် တို့ မမှီ လိုက်တဲ့ အင်ဂျင်နီယာ တွေနဲ့ ပါတ်သက် ခဲ့တဲ့လိပ်ခုံး BIT RIT အကြောင်း အရာ တွေကို နှစ်ပေါင်း ဆယ်စု များစွာ စံနစ် တကျ စဉ်ဆက် မပြတ် ရေးသား ပေးတဲ့ ရာသက်ပန် RIT သတင်း ပြန်ကြားရေး မှူး ဦးလှမင်း ကို အထူး ဂုဏ်ပြု အပ်ပါတယ်။

    ဒီလို ထူးချွန် ​ပြောင် မြောက် တဲ့ သတင်း ပြန်ကြားရေး မှူး နောက် တယောက် ဘယ်တော့မှ ပေါ်ထွန်း နှိုင်တော့ မည် မဟုတ်ပါ။

    Big big congratulations ပါ

    ဦးလှမင်း

    • Khin Aye Myint wrote :

    Congrats to U Hla Min for his informative RIT, BIT history ..

    • Aung Min wrote :

    Junior များ

    လက်ဆင့်ကမ်းကြလော့

    • Aung Myaing wrote :

    An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

    A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away making you healthy and happy.

    • Zaw Winn wrote :

    My Appreciations Dear Senior,

    Your affection for our Alma Mater is unparalleled and will be in our memories for ever.

    • Mg Mar Ga wrote :

    အကို့ကြောင့်သာဒိလိုမှတ်တမ်းမှတ်ရာတွေအသေအချာကျန်ခဲ့တာပါအကို့ခြေရာနင်းနိုင်ဖို့နောက်တယောက်ထပ်ရှိဖို့မလွယ်ပါတကယ်ပြောတာပါမှတ်ညဏ်ရယ်စေတနာရယ်အချိန်ပေးနိုင်မှုရယ်ဆောင်ရွက်တတ်မှုဆိုတာသာမန်လူလုပ်နိုင်ခဲလွန်းလှတယ်RIT Archive လုပ်ဖို့အကိုတအားတိုက်တွန်းခဲ့တာမှတ်မိတယ်ကြိုးစားစခဲ့ပေမဲ့တကယ်ကအကိုလုပ်ပြီးသားထက်ရေှ့မတိုးနိုင်ခဲ့ တကယ်ကိုရင်ထဲကချီးကျူးပါရ စေကျန်းမာသက်ရှည်လိုရာပြည့်ပါစေအကို

    • U Myo Myint wrote :

    Mg Mar Ga

    ဆရာ U Hla Min စုဆောင်းပြုစုမှတ်တမ်းတင်နေတဲ့‌အားထုတ်လုပ်ဆောင်ချက်များကို

    ဦးဝင်းထိန်ဦးရဲ့မှတ်ချက်နဲ့ထပ်တူကျနော့်ရင်ထဲမှာလေးစားတန်ဖိုးထားချီးကျူးရပါကြောင်းနှင့်

    ဆရာကိုယ်စိတ်နှစ်ပါးကျန်းမာ ချမ်းသာပါစေကြောင်း ထပ်ဆင့်ဆုတောင်းပါတယ်ခင်ဗျာ။

    • Wai Lu wrote :

    These are extraordinary records. Maybe superman @ genius @ techniques.

    • San Lin wrote :

    ပြီးခဲ့သမျှကို အရမ်းမှတ်မိသလို လုပ်လဲလုပ်နိုင်တဲ့ ဆရာဦးလှမင်း ကျန်းမာသက်ရှည်ပါစေ။

    • U Hla Myint Rit wrote :

    Thanks to all. VV Nice. Be mindful

    Photos

    At Ko Benny’s house
    Soon Kyway on August 20, 2016
    Award & Birthday Greetings
    Saya U Myat Htoo presented the Award
    Birthday card (from sayas & alumni)
    & two cakes (by Charlie & Diana Tseng)
    Birthday Card
    Welcoming Saya U Soe Paing to SF Bay Area
    At Half Moon Bay monastery
    SF Bay Area Retirees
    Retirees
    Welcoming Sayas Dr. San Hla Aung and U Tin Htut
    With Ko Tun Shwe & Ko Myint Thein (Soon Hoe)
    Saya Dr. Aung Gyi received Pon Tu (by Bagyee Myat Myo Myat)
    carried by Saya Ko Nyunt Htay
    SF Bay Area alumni
    Gathering hosted by Steeve Kay
    40th anniversary of arrival in USA
    With Steeve Kay (Multiple Golden Sponsor of SPZPs)
    With Class of 71 at Indian restaurant
    SPZP-2012 at Gyogone Campus
    At SPZP-2012
    with Sayas George & U Myat Htoo
    At Feel restaurant
    hosted by Ko Saw Lin (GBNF)

  • A Zillion Thanks

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    Gifts

    Pon Tu

    • From Bagyee Myat Myo Myint (U Myo Myint)
    Gift from Bagyee Myat Myo Myint
    Bagyee Myat Myo Myint (Center)
    • See Post — Pon Tu

    SPZP-2000

    • Sayagyi U Ba Toke (GBNF) gave me a set of Coasters
    Welcome dinner for SPZP-2000
    • U Tun Aung (Jefferey, GBNF) gave me a commemorative pen
    Jeffrey
    • U Aye Win Hlaing (Abel) & Daw Phyu Phyu Latt (Christine) gave me a toy bear.

    2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles

    • U Aye Lwin (GBNF) gave me a miniature painting
    Aye Lwin
    • U Khin Maung Tun gave me indigenous medicine and a CD player loaded with dhamma talks.
    Khin Maung Tun

    Yangon

    • M72 gave me “Thamudaya Kyaung” CD.
    M72
    Mg Mar Ga
    • Saya Moe & U Nyunt Htay gave me books, magazines & sar saungs.
    Saya Moe
    Nyunt Htay
    • Daw Gyn Yu gave me Balashin ဗလရှင် and Thai balm.
    Gyn Yu
    • Saya U Ba Toke gave me an autographed copy of his book.
    U Ba Toke

    Golden Jubilee

    • From KMZ
    KMZ
    • From Zaw Tun & Ma Kyu
    Zaw Tun

    Guests of

    Dr. Soe Thein

    • He invited me to attend the Civil Engineering Gathering (held before SPZP-2007) and introduced me to the audience. He invited me to attend the C-75 dinner held at M3 in Yangon in 2012.
    Soe Thein

    Class of 70, 71 & 72

    • Attended meetings of Combined 1st BE intake of 64 and 65, and the group’s Reunion and Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe.
    Intake of 64 & 65
    • Attended gatherings (PZP, Dinner, Lunch) by the Class of 72 in general and M72 in particular.
    M72

    Steeve Kay

    Steeve
    • Meeting alumni in Los Angeles
    • QTC Anniversary
    • 40th Anniversary of Arrival in USA
    40th Anniversary
    • Special Reunion & Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe
    Special Reunion & PZP

    Hosts

    Singapore

    • Ko Tin Aung Win (C81, UCC) hosted me during my trip to Singapore to attend SPZP-2007.
      He treated me (individually & with group) during my other visits.
    Ko TAW
    • Ko Win Latt (UCC)
    Win Latt
    • Ko Zaw Tun (UCC) & Ma Kyu
    Pale & Ma Kyu
    • Ko Ngwe Soe (UCC) & Ma Nu
    Silver
    • Ma Pale (UCC) & Ko Ye

    California

    • Saya U Tin Htut
    U Tin Htut
    • U Tin Htoon
    U Tin Htoon
    • U Aung Khin
    U Aung Khin (Standing Left)
    • Ma Phyu Phyu Kyaw
    Phyu Phyu (3rd from Left)

    Texas

    • Dr. Ba Han & Lillian
    Ba Han (2nd from Left)
    • U San Lin (Robert) & Marina
    Robert & Marina
    • Thamee KZO & Myo
    Thamee & Myo
    • U San Myint Thane (Sammy)

    Canada

    • Saya U Aung Khin
    Saya U Aung Khin & Ivan
    • Saya Dr. Aung Gyi & Daw Emma
    Dr. Aung Gyi

    East Coast

    • Ivan Lee
    Fred, TAG, Alice, Tom
    • Fred Thetgyi
    East Coast Reunion
    • Dr. L Sein Myint
    • U Wynn Myint Aung (GBNF)
    • U Htin Lin
    • Uncle U Thein Han & Aunty
    • U TAG & Daw KMM
    • Tom & Kim

    Some Invitations

    • Ko Htay Aung (Victor) invited me to attend the RIT Alumni Dinner Gathering in Sydney in 2006.
    • Saya U Ba Than (GBNF) took me to Mech Engineering sayas’ lunch gathering at Kone Myint Tha.
    • Ko Thant Zin (GBNF) invited me to attend the inaugural All Mech Gathering at Dolphin restaurant.
    • Ko Ohn Khine & others invited me to join another All Mech Gathering at a restaurant in Pyithu Yin Pyin.
    • Ko Wai Lwin & friends invited me to join two Dinner gatherings : Feel restaurant to celebrate Daw Emma Gyi’s birthday, and at Ko Nyan Tun U’s compound to welcome Sayas Dr. Aung Gyi & Dr. San Hla Aung.
    • Thanks to hosts of 69er monthly breakfast gatherings, lunch gatherings, annual dinner & entertainment. Ko Aung Min & team; Sponsors, Donors, Guitarists, Vocalists & Dancers

    Appreciation Awards

    • At SPZP-2000
    • On August 20, 2016, Maurice Chee organized a birthday Soon Kyway at Dhammanda Vihara, Half Moon Bay.
      Several sayas and alumni brought sumptuous dishes and desserts. I received “Alumni Appreciation Award” (for the second time).
    • At the Norcal RITAA Annual Dinner in 2016, I received “Alumni Award” (for the third time).

    Transportation

    USA

    • KMZ
    • Ivan
    • L Sein Myint
    • Wynn Myint Aung
    • San Myint Thein
    • San Lin (Robert)
    • Benny
    • Maurice
    • Aung Myint Oo
    • Yu Ket (Ed Saw)
    • Myint Swe
    • Tin Maung Win
    • Ko Ko Zin
    • Kyi Aung (Roland)
    • Phyu Phyu Kyaw (UCC)
    • and more provided me rides in the USA.

    Singapore

    • Khin Maung Myint & nephew
    • Tint Lwin (Daniel)
    • Tin Aung Wynn
    • Ngwe Soe (Silver)
    • Zaw Tun
    • Pale
    • and more provided me rides in Singapore

    Yangon

    • Ko Myo
    • Aung Min
    • Khin Mg Bo (Allan, GBNF)
    • Kyaw Min Thein (Kenneth)
    • Kyaw Zin
    • Myint Thein (Kabar, GBNF)
    • Myo Nyunt
    • Than Win
    • Tin Aung Win (Oscar)
    • Tin Win
    • Win Maung (Lake)
    • Zau Lai (Duwa)
    • Ohn Khine
    • Saw Lin (GBNF)
    • Myint Pe
    • Tin Oo
    • Mg Mar Ga
    • Ye Myint
    • Pansy Thin
    • U Win
    • Dr. Sann Oo
    • Hla Win
    • Than Tun
    • Kyaw Phone Myint (Victor, MARB)
    • Edwin Ngwe (SPHS)
    • Aung Myin Bo (MARB)
    • KK (Smart)
    • Mar Mar Soe (UCC)
    • Saw Yan Naing (ICST)
    • Kyaw Min, Dr. (SPHS)
    • and more provided me rides in Yangon.

    Gatherings

    • Singapore gatherings : M73 Group & Saya Winston, Daniel & 69er Group, RIT-UCC Alumni
    • Alumni gatherings in SF Bay Area : RIT Alumni International; Norcal RITAA;
      Celebrations (birthday, anniversary); Welcome sayas & alumni (out of state); Ko Aung Myaing & Ma Gyn Yu
    • Saya U Soe Paing & Ma Alice
      Many gatherings at their house
    • Saya U Tin Htut : Hosted me at his new house; Took me to BASES dinner and Soon Kyway the following day
    • Dr. Sann Oo & Ma Than Yi :
      Dinner in 2016; Lunch & Tour of their hospital in 2019
    • Ko Aung Kyaw Myint (Eddie Shein : Wedding reception of his daughter (Medical doctor in Australia)
    • Don Min U Yu Swan & Sayama Emma Myint : Several sessions of food & entertainment
    • Ko Nyunt Htay : Shwe Bei
    • Dr. Win Aung : Dinner after East Coast Reunion

    Kudos to

    • Contributors of articles, news
      and photos
    • Those who provided Feedback,
      Corrections & Captions
    • Organizers & Volunteers of RT-related activities
    • All who have kept the RIT Spirit alive and well
    • I belong to several circles and communities. I may have missed some non-alumni & related gatherings.

    Feedback

    Aung Min wrote :

    Junior များ

    လက်ဆင့်ကမ်းကြလော့

    My reply :

    Need organizers like U Aung Min

    Aung Myaing wrote :

    An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

    A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away making you healthy and happy.

    Zaw Winn wrote :

    My Appreciations Dear Senior,

    Your affection for our Alma Mater is unparalleled and will be in our memories for ever.

    Mg Mar Ga wrote :

    အကို့ကြောင့်သာဒိလိုမှတ်တမ်းမှတ်ရာတွေအသေအချာကျန်ခဲ့တာပါအကို့ခြေရာနင်းနိုင်ဖို့နောက်တယောက်ထပ်ရှိဖို့မလွယ်ပါတကယ်ပြောတာပါမှတ်ညဏ်ရယ်​စေတနာရယ်အချိန်ပေးနိုင်မှုရယ်ဆောင်ရွက်တတ်မှုဆိုတာသာမန်လူလုပ်နိုင်ခဲလွန်းလှတယ်RIT Archive လုပ်ဖို့အကိုတအားတိုက်တွန်းခဲ့တာမှတ်မိတယ်ကြိုးစားစခဲ့ပေမဲ့တကယ်ကအကိုလုပ်ပြီးသားထက်ရေှ့မတိုးနိုင်ခဲ့ တကယ်ကိုရင်ထဲကချီးကျူးပါရ စေကျန်းမာသက်ရှည်လိုရာပြည့်ပါစေအကို

    U Myo Myint wrote :

    Mg Mar Ga

    ဆရာ U Hla Min စုဆောင်းပြုစုမှတ်တမ်းတင်နေတဲ့‌အားထုတ်လုပ်ဆောင်ချက်များကို

    ဦးဝင်းထိန်ဦးရဲ့မှတ်ချက်နဲ့ထပ်တူကျနော့်ရင်ထဲမှာလေးစားတန်ဖိုးထားချီးကျူးရပါကြောင်းနှင့်

    ဆရာကိုယ်စိတ်နှစ်ပါးကျန်းမာ ချမ်းသာပါစေကြောင်း ထပ်ဆင့်ဆုတောင်းပါတယ်ခင်ဗျာ။

    Wai Lu wrote :

    These are extraordinary records. Maybe superman @ genius @ techniques.

    San Lin wrote :

    ပြီးခဲ့သမျှကို အရမ်းမှတ်မိသလို လုပ်လဲလုပ်နိုင်တဲ့ ဆရာဦးလှမင်း ကျန်းမာသက်ရှည်ပါစေ။

    U Hla Myint Rit wrote :

    Thanks to all. VV Nice. Be mindful

    Photos

    At Ko Benny’s house
    Soon Kyway on August 20, 2016
    Award & Birthday Greetings
    Saya U Myat Htoo presented the Award
    Birthday card (from sayas & alumni)
    & two cakes (by Charlie & Diana Tseng)
    Birthday Card
    Welcoming Saya U Soe Paing to SF Bay Area
    At Half Moon Bay monastery
    SF Bay Area Retirees
    Retirees
    Welcoming Sayas Dr. San Hla Aung and U Tin Htut
    With Ko Tun Shwe & Ko Myint Thein (Soon Hoe)
    Saya Dr. Aung Gyi received Pon Tu (by Bagyee Myat Myo Myat)
    carried by Saya Ko Nyunt Htay
    SF Bay Area alumni
    Gathering hosted by Steeve Kay
    40th anniversary of arrival in USA
    With Steeve Kay (Multiple Golden Sponsor of SPZPs)
    With Class of 71 at Indian restaurant
    SPZP-2012 at Gyogone Campus
    At SPZP-2012
    with Sayas George & U Myat Htoo
    At Feel restaurant
    hosted by Ko Saw Lin (GBNF)

  • Class of 70

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    • 450+ Matriculates were admitted to 1st BE in November 1964 based on ILA (Intelligence Level Aggregate).

    Steeve Kay (Thaung Sein, EC70)

    Steeve hosted a Reunion & PZP for the Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65
    • Admitted as Roll No. (8) to 1st BE in Nov 1964.
    • Graduated with EC in 1970
    • Moved to USA. An immigration officer spelled his name as Steeve instead of Steve. He kept the name with the variant unconventional spelling.
    • Masters from Stanford University
    • Designer of Power IC Chip
    • Per his younger sister’s request, co-founded QTC
    • MBA from Pepperdine University
    • QTC was bought by an investment company. Steeve became a multi-millionaire
    • Established Kay Family Foundation. Steeve became an outstanding philanthropist.
    • He never forgot his roots, his alma mater, his mentors and his friends.
    • A short biography — summarized as three dreams — was published by the Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65, and also in “RIT Alumni International Newsletter”.
    • Details can be found in the commemorative issue celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the founding of QTC.

    Three Dreams of Steeve Kay

    Steeve Kay
    First Dream of Steeve Kay
    Second and Third Dreams of Steeve Kay

    Team Builder

    40th Anniversary of arrival in the USA

    In 2011, Steeve hosted a gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his arrival in the US. The gathering was coordinated by his daughter Elanor. She arranged a visit to Teehub (which provides incubation for aspiring innovators).

    Attendees include :

    • Chris Lee, Dr. (EE59) & spouse
    • Sam Chin (ChE62) & spouse
    • Henry Khoo (EC67)
    • Hla Min (EC69) & spouse
    • Benny Tan (M70) & spouse
    • Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70) & spouse
    • Htin Aung (Richard, M70)
    • Zaw Htun, Dr. (BDS) & spouse

    Benny, Zaw Min & Richard were Steeve’s classmates from RIT.

    Henry picked up Steeve on his arrival in San Francisco, California, USA.

    Saya Chris Lee, Sam Chin and Dr. Zaw Htun were active in the Burmese American organizations in Southern California.

    QTC

    His younger sister Dr. Lay Kay had patents related to the medical and legal processes to handle disability claims. She requested Steeve to co-found QTC and serve as CEO.

    Two decades later, QTC was bought by a group of investors making the two siblings multi-millionaires.

    They did not forget their roots. Steeve set up the Kay Family Foundation. His sister set up the B K Kee Foundation in memory of her mother. Their foundations have provided support for education, medical research, areas inflicted by disasters (e.g. Cyclone Nargis) and much more.

    Aspirations & Actions

    Steeve took time to trace his roots. He also joined expeditions to visit the holy sites of Four Religions.

    He is a Trustee and/or Board Member of several US universities.

    He is a Multiple Golden Sponsor for the SPZPs. He set up the “Steeve and Helen Kay Health Care Fund for RIT Sayas and Sayamas”. He hosted a delegation from the Ministry of Science and Technology to visit selected universities and research institutions in California.

    There were some proposals that did not materialize. He offered to set up a Computing Laboratory and promote Leapfrogging Technology for engineering sayas and students in Myanmar. He offered to provide air fare and expenses for Sayagyis willing to share their experience in Myanmar. He requested some support from the Myanmar side (e.g. taking care of the security and maintenance of the Laboratory and providing accommodation for the visiting Sayagyis), but due to the bureaucracy of the then authorities, the proposals were not materialized.

    When his health started to decline, he could not take long trips or wait too long for responses to his proposals. He requested the balance of his Health Care Fund to be transferred to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation.

    He delegated his children to run KFF and his enterprise. He still has desires to help his beloved home land. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

    2015 Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles, USA

    Kay Family Foundation provided $30000 for the Alumni Reunion. Steeve sang Shwe Mi during his presentation.

    LA 2015

    Sponsorships

    He provided the seed money for holding the First RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe (SPZP-2000) in San Francisco. California, USA in October 2000.

    He became a Multiple Golden Sponsor of SPZPs.

    He established the “Steeve and Helen Kay Health Care Fund for RIT Sayas and Sayamas”. The balance fund has recently been handed over to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation.

    He and Kay Family Foundation donated US $200,000+ for RIT-related causes.

    He hosted several gatherings in the USA and Yangon.

    U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70)

    Zaw Min entered 1st BE as Roll Number One (Top student). He was selected Luyechun for Inlay Khaung Daing Camp in the Summer of 1965.

    In the USA, he studied Electronics and also changed his name to Zaw Min Nawaday.

    He was the main author of the article covering the six years at RIT. U Ohn Khine was the co-author.

    The article was first posted in the Google Group for “Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65”. I edited the article.

    The revised versions have been published in (a) the Golden Jubilee Magazine for the combined group (b) RIT Updates and (c) hlamin.com website

    Benny Tan (Tan Eu Beng, M70)

    Benny beside Steeve’s picture
    • Founding member of RIT Alumni International
    • Hosted meetings of the San Francisco Bay Area Alumni including the one that led to the formation of RIT Alumni International
    • Wore multiple hats for SPZP-2000 — Golden Sponsor; Co-chair of the Working Committee; Designer of SPZP Banner, commemorative Mug, Clock & T-shirt
    • Multiple Golden Sponsor for SPZPz and for his class gatherings.
    • Wrote “Traveling through the Time Machine”.

    U Ohn Khine (M70)

    U Ohn Khine
    • Volunteer for SDYF, SPZP-2012, Shwe YaDu 2014, SPZP-2016, & HMEE Projects
    • Co-authored “RIT Days (1964 – 70)”.
    • Translated Section One of HMEE-2012 into English.
    • Summarized Section Two of HMEE-2012.
    • We compiled the CD Supplement for HMEE book
    • He offered me rides during my visits to Yangon (especially to attend meetings for SPZP-2012, SPZP-2016 and HMEE-2012).

    M70 Class Photo†

    M70
    • U Aung Khin (Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department) moved to Canada
    • U Win Kyaing, U Tin Hlaing (M59) & U Aung Hla Tun are GBNF
    • U Phone Myint is enjoying post-retirement by visiting his children overseas.
    • U Tin Htut (M60, Past Captain and Gold of RUBC) taught I
    • Cho Aye is now
    • Benny
    • U

    1st BE Intake in 1964

    Most members of the group graduated in 1970.
    Some left RIT before graduation.
    A few took Sabbatical and graduated a year or two later.

    U Ohn Khine (M70) reports the Gone But Not Forgotten (GBNF) list periodically.

    Each entry contains

    • Name
    • Roll Number in 1st BE
    • Major/Discipline
    • Date of demise (if known)
    • Other name (e.g. nickname)

    As of June 30, 2023, there were 125 entries in the GBNF list.

    • Cho Aye3 Mech 7/8/18
    • Peter Pe 4 Mech
    • Victor Jones 41 Civil
    • Ne Win 45 Textile
    • Tin Ohn 49 Mech
    • Naing Win 54 Mech
    • Mya Daung 58 Mech(Agri)
    • Lay Myint 60 Civil
    • Khin Maung Pun 66 Petro ?/10/16
    • Myo Thaw 68 5/15
    • Aung Kyan 71 Mech (Auto)
    • Thet Win 75 Mech
    • Hla Min 82 Elec Pauk Si
    • Mg Mg Myint 93 Mech Japu Sein
    • Soe Tint 94 Civil Nevil Kyi Mg
    • Mg Mg Than 97 Mech 8/7/18
    • Le Le Win 100 Mech Lilian Tha Mya
    • Nan Lwin 102 Elec
    • Myat Khine 104 Mech Tha Aye
    • Han Kyu Pe 110 Archi
    • Than Tun 114 Mech (Agri) Ivan Win
    • Aung Win 120 Chemical
    • Aye Thin 122 Chemical
    • Chit Khin 124 Archi 23/6/15
    • Than Sein 130 Mech
    • Aung Kyi 135 Mech
    • Khin Mg Saan 139 Civil
    • Ko Ko Tin 141 Mech Winston Hla Mg
    • Saw Pae Pae 143 Met
    • Win Maw (George Hock) 146
    • Ma Yin Shwe Tun 150 Textile
    • Myat Myat Moe 154 Archi
    • Ma Htay Htay Win 158 Chemical Marlene Mg Mg
    • Than Myint 168 23/1/13
    • Myint Thein 172 Mech
    • Phone Thwin 177 Mining
    • Than Nyunt Win 181 Civil
    • Khin Mg Kyu 183 Mech
    • Win Thein 185 Elec
    • Ma Khin Mya Oo 188 Met
    • Kyaw Naing 191 Elec Sin Gwan
    • Mg Mg Yu 194 Mech (Agri)
    • Tin Aye 195 Mech (Agri)
    • Htike Nyan 198 Elec 26/10/15
    • Aung Khin 203 Mech
    • Kyi May Nwae 206 Met
    • Tin Win 209 Chemical
    • Myat Swe (Myint Swe) 215 Electrical 22/3/15
    • Kyaw Win Mhan 234 Arch
    • Ma Yaw Ze 243 Chemical
    • Hla Shwe 247 Mech Lar Gyi
    • Min Thant 254 Elec Maurice Bo Ni
    • Tin Win 256 Mevh Arthur
    • Aung Htay 277 Civil
    • Michael Shein Myint 280 Chemical
    • Mar Mar 292 Civil
    • Thein Htun 304 Mech 29/8/18
    • Mg Mg Oo 312 PP
    • Myo Tint 313 PP Stanley Hla
    • Mg Mg Swe 314 Mech ?/1/18
    • Min Swe 318 Mech
    • Ye Myint Aung 323 Mech
    • Toe Nyunt 326 Elec
    • Tin Ko 330 Met
    • Aung Law Ha 342 Mn 30/1/16
    • Ma Tin Tin 348 Mech (Agri)
    • Kyaw Swe Thet 354 Mech 2017
    • Kan Myint 371 Mech
    • Aye Than 385 Elec 25/4/16
    • Khin Soe 388
    • Khin Than Win 389 Textile 3/9/18
    • Maung Maung 398 Textile 31/8/14
    • John Krasu 402 Mar 2016
    • Shein Kee Gae 407 Elec
    • Ohn Kywe 408 Elec
    • Kan Win 409 Mech
    • Win Aung 413
    • Onward Taw 419
    • Sein Sein 418 Textile 19/2/15
    • Tin Oo 428 Archi
    • Nay Daung 435 Civil
    • Oo Myint 445 Mining
    • Khin Mg Shwe 446 Kenneth
    • Thein Han 463 Elec 18/5/12
    • Hla Kyaing 467 Mining
    • Tin Win 475
    • Zaw Nyein 482 Tex 10/2/14
    • Myo Nyunt Saw 485 Elec
    • Mya Thaung 487 Mining Ye Baw Pae Hlaw
    • Sai Maung Lin 73 Mech
    • Maung Myint 332 Tex
    • Htay Lwin 367
    • Stanley Lim 51
    • Aye Win Kyaw 169 Civil
    • Zin Maung Oo 328 Civil
    • Khin Nyo 352
  • RIT Days (1965 – 70)

    RIT Days (1965 – 70)

    by Zaw Min & Ohn Khine

    Updated : June 2025

    Editor : Hla Min

    Ko Zaw Min (EP70)

    Zaw Min (Standing 2nd from Right)
    • Matriculated from St. Albert’s High School, Maymyo in 1964.
    • Had a very high ILA (Intelligence Level Aggregate)
    • Admitted to the first ever 1st BE as Roll Number One.
    • Selected RIT Luyechun for the 1965 Summer Camp at Inlay.
    • His outspoken remarks about the Camp drew the ire of higher authorities.
    • Graduated with Electrical Power in 1970.
    • After working in the industry, he moved to the USA.
    • Studied Electronics in the USA
    • Added “Nawaday” to his name.
    • Shared his memories of RIT to the Google group of “the Combined Intake of 1st BE for 1964 and 1965”.

    Ko Ohn Khine (M70)

    Ohn Khine
    • Matriculated from St. Peter’s High School, Mandalay in 1964.
    • Took a combination of Science and Arts subjects
    • Had good ILA score to be admitted to RIT.
    • Graduated with Mechanical Engineering in 1970
    • Worked for Heavy Industries Corporation
    • Created and maintained the the Google group of “the Combined Intake of 1st BE for 1964 and 1965”.
    • Volunteer for SPZP-2012, SPZP-2016, HMEE-2012, HMEE-2018, Swel Daw Yeik Foundation and several RIT-related activities.
    • Gave me rides during my visits to Yangon.
    • Co-author
    • Filled the “missing pieces” in Ko Zaw Min’s accounts.

    Ko Hla Min (EC69)

    Hla Min
    • Matriculated from St. Paul’s High School in 1963.
    • Stood 7th in the whole of Burma
    • Received Collegiate Scholarship
    • Top in the Science Option of I.Sc.(A) examination
    • Admitted to the first ever 2nd BE in November 1964 as Roll Number One.
    • Selected Luyechun for the Inlay Khaung Daing Camp in the Summer of 1965
    • Graduated with Electrical Communications in 1969.
    • Started the “RIT Alumni International Newsletter” in 1989 and have maintained it for 26 years.
    • Administrator or Moderator of selected Facebook pages.
    • Own web site
      hlamin.com
    • Had the honor to edit the draft version of “Memories by Ko Zaw Min Nawaday & Ko Ohn Khine” which was first posted as Google Docs for the Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65.
    • Published the edited document as a series of articles in “RIT Alumni International Newsletter and Updates”.

    Introduction

    Intakes in 1964

    There were three intakes at the Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) when the new education system started in 1964. Eligible students were admitted to the 1st BE, 2nd BE and 3rd BE classes. They are also known as

    • Class of ’70 (1st BE Intake in 1964)
      Matriculates were admitted using the ILA
    • Class of ’69 (2nd BE Intake in 1964)
      Those who had passed I.Sc.(A) with Science Option were admitted in order of merit
    • Class of ’68 (3rd BE Intake in 1964)
      Those who had passed I.Sc.(B) with Science Option were admitted in order of merit

    The RIT Rector was U Yone Mo and the Registrar was U Soe Thein.

    The Class of ’70

    It comprised of the first year intake students in 1964. There were 494 registered students, of which 67 were female. Most graduated in 1970. Some took sabbatical for a year or two. A few left RIT before graduation. The GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten) reached 138 at the end of May 2025.

    Matriculates entered the first ever 1st BE classes. ILA (Intelligence Level Aggregate) was used for the vetting of applicants. In the system, a score of 1 to 20 was assigned to map the marks for each subject. The ILA score (rather than the raw marks) was used to determine the eligibility of the students admitted to an institute.

    Under the old education system, matriculates had to attend I.Sc. (A) classes. There were restrictions on the subjects taken at Inter classes to be eligible for Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, etc. For example, one must pass the I.Sc. with at least 50 marks in Maths, Physics and Chemistry to attend the 1st Year Engineering Classes (3rd BE in the new system).

    Under the new education system, there were no restrictions on the subjects taken in Matric exam. As such, many students who passed Matric with combined Science and Arts subjects and even those with pure Arts subjects were able to attend RIT. For example, Ko Ohn Khine passed the Matric exam with an odd combination of Maths, Chemistry and Geography.

    Posts

    • 1st BE (1964 – 65)
    • 2nd BE (1965 – 66)
    • 3rd BE (1966 – 67)
    • 4th BE (1967 – 68)
    • 5th BE (1968 – 69)
    • 6th BE (1969 – 70)

  • Classes (1973 – 93)

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    1973

    M73 Hovercraft
    • U Hla Win (M)
    • U Khin Maung Cho (M)
    • Dr. Myint Thein (M)
    Myint Thein
    • Dr. L Sein Myint (M)
    • U Myo Myint (M)
    • U Hla Win (M)
    • U Aung Moung (M, GBNF)
    • U San Lin (EC) & Daw Hla Myint (EC)
    San Lin
    • U Htun Aung Kyaw (EC)
    • U Kyi Aung (ChE)
    • Dennis Mackey (C)
    • George Peters (C)
    • U Nyunt Htay (Met)
    Nyunt Htay

    1974

    • Dr. Htay Lwin Nyo (EP, GBNF)
    • Sai Aung Thu Yein (EC, GBNF)
    • U Myint Swe (EP)
    • Daw San San Swe (EC)
    • Daw Khin Swe Oo (EC)
    • U Nay Win Maw (E)
    • U Myo Thant (E)
    • U Maung Maung Thant (M)
    • U Sann Aung (M, GBNF)
    • Charlie Than (M)

    1975

    M75
    • Maurice Chee (M)
    • U Win Khaing (M, GBNF)
    • U Than Po (M, GBNF)
    • U Tin Myint (M, GBNF)
    • U Khin Maung Win (M)
    • U Ye Lin Oo (M)
    • U Ohn Win (M)
    • Daw Mar Mar Yee (M)
    Mar Mar Yee
    • U Mya Thwin (EP)
    • U Sein Tin (EC)

    1976

    • U Khin Maung Zaw (EC)
    • U Wynn Myint Aung (EC, GBNF)
    • U Sein Myint (EC)
    • U Thura Thant Zin (M)
    • U Aye Tun (M)
    • U Khin Maung Aye (M)

    1980

    • U Tin Myint (M)
    • U Lu Aye (M)

    1981

    • U Tin Aung Win (C)

    1983

    Gordon & Lillian Kaung
    • Gordon Kaung (Kaung Kaung Oo, M)
    • U Kyaw Than Aung (M, GBNF)
    • U Kyaw Myint (M)
    • U Kyi Shane (M)
    • Lillian Kaung (EC)
    • U Tha Hlaing (EC)
    • U Thaung Tin (EC)
    • U Shein Soe Myint (EC, GBNF)
    • U Thein Htut (EC)

    1984

    • U Ko Ko Zin (M)
    • U Aung Myint Oo (EC)
    • Daw Khin Khin Hla (C)

    1985

    • Saw Yu Ket (Edward, EC)
    • U Tun Mra Gyaw (EC)
    • U San Oo (EC)
    • U Tin Tun (EC)

    1986

    • U Tin Maung Win (C)
    • U Nyunt Than (M)
    • U Thaung Nyunt (M)
    • Daw Cho Cho Thwin (E)

    1987

    • U San Lin (M)
    • Eng Shwe Ho (M)
    • Andrew (M)

    1992

    • Nan Khin Nwe (M)
    • Daw May Than Htay (M)

    1993

    • U Mg Mg Win (Mg Yit, EC)
    • U Soe Min Oo (EC)
  • Classes (1968 – 72)

    Classes (1968 – 72)

    by Hla Min

    Updated : June 2025

    1968

    C68

    U Myat Htoo
    • U Myat Htoo
    • U Myint Soe (GBNF)

    ChE68

    U Ohn Maung
    • U Ohn Maung (GBNF)

    A68

    • Sai Yee Laik (GBNF)
    • U Yu Swan (M68)
    • U Aung Khin (EP68)
    • U Tun Aung (Jeffery, EC68, GBNF)
    • U Soe Myint Lwin (EP68, GBNF)
    • U Khin Maung Lay (Henry, T68)

    1969

    M69

    U Aung Min
    M69
    • U Aung Min
    • Ivan Lee (Khin Maung Oo)
    • U Htay Aung
    • U Tin Aung Win (Oscar)

    C69

    C69
    • Daw Myint Myint
    • U San Lin (GBNF)
    • U Han Sein (GBNF)

    EC EP 69

    EE69
    • U Sein Myint (EP)
    • Sai Kham Pan (EP)
    • U Hla Min (EC)
    • U Tun Aung Gyaw (EC)
    • U Toung (EC)
    • U Kyaw Soe (EC, GBNF)
    • U Aung Thu Yein (EC, GBNF)
    • U Chit Tin (EC, GBNF)

    A69

    A69
    • U Aung Khin
    • U Myo Tun (Bobby, Uzin)
    • Tobias Kittim Ku (GBNF)
    • U Tin Maung Hla (GBNF)

    T69

    • Naw Mu Mu Aye
    • Saw Yu Tint
    • U Hla Shwe (GBNF)
    • U Hla Tun (GBNF)
    • Jimmy Kyin (GBNF)

    1970

    M70
    • Dr. Myo Khin (C)
    • U Thaung Sein (Steeve Kay, EC, GBNF)
    • Benny Tan (Yu Beng, M)
    • Tommy Shwe (GBNF)
    • Peter Pe (GBNF)
    • U Cho Aye (M, GBNF)
    • U Tha Htay (M70)
    • U Ohn Khine (M)
    • U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP)
    • Daw Tin Tin Myint (Emma, ChE)
    • U Ye Myint (ChE)
    • Daw Thynn Thynn Khaing (Janet, EP)
    • Daw Than Yi (Maubin Ma Shwe Than, EP)
    • Daw Tin Myint Oo (Rosy Tin Maung, May Lin Set Hmu, M)
    • Sai Thein Maung (C)

    1971

    M71
    • U Saw Lin (C, GBNF)
    • Daw Mai Khin Nyunt (Rosie Gyi, ChE)
    • U Khin Maung Myint (ChE)
    • U Khin Maung Myint (M)
    • U Myint Than (M)
    • U Myint Toe (M)
    • U Myint Thin (M, GBNF)
    • U Win Kyaw (Met)

    1972

    • U Thein Aung (Met)
    • U Thein Aung (M)
    • U Wynn Htain Oo (M)
    • U Myint Pe (M)
    • U Aung Myaing (ChE)
    • Daw Gyn Yu (ChE)
    • Trixie Tan (ChE)
    • U Myo Myint Pe (ChE, GBNF)
    • U Tun Shwe (ChE)
    • U Kyaw Myint (T)
    • Daw Sandi Hlaing (T)
    • U Kyaw Myint (EP)