Before the pandemic, 69ers had Monthly Breakfast Gatherings usually at Taw Win Hnin Si (Royal Rose).
Some celebrate Birthdays & Wedding Anniversaries at the gathering.
Han Sein, Uzin Bobby and several 69ers took photos and shared them on FB.
20 classmates left us in 2021. Some in the group photo — Toby, Thein Swe, Aye Lwin, Han Sein, Aung Gyi Shwe — are GBNF.
69er Group David, Aye Lwin, Oscar, Tin Maung Aye, Aye Thein
Aung Min & team organized a monthly meeting .
Win Boh (Robert, Australia) was a special guest at the meeting. Surinder Singh (Australia) had a schedule conflict.
Kyaw Nyunt brought back presents given by Fred Thetgyi (Philadephia) to the meeting, and organized a “Lucky Draw”.
Han Sein was happy testing special effects (e.g. to create “twins”) with his phone camera.
Tin Aung Win offered me car rides : to the meeting and back. On the way back, we chatted with Aye Lwin and Kyaw Zin on the car.
Aye Lwin was Secretary of RIT Mechanical Association and RIT Ah Nu Pyinnya Ah Thin. He was a member of the committee for printing and publishing Set Hmu Magazine (by Mechanical Engineering Association) and RIT Annual Magazine. He attended the 2015 Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles with his daughter and son.
Harry Tin Htut, Oscar, Aung Min, Uzin Bobby and Tin Maung Aye posted photos in “RIT69ers” and “RIT Updates” Facebook pages.
Received two Masters : one from RIT, another from Melbourne University
Spouse : Myeik Thu & Culinary Expert
Son & daughter — both successful
Taught at Rengsit University
Senior manager at a Refinery in Thailand
U Aung Myaing 1
After retirement, spending time with his daughter and grandchildren in California, USA.
Activities
Writes with the pen name “Maung Yin Maung (Okkpo)”. Not sure if the name is inspired by the first Burmese novel.
Author & Poet.
Wrote about his sayas (High School & Uni)
Co-author of the “Collection of Poems” by five RIT poets headed by Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War). One poem is about his beloved sweetheart and later his spouse Ma Gyn Yu (ChE72).
Book of poemsPoet
Organizer, Poetic Art Series & Musical Video (O Bei Myat Saya)
Organizer for book donation to the ChE Library & Training Component of YTU Library Modernization Project.
Per U Aung Myaing’s request, Saya U Maung Maung (George, ChE66) organized a fund raiser of US 3000+ for supporting the Training Component of the YTU Modernization Project.
Library
Recorded with the U-70 members at a professional studio. He has posted some of them on Facebook.
He & Daw Gyn Yu have provided assistance to sayas and alumni visiting Bangkok especially for medical treatment.
With Bagyee
Provided materials (paint, paper) to Pon Tu expert Bagyee Myat Myo Myint
Facilitator, Myanmar Association of Chemical Engineers; Knowlege sharing; Financial aid for needy ChE
Nicknames : Saya Maung (ဆရာမောင်), Ba La Gyi (ဗလကြီး၊ ဗလာကြီး)
Mr. RIT (Set Hmu Maung စက်မှုမောင်) in 1968. His mentor was Bohmu Maung Maung (1st Maung Bamar မောင်ဗမာ)
Hand over Salway to U Wynn Htain Oo (M72)
Joined Metallurgical Engineering Department after graduation
Retired from Lawrence Livermore Lab
Spouse : Daw San San Nyunt (Sandra, M76) : with help from Mech/Auto Saya
Three daughters
Activities
Editor, BAPS Newsletter
Member, SF Bay Area Alumni Group : Later formed RIT Alumni International
SF Bay Area Alumni Advisory Group
Founding member, RIT Alumni International, which hosted SPZP-2000
SPZP-2000 Organizers
Co-Emcee with U Myat Htoo at SPZP-2000
Associate Editor, Commemorative Issue of RIT Alumni Newsletter
Gatherings
SPZP-2012
SPZP-2012
Pu Zaw Pwe
At Pu Zaw Pwe
With Sayadaw U Jotika (EP73)
With Sayadaw U Jotika (EP73)
Welcoming Sayas, e.g U Soe Paing (EE, UCC)
U Soe Paing
With ChE Sayas & Alumni
Welcoming Saya U Aung Myaing (ChE72) and Daw Gyn Yu (ChE72)
Metallurgical Engineering Reunion
at 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in LA and iNapa Winery : Saya U Win Kyaw (Met71), Saya U Thein Aung (Met72), Saya U Nyunt Htay (Met73) and Ko Thiri Nyunt (Met)
Gathering at iNapa Winery 1Gathering at iNapa Winery 2Gathering at iNapa Winery 3
Luyechun (လူရည်ချွန်) for 9th & 10th standards. Present at the first Luyechun Camp was Thinchar Chun (သင်္ချာချွန်) Kyaw Myint (later T72 grad, MARB President)
Metallurgical Engineering
Nyunt Htay 2
Graduated from RIT in 1973 with Metallurgical Engineering
Taught Metallurgical Engineering
Retired as Associate Professor
Wrote articles about the Department, Sayas & Students
Passion
Poetry, writing & editing
Pen name : Maung Nyunt Htay (Ah Htet Min Hla) မောင်ညွန့်ဌေး (အထက်မင်းလှ)
Nyunt Htay 3
Editor, RIT Annual Magazine
Chief Editor, Myanmar Mudita Sar Saung
Myanmar Mudita
Contributor, Poetic Art Series
Co-author, Collection of Swel Daw Yeik Poems
Book of Poems
Family members
Two daughters
Several “Myee” cats.
Health
Had a brush with Covid-19 and received support from the alumni and/or SDYF.
Recovered fully
Some sayas, sayamas and 9 Metallurgy alumni (including Maung Tun, 69er) succumbed to Covid.
Memories
Book Presents
Gave me the Myanmar Mudita Sar Saung
Gave me an autographed copy of “Swel Daw Kabyar Collection” by him and four RIT Poets : Saya U Moe Aung, Saya U Aung Myaing, U Win Myint (M72) and U Toee Maung.
2015 RIT Alumni in Los Angeles
Attended the gathering with Metallurgy Saya U Win Kyaw (Met71),
Other Metallurgy attendees include Saya U Thein Aung (Met72), Sayama Dr. Naing Naing Aung (Met91) & Ko Thiri Nyunt (musician).
Gathering at iNapa Winery
At iNapa Winery
Metallurgy sayas and Ko Thiri Nyunt attended the Lunch, Dinner & Entertainment at iNapa winery hosted by Gordon Kaung (M83) and Lillian (EC83).
The attendees paid respect to Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi. On behalf of Bagyee Myat Myo Myint, U Nyunt Htay presented a Pon Tu to Sayagyi.
Micro-gathering in 2019
During my visit to Yangon in late 2019, U Nyunt Htay hosted a micro gathering at Shwe Bae.
U Win Kyaw picked me and Saya U Ye Myint (ChE70) to attend the gathering.
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 KaySecond 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.
Fundraiser Kyan Yay (Sugar Cane Drink) Htamane Food & Desserts
BAP Booth selling Sugar Cane Drink
Annual Dinner & Entertainment
Trips
Helped 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles
2015 Reunion 12015 Reunion 22015 Reunion 3
Active in Activities sponsored by SCBA (Southern California Burmese Associations)
Notes
Many members are RIT alumni. Some volunteered for SPZP-2000 held in San Francisco.
U Aung Khin (EP68) is Past Vice President
James Shwe (M76) is a Donor and EC.
U Khin Maung Lay (Henry) served as Emcee for BAPS gatherings and 2015 Alumni Reunion. He was Secretary of RIT Track & Field Association. He represented RIT in Soccer, Rowing and T&F. He loves Cooking.
I attended BASES gatherings as Guest of EC and/or Saya U Tin Htut.
Mra Tun (UCC, TAMPS) and Ricky Zaw are guitarists & vocalists. Ricky’s sister is Nyunt Nyunt Zaw (T68, GBNF).
2015 Reunion
NorCal RITAA invited selected BASES EC to the gatherings.
HlaMin 