Alumni return to campus for PolyConnect

This fall, Charles Koch '75 and Cindy Lam ’02 visited campus for the first two PolyConnect lunches of the year. In October, Charles talked to Upper School students about his career in business development at Honda. A dozen students listened to him explain his career path, which led him from an economics and art history double major at UCLA to the film industry before turning to advertising at the encouragement of his sister, Nancy Koch Chulay '77. He spent many years in the agency business until joining the in-house marketing and product planning teams at Honda, where he has worked for nearly 20 years and is currently the manager of new business development. As the large project leader for the AcuraLink and HondaLink connected car systems, Charles presented the latest technology that is in the works for cell phones interfacing with the car dashboard, which led to a lively discussion about security and liability concerns. Closing with a piece of advice, Charles encouraged students to hone their presentation skills, stating that the ability to sell your idea or product is essential no matter what field you choose to enter.

This month, a group of musically-inclined Poly high school students attended the second PolyConnect lunch of the year to hear Cindy Lam '02 discuss her career in music performance. Cindy began by outlining the normal trajectory for a professional musician. In contrast, her own journey, which included setbacks, from lacking professional instruction to injuring her arm in a car accident as a college freshman. Her elbow was cut deeply, damaging a nerve that almost jeopardized her piano-playing career. After spending months feeling discouraged and doubting her future in music, "I got tired of feeling sorry for myself," Cindy stated. She buckled down and resumed practicing, earning her way into the USC Thornton School of Music. Upon graduation, Cindy began teaching piano lessons and eventually was asked to play with professional musicians she met while teaching their children. The more she played, the more requests Cindy received to accompany artists, leading her to pursue music performance full time. Grateful for the relationships she built in high school, Cindy reflected, "I feel like every good thing that has happened has been connected in some way to someone I know through Poly." She offered advice, about both musical and life in general, in response to students’ questions, and she assured them that there is no singular “right way” to pursue a career.

Learn more about PolyConnect.