As this year’s high school graduates fan out around the globe, it’s a time for reflection and excitement. While Shanghai American School’s legacy reaches back to pre-Communist era World War II, most schools have been around less than a decade. TALK sits down with two recent graduates from new schools and two retirees from SAS to find out how going to school in Shanghai affected their lives.

Lois Pringle (nee Bartel) attended Shanghai American School from 1946-1947. The daughter of missionaries, she lived in China for a total of five years, including three during the Japanese occupation during WWII. 

What was life like when you lived in Shanghai?

I attended 7th grade at SAS. The other years that I lived in Shanghai were 1939, 1940 and 1941. My one year at SAS was very memorable as it was post-World War II. After being under the Japanese watchful eye throughout the entire war, I felt the joy of freedom and therefore loved the entire year spent there.

Who was your favourite teacher?

My favourite teacher was our music teacher, Miss Alberta Hermann. She was so lady-like, almost frail, but she brought into my life music that I had never heard before. Some of her favourite tunes still pop into my head at unexpected times. One of her favourites went “man’s life a vapour filled with woes/he cuts a caper, down he goes”. I had a hard time with that as I thought man's life was more than a vapour, being a ‘mish kid’.

What did you do after you left China?

Following high school, I attended nursing school and received my RN, then went on to college and received my BS in Nursing Education. I have been back to Shanghai six times, one of which was for the 50th reunion of SAS.