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Sue Dalton

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Head shot of a white middle aged woman with short brown hair wearing glasses and smiling
Sue Dalton

Sue Dalton

Nationality: Australian and British

 

How many years did you attend YIS?

I was at YIS for just over one year between 1969 - 1970. I was in Grade 3 at the time.

 
Where and what did you study when you left YIS? 
 
I finished my primary and secondary education in England before going to Kings College London. I studied for my Bachelor of Dental Surgery and qualified as a dentist in 1988.


Where are you currently based, and what is your occupation?
 
I’m a dentist based in Queensland, Australia.


Which teachers played an important role in your time at YIS?

The only teacher I clearly remember is my Grade 3 teacher Mrs.Tumalak.


What is most memorable about your time at YIS? 

The friends I made during that year. We were a very social group and I kept in touch with two of them, Holly Yopp and Andrea Helm, as pen pals for a few years after I left Japan. As luck would have it I ended up seeing Holly again when we were high school students in England. 


What is your most memorable moment from your time at YIS?

The most memorable activity was the class play that we performed for the rest of the primary school. I remember it was ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and I fell into the baby cot before it even began. I was mortified, but it was very entertaining for everyone else.
 

Looking back now would you do anything differently? 

I remember talking longingly of going ‘home’, back to England. Mum would always tell me to enjoy being in Japan as it was a wonderful place. With hindsight I see how right she was.
 

Which aspects of your YIS education helped prepare you the most for your current professional and personal life? 

Although I was still very young, I think the fact that I had friends who were from different countries and cultures gave me a broad outlook on life and opened my mind to new things. My experience at YIS has helped me many times throughout my life.
 

How did attending YIS influence who you are now?

There was a culture of gender equality and opportunity at YIS that I now realize wasn’t so prevalent elsewhere at the time. Of course I wasn't aware of it because I was so young, but looking back now I see how it shaped my thinking.