Beyond Graduation: The Community That Connects Generations

Nearly thirty years apart, Donald and Benjamin Lyngdoh experienced very different versions of KIS. Yet both found the same thing: a community whose impact extends far beyond the years spent on campus.

When Donald Lyngdoh (Class of 2002) first arrived at Kodaikanal International School as a student in the 1990s, he could not have known how deeply the school would shape his life. Years later, after building a life elsewhere, he returned, not just to visit, but as a parent and educator, hoping his own children might experience the same sense of belonging that had defined his time at KIS.

This year, as Donald, his wife and their children prepare to leave KIS, their story offers a rare perspective on the school's enduring character. Their experiences are separated by decades. The student body has changed, Kodaikanal itself has evolved, and international education looks very different from when Donald was a student. Yet when father and son reflect on their years here, they return to the same idea again and again: community.

For Donald, that realisation came when he returned to campus for the first time after sixteen years away.

"As soon as we visited with my family, when we left, that's when I really thought, you know what, I think we'll come back, not only to visit, but hopefully to teach and give my kids the experience of studying at KIS."

That decision would eventually bring the family back to Kodaikanal and allow his children to experience KIS for themselves.

Arriving from China, Benjamin (Class of 2026) quickly noticed that life at KIS felt different from any school he had attended before.

"Back in China, my relationship with teachers was very professional. You didn't really go to them to talk about what was happening in your life. Here, it's different. You can go to any teacher and have a conversation. They'll help you figure out whatever you're going through or even just have a chat."

For Benjamin, one of the most remarkable aspects of KIS was the way relationships extended beyond classrooms and scheduled activities. "People choose to come together. People choose to spend time together." Whether meeting friends at the Covered Courts, joining a sports practice or spending a Saturday morning on a trail, connection was woven into daily life.

For Donald, that spirit is one of the constants that has endured across generations.

"Thirty years apart is a long time," he reflects. "But the relationships you forge at KIS are still there." Those relationships often continue long after students leave the hilltop campus. Donald laughs as he describes a familiar experience shared by many alumni. "When you're travelling somewhere in the world, one of the first things you think is: Is there a KIS person there?"

The KIS network stretches across countries and continents, creating connections that endure through careers, families, and decades of life beyond school. It is one of the reasons so many alumni remain closely connected to one another and why some, like Donald, eventually find their way back.

While much of their conversation centered on relationships, both father and son also pointed to shared experiences that helped build those bonds. Hiking featured prominently in both of their memories. Shortly after the family moved to Kodaikanal, Donald encouraged Benjamin to join a hike. What began as a gentle suggestion became one of the defining experiences of Benjamin's time at KIS.

"The rest is history," Donald says with a smile.

Benjamin went on to become a hiking leader and earn multiple hiking awards, but what he remembers most is not the recognition. "You spend six or seven hours together on a Saturday morning. The human connection is so great."  For him, hiking embodied something uniquely KIS: bringing together students who might never otherwise spend time with one another and creating space for deeper friendships to form.

Sports, music, field trips, outdoor education and community events all serve a similar purpose. They create opportunities for students to step beyond their usual circles and discover new connections.

Donald sees this as part of a wider culture of trust that defines life at KIS. As a parent, he appreciated knowing that his children were growing up in a community where responsibility was shared and where students looked out for one another. Now, as Benjamin graduates and prepares for university, he joins the same alumni community his father entered decades earlier. His classmates are heading to destinations across the world, carrying with them the friendships and experiences they built in Kodaikanal. The paths ahead may be different, but the connections remain.

When asked what advice they would give future KIS families, both return to a similar message.

Donald encourages students and parents to embrace the experience for what it is, rather than comparing it to the past."The tangible things are different," he says. "The things you can't see, the relationships, the emotions, the memories, those are what matter."

Benjamin's advice is even simpler. "Just take it all in."

As the Lyngdoh family leaves KIS, they do so having experienced the school from multiple perspectives: as students, as parents, as educators and now as alumni once again.

Their story is a reminder that while schools inevitably evolve, some things endure. Buildings change. Programmes grow. New generations arrive. But nearly thirty years apart, Donald and Benjamin discovered the same thing at KIS: a community built on relationships, trust and belonging.

And that is something that extends far beyond graduation.