Mrs. Fuengsin Trafford, Graduate of Chulalongkorn
1958 (B.A.), 1960 (B.Ed.)
Fuengsin possessed a very capable and quick mind, and was particularly strong in her literary and linguistic ability. She passed the entrance examination for Chulalongkorn University and started her undergraduate studies at the age of 17. She chose the Liberal Arts programme, which involved study of Thai and European languages and also Pali. She subsequently received a B.A. in Liberal Arts in 2501 B.E. (1958 C.E.). She went on to complete a B.Ed. degree in Education.
Below is the cover of an alumni book for the 2497-2501 cohort of the Faculty of Arts, which provides single page biographies for more than 100 people, below which is the entry for Fuengsin. This cohort usually meets twice a year, an indication of the vitality of Chula’s alumni association.
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In this photo, data is given for: date of birth, name of husband, name of son (Fuengsak), degrees, date of passing. The photo underneath her two portraits shows on the left Mrs Vasana Kamkoon, a long-time friend, who very kindly furnished a copy of the book for my family. Underneath is the memorial stone that sits on the site of her ashes – her maiden name of Sarayutpitag is given in Thai. [Note that the year of her passing should be given as 2538]. |
Fuengsin had a natural ability to teach and took up her first post in English language instruction at Thonburi Technical Institute and after a couple of years decided to further her studies abroad. She obtained a UNESCO grant and being somewhat adventurous she initially intended applying to study in Moscow before a friend [reported to have been from the US embassy] persuaded her to reconsider. Hence she departed for the UK in 1963 and undertook studies in teaching English as a foreign language at the Institute of Education, London. She studied for 9 months and received a diploma after which she returned to Thailand for a few months to teach at the Institute in Thonburi so as to fulfil some conditions in her contract with the Thai government before she was allowed to emigrate to the UK.