people and everyone is a stranger, and so I really wanted to then transfer to a small college that is in the middle of nowhere where I would know everyone and that’s when I transferred from London to Bard College in upstate New York. It was just a wonderful experience and I’m so glad I did it. The friends that I made at Bard, like Woodstock, I’m still friends with, and being in London I wouldn’t have gotten the same experience.
What are some of your favorite moments from Woodstock? There are just so many, I was very fortunate to be able to be there. One I remember was the huge hill that goes up to school from the dormitories to the classrooms and I have so many memories of climbing up to school in the rain, the heat through the woods, and hearing the monkeys jump onto the tin roofs. Of course, hiking in the Himalayas, long walks through the bazaar, and then also being taught by very dedicated teachers who are always available and having talks with your dorm parents while sipping hot Indian chai. So many moments made it wonderful.
Did you participate in any extracurriculars at Woodstock? When I was there I learned to play the sitar with a teacher called Mr. Singh and I used to go on hikes whenever I could. I remember this very memorable hike to Himkund which is in the Himalayas, and we stayed at this gurudwara. The next day, we climbed up Himkund and it was the first time I had seen snow because you hike up the mountain and there’s a snowline. We climbed to the top of the mountain and there was this beautiful, crystal clear lake and right next to the lake I saw these footprints of a snow leopard and it was just amazing. I will never forget that hike.
If you could tell current Woodstock students one thing, what would it be? Most definitely, you should enjoy your time at Woodstock, go on many hikes, and also look around at your classmates because they’re going to be your friends for life!
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Jamie Alter ’99 Interview by: Araan Suares, Class of 2021 Jamie Alter, Class of 1999, a successful YouTuber, actor, social media influencer, and a sports journalist, talks about his life experiences and journey. Jamie is the son of the late actor and Padma Shri, Tom Alter ’68, and is a fourth-generation American born in India. His familial ties to Woodstock stretch back generations with nearly 30 of his relatives having attended Woodstock. Jamie attended Woodstock for 8 years after which he matriculated to the college of Wooster in Ohio. He has been a sports journalist, worked at notable organisations such as ESPNcricinfo, Cricbuzz, Cricketnext, Times of India, and cofounded MytwoCents.com. He recently started a successful career as a YouTuber and social media influencer. Jamie is also an actor and has acted in three Hindi-language films, as well as in the highly acclaimed Amazon Prime Video web series, Afsos. Read our Interview below with Jamie Alter. What was it like for you to move to America after Woodstock? How did you discover the sense of belonging and what did that process look like? Being an Indian you sort of realize, what you are, how you speak, and what you’re familiar with. My mother was very keen that I go to the states for college to not necessarily tap into, but understand that side of our lineage. So it was pretty much a no-brainer after Woodstock that I would go to a college in the United States. And my mom being a teacher, she groomed me for that process. I think I was a sophomore in Woodstock when we were already heading out to the states to apply to colleges and look at campuses, which at that time, I felt was a little early, however, in hindsight, it’s good that I did that because by the time that I got accepted, I knew exactly what I was going into. Whereas the majority of my graduating class in Woodstock didn’t know where they were going in terms of a physical campus or familiarity. So having seen the campus that I eventually got admitted to, the College of Wooster in Ohio, I knew exactly where I was going. Going there meant getting accustomed to a new culture because it was in many many ways new. I had gone to the states sporadically down the years for
