Jonia Mendonca Guterres

It is with profound sadness that we announce the accidental death of Jonia Mendonca Guterres on 2 June, 2007 and with sincere sympathy that we extend our condolences to her family and friends.

Jonia was the first recipient of the Blair Forster Memorial Scholarship offered by Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong (LPC UWC HK). She was selected on LPC UWC HK's behalf by the Blair Forster Memorial Trust (BFMT) in 2004 and graduated with an International Baccalaureate (IB) and UWC Diploma in 2006.

Jonia subsequently received a full scholarship from and was attending St. Lawrence University in New York and was working at a camp for the summer.

For information about the accident, please click here

Jonia was chosen from a wide range of applicants as the first ever United World College student from East Timor. It was immediately apparent that Jonia was special during selection for the Blair Forster Memorial Trust (BFMT) scholarship. Her application, the recommendation of her Principal in East Timor, and her outgoing and-there's no other word to describe it-'joyful' personality during the interview, all suggested Jonia had the potential to be worthy of the scholarship and an excellent representative of her country.

Despite many setbacks such as an interrupted education due to the violent conflict in East Timor, late arrival to take up her scholarship due to visa delays, and limited English upon arrival, Jonia quickly made LPC UWC HK and Hong Kong itself her home and began to contribute to the communities around her and beyond, fully living up to expectations and more. While it is impossible to include everything that Jonia threw herself into, we hope by highlighting a few that we can communicate what most impressed us about her.

Jonia had a fascination for languages and cultures. She was fluent in Tetun and Bahasa Indonesian and conversant in Portuguese. At LPC UWC HK, she quickly became competent in English and was also learning Spanish unofficially. Jonia's teachers and peers were impressed by her self-discipline, hard work, diligence, excellent progress, sparkly attitude, endless energy, constant curiosity, active involvement, high levels of motivation, willingness to challenge herself, wonderful sense of humor, and perhaps most of all, that musical laughter and unforgettable smile.

In addition to her love of languages and cultures, Jonia particularly enjoyed theatre, dance, and music. While at LPC UWC HK Jonia's peers' recognition of her abilities was evidenced in their choosing her to be part of a team of directors who produced a full length play that was performed at the Fringe theatre in Hong Kong. She was open and supportive of others in collaborative work, and engaged enthusiastically in group projects, bringing a bright positive approach to all of her work. She took part in the voluntary "24 Hour Drama"-which students scripted, practiced, and performed within a one day period. Her performance in "Woza Albert" was no less than brilliant. She was involved in many extra performances on campus, both in an attempt to share her own culture as well as to experience that of others.

Jonia was very conscious of her community back home in East Timor and helped to raise awareness of the needs of students in East Timor by speaking to a Rotary Club; at a fundraising event and being Master of Ceremonies at the opening of a spiritual center dedicated to Blair Forster. She was also interviewed by the main local English paper, the South China Morning Post, and again, was a credit to herself, helping to educate others about the world's then youngest nation. She also took on the important role as 'big sister' for subsequent generations of Blair Forster scholars from East Timor, who are now located in the US, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Gaining a full scholarship to attend St Lawrence University in the U.S.A. was a mark of her tenacity in the face of having had such long periods either out of school or seriously disrupted education as a result of the troubles in East Timor.

Jonia was highly respected both at her previous school and in Hong Kong. She got on well with everyone, no matter their culture, age, or status. The BFMT was most impressed with her determination and positive attitude. Whether in academics, service, physical activities or creative pursuits, Jonia threw herself into everything she did with enthusiasm. Her consistent cheerfulness and helpfulness, bubbly energy and vitality combined with her strong social skills made her an excellent ambassador of East Timor. Her passing is a huge loss to family, friends, communities, and country, but she has left us a warm legacy of memories and inspiration. We hope you will contribute your own, to help us remember and honor her.

Click here to find out what you can do to help remember Jonia's life.

Click here to read memories of Jonia by visiting the condolence page of the St. Lawrence University website

Click here to submit your own memories and reflections of Jonia's short, but no less inspiring life.