Pamela's Story

At One Grand Reunion, from left to right, Ayoma Fernando ’82, Pamela Francis Kiehl ’66, and Premali Wijenaike Munasinha ’81.

Researching this story has been a fascinating journey connecting me with Sri Lanka alumnae, Wilson past presidents, staff, and Sweeney’s family and friends. It also piqued my curiosity about The Kampong, leading to a visit there in November. Also, in November, Premali and Chethika arranged a free-flowing Zoom for seven of the eight Sweeney scholars (all but Natasha on hospital duty) and me stretching over several time zones — Bangalore/ Colombo; Singapore/Perth; and NYC/Sarasota — a distinct highlight of the project.
A week after arriving in Colombo in August 1975 (my husband was the US Embassy Press Officer), Bill and I were invited to Kandy to visit the American Cultural Center, attend the annual Perahera (a magnificent procession featuring Kandyan dancers, Buddha’s “sacred tooth,” and 76 ornately decorated elephants), and dine with the local Lions Club.

To my right at dinner was a charming gentleman, Chandra Wijenaike, who took great interest in my story, soon learning that I’d attended a small women’s college. After a good deal of probing (“you’ve never heard of it”), I told him where. His response: “I knew it! My niece just graduated from Wilson.” Soon after, I invited Nelu Senanayake ’75, her mother Nalini, and their neighbor, Chandi Amerasinghe ’79, for tea. Nelu left shortly for graduate school at Cambridge, and Chandi for Wilson. Forty-some years later, I’m following up.

Other Sri Lankans attended Wilson over the years, so when planning a trip in 2006, I asked Alumnae Relations for a list of those in Colombo. Six or seven attended a party hosted by Embassy friends. At dinner the next evening, a former Sri Lankan cultural assistant at the US embassy remarked out of the blue, “It’s wonderful what that Wilson College has done for the women of Sri Lanka.” She didn’t know I was an alum. Later I tried to learn more: I met student Mariza Cooray ‘10 and Chaitri ’92 (when she received her AAWC award) and arranged to meet Premali at a reunion, not knowing she was the daughter of my dinner companion of decades earlier. I also heard about a woman who provided scholarships to Sri Lankan girls.

Finally, in March 2020, Chaitri posted a Facebook tribute commemorating Sweeney’s passing 25 years earlier. I began researching and, with Hankey Archive Director Amy Ensley’s help, learned enough about Sweeney to think her story and that of the Sri Lanka students was worth pursuing.