Catching Up With Our Far Away Friend & Classmate, Dr. Adam Szalontai

By: Daniel McArdle-Jaimes

If you remember Adam Szalontai the way I did, Adam was the quietly dangerous guy that normally sat in the back of the classroom (and I am completely complimentary when I use the word “dangerous” in this context). He took really challenging courses and was known for having an understated charisma that was flippant and controlled at the same time. Adam was significantly more vigilant and observant than me, as he had this witty, endearing and masterful way of delivering a joke or saying something brilliant in class when called upon that stunned all of us, including his teachers.

I had Adam in a variety of English, theater and dramatic literature classes for years. And Grant Shibuya said it best…he (Adam) evolved considerably in high school—he was a shy eight grader who evolved into this clever and brilliant scholar that is admired by many.

These days, Adam lives in Budapest, has a girlfriend named Alanah and is on a journey to defend his doctorate in theoretical linguistics which I will let him explain to you later. In addition, Adam has a vast amount of education, research and studies that he dedicated his life to. Adam explained to me the reasoning for growing his impressive mustache, as he was tired of people thinking he was younger than he really is…but beneath the distinguished mustache, however, Adam’s Skype call reinforced the many memories I have of Adam. It reinforced that he is still a cynical and cunning jokester, modest and just damn brilliant in more ways than one.

The following excerpt summarizes our Skype call together:

1)     Remind all of us, how you even arrived at Mid-Pacific from Hungary?

My mother accepted a professorship position at the University of Hawaii at Manoa when I was in middle school. It presented me the opportunity to move from Szeged in Southern Hungary to Hawaii with my mom. She still works and lives in Manoa, and I try to visit her as often as I can.  

2)     Looking back, was going to Mid-Pacific beneficial for you?

Coming out of Hungary and going to school in Hawaii was a big change, as it opened my eyes to many different things. The experience made me feel more worldly and knowledgeable. I feel like I wouldn’t have had that broad view of the world had I just stayed here. My Mid-Pacific education had a solid academic and creative foundation which I’m proud of.

When I went home (to Hungary) I realized that I had an advantage in many ways. As an example, the IB diploma program was extremely beneficial for me. Hungary has a very complicated educational system, and they were threatening me to retake part of high school. Fortunately, I had my IB diploma in my hand which included courses in Theatre, Chemistry, English, History and French. It was grueling work in high school, but it paid off considerably.

3)     What did you do after your high school education requirements were settled?

Because my (private, college-prep) high school was American, it implied that my English skills were advanced. Having a high school diploma from an American high school on my college applications proved to be extremely beneficial for me when coming back to Hungary. Also, in the early 2000s, it was mandatory for guys my age to serve in the Hungarian army. However, I knew that with my IBO diploma I would be accepted into a Hungarian university with no questions asked.

In undergrad, I decided to major in English because it would be easy for me. I also decided to study history because I was interested in it. At some point in undergrad, I had a weird realization in a linguistics class. I realized that the way language works is almost unknown to us, not to mention how it connects to the human brain and cognition. Is it biological or cultural? I became fanatically interested and wanted to study more of it. Much of the scientific research in linguistics is in English, so it made my studies easy for me.

I asked Adam to provide me the name of the universities he attended. In a classic Adam-like move, this is what we sent me:

Undergrad: University of Szeged

Grad: Eötvös Loránd University—“I know this last one is a bit of bother with the name,,,,I often have to explain it when I go to a conference--its named after some guy.”

I bet he also has some marvelous explanation of how he came to Hawaii and what that was like. J

4)     What exactly is linguistics, and what does that mean?

Linguistics is a huge field. It includes language policies and language planning. It also includes the study of cognitive science and how infants learn language. Currently, I look at what factors influence people’s preferences in syntax (grammar, processing load, information packaging), and how these preferences are coded, for example in word order.

I started working in a research project this year that is looking at how mothers communicate with their infants. We are looking at what structures they use when communicating with their children, and in turn studying how infants learn language. The project started in January, and right now we are laying down the foundation, but it will be a four to five year project. Approximately 150 mothers are a part of the study, and we will be visiting them over the next 18 months. I am doing this project because I think it’s cool. I have already done some work in the relation of language and genetics, and I think this project fits well into this area.

A bigger milestone for me was starting to write my dissertation which will be presented later this summer. It’s a full-time job, and right now it has its ups and its downs. My procrastination is a lot worse now than when it was high school (because he travels a lot), but hopefully it will be good. 

He quietly chuckles quietly while he tells me this. I can’t even imagine what that kind of pressure feels like to “defend” your doctorate on a research topic you commit yourself to for months. I remember Adam being a procrastinator in high school. Weren’t we all though? What was particularly irritating about Adam then was his ability to quickly read assignments and turn in well-written essays. I’m not concerned, but I do want to send my empathy his way and wish him all the luck on this important endeavor.

5)     Are there any teachers that were your favorites or played an influential role for you in high school?

Ms. Zeller. She was my homeroom teacher and (IB) English teacher. I liked seeing Ms. Zeller in the morning to start the day off. She was outspoken of her views of the world. She was liberal and a feminist. It has certainly influenced me and how I view politics and society today. I recently had lunch and a beer with her and her husband in Budapest when they were doing a European tour two or three years ago.

Mr. Weisner was also really good. I remember him being a super intelligent guy. At the time, I saw him as this guy who knew everything about history and philosophy—and that impressed me! I credit him for giving me a push toward studying history. He made me think about what it meant to study history deeper.

Mr. Doyle and Mr. Wat. They were just fun to be with. They were the two teachers with whom you could just talk to. You didn’t feel as if you were talking with a teacher more like a friend, they offered me valuable common sense wisdom. They were my acting and dramatic literature teachers and play directors. Through them, I realized that the theatre is where you could learn everything that there is in life.

6)     Talk About MPSA. Was that a significant experience for you?

The MPSA program (including the classes and plays) was a lot of fun. It made school a fun experience. But it was beneficial in many other ways too. It taught me how to present and how to present myself. I find that I frequently tap into that training when I give talks at conferences.

There was an acting class exercise we did called Expert Speaker. I remember we had to talk for several minutes on a variety of random topics that were suggested by the class. When it was my turn, I was instructed to be the expert speaker for the cheese festival. It was a hilarious moment and I pretended to know a lot about cheese. I find that I have to do this with my work at lectures—I have to appear confident, likable and act like I know what I’m talking about even if my presentation might be rubbish.

7)     What is your favorite high school memory?

I like the plays we did. We spent many afternoons rehearsing, but also hanging out with people who became my friends. It was really special. I remember having so much fun. I always thought of myself as a shy and reserved person. And then I found myself running around half naked on stage with a large stick on stage for a role I played. It was a spoof off of a Greek comedy. Danny Pereira and John Egged (class of 2000) were in it. My role really set the mood for the whole production, and it was really important for me to get into character and ham it up.

8)     Was there a particular classmate you most admired? Why?

Max Sato. He’s the wittiest person I know. I haven’t kept in touch with him very well, but I remember looking up to him. He was always positive, and he seemed to be easy going and cool about everything.

9)     Who would you like to see?

Max Sato. I haven’t seen him since since a year after we graduated. It’s been 13 years. I’d be really interested to know what he’s doing.

I’d also like to know what Troy Matsumura is up to. He posted a picture of the place where he lives in Portland on Facebook. I understand he now lives there. I wonder what he is doing and what he’s up to.