ASP Alumni News, Spring Edition 2020
Dear ASP Alumni,
We hope you are in good health and staying safe during this period of confinement. We are all faced with unprecedented circumstances, and we could not be prouder of how the entire ASP community has aligned with efforts to make the world a healthier and safer place.
ASP's future emanates from the solid foundation our alumni community has helped build over the past decades, and we thank you for your continued support.
Please take care.
On behalf of the Board,
Yvonne Lalonde, P'14,'17,'19
President, ASP Board of Trustees
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The Board is committed to keeping your alma mater at the forefront of education. It is a great pleasure to present ASP's 2019 Annual Report.
Connecting: Now More Than Ever
While classrooms have gone digital and campus is closed to visitors, the Alumni Office is fully operational and eager to find ways to connect our global alumni community.
Thank you to alumni worldwide who are pulling together now more than ever, proving that confinement can also be an opportunity to pick up with old friends and teachers, and make new connections. "Worldwide Wednesdays" online gatherings have taken place in New York, Paris, Europe, Asia, and "Texas to the West Coast."
Next Meet Up on Zoom: Worldwide Wednesday ICYMI
("in case you missed it")
Join ASP alumni from around the world on Wednesday, June 2 at 5:00 p.m. in Paris, 4:00 p.m. in London, 11:00 a.m. EDT, 11:00 p.m. in Singapore; for alumni who missed our first round of gatherings. Click here for registration and Zoom link.
Upcoming Zoom Class Reunions
(note new dates and times!)
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Class of 2010 ten-year reunion: Saturday, June 6 at 6:00 p.m. Paris / 9:00 a.m. West Coast register here!
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Classes of 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000: Saturday, June 6 at 5:00 p.m. Paris / 8:00 a.m. West Coast register here!
Meet Up on Facebook
Over 4,000 alumni from all class years are sharing, caring, and connecting via American School of Paris Alumni, our official Facebook group! From family updates, virtual happy hours, trivia games, and Rebelwear treasure troves, to senior year photos and other poignant ASP memories, the group is a place of information, support, and good cheer during the current challenges, and always a place to celebrate our ASP bonds. Please join us there today!
Feel free to tune in to "Quarantunes Concerts" where singer and songwriter Carly Thomas '01 is sharing her music
The ASP community has adjusted with flexibility, resiliency, and determination to the changes and challenges caused by the health crisis. Many have stepped up and given their time and talents to make the world a healthier and safer place. Thank you all!
Share news and photos of alumni on the frontlines or in the backstory by contacting the alumni office. Let's honor and thank ASP heroes for their work in keeping us safe!
Contributing Expertise
Jacob Saltzman '15, is a paramedic in Vermont working on a critical care team helicopter; he is also assisting with pandemic disaster relief efforts in New York City and Atlanta, and in tornado-stricken Tennessee. Jacob explains, "I like to help where there is a real need." He credits his ASP teachers and his Parker Bradford Award for helping shape his chosen path, and who he is today. Read more.
Mary Dorgan P'08,'11 has returned to her former occupation by answering an urgent call for aides soignants during the pandemic.
"I am glad to be able to assist the elderly during this period, and do what I can to help France deal with this situation." Read more.
Dan Hian-Cheong P'09,'11, has become a volunteer for Médecins Sans Frontières, lending his professional expertise to helping the organization increase its sourcing effectiveness and efficiency. Dan's wife Anna is a published haiku poet and ASP poetry coach, this year working online with students. Read more.
Eleonora (Ele) Chessa '92, team integration consultant and leadership development coach, began offering live online group sessions to support parents seeking a work-life-school balance during confinement. "I started this initiative both to help parents, and because kids will be learning a lot from how we as adults handle this situation." Read more.
Sharing the Gift of Song
Rosalind Stewart '10 and the Dublin Youth Choir, over 60 singers, were undeterred when they could not rehearse in person. They transformed the tapestry of their voices, woven together into a virtual choir, presenting a melodic feat which has been making the rounds on the internet, to the delight of music lovers internationally. Read more.
"A big shout out for all the ASP faculty and staff; the people over the years who transformed the school into an exemplary innovative learning environment that embodies beautiful values of humanity and creativity. I enjoyed my ASP teachers very much. Mr. Hubbard, Mr. Sefton, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Judis were kind, supportive and encouraged individual talents and strengths."
-– Ele Chessa '92
Do you remember that amazing teacher who made your time at ASP so special you can't imagine where you would be without them? Distance learning at ASP has shown our faculty's incredible resilience and ability to innovate, even in difficult conditions. May is traditionally Teacher Appreciation Month and this year, more than ever, ASP wants to thank our current and past teachers for everything they do, and have done, to inspire and prepare students. Please join us by sharing a message in honor of a teacher here or by sending it to alumni@asparis.fr
The ASP Annual Fund was launched earlier this year to support our school and everything and everyone that make an ASP education magical. Your donations help ensure future students have the life changing ASP experience you did.
Raven Snook '88 has been reporting from the epicenter of the pandemic in the US. "By trade I write about theater, but with Broadway shut down, I've been investigating ways we can support essential workers, and what New Yorkers with children are doing to get through the crisis." Raven has been interviewed for television; her written work is appearing in New York magazine. Read more.
Sietse Goffard '11 is back at Harvard – and back in Paris! After college at Harvard, working in Washington DC, and studying in China, "I'm now pursuing a master's degree at the Harvard Kennedy School. I've come home to Paris to spend the quarantine period with my mom and sister (Alexandra Goffard '13); spending quality time with them has been an unexpected silver lining of this semester." Read more.
Here are some of our alumni who visited campus in March, before the French confinement order.
Jungjin Ha '17 visited with her ASP teachers Jo Jarvis (pictured), Maria Lagoutte, and Julie Forbes. Jungjin was in France in conjunction with Ewha Womans University in South Korea.
Astrid Allavena '19, currently in France on a gap year, visited campus with ASP classmate Oscar Morlat '19, a student at Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne.
Sepehr Moalemi '17, a student of Mechanical Engineering at Montreal's McGill University, shared his post-ASP insights and experiences adjusting to college life – in and out of the classroom – with Laura Schupack's IB science class.
Tom Kellermann is searching for ACS friends from his Class of 1958. Please connect with him by email.
Erick Pessoa, ASP's film teacher writes to alumni: "I am planning on starting an ASP video memory bank. If you have videos of your time at ASP, please share them with me. They can be digital, or if you have VHS or Super 8, I volunteer to convert them to digital. It's a great way to revisit those days and to share them with younger generations."
Do you remember your Senior year at school, filled with special moments, celebrations and milestones? We want to make our 2020 Seniors' year as special as possible, despite the campus closure, confinement, and the immediate impact of the pandemic on their final semester here.
We invite ASP alumni to share messages of support, encouragement, insights, and advice with the Class of 2020. Please send them by email and let us know if you would you be available to connect with a group of graduating students over the coming months.
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OUR MISSION: The American School of Paris is a vibrant, international, family-oriented community. Our mission is to inspire and prepare every student to achieve personal and academic excellence as an engaged global citizen by providing a challenging, innovative program within a compassionate environment.
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92210 Saint-Cloud, France
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