Young Alumni Reunion:
On January 8, 2013, alumni from the classes of 2008-2012 joined current Tut 4 students for the fourth annual young alumni reunion. Several faculty members stopped by to catch up with former students. Special guests Solade Rowe ’90, Andrew Brust ’84 and Kelly Grumbach ’01 were on hand to talk to young alumni about career planning and internships. Solade, Founder and CEO of Career Aspiration, spoke to alumni about virtual networking through Facebook and LinkedIn. Andrew shared the new alumni think tank initiatives from which the idea of inviting older alumni to the young alumni reunion to offer internships and helpful hints on career planning were born.
After catching up with teachers and students, the alumni headed to the gym for the second annual alumni basketball game. The boys varsity team played the older students for a game of 5 on 5. After a great game, current faculty members Jared Smith and Zach Baha and friends continued in the fun playing against the alumni. The fans were given blue and white pom-poms and cheered for their friends and teachers. Everyone had a good time!
Paris Alumni Reunion:
Approximately 25 alumni spanning the classes of 1976 to 2008 and one former faculty member, Jean Pierre Fleutiaux, had a wonderful reception at the Marriott Champs Elysees. Peter Antinoph ‘76, General Manager, hosted our group in grand Parisian style. It was wonderful to see so many alumni come out for a night on the town. On Sunday, thanks to Timur Friedman’83, a small group of us discovered a new cultural center, Le Cent Quatre, which was once a coffin factory. The beautiful building has been restored and now gives artists from all over the world a place to practice, perform and bring new types of art to Paris. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch along the canal in the company of M. Fleutiaux and his wife. M. Fleutiaux shared many of his souvenirs of his six years at UNIS. He recalled teaching P.E. at the Lycée Francais and during a class in Cental Park, met Mr. Koshlosky who asked him to join UNIS. M. Fleutiaux lives in Dijon where he is President of his community organization and continues to inspire fitness of both the body and mind.
Geneva Alumni Dinner:
Six alumni living in Geneva and former faculty member Bernard Ivaldi had a wonderful traditional Swiss fondue at Café du Soleil. Allie Brown ’02 had an insightful conversation with Hernàn Reyes ’69 as she is on the brink of starting Medical School and looking forward to a career as an OBGYN helping women in third world countries. Hernàn is an OBGYN and has been an ICRC physician for 30 years. Sibel Volkan ’82 discovered that she and Allie both work at the WHO and had never met. Robert Whelan ‘88 was surpised to find Hernàn seated at the table. Robert was trained at the Red Cross by Hernàn and didn’t realize that they are both UNIS Alumni!
Sibel, Selma Zaidi ’78 and Paula Dupraz-Dobias ‘79 all reminisced about UNIS in the 1970’s. Paula volunteered to be our Alumni Ambassador for Switzerland. M. Ivaldi shared stories of UNIS past. Allie was concerned that the school had become more “American” during her years and that UNIS may have lost its international flair. M. Ivaldi mentioned that during his time, he had the pleasure to educate many of these so-called “American” students by planning and accompanying them on trips to experience the world first hand. After leaving UNIS, M. Ivaldi continued to work in International Education administration. He now has a headhunting firm based in Geneva specializing in International school administrators. 