Congratulations Class of 2018!

June 15, 2018

ASA held its 19th annual high school graduation ceremony, the first graduation at its new campus of Le Park Alarobia. Nine graduates, accompanied by family and friends, received their High School Diploma, and will now head off to the University of Pennsylvania (USA), Kings College London (UK), University of Illinois (USA), Illinois Institute of Technology (USA), University of Toronto (Canada), University of Groningen (USA) or the University of Melbourne (Australia).

For some of them, ASA was the only school that they attended from preschool to high school, for others, ASA was a milestone in their life as an international student. For all, ASA is a unique environment where they interacted with students and teachers from all 6 continents, and learnt the values ​​of respect, freedom, opportunity and inclusion.

In her welcoming remarks, the director of ASA, Dr. Caroline Brokvam thanked the class of 2018 for their contribution to the ASA community: “Always be grateful. You are incredibly fortunate. Recognise this, and recognise the people around you who have helped you…Thank you for what you have contributed to the American School of Antananarivo. Among you are excellent leaders, accomplished speakers, and inspiring community service contributors. You have influenced through music, through art, by the force of your intellects, through your athletic skill, through kindness and humour. You have made ASA a better place.”

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, M. Stuart Wilson, offered a few pieces of advice to this graduating class: “As you go out there to the world beyond the school gates, life will sometimes put obstacles in your path…But with the education you’ve gotten at this school, and the unique experiences you’ve shared, nothing can stop you from fulfilling your dreams of success. With that success comes the obligation to share the wisdom you’ve earned and the benefits you’ve been given. Use your gifts to make sure more people have the same chances you’ve had.  Speak out for the values that you’ve been living here at this school – respect, liberty, opportunity, and inclusion…Take the gift of your education, and educate the world around you about what it means to be a global citizen.”

Mrs. Vidette Delhove, teacher at ASA, closed the series of speeches by expressing two hopes for these young men and women: “First, there is going to be a time when in order to succeed you will have to trust, when you will have to make a big leap of faith, and when that time comes, I hope you will swallow your fear and get into the wheelbarrow. And second, my dear students, I hope you’ll always be like Eddie the Eagle and only do things that make you proud so that you can be truly your own hero.”