The Year In Alumni Events

The 75th Anniversary of the Lycée Français de New York has been a fantastic year of celebration for the entire Lycée community, with significant participation from alumni throughout the year. From the launch events in New York and Paris to the Speakers’ Series to the rock concert performed by three alumni bands to benefit the new Alumni Annual Fund, our anciens eleves certainly left their mark on a year that will never be forgotten.

Classes of ’79 – ’81 Reunite

Christine Auclair is responsible for giving the first party of the year at the Lycée. Christine and class of 1980 classmate Alessandra Kelmas de Bozzo joined forces with the Lycée Alumni Office to plan and organize a 30th year reunion at the Lycée for classes ’79, ’80 and ’81. The reunion took place in early September and brought over 80 alumni back to the school for an evening of dancing to old songs, reminiscing at old photos of themselves and reconnecting with long lost friends. The event was also the first time many alumni visited the new building. Tours of the building were provided throughout the evening to show alumni how the Lycée had gracefully moved into the 21st Century with its new state-of-the-art facility. Several alumni admitted after the tours that they did not have positive expectations about the new building beforehand, but at the conclusion of the tour, they were amazed and proud to still be a part of the Lycée community.

75th Anniversary Launch Events

The events in New York and Paris that launched the Lycée’s 75th Anniversary celebrations were a tremendous success, with attendance at the New York reception reaching over 900 guests and Paris attendance breaking the 450 guests mark. Looking beyond the impressive number of guests at each event, one could see multiple decades of Lycée alumni and community members mingling, making introductions, sharing memories, and just being happy to be part of the Lycée family.

These events not only launched the school's 75th Anniversary celebrations, they created a foundation for the future through renewed connections between the Lycée and its alumni. This could not have been accomplished without the hard work of the 75th Anniversary Committee. Co-chaired by Marie-Noëlle Pierce ('85) and Donna Zilkha ('72), the Committee worked for nearly two years to plan the two launch events and develop programming for what has turned out to an amazing year.

Alumni Speakers’ Series

The third and final installment of the 75th Anniversary Speakers’ Series was held on April 14th, and it all about alumni, with the discussion topic being “How the Lycée Experience Influenced My Life”. The panelists included singer/songwriter Chanez Baali (’02), novelist and memoir writer Susan Fales-Hill (’80), Orthopedic Surgeon and writer Ronald Grelsamer (’71), and Reconstructive Surgeon Laurent Lantieri (’80); with television journalism producer Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson (’89) moderated the discussion. The panel was followed by an alumni cocktail reception that gave attendees an opportunity to interact with the moderator and the panelists.

The following evening, the Lycée was rocked by three alumni bands that performed to raise funds for the newly-created Alumni Annual Fund. See Chanez Baali Rocks for the complete article.

For information on future Lycée alumni activities, please contact Claude Office in the Alumni Office at 212-439-3867 or caska@lfny.org

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