again, and with each new challenge and layer of insight, I peel off a layer of understanding of many of these themes, as they resonate so true to adult life in a way that I couldn’t fully comprehend in high school. From primary school with our school play, dioramas and book reports, the pain of Wordly Wise, and our trips to Parc Asterix as well as our various cultural outings, my memories of the rich camaraderie and breadth of education of the American Section are endless. I particularly recall the proximity between teachers and students, an all too rare relationship in the French educational system. The most important elements I’m infinitely grateful for are the sterling education and solid work ethic it provided me. This goes for the American Section and Lycée as a whole, which instilled in me a baseline for academic rigor and hard work, which has of obvious value in my adult life. The philosophical and literary questions and themes we discussed were of top-notch quality and I have thought back about and reflected on them time and
time again in my not-so-adult “adult” life. I also like to somewhat romantically believe that the constant questioning and thoughtful discussions have transcended various spheres of experience, from literature - as was the case in class - to life, as is the case now. I love to think the American Section and its philosophy have influenced this curious attitude and constant exploration. I had no real vision of what I would be doing upon graduation. However, I knew that the broad themes I was most attracted to as a high school student – math and philosophy/ literature - would most likely be a part of what I would chose to pursue academically, as they are now: Autism research is at the intersection of many fascinating questions about humanity, brain evolution, and the computational power and blueprint of the human brain. However, what I certainly didn’t know was that I would develop an unforgivable passion for alpinism – rock, ice and high altitude expedition-style mountain climbing – which would come to dictate almost every life choice I would make.
Victoria Bélorgeot ‘13 After graduating from the Lycée, I started a three-year Bachelor’s degree in Human Sciences at UCL in London. I finished this degree in June 2016, and am now studying Global Mental Health at postgraduate level at King’s College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I did not really know what I intended to do after the Lycée, but I think I am doing more or less what I imagined: studying topics that inspire me, in both social and biological sciences. Some of my undergraduate classes, like the one I took on primate behavior or disease in history, were definitely the highlights of my academic experience. After obtaining my Masters degree, I plan on travelling. Getting a temporary job abroad would be ideal, possibly in a low income country where I could apply the skills I learnt in my degree.
Laure Trebosc ‘97 After graduating from the London School of Economics in 2000, I moved to Moscow to teach English and French at Moscow State University. I then worked at the European Union Embassy in Moscow, organizing cultural and social events for the Ambassador. Although it may sound glamorous, the hours were rough and the Moscow political elite, EU civil servants, and diplomatic circles were much less gracious than you would imagine! For the past ten years I have been focusing my professional energy on social and human rights issues in Russia and the former Soviet Union. I am now Program Manager at a London-based human rights organization, EHRAC. We have historically focused on conflicts such as the Chechen war, and today the war in Ukraine, but are also litigating cases linked to freedom of expression and assembly and discrimination against minorities, whether ethnic, sexual or religious. Russian was my favorite subject at the Lycée, so I chose to continue studying it at University. However, I wouldn’t say that I had any particular career plans in mind or that my professional ambitions were necessarily linked to Russia. What I did know is that I needed to be doing something I felt passionate about to be able to get up every morning. Also, I would not settle for a job that I had ethical issues with. Back when I was teaching in Russia, I volunteered one summer at an educational camp for mentally and physically
disabled children. I quickly came to realize that the camp was the only form of education the children were ever to receive. Worse, the Russian system of caring for vulnerable children was incredibly unjust and harmful. 90% of the children had families, and the orphanages, including the one I was volunteering at, were detrimental to the children’s emotional and cognitive development. After that summer, I returned to France to complete a Masters in Developmental Studies and tested out my project management and fundraising skills with other students from Sciences Po. We went back to the camp the following summer as a team to join forces with the Russian, British and American volunteers. My volunteering work developed into a full time job when I met a Russian grassroots NGO determined to return the children to their families or place them in foster families. We sought funding from the European Commission and expertise from abroad. This was pioneering work in a very challenging environment where foreign funding was regarded suspiciously and children with learning disabilities were routinely discriminated against. Today my job is no less of a challenge, with space for civil society shrinking in former Soviet countries and legal systems not always impartial enough to provide redress. The satisfaction of having a meaningful profession that can impact people’s lives is still my main drive.
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