by Annie Angelidou

Commencement Keynote Speaker Sebastien Bellin addressed the Class of 2021 with a powerful message.

‘It is the mindset that makes a difference in life. Life will throw some challenges at you. Life will not be easy all of the time. Life will give you all the excuses you need to be a victim, but you can cultivate a mindset that makes you a survivor. A survivor is someone who experiences a challenge and overcomes it. Overcoming those challenges are the greatest lessons you will learn in life.’

What Mindset Will You Choose to Make a Difference in Your Life?

by Annie Angelidou, Administrative Assistant to the Deans of Academics and the Institute and Kostantinos Kouvopoulos, Assistant Director of Communications

ACSAthens celebrated the Class of 2021 during the Academy Commencement Ceremony on Wednesday, June 17. Although the pandemic restrictions did not allow for guests at the event, all involved worked diligently to provide a memorable on-campus commencement for the graduates along with a live streaming of the event on the ACS Athens YouTube channel with over 1.000 views during its live broadcast.

There is no question that the 2020/2021 academic school year was a year like no other. Apart from the normal effort, and stress involved in the final year of high school, our graduates had to face unprecedented hardships, fears, and challenges like none before them. And they came through with flying colors:

2020-2021 Academic Year: College / University placement: 98% Average IB Diploma score: 38 Highest IB Diploma score: 45 100% of the students scored above 30 47% of the students scored 40 and above And Sebastien Bellin knows this very well from experience. March 22, 2016 a terrorist bombing attack at the International Airport of Belgium killed 32 and left 340 people injured. Sebastien was one of those survivors, but his hip and both of his legs suffered extensive damage. Today his right femur and left tibia are replaced by metal pins. He can no longer feel his left leg. But did he give up? Did he allow himself to become a victim? Absolutely not. Instead, he offers valuable advice to thousands and inspires them to choose the right mindset – the mindset to not only survive, but to thrive.

Mr. Bellin added, “I’ve come up with four themes, pieces of advice, that help me cultivate the feeling of survivor and overcome everyday challenges: Acknowledge fear as an illusion, surround yourself with a solid Team with no ego, always stay focused and don’t let obstacles get in the way of your opportunities, and always keep Quality over Quantity: It’s hard to have a mindset of growth when you are carrying too much! ACS Athens graduates, always go for the quality in your life!”

Special Guest Speaker U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt congratulated the graduates on reaching this important milestone in their lives, hoping that the challenges of the past year and a half did not diminish the sense of accomplishment they feel today.

“The pandemic has forced your generation to learn difficult life lessons, and I think you should be very proud of your resilience in the face of this unprecedented challenge and all that you have achieved,” he added.

Ambassador Pyatt also commented on the shared spirit of innovation between the USA and Greece: “This innovative spirit will be more important than ever as your generation steps up to tackle the challenges we face today. You’ll be entering a world that is forever changed, and the deep inequalities that the pandemic has exposed will require your attention and ingenuity. ACS Athens has given you exactly the skills you need for living in an interconnected world, and we will count on your fresh, global perspectives as we work together to build a better future. The world will advance on the strength of your vision and creativity as well as your commitment to our democratic values”!

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of ACS Athens, Mr. Pascal Apostolides congratulated the graduates and wished they all cherish the memories and learnings that took place within ACS Athens: “This is the beginning of a new adventure - you will go out to this

world to continue to be architects of your own learning, preparing to become tomorrow’s leaders to transform the world. I encourage you to believe and continue dreaming of making a difference in the world by not giving up in front of obstacles that most certainly you will face in your lives”!

From the Valedictorian address: “...as I will be addressing you today, I will be speaking from the heart, which ACS has taught all of us to do all these years aiming to let us express our individuality while inspiring us to contribute to the pursuit of the greater. We’re all able [00:01:00] to speak from the heart, because this is what our teachers do on a daily basis, whether in the classroom or through BBB, even with a poor connection and some ringing microphones in the background...

...Still these hardships have made us confident in our individuality, preparing us to uniquely face, whatever challenges may come our way in the uncertain future. I cannot generalize the paths. We will all take, um, exiting the school gates or about the great successes we will all celebrate in the future...”

From the Salutatorian address: “... it would seem that in spite of these hardships we encountered and some of which we continue to endure, we still managed to make it here, decorated with the prestigious awards and well-deserved accomplishments. So as to, as we celebrate this day, please allow me to give a big congratulations to everyone for making it here as for, as what could only be perceived as a Testament to our classes, resilience and ACS has commitment to...”

ACS Athens President, Dr. Peggy Pelonis, welcomed everyone and expressed her joy in celebrating with the students after a prolonged lockdown for most of the year: “This past year and a half, the world came to a sudden stop with the COVID19 pandemic and with it came a myriad of challenges: learning online, social media frenzy, longing to connect face to face, to play, to just being together. You, young graduates, were called on to be resilient, to pivot to move in different directions, as we all were, and often these directions had no guarantee of positive outcomes”.

She added,

“Class of 2021, your role models are multiple. Your journey has been disrupted and has evolved in a new way. You have more resources and more technology tools than any other generation, but now you also have the option to discover new skills, new ways of carving your path in life. You know what it means to lose your freedom because of something unpredictable and unmanageable. The greatest risk you are taking is inventing and continuously reinventing your life, and that is what makes you architects of your own learning, your own life, positioned to transform the world.”