Class notes

37 Class notes 44 Recreation

46 Personal best 48 Meet the student

COMMUNITY

Class notes

Share your news via alumni@aiglon.ch, and stay in touch with the Aiglon community at aiglonlife.ch

And they call it... puppy love

I am living and working in London running ZDLUX&Co., my luxury Communications and PR agency. And as of February I am the new ‘mom’ to a fur baby, Zac, an Irish Doodle who has, as I write, already grown to 13kg. Despite the difficulties that come with a puppy, if I could I would leave my job and spend all day playing with him. Here is a picture of Zac on the day we met up with Marcos Rosello (Delaware, 1994) for a post-lockdown walk in London. Zeina Dakak (Clairmont, 1994)

A family affair in Thailand

After graduating from Scripps College in California USA in 1998, I returned to Thailand to complete my MBA at Sasin, Chulalongkorn University. In 2002, I joined the family’s corporate travel management company and spent years travelling to meetings and conferences around the world. I got married in 2019 to Chiroj Charanawat, and we welcomed our baby daughter, Reina Charanawat, on 21 July 2020. It was a wonderful feeling being a new mother in my mid-40s. These days, I split the time between work and raising my daughter at our home in Bangkok, Thailand. Tanya Pirapokin (Clairmont, 1994)

AGES 16-17 Summer School

AGES 8-12

SWITZERLAND

LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!

London calling

I am a mom of 18-month-old Aurora Dhirani, living in London and working as a software engineer at JP Morgan. I graduated from Queen Mary University of London in 2017 and joined JP Morgan on the graduate program. I am also an artist – I make abstract paintings. Anastasia Smirnova (Le Cerf, 2012)

Class of 2000 move online

The Class of 2000 was planning its 20th Graduation Reunion for July 2020, with more than 30 alumni set to meet together 20 years after receiving our diplomas. We, of course, know the rest of the story. While international flights stopped and events were cancelled across the world, our class moved online. One of the memorable events was my birthday, when about 15 alumni joined together for a zoom celebration! Dmitri Dogaev (Belvedere, 2000)

Sad news of Lisiane Lefevre

With great sadness, I recently learned of the death of Lisiane Lefevre, who I had last seen in 2016 at our Class Reunion. I hadn’t realised she had already retired – she was still so active with the Aiglon community. At one point she was offered a position at the University in Lausanne but, devoted to her students, she preferred to remain at Aiglon. In addition to the wonderful plays she directed, she could recite innumerable poetry and theatre passages by rote with exceptional animation for the delight of her audiences. She was one of the few people who would ask me what I was reading as opposed to telling me what to read (which I also appreciate!). She also kicked me out of class on occasion – I would wait 15 minutes and poke my head back in the door to ask if I could come in again. At the time, I was the top student in her class and she could make me laugh pretty hard when trying to drive home a lesson. I owe her my career in teaching French. I feel like I’ve lost a lifelong friend. Elaine De Martin-Webster (Clairmont, 1976)

A friendly face in Washington

Missing the 70th reunion was a big letdown for me – the shutting down of several universities and changing of management companies compelled me unfortunately to stay in DC. I was, however, pleased to run into my old roommate Adam Barnes (Delaware, 1977) on Bald Head Island, North Carolina, where he had been working and I had been visiting for years without being aware of it! Just shows how it pays to stay in touch. I have, however, been in regular contact with Nick Besobraov (Belvedere, 1977), with whom I share a condo in Jackson Hole, and he is in contact with Jeffery Benoliel (Alpina, 1976), who is also a regular visitor. My mother is currently residing in Villars, so I hope to make some more frequent visits. If I may be of any assistance to any Aiglon alumni moving to the Washington DC area, I can be contacted through our apartment building, the Carillon House at 2500 Wisconsin Ave. N.W. 20007 or by my e-mail: swancovestudios@eartlink.net Gerald Taylor (Delaware, 1977)

Establishing an art gallery

After graduating from Aiglon in 2015, I attended SOAS University London to study History of Art, with a focus on East and South East Asian Art. The natural progression from that was to get work experience in the Asian art market, so after completing my degree, I interned at Christie’s Hong Kong in Classical Chinese art. My aspiration was to always live and build a career in London, and so I worked for Sotheby’s London in various departments, ranging from Contemporary and Impressionist to Russian Art. My work experience in auction houses and galleries gave me a firm foundation in the art world, from which I was able to build my own gallery. In October 2020, Karnik Gallery was born. My business partner and I, both 24, decided to pursue this in arguably the most difficult time this century – the Covid-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, this didn’t stop us, and we saw it as a real test of our venture. At Karnik Gallery, a London-based art dealership and curatorial art platform, we work with a range of international artists from across Europe, the Middle East and beyond. We look for work that is innovative and challenging, yet draws references from artistic traditions of the past. Jessica Nicholls (Exeter, 2015)

Whale watching

I founded Mingan Island Cetacean Study/Station de Recherche des Iles Mingan in 1979 with the idea to carry out field studies of baleen whales in the Gulf of St Lawrence on the Quebec North Shore. We were the first to carry out long-term studies of cetaceans in the St Lawrence, and, in particular the first to carry out long-term studies of endangered blue whales. At first we did not know for sure that these would be long-term studies, but through the dedicated efforts of many people over 42 years, we have accumulated a vast amount of data on several species’ dispersal, distribution, migration, genetics, acoustics and much more. This year, the fieldwork was greatly curtailed, but we were able to carry out some field studies of blue whales, which has led to more than 70 blue whales being observed and individually identified so far. We can identify individuals of several species of whale through images of their pigmentation patterns. In the case of the blue whale, the pigmentation pattern used is the mottling characteristic of the species. Hopefully advances in the battle against Covid will enable us to have a full field season this summer. Richard Sears (Alpina, 1970)

Benefits of ‘inner work’

Life is good. We were blessed with a ‘good lockdown’, although we feel for the majority of people who had, and are still having, a tough time. My wife and I offer online and in-person accelerated life transformation for leaders, entrepreneurs, high-achievers, and world-changers at lightventures.life. We believe change happens from the inside out and from the top down. Taking people on a transformational journey in which they release what is holding them back, tap into their true potential and multiply their impact in the world has been a pleasure to witness. One thing we have seen with our clients is that those who have done their inner work have been having a superb time in life and business at this time. Needless to say, we’re optimistic for the future. Wishing Aiglonians get the opportunity to do their ‘inner work‘ at school, as this will serve them immensely on life off the mountain. Misha Baumann (Delaware, 1989)

Tributes

Alexandra ‘Noni’ Kanyotu (Exeter, 1994) Among various memories of Noni – the beanie, long black trench coat, painful and sad poetry, and beautiful pictures – the one thing we all remember of her is that incredible, warm, bright smile that lit her and everything around her up. She will always be remembered as an exceptionally kind, gentle-natured, sensitive and soulful person. Our thoughts are with her three girls, Tracy, Amy and Sanaa, in Kenya. Tribute by the Class of 1994.

Elizabeth (Betty) Dewulf We send our thanks to Tony Hyde (Staff 2000-09) for informing us of the sad news of the passing of Betty Dewulf-Relph, who worked in the Aiglon general office in the 1980s. She was 92 when she died in Ollon in November. Betty is seen in this photo with her granddaughter, Fanny Smith, a Swiss freestyle skier and Olympic silver medallist who represented Switzerland in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics. Taylor Dinerman (Belvedere, 1971) Recently, The Space Review lost one of its longtime contributors, Taylor Dinerman. With a passion for space policy, he was a regular contributor to various publications and think tanks such as the National Review, Gatestone Institute, Hudson Institute and the Wall Street Journal. His knowledge and expertise gained him friendships and contacts with such luminaries as Apollo astronauts, admirals and generals, developers of the Strategic Defense Initiative and various advocacy groups. He will be greatly missed.

Raymond Massa (Alpina, 1977) We’re very sorry to report that Raymond Massa passed away in Tampa, Florida, in January, shortly after his 62nd birthday, after a valiant battle with leukaemia. He will be remembered for his generosity, kindness, sharp intellect and keen business sense. But above all, Ray was a family man. Our sincere condolences go out to Viviane and the children Ray was so proud of – Evelyne, Alexander and Laurent. Elizabeth Senn (Staff 1966-1992) We’re sad to report the death of Elizabeth, teacher, Clairmont Housemother and wife of Aiglon deputy headmaster, Teddy. During her life, she was able to affect the lives of many for good. Her family, friends, colleagues and pupils will remember her as an intelligent and witty woman who often spoke bluntly but who also showed love and concern for others, and never shied from putting her considerable energy into getting done what was important. Her life’s journey had brought her a long way from her Yorkshire roots, but the family was pleased she was able to pass her declining years with her daughter Rosie’s family in Leeds, and that they were with her until the end.

Chris Gallagher (Clairmont, 1964) It is with great sadness that we announce that our long time colleague and dear friend, Chris Gallagher, passed away on 27 April 2021 in Italy. He is survived by his wife Dorrie. Chris was born in Bogota, Colombia, and lived in Italy with his parents before joining Aiglon in 1955. In 1964, he went to university in the United States, and immediately after graduating moved to Belgium. He then lived mostly in Italy until his death. As a student of Aiglon, Chris knew John Corlette well. He was on the Student Council and served as Head Boy in his final year. He was also an extraordinary sportsman – captain of the ski team and an ADISR champion in many categories. During his last year at Aiglon he also captained the football and ice hockey teams. Chris spent many years as an active member of Aiglon’s Governing Body. He was a Board member for 16 years, then a Trustee, and remained an Honorary Member of the Aiglon College Association until his death. Both the ACA and ACSSA Boards will miss Chris’s great contribution and participation in the governance of Aiglon. He will remain in our hearts and be missed by all members of the Aiglon community who knew him well. Tribute by Nick Tate (Chair of the ACA) and Tony Jashanmal (Chair of the ACSSA) What’s hot: Right now I’m a PhD student at UCLA, studying Civil and Environmental Engineering. I was always into science – particularly chemistry – and maths. I had a great teacher at Aiglon, too: Miss Carpenter (now Mrs Barré). After I left Aiglon, I went to the University of San Diego and got my Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering. From there, I did my Chemical Engineering Master’s in New York. I then went into banking – I was offered a position at UBS and was very happy to go back to Switzerland. But I felt that I wanted to take my chemical engineering expertise and switch it to something more applied. That led me to my current programme. We have a great community of women scientists at UCLA and I’m also involved in Women in Stem: Breaking Barriers (WiSTEM), an organisation aimed at empowering women in STEM. We recently organised our first ever conference at UCLA, with 2020 Nobel Prize winner Andrea Ghez, the UCLA distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy, as our key speaker – she was incredibly inspiring.

What’s next: I’m hoping to complete my PhD at some point next year. I haven’t got a set idea of what I’d like to do next; certainly a job which combines my technical and soft skills side – consulting, possibly. It would be great to also combine my experience and consult in an area like sustainability and the environment, or sustainable finance. I’m pretty confident that there is something out there which will be a good fit for me and which I’ll enjoy. I’m certainly looking to stay in Southern California: I love the lifestyle here.

What’s Aiglon: Aiglon was a big and important experience for me and I loved every moment of my time there. I learned a lot from living in such a diverse community. Expeditions were my favourite thing and I still go hiking every month, and play volleyball. Being a volleyball team captain and a prefect helped me to learn about leadership: how important it is to do the right thing when people look up to you. And I treasure the sense of community – both when I was at school and ever since I left. I feel like whenever someone from Aiglon is in LA, we always meet up.

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