FAIS T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E F R E N C H A M E R I C A N I N T E R N AT I O N A L S C H O O L │ S P R I N G 2 017
Inside: International Aerial viewGilkey of the proposed new Gilkey International Middle Em School Middle School autbuilding labor onaspedit the FAIS campus quat.
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CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE
01 FAIS in ACTION...................................................................................................................02 The Next 40 Years...........................................................................................................04 Lifecycle Lessons...........................................................................................................09 3-D Learning Thrives at FAIS............................................................................................10 Her Life is Her Canvas.......................................................................................................12 Alumni Profile: Regina Molina-Ochoa..................................................................................14 Alumni Updates.................................................................................................................16 From the Head of School...................................................................................................
THE FRENCH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL CULTIVATES INTELLECT AND CHARACTER THROUGH RIGOROUS MULTILINGUAL ACADEMIC PROGRAMS IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT PROMOTES APPRECIATION OF DIVERSE CULTURES AND EXPERIENCES.
Head of School: Pam Dreisin Address: 8500 NW Johnson Street, Portland, OR 97229 Telephone: 503-292-7776 | Fax: 503-292-7444 Email: fais@faispdx.org | www.faispdx.org Editor: Helen Townes Graphic design: Penelope Babst Photography credit: Bay Area Event Photography, Mark Boschert, Jason Desomer
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A NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL Dear FAIS Family and Friends, In the past 27 years since I’ve been involved with French American International School, as a parent of two students who attended preschool through 8th, then as a board member (and at one point Board President), and finally as Head of School, I can say with certainty that this is one of the most exciting moments in the School’s history thus far.
"I can say with certainty that this is one of the most exciting moments in the School’s history thus far."
Since 1998, when we raised enough money to acquire our current 15-acre campus, we have built a robust, thoughtful, and caring environment for our students, faculty, and staff. Our buildings, aside from the main Annenberg Administration Building and our (newer) Center for the Arts, were never intended to be permanent but have served us well. Now, as we approach our fourth decade as a school and head into the next 40 years, we also move into the first of several phases of permanently building out our campus. In this issue of the FAIS Magazine, you will see that because of careful planning by the several generations of our Board, responsible fiscal management, and the recent generous support of key members of our current community during a silent phase of fundraising over the past several months, we are ready to build the first of our permanent academic buildings: a new Gilkey International Middle School. Take a look at the Middle School plans and learn more about how you can support The Next 40 Years Capital Campaign in this issue of our magazine. Thus far, we have raised over $2 million toward a $2.5 million goal. We need your help to reach that goal, so that we might break ground on this $11.5 million building by fall, 2017. Also in this issue you’ll hear more about the transdisciplinary approach in our Lower School, fostered by the IB/PYP and instrumental in preparing our students for a “3-D” view of the world. As in every issue, you will also read more about how our graduates have used their FAIS education as a springboard for reaching their dreams. It’s rewarding to see how well we have prepared our students with intellectual curiosity and creativity, respectful citizenship, and global awareness. I look forward to this new period in our growth as a school! Sincerely,
Pam Dreisin, Head of School
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FAIS IN ACTION
FACULTY “FIRST THURSDAY” SHOWCASES CREATIVITY
The art of several faculty and staff members was on display during the first week in May, showcasing examples of photography, poetry, painting, and woodworking our talented faculty/staff engage in beyond the classroom. An on-campus “First Thursday” was held in the Rose Préau Commons to share their work and celebrate their talents.
QR CODES ENHANCE FAIS LIBRARY
Visitors to the FAIS library this past year could read reviews and learn more about featured fiction using their own smart phones. Some of the books were given QR codes on their covers, which when scanned linked to a personal book review by one of our Lower School students. Additionally, on the walls of the library was displayed the art work of 5th graders reflecting on the book they had been reading, Le Reveur, by Pam Munez Ryan (translated from The Dreamer) during their unit Poetry and Visual Arts. QR codes on their art posters, which depict the characters from The Dreamer, linked to small films which were created around the book's characters via the website Voci.
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FAIS BATTLE OF THE BOOK TEAM DOES WELL AT REGIONALS
GREEN TEAM TOTES ENCOURAGE EARTHCONSCIOUS SHOPPING
The FAIS team—"The Furious Four "—made it all the way to the "Elite 8" round at the Oregon Battle of the Books regional competition. After winning the school-level battle, the Furious Four earned the right to represent FAIS in the 3-5 grade division at the OBOB regional held during March at Glencoe Elementary School. They went head-to-head with rival local school teams, testing their knowledge of 16 pre-selected books in a trivia bowl format. The Furious Four battled 61 school teams at the OBOB regional, finishing in 7th place overall at the reading tournament.
Always working on reducing waste among community members at FAIS, Lower School students created screen-printed canvas totes with the new 2017 Green Team logo this winter. After several entries for the winning logo were voted on by students, faculty, and staff, a winner was selected: 5th grader Sofia! Thanks to local artist Nathan Reimer and his business The Make House for his generous assistance, and to Ryan Scheel for leading the Green Team efforts! Shoppers everywhere will see the FAIS logo, promoting our school.
FAIS COMMUNITY CELEBRATES OVER WINE
Over 300 community members gathered in the Pearl District for the School’s annual wine-tasting event, Fête du Vin, during November. Revelers were treated to delicacies from several of Portland’s up-and-coming eateries and top wineries. The event, co-chaired by FAIS parents Michelle Reeves (herself a vintner) and Paul Willenberg (widely acclaimed “foodie”), pictured above, was the highlight of the holiday season and raised funds to benefit FAIS classrooms and academic programs.
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FAIS IN ACTION
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BOULDERING POPULAR SPORT FOR FAIS STUDENTS
Some of our FAIS students are as tenacious extracurricular climbers as they are students. Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that is performed on an artificial wall, without the use of ropes or harnesses. The sport was just added to the 2020 Olympics and several new Portland gyms have opened or upgraded their facilities. Four FAIS students, Avery, Charlotte, Kate, and Ellewyn, who compete on the Multnomah Athletic Club team, placed well this season at the Regionals bouldering competition (which includes Oregon, most of Washington except the Puget Sound area, and Alaska) to move up to the Divisionals bouldering competition in Seattle, one of the most competitive divisions in the country. Ellewyn placed 1st at Regionals and 3rd in Seattle, and competed in the Canadian Divisionals where she placed 2nd. She also competed in the USA Bouldering Nationals in Salt Lake City, where she placed 18th in the nation. During May, the four girls continued their success at the Sport Climbing Regionals in Bend: Ellewyn finished 1st, Avery placed 7th, and Kate placed 6th in their respective categories. All three will advance to Divisionals, which will be held in Alaska during June and will include competitors from Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. (Charlotte also participated and placed 16th, but unfortunately will not advance. Another FAIS student, 6th grader Taylor Levow, also competes on the Multnomah Athletic Team but was unable to compete at Regionals due to injury.) Keep an eye on these up-and-coming athletes in this exciting sport!
A NIGHT IN MARRAKESH FAIS parents, faculty and staff, and friends of the School spent an evening in Marrakesh with friends over cocktails, a sumptuous dinner, and dancing to cap off the evening, all right here in Portland, Oregon, at the Sentinel Hotel. Generous bidding and a successful paddle raise at this Moroccan-themed event supports the operating costs of the School: technology, classroom updates, professional development, and all the essentials that make FAIS excellent. Merci to all our generous guests and donors, and especially to co-chairs Kristin W. Kilshaw and Regan Nelson!
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THE NEXT 40 YEARS Spring 2017 FAIS Magazine3.indd 6
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APPROACHING 40TH ANNIVERSARY, FAIS LOOKS TO THE FUTURE Almost 40 years ago, the French American International School (FAIS) opened its doors in the basement of a local church with just three students, one teacher, and a strong sense of purpose. Today, FAIS supports 550 students and 60 teachers on a beautiful 15-acre campus, with an equally strong purpose: to develop internationally minded global citizens by harnessing the power of multilingualism, active inquiry, and challenging academics. As we look toward the next 40 years, we embark on developing a permanent campus that will match the robust and dynamic community built across its history. The Next 40 Years Capital Campaign will provide the needed fundraising to establish permanent buildings to replace our aging modular structures, originally installed in 1998 and never meant to be permanent. The first phase of this exciting vision for the future will be a new building for the Gilkey International Middle School, grades six through eight. Just as we are inheritors of those who came before us, our future students depend on us for the same. At press time for this spring issue of the FAIS Magazine, over $2 million dollars has been raised to take the first step towards this future. We hope that our community’s growing culture of philanthropy will enable us to build out our permanent campus over the next 20 years.
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THE NEXT 40 YEARS
VISION FOR THE NEXT 40 YEARS
EXISTING CAMPUS FOOTPRINT
PHASE 1
Our vision is to create a permanent campus that enhances the unique teaching and learning environment at FAIS as well as fosters our closeknit student and parent communities. These new buildings will gradually replace our aging modular structures with a permanent campus for our students, one that maintains its feeling of intimacy and promotes its natural beauty. To achieve this vision, the FAIS Board of Trustees has been working with two of Portland's most reputable architectural firms over the past two years. With guidance from BORA Architects, the Board developed a framework for a long-term master site plan for FAIS, comprised of four phases. The first phase is a new building for the Gilkey International Middle School
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
and the fourth and final phase is a reconfiguration of traffic flow and parking on campus. The remaining phases of the master site plan will be implemented gradually over the next 20 years or so, depending on the scope and timing of each of the preceding phases. The design of the Gilkey International Middle School is being developed with the expertise of Hacker Architects, an award-winning Portland based firm well known for its thoughtful design and commitment to sustainability. While the next phases of our campus have not yet been finalized, Hacker has provided an initial interpretation for the FAIS Board's future consideration.
PHASE 1: THE NEW GILKEY INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL ENTRY LEVEL
LOWER LEVEL 1
LOWER LEVEL 2
classrooms science labs administrative offices/teacher workrooms
As an IB school, teaching and learning at FAIS is a very active process, based on inquiry and collaboration. The new Gilkey International Middle School is designed to meet the unique teaching and learning needs of this age group and to provide a healthy, diverse learning environment that facilitates creativity and collaboration between students and teachers. With special attention to design that creates new social spaces and provides a strong connection to the environment, the result is a better educational experience for all students. The new Middle School building is designed to enhance the ways in which our middle school community connects student to student; student to teacher; and faculty members to each other. These enhanced connections
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combine to create an environment of increased collaboration and creativity, which is a cornerstone of the inquiry-based IB/MYP pedagogy. The building is being thoughtfully designed to enhance the connection between the classroom and the natural environment. The benefit lies in how the students/faculty "experience" the classrooms and collaborative spaces (better natural lighting, air quality, an open feel to the classrooms, feels healthier, etc.), resulting in better teaching and learning. The new building’s capacity will hold the same number of students as our current facilities, which is 240. Our current middle school population is 220. Although we are not expecting to increase enrollment, we do seek
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THE NEXT 40 YEARS
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SUSTAINABLE DESIGN HEALTHY BUILDING MATERIALS Natural, long life-cycle building materials create healthy learning spaces that don't emit toxic chemicals WATER-EFFICIENT LANDSCAPING Native plantings and low-intensive landscaping reduce water demand for irrigation DAYLIGHT AND VIEWS All spaces have access to natural light and views out to nature RENEWABLE ENERGY Roof designed for future energyproducing photovoltaic panels CARBON FOOTPRINT Wood cladding stores carbon and avoids greenhouse gas emissions NATURAL PLAYSCAPE Low-intensive landscaping and natural materials have low impact on environment RECYCLING STATIONS Storage and collection stations for recyclables provided throughout the school ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION On-site bike parking and bicycling/ walking paths to promote alternative transportation STORMWATER MANAGEMENT On-site stormwater collection nourishes native habitat and eliminates water runoff
to optimize enrollment in our existing classes. We strive to keep our total middle school population at a size that allows us to preserve the close student/teacher relationships that are the hallmark of a highly effective middle school community. Our building design would qualify for LEED Silver status, but the Board decided not to pay the significant costs of the LEED certification process and instead to focus our design efforts on potential solar capabilities and the long-term potential for an “energy independent” campus. While the new building will not be LEED certified, it has been designed to incorporate best practices on materials, energy efficiency, and indoor environmental quality.
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AIR QUALITY Low VOC paints/adhesives/carpets used for improved indoor air quality NATURAL VENTILATION Operable windows improve occupant comfort and reduce mechanical cooling ENERGY REDUCTION High-performance envelope construction reduces energy usage
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THE NEXT 40 YEARS
MAKING A GIFT TO SUPPORT THE NEXT 40 YEARS Over the past 40 years, our school has grown and flourished because of a small group of philanthropic parents who wanted their children to experience the benefits of a multilingual education. Our students have benefited from the generosity of these founding parents, as well as later generations of families who have helped us to expand and improve our campus (the Annenberg Administrative Building and the Center for the Arts, as well as other projects).
RECEPTION
FAIS is seeking to raise $2.5 million in pledges to help fund the new Gilkey International Middle School. We are asking our community to make a pledge over a three-year period—a one-time contribution to FAIS, unlike past contributions to the School, that is an investment that will help ensure the future of the School for years to come. The total project cost for this first phase will be approximately $11. 5 million, and will be covered with cash on the School’s balance sheet remaining after paying for operational expenses; debt (in the form of a bond); and charitable contributions from this capital campaign. To date, we have received over $2 million in gifts and pledges. If we can reach the 80 percent threshold by July 2017, then our Board of Trustees will have confidence that we can fully fund the cost of our project and can proceed with breaking ground in the fall of 2017. We will be accepting pledges throughout the construction of the building, and are applying for several grants that will help us reach our goal.
FOREST CORRIDOR
At this pivotal moment in our school history, we are asking our current and alumni families to continue the School’s philanthropic tradition in order to create a permanent campus for future generations. This is our opportunity to “pay it forward” in a very meaningful way—one that will ensure the longevity of our school.
• PLEDGES MAY BE MADE ONLINE THROUGH THE FAIS WEBSITE (WWW.THENEXTFORTYYEARS.COM). • YOU MAY SUBMIT A COMPLETED PLEDGE FORM (AVAILABLE AT THE MAIN OFFICE OR ONLINE). ENTRY
• PLEDGES ARE PAYABLE OVER THREE YEARS (2017, 2018, AND 2019). • CASH, STOCK, OR OTHER SECURITIES ARE ALL ACCEPTED FORMS OF PAYMENT. • YOUR PLEDGE TOTAL MAY INCLUDE EMPLOYER’S CORPORATE MATCHING FUNDS. COLLABORATIVE SPACE
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LIFECYCLE LESSONS 3RD GRADERS HOST RAINBOW TROUT EGGS
During the dark days of February, Molly Orr, who works for the National Wildlife Federation and the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, delivered 500 tiny red Rainbow Trout eggs from a local hatchery to Molly Hamill’s science classroom. The eggs were carefully deposited in an aquarium, complete with filter, water pump, and chiller, all purchased with a seed grant from the Gray Family Foundation. The 3rd graders in Molly Hamill’s science class were deemed the official “hosts” for the eggs. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Fish Eggs to Fry program uses hands-on experience to teach children across Oregon about the lifecycle and habitats of native fish. Participation in the program allows FAIS to become a member of the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program by completing the biodiversity pathway. “What do all animals need to survive?” Hamill asked the class of attentive students. The kids think for a while before a hand goes up. “Food,” a student volunteers. “Water,” says another. After some coaxing, another comes up with third answer. “A place to live.” Hamill explained that once they hatch, the fish carry a yolk sac from which they get food and nutrients, so there is no need to feed them. The water must be kept cold for them to survive, and the aquarium, their temporary shelter, must be kept clean. Every day after the egg delivery, groups of 3rd grade students checked the water temperature in the aquarium, tested the pH balance, and most importantly, observed the Rainbow Trout as they developed from eggs to fry. “The 3rd graders took responsibility for charting the daily water conditions, and were very serious about their job,” recalls their teacher, Molly Hamill. One morning halfway through the three-week project, the students found one unlucky fry floating on top of the water. Although they were saddened to see a fish die, the first question one girl asked was, “Why did he die?” This sparked a conversation about the importance of keeping environmental conditions optimal for fish to survive.
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Once the remaining fish developed from tadpole-like alevin into fry— juvenile fish complete with fins and scales—they were ready to fend for themselves. Molly Hamill and Molly Orr carefully fished all 499 of them out of the aquarium with a net, and transferred them into a water-filled five-gallon bucket for their next step in the life cycle. One other teacher accompanied them to Bethany Lake in Beaverton where they crouched by the water’s edge, opened the bags, and let the little Rainbow Trout swim off to take their place in the ecosystem. Kevin Herkamp, the coordinator for ODFW’s Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program, which runs Fish Eggs to Fry, says the goal is to engage everyone, not just anglers, in caring for native fish and their habitats. “We’re working to connect Oregonians with native salmon and trout, and connect the next generation with our resources so they become involved and engaged stewards of our natural resources.” Hamill points out the campus-wide interest in the project. “Most of our faculty and about two-thirds of our lower and middle school student population, beyond the 3rd graders, visited the classroom— sometimes more than once—to see the fish. It was very much a community project!” She says she plans to continue the program next year, and hopes to involve more classes in the care and monitoring of the aquarium and to integrate the experience into the Lower School’s existing curriculum units on biodiversity and urban living. “It’s valuable for students this age to look closely at the changes that occur during the lifespan of animals, and compare this to the changes they are experiencing in their own lives and those of their family members,” she points out. ” It connects classroom lessons with the real world, and creates memories associated with a fun and active learning experience that the students will carry with them for the rest of their lives.” Contributed by Aaron Sewall
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3-D LEARNING TH
Clockwise from left: Teacher Cédric Strapart assists a student in an after-school LEGO Robotics class; students in Laurence Le Mercier's 1st grade class collaborate on a project; kindergarten students explore different materials and their properties.
Desks, whiteboards, world maps, textbooks, and pencils: these are things you will find in all classrooms around the world. The difference between a traditional classroom and a PYP classroom (Primary Years Programme of the IB, the framework FAIS follows), is all about engagement: every concept, whether words of the day, cursive loops, or math concepts, is deeply investigated from multiple perspectives in the PYP. This kind of “3-D” transdisciplinary approach refers to learning that is authentic and relevant to the real world; not confined by traditional subjects, but supported and enriched by them. “It’s a little like a Rubik’s cube,” laughs Catherine Cohen, PYP Coordinator for the Lower School. “It’s even more than 3-D— kids have endless variations of examining things, looking beneath the surface, blending and moving things around as they study the traditional subjects.” When something new appears in the classroom,
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1st grade teacher Laurence Le Mercier says it is not rare to hear a few students trying to make connections to the inquiry in progress. It triggers their curiosity, makes them want to be on the lookout for clues, and—because their inquisitiveness is recognized—they want to be the first to make the connection with the concept at hand. Earlier this year, students in Laurence’s class inquired “how people create tools to identify where they are.” They were posed with questions: Where did you go on your winter break? Who traveled the farthest? Which led to “where do our Twitter pen pals live?” Using globes, atlases, and Google Maps, students mapped out their own travels in relation to the homes of their Twitter pals. Taking this exploration further, the class said “our friends on Twitter would like to see our entire classroom; they cannot come here. How do we do it?” This led to making a 3-D model of their classroom with the view from above, using math measurements to create an accurate
model. Next, students asked “can a picture help us find where we are? Can a map help us find where we want to go?” They used their PE class in the school gymnasium to learn to navigate and find their way in contained spaces and on campus. They read maps and used orienteering methods to find 20 different cones and mark their locations on a map of the campus, retrace an itinerary, and find hidden numbers along the way. Ultimately, through inquiries like these students learn that there are multiple tools that can help identify where we are. Another example of transdisciplinarity, from Lower School English teacher Käthlin Gabaldon, comes from a kindergarten unit on “materials.” The central idea that “materials have properties we can investigate” led the students to think about snow globes, and how they could create one. What seemed like a simple task was actually more complicated: their objects in the snow globe couldn’t dissolve in water, and had to be objects that would slowly sink
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THRIVES AT FAIS Clockwise from left: students collect snow globe materials; the FAIS forest provides another venue for collaborative, transdisciplinary studies; student teams share their research on important local, national, and global issues for the 5th Grade Exhibition.
to the bottom after the globe was shaken. This required them to consider density and mass, floating and sinking, durability, and absorbency. In the 3rd grade, students studied water and the water cycle through multiple lenses, as well. As part of their geography studies with 3rd grade teacher Heimata Lemaire, students researched sickness linked to water supplies around the world, and studied Lake Poopó—once Bolivia’s second-largest lake and an important fishing resource for local communities—and the reasons why it has essentially dried up. They mapped out this research, researched water cycles in science, and used French oral language to explain what they did in a stop-motion video, which will be shared with parents and other students. This year, our 3rd grade teachers agree that one of the most powerful transdisciplinary units has been the PYP unit “Living things organize themselves,” saying the students are still using the skills and knowledge learned in this unit
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even though it was studied several months ago. Students conducted research on the structure and function of organizations; the process of getting organized (concepts of form, causation, and change); how they themselves stay organized while doing research; learning how to do organized research (finding key words in articles, for example); and organizing their readings in class presentations and in their homework. The culmination of the transdisciplinary approach is beautifully illustrated by the annual 5th Grade Exhibition, held each spring at FAIS for the past four years. This studentled, collaborative inquiry starts with the exploration of real-life issues and problems of interest to groups of our students, led by mentors contributing support and advice. Among the issues students chose to cover this year included the negative effects of media and smoking; segregation and its different forms; how mental illness influences people's
lives; and stress and physical and emotional health. Each group gave a presentation which incorporated different approaches, including video, Power Point, art, brochures to hand out to visitors, and even music. Their penultimate task was to show how they would take action that would influence change as a result of their research. All of these collaborative, multidimensional explorations ultimately leave our students with a layered understanding of themselves and the connections they have with the rest of humanity. Laurence puts it this way: “We believe that students as young as 6 years old, like our 1st graders, can be knowledgeable inquirers who embrace learning through a transdisciplinary lens.” “It is amazing as the year progresses to see how my students begin making connections on their own: they become thinkers. They understand that we all need to ‘scratch our brains’ all day long.”
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HER LIFE IS HER CANVAS
D
esigners Isaac Mizrahi and Ralph Lauren, Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels, actress Carrie Brownstein: these are a few of the luminaries FAIS alumna Alyssa Renck (‘07) has worked with over the past six years.
At just 24, Alyssa is living in the Big Apple with a roommate in a 750-square-foot apartment in the East Village, with a fulltime job as an assistant designer for Express, complete with salary and benefits. One of her designs was recently worn by supermodel Karlie Kloss in a marketing campaign. Her trajectory has been quick, but make no mistake: Alyssa has known nearly all her life where she was headed. “When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be an architect, interior designer, fashion designer, and photographer, so I could design my whole life,” she laughs. She attended Gilkey International Middle School, where she says “everyone was very motivating and supportive and all the activities we were exposed to were very inspiring.” She talks about the artistic foundation her Gilkey years gave her: “Arts Week offered a lot of creative activities; we even did creative things in our science classes. I did dance as well as aerial movement, all while learning a second language.” At St. Mary’s Academy, Alyssa narrowed her career aspirations to fashion design, and took every art class she could, including AP Studio Art,
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which she says helped her develop her portfolio for college applications. She completed a pre-college summer program at Rhode Island School of Design, was a leader of her high school’s art club, and was very active in art competitions, winning a gold and silver key her senior year in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. When it came time to pick a college, Alyssa fell in love with Parsons The New School for Design, in New York City. After four and a half years, she graduated from their five-year program in conjunction with Eugene Lang The New School for Liberal Arts, with a BFA in Fashion Design and a BA in Culture & Media Studies. She was on the Dean’s List and served on the exclusive Fashion Design Council. While a student, Alyssa also completed a dizzying array of internships, including dressing actors for Verizon and Stetson commercials, working as a wardrobe assistant for IFC’s Portlandia, and costuming comedians on the set of Saturday Night Live. “Chris Hemsworth [one of the 2015 guest hosts] asked me personally for flip flops and it was magical,” she reminisces. Alyssa’s two theses—one for fashion and one for liberal arts—were ambitious. “For fashion design we were required to design a collection with six ‘looks.’ I photographed those six looks to create a professional lookbook, designed my unique
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brand, and created a video. My thesis consisted of modern interpretations of Victorian styles based on a book, A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray.” She even received a personal response from the author herself after sharing the project with her. Alyssa’s liberal arts thesis was a 50-page book detailing the importance of costumes on Saturday Night Live, including famous images of costumes and an interview with her boss Eric Justian, SNL costume designer. What’s next for this young up-and-coming designer? “I would like to work my way up to senior designer and maybe even being the head of design at a company. Hopefully in five years I will at least be at Associate or Designer level.” And long term aspirations? “I would love to move back to Portland eventually and maybe work at Nike,” Alyssa muses. “Aim high, right?”
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ALUMNI PROFILE
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REGINA MOLINAOCHOA
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AGE: 23 15 YEARS ATTENDED FAIS: 10 YEARS (PREKINDERGARTEN TO 8TH GRADE) HIGH SCHOOL: SUNSET HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE: UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, BOULDER, WITH AN EXCHANGE YEAR AT INSTITUT D’ÉTUDES POLITIQUES DE PARIS (SCIENCES PO) CURRENT OCCUPATION: LAW STUDENT AT UC BERKELEY SCHOOL OF LAW; SUMMER ASSOCIATE AT MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP
How did your experience at FAIS influence your choice of graduate study/career direction? First, my teachers at FAIS really instilled in me a love of learning from a young age. The international education and focus on global issues at the School fostered an interest in humanities, politics, and history, so I continued to explore different subjects in those areas in high school and college. Then, during my study abroad at Sciences Po in Paris, France, I took a few law courses in French, which really solidified my decision to attend law school upon graduation. How well did FAIS prepare you for your experience in college and graduate school? I believe I was extremely well-prepared for college and graduate school thanks to FAIS. At school, we were exposed to literature from around the world, and were given the opportunity to be creative through art projects. Our internationally focused curriculum taught us to celebrate our diversities. This education helped me form my own worldview and applying this global perspective to my studies in college benefited me as a sociology student. Also, the study habits and writing skills I learned at FAIS prepared me for the IB program in high school and the large amounts of reading in law school. Are there skills you learned at FAIS that you have applied to your experiences/studies? FAIS truly provided me with some of the most important skills and experiences I have used, not only in school but also in life. In the classroom, our teachers really motivated us to think critically and to ask questions through hands-on research projects like the chef d’œuvre in 4th grade (thanks Cédric!). We also gained invaluable life experiences through our class trips abroad in 5th and 8th grades where we had the opportunity to live with families in Europe and see all of the things that we had learned in our history classes with our own eyes. All of this prepared me to succeed in school and gave me an appreciation for traveling and experiencing different cultures. How many languages do you speak and how have you put them to use? I speak three languages: French, Spanish, and English. I am fortunate to have been able to use these in various different areas in my life. In college, I was a French minor, which gave me the opportunity to study at a French university in Paris for a semester. Also, I have used my fluency in foreign languages to help underrepresented communities. For example, when I worked with iEmpathize, a nonprofit that helps combat human trafficking around the world, I translated emails to Spanish to help iEmpathize leaders communicate with directors of safe houses for victims in Mexico City. What do you envision for the next five years, career-wise? The next ten years? I hope to be working at a large law firm in the San Francisco Bay Area in transactional law. I am very adamant about continuing to use my foreign language capabilities in my work, so I am hoping to largely focus my practice on cross-border commercial transactions. I would also like to commit myself to continuing to provide pro bono representation to immigrant communities in the U.S. Is there anything else about your FAIS experience that you would like to share? I would like to thank my parents for giving me the gift of this education. I always tell them that FAIS is the best gift they’ve ever given me because it opened so many doors for me and truly made me the person I am today. I am so thankful that I was able to learn from the amazing teachers at FAIS, travel to Europe with my classmates, and make friendships that I still maintain today.
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ALUMNI UPDATES
1997
Bianca Bosker ('97) recently published her second book, Cork Dork, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List at No. 5, and Bianca and her book were profiled on the front page of the New York Times Arts section. During March, Bianca had a homecoming visit to Portland with an appearance at Powell's Books to promote Cork Dork.
2008
Alex Liem ('08) is graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology, and he is doing an internship at SpaceX in Los Angeles, California.
Sierra Wagner ('08) graduated from the University of Denver in 2016 with two degrees, in anthropology and international relations, and a minor in Spanish. She is currently finishing up a year in Madrid studying at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School.
Aaron Danowski (‘09) graduated with honors from Gonzaga University, where he studied Sustainable Business and Sociology, after graduating from Jesuit High School in 2013. In 2014, Aaron traveled to Chennai, India as part of a $1.2 million humanitarian award called the Opus Prize, and met with a grassroots advocacy organization run by “untouchables” seeking to protect their rights, educate their children, and defeat caste discrimination. Upon his return from that experience, Aaron successfully raised $46,000 to help a student from the “untouchable” community in Chennai to earn a master’s degree in organizational leadership at Gonzaga. In 2015, Aaron spent the summer working in Port-au-Prince, Haiti with a social enterprise called Rebuild Globally, providing dignified, living-wage employment hiring local, at-risk Haitian artisans to make sandals from locally sourced materials. He also spent a semester studying abroad in Cameroon through the School for International Training, studying international development, sociology, and French. In 2016, Aaron was a finalist for both the Rhodes Scholarship and the Marshall Scholarship, only the second student in Gonzaga history ever to be invited to both finals. Currently, Aaron is a research fellow at the Center for Sustainable Economy in Portland, where his work is focused on analyzing climate change, overconsumption of the Earth’s resources, and unsustainable international development. He will be travelling to Sweden next year to pursue a master’s degree in human ecology at Lund University.
2009
After graduating from Grant High School in 2013, Helena Bales (’09) will graduate from Oregon State University with a degree in computer science this June, after which she will be working at Los Alamos National Lab in Intelligence and Space Research. Helena has been focusing on applying her computer science skills to develop software systems on small spacecraft such as Cube Satellites and rocketry payloads. She has held a variety of internships and jobs in her field, including an internship at NASA's Johnson Space Center, developing a software system for tracking items to be repaired in the International Space Station. Following that internship Helena became involved with a group of students at the University of Georgia and co-founded UGA's Small Satellite Research Lab, and spent the summer of 2016 in Athens, GA, developing two cube satellites and the lab. Since then her primary project has been a rocketry payload, part of the 2017 RockSat-X program, called Hephaestus, whose mission objective is to prove our ability to perform precise, autonomous movements in space using a robotic arm. This is the first step towards a goal of being capable of building large structures in space, which will enable humans to travel farther into space than ever before. Hephaestus will fly in August of 2017, launched from Wallops Flight Center in Virginia, and Helena hopes to attend the launch. Other than those engineering projects, she has also been involved with Chicktech, a non-profit organization that puts on workshops for high school girls. She teaches a variety of different technical and art skills during the workshops including designing circuits, programming microcontrollers, and soldering.
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2010
Alexandra Gritta (’10) is currently attending Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, majoring in international studies and languages. Alexandra is a Hodson Trust Scholar and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society.
Kirra Klein (’10) was accepted to New York University after graduating from high school, and is now enjoying her junior year abroad at their Paris satellite campus.
Madeline Miller ('10) is a junior at the University of Oregon studying advertising in the Journalism School. She's minoring in business and, of course, French. This summer Madeline will study as part of the Global Education program studying journalism in London, England.
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ALUMNI UPDATES
2011
After receiving her IB diploma from Lincoln High School in 2016, Mimi Mays (‘11), sister of John Mays (current Gilkey 7th grader), is the Legacy Scholar at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is on the Dean’s List with a double major in political science and mass communications, is active in the foreign language department, dance, and is the editor of two campus publications.
2013
After graduating from St. Mary’s Academy in 2015, Coral Ng (’11) is now completing her sophomore year at Gonzaga University, studying civil engineering and mathematics. Coral studied abroad in Florence, Italy and traveled to nine different European countries in early 2017: Italy, France, Hungary, Ireland, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. She will be going to Barcelona, Spain for two weeks after her current program ends, and says she “cannot wait to practice the Spanish I learned in middle school and high school.” This summer Coral will return to Portland to continue an internship at BESThq, in Beaverton.
Laurel Kemp (’13) will be attending UCLA this fall, and plans to follow the pre-med track, majoring in biochemistry and French.
2012
Annika Irrgang ('12) has been taking a gap year after graduating from Valley Catholic HS in 2016 to get some "real-life" experience in preparation for medical school. During her gap year she has been working, traveling, and volunteering, including a three-month internship at a local hospital in Samana/Dominican Republic, where she worked side by side with medical staff and Doctors Without Borders. This September, Annika will move to Germany to start medical school at the University of Munich (LMU).
17
Audrey Akots (’13) will be attending Seattle University in the fall.
Meagan Lo (‘13) will be heading to Seattle University to study nursing this fall.
Millie Orlando (’13), pictured with Francesca ('10) and Gianni ('14), will be attending the University of South Carolina this fall, studying international business. She was accepted into the Darla Moore School of International Business, which is one of the top international business programs in the country, and was one of ten students admitted into a cohort program to be spending their junior year taking international business classes at Dauphine University in Paris. Kate Turner (’13) is graduating this year from Valley Catholic High School and plans to attend Texas Christian University for college. She plans to major in psychology.
2014
Keegan Riley (’14) will be a senior at Jesuit High this fall and just finished the spring season running track as a hurdler.
Hadley Wilhoite (’12) is finishing up her first year at Princeton University, and continues to excel in track.
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2016
Addison Riley (’16) is finishing up his freshman at Sunset High School and did special effects for the stage production of Mary Poppins this spring. Addison is also on the staff of the Sunset High yearbook. (He was photographer for yearbook at Gilkey.)
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