Graduation with International Flair

Graduates at EF International AcademyThe graduating class of 148 students came to EF (Education First) International Academy from approximately 50 countries around the world. Around 200 guests, including parents, family and friends traveled to New York to celebrate the commencement. Headmaster Dr. Brian Mahoney and Principal Tia Gueye led the ceremony. Also in attendance was Dr. Claudia Trew. The former Principal of EF International Academy was guest speaker for the event. 

As for the students, it was a time of reflection as they prepared to move on to the next chapter of their lives, off to separate countries (and sometimes continents) for the first time in many months. After two years of studying and living together, far away from home, it was a bittersweet goodbye for some. “These two years were amazing for me. I met really wonderful people, made really good friends. I had the best time of my life,” said Miguel Olivares of Venezuela. “I am definitely leaving New York a wiser person,” says senior International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Candidate Anne Vincent of Malaysia. Members of the faculty, many of whom have had the same students for the last two consecutive years, expressed that watching the students graduate is an equally nostalgic experience. “The EF International Academy community becomes so much like a family, you cry with the parents as your students graduate. In many ways, it is like watching your own children graduate from high school and leave home,” said Chair of the Science Department, Andrew Hodgkinson of the United Kingdom.

As Student Council President Benjamin Hui of Norway spoke to the assembly, he asked the graduates to reflect upon the ups and downs of the last several years: “ ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’, Charles Dickens wrote. And for us here at EF International Academy, I am confident in saying it was truly the best of times. Now that we look back at the trying times we have gone through, we have grown stronger and taller than we were before. We have so much to be grateful for, for all we’ve gone through and all the memories we have collected here.”

Congratulations to the EF International Academy, Class of 2013!

EF International Academy is a private international boarding school for high school students and  is home to over 500 students from 60 different countries around the world. Set on the former campus of Marymount College in Westchester County, NY, EF International Academy is recognized as an IB World School. Specializing in the International Baccalaureate Diploma, as well as a New York State diploma, For information please contact the Admissions Office at (914) 597-7241 or visit us at www.ef.com/IA

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