IB alumni from the International Studies Program filled the Ermitage Chimney Room at 46 Avenue Eglé on January 4th 2017. Graduating IB classes from 2011 - 2016 were encouraged to attend, and almost 30% of Ermitage IB Alumni participated in the event, a testament to the great connection they feel to the school. Former students gleefully poured back into the building with laughs and exclamations, meeting up again with old friends and mentors.

To kick off the event, three alumni from the class of IB 2012 spoke to our current students, offering a brief introduction as to what they were doing and how they arrived there. They spoke about their time at Ermitage, giving tips on how to organize oneself during university and afterward in applying for jobs and internships. They were enthusiastically received by current IB1 and IB2 students, who enjoyed hearing their life tips and anecdotes - asking lots of questions along the way.

The International Alumni Evening, the first of its kind, began following the Alumni Panel. As guests arrived they wandered into a festive cocktail party, a picture slideshow was displayed on a projector in the Chimney room, and a table full of yearbooks was at hand. Former students were also joined by current and former staff members, with a surprise visit from Dr. Elizabeth Webb who is currently in the USA.

Mr. David Carmier, the President of Ermitage’s Alumni Association, welcomed the crowd, along with Ben Hunter, the IBDP Coordinator. Mr. Carmier is a fellow alumnus from the French Section who graduated in 2005; he is now a magistrate for the Mairie de Paris and a part of the Mairie of Sartrouville in the Yvelines.

Many of our recent graduates are attending universities around the world, from the USA to Canada, France, the UK, and the Netherlands. Universities include Georgetown in Washington DC, RISD in Rhode Island, McGill in Montreal, Science Po and Ecart in Paris, the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, Westminster in London, and the University of Rotterdam, just to name a few.

Some of our older graduates have gone on to study Masters in Business or Marine Biology. Tara Busiau, IB 2012, who met with our current students during the Alumni Panel, is currently preparing a PhD in Biomedicine researching prostate cancer. We have an alumna working at Cornell University in Business Administration, others in Paris running their own businesses in film or the music industry, and some currently working in London and China.

The aim of the evening was not only to reunite past classes, but also to bring people back to Ermitage in order to set the base for and develop a network of graduates, university students and working people who can call on each other and work together in the future. We pride ourselves on being a close-knit community and want to see that grow beyond the walls of the school. These initiatives, we hope, will allow for this and based on our first experience of it will be a great success!

We are quite proud of our Ermitage Alumni and look forward to continuing these relationships and following their exciting paths for years to come. Watch out for future Alumni opportunities, follow our Ermitage Alumni Facebook page, and feel free to contact us at alumni@ermitage.fr