LFNY: You left the Lycée in 1977. Can you share with us some of the highlights of what you have been doing since then and what you are doing now as a career?
Philippe LaCrosse: After leaving the Lycée, I came back to Paris for Terminale. I then moved to Bordeaux to start my medical studies, as my parents wanted me to get away from Paris temptations and concentrate on my studies. And guess what: the very first day of school in Bordeaux, I enter this huge amphitheater of more than 1000 students and I hear someone call out “Philippe!”. It was Jean-Philippe, my best friend at the LFNY from two years earlier.
During the third year of my medical studies, I moved back to Paris to eventually pass the “Concours de l’Internat de Paris” and become an orthopedic surgeon.
During my internship, I lost my father. He was a pediatrician and had founded two private hospitals in Guadeloupe in the French West Indies. Therefore, although I was based in Paris, I split my time between Paris and Guadeloupe to manage those hospitals. Initially, my mother, who is a U.S. citizen and lives in Florida, helped by representing me in Guadeloupe on a regular basis, as I was involved in my residency programs in Paris.
My hospitals specialize in Hemodialysis, physical rehabilitation, medicine and home hospitalization. The hospitals also cover the islands of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barth. And we manage a nursing home. The hospitals were later moved to a new site that we built in the town of Gosier. In addition to the hospitals in Gosier, I am still active at Hospital Ambroise-Paré in Boulogne near Paris.
In 2002, I started developing an electronic medical records software called Corianis. The idea came as I could not find any existing software that would precisely cover all the functional aspects that a hospital needs (for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, managers, etc). The existing softwares were made by IT specialists for IT specialists. Ours was made specifically by healthcare professionals for healthcare professionals. It has proven very efficient and our users love it.
Discovering other life experiences can help you to understand your very own.
When I was a child, I wanted (like many others) to become a surgeon or fighter pilot. My eyesight did not allow me to become a fighter pilot, but the day after my last Internat examination session to become an orthopedic surgeon, I took my first flying lesson at the Air France aeroclub at Toussus-le-Noble airport. Two years later, I got my instrument rating in Canada and my commercial pilot license. Two years after that, I got my first jet type rating in Van Nuys, California. Flying a jet was a good opportunity for me to discover the world. I have flown extensively to Africa, North and South America, Europe and Australia.
The class photo of Philippe LaCrosse in 1ère in 1977 at the Lycée Français.
Busy with hospital management, I progressively flew less and less over the last ten years, until I met a gentleman who owned an FAA flight school based in Cannes in the south of France. I eventually bought his company and we now fly a Phenom 300 light business jet. We are working on developing the company in Florida.
On a totally different matter, I am now restoring a 1702 plantation in Guadeloupe that belonged to my father. We are in the process of having it listed as “Monument historique” by the French Ministry of Culture.
LFNY: What inspired you to reconnect with the Lycée through the alumni program?
PL: I have considered doing so for the past three or four years and even contacted one of my fellow alumni (thanks to Facebook). Then, last month I had the opportunity to visit the “new” LFNY on 75th Street. It is really beautiful. As a matter of fact, I am considering moving back to New York next fall and applying for my children to join the LFNY. Martine Lala told me about the Alumni association and about the work Claude Aska is doing. That’s how I got reconnected.
LFNY: What impact do you feel alumni involvement can have on current LFNY students, as well as on alumni?
PL: This is an important question. One’s youth and studies are fundamental in shaping his or her future. Alumni involvement can show current LFNY students that coming from the same background (can I say belonging to the same family ?) can still lead to a diversity of life and career experiences. I think it is important for current LFNY students to realize that one way or another, their future will be greatly influenced by their studies at the Lycée. This is of course also true for alumni.
LFNY: In closing, can you provide a few inspiring words to encourage more alumni to reconnect with the Lycée?
PL: In addition to reconnecting with fellow alumni, I am convinced that discovering other life experiences can help you to understand your very own.
About the Author :
Claude’s goal is to develop a thriving program that alumni of multiple promotions will find engaging and compelling. Prior to coming to the Lycée, Claude co-directed the start-up and development of two Gates Foundation High schools, Food and Finance High School and the High School for Hospitality Management (HSHM). At these schools, he designed and implemented a work-based mentoring program for students. Claude is an avid Olympique de Marseille fan.