Traditions play an important role in a student’s school experience, and no year is quite as full of traditions as Terminale. It is the conclusion of years of participating in traditions new and old, and is full of eagerly-anticipated milestones for students and parents: their last day of classes, their final Bac exam, prom, and graduation. But what about a Terminale Class Gift? Could we make a legacy project a new Lycée tradition?
This was the question that faced the development department in fall 2020. Senior Class Gifts are a common fundraising initiative in US independent schools and universities, but could we take this American tradition, and adopt it to the Lycée’s unique French-American environment? “Launching a new fundraising initiative is never easy, especially during a pandemic. We knew for this to be successful it would need to align with the Lycée’s culture,” said Caroline Naralasetty, Director of Development.
Rethinking the Class Gift began with conversations with parent co-chairs Gilles Aublin and Haitham Wahab. “For this project to be successful, we need to have the students buy in from day one, and we need to have their voices present in everything we do,” shared Haitham at our first meeting. This became the guiding philosophy of the project, and emphasized the role of the gift as a lasting commemoration of T ’21’s school experience and legacy.
We started to hold meetings with the T’21 delegates in February 2021. I helped them understand their role in developing the gift as akin to that of the board of a small foundation, setting the direction, mission and vision for their philanthropy. The trajectory of the project was up to them, and we would help make it happen
After that we listened. We centered student voices as they shared perceived weaknesses in the project. We let them describe their legacy and what they have already done. We used that feedback to adapt the project. They had full ownership–my job was merely to advocate for their positions, and ensure the project kept moving.
The delegates worked with their advisory groups, and presented five potential projects to their classmates for a vote. Over 60% of T’21 voted to create a scholarship as their legacy project, speaking to this goal of improving the experiences of those after them. As Tom, one of the class delegates, said, “the idea of a scholarship to increase socioeconomic diversity at the Lycée resonated with my advisory immediately.” Spending time with this class makes the reason for this clear: they are some of the founding leaders of the Coalition, the group of student-led clubs that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. They entered their final year of school against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter Protests, and helped organize a Lycée march last June.
Their mission statement, written by Alexander and Tom, serves as a logical continuation of this activism. “The T’21 class of the Lycée has always been a dynamic cohort. Filled with passionate, creative, intelligent, altruistic, and diverse thinkers, it has always been our nature and goal to improve the experiences of those around and after us.”
The experiences of all seniors were made richer by the community they attended class with everyday, and it is their hope that future generations of Lycée students will have similar experiences. The T’21 Diversity Scholarship aims to achieve their goal of increasing socioeconomic diversity at the Lycée by providing partial scholarships to secondary school students.
The students also insisted that we create a meaningful physical way to commemorate the class on campus. Many T’21 students entered in the Petite Section as three year olds, and as they prepare to graduate from the only school they’ve known, the building is an important part of their identity. Especially after a year spent largely online, their emotional attachment to the space was something we needed to acknowledge and honor.
They came up with the brilliant idea of an art project – a decorated locker telling the story of who their class is, and to give current and future secondary students something beautiful to look at as they pass through the halls. For Lily, Zoe, and Lou, the students who designed and painted it, their hope is that each terminale class will add their own artistic stamp to the locker area and to the school.
Ultimately, the Terminale Class Gift matters because philanthropy matters. For our students to graduate as “Citizens of Culture and Courage,” it is important for them to learn the power of philanthropy, and how their individual values and personal mission statements can bring change to the world. The Terminale Class Gift gives students the opportunity to use their contributions and gifts from their families and the Lycée community to fund the change they want to see.
As the campaign continues, the power of grassroots participation is shaping it into an enormous success. It has inspired donors among T’21 parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends of the Lycée, and gifts ranging from $21 to $10,021. Each one, regardless of size, honors T’21 and has an enormous impact on future Lycée students. If you would like to add your support to this project please visit the Class Gift Giving page.
My thanks to Haitham Wahab and Gilles Aublin for leading this campaign, and to David Benichou, Philippe Comer, Kate Karet, and Laura Foggini-Pasquini for serving on the Class Gift committee. Above all, I must acknowledge the work of the T’21 delegates and students in shaping this project, especially Alexander, Tom, Zoe, Lily, Lou, and Julien.
While it is too early to say for sure if this will be a Lycée tradition to span generations, we are hopeful that we can continue to meet terminale students, listen to their stories and perspectives, and use philanthropy and giving as a way to honor and celebrate each graduating class.
About the Author :
Nicole started at the Lycée as the Associate Director of Annual Giving in March of 2019. A graduate of the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Nicole received a J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School. She began her career in development almost ten years ago and has successfully grown Annual Fund programs, managed special events, and supported capital campaigns in schools, such as the Dwight School Foundation, Brooklyn Prospect Charter School and the Genesis School, to name a few.