ISL Class of 2018 at Graduation;

The International School of Luxembourg (ISL) Class of 2018 graduated on Saturday 19 May at the Grand Theatre.

Many of the graduates were born in the year 2000, when there was a fear that computer systems all around the world would crash - as they may not be able to read dates after 1999. It was known as the Millennium Bug, or Y2K, and some even feared it could be the end of the world. Companies around the world invested in new software and media created back-up systems to ensure they could still produce their newspapers and magazines if there was a crash.

Fortunately, nothing bad happened, and in fact that year, and the following one, saw 99 wonderful new human beings enter the world. Little did they know, they would go on to become International Baccalaureate graduates of ISL. During their graduation ceremony, through music, song and speech, the students showed they whole-heartedly appreciated what the last 18 years had given them.

This was also emphasised when student elected speaker, Gordon Clemons, said: “This class has seen things no one would have guessed were even possible 20 years ago - we saw the first black president of the USA.” Gordon went on to list many other weird and wonderful things the students had witnessed in their short but ever changing lives. In her speech, Elena Perticucci, faculty elected speaker, looked back on her years in Luxembourg and at ISL and how it opened her mind to the world.  

On a similar note, ISL Alumnus, Guy Benzeno, a 1996 graduate, gave a poignant speech that highlighted the possibilities and constant changes that lie ahead of this generation. In his opening remarks Guy said: “The only mega trend I will pick up on is a fact that has become very clear - your generation will need to adapt constantly in a world that is continuously changing and changing more rapidly than ever before. You will need to adapt over and over and this can be quite a nerve racking prospect. I’m here to tell you that you can take control of your life by learning to say “Yes” to life, by being comfortable with uncertainty and learning to improvise.”

ISL Director, Nicki Crush, gave many words of wisdom and highlighted the diversity of the graduating students who come from 24 different nationalities. During her speech she said: “Be generous, be humble, be empathetic, be compassionate, be principled, be flexible, admit to your mistakes and learn from them, make a difference no matter how small - you are already global citizens – you are already 24 different nationalities who have grown together regardless of where you come from or what you believe in.

Nicki left the students with some pragmatic words: “The world does not owe you anything, you make your own luck and success, you have to work hard and sometimes it’s boring but don’t expect anything from anyone, expect to do everything yourself and you may well be pleasantly surprised and finally, be happy and enjoy every day that comes.”

As the graduation ceremony drew to a close the Class of 2018 digested the advice they had received and went on to classically throw their caps in the air and celebrate their success!