The American School seniors celebrate success at high school graduation

Even the gloomy weather could not bring the celebratory mood down. The school (TAS) hosted honourary guest speaker, Sherry Boger, vice president in the technology and manufacturing group and general manager of Intel Products Vietnam.

Boger was a perfect speaker for the TAS Class of 2015, with a personal and touching speech about the value of hard work, persistence, and little bit of luck.

“Today, many people think I am lucky. And, I am. I am a very lucky person and I feel immensely grateful for all of my life’s blessings. But I am not lucky in a dreamy way. I am lucky in a “self-determined and a lot of hard work” way. And that is the simple message that I’d like to share with you today,” said Boger.

It has been a good year for TAS Class of 2015. According to Danielle Clemmer, college counselor, the Class of 2015 has a 90 per cent college acceptance rate and received more than $2 million in scholarships to universities in the United States. The top students earned various academic awards, with some earning more than one scholarships.

High achievers like this year’s valedictorian, Khanh Nguyen, and salutatorian, Meagan Peoples, will be both attending Johns Hopkins University in the US with four-year scholarships. Noted high honours students Duy Lam and Nick Tran will be attending New York University (NYU) and Suffolk University on the US east coast.

“Nothing excites me more than the idea of the future. Things await us seniors, just beyond tomorrow there are things which we could never have dreamed of, experiences we had never even considered could be a part of our future, some of them bad, yes, but some of them good”, says Meagan Peoples, class salutatorian, “To me, the idea of the future is beautiful, that things could be so completely different then they are now, that we can create a new present, that we can mold our own world.”

Peoples, featured as a top TAS senior graduate, had some encouraging words for her fellow students about overcoming adversity and facing the future. Peoples was the Student Council secretary, director of the annual drama production (“Little Shop of Horrors” in May), and won many awards including placing first in the high school division at the International Schools’ Monologue Competition this year.

“This is the TAS experience, and I am so glad I have had the chance to enjoy it, even if it was only for a short while. So thank you my fellow graduates and I wish you the best of luck with all your future endeavors,” Peoples said.

Middle and High School principal and academic director Garth O’Donnell noted in his opening remarks that this class was a special one for him.

“Your teachers and I feel blessed to know you and to see you grow and prosper. You are a special group of young men and women. Take what you have learned at TAS and build upon it; carry it with you into the future, and help to transform our world! Good luck to all of you!” said O’Donnell.

Faculty also remarked on what an extraordinary this class has been for TAS, with two very active and deserving valedictorian and salutatorian.

Eric Rossi, MSHS science teacher and master of ceremonies for the graduation commented, “We'll miss the graduating class this year, but at least we were able to give them a wonderful, memorable event before they leave.”

Khanh Nguyen, class valedictorian, who has been attending TAS since it opened in 2010, said that he would miss his TAS family and encouraged other students to cherish their time at the school.

Nguyen was also a gifted learner, scoring top marks on the SATs, during his junior year. He was also the student council president for 2014-2015 and a leader in the community service club, Walking Hope.

“I’ve been with this school since it started in the fall of 2010, back when it only had four secondary grades and thirty students and a few teachers. What was so special about the school was that the small size turned the community more into a family,” Nguyen said.

“You knew everyone and everyone knew you. The teachers were more than just your educators, the people who kept you in class and gave you homework and tests. The staff was more than just workers in the backdrop of the school, making sure you had your uniform, your lunch, and that everything was in order. They were people you come to and talk about your life, about the issues you had, or the things that you were excited for,” he recalled.

“The school was like a second home. I’ve watched that school grow to what it is today. Now, there are a full six secondary grades, complete with almost two hundred students and several teachers,” Nguyen noted.

But after all the diplomas were handed out and future plans announced (a large majority of TAS students will attend college post-graduation in the United States), three simple words summed many feelings.

“We are still one family,” said Valedictorian Khanh Nguyen, who then shouted, “We made it!”

Contact details:

The American School (TAS)
177A, 172-180 Nguyen Van Huong Str., District 2, HCMC
Phone: 08.3519.2223
Email: admissions@tas.edu.vn