opening doors to the world… the lausanne way!

Here are some of the words of wisdom she shared:Since leaving Lausanne, I have been a wanderer — never living morethan a few years in one place. I have no family of my own — nohusband, children or life partner. When people ask where I call home,I usually answer with a laugh, “wherever I am standing at the moment.”In receiving this invitation to be here today, your headmasterconcluded with the phrase, “Welcome Home.” And, I have to tell you,I was a little taken aback at such a sweet sounding, but to me, ratherexotic phrase.You see, I consider myself a kind of homeless person: I studied at alot of different colleges and graduate schools and law schools after Ileft Lausanne. In college, I must have changed my major a dozentimes. I started out pre-med and, even today, when I visit a clinic or ahospital, I still long to be a part of that world. I practiced law for onlya short while before I joined the diplomatic service.I was in the Foreign Service for 25 years — a quarter of a century— spending most of my overseas assignments in dangerous countriesin various stages of civil unrest, conflict or full-fledged war. Again, abit ironic, since I consider myself something of a pacifist...In addition to wonderful times, there were some very difficult andgut-wrenching experiences: I have witnessed and reported onhorrendous human rights abuses and stood on the edge of more massgraves in more countries than I care to remember. Mortars have struckdozens at a time night after night, day after day, near me...I have gone weeks without a shower, long periods in freezingweather without heat, in blazing heat without air conditioning.Reading at night with a flashlight, without electricity. Sleeping only afew hours a night for weeks on end because of the demands of my job.Exposed to, and contracting, local diseases. And, many times, my ownclosely-held personal beliefs and values have clashed directly with mygovernment’s foreign policy toward the country of my assignment...And yet, I am here today, lacking most of the accoutrements of anormal life, thinking that I must be the happiest and most fulfilledperson in the world. Small victories, more than grand successes, havepunctuated my life...Have you thought aboutcoming back to Lausanne toshare your life experiences?Do you have advice to giveor a story to tell?The students were indeed hooked.It was not easy deciding upon a topic for today’s speech. I hadthought about talking about the importance of returning civility to ournational discourse, for instance, or defending the idea of elitismagainst what I perceive to be a clash of ignorances, rather than a clashof civilizations (that is not my phrase, it is the Aga Khan’s).By virtue of your education here at Lausanne, you are a member ofthe elite whether you know it or not...At one point, an initial draft of my remarks began to sound likePolonius’ platitudes to Laertes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Friendsadvised me “make sure you tell them” this or that particular story oradventure. But you and I share this intimate space at Lausanne in away that transcends time. So this was the topic I settled on.What I would like to leave with you as this year’s recipient of theChair of Ideas is just that:Ideas — the importance of keeping an open mind to new ideas, andinformation and experiences — no matter where you are or what youare doing.With ideas, you have so many options for achieving happiness andmaking valuable contributions...My final idea today is this — “To whom much is given, much isexpected.” And, at Lausanne, we have been given a lot.With my high level of energy and curiosity, I shudder to think whatwould have become of me without the ideas I was exposed to atLausanne, which led me to believe in nearly endless options for myown life.I’ve had many sleepless nights thinking about the mass of humanityout there — so many in our own country — who have no Lausanne.I have every expectation that conditions are ripe foryou all, if you manage things correctly, to become “theNext Greatest Generation.” After all, you students ofLausanne, my generation didn’t start the fire.We want to hear it, and our students are hungry for yourinput. Go to www.lausanneschool.com/alumni to view thespeeches of alumni who spoke to our students this pastsemester. Their words and involvement truly inspired ourstudents: Rebecca Baer ’01, Aarica Blackett ’05, AndrewDawson ’08, Zac Hill ’04 and Jessica LeCroy ’70, our 2010–2011 Chair of Ideas.If you are interested, please contact us to schedule apresentation in Upper School Convocation:alumni@lausanneschool.com or 901.474.1008.Since leaving Lausanne, I have been a wanderer –never living more than a few years in one place.I have no family of my own – no husband, childrenor life partner. When people ask where I callhome, I usually answer with a laugh, “wherever Iam standing at the moment.”In receiving this invitation to be here today, yourheadmaster concluded with the phrase, “WelcomeHome.” And, I have to tell you, I was a littletaken aback at such a sweet sounding, but to me,rather exotic phrase.General David Petraeus and Jessica LeCroy ’70; Lausanne alumni at the Chair of Ideas event October 29, 2010: Stephen Campbell ’91, Lewelyn LeCroy Hootkins ’72,Jessica LeCroy ’70, Susan Tucker Kuhnel ’63, Andrea Dancy Auguiste ’82, Beverly Owen ’56, Andrew Wohlfarth ’96; Seniors Lance Myers, Lance Williams, ChrisKeith, Sami Homsi, Colin Ennis with Jessica LeCroy ’70Jessica Ke ’11, a Lausanne senior with a strong interest ininternational business, was amazed by Ms. LeCroy’s career. Sheexplained, “(Ms. LeCroy) has traveled all over the world,meeting interesting people and doing unique jobs inconjunction with her employment by the U.S. Foreign Service.”After listening to Ms. LeCroy’s special one-on-one discussionwith the seniors and sharing lunch with her, Ms. Ke continued,“My favorite thing about her is her storytelling skill. She hasthe magical ability to transport her listeners to the scene of hertale, to have them feel what she felt at the time. Her life, astold to us, seems like fiction, but we know it isn’t; her careerhas been so full and so interesting that it almost soundsimagined. She is truly an example of a Lausanne graduateputting her global education to good use.”“The first word that comes to my mind when asked aboutJessica LeCroy is ‘brave,’” shared Cole Blocker ’11. “I wasamazed by her, her stories and by the many dangeroussituations she has been involved in — all of which were just‘part of the job.’ From Lausanne to the Offices of ForeignService — wow!“The second word that comes to my mind is ‘contrarian.’ Ifyou are reading this, Ms. LeCroy, yes, as you suggested — Ilooked it up!“I thoroughly enjoyed having lunch with her after herspeech and the opportunity to talk with her more intimately.The incident she shared regarding the soldier that escorted herto church in a war zone and later lost his life continues totouch me in an inexplicable way.“But I believe the comments she made regarding Lausanneand how it changed her were those that struck me the most.She said,‘I remember the exact room where I learned to read a book.’‘I remember the exact room where I learned to write a wellcraftedessay.’‘I remember the exact room where I learned to look at apiece of art critically.’‘I remember the exact room where I learned to communicatemy own ideas.’”Mr. Blocker concluded, “I also remember those rooms…”Thank you, Ms. LeCroy.22 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 23