Alumni News

At the March 2011 Alumni Council Meeting, members of the Franklin Alumni Council suggested the College consider organizing an Alumni Academic Travel. After discussing various ideas and destinations for such an event, the Office of Advancement and the Alumni Council have decided to organize a one-week Alumni Academic Travel to Cuba.

At first Gina Garaventa ’12 wanted to get away from Switzerland to study. She attended college in California, but soon realized she missed home, including family and the pristine natural surroundings in Switzerland.

Professor Robert McCormick, Jr., one of Franklin’s great teachers, has significantly contributed to the Franklin College spirit over the past 23 years.  As of this fall, Professor McCormick will turn a new page.

A career is about more than a paycheck in the same way that the college experience is about more than a simple transcript. Franklin students entering the working world should apply a sense of adventure, search for personal fulfillment and hard work to their job hunt.

Alessio and Zokir both ended up joining the Franklin men’s soccer team during freshman year and have enjoyed the club sport during their time at the school. The enthusiasm surrounding the team has helped recruit a diverse group of students to join in.

It is said that there is a novel in each of us.  In the case of Brian Stanford, Professor Emeritus of Art History and Studio Art, there have been many over the years.  Now, one of them is seeing the light of day with the recent publication of "Somerville."

“The Baobab Initiative was a big factor in my decision to attend Franklin.”  As a double major in International Banking and Finance and International Economics, Tamiah Liebersbach '11 is interested in empowerment of women through economic development.

As a Creative Writing and Literature major, Diego Martinez '12 lights up when talking about Franklin’s Literary Society, an organization he became involved in soon after arriving on campus and in which he is now serving as editor-in-chief of its annual magazine.

Thanks to the help of over 30 volunteers, the Franklin College Alumni Council hosted the College’s premier Networking Forum on September 9, 2010. This forum gave current Franklin students the chance to pose questions to a group of alumni panelists about their careers.

On May 31, 2010, Franklin College lost a treasured friend, beloved professor and illuminating spirit for generations of students when Dr. Horus Schenouda died at the age of 93. A life that was filled with contrasts brought Dr. Schenouda to Lugano by a circuitous route.

Whether a long-standing tradition or a new event, the cultural nights at Franklin are popular events filled with excellent food, music and dancing.  The events hosted by the Arab Club, Texas Club and Russia Club demonstrate the sense of community among Franklin students.

The Baobab Initiative, a student-run enterprise formed to help a small village in Zambia, has thrived on campus since its creation in October, 2004. The efforts of the students have been so successful that the village is able to fully sustain itself through the next dry season.

Rivet Daigre ’11 came to Switzerland with an eye on the rocks. Throughout high school, the junior from Colorado competed in rock climbing competitions across the United States and was excited about Franklin’s location in Ticino, which is renowned for its rock climbing opportunities.

Whether it was known as Student Union, Student Assembly or the current Student Government Association, the student governing board at Franklin has always had an inspiring student body president.

Students and alumni often say that among their reasons for attending Franklin are the small classes and personal relationships with professors. Today average class size is close to 16 students per class with a student/fulltime faculty ratio of 10 to 1.

The Fall 2008 Academic Travel to Croatia was the first trip completely dedicated to service for the duration of the Academic Travel. The students were there to roll their sleeves up to help the local economy, in the process becoming friendly with the people...

In the fall semester of 2007, Anne Deriaz delivered an inspiring speech as part of the Franklin Fall Lecture Series about her work in India with the Spiti Valley Buddhist monks. Adrian Mangiuca ’09 was immediately captivated and wanted to be personally involved himself.