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GRADUATION CEREMONY Thursday, June 4, 2020 | 6:00 PM Welcome to The AMERICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF ABU DHABI SINCE 1972 2020CLASS OF GRADUATION CEREMONY Thursday, June 4, 2020 | 6:00 PM Welcome to the AMERICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF ABU DHABI 2020 GRADUATION CEREMONY MONIQUE FLICKINGER AMY GREENE Superintendent High School Principal Distinguished Guests UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR JOHN RAKOLTA JR. to the United Arab Emirates H.E. OMAR SAIF GHOBASH Assistant Minister for Cultural Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation JOHN W. HACKWORTH First ACS High School Principal To the 2020 graduating class and families, in this unprecedented year, you truly exemplify our core values. 2 PROGRAM WELCOME Monique Flickinger, Superintendent FACULTY PROCESSIONAL High School Faculty CANDIDATE PROCESSIONAL Pomp and Circumstance by Edward William Elgar Arranged by Robert W. Smith Wind Ensemble Band directed by Tracey Ramsey PRINCIPAL ADDRESS Amy Greene COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS H.E. Omar Saif Ghobash Assistant Minister for Cultural Affairs EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE Jenin Joumma (Arabic) and Kaashvi Mahajan (English) CLASS RETROSPECTIVE Sophia Rodgers and Sachio Kekati CHAMBER CHOIR Alma Mater for the American Community School Music by Martha Miller and lyrics by Alexander Kim ‘13 Seasons of Love from the musical RENT arranged by Roger Emerson PRESENTATION OF AWARDS Bobbi Donison, Assistant Principal Jonathan Diaz, IBDP Coordinator Mel Pubil, Service Learning & CAS Coordinator United States Ambassador’s Award Saif Ghobash Award James M. Ambrose Scholarship Award John W. Hackworth Service Award Carol Shima Service Award Faculty Recognition Awards Salutatorian Award VALEDICTORIAN ADDRESS Samir Ahmed Maarouf SENIOR SONG I lived by One Republic PRESENTATION OF DIPLOMAS Amy Greene and Monique Flickinger Hanadi Shtayyeh (Arabic Faculty 2009-2020) Parents & Family Members of the Class of 2020 INTRODUCTION OF 2020 GRADUATES Amy Greene RECESSIONAL High School Faculty 3 KEYNOTE SPEAKER | VALEDICTORIAN H.E. OMAR SAIF GHOBASH Assistant Minister for Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation H.E. Omar Saif Ghobash is an author, businessman, and diplomat, currently serving the United Arab Emirates as Assistant Minister for Cultural Affairs for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation. Previously, he served as the UAE Ambassador to France (2017-2018) and the Russian Federation (2008-2017). H.E. Ghobash is the author of Letters to a Young Muslim, personal and insightful letters to his sons, a vital manifesto tackling the dilemmas facing young Muslims and everyone navigating the complexities of today’s world. He established the Arabic Booker Prize for fiction and the Saif Ghobash-Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation in memory of his father, the first UAE Minister of State of Foreign Affairs. H.E. Ghobash serves on the acquisition committee of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the advisory body of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King’s College London, and the board of trustees of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi. Ambassador Ghobash studied Law at Oxford and Math at the University of London. CONNECTION TO ACS – H.E. Omar Saif Ghobash has two older siblings, Maysoune and Adnan who attended ACS in elementary school from 1974 to 1977. Their father was a former ACS trustee and parent, who chose ACS for his children because he believed in the school’s principles of tolerance and openness, evidenced by the students enrolled from all over the world. In 2019, ACS posthumously honored his father with the ACS 2019 Community Leadership Award presented by H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, the UAE Minister of Tolerance at the 2019 ACS Gala. SAMIR AHMED MAAROUF, Valedictorian Originally from Egypt, Samir has lived in Abu Dhabi and attended the American Community School since KG1. Samir is a well-rounded and hardworking individual who has participated in many events and organizations at ACS. As an active member of the ACS service community, Samir is an officer of both the Kenya Connection Club and the Ukraine Initiative, where he enjoys planning various fundraisers and events. To remain active throughout the school year, Samir enjoys participating in the Varsity Tennis and Badminton teams where he competes in the MESAC tournaments. To express creativity, Samir has participated in multiple theatre performances throughout his life and he is an active member of the High School Jazz Band. Outside the classroom, Samir enjoys debating at different Model United Nation Conferences and serving as the Vice President of the National Honor Society. 4 CLASS OF 2020 GRADUATES Adrian Maximillian Adams Emad Aleksandar Haskett Janvi Rochlani Mohamed Ismail Jamil Ismail Lina Waleed Hassen Sophia Elizabeth Rodgers Al Ramahi Layan Hmaidan Anthony Shahiem Kayla Alexander Sarah Imran Wendelinus Roessler Maya Danielle Avelino Eunjae Jeong Abdullah Osama Saffarini Basil Akram Ayoub Hyewon Jeong Riad Sankari Dominic Nazir Bechara Jenin Joumma Muskan Sardana Bo Mattias Moffat Boson Porter Hugh Kamerath Audrey Ines Sassi Jule Anna Bramlage Tarek Jamil Kassim Yassine Mohamed Sbai Ella Ayşe Burkett Sachio James Kekati Dana Abdulla Mohamed Leila Samir Bustami Momen Jamshed Khan Ali Selim Francesca Marithe Elizabeth Joy Knowlton Omar Mustafa Shriem Ricohermozo Camato Riccardo Lener Harshdeep Singh Carter Bowles Chartier Tse Wo Godfrey Liu Yousuf Nabil Sleiman Ioana-Ingrid Ciobanu Alexandra Katerina Lopez Aryan Sood Caroline Grace Conner Samir Ahmed Maarouf Anna Spuskanyuk Shreyaansh Dadoo Kaashvi Mahajan Sarah Felicitas Steuber Eli Christian Trinidad Dagdagan Charlotte Ashley Majewski Hannah Sudarsan Andrea Sofía De Barros Rivera Jacob Alexander Samir Marelid Dilara Ann Tansel Jared Daniel De Semple Chloe Rene Mastny Nathalia Tawil Leila Elizabeth Diab Hannah Nicole Medearis Alexandre Castanheira Torres Tristan Picherit Duthler Joseph Eamonn Miles-Flynn Lara Katharina Maria Trinkl Yara Oussama El Rifai Devon Scott Morais Anisha Uma Uppal-Sullivan Adam Khan Fazal Meha Mukherjee Derk Van der Laan James Pearson Fazekas Ipek Narbay Jordan Emory Vens Malise Ocean Foss Amber Elizabeth Neal Thomas James Warner Ruohong Gao Teresa Magdalena Niederlander Hannah Yuh Watkins Hannah Elizabeth Garbutt Graham Jun-Soo Park Katharine Elizabeth Weiler Neel Garnault-Kumar Beran Lake Pelecky Seung-Yeol Yoon Helen Harper Girdner Cassidy Li Pistun Firas Jamel Zarrouk Marley Addison Grimes Francesco Philipp Reuter Hannah Pieter Zimmerman Adriana Lucia Guevara Sarah Joy Rinne Nida Hamzah GRADUATE RECOGNITION All graduates are wearing a white and green tassel that represents the American High School Diploma. IB Diploma students are wearing a gold tassel. Members of the National Honor Society are wearing a white satin collar. 5 CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2020 “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind.” - Lilo and Stitch 6 7 CLASS OF 2020 UNIVERSITY ACCEPTANCES Aeres University Almere Hofstra University Allegheny College Hollins University American University Hong Kong University of Science and Technology American University of Beirut Illinois Institute of Technology American University of Sharjah Indiana University Bloomington American University Paris Iowa State University Anglia Ruskin University Ithaca College Appalachian State University John Carroll University Arizona State University, Tempe Campus King’s College London Arts University Bournemouth Lakehead University Barnard College Laurentian University Baylor University Loyola University Chicago Belmont University Loyola University Marymount Berklee College of Music Loyola University New Orleans Birmingham-Southern College Maastricht University Bishop’s University Macalester College Boston University Manchester University Bournemouth University Manhattan College Brandeis University Marist College Brigham Young University Marquette University Brock University McGill University Brown University McMaster University Brunel University London Michigan State University California Lutheran University Middle Georgia State University - Macon Campus Carroll College Middle Tennessee State University Chapman University Mount Allison University Cleveland State University Mount Holyoke College Coastal Carolina University New York University College of William & Mary New York University Abu Dhabi Colorado State University New York University Shanghai Columbia College Chicago Newcastle University Concordia University Nichols College Dalhousie University Northeastern University DePaul University Northern Arizona University Drexel University Nova Southeastern University East Carolina University Pace University Elon University Penn State University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott Penn State University Altoona Emerson College Pratt Institute Emory University Purdue University Erasmus University College Queen Mary University of London Fordham University Queen’s University Franklin University Switzerland Ravensbourne University London George Mason University Richmond The American International University The George Washington University in London Georgia Institute of Technology Rollins College Goldsmiths, University of London Royal Holloway University of London Grand Canyon University Ryerson University The Hague University of Applied Sciences St. Louis University High Point University Saint Louis University Madrid 8 Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta University of Hong Kong Sheridan College University of Houston Smith College University of Illinois at Chicago Southern Illinois University University of Illinois
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