As we prepare to turn the calendar to 2025, we take a look back at some of the many highlights from another exciting year at TASIS.
The TASIS Blog
Stories from the TASIS Community
We provide a look at the many things that have happened on and off campus during a wonderful holiday season at TASIS.
From the archives: Mrs. Fleming recounts TASIS’s first winter holiday—a spontaneous trip to Barcelona in December of 1956.
At a special High School Athletics assembly on the morning of December 2, Athletic Director Masa Yo ’04 and Associate Athletic Director Alex Zanecchia ’02 presented awards to deserving members of the cross country, volleyball, and soccer teams.
From eye-opening Academic Travel trips across Europe and stunning outdoor adventures within Switzerland to stellar performing arts events on campus and engaged academics in the classroom, we take a photo-driven look at the past month at TASIS.
Guided by Artistic Director Julie Frazier-Smith, dancers from the TASIS Elementary School, Middle School, and High School put on an incredible performance in front of a packed house in the Palmer Cultural Center on the evening of November 27.
Congratulations to Director Matthew Frazier-Smith and the TASIS High School Theater Company for four amazing performances of the Oscar Wilde classic on November 21–24. Learn more and watch video recordings of two of the shows.
On November 22, the historic Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., was abuzz with the lively chatter of TASIS alumni, who gathered for a delightful aperitivo-style reunion.
Described as “a force for positive change in the world of university counseling,” Ms. Fishbein was honored at the Council of International Schools Global Forum in Basel, Switzerland, on November 15.
Elisa Angelino ’26 shares and discusses 10 images she captured on her global issues Academic Travel trip to Brussels, Belgium, in late October that was designed to show students why the city has become such an important place for global politics.
Joy Wang ’25 shares 10 compelling moments she captured on the art history Academic Travel trip to Vienna, Austria, in late October and discusses what made them meaningful.
Serafina Ballerini ’26 discusses 10 moments from the Varsity Girls Volleyball team’s Academic Travel trip to French Switzerland, where they played a few friendly matches before earning an impressive second-place finish at the Swiss Group of International Schools (SGIS) Tournament in Lausanne.
Charlotte Welborn ’25 shares and describes 10 photographs she took on the IB Biology Academic Travel trip to Zurich, Switzerland, in late October.
Lola Hutchinson ’27 captured 10 memorable moments on the 10th-grade Honors World Literature Academic Travel trip to Florence, in which students explore the homeland of the illustrious Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Sofia Arce Perez ’26 shares and describes 10 photographs she took during the TASIS Model UN Club’s Academic Travel trip to the MUNMO 2024 conference in Malmö, Sweden, in late October.
From engaging academics and adventurous travel to celebratory assemblies and festive gatherings, we take a photo-driven look at the past month at TASIS.
Our latest edition of Alumni Notes introduces us to four young entrepreneurs, catches up with an award-winning filmmaker, takes us to the chill of the Arctic, and more.
Mingcheng Zhang ’26 sat down with High School Science Teacher Mr. Athan Rodostianos, who started at TASIS in 2021 and currently teaches both Physics and IB Physics 2 (HL and SL).
Elisa Angelino ’26 interviewed Ms. Stéphanie Roth, who teaches across various levels of Italian in the High School, serves as a High School advisor, and also works as a dorm parent in the Residential Life Program.
Sofia Arce Perez ’26 sat down with High School History Teacher Mr. Antony Shelley, who started at TASIS in 2019 and currently is the K–12 Curriculum Coordinator, serves as a dorm parent, and teaches IB History and EAL Modern History.
Lola Hutchinson ’27 interviewed Ms. Simone Meister, who teaches all levels of German in both the Middle School and High School, serves as a High School advisor, and works with 10th-grade students in the Opsahl Global Service Program.
Sonia Krikunchik ’26 sat down with Mr. Jerald Bleckel, who has taught IB and AP Physics and coached the Varsity Girls Basketball team since he started at TASIS in 2021.
Charlotte Welborn ’25 interviewed Middle School Music Teacher Ms. Angela Dusing, who has filled a variety of roles at TASIS since coming aboard in 2020.
Maria Rozanova ’25 sat down with Mr. Robert Schlesinger, who teaches IB and EAL Biology in the High School, coaches several sports, and is involved with the 9th-grade Service Learning Program.
Joy Wang ’25 interviewed Ms. Jessica Cohen, who has taught High School English Language and Literature at TASIS since 2023 and is also involved with several other aspects of the school.
Stella Timm ’27 sat down with High School Science Teacher Mr. Brett Foster, who initially started at TASIS as a science tutor after moving to Switzerland in 2020.
Serafina Ballerini ’26 interviewed Ms. Veronica Maffezzini, who started at TASIS in 2011 and currently teaches Italian and history to 5th-grade students and is the team leader of the Elementary School’s Italian teachers.
Layla Habab ’25 sat down with Mr. John Schmid, who has taught AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, and history since coming to TASIS in 2023.
Lola Hutchinson ’27 interviewed Elementary School Teacher Ms. Laura Hand, who started at TASIS in 2018 and currently is a 4th-grade homeroom teacher, the team leader for grades four and five, and a High School dorm parent.
Giulia Cordovado ’27 sat down with Mr. Davide Cannata, who started at TASIS in 2023 and currently teaches IB Italian Language and Literature, IB Italian Literature, Pre-IB Italian Language, Italian Language and Literature, and Italian History.
Middle School and High School parents visited campus on October 10 to attend classes with their children, watch a beautiful assembly that commemorated the incredible life of TASIS Founder M. Crist Fleming, and enjoy an evening reception in the Palmer Cultural Center.
From a successful start of school and an eventful alumni reunion to dorm hikes in Ticino and a boat dance on Lake Lugano, we take a photo-driven look at the past month or so at TASIS.
Giada Giuliani ’24 (Italy/Brazil/France) plans to study either Comparative Literature or Psychology at Brown after also receiving offers from all five of the other universities she applied to: The New School, IE Madrid, The American University of Paris, Southern Methodist University, and Fordham University.
Mariaurora Rosso ’24 (Switzerland), who competed in two world robotics championships while at TASIS, plans to pursue a career in aerospace engineering, astrophysics research, and scientific writing.
Following 11 years at TASIS, Annie Bezikian ’24 (Italy/Armenia) is headed to southern California after also considering offers from University of St Andrews, University College London, King’s College London, University of Warwick, New York University, Fordham University, Chapman University, Clark University, and University of San Diego.
Michael Maffe ’24 (USA/Switzerland/China), who excelled academically and made significant contributions to the TASIS community outside the classroom over the course of his six years at the school, also fielded offers from Loyola Marymount University, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and UC Santa Cruz.
Caroline Odfjell Titland ’24 (Norway) plans to study Business Communications and Digital Media and dreams of one day being a professional singer.
Sasha Svirina ’24 (Russia), who ultimately hopes her passion for science, pharmacology, and neuroscience will enable her to work on curing diseases such as Alzheimer’s, was also accepted to Utrecht University, Maastricht University, Queen Mary University, The University of St Andrews, and Sussex University.
Daniella Careinnys Linares ’24 (USA) intends to study political science and international relations following a gap year that she has big plans for.
After 14 years at TASIS, Giorgio Ippolito ’24 (Italy/Switzerland), whose plan is to become a chef and one day open his own restaurant, will hone his craft at a school with a worldwide reputation for excellence in teaching culinary and pastry arts.
Well-rounded IB scholar Sarah Wexler Brodie ’24 (USA) chose one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious schools over University of Edinburgh and Durham University.
Lalita Stromayer ’24 (India/USA), who intends to also pursue a minor in the performing arts, chose Skidmore over Oberlin College, Syracuse University, University of Rochester, and University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Sakura Tanaka ’24 (Japan) went a perfect 6-for-6 on her university applications, also receiving offers from University of Toronto, London School of Economics and Political Science, King’s College London, Durham University, and University of Manchester.
Veronica Kurtic ’24 (Croatia/USA) was accepted to the only two universities she applied to—University College Cork and American University of Paris—but has decided to pursue other interests before continuing her education.
After 55+ years, these alumni came back to Lugano to relive their many memories as students in Mrs. Fleming’s early-years programs. This once-in-a-lifetime reunion proved to be the perfect platform for that—and so much more.
The highly decorated founder of the Mino Caggiula Architects studio addressed the senior class in the Palmer Cultural Center on the evening of September 16 and also spent time with students in Architecture & Design and IB Visual Arts classes.
The Stanford University professor and author of five award-winning poetry collections visited campus from September 9–11 as the 2024 Linda Buchanan Poet in Residence, a role he also filled in 2018. Learn about his visit and listen to his interview with Julianne Vogt ’26.
Take a closer look at some of the key facts and figures related to this year’s student body.
In the winter of 2020, we were pleased to announce that the TASIS family of schools, which was established when M. Crist Fleming founded The American School in Switzerland in 1956, would be using a new set of crests.
Learn about the experienced educators who will be joining the TASIS community for the 2024–2025 academic year and about the returning members of the TASIS Faculty who have taken on new leadership roles for the coming year.