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The Silicon Valley International School held its 12th grade commencement ceremony on May 21, celebrating the academic achievements of its class of 16 students at Willow Campus in Menlo Park.
The private school, with campuses in Menlo Park and Palo Alto, offers a bilingual International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum with language programs in Chinese, French and German.
The ceremony featured remarks from Head of School Barbara Greiner and high school Principal Richard Goulding.
International School teacher Linda Lee gave a faculty address speaking to each graduate’s unique traits, reflecting on how deeply every student is known at INTL and how that personal connection shapes the community.
The senior address was made by Cem Kocaoglu, who will be attending Dartmouth College in the fall. He spoke about the shared passion for academics and how his classmates’ drive to grow and improve has been an inspiration throughout his time at the school.
This year, the school invited Niklas Wittig, a 2021 alumnus of the school’s German immersion program. He went on to study at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, a private business school in Germany, and recently returned to the Bay Area to begin his new role in asset management at Franklin Templeton.
In his speech, Wittig encouraged his graduating classmates to invest in their connections with others, follow their passions and to use the critical thinking skills they learned.
The ceremony also presented student achievement awards to select graduates.
Silja Finger received the International Baccalaureate (IB) Student of the Year Award in recognition of “her intellectual curiosity, academic excellence, and embodiment of the IB mission.” Finger, Lucas Pipkins and Yarah Haddad Tehrani earned the Duke of Edinburgh (DoE) Gold Award, a globally recognized youth achievement program.
The three students were awarded for completing the final year-long program of physical, service and skill development activities. Internationally, fewer than 5% of students who participate in the DoE complete the gold level.
Six students of the graduating class were recognized for completing their entire academic journey at INTL, starting in preschool: Haddad Tehrani, Owen Lee, Zander Perlroth, Lenny Schallehn, Lukas Wittig and Hannah Gil de Paiva.
