Basic HTML Version
6
Spring
2014
Once again, the ‘cousins’ meet. This time
the venue was PIERCE – the American
College of Greece. One after the other,
school administrators – with students in
tow – arrived to the campus in February
to attend a three-day Founder’s Day Re-
union. There was much ado. After all, this
is only the second time the schools meet
after a 77 year separation. The first re-
union was held a year ago, in Izmir – IC’s
birthplace. And once again, everyone was
amazed that all shared the same ‘spirit’.
The President of the American College
of Sofia, Dr Peter Johnson, couldn’t help
commenting on it. “I am really struck by
the familiarity of everything,” he said.
“The pictures, our stories, our students,
everything.”
Of course, explained Alison Stendahl,
one of the attendees, “this is the spirit
that was handed down from generation
to generation,” she said. “You are all the
children of the same founding fathers.”
Those founding fathers were none oth-
er than the ABCFM (the American Board
Commissioners for Foreign Missions) -
Protestant missionaries who established
schools and universities throughout the
region in the 1800s. Stendahl is the last
member of that Board. In Turkey, since
1980, she is now the sole remnant of an
all-encompassing undertaking begun by
two Protestant missionaries, Reverends
Levi Parsons and Pliny Fisk, in 1820. Her
retirement, this year, marks the end of
that mission.
“Look for the things in common,” she
continued. “You will find many, many
things in common and very little which
will make you different.”
It didn’t take long for the ‘cousins’ to
find those things in common. Greek,
Turkish and Lebanese students took to
one another as school administrators
were left to mingle and compare notes.
Out of the 15 schools that were
originally established by the Board, only
seven schools survive today: International
College (Beirut), American Collegiate In-
stitute (Izmir), Anatolia College (Greece),
Pierce (The American College of Greece),
Tarsus American College, Uskudar Ameri-
can Academy (Turkey) and the American
College of Sofia.
Eight students from IC (Ain Aar) ac-
companied by music teacher, Arlette Akl
and IC Newsletter writer, Reem Haddad,
attended the reunion in Athens. For the
next three days, students held debates
and gave presentations about their
schools. IC’s students also gave a little
‘extra’ performance by reciting Lebanese
proverbs and performing a Fairuz song.
“They (the founders) are not with us
anymore,” said PIERCE President Dr. Da-
vid Horner, “but I am sure that they are
proud their children are together today.”
Indeed, these kinds of gatherings were
probably common in the 1800s. But their
lives were shattered by the many troubles
that came to the area. The Ottoman Em-
pire’s demise led for a struggle for Turkish
self-determination and schools were
subjected to heavy restrictions. The role
of ABCFM and its missionaries dwindled
considerably. With the establishment of
the Turkish Republic in 1923 and the US
depression in 1929, some of the Board’s
schools eventually either shut down per-
manently or relocated to other countries,
as in IC’s case. Some, however, remained.
Only those that remained retained
some link with the Board. Others, like IC,
went on to form their own independent
secular boards.
As the years passed and as they
adapted to their new environments, the
schools lost touch with one another.
“We are indeed cousins,” said Olga Ju-
lius, the Principal of PIERCE College. “We
were all founded by the same visionaries
who set out to change the world. It is up
to us to continue with this mission.”
IC students, who had just become
aware of their school’s rich history,
The
‘
cousins
’
meet
again
Greek students
performing their
traditional dance at the
Founder’s Day Reunion