LARA, Yes We Can
He was one of the kindest people I had ever met. I remember he went around the clinic asking for everyone’s birthdays, people who he wasn’t even friends with so that he could send them a message on their birthday, a day doesn’t go by where I don’t think about him, he was one of my best friends…I feel grateful to have made a connection so deep that the absence of his presence makes me feel this raw emotion. It’s a pain that I’ve never felt before. I am so lucky to have met him, there is no one else like Alastair.
LARA, Yes We Can
He was one of the kindest people I had ever met. I remember he went around the clinic asking for everyone’s birthdays, people who he wasn’t even friends with so that he could send them a message on their birthday, a day doesn’t go by where I don’t think about him, he was one of my best friends…I feel grateful to have made a connection so deep that the absence of his presence makes me feel this raw emotion. It’s a pain that I’ve never felt before. I am so lucky to have met him, there is no one else like Alastair.
PASCAL, Counselor, Yes We Can
Sometimes someone I have the privilege of working with or supporting in their process truly manages to capture a special place in my heart. Simply by showing me, in all their vulnerability, at a very difficult time in their lives, what wonderful, sweet, beautiful people they really are…
But every now and then everyone else sees how wonderful, beautiful and sweet someone is, but they can’t seem to see it themselves. Today I received the news that one of those beautiful, sweet, wonderful people, who holds a special place in my heart, has lost faith in himself and life. Know that I am grateful to have known and seen the loving, sweet, funny, nice person you were.
PASCAL, Counselor, Yes We Can
Sometimes someone I have the privilege of working with or supporting in their process truly manages to capture a special place in my heart. Simply by showing me, in all their vulnerability, at a very difficult time in their lives, what wonderful, sweet, beautiful people they really are…
But every now and then everyone else sees how wonderful, beautiful and sweet someone is, but they can’t seem to see it themselves. Today I received the news that one of those beautiful, sweet, wonderful people, who holds a special place in my heart, has lost faith in himself and life. Know that I am grateful to have known and seen the loving, sweet, funny, nice person you were.
PASCAL, Counselor, Yes We Can
Sometimes someone I have the privilege of working with or supporting in their process truly manages to capture a special place in my heart. Simply by showing me, in all their vulnerability, at a very difficult time in their lives, what wonderful, sweet, beautiful people they really are…
But every now and then everyone else sees how wonderful, beautiful and sweet someone is, but they can’t seem to see it themselves. Today I received the news that one of those beautiful, sweet, wonderful people, who holds a special place in my heart, has lost faith in himself and life. Know that I am grateful to have known and seen the loving, sweet, funny, nice person you were.
Christina Helms, College Counsellor, St. Louis
There are no words, but I am praying for the eternal rest of his beautiful and sensitive soul. He was a completely unique and gifted young man. His writing made that abundantly clear. I remember vividly when I was (unwillingly) trudging to an admissions seminar at Bocconi, and Alastair swept up behind me, relieved me of the heavy backpack I was carrying in my right hand, opened my door and accompanied me to my seat to deposit the backpack beside me—a gesture as natural to him as breathing. He was every inch a mature gentleman. Alastair was effortlessly superior.
When he was rolled over into regular decision at Harvard, and I asked him to write a mid-year update to push the application forward, he said that he couldn’t manage to write anything that didn’t sound like he was kissing a**, and so he declined. One in a thousand students would have answered me that way. In my book, he was not just an exceptional student, he was a real man.
Christina Helms, College Counsellor, St. Louis
There are no words, but I am praying for the eternal rest of his beautiful and sensitive soul. He was a completely unique and gifted young man. His writing made that abundantly clear. I remember vividly when I was (unwillingly) trudging to an admissions seminar at Bocconi, and Alastair swept up behind me, relieved me of the heavy backpack I was carrying in my right hand, opened my door and accompanied me to my seat to deposit the backpack beside me—a gesture as natural to him as breathing. He was every inch a mature gentleman. Alastair was effortlessly superior.
When he was rolled over into regular decision at Harvard, and I asked him to write a mid-year update to push the application forward, he said that he couldn’t manage to write anything that didn’t sound like he was kissing a**, and so he declined. One in a thousand students would have answered me that way. In my book, he was not just an exceptional student, he was a real man.
Radek, EUJS
Alastair really inspired me in many aspects of life, and thanks to his advice I started to work on myself. We spent long hours in philosophical discussions and conversations about life. I was always surprised that there was so much humanity and empathy in him, even though he constantly said that none of it mattered. He was always trying to help me and was a great friend.
I will remember him as a good person, and as someone who, despite the difficulties in life, was able to keep his heart pure.
Radek, EUJS
Alastair really inspired me in many aspects of life, and thanks to his advice I started to work on myself. We spent long hours in philosophical discussions and conversations about life. I was always surprised that there was so much humanity and empathy in him, even though he constantly said that none of it mattered. He was always trying to help me and was a great friend.
I will remember him as a good person, and as someone who, despite the difficulties in life, was able to keep his heart pure.
Radek, EUJS
Alastair really inspired me in many aspects of life, and thanks to his advice I started to work on myself. We spent long hours in philosophical discussions and conversations about life. I was always surprised that there was so much humanity and empathy in him, even though he constantly said that none of it mattered. He was always trying to help me and was a great friend.
I will remember him as a good person, and as someone who, despite the difficulties in life, was able to keep his heart pure.
ELIJAH
The times spent together at EUJS were some of the funniest times in my life. I look back and have fond memories of being roommates and all the laughs and jokes we had together as well as all the intellectual conversations all of which I will miss dearly.
Alastair was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He was always thinking of others in everything he did.
ELIJAH
The times spent together at EUJS were some of the funniest times in my life. I look back and have fond memories of being roommates and all the laughs and jokes we had together as well as all the intellectual conversations all of which I will miss dearly.
Alastair was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He was always thinking of others in everything he did.
H.
I met Alastair on Summer U this year. One particular memory from that trip is extra special to me. It was 9am when we stepped into the bus that would take us back to the airport. We had stayed up all night, playing truth or dare with our group of friends, trying to hold off the moment of departure for as long as we could. Being completely exhausted, I dozed off the second the bus came into motion. Still, I accidentally caught little glimpses of Alastair and Radek’s conversation, who were seated one row ahead of me. Two hours in, I decided I had had enough sleep for the day. ‘Can I join your talk?’ I asked the guys. ‘Of course!’ they exclaimed. Driving through the Bulgarian mountains, we spoke of our pasts, futures, fears and hopes. At one moment, the conversation turned to the topic of ‘being a good person’.
What Alastair said exactly, I don’t remember, but it made me ask him: ‘But how can I believe I’m a good person if I have done things that don’t match my definition of ‘a good person’?’ ‘What kind of things are you referring to, if you don’t mind me asking?’, Alastair answered. I hesitated. There was one particular regret in my mind from when I was seven years old that had been following me around ever since. I didn’t speak about that with anyone, I was too ashamed of it. But Alastair’s eyes were kind and I knew that I could trust him. For the very first time in my life, I felt safe sharing this experience with someone. As I started talking, tears came rolling down my face. I was in my most vulnerable state, but it was also extremely freeing to finally open up about this. After I had finished my story, Alastair looked at me in disbelief, ‘H., this is why you think you’re not a good person? You were seven!’ With those simple words, he lifted the burden that I had been carrying for fifteen years. It is something I’m still so grateful for, and probably will be for the rest of my life.
H.
I met Alastair on Summer U this year. One particular memory from that trip is extra special to me. It was 9am when we stepped into the bus that would take us back to the airport. We had stayed up all night, playing truth or dare with our group of friends, trying to hold off the moment of departure for as long as we could. Being completely exhausted, I dozed off the second the bus came into motion. Still, I accidentally caught little glimpses of Alastair and Radek’s conversation, who were seated one row ahead of me. Two hours in, I decided I had had enough sleep for the day. ‘Can I join your talk?’ I asked the guys. ‘Of course!’ they exclaimed. Driving through the Bulgarian mountains, we spoke of our pasts, futures, fears and hopes. At one moment, the conversation turned to the topic of ‘being a good person’.
What Alastair said exactly, I don’t remember, but it made me ask him: ‘But how can I believe I’m a good person if I have done things that don’t match my definition of ‘a good person’?’ ‘What kind of things are you referring to, if you don’t mind me asking?’, Alastair answered. I hesitated. There was one particular regret in my mind from when I was seven years old that had been following me around ever since. I didn’t speak about that with anyone, I was too ashamed of it. But Alastair’s eyes were kind and I knew that I could trust him. For the very first time in my life, I felt safe sharing this experience with someone. As I started talking, tears came rolling down my face. I was in my most vulnerable state, but it was also extremely freeing to finally open up about this. After I had finished my story, Alastair looked at me in disbelief, ‘H., this is why you think you’re not a good person? You were seven!’ With those simple words, he lifted the burden that I had been carrying for fifteen years. It is something I’m still so grateful for, and probably will be for the rest of my life.
H.
I met Alastair on Summer U this year. One particular memory from that trip is extra special to me. It was 9am when we stepped into the bus that would take us back to the airport. We had stayed up all night, playing truth or dare with our group of friends, trying to hold off the moment of departure for as long as we could. Being completely exhausted, I dozed off the second the bus came into motion. Still, I accidentally caught little glimpses of Alastair and Radek’s conversation, who were seated one row ahead of me. Two hours in, I decided I had had enough sleep for the day. ‘Can I join your talk?’ I asked the guys. ‘Of course!’ they exclaimed. Driving through the Bulgarian mountains, we spoke of our pasts, futures, fears and hopes. At one moment, the conversation turned to the topic of ‘being a good person’.
What Alastair said exactly, I don’t remember, but it made me ask him: ‘But how can I believe I’m a good person if I have done things that don’t match my definition of ‘a good person’?’ ‘What kind of things are you referring to, if you don’t mind me asking?’, Alastair answered. I hesitated. There was one particular regret in my mind from when I was seven years old that had been following me around ever since. I didn’t speak about that with anyone, I was too ashamed of it. But Alastair’s eyes were kind and I knew that I could trust him. For the very first time in my life, I felt safe sharing this experience with someone. As I started talking, tears came rolling down my face. I was in my most vulnerable state, but it was also extremely freeing to finally open up about this. After I had finished my story, Alastair looked at me in disbelief, ‘H., this is why you think you’re not a good person? You were seven!’ With those simple words, he lifted the burden that I had been carrying for fifteen years. It is something I’m still so grateful for, and probably will be for the rest of my life.
Prof.ssa Nicoletta Gilardoni, St. Louis
I am writing to you with regard to the candidacy of Alastair Robertson. Alastair is certainly one of the most brilliant students I have ever had, but you can also intuit that very well by looking at his results. After 25 years of teaching, the number of students that have crossed the threshold of my classroom has begun to be inversely proportional to the things that appear clear to me; so I will explain to you the marvel that is Alastair Robertson by sketching some elements of which I am certain. One thing of which I am certain is that it has never surprised me to see the name of Alastair breaking out of the standard graphic tables of the aptitude tests. I have known Alastair for five years and the first time I saw him it was immediately evident that I was in the presence of an individual outside the norm. Alistair overflows the banks, not with the impetus of a raging river, but with the naturalness and the conviction of a
traveller who follows his own path, not caring about which path other travellers have taken. In class he has never been solitary, but he’s always had the wisdom to select a few trusted and capable friends able to share with him the qualities that he prizes—lightness and elegance—and to give back to them his perseverance and analytical gifts.
Alastair is a modern-day Prometheus who always thinks before he acts. Another thing of which I am certain is that, after I will have concluded my career as a teacher, I will remember Alastair. Many students have vanished from my memory. But the manner in which Alastair follows my lessons will stay with me. He looks at you and he listens, absorbing and recognizing concepts and information to then insert them, as if they were tessere, into the great mosaic that is his immense general culture. One thing that I am certain of is that Alastair has been one of the few students in a position to reach such a high linguistic level in the language I teach; a level that permits him to grasp the subtleties, to understand complex texts and to express himself in a way that is articulate and precise. At times I have the impression that Alastair is not learning a foreign language, but rather he is recognizing corresponding terms. The fact that he speaks English and French perfectly does not automatically translate into the kind of competence and linguistic awareness that he demonstrates: in fact, I have seen this kind of phenomenon only very few times in my twenty five years of teaching.
Prof.ssa Nicoletta Gilardoni, St. Louis
I am writing to you with regard to the candidacy of Alastair Robertson. Alastair is certainly one of the most brilliant students I have ever had, but you can also intuit that very well by looking at his results. After 25 years of teaching, the number of students that have crossed the threshold of my classroom has begun to be inversely proportional to the things that appear clear to me; so I will explain to you the marvel that is Alastair Robertson by sketching some elements of which I am certain. One thing of which I am certain is that it has never surprised me to see the name of Alastair breaking out of the standard graphic tables of the aptitude tests. I have known Alastair for five years and the first time I saw him it was immediately evident that I was in the presence of an individual outside the norm. Alistair overflows the banks, not with the impetus of a raging river, but with the naturalness and the conviction of a
traveller who follows his own path, not caring about which path other travellers have taken. In class he has never been solitary, but he’s always had the wisdom to select a few trusted and capable friends able to share with him the qualities that he prizes—lightness and elegance—and to give back to them his perseverance and analytical gifts.
Alastair is a modern-day Prometheus who always thinks before he acts. Another thing of which I am certain is that, after I will have concluded my career as a teacher, I will remember Alastair. Many students have vanished from my memory. But the manner in which Alastair follows my lessons will stay with me. He looks at you and he listens, absorbing and recognizing concepts and information to then insert them, as if they were tessere, into the great mosaic that is his immense general culture. One thing that I am certain of is that Alastair has been one of the few students in a position to reach such a high linguistic level in the language I teach; a level that permits him to grasp the subtleties, to understand complex texts and to express himself in a way that is articulate and precise. At times I have the impression that Alastair is not learning a foreign language, but rather he is recognizing corresponding terms. The fact that he speaks English and French perfectly does not automatically translate into the kind of competence and linguistic awareness that he demonstrates: in fact, I have seen this kind of phenomenon only very few times in my twenty five years of teaching.
MAYA
I met Alastair on the first day of a summer camp called Summer U. We both forgot to sign up for the bus and missed it, so we had to wait four hours at the airport. Instead of being annoyed, we talked the entire time and had so much fun that missing the bus didn’t matter at all. That moment became the start of our friendship. At the camp, we talked every day for hours. Alastair was the best listener I had ever met always knowing the right things to say and always ready for an adventure. One night, we went on a spontaneous night hike and ended up at a farm, picking fruit in the dark and discovering animals along the way.
Being with him was always full of laughter, dancing, and joy. The next summer, we met again in Bulgaria and spent almost the whole week together. We had deep, philosophical conversations and unforgettable moments, like climbing an abandoned building at night and watching the sunrise from the top. It was one of the most peaceful and beautiful moments I’ve ever experienced. Alastair always noticed when something was wrong with me, even when I didn’t show it, and always knew how to make me feel better. I really wished that he could do that for himself. Talking to him was always very inspiring and I will forever miss him a lot.I really hope he is in a better place now.
MAYA
I met Alastair on the first day of a summer camp called Summer U. We both forgot to sign up for the bus and missed it, so we had to wait four hours at the airport. Instead of being annoyed, we talked the entire time and had so much fun that missing the bus didn’t matter at all. That moment became the start of our friendship. At the camp, we talked every day for hours. Alastair was the best listener I had ever met always knowing the right things to say and always ready for an adventure. One night, we went on a spontaneous night hike and ended up at a farm, picking fruit in the dark and discovering animals along the way.
Being with him was always full of laughter, dancing, and joy. The next summer, we met again in Bulgaria and spent almost the whole week together. We had deep, philosophical conversations and unforgettable moments, like climbing an abandoned building at night and watching the sunrise from the top. It was one of the most peaceful and beautiful moments I’ve ever experienced. Alastair always noticed when something was wrong with me, even when I didn’t show it, and always knew how to make me feel better. I really wished that he could do that for himself. Talking to him was always very inspiring and I will forever miss him a lot.I really hope he is in a better place now.
MAYA
I met Alastair on the first day of a summer camp called Summer U. We both forgot to sign up for the bus and missed it, so we had to wait four hours at the airport. Instead of being annoyed, we talked the entire time and had so much fun that missing the bus didn’t matter at all. That moment became the start of our friendship. At the camp, we talked every day for hours. Alastair was the best listener I had ever met always knowing the right things to say and always ready for an adventure. One night, we went on a spontaneous night hike and ended up at a farm, picking fruit in the dark and discovering animals along the way.
Being with him was always full of laughter, dancing, and joy. The next summer, we met again in Bulgaria and spent almost the whole week together. We had deep, philosophical conversations and unforgettable moments, like climbing an abandoned building at night and watching the sunrise from the top. It was one of the most peaceful and beautiful moments I’ve ever experienced. Alastair always noticed when something was wrong with me, even when I didn’t show it, and always knew how to make me feel better. I really wished that he could do that for himself. Talking to him was always very inspiring and I will forever miss him a lot.I really hope he is in a better place now.
