Other Activities
Other Activities of the LLP-CU
Clark Student, Jerry Travers, Tutor to Prince Sebastian of The Royal Family
During 2010-11, the Henry J. Leir Luxembourg Program-Clark University supported the application of Jerry Travers to become the tutor to HRH Prince Sébastian, during his senior year at the International School of Luxembourg. Jerry reports that this wonderful experience enabled him to broaden and deepen his pedagogical skills as well as appreciate working with the Prince whom he characterized as a very nice young man. Jerry is currently a M.A. degree candidate at Clark's English Department.
Clark Student, Angela Woodmansee, Fulbright Scholar to the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg
Angela Woodmansee of Clark's English Department received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship award to Luxembourg for the academic year 2010 – 2011. As Clark's first ETA to the Grand-Duchy, she split her time between the English program at the University of Luxembourg and the Lycee Classique (high school) in Diekirch. At the University, she co-taught courses in American Studies and Literary Theory, and in Diekirch, she assisted in English language classes from beginner to advanced levels. Angela is currently a M.A. degree candidate at Clark's English Department.
The Henry J. Leir High School Initiatives
The Henry J. Leir Grade 11 Prize
The Henry J. Leir Grade 11 Prize is awarded annually to a high school student at The International School of Luxembourg (ISL).
Because of the shared interest of both the LLP-CU and the ISL in furthering academic excellence, the LLP-CU awards an annual prize to a grade 11 student for an outstanding essay in English. The prize was created to honor Henry J. Leir, whose entrepreneurial excellence and exceptional generosity were fed by his deep and abiding interest in literature, languages, and the arts. Entries are solicited from eligible students, and the winner is chosen by a committee of the ISL faculty under the auspices of the ISL Humanities Department.
In 2012, The Henry J. Leir Grade 11 Prize was awarded to Diana Marin for her essay on Doris Lessing's, "A Sunrise on the Veld." Characterized by her teachers as intelligent, articulate, level-headed, and disciplined, Diana both excels academically and involves herself in a variety of activities at the ISL that reveal her abilities outside the classroom. Over the last academic year, Diana led a group of four peers into the final rounds of the Generation Euro Award hosted by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany; she has organized High School Global Issues Awareness Days on her campus; and, in March of this year, Diana was a key member of the organizing committee for the 7th Annual Global Issues European Conference, which brought together over 300 student participants. Diana also plays for the ISL volleyball and basketball teams, providing even further proof of both her commitment to excellence and the range of her abilities. An engaged and engaging member of the ISL community, Diana is an inspiration to both her teachers and her peers.
In 2011, The Henry J. Leir Grade 11 Prize was awarded to Megan Greeley for her essay on Siegfried Sasson's, “A Working Party.”
The Henry J. Leir Grade 11 Prize was awarded to Silja Lehtinen in 2010, for her essay, “A Reading of John Ashberry's The Painter.”
In 2009, the Henry J. Leir 11th Grade Prize was presented to Wilfried Genest whose paper adumbrated on the importance of thinking, rather than simply accepting, a theme reflected in the ISL's mission, Clark University's challenge to create a better world, and Mr. Leir's motto, "aut viam inveniam aut faciam": either I'll find a way or I'll make one.
The 2008 annual prize was awarded to Ethan Schrieberg for his essay entitled "The Use of the Color Green in The Great Gatsby".
The 2007 annual prize was awarded to Wesley McMinimy for his essay entitled "Myrtle Wilson in Relation to the Valley of Ashes in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby."
The 2006 annual prize was awarded to Priyanka Verma, for her essay, "Commentary on the First Paragraph of Germinal."
Maxime Rischard received the first annual prize in the summer of 2005 for his essay on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.
The Henry J. Leir High School Speaker
Mr. Ed Bindel, who survived the Holocaust as a child, delivered a talk to the University Park Campus School and the Claremont Academy, entitled, “A Personal Account of Surviving the Holocaust in Middle Europe.”
In addition, the LLP-CU has supported conversations between Clark’s Education Chair, Tom Del Prete, and a girls school in Luxembourg for the purpose of exchanging ideas on pedagogy, especially in multi-lingual, socio-economically deprived contexts.
The May Term Reunion
Upon invitation of Margot Gibis, Vice-President of The Leir Charitable Foundations, the LLP-CU holds a reunion at the The Henry J. Leir Retreat Center, in Ridgefield, Connecticut for those who participated in prior May Terms. An opportunity to catch up with friends and professors, and enjoy a relaxing day, the Reunion is often held in April. A special thanks to Margot Gibis and her staff in Ridgefield for making this wonderful event possible. For further information, see here: May Term Reunion Interviews
If a reunion can not be held at The Leir Retreat Center, we conduct the event either at Clark University or The College of The Holy Cross.