Alumni | Community-building takes many forms

Sometimes it's a room full of alumni reconnecting in person, as we did on May 22—thanks to the vision of the Class of 2015 planning committee, our school opened its doors to alumni from all graduating years for the first time in years, welcoming them into the Atrium of the Maplewood campus.

Alumni Reunion Photo Album

And sometimes it's a student getting a first look at what goes on behind the scenes. Earlier this month, I welcomed one of ours, Jean Thiébault, a 10th-grader, to the Alumni Department for two weeks—here's what he took away from the experience.

A Day in the Life of an Alumni Relations Intern

As part of our two-week 10th-grade work discovery internship, I had the privilege of being welcomed into Rochambeau’s Alumni Department. As a regular social media user in my personal life, I initially thought I would be entering familiar territory. However, this immersion into the professional world allowed me to see behind the scenes and realize the sheer rigor required to manage an institutional community like Rochambeau's.

From the very first week of my internship, I was fully integrated into the department's operations during a major school event: the Spring Fair. My primary mission was to leverage this highlight of the school year to strengthen ties with former students actively. For the occasion, I designed visuals using the graphic design software Canva, while carefully and strictly following the guidelines I was given. These creations were used to fuel and animate official posts on the Rochambeau Alumni accounts across three key platforms: Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Beyond the Spring Fair, this internship allowed me to become familiar with professional methods. In particular, I discovered social media scheduling tools that I didn't even know existed. These programs are essential for planning and automating posts so they can be published on a specific day and at a precise time.

My day-to-day experience during these two weeks was particularly stimulating, despite a four-day absence due to health reasons. I discovered the rhythm of the working world and the daily operations of this department, which is managed independently by a single person. I was able to work very autonomously on my assignments: I created my visuals on my own, asked questions whenever necessary, and my internship supervisor would then validate my proposals while giving me feedback. This work required me to demonstrate true creativity while respecting the school's official brand image. Furthermore, seeing my own visuals published live on the high school's official social media accounts, with the community’s first interactions, was a very rewarding experience. This warm welcome immediately built my confidence, and working on tasks that have a real impact on alumni communication was a great source of motivation.

This highly enriching experience has allowed me to develop new skills in communication and design, while also discovering the day-to-day inner workings of a department within Rochambeau. I would like to warmly thank my internship supervisor for her trust, her welcome, and her guidance throughout this internship.”

Jean Thiebault - 2nde