Returning to your Roots

An interview with Copenhagen International School Alum, Carola Corvo

In the past few months Carola Corvo has been interviewed numerous times, twice by other CIS alumni. Speaking on AlJazeera English, interviewed by CIS Alum Barbara Serra, Carola spoke of her time in quarantine in Milan, Italy for these last few months. Her words have also been published by Catarina Sakellarides, another CIS alum, who is the publisher of a Portuguese magazine “ACTIVIA”. 

So who is Carola Corvo? And why am I talking about her here? There is so much happening in the world right now. So many wars we are fighting, some invisible, others we see happening right in front of us. There is so much in the media, on our phones, in our homes, on our streets, inside of us. Why add another human to the mix? 

In times like these, we reflect on who we are. Where we came from, and where we are going. Carola graduated from grade 12 at CIS in 1990. She was our Valedictorian. She was a student who had spent time growing within our community, and learning from it. Speaking to Carola she told me that her words mattered not because of a qualification or a fancy title to be displayed alongside her name, but because she sat there, as a wife, a mother, a daughter, and told her truth. She told me that many who see her on telly thank her for “having given simple and straightforward words to their thoughts and for having shared a calm, serious and proud message”. 

Carola grew up as an international student, graduating with a double high school diploma: American and Peruvian. Spending her last year of high school living in Peru (grade 13) Carola considered it home even while studying at University in Milan. After studying International Political Sciences, Carola wrote her graduate thesis in Hong Kong; about the 1997 British handover to China. Carola has led a life of opportunity and privilege that not many know. Growing up in an international community “doesn’t mean that we were detached from the real world, but a great load of happiness and self-confidence paired with an outstanding academic teaching give you a lot of energy to deal with the problems of adulthood”; you are still aware and are taught to inquire and explore the issues and the solutions, the good and the bad however, there is a level of privilege that you cannot deny you have; it is an uncommon luck.

Carola’s parents chose CIS for her, and her brother Paolo, because it was the best academic option for them. Today Carola looks back on her time at CIS with an admiration that I, myself a 2020 Graduate, hope to hold in the years to come. One thing about CIS, is that is has always been more than just the academics. The community is one where “we all knew each other by name, faculty and students, big and small. It was a very familiar, friendly and international environment”. Even today I can feel that spirit and family feeling as I walk through the halls. 

I asked Carola to describe the connections she made at CIS into three words: she told me Trustworthy, Memorable and Precious. Words linked to positive connotations and the good memories she shares with her own daughters; who often tease her for speaking of CIS in such a nostalgic way. Honestly though, can we blame her for looking back and remembering the good times she spent here?

In 1990 Carola stood on the afternoon of her graduation and gave her Valedictorian speech, she tells me it was a moment where she “felt like a real grown up for the first time”, and that she was “very happy to share that moment of transition with the friends of a lifetime”. In June of 2020, I myself will walk and pick up my diploma, I am far from being the Valedictorian but after the months of having a senior year stripped back moment by moment, it is a special honour to be able to walk across that floor and formally end my time at a school that both Carola, myself and other alumni will, and do, remember so well.

Speaking to Carola about what she remembers most from her time at CIS she spoke not of the classes or the building, instead she told me of the varsity basketball matches. Regardless of whether the game was held at CIS or another school, “part of the fun was cheering for the team and part socialising with your school friends gathering there”. From the grand soirée of The Snowball, an event of tuxedos and evening gowns, to the Saturday night dances held in the school’s auditorium, it is hard to deny the effect that CIS has on its community and its students. 

“CIS taught me to think and live and relate with people in a flexible way; to adapt and adjust to situations and to look for diversity in a curious and interested attitude.” (Carola Corvo)

The amazing thing about growing up in the international community is that you are always allowed to express your thoughts, and discover who you are. The COVID-19 pandemic is one that attacked every corner of our society, it has been a force that has ripped everything down to the foundations and as Carola said, “This memory will help us be stronger in dealing with the economic and emotional reconstruction of ourselves, our lives and our careers”. Yet, even in the dark times there will always be a sliver of hope, a light that shows change can be made. No matter how weird or important the year 2020 will be, “having to slow down our hectic lifestyles has also taught us a good lesson together with the urge to respect the planet more and conciliate progress and modernity with the slower pace of nature”. 

Carola expressed her gratitude for her privilege in attending CIS and having the exposure to the academic level of preparation, but also for the life lasting friendships she created during her time at CIS. Milan was the first European city to be greatly affected by the pandemic and also experienced the strictest lockdown imposed on such a population. After news of the lockdown spread through the media Carola was contacted by many friends who are CIS alumni also. No matter where you go in this world, it seems you can find someone you knew from long ago and while Carola and her friends do catch up regularly, “this touched everybody’s souls a little bit deeper, so (she) heard from them more often during this particular time”.

Speaking of the younger generations, the generation that will be the next leaders, the generation that will be affected greatly by this era, Carola had this to say, directly to them: “You have proven us, older generations, to accept the new reality at once, respect the new rules with no particular pain, to organise classes and homework with no help from us, likewise, you taught us how to use Zoom and Houseparty. You were always updated with the latest news and fast at making new plans for the future. You have given proof of great resilience and strength and I feel admiration”.

CIS is a home away from home, and more importantly, CIS isn’t just a formula that allows us to learn and graduate, it’s a place where we can all come home to – regardless of anything else. We all come to a time when we must leave CIS and move on to find our next home ; while we may walk out those doors with a Danish flag and remarkable memories, we do not walk away from the community.

There will always be times where you will return to your roots and think about what made you who you are, and for every CIS alum we can always look back at our time here and remember it to be some of the happiest days of our lives.