SAS Alumni Celebrate in Shanghai
More than 50 Shanghai Eagle alumni gathered last Wednesday at Lawry’s Prime Rib for an evening that felt less like a reunion and more like a neighborhood get-together, because for most of them, this city is still home. Shanghai's SAS community is large, active, and deeply rooted, and this gathering was a celebration of exactly that: the fact that so many graduates have chosen to build their lives, careers, and families right here.
The evening leaned into our Eagles’ deep ties to Shanghai. The venue itself carried meaning: Lawry's Prime Rib Shanghai is owned and operated by an SAS alum, a detail that set the tone perfectly. And perhaps the most striking thing about the evening's guest list was just how many layers of the SAS community were represented in a single room. Among the attendees were alumni who have enrolled their own children at SAS and alumni who have returned to the school as teachers and support staff — shaping the next generation of students the same way SAS once shaped them. It was a vivid reminder that for many graduates, SAS isn't a chapter they've closed. It's one they're still writing.
Attendees were welcomed by Peter Pierce, Director of Marketing & Advancement, and James Nelligan, Head of School, and joined also by two members of the SAS Board of Trustees, Michael Zhu and Shirlene Song. Opening remarks acknowledged what was evident in the room: that the school's alumni network is thriving, and that the bonds formed at SAS have a way of lasting long after graduation day. Peter commented, “In the school’s current strategic plan, SAS Forward, the Board of Trustees committed to invest in building alumni connections as part of cultivating a vibrant SAS community and the results of that investment are now visible across global cities around the world.”
The evening's centerpiece was a fireside chat between Renée Couturier, SAS Head of Educational Programs, and Max Song ‘10, Strikeforce Fellow & Entrepreneur in Residence at Peter Diamandis Ventures — a conversation that felt especially resonant in a room that so vividly illustrated the long arc of an SAS education.
Together, Max and Renée explored the future of AI and education — how schools like SAS must continue to evolve to prepare students for a world defined by complexity, connectivity, and rapid change. For an audience that included current board members, parents, teachers, and working professionals, the dialogue carried a particular weight. These weren't just observers of education's future. Many of them are actively shaping it.
“I felt a deep sense of joy and happiness attending the SAS alumni event - after a professional life of being on the road and being distributed across cities and time zones, I had a sense of homecoming and being happy among friends,” Max reflected of the evening. “In sharing reflections about the role of AI in our education and professional lives, I am reminded of the importance of quality learning - that what we take away from school is not only individual pieces of knowledge, but a way of relating to one another and a sense of purpose and community. I was also deeply impressed by my conversations with school leadership. I found they fundamentally care about student success and are willing to think outside the box to encourage hands on creativity for physical AI.”
What made this event distinct from a typical alumni gathering was its energy — unhurried and unforced. These are people who see each other around the city, work in the same industries, share the same neighborhoods, and in some cases, are now raising the next generation of SAS students. The evening gave the community a moment to pause, reflect, and acknowledge just how much of a presence SAS continues to have in Shanghai.
SAS is proud to support and celebrate its Shanghai community and looks forward to continuing to invest in events that bring alumni together — right here, in the city they share and around the world.
