A search to find that what unites everyone in the AST community.
In AST’s 74 years of history, our institution has become a source of great pride and experience: it’s seven decades of delivering Honduran society with the highest standards of bilingual education our country has to offer. It is this institution which has produced many bright, young, individuals with the necessary skills to begin their successful journey as professionals in the world we live in.
With the release of AST’s first-ever online newspaper, our school is, once again, in the vanguard to improve our education system. AST is always pushing its Eagles to spread their wings and soar high into the sky. With the creation of The Eagle Chronicles, it is our hope that this newspaper will provide a valuable source of information and entertainment for our Eagles in the years to come.
To mark this historic event in the AST community, The Eagles Chronicles wanted to share a message that all of our Eagles, regardless of their age and generation, could identify with and truly learn what it means to be an Eagle. And well, no one else could better express what it means to be an Eagle, than our Eagles themselves.
A photograph showing our current High School building back in the early 90's.
Gathering the responses from our Eagles has been an invaluable experience, one where students and alumni got the opportunity to express their heartfelt sentiments about the meaning of the Eagles’ Nest to them.
Prominent businessman and political analyst, Mr. Olban Valladares (Class of 1960) formed part of AST’s first generation of high school graduates. He is the last Eagle of his generation, one composed of only four students. Mr. Valladares’s stories at AST provide priceless experiences and new insights for our Eagles. In fact, his experiences could amount to a fully-fledged novel. However, due to the limits of time and space, only some of these experiences will be described. For starters, Mr. Valladares revealed that he was part of the AST’s first print newspaper, titled The Tegus Tattler. While it remains unclear why the newspaper was discontinued so many years ago, Mr. Valladares was pleased to know the tradition has begun once more. He also detailed on the close-knit community of AST, describing weekly social gatherings called “cocacoladas.” His various experiences reflect the camaraderie between our Eagles, an aspect that remains true to our community today. Mr. Valladares has a long legacy at AST, as his children graduated from this institution, and his grandchildren have followed suit.
Another former Eagle who wanted to offer her perspective was Mrs. Myrna Díaz Pacheco (Class of 1953). She is the daughter of one of AST’s co-founders, one of many reasons she holds AST dear to her heart. Unlike Mr. Valladares, when Mrs. Díaz attended AST, the school did not offer high school yet, and students graduated from middle school. To Mrs. Díaz, being an Eagle has meant forming everlasting bonds and relationships with peers, and she says she will forever cherish these moments in her life. She also expressed a strong vigor and support towards the Eagle’s Basketball Team, which persevered and fought against what she described as “tough opponents.” Much like Mr. Valladares, Mrs. Díaz also has a legacy at AST, one she hopes will prevail for many years to come.
A look at Eagles laughing together in a previous yearbook.
Our current Superintendent, Mrs. Liliana Jenkins, also had some words to share to the AST community about the meaning of an Eagle. A graduate of the Class of 1974, she has worked at AST for an extraordinary 35 years. According to Mrs. Jenkins, being an Eagle means being a citizen of the world. She believes Eagles are, at their core, natural leaders who are also “creative, honest, caring, kind and always looking for ways to help others.” AST Eagles have the responsibility to live abiding by these attributes after they leave the AST Nest, and help make a change in the world.
Our alumni and students alike also gave an overwhelming amount of responses on their opinion on what it means to be an Eagle in a survey sent last month. From the Class of 1981 all the way to the Class of 2031, our Eagles expressed their viewpoints on this topic as well. For the majority, being a part of the AST community meant forming part of a “family,” being “perseverant,” “united,” “overachievers,” and a “source of pride and attachment.”
It is difficult to find the words to describe the honor and the privilege that being a part of the AST community has brought to so many across the years. However, as Mrs. Díaz excellently put it, the answer of what it means to be an Eagle is best encapsulated by our school’s motto: “Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle.”
Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle