Dear friends at FHS,

I am  Xenia Lemos, from the graduating class of 1982. My years at FHS from 1969 through graduation were some of the happiest years of my life. I look back on them as a very proud alumna, and I still enjoy the academic lessons I learned, the competitive lessons I learned on the swim team, the lasting friendships I made and the love of learning I gained thanks to the wonderful teachers, staff and classmates that shaped my education. 

Many of these lessons I have carried over to my current profession, which is owning and managing an agriturismo in Tuscany, Casetta Firenze, casetta.net, where I welcome friends, guests and friends of guests from all parts of the world. The conversations and the shared experiences are magical, including those from shared FHS acquaintances.  I make it a point of pride to offer my guests  luxuries of a boutique hotel just 20 minutes outside of Florence in our own Tuscan oasis. 

We produce our own extra virgin olive oil, and grow our own vegetables.  While I admit I did not learn the specifics of pruning, fertilizing and organic pest control at FHS, I certainly learned ingenuity, curiosity, determination and hard work and believe me, I’ve put them all to the test over these 35+ years.  The stories I could tell, and the stories I never will!