Audencia graduates Émilie Allart (GE 14), Vanessa Chardonnet (GE 95) and François Nogrix (GE 87) have taken different paths. Yet a common thread links them all: the desire to give back to the School, and to enable new generations of students to dare, succeed and dream.
🎓 Émilie Allart (class of 2014)
“I was supported, I owe it to myself to support in turn.”
Admitted to Audencia after a preparatory class, Émilie retains many highlights from her career path: a gap year at Amadeus, a university exchange in Seoul, then an end-of-studies internship in L’Oréal’s luxury division. Her first job took her to Amadeus in Madrid, where she began her career.
Having received financial aid during her studies, Émilie realizes the importance of this support in her career:
“The help I received enabled me to study calmly, seize opportunities and build my future without financial pressure. Today, it’s obvious to me: I want to give others the same opportunity.”
💙 Vanessa Chardonnet (class of 1995)
“I discovered the Foundation with real amazement… and a lot of emotion.”
When Vanessa joined Audencia at the age of 18, it was the school’s state of mind that appealed to her: a balance between academic excellence and personal development, embodied in particular by the compulsory sports classes.
It was thanks to two alumni friends that she gradually reconnected with Audencia, taking part in events. Then, one day, she received a call for donations from the Foundation. Intrigued, she donated. A few weeks later, a student thanked her on the phone. A postcard arrived. The impact of her gesture became tangible.
“I’ve discovered that the Foundation doesn’t just support students in difficulty: it gives a chance to young people with disabilities, who bring incredible strength to the school’s collective. What I feel today is a great sense of pride. Pride that Audencia has dared to create such a committed, humane and inclusive Foundation.”
🤝 François Nogrix (class of 1987)
“We need to help these students go beyond their dreams.”
For François, the turning point came in 2024, during a fundraising evening organized by the Audencia Foundation at the French Senate. There, he discovered the commitment of a classmate, Didier Gaffinel, then President of the Foundation, but above all, he met the beneficiary students. And he was blown away.
“Their level, their commitment, their lucidity… They’re exceptional. And very endearing.”
François is convinced that the diversity of students’ backgrounds is an invaluable asset for a grande école, and that everything must be done to preserve it.
“The school has given us a lot. Today, we have a responsibility: to help today’s students build their future, make their projects a reality, broaden their horizons even further.”
Passing on, connecting, inspiring
Through their testimonials, Émilie, Vanessa and François show that supporting the Foundation means taking part in a dynamic of concrete solidarity that starts with a small gesture, a donation, a meeting, a conversation… and has a real impact on the lives of those it helps, transforms and inspires.
And what about you? Are you ready to join the adventure alongside the Foundation?
