“Oui” Are Involved: The Elfiki Family
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The Lycée has a proud culture of engagement and philanthropy. Our series, “Oui” are Involved, highlights community members who give their time, expertise and resources to help enhance the LFC experience for all. This week, we learn more about Mallory Elfiki–the 2024 Soirée co-chair alongside Sindu Palaniappan–and her family, who joined the LFC community in 2022. They have three children, Matilda in Kindergarten, Malik in pre-K and Memphis, who is now 11 months old.
Tell us about yourself.
We live in Ravenswood, about a 10-minute walk from the school. We moved to the neighborhood in 2022 and just toured the school on a whim since it was so close by… and now look at us co-chairing the Soirée! As a family, we love running, hiking, traveling... and everything French! We have traveled all over France and places like Morocco, Nepal and Japan to hunt down pieces by the Parisian street artist, "Space Invader"! It would be fair to describe us as superfans.
How and why do you choose to get involved at the Lycée?
To us, family is everything. Our family joined LFC less than two years ago, and already it has filled the void of community that we so deeply craved from a school… and is so rare to find! We may not speak French (yet), but we can donate our time and energy to keeping the flame burning that is so evident in the hearts of the teachers, staff and parents who built LFC. We feel lucky to have found such a unique school and community right in our own backyard!
Share a favorite LFC memory.
It might have been a mistake to dress as the "Cheshire Cat" for the Sweetheart Dance in 2023 when I was eight months pregnant… because then I was subsequently recruited/peer-pressured into being the unofficial Soirée in Wonderland mascot at multiple events and marketing videos in the months following. I can't escape the images of being nine months pregnant in that spandex costume around the school!