I grew up on 41 Clifford Street, in the house my father grew up in, that his father built. My mother and father were childhood friends, causing trouble in the streets of Hyde Park. They have their fair share of childhood buddies who grew up to be leaders in the city: from teachers to cops to politicians. Today, my parents have all of my younger siblings and I in the BPS system. My sister Jenna is about to be an eighth grader at BLS, my brother Matt goes to the Murphy Elementary School in Dorchester, and my youngest brother Charlie will be starting his first year of preschool at the Ohrenberger this year. Spending my entire life here, I’ve always loved Boston. I love the richness of its history, I love the liberalness of its attitude, I love the pride of its people. I love that I grew up learning to use public transportation. I love that I live in a place world renowned for its abundance of education and healthcare and forward thinking. There’s no place on Earth I would rather have grown up.
I attended Saint Anne’s Parish School until fourth grade, and Academy of the Pacific Rim for fifth and sixth. After going to two schools within a five minute drive to my house, it took much deliberation (especially considering APR continued through high school) until my parents and I decided I would attend Boston Latin School as a sixie. For all the turmoil I could say BLS has put me through (including my first C!), I have never for a moment regretted coming here. I have made amazing friends and had access to opportunities students across the country and across the world could only dream of. I came to love Boston in a whole new way, attending its gem of a public school, amidst the bustling Fenway area. Throughout my time here my favorite classes have always been English and History, especially APUSH and Facing History. I’ve been involved in activities such as tutoring, the Editorial Board of “The Register,” KEY Club, and the girls’s swim team. I work as a lifeguard at the Hyde Park YMCA. I’ve volunteered in my community by working at my church and on Rob Consalvo’s campaign for mayor.
As I gained immense appreciation for how lucky I was to grow up where and how I did, my eyes were also opened to how many lacked so much of what I had. One of the most amazing opportunities I have taken advantage of in my time at Boston Latin is taking the class Facing History and Ourselves, taught by Judi Freeman. This class allowed me to take a trip this spring to Eastern Europe (Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic) to study World War II and the Holocaust. It was my first time abroad, sparking a desire for me to travel. In addition, it offered me experiences that changed my perspective forever, most prominently visiting Auschwitz. The class itself focuses on human rights and violations of them world wide. Seeing how much is going wrong in the world around us created a drive for me to do something to make a difference in my life. Perhaps the most eye-opening part of the class was not only the atrocities going on across oceans but the horrible things happening right here in the U.S. and even in our beloved Boston.We studied dark parts of Boston’s history, such as the busing crisis, as well as examined the city today. We found a city still very divided by race and class, a city that has so much to offer but a city where not all of its residents have access to its full potential. Before we go off and make a change around the world, isn’t it our duty to make a difference in the city we grew up in, one that we all believe is great but know for a fact can be better?
If I am honest, while I’m very aware of the problems surrounding us globally and locally, I have no idea how we could start to fix them. Being honest, I am really not sure what I want to “be when I grow up.” I know I want to do something to make a change for the better. It has become apparent to me public service and government is the most effective means of creating a change. Working on Rob Consalvo’s campaign made me realize I love the excitement and thrill of politics, I like that you can meet people and hear their stories and have the means to help them. It is a great option I’d love to explore, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to through the Ward Fellowship, and plan on doing more in the future.