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The day after arriving home, I traveled to Fairfield University where Camp Montmartre was entering its final week. On Saturday, July 25th, our Graduate Support and Development Offices hosted an all-alumni reunion, perhaps the first in our school’s history.
When a busload of alumni traveling from Flatbush arrived, I was filled with excitement. Some had graduated in the naughts, an age that seems so far away–that time was pre-smartphone, after all. Others had graduated just 5 weeks before as members of the Class of 2026, our newest alumni.
One attendee, Kenny, had graduated in the very first class in 2006. Another alumnus, Chris ’09, serves on our board. Two past principals joined the fun. One alumna, Kiara ’17, even brought her toddler.
It was a gorgeous day in Connecticut. As music rolled over the campus’s green lawns, everyone broke bread and caught up. Older alums played chess and kickball with younger alums. Teachers embraced students they hadn’t seen in years. The students always recognized the teachers. The look of joy on teachers faces’ when they realized, Is that you? was worth the price of admission alone. It felt like a family reunion.
There are many things to be proud of about BJP and our alumni. I was thrilled to hear about their pursuits of higher education, like Christian ’15, who is pursuing a Ph.D. right down the block from BJP at Brooklyn College. Or those making careers as engineers, accountants, and nurses.
Most of all, it was the feeling of community that filled my heart and made me proud of our mission. BJP serves as a launching pad for our young students, opening doors of opportunity. Our model supports this work in important and impactful ways. We do all of this together, supporting one another, in community and in partnership. Yes, our model is effective, but I also believe that our love for one another is a secret sauce that drives success in ways that are hard to measure, but easy to feel.
Sometimes, people are surprised to hear that BJP is a small school. Even as we grow, we want to keep the same sense of intimacy and connection that the reunion so vividly brought to life for me. Hosting this reunion at Fairfield University reminded me that, like our students, BJP as an institution belongs in a much larger context. Our generous hosts at Fairfield each summer, our dedicated partners in NYC Jesuit and Catholic high schools, and our NativityMiguel Coalition peer schools all remind us that we are part of and belong to something much bigger: a movement to transform lives through education.
Thank you for being part of this movement. As a new school year begins, please know of my gratitude for each and every member of the BJP community, near and far. Please keep BJP, our students, alumni, and teachers in your prayers. Please also know of our prayers for you.
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