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Harvey’s Senior Breakfast is a special occasion for soon-to-be graduates - the moment they are officially welcomed into the Harvey Alumni Association and celebrate their college selections as a class. 

On May 22, the Class of 2024 attended a dedicated Senior Breakfast Celebration that started off first in the Dining Hall, where the Class of 2024 enjoyed a delicious breakfast together as classmates, marking their last meal on campus as Harvey students.

In the event co-hosted by the College Counseling and Alumni offices, seniors carried on the now two-year Harvey tradition of signing their college-to-be pennants, which will then be hung in the College Counseling department. Director of College Counseling Meg Booth started this tradition, telling this year’s seniors, “Just know, there is no question that the legacy you all are leaving behind at Harvey goes well beyond these signatures.”

A highlight of this dedicated senior morning is the taking of the senior college shirt photo. The class gathered outside to show off the college they are heading off to this fall, while embracing these last moments as classmates and friends. 

In the Study Hall, a special alumni presentation started off with Director of Alumni Relations Greg Janos '98 welcoming the seniors into the Harvey Alumni family, followed by a welcome from Harvey Alumni Association President Lara Casano '95 (and current Harvey parent).

Ms. Booth shared some pretty impressive figures and statistics for the Class of 2024. “Not only is your class headed to 53 different colleges, you are doing so in 17 different states and even in five different countries. You were accepted at 28 entirely new institutions for Harvey students and nine of you will be the very first Harvey student to attend those colleges. Ten percent of your class will be pursuing their passion for sports at the college level,” she said. “You are the definition of trailblazers!”

Senior speaker Raizy Akrongold spoke to her fellow seniors and had nothing but the highest praise for the Harvey teachers who have taught and guided her along her journey to this moment. “I cannot say enough about these expert builders who were my teachers,” she said. “To me, Harvey is a magical place. In my time here, I have transformed into a person I could not have become anywhere else.”

In thanking her teachers for all the tools they have helped her add to her toolbox, Raizy closed with a message to her classmates. “Each of us has our own unique blueprint. We have our tools. I can’t wait to see what you build,” she said.

Mr. Janos introduced Harvey alum Giselle Garcia '19 to the podium, one of our esteemed young alums who has made the most of every opportunity, both at Harvey and during her years at George Washington University where she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in criminal justice with double minors in psychology and STEM teaching in 2023. Now teaching English to students at a charter school in the South Bronx, Giselle shared her college and post grad experiences with the Class of 2024. 

“It will always be less about where you plan on going, and more so about the kind of person you become along the way,” shared Giselle. “We each have something to offer this life and maybe it’s what you never saw coming that can completely change your trajectory,” she said, adding, “It’s about integrity, honesty, morals, compassion, and bravery.”

Giselle ended her words with this important thought. “While it is so scary to think about how much is outside our control, remember this; the world is happening to you but you are also happening to the world.” Quoting the film, "Freedom Writers," Giselle closed with, “We are all ordinary people, but even an ordinary secretary or housewife or teenager can, in their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room.”

We have no doubt that the Class of 2024 will embark on creating a legacy we will all be proud of.

 

Student speaker Raizy '24

Director of Alumni Relations Greg Janos '98