Page 13 - 2016octissue

Hamilton “Looking back, I see how fortunate I have been. I realize that not
Coiscou everyone gets to experience all that I have.” Hamilton Coiscou, a
senior at The Roxbury Latin School in West Roxbury,
SENIOR AT THE ROXBURY Massachusetts, had this to say as he reflected on a recent service
LATIN SCHOOL project in the city. As a pallbearer at the burial of a deceased,
homeless man in Boston, Hamilton was struck with newfound
appreciation for his supportive community of friends and family.
“Just to think how I might have lived that life and had no one to
claim me, no one to be at my funeral—it forces me to step back and
cherish what I have.”

Roxbury Latin seniors have joined in this service initiative at the
school for the past five years. The service project is named Ave
Atque Vale, meaning “Hail and Farewell,” an allusion to the poet
Catullus’ elegiac tribute to his dead brother. For Hamilton and for
his 53 senior classmates, the experience serves as a reminder of our
humbling dependence on one another.

Such is the sensitivity and awareness that Roxbury Latin hopes its
students will gain during their years in the school. A small school of
300 boys (an easy, ten-minute commute from Forest Hills), Roxbury
Latin is dedicated to preparing boys for lives of purpose. Through
rigorous academic training and a consistent focus on ethical
formation, the school endeavors to instill in boys toughness and
tenderness, as well as a driving impulse to lead and serve in their
communities. continued on next page