Page 14 - 2016octissue

Roxbury Latin has a robust program in
which academic curricula challenge boys
to think deeply and consider the impact
they wish to make in this world. Beyond
the classroom, boys get involved in a
number of extracurricular activities,
including sports, music, drama,
community service, public speaking,
debate, Model United Nations, and
student publications. Students strive for consistent effort can yield impressive
excellence in all that they do, and they
do a lot. This intimate community relies
on broad participation in order to
maintain its healthy programs, and boys
are encouraged to take risks by involving off the blocks. I was with this kid who
themselves in new activities. Exposure to had won the 100m last year, but there
these many programmatic offerings
serves to challenge what is comfortable
and familiar for boys and to encourage
their growth through new experience. distance. I remember crossing the
Through his own active involvement in
school life, Hamilton has ventured forth
from his Dorchester home and traveled
the world. School­sponsored trips to
Canada, Italy, France, and Greece have
enhanced his knowledge of the cultures
and languages he has studied in French
and Latin and History classes. Such
travels have also invited Hamilton to
consider the world through a wider lens.
He is now more aware of the contexts in
which he lives, and he operates more
independently. “I was so much more
dependent on others before [my trip to]
France. My parents would wake me up
each morning and drive me everywhere.
Living with a host family and being on my supporting a student does not stop
own [for that month­long immersion
experience] definitely helped me to
mature.”
Roxbury Latin’s athletic program has
provided Hamilton opportunities to
learn new sports and to flourish in
those he has chosen to pursue. There
is a strong emphasis on participation
and competitive, fair play within the
school community, and Hamilton
provides a wonderful example to
younger boys of how hard work and
results. He recalls the experience of
breaking the school record in the
100­meter distance during a track
meet last spring: “I remember coming
was a gap and I was behind. Anyone
who knows track knows a gap is a
hard thing to make up in that short
finish line and yelling out because I
had put all of my energy into it. I had
no idea I had even won the race.”
Hamilton is captaining the Varsity
football team this fall, and he will
captain the track and field team as
they endeavor to reclaim the league
title this spring.
Roxbury Latin’s small size naturally
fosters lasting relationships. The
school professes to know and love
each boy, and the careful work of
advisors allows the school to fulfill this help others as they embark on their
fundamental promise. Each boy has
an adult in the community with whom
he meets weekly. The work of
there. Learning specialists, direct
contact with teachers for extra help
sessions, and ever­vigilant
classmasters ensure that boys are
cared for and supported throughout
their time in the school.
As a senior in his sixth and final year
at Roxbury Latin, Hamilton feels a
responsibility to help younger
students adjust to the rhythms and
expectations of the school. He is
working all year alongside a
seventh­grade boy in his first year at
Roxbury Latin. Hamilton plays the role
of big brother in this relationship,
helping to anticipate moments of the
year and shepherd his younger
partner through the experience.
Hamilton is also a senior leader in the
Sixie Seminar, a program that invites
younger boys to discuss questions of
character and integrity and social
pressures. Hamilton will be crucial in
guiding boys through those formative
conversations. He recently returned
from a camping trip in New
Hampshire, where he helped organize
and lead seventh­graders through an
orientation experience.
“Good leaders set good examples,”
Hamilton reflects. “People are always
taking note of your actions, so you
have to be accountable at all times.”
Hamilton understands that he has
benefited from his opportunities at
Roxbury Latin. He is a scholar­athlete,
a world­traveler, and a natural leader.
He understands that he must now
journey through the school.
He is one of 300 motivated and
capable boys who attend Roxbury
Latin and ensure that it remains a
vibrant school of learning and
growing. Roxbury Latin is a distinctive
community comprised of boys from
various backgrounds who offer
various talents. If you would like to
learn more about Roxbury Latin,
please visit the school website
(www.roxburylatin.org), email the
admission office at
admission@roxburylatin.org, or call
the office at 617.477.6317.