Prize Book Committee

from 2022-23 Harvard Club of Boston Annual Report

by harvardclubofboston

THE HIGGINSON 1908 FOUNDATION, INC.

Barbara

D. Pulaski, ph’73, Chair

Paul J. Brennan ’67 Marcus DeFlorimonte, gb’95 PMD Louis DiBerardinis, ph’75

Philip C. Haughey ’57 Lidija Ortloff ’82 Karen Van Winkle ‘80

The twenty seventh Harvard Club Prize Book Breakfast was held on October 20, 2022 in Harvard Hall. In addition to parents, school counselors, and teachers, four principals and one superintendent of schools were in attendance.These included Principal Scott Czermak of Clinton High School, Principal Joshua Romano of Leominster High School, Principal Ted McCarty of Sutton High School, Principal Joshua Otlin of Milford High School and Dr. Steve Meyer, Superintendent of the Clinton, Massachusetts Public School system. Dr. Meyer had heard so very many positive comments about this breakfast that he was very glad to be in attendance at this annual event Principal Otlin was the recipient of one of the Excellence in Teaching Awards in the year 2008 as a teacher at the Hudson, MA High School Principal Otlin wrote to me, “The Harvard Club Excellence in Teaching Award was at the very beginning of my career Receiving it was a source of encouragement and inspiration for me. To have my principal nominate me for the award in 2008 was a tremendous source of affirmation, to have the Harvard Club recognize me was incredibly validating and encouraging… I left the Harvard Club in 2008 with a renewed confidence and excitement to push harder to deepen my impact and ultimately led me to my journey into leadership and the work I do today.”

Harvard Club President Marcus DeFlorimonte gave the welcoming address to those in attendance. While the guests were eating their breakfasts, President DeFlorimonte walked to each of the tables in Harvard Hall and personally welcomed every guest to the Harvard Club of Boston. Students at my table were very impressed that he took the time to directly talk with them. One young man stated that “President DeFlorimonte made me feel very important.”

This breakfast was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Susan Horner. Dr. Horner, a friend of the Prize Book Program, passed away just before the pandemic Her husband, Dr David Horner, President of the American College of Greece, gave an excellent description of his wife’s contributions to the field of education, both in Greece and in the United States Jasime Alexandra Sanolada and her mother, Lina, were present in the audience as representatives of the American College of Greece.

In the opening address, those in attendance were asked to notice the two flags permanently flying above the doorway to the Club’s main entrance on Commonwealth Avenue. One flag is the traditional Harvard flag. The second flag was permanently installed a year ago in October, 2021.

This flag is the tribal flag of the Native American people, called the Ponkapoag, who occupied all of the land in what is now called Boston, including the land beneath the Harvard Club of Boston

State Senator Ryan Fattman gave the main address. Mr. Fattman represents the Worcester and Norfolk District of Massachusetts on Beacon Hill. He is also the assistant minority leader on Beach Hill. Mr. Fattman talked about some of his successes and failures on his journey to establish himself in politics in Massachusetts. His talk was interesting, entertaining and those in the audience seemed to enjoy his message of always follow one’s passion no matter how unattainable it may initially seem. Mr. Fattman was presented with a Friends of Education Award and was recognized for his commitment to education at every level in the commonwealth ranging from preschool to college.

The Friends of Education award was also presented to Dr. Karen Bohlin by Paul Brennan, a member of the Prize Book Committee. Dr. Bohlin was headmaster of the Montrose Academy in Medfield, MA. While at the school, she founded the Life Campus Institute for Character and Leadership, a lab school community of practice.Currently, Dr. Bohlin is the Director of the Practical Wisdom Project at the Abigail Adams Institute in Cambridge.

Lidija Ortloff presented the Friends of Education Award to Irena Stanic Rasin, a writer, translator and instructor of literature working both in Boston and in Zagreb, Croatia; she is a co-founder and director of the Croatian School of Boston. According to Ms. Ortloff, “Ms. Rasin recently was awarded the Order of the Croatian Interlace by the President of Croatia for the advancement of progress of the Republic of Croatia and the welfare of its citizens, and the preservation of identity of the Croatian community in Boston.”

Three teachers received the Excellence in Teaching Award, given by Louise DiBerardinis. These include the following: Michael Clements of the Lawrence Central Catholic High School, Bruna Correia of the Milford High School and Yael Jaffe of Maimonides School.

Prize Book Committee member Paul Brennan talked about the history of the Prize Book Program and its relationship to Harvard University. He identified some of the portraits of past Harvard University Presidents on the walls of Harvard Hall, and told interesting stories about their tenure as president.

What were some of the students like at the Prize Book Breakfast? The students I talked to were very highly motivated and seemed to be accomplished in several areas including academic excellence Jonathan Rodriguez of the Saint John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, MA was present at the breakfast with his father Jonathan has established the Luna Club at Saint John’s The focus of this club is to teach Latin and Hispanic culture to fellow students. Jonathan expects to go to Stamford to study computer science. I talked with Joshua’s dad and he briefly described his life in the countryside of Puerto Rico.

He decided to come to the United States to get out of the extreme poverty and the complete lack of any type of opportunity in his village He said to me, “I am very happy that I have reached my goals in life to educate my two sons, and I feel that I have reached the American dream.” Mr. Rodriguez has one son currently enrolled at Harvard College and his second son will hopefully be going to Stamford.

Minh Vu was brought to the Prize Book Breakfast by Principal Joshua Romano of Leominster High School.Ms. Minh is an Eagle Scout, serves as Class Treasurer and is a star on the Math Team. Minh has a passion for both math and science and hopes to attend Tufts University to study biomedical engineering on a complete scholarship.

Carligh Harris, a brilliant student at Hobgood Charter School in North Carolina, was brought tot the Prize Book Breakfast by her grandfather, William Whitehurst. Carligh has been involved in the field of gymnastics for over ten years.She also is very involved in the youth group of the Ignite Church. Carligh completed an internship as a teacher at a local kindergarten as part of her studies at Hobgood. That experience has motivated her to decide to enter an elementary education program at either Liberty University or North Carolina State University in the upcoming fall term.

Two new members were added to the Prize Book Committee this year Karen Van Winkle has accepted the invitation to become a member as did current Harvard Club President, Marcus DeFlorimonte. Together we will work to ensure that next year’s Prize Book Breakfast will be interesting as well as relevant to the attendees.