On Wed., Jan. 3, some three dozen alumni/ae from years 2011 to 2023 gathered at Boston Collegiate Charter School to check in with their former teachers and offer advice to current students. The visitors represented a range of post-secondary schools, including state colleges, Ivy League universities, small liberal arts institutions, and the Marine Corps, where two of them had enlisted after their graduations.

About 20 of the graduates participated in a Q&A session with 11th and 12th graders, sharing insights about how college life differs from high school, and what students might expect should they matriculate.

From left, Teddy Barboza, class of 2022, City Year participant; Jean Charles Innocent, class of 2021, currently at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; Alex Harris, class of 2020, currently at UMass Lowell
Photos courtesy Boston Collegiate

Rodney Adams (BCCS ’17), a graduate of Middlebury College, noted: “In college, it’s so important to take the time to learn who you are. You get to choose your own friends, your own classes, your own clubs. You have so much autonomy; you have to figure out who you are. Someday, you’ll be an adult living on your own in your own apartment, and no one will be telling you what to do. You have to learn for yourself.”

Nathan Camilo (BCCS ’17), a graduate of Dartmouth College, advised students to “Lean on your teachers at Boston Collegiate! They are chosen because they want you to succeed. In college, you might not always receive individual support from your professors, so use your time here to ask questions and take advantage of the help your teachers are offering.”