News

A Teacher Affects Eternity

The coming days will be exciting ones for the whole school and include chances to celebrate the Class of 2026: Senior Thesis Symposium, Senior Art Show, Senior Dinner, Field Day, Senior Week events, Prom, and Commencement a week from Monday. While these goodbyes are bittersweet, we are looking forward to being together.

Over the weekend, more than 100 BUA alumni, parents, parents of graduates, faculty, and staff gathered to mark an important milestone: Dr. Jim Davis’s 30th year at the school. It was a beautiful testament to the remarkable impact a teacher can have. We heard from three graduates who told stories about how Dr. Davis lit a lifelong passion for history and philosophy; transformed their writing; and gave them the tools to see through spurious arguments from others and make strong ones themselves. They described seeking him out for comfort and advice when navigating the emotional ups and downs of adolescence; he listened with an open heart and never once talked down to them. They shared how they have reached out to him as they passed through college, graduate school, early careers, and family life for advice. In some cases, he was their inspiration for them choosing careers as teachers themselves. Whether in their workplaces, at home with their own families, or in front of classrooms, these alums are passing on what they learned from Dr. Davis. Their testimonials gave life to Henry Adams’s famous quote, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”

It was a nice coincidence that the event came at the start of Teacher Appreciation Week, as both offer a chance to think about the impact teachers have and express gratitude. For my part, I want to say thank you to Dr. Davis and all of my passionate, inspired, devoted colleagues. This is hard work that is often underappreciated and undervalued in our society. And it is among the most important, purposeful work a person can do. We are blessed with a remarkable group of teachers, advisors, and mentors. Please join me in thanking them for all that they do.

Entrepreneurial Spirit

I’m just back from a few days in San Francisco visiting BUA alums. The visit bolstered an impression I’ve been forming over the years: entrepreneurs and innovators are overrepresented in our alumni community. At first, this felt surprising, particularly for an East Coast school without a business focus and whose curriculum is proudly and intentionally rooted in the classical tradition. But on quick second thought, it makes sense. The students who choose BUA tend to come to us with an independent streak and accelerate down that path because of their experience here: the commute on public transportation; exploring the city with friends after school; choosing and navigating BU classes; developing and executing a senior thesis. Many of them not only lead but also start new clubs (some of which take off, some of which don’t), which is something we encourage and is likely the reason why we have 50+ clubs for 225 students! Many of them get some insight into cutting edge research and ideas through their BU classes and lab experiences. Putting that all together, we graduate students with the pieces successful entrepreneurs and innovators need. 

We think there is an opportunity to be even more intentional, given what we have learned. For students eager to explore these topics in a more structured, focused way, we are launching a new 11th grade Entrepreneurship & Innovation Seminar next year, which will run alongside two other long-standing seminars in STEM and the humanities. Students in the new seminar will visit – virtually and in person – entrepreneurs and innovators (mainly BUA alums and parents) to hear about their journeys and glean lessons; dive into case studies and some of the academic literature from the field; tap into resources at BU’s Questrom School of Business; and begin developing their own ideas in an incubator-style environment. Who knows? Maybe the next big thing will come from 1 University Road.

Opening Doors

One of my deepest hopes and commitments is to make sure this school is accessible to exceptionally kind and curious students around the Boston area regardless of their family’s financial situation. I am proud that over the last six admissions cycles, including this one, BUA has been in a position not to have a financial aid wait list; every student we thought should be here was admitted, and we provided the need-based financial aid that they qualified for. BUA is rare in that regard. Typically in schools like ours, financial aid budgets cover some but not all of the applicants whom the school would like to admit. Because of the choices we make in our budget every year and due to the tremendous generosity of our parent and alumni donors, we have been able to keep BUA’s doors open to the most deserving students. 

Financial accessibility is the first priority in our 2030 Strategic Vision. Why? There are two reasons. For one, schools like this one change lives. They create pathways and opportunities for young people that otherwise would not be open to them. In some cases, schools like this one change the trajectory of a whole family. And those students often pay it forward by devoting their careers to lifting up those around them. Second, the students who are here with the support of financial aid make us better. Having the brightest, most engaged students around the table, regardless of their socioeconomic status, leads to livelier conversations and deeper engagement. Students learn not just from teachers, but also from one another. Broad socioeconomic access is a central factor in this school’s culture and success.

Who Our Graduates Become

For all in the BUA community who marked the end of Ramadan last week, we hope that you enjoyed a blessed and happy time with your families. Eid Mubarak. Thank you to the members of our Middle Eastern and North African Student Association (MENASA) for organizing a community potluck celebration this evening.

I’m just back from two days in New York visiting alumni from across the three decades of BUA’s history. It is inspiring to see the people our alums have become. We heard stories from our college-aged alums at Columbia, NYU, and Barnard about the advanced coursework they are taking, the research and internships they are engaged in, and the ways that their experiences at BUA and BU help them make the most out of their new homes. Alums in the working world represent a wide range of pursuits: law, pharmaceuticals, technology, finance, consulting, academia, medicine, music, public service, and more – a beautiful reflection of the polymath nature of our community. Across those fields, two themes emerged. Many of our graduates acknowledged that they had risen further and faster than their colleagues of similar ages, and credited the skills they had honed at BUA: strong writing, confident and concise oral communication, the ability to engage empathetically around a conference table, sharp critical thinking skills, getting along with peers that they might disagree with; those habits and soft skills, rather than technical expertise, had made the difference. The other strain that ran through those conversations was a desire to give back and do some good in the world. Many of the alums we talked to nodded to the fact that they were the beneficiaries of gifts – an exceptional education, a loving family, caring mentors. They wanted to make sure that they found a way to pay that forward. For some, that meant choosing a career with a clear and positive social impact. For some, it meant becoming a mentor within their company or to younger BUA alums. For many, it meant contributing financially to BUA to make the school accessible to the next generation and volunteering their time to strengthen the community that nourished them. I am so proud of our graduates and grateful to them for their support.