News
Class of 2025 Matriculation List
On Monday, May 19, BUA graduated the Class of 2025 – the largest class in the school’s history – at a commencement ceremony featuring a keynote address by Boston University President Dr. Melissa Gilliam. As you can see from the impressive matriculation list below, the members of the BUA Class of 2025 have exciting paths ahead of them. Watch out, world -- these talented, passionate, determined young people are ready to make their mark. To our newest alums: we couldn’t be prouder of you. Stay in touch, drop us a postcard from your adventures, and don’t forget to stop by for a visit when you’re in town. Whether you’re heading across the street or across an ocean, you’ll always have a home at BUA. Members of the BUA Class of 2025 will attend the following institutions: Boston University Brown University California Institute of Technology Carleton College Colby College Cornell University Emory University Haverford College Harvard University Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health... More
BUA Graduates Largest Class in School History
On Monday, May 19, Boston University Academy graduated the Class of 2025 -- the largest class in the school's history, at 67 members. President Dr. Melissa Gilliam delivered the commencement keynote address to a packed house at BU's Tsai Performance Center. The BUA Class of 2025 crossed the stage to receive their diplomas from Head of School Chris Kolovos and Associate Head of School Rosemary White. Rose Cairo '25 and Yiannis Asikis '25 delivered the student addresses; Egor Lazarevich '25 and Lucia Jankowich recited the Classics orations in Latin and Greek, respectively. In her remarks, Dr. Gilliam, drawing on the many hats she has worn in her personal and professional lives, advised the Class of 2025: “There is so much I want to tell you. As a doctor, I want to tell you exercise, minimize screen use, spend time in nature, spend time with people. As a mom I want to tell... More
Senior Thesis Symposium 2025
On May 12, BUA's 67 seniors presented their research at our annual Senior Thesis Symposium in BU's Metcalf Hall. Senior theses are the culmination of BUA’s academic program and are undertaken by all seniors in partnership with a BU professor. The Symposium, open to the entire BUA community, celebrates our seniors and gives them platform to share their research with and field questions from a non-expert audience. Each senior prepares a poster featuring the highlights of their thesis research along with an accompanying 'lightning talk,' and then delivers an individual classroom presentation to their peers, teachers, and family members. From bioinformatics to urban planning, the depth and breadth of our seniors' research is astounding. As you can see from the thesis topics below, this is not just an academic exercise: these students have dedicated themselves to research and action with real-world impact in areas they are passionate about, and are... More
Daniel Shaer ’26 Wins Arbeiter Holocaust Essay Contest
BUA junior Daniel Shaer '26, along with five others, won this year's Israel Arbeiter Holocaust Essay Contest, part of Boston's annual commemoration of Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust Day of Remembrance. Daniel's essay was inspired by a 2023 trip to Erfurt, Germany, to see an exhibit based on his great-grandmother Miriam's diary, which recounts her 1938 exodus from Nazi Germany to British Palestine. Daniel says, "That trip to Germany in the summer of 2023 to see the exhibit about my great-grandmother's life had such a profound impact on me and I wanted to share what I'd learned in my submission. When I found out that I'd won, I felt so proud to be related to my great-grandmother and incredibly honored that I was able to share her inspiring story." Daniel, along with the five other essay contest winners, will travel to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. In anticipation of... More
Known and Loved
I’ve visited about a dozen classes this week. I’ll pop in and then follow up in a meeting with the teacher to hear more about what they were working on and offer some observations and kudos. In one humanities class, I noticed that two students who are typically on the quiet side were participating actively in a spirited conversation around the table. I asked the teacher about it. He told me how, earlier in the year, he noticed these two students following along quietly but not entering the fray. He pulled each of the students aside outside of class, sharing that he was impressed with the analysis in their written work and encouraging them to pick a spot or two in each class to share out loud. When they did participate, he made a point to thank them for it. The result was what I saw this week. There is nothing... More
MUSE: The Literary Magazine of Boston University Academy
The Media of Unparalleled Student Expression, or MUSE, is BUA's student-run literary magazine, which seeks to highlight the artistic voice of the student body. Over the course of the academic year, students submit poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art pieces to the club. At weekly meetings, the LitMag team gathers to workshop these submissions, offering both constructive criticism and enthusiastic support. With snacks in hand, students build a space of artistic trust where creative risks are encouraged and feedback is respectful. In April and early May, the editorial team curates and compiles final selections from these submissions and includes them in MUSE. The magazine seeks to uplift a wide spectrum of voices and aesthetics. The final product is more than a publication, it is a reflection of the club’s work, shaped by critique, connection, and snacks! We hope you enjoy the 2025 edition of MUSE!
Lobstah Bots Robotics Season Recap
BUA's robotics team, the Lobstah Bots, netted some impressive accolades this year! Coco M. '26 shares the following season recap. The Lobstah Bots’ 2025 season has come to an end. After 13 weeks of engineering an entirely new robot, dubbed Beluga, Team 246 has finished its best season since 2016. Build season started on the first weekend of January, in which the whole team came together to analyze the season and brainstorm robot ideas at Kickoff. The Lobstah Bots came together to make some big decisions and get a good start on the robot. Following a long iteration and prototyping process, the team worked together to quickly design, fabricate parts for, assemble, wire, and program a functioning robot from scratch in six weeks, to make it to the Week 0 preseason scrimmage event. At the Week 0 scrimmage, we got to get an early look at the game play, get our drivers comfortable... More
Showing Up for One Another
I had the pleasure of attending BUA’s first-ever early music concert last Wednesday evening. The event was in Marsh Chapel, with its soaring ceilings and stained glass forming a beautiful and fitting setting for the music. We heard from Sonus, BUA’s early music instrumental ensemble, whose performance featured a harpsichord and several other period instruments. We heard from Vox Caeli and Polytropos, BUA’s select choral groups. We heard from a number of soloists and combinations performing pieces mainly from the Renaissance but some stretching as far back as the first century AD. There was so much to celebrate: the virtuosity that was a product of years of hard work; the incredible range of music; the blending of performance and music history; the beautiful partnership between teachers and students. I want to draw attention to another special thing about that Wednesday night: the audience. Many of the performers’ families were there, but... More
Meet Sonus, BUA’s Early Music Ensemble
On Wednesday evening, Boston University Academy hosted its first-ever Early Music Concert in the spectacular Marsh Chapel at the heart of BU's campus. The concert featured our Early Music Ensemble, Sonus, with special guests Vox Caeli, Polytropos, and our very own Dr. Kristin Jewell. The program comprised music from the 1st century AD through the early 1700’s, and was performed on historically accurate instruments such as recorders, cornetto, sackbut, harpsichord, lute, aulos, and more. According to music teacher and concertmaster Dr. Brett Abigaña, Sonus is the only early music ensemble in the country performing on historically accurate instruments. BUA singers performed madrigals from three different centuries and regions in their original dialects, and Dr. Jewell led a stunning performance of the Seikilos Epitaph, the oldest fully notated piece as yet discovered. We even heard a Colonial American tavern song popular in Boston during the American Revolution! The audience enjoyed a more intimate... More
Halls Filled with Poetry
Lockers and doorways all around BUA this month are covered with poetry. In honor of National Poetry Month, we invite students, teachers, and staff every year to post a beloved poem. As I walked down the hall this morning, I saw work from poets I know – artists like Mary Oliver, Robert Frost, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, Percy Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Rumi, Pablo Neruda, and Langston Hughes. I came across plenty of works by poets who are new to me, too. Most of the poems are in English, but I’ve also seen pieces in Spanish, Greek, Polish, and Hebrew. There is even some original student poetry shared for all to see. I posted C.P. Cavafy’s Ithaka on my door yesterday morning. Within 30 minutes, I heard two seniors standing outside reading it out loud and discussing the poem. This is a very special place – a place that can come... More