On March 20, the Boston Latin School Association held a New York City Alumni Event at the Ploume venue in the Ivory Peacock bar, featuring the 2023 Outstanding Recent Graduate, Mr. Oscar Baez (‘04).
The event opened with an introduction by BLSA president Mr. Peter Kelly (‘83) and a short video covering Mr. Baez’s accomplishments and journey after graduation. It was followed by a few comments by Mr. Baez and Head of School Jason Gallagher, with the remaining time used as an opportunity to socialize and meet people of all different backgrounds.
Cinly Mo (‘23), the youngest alumna at the event, comments on how she connected with the other alumni, saying, “Oscar Baez’s speech resonated with me, as he attributed a large part of his professional success and personal growth to his time at BLS.”
Mr. Baez is currently a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State, where he prepares briefings for the Secretary of State in support of crisis-response task forces and other State Department operations. Prior to this, he worked on education and foreign policy under the Obama administration.
His career in public service began as a Ward Fellow at BLS in 2003. The Ward Fellowship allows juniors and seniors to work in the office of an elected or appointed public official in state government, municipal government, the judicial system and even the major press. In addition to the Ward Fellowship, he was appointed Sports Editor of the Argo his senior year in high school. Mr. Baez has also had his work published in the Boston Herald.
After graduating, Mr. Baez worked in the office of fellow BLS alumnus Edward Hintlian, gaining experience in law by helping migrants gain U.S. citizenship.
Head of School Gallagher describes the event as a great get-together of people who share one common trait: being BLS alumni. He reflects, “There is a 73-year age difference between the youngest and oldest. How amazing is that?”
He emphasizes how Mr. Baez has applied much of the knowledge he gained from BLS in daily life: he became fluent in three languages by the age of 16 and can now speak over ten languages. Mr. Baez’s success profoundly answers the question of why we ought to take both Latin and a modern language.
BLS Program Director of Visual and Performing Arts Ms. Margaret McKenna was in the same graduating class as Mr. Baez. Though she did not attend the event, she believes that this reunion event was a great way to bring people together and connect with former classmates. She remarks, “Oscar was someone that I’d be glad to have a class with because I knew he’d always keep the rest of us on our toes.”
He was successful throughout his career at BLS and took advantage of opportunities that piqued his interest. His BLS experiences helped shape him into the person he is today. Ms. McKenna points out how “[His LinkedIn profile states he was trained in] response in complex environments,” a skill that he learned in high school.
The upcoming annual Spring Reunions will occur on the weekend of May 3, honoring alumni celebrating their 20th- to 75th-anniversary reunions. It provides yet another opportunity for former classmates to reconnect with each other through their experiences at BLS.
