On May 8 and May 9, the Boston Latin School Association commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first graduating class of women during the School’s annual alumni weekend celebration.
Along with providing amenities such as refreshments, the celebration featured special programming that honored female graduates from the Class of ‘76. Several members of the graduating class gave speeches about their BLS experiences. Student participation also played a large role in the showcase. Performances, such as string quartets and special skits, aimed to highlight the work of current students at the School.
BLS students engaged with alumnae from the Class of ‘76 and reflected on their journeys at the School. Alexis Kiley (III), a student who delivered a speech under the guidance of Mrs. Sue Bear at the ceremony, states, “I think this celebration was so significant as these women who came before us really laid down a path for us all. As a girl in [BLS], it is so amazing to learn more about the women who graduated before us and the great things they did in and after this school.”
The special showcase also included an opening act by the BLS Powerlifting team. To prepare for the exhibition, the team collaborated with the BLSA to write a script and rehearsed a demonstration that recreated the process of a typical powerlifting competition. The performance was approximately five minutes long and involved volunteers displaying squat, bench and deadlift movements.
BLS Powerlifting Coach Ms. Rachel Kelly, who graduated from BLS in 2013, remarks, “I have to say [that] it was one of the most incredible assemblies I’ve ever been a part of at BLS. I think the most interesting part is just how young the first class [of women] looked, since it’s not that long ago that […] women weren’t allowed at BLS.”
During the celebration, the BLSA Family Committee established the annualHelen Magill Trailblazer Award. The award is named after Helen Magill, the daughter of a BLS teacher who attended the School for several years as part of the class of 1870 and was posthumously awarded an honorary diploma. Magill would go on to attend graduate school at Boston University, becoming the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in the United States. This year, the recipients of the award were Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell ‘00 and former Fidelity Head of Fixed Income Nancy Prior ‘85.
Head of School Jason Gallagher comments on the significance of formally recognizing the contribution of women to the school community: “I’m really excited that there’s an award to be given out, […] recognizing the importance of our female alum[s]. I think this is incredibly important because our history has been mostly male, […] so I think it’s due time.”
Only after Massachusetts passed Chapter 622 of the Acts of 1971, which banned sex-based discrimination in public schools, did the first class of girls enter BLS in 1972. Four years later, those same students graduated as part of the Class of ‘76. As a result, diversity within BLS has significantly increased in the past five decades. By including personal experiences from both early female graduates and current students at BLS, the celebration commemorated this development in the school community.
Another student speaker, Jilliane Liranzo (II), concludes, “I think BLS has […] benefited from diversity. It allows for new perspectives to flourish with the multitude of opportunities offered here, so with the addition of more diverse students, we have a greater community with intersectional identities building upon one another.”