►
From YouTube: 2019 Celebration of Boston Latin School
Description
Members of the BLS alumni, parent, teacher and student community gathered at the Long Wharf Marriott Hotel to celebrate the career achievements of Christine Hunschofsky ’87, Mayor of Parkland, FL, and José Valenzuela ’03, Founder of Boston Youth Wrestling.
A
B
B
B
C
Thank
You
Mateo
Mateo
and
his
twin
sisters,
who
are
class
4
students
are
rock
stars
who
impact
our
school
culture
for
the
better.
Every
day
this
evening
we
will
reflect
on
Latin
school
as
a
blueprint
or
a
framework
for
life
as
headmaster.
I
have
the
privilege
of
seeing
young
people
working
on
their
blueprints
every
day,
whether
it's
in
very
public
fashion,
like
president
Mateo
or
many
others,
working
very
quietly
through
their
own
steady
progress
as
developing
leaders,
learners
and
even
simply,
as
friends
and
community
members.
C
It's
not
always
clear
to
teachers
and
administrators
who
the
standouts
are
going
to
be
I'm
sure
that
during
his
tenure,
mr.
Cano
pathes
felt
the
same
way
given
the
chance
to
name
25
rock
stars
from
the
early
1980s
I.
Imagine
that
the
name
Michael
Giordano
may
not
have
necessarily
come
to
mr.
C's
mind,
but
that's
what
that
ever
jovial
boy
from
Charlestown
became
as
a
man,
a
rock
star,
the
class
of
1984
vice-president,
never
strayed,
far
from
alma
mater
serving
as
coach,
classmate
and
friend
for
years
before.
C
G
G
D
C
I'd
like
to
take
this
moment
to
acknowledge
the
Giordano
family,
whom
we're
honored
to
have
with
us
tonight,
his
wife
Cheryl,
his
daughter,
Michael
I'm.
Excuse
me
his
son
Michael,
his
daughter,
Lindsay
Thank,
You
Giordano
family
for
sharing
him
so
generally
generously
with
us
we're
so
happy
you're
here
with
us
tonight,.
C
Gio's
story
parallels
that
of
so
many
alumni
of
this
great
school.
The
path
to
lives
of
service
and
to
the
improvement
of
the
human
condition
set
in
motion
at
BLS
will
recognize
this
blueprint
for
life
in
the
stories
of
this
evenings.
Other
honorees
as
well.
My
colleagues
and
I
often
reflect
on
how
we
measure
the
value
of
an
education
at
our
very
special
school.
C
H
I
J
F
B
F
F
A
N
Thank
You
headmaster,
Skerritt
and
welcome
everyone
to
a
wonderful
evening
here,
as
a
young
boy
growing
up
in
Jamaica,
Plain
Jose
Valenzuela
class
of
2003
found
himself
on
a
challenging
path.
As
an
early
Boston
Latin
School
student,
his
trajectory
was
marked
by
poor
school
performance,
a
lack
of
motivation
and
aimlessness
in
wrestling.
N
Success
followed
quickly
through
the
sport
he
developed
discipline
and
found
community
and
fellow
athletes
and
coaches,
while
focusing
himself
academically
and
emotionally
latin
school
achievement
earned
Jose
the
opportunity
to
pursue
wrestling
as
a
four-year
varsity
athlete
at
Williams
College,
after
which
he
embarked
on
his
career.
As
a
Boston
Latin
Boston
Public
Schools
teacher,
while
at
Tech
Boston
Academy,
he
saw
a
familiar
struggles
among
his
students,
and
so
he
established
a
wrestling
team
which
later
led
to
the
founding
of
Boston
youth
wrestling
in
2012
over
seven
years.
N
N
What's
remarkable
is
that
Jose
has
built
this
thriving
organization
in
his
spare
time,
while
working
as
an
esteemed
history
and
humanities
teacher
at
Boston,
Latin
Academy,
please
join
me
in
welcoming
this
evening.
The
2019
outstanding
recent
graduate
Jose
Valenzuela,
whose
dedication
to
the
youth
of
Boston
earns
him
this
extraordinary
recognition,
Jose.
L
Wow,
thank
you
for
this
incredible
honor
tonight.
If
I'm
being
completely
honest,
I,
never
expected
to
be
on
the
stage
when
I
entered
Boston,
Latin
School
the
courts
that
very
year
would
strike
down
racial
quotas
in
the
exam
school
admission
process.
Making
my
class
one
of
the
last
to
enter
under
the
old
system.
L
Bls
was
an
easy
place
to
feel
lost
and
unwelcome
and
no
small
part,
because
no
one
believed
I
was
deserving
of
my
seat.
Going
to
Latin
school
is
tough,
being
Latino
at
Latin.
School
is
really
tough
and
yet
I'm
standing
here
before
you
because
of
the
opportunities
the
school
provided
me
during
my
six
year,
when
I
heard
the
homeroom
announcements
over
the
intercom
for
middle
school
wrestling,
tryouts
I
rushed
down
to
sign
up
only
to
find
out.
L
L
Weighed
90
pounds
in
the
seventh
grade
for
everyone
counting,
but
that
decision
a
wrestle
would
ultimately
change
my
life
and
put
me
on
this
path.
That
I
continue
today
to
use
the
sport
of
wrestling
to
transform
the
lives
of
young
people
across
the
city
and
because
of
music
and
band
with
mr.
Pitts,
and
because
of
football
with
Coach,
Nieves
and
coach
geo,
and
because
of
tag
the
talented
and
gifted
club
with
mr.
Fernandes
mr.
Lewis,
mr.
versa,
and
because
of
the
maple
leaf
exchange
trips
to
Canada
with
mr.
L
L
I
want
to
thank
my
beautiful
wife
Talia,
who
made
it
possible
for
me
to
even
create
Boston
youth
wrestling
with
her
support
her
patience,
my
son
Benny,
whose
personality
is
such
a
source
of
light
in
my
in
my
life
I,
also
want
to
thank
my
staff
at
Boston
is
wrestling
including
the
incomparable
Executive,
Director,
bjorg,
Whitney
and,
of
course,
I
want
to
thank
my
BLS
classmates,
who
are
here
tonight,
including
my
bush-league
family,
who
have
been
keeping
me
humble
since
1997.
They
will
not.
L
O
O
M
O
M
P
I
O
K
J
M
Q
Q
Peter
can
corroborate
this
when
I
got
the
call,
I
actually
started
crying
in
disbelief
and
in
gratitude
and
in
shock,
because
I
know
the
special
place
that
this
school
holds
in
all
of
our
hearts
and
in
our
lives
and
I
know
how
much
this
means
and
I'm
so
appreciative
of
it.
Although
tonight,
after
listening
to
Matt
O'malley
I,
wonder
if
they
thought
I
was
the
class
of
1986
and
that's
why
I
got
class
of
87
I.
Q
Q
Q
Another
perfect
example
of
what
makes
Boston
Latin
School
so
special.
We
don't
all
know
where
we
fit
sometimes
when
we
get
there,
but
in
the
process
of
being
there,
something
clicks
and
we
figure
out
what
our
path
is
and
what
our
purpose
is.
I
also
have
to
thank
my
family.
I
would
not
be
Who.
I
am
today
without
their
patience
with
me,
my
parents,
my
husband,
my
kids,
who
remind
me
that
I
don't
know
everything
and
I'm,
not
as
cool
as
I
might
think.
I
am,
but
that's
what
keeps
us
grounded
in
life.
Q
Q
We
were
often
underestimated,
but
we
were
a
very
special
group
and
I.
Thank
you
all
for
being
here
today.
There
you
go
Tara
I,
still
remember
getting
my
acceptance
into
Boston
Latin.
It
was
a
big
deal
in
our
household.
You
heard
my
dad.
Actually
in
the
video
talk
about
it,
it
was
the
place
to
be
and
I
thought
wow.
It's
so
cool
I
got
in,
but
I,
don't
think
I,
realized
and
I
know
I
didn't
realize
at
that
time
the
impact
it
would
have
on
my
life.
I
still
remember
sitting
in
the
auditorium.
Q
So
you
look
to
your
right.
Look
to
your
left,
something
like
that.
One
of
you
won't
be
here
at
graduation
and
I
know
they
don't
do
that
anymore,
but
it
made
it
seem.
Like
you
know,
making
it
through
was
a
big
deal
and
it
was,
and
even
though
graduating
from
Boston
Latin
School
was
an
accomplishment
we
weren't
just
there
to
learn.
We
weren't
just
there
to
be
the
smartest
people
in
the
room.
We
were
there
to
be
part
of
an
established
legacy.
Q
What
were
we
gonna
do?
What
was
I
gonna
do
to
make
the
world
a
better
place.
How
was
I
gonna
make
a
difference.
It
wasn't
just
about
knowing
things
it
was
the.
What
are
you
going
to
contribute
to
this
world?
Well,
these
questions
were
not
in
the
handbook.
They
were
ingrained
everywhere
at
Boston,
Latin
School,
in
every
class
and
in
every
activity
there
was
a
history
of
Latin
School
alumni
who
came
before
us,
and
many
of
them
who
had
found
a
great
purpose
and
had
given
back
to
their
country
and
others.
Q
Q
Civics
class
with
mr.
Sheridan
and
he
lived
around
the
corner
from
my
dad's,
was
always
weird
when
I'd
run
across
him
in
the
street,
we
had
some
exciting
adventures
in
Italy,
with
mr.
Regan
mr.
Wiggins
here
tonight
and
then
declamation
and
mr.
Hannigan's
class
now
yeah.
Mr.
Hannigan
was
quite
an
imposing
figure
and
I.
Q
Remember
after
declamation
he
said,
I
did
a
good
job,
but
he
was
very
glad
that
I
wasn't
living
in
his
household,
because
I
think
I
had
brought
a
little
too
much
passion
to
my
declamation
and
and
not
much
has
changed
over
this
you
see
latin
school
was
forming
us
into
critical
thinkers
students
who
would
find
purpose
in
our
lives.
We
were
seeking
that
purpose.
Q
Those
lessons
that
I
learned
at
Latin
school
were
also
some
of
the
lessons
that
helped
me
through
February
14
2018,
and
it
was
a
tragedy
that
made
us
unfortunately
well
known
across
the
country
you
see.
I
was
never
going
to
go
into
politics
because
I'm
a
bit
of
a
straight
shooter,
shall
we
say
kind
of
tell
it
like
it
is
I
want
to
get.
You
know,
roll
up
my
sleeves
and
get
things
done
and
that
doesn't
always
go
over
well.
Q
In
some
political
circles,
I
was
never
one
to
hold
back,
but
when
we
moved
to
Parkland
our
oldest
was
2
and
I
was
pregnant.
With
our
youngest
and
I
didn't
know
anybody
husband
worked
a
lot.
So
what
do
you
do
you
get
involved
because
everybody
love's
a
volunteer
and
a
helper
if
you're
gonna
help
someone
all
of
a
sudden
you
get
brought
into
the
fold,
so
I
got
really
involved
in
the
community
immediately
whether
it
was
the
Moms
Club
on
our
parish.
Q
Council
I
was
on
our
education,
advisory
board,
I
coached
soccer,
I,
coached
baseball
and
then
eventually
I
started
covering
the
City
Commission
meetings
because
our
publishers,
person
quit
and
she
ran
into
me
and
said
you
want
to
cover
the
City
Commission
meetings.
I'm
like
well
I'm,
not
a
journalist,
I,
don't
even
know
where
City
Hall
is
but
sure.
Q
Let's
try
why
not
and
I
ended
up
doing
that
for
ten
years
and
then,
when
the
district
2
Commission
seat
opened
up,
everybody
was
coming
to
me
and
saying:
oh,
you
should
run
for
Commission
and
I'm
like
well.
I,
don't
know
if
that's
like
my
thing
and
with
the
encouragement,
especially
of
my
husband,
I,
decided
to
run
and
I,
remember,
filling
out
the
paperwork
and
that
night.
Q
Turning
to
him
and
saying
what
did
I
just
do
to
myself
and
then
it
came
to
me
that
I
wanted
to
be
the
example
to
my
kids,
especially
that
I
could
be.
The
elected
official
I
always
wanted
to
see
the
one
that
was
just
there
to
serve.
I
didn't
have
a
side
business
I'm,
not
an
attorney.
Trying
to
you
know
get
some
work
out
of
this.
Q
Q
I
would
never
be
the
leading
lady,
and
it
would
be
me
for
me
to
step
out
of
my
comfort
zone
so
initially
I
begged
him
not
to
leave
us,
but
he
did
and
I
listened
to
everybody
and
I
decided
to
run
and
I
knocked
on
tons
of
doors.
I
believed
in
grassroots
campaigning,
I
believe
your
job
is
to
be
out
there
to
be
accessible,
and
let
people
tell
you
what
they
think
and
to
be
honest
with
them.
Q
Back
and
after
that
hard-fought
race,
I
ended
up
winning
and
that
was
November
2016
and
we
were
just
a
small
city
for
only
33,000
people.
Nobody
knew
who,
where
we
were
not
even
the
people
in
Boca
who
were
just
north
of
us
and
we
actually
liked
it
that
way.
We
were
a
small,
close-knit
community,
everybody
kind
of
knew
everybody
from
being
on
the
fields
or
volunteering,
and
we
liked
it
that
way.
It
was
something
special
for
us,
then
in
September
2017,
so
I
hadn't
even
been
in
office.
Q
For
a
year
we
had
hurricane
Irma
coming
our
way
and
at
one
point
we
were
seen
as
a
direct
hit
for
hurricane
Irma.
Thank
goodness
that
never
happened,
but
leading
up
to
that
I
was
getting
calls
from
people
whether
they
should
move
out
with
their
families
and
leave
the
area
and
I
jumped
into
action
by
communicating
with
people.
I
took
some
pictures
of
myself,
putting
up
our
shutters
and
putting
my
checklist
out
on
social
media
to
kind
of
show
people
how
they
could
empower
themselves,
so
they
wouldn't
be
so
scared
and
then
afterward.
Q
It
was
all
about
cleaning
up
and
getting
FPL
to
get
their
electricity
back
on,
and
our
city
is
so
special
that
as
soon
as
their
electricity
was
back
on
they're
like
Christine,
where
do
we
go
to
help
the
people
in
the
keys?
Who
really
need
the
help,
and
that
was
always
something
that
I
loved
about
parkland
I
thought
that
was
going
to
be
my
biggest
challenge
as
mayor
and
then
February
14th
2018
happens.
Q
Like
my
job,
there
was
to
calm
everybody
down,
give
them
any
information,
I
could
and
just
kind
of
be
there
for
them.
I
was
there
when
the
first
students
started
coming
out
and
I.
Remember
specifically
one
girl
who
fell
into
her
mother's
arms.
It
was
extremely
emotional
because
we
all
know
each
other
in
parkland,
something
about
a
small
city.
Something
about
local
government
is
that
these
aren't
just
my
residents.
These
aren't
just
my
constituents.
These
are
my
friends.
Q
Q
Remember
the
number
11,
because
that's
when
I
knew
that
we
would
now
be
one
of
those
places,
Columbine
Sandy,
Hook
and
now
parkland,
and
even
though
nobody
had
known
us
before
the
pressure
found
us
real
quick
when
this
happened
and
we
were
inundated
with
the
press
and
I
was
getting
lots
of
calls
for
interviews
and
I
didn't
want
to
talk
about
the
killer.
I
didn't
want
to
talk
about
what
went
wrong.
I
wanted
to
talk
about
the
community.
Q
Q
This
was
a
tragedy
that
happened
to
people
real
people
with
real
feelings
in
a
real
community.
I
wanted
that
to
be
our
focus,
so
this
happened
about
221
at
8:30.
That
night
was
the
first
time
I
looked
at
my
social
media
and
I
saw
that
people
had
been
looking
for
my
friend
Jenn,
her
daughter,
Gina,
so
I
texted.
Her
immediately
said
his
Jeanne
okay,
my
friends
and
montalto.
Q
All
of
a
sudden
I
see
the
phone's
ringing
I'm,
like
oh
thank
god,
she's
calling
me,
and
she
called
me
to
tell
me
that
she
had
lost
her
baby
girl
later
that
night,
at
around
11:30
at
night,
I
went
to
the
Marriott
hotel,
where
they
had
everybody
all
the
families
who
were
waiting
to
hear
what
happened
to
their
loved
ones.
I
walked
in
and
I
saw
Laurie
alidev,
who
I
had
just
been
at
a
debate
tournament.
Two
weeks
prior,
we
were
both.
Judging
her
daughter,
ELISA
was
killed.
Q
Fred
Guttenberg
ran
up
to
me
and
told
me
that
his
daughter
Jaime
had
been
killed
and
we
had
just
been
at
a
ribbon-cutting
two
days
before
I
saw
Manny
and
Patricia
Oliver
there's
some
Joaquin
played
baseball
with
my
son
John,
and
then
I
saw
Tom
and
Gina
Hoyer,
Gina
and
I
had
several
mutual
close
friends
and
our
oldest
sons
had
played
soccer
together.
Gina
had
asked
that
I
accompany
the
her
the
family
and
their
closest
friends
to
go
to
the
room
where
they
were
going
to
be
told.
Q
The
fate
of
their
son
Luke,
who
was
just
15
I,
will
never
forget
those
moments
ever
the
following
day.
The
names
of
everyone
who
was
killed,
they
were
all
published
and
the
press
continued
to
be
there
and
I
continued
to
talk
about
our
community
and
our
strength
and
our
ability
to
get
through
this.
This
was
a
Wednesday
afternoon
and
at
Friday
morning,
at
4:30
in
the
morning,
Dave
Briggs
who's
ever
up
early
and
watches.
Q
Cnn
he
had
interviewed
me
and
for
those
who
might
not
know
he
was
actually
a
student
reporter
at
Columbine,
so
he
was
very
affected
by
this
and
somebody
else
who
was
being
interviewed
by
him.
That
day
was
Nicole
Hockley,
whose
son
Dylan
was
killed
at
Sandy,
Hook
and
I.
Remember
crying
to
this
mother
who
had
lost
her
child
several
years
before
she
warned
me
about
the
tsunami
that
would
hit
so
what
happens
in
a
traumatized
community?
Is
everybody
becomes
divided
about
everything
who
suffered
more,
who
got
more
attention?
Who
is
more
information?
Q
Everything
becomes
an
issue
and
people
argue
over
everything.
She
warned
me
about
that
and
then
I
said
to
her
I.
Don't
know
if
I'm
the
person
to
get
our
community
through
this-
and
she
said
to
just
always
remember
why
you're
here
and
that
was
kind
of
what
I
had
learned
at
Latin
school
seems
so
simple.
What's
your
purpose?
Why
are
you
here,
and
that
has
been
my
guiding
principle
ever
since
this
happened?
My
focus
was
solely
to
keep
our
community
intact.
Q
My
focus
was
solely
to
make
sure
our
community
had
the
resources
it
needed,
and
my
focus
was
solely
on
the
17
families
who
needed
somebody
to
stand
with
them.
No
matter
what
happens
in
the
following
weeks,
I
never
lost
that
focus.
I
would
go
anywhere
whether
it
was
to
the
White
House
to
the
State
Capitol
to
any
meeting
I
would
go
there
to
make
sure
that
we
could
get
what
we
needed
for
our
community.
We
were
fortunate
that
we
had
incredibly
savvy
students
who
started
this
movement
for
common-sense
gun-safety.
Q
So
when
all
this
happened,
we
had
legislators
and
elected
officials
from
the
state
the
county
federal
government
coming
in.
But
then
when
the
press
is
gone,
a
lot
of
them
go
away
too,
and
it's
left
to
us
on
the
ground
to
take
care
of
our
community.
We
were
one
of
the
safest
cities
in
the
country.
Something
like
this
was
not
supposed
to
happen.
Ever
kids
are
supposed
to
be
able
to
go
to
school
and
be
safe.
So
when
you
have
a
traumatized
community,
all
trust
is
gone,
because
everything
people
believe
is
no
longer
valid.
Q
Q
Q
My
I
look
back
to
see
what
my
senior
year
quote
was,
and
the
quote
that
I
had
chosen
senior
year
was
in
a
world
where
all
contend.
We
ought
to
stop
and
be
a
friend
by
George,
a
guest
that
was
the
quote
I
chose
33
years
ago,
and
it
remains
very
true
as
to
how
I
think
today,
in
a
day
and
age,
when
it's
all
about
the
24
news
hour,
news
cycle,
the
constant
breaking
news,
the
outrage,
the
celebrity
status
name,
ID,
Twitter
followers.
Q
At
a
time
when
leadership
and
strength
are
looked
at,
is
who
can
yell
the
loudest
and
who
can
cut
down
the
person
next
to
them
the
quickest
it
can
at
times.
Seeing
that
we've
forgotten
about
the
question
we
were
challenged
with
at
Latin
school.
How
are
we
going
to
make
this
world
a
better
place?
What
are
we
going
to
contribute
to
this
world?
Q
C
C
Hashtag
leadership
goals:
it's
really
all
I
could
say
Christine
it's
clear
how
you've
used
VLS
to
lay
the
blueprint
of
your
life
of
service
and
now
I'd
like
to
present
you
formally
with
this
award.
The
plaque
is
completely
in
Latin.
Fortunately,
there
is
a
translation,
because
it's
been
a
long
time
since
95
and
87.
G
C
Plaque
reads:
the
highest
award
of
the
Boston
Latin
School
Association
proudly,
giving
to
a
most
deserving
daughter,
Christine,
McGuire
and
Shaw
ski
87
distinguished
graduate
of
the
year,
an
exemplary
leader
steadfast
in
her
commitment
and
admired
for
her
abundance
of
grace,
strength
and
devotion
to
the
residents
of
parkland.
A
dedicated
public
servant
whose
legacy
is
guided
by
it,
an
unwavering
sense
of
purpose
to
help
her
own
community
and
others
facing
similar
tragedies.
To
move
forward.
An
effective
partner
who
skillfully
harnesses
resources
to
support
friends
and
neighbors
affected
by
tragedy.
C
A
tireless
advocate,
bolstered
by
determination
and
perseverance
forged
at
BLS,
whose
efforts
fortify
the
close-knit
sense
of
community
that
defines
parkland
a
powerful
and
compelling
voice
to
local
state
and
national
policymakers
inspiring
them.
To
effect
positive
change,
encouraging
all
to
find
common
ground
for
the
greater
good.
A
proud
daughter
of
Boston
Latin
School,
whose
life
and
purpose
stand
and
testament
to
alma
mater
--hz
legacy
and
influence.
November
16
2019.
C
C
C
C
C
And
we
rejoice
when
Lily,
Tran
and
Gabi
is
Oh
won
national
championships,
that's
in
the
whole
USA
folks
in
powerlifting
and
figure
skating
respectively,
and
while
it
would
be
fun
to
showcase
their
talents
here
tonight
there
are
limits
to
what
this
room
can
actually
accommodate.
But
it's
a
little
easier
to
share
with
you.
The
talents
of
student
performers
such
as
Jack
and
James
earlier
tonight,
and
now
class
one
students,
Tony
Eng
and
lead
leo
Kodaka.
C
C
Thank
you
to
our
trio.
That
was
an
excellent
example
not
only
of
our
students
talents,
but
also
of
our
faculties,
many
gifts
and
sincerest
thanks
to
all
of
you
for
your
gifts
to
BLS.
Without
them,
our
school
simply
wouldn't
be
what
it
is,
and
our
students
couldn't
soar
as
they
do.
Please
be
generous
and
faithful
and
I
pledge
that
in
return,
we
will
always
make
you
proud.
Thank
you
to
all.
Thank
you.
C
C
As
we're
closing,
I'd
also
like
to
extend
a
sincere
thanks
on
behalf
of
the
Giordano
family,
they're
very
touched
by
all
of
your
well
wishes
and
sincerity
as
you
stop
by
during
the
dinner
and
just
all
of
the
the
love
that
you've
shown
them
over
the
past
several
weeks.
So
they're
very
grateful.
So
thank
you
for
that.
C
And
let
me
say
thank
you
for
being
here
your
presence
that
these
celebrations
builds
our
community.
This
event
has
evolved
over
time
and
though
we
may
not
celebrate
in
the
same
fashion,
every
year
I'm
sorry,
we
were
unable
to
play
the
quiz
this
year,
dr.
grazer,
we
really
do
depend
on
your
presence
and
your
advocacy
in
addition
to
your
philanthropy.