David O'Halloran, Headmaster - Saint David's School, New York City

Recently, a large group of Horizons at Saint David's supporters gathered in the backyard for the program's annual spring party. The weather was sunny and warm, and everyone's spirits, high. As I spoke with the various attendees, the Saint David's alumni, parents of alumni, volunteers, teachers, and administrators, what struck me most was the sense of community, enthusiasm, and shared values. The Horizons six-week summer program, now in its twelfth year, provides academic support, arts, music, sports, swimming instruction, and field trips to boys in rising first through ninth grades from schools in Saint David's neighborhood, who otherwise wouldn't have these kinds of opportunities in the summer. As Horizons at Saint David’s Executive Director Nicole Ransone succinctly expressed in her welcoming remarks, “Our mission remains the same: to eradicate summer slide and have boys feel successful and prepared for school in September. Our vision is a future where every c...

The Chapel talk tradition at Saint David's provides faculty and alumni with the opportunity to share with our boys meaningful and inspiring personal stories: their experiences, lessons learned, challenges overcome. The annual Fifth Grade Mother-Son Chapel gathers our fifth-grade boys and their mothers or mother figures for a special shared pre-Mother's Day experience; a Chapel Talk by a young alumnus who reflects upon the role his mother has played in his life. This year, we welcomed former Student Council President Jack Mullin '12. Jack's family has deep roots with school. His older brother Patrick graduated in '08 and his dad, Terry, in 1973. Jack's talk centered on the impact both his alma mater and his mother, Immy, have had on his development into the man he is today. Below are excerpts that I would like to share: "My family's multi-generational lineage is a testament to the incredible sense of community Saint David’s fosters, and I too hope I have...

The following article, by alumnus Luke Dolan '19, appears in the current issue of Saint David's Magazine: Every morning I would start off with a coffee and then commute to work. By the time I arrived at the Red Cross building in Midtown, there would be a line of asylum-seekers stretching down 49th Street and onto 10th Avenue; many had been camping on the street since midnight in the hope of receiving an appointment at our overcrowded Asylum Application Help Center. I had the privilege of helping those lucky enough to navigate the NYC appointment scheduling system with their asylum cases. My days were spent interviewing refugees and organizing their accounts into a clear narrative for their asylum application. The process was simple: I would speak to an asylum-seeker about their reasons for fleeing their country, translate their story from Spanish to English, chronologically organize their experiences, then write a narrative for their application.  The work was incredibly demand...