Jimmy Blaise F23 and Godson Blaise F22 with the Admissions Team (left to right Molly Scherner, Anna Becker, Tahlia Maron) from The Island School.

In May, The Island School Semester & Summer Term Admissions Team joined Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York (BHGHNY) in Brooklyn, New York, for their annual ‘Decision Day’ celebration. Families, neighbors, and supporters gathered and cheered as these newly graduated high school seniors revealed their school of choice for the upcoming school year. As anticipation was building and music blasted, Jimmy Blaise, Island School Fall 2023 alumni, excitedly removed his sweatshirt to reveal a t-shirt repping Moravian University, where he will enroll as a student beginning in the fall.

The Island School welcomed the first BHGHNY scholar to our campus during the Spring 2013 Semester. This kicked off a partnership which was initially dreamed up by Brad Zervos, a long-time friend and supporter of The Island School, and our Founder, Chris Maxey. The Island School and BHGHNY now share 23 alumni scholars who have completed a semester on our campus in The Bahamas.

Blaise joined the Fall 2023 term as a junior; he was the third of his family to attend The Island School, contributing to the longest merit scholarship legacy we have yet to see. Growing up in New York City and inspired by his older cousins’ Island School experiences, Blaise was ready to break away from skyscrapers, create new connections, and challenge himself to live away from home for an extended period—which he leaned into with grace, sharing:

“The part of the program that provided the greatest challenge is going into a new environment. When you’re at a certain place for most of your life, you get used to it, and changing that place comes with new challenges. Towards the end, I got over this challenge and was able to make it a place I could call ‘home.’”

The gift that comes from a study away experience is that it prepares our rising leaders to continue to step outside of their comfort zones as they look to their next opportunity. The success ahead looks different for all alumni, and The Island School celebrates the wide range of unique opportunities alumni choose to pursue. Whether it be a gap year, undergraduate program, internship, or job, alumni create lasting change and model what it means to live well in a place, the moment they return home.

“The Island School left an impression on me in many ways, and one of them was to be open to new experiences. As I was very nervous at first that I wasn’t going to enjoy the experience, it is the best experience I’ve had, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. My biggest takeaway is to always be open to new people, as everyone that I’ve met at The Island School was some of the best people I’ve ever met,” Jimmy said as he reflected on his semester.

Congratulations to all of the recent graduates, and good luck as you take your next leap– we hope you will keep in touch! 

If you are excited to introduce a potential partnership program or organization to The Island School, please email our Director of External Affairs, Anna Becker (annabecker@islandschool.org).