Schools
Hunter College High School Honors Assemblyman Alex Bores
The Class of 2009 Graduate was named a Distinguished Alum.
NEW YORK (June 15) — Hunter College High School honored Assembly Member Alex Bores (D–Manhattan) with its Distinguished Graduate Award during its Commencement at Hunter College Assembly Hall. In introductory remarks, Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab, herself a 1973 alumna of the high school, said that Bores, a 2009 graduate, deserved the honor for having dedicated his career to promoting social justice and human rights and helping make the world a better place.
A community advocate and engineer, Bores has organized campaigns securing severance pay for fired workers, helped pass commonsense rent regulation, and built software for local governments’ COVID relief programs.
President Raab also praised the new lawmaker — who in 2022 was elected to the 73rd Assembly District representing Manhattan’s East Side and thus the campuses of Hunter College and his high school — for his dedication to the school, a screened public school for gifted and talented students.
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“Alex joins me in recognizing that Hunter High School is not just a jewel, it is an engine — for creativity, for brilliance, and for shaping the future,” she said.
In a speech before the graduates, Bores quoted the British mathematician Bertrand Russell, who said: “The mark of a civilized human is the capacity to read a column of numbers and weep,” and urged them to “find something that makes you weep.
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“What’s a problem that needs to be fixed? In the world, in your community, in your future profession, in your neighborhood? What’s the thorn in your side?” he asked before counseling, “Always keep in mind that problem that needs fixing — and continually take action to make it better.”
The high school, which graduated 207 students at the Commencement, also gave its inaugural Jennifer J. Raab Award to graduating senior Harris Cohen. The honor will be given annually to the student who best exemplifies the unwavering dedication, relentless energy, and generous spirit demonstrated by President Raab in promoting the school. For her part, President Raab announced that the Hunter College Foundation had given $15,000 to support the award.
