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Are you a Ratner School alum who would like to be updated on what's going on at the School and with your fellow alums? Send your contact information to hbolden@theratnerschool.org and join our Facebook page.
REUNION
The Ratner School Reunion is held every year in June. Below is a photo from our June 2011 Reunion, featuring graduates from a span of many years. Alumni, keep in touch and we hope to see you at our next reunion!
From our Alumni:
Ratner Alumnus John Obery:
After Ratner, I went on to Brush High School where I played football, basketball and baseball, as well as being in the marching and concert bands. From there I went to The College of Wooster, where I played football all four years, majored in Philosophy and graduated in May, 2010.
This past fall, I moved to Boston to start law school at Suffolk University, and I'm loving it! It’s a long way until graduation, but I'm hoping to break into a legal career in Environmental Law, potentially on the policy side in the EPA.
In a way, it reminds me of my Ratner experience, how at a very young age I was given the opportunity to work at whatever pace I desired. In my case I was urged to move as quickly as I could to new information, as soon as I had a grasp of what came before. Ratner made learning a challenge for me - I've always had a competitive drive, and Ratner helped me turn that towards learning, which is a skill and fond memory I still fall back upon here at law school when I feel the studies piling up!
Funny, here in Boston I was re-united with a high school friend and fellow Ratner alum, Cidney Carver. She's at Suffolk's undergraduate school, and we have had quite a few laughs about 'way back when' at Ratner. Small world!
Please send my best to all the other alums, feel free to put my contact info out there for anyone else in Boston! Thanks!
Ratner Alumna Arielle Miller:
My experiences and the education I received from Ratner have definitely shaped my high school career at The Hotchkiss High School (Lakeview, Connecticut). During my time at Ratner, I discovered my talent for writing through some of the most influential teachers I had, and at Hotchkiss I have been developing and improving upon those skills. Also, I think the family-like atmosphere of the School definitely helped me to find my voice as an individual. For my prep year (freshman year), I received two Hotchkiss Academic Excellence Awards for English and History. Also, I played the main character "Marlene" in the play, Top Girls (during prep year) and this year I was a "plate" and "the enchantress" in Beauty and the Beast.
I am planning to continue trying out for plays, hopefully participate in a summer internship with Morgan Stanley, and possibly go on a service trip to South Africa for 3 weeks during the summer.
Congratulations to David Hirsh!
David is one of sixteen members of Gilmour Academy's Speech and Debate Team who qualified for the State Tournament! He and team member Maggie Moore were praised for "quick thinking on their feet," in the Impromptu Speaking category. Good luck to you at the State Tournament! We are so proud of you.
From Ratner Alumna Allison Brandon:
After graduating from Ratner, I went to Shaker Heights High School. Adjusting to a larger school was challenging, but I had friends so they made it easier for me. I had the support of tutoring all through high school, which was the best ever as they really helped me become more independent in my schoolwork. In my senior year I was awarded The Evelyn Dilley Award, given to a student who exemplifies the goals expressed in the motto, "make your best better." I graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA. I am currently at Ohio University as a dance major. Here at OU I still work with a tutor every week and receive accommodations to take tests in a separate room and have a reader when needed.
Ratner gave me the confidence and the drive to work harder. I remember when I attended a different elementary school and my teachers there just gave up on me. The teachers at Ratner were different. They worked with me to help me achieve more than I thought possible. I work hard everyday to prove those elementary teachers wrong. Before Ratner, college and even high school seemed impossible. Now, I am doing better in college than I thought I would.
