An Event to Remember

It was spring semester of my senior year at Tufts University. I was getting bored of Somerville and Cambridge and itching to graduate, so I decided to look for an internship to keep me preoccupied. When I began the internship hunt, I had no idea what I was looking for.  I did know two things: 1) I’m passionate about education. 2) I wanted to be at a school.

And after a morning of searching, I found it – a development internship at City on a Hill Charter Public High School in Roxbury. Having been so secluded to one side of the Charles River, I had never heard of either the school or Roxbury, but I took a look around their website, did my research, and fell in love. I had finally found a school that had the aspects that I believed a good school should have: High Expectations, Citizenship, Leadership, and Accountability.

I applied immediately, and soon after, I was the new Development Intern. My main role was to assist in the planning and execution of the 2011 Gala, the annual fundraiser. However, being at the school only three times a week as well as in our fun-sized Development office never really gave the opportunity to get to know the students, teachers, or tutors, but it didn’t matter. I always looked forward to going to CoaH - not because I’m emphatic about development and event planning - but because there is this aura of support and dedication that lingers through the school’s halls that made it a pleasure to be there.

This sense of community was everywhere. I could hear it on the other side of the walls of our little office, where Mr. Dawson engaged his students on discussions about slavery and Mr. Johnson led experiments. I saw it as I passed the forum, where students work diligently with their tutors; I saw it at Town Meeting, where the entire school engages in a debate or celebrates each other’s successes.  In all aspects and in all departments, it became very clear to me that every staff member is dedicated to the students, and all of the students are intent on achieving goals and exceeding expectations.

I don’t know if there’s a recipe for such a powerful and positive experience within a school or how one even goes about creating that. Perhaps it’s because the school is so small (only 280 students) and everyone knows each other’s name, or perhaps it’s because the school building is also small that everyone is forced to be close together!  Either way, there’s no doubt that the CoaH culture embodies diligence and devotion combined with endless support and care.

After being immersed in the CoaH culture, I was motivated and determined to raise as much money as possible during our preparation for Gala. In my mind, every auction item secured and every trip to City Hall to obtain a charity wine license (that’s another blog entry in itself!) was a step closer to raising the resources and money the school needs to continue providing a great education to the students.  

Finally the night of Gala arrived, and it was extraordinary. Energy and excitement overflowed the event hall, and everything was running swimmingly!

…Were you expecting something to go horribly wrong and a funny anecdote to come out of it? To be perfectly honest, I was concerned about that happening the night of Gala also, but at worst, the event ran a little over.  Now, you may be wondering how we pulled off an awesome event without a hitch.

At City on a Hill, the staff constantly goes out of their way for each other, for the students, and for the school as a whole, and that was very apparent the night of Gala. Yes, the development team planned the event and executed it, but the entire staff helped pull it together. Teachers worked the check-in table; tutors decorated; and the students looked sharp, represented the school well, and blew our guests away with their talents and successes. People left inspired. 

As the event came to an end, I stood in the empty event space cleaning up centerpieces and felt an overwhelming sense of awe and gratitude. I sometimes fail to remember that a school is composed of more than just teachers and students. In fact, that night City on a Hill was everyone: staff members, students, their families, supporters, donors, volunteers. It’s quite a thrill to be part of something you believe in and then share and even celebrate that passion with hundreds of other people in one room, in one night. I will always be so grateful that I had the opportunity to be part of and contribute to such an amazing school.

A week later my internship ended.  With a goodbye card in one hand and a City on a Hill umbrella in the other, I walked away from the school to get on the Orange Line back to Tufts for the last time. As I approached the T, I called my sister telling her how much I already missed the school, and with the warmth of the sun beaming down on my face, I smiled and knew that I would never forget the people or the experience I had at CoaH. 


Angel Veza is now a Development Assistant at City on a Hill.  She continues to work on the annual gala, but also works on grant writing, student recruitment, and community engagement while at the same time working with students in Music Club and spending time in the classroom as a teacher's aide.