They came from all over the city. In the fall of 2001, they left their old high schools and dove into the yet un-chartered waters of a tiny brand new high school called BHSEC. They were the members of BHSEC’s first graduating class, and some of them still with us today.

Working in the admissions office and the attendance office, Lizzie Stemmer (‘03), Dwight Hodgson (‘03), and Olga Carmona (‘03), have returned to BHSEC.

In 2001, Ms. Stemmer and Mr. Hodgson were both attending regular public high schools where they felt they weren’t being challenged. “There was a full page ad in the paper for an open house,” recalled Lizzie. At the open house, “I kept sinking lower in my seat and cursing under my breath,” she said, “because I really liked [BHSEC] and didn’t want to go to the trouble of applying.”

“BHSEC totally changed the course of my life,” said Ms. Stemmer. “The things that made me odd and feel uncomfortable in my old environments were now the things people liked about me. It was the first time teachers believed in me... challenged me, and wanted me to succeed.”

Mr. Hodgson cited a diversity of perspectives in the student body as he valued at BHSEC as a student. His seminar class stood out to him because, he recounted, “[The school] did a great job in creating a diverse class, not just ethnically, but in perspective.”

Asked about how BHSEC has changed from its first years, Mr. Hodgson said that the school is the same at its core. He cited the resources now available to students, like the science and computer labs, as positive changes. However, he admitted that the school appears to be more homogeneous, observing that students seem to stay more in their own cliques. “In the ideal world, I’d like to see a little more diversity of prospective and demographics,” he said. He explained some of the change by the natural and positive coming-of-age of the school. “Now everything is more formulaic... we feel as if there is already a base and its up to students to form their own culture,” he said.

Ms. Stemmer also said that she feels as though BHSEC is less diverse, although she admitted that she hasn’t seen statistics. “I think fundamentally the same spirit is there, even if it doesn’t look the way my class remembered it,” she said. She also expressed frustration about the fact that as BHSEC’s prestige has grown, it has gotten lumped in with the Specialized High Schools. “There’s no other school I know of that serves the same role of providing a diverse, non-competitive, writing-heavy, intellectually curious population,” she said.

The class of ‘03 entered in Year 1 and so never technically graduated high school. Some have gone on to get GEDs, but some, including Ms. Stemmer, haven’t found it necessary. After graduating BHSEC, Ms. Stemmer went on to get a degree from Bard College in three years. Mr. Hodgson graduated from SUNY Geneseo and then obtained a master’s degree in Public Administration from MCNY.

Ms. Stemmer came back to BHSEC in 2007 to work in the admissions office. She had majored in American Studies at Bard, but knew that she wanted to work with kids in education. Ms. Carmona was already working in the admissions office at BHSEC, and told Ms. Stemmer that the admissions office needed help. When Ms. Stemmer came in, she recalled, “Ray [Peterson] said, ‘hey, good to see you, do you want a job?’ And I ultimately landed here [in the attendance office].”

Mr. Hodgson had been working in adult education and felt frustrated with his work environment. “I heard about this position and I thought, here’s something I know about and am passionate about.” He came to work at BHSEC in 2010, and feels as though he is contributing in a small way to the development of the minds of people who will change and critique the world.

Concerning her intentions for the future, Ms. Stemmer said, “apparently, I told Dr. Mazie when I was 17 that I was going to come back and teach Sociology.” She added, “maybe someday I’ll work here as a teacher, maybe not. But I’ll definitely be here for a while.”