Having graduated from Middlesex this May, Hamza ’15 was a featured speaker at Prep for Prep’s Lilac Ball, a celebration of the high school graduating class, in New York City. Prep for Prep is an organization that identifies promising young students of color like Hamza and prepares them for placement in an independent school.
At Middlesex, Hamza was a leading scholar, basketball captain, and senior class president. “I have found that just as important as being a leader is cultivating others to follow in the same path,” said Hamza in his Lilac Ball speech. It was not until his senior year that Hamza ventured onto the stage at Middlesex, in the spring musical, playing the role of Booker T. Washington. Interestingly, Hamza discovered that, in 1902, Mr. Washington wrote to the founder of Middlesex inquiring about admission for his son to the school. The headmaster wrote back that the school, a true microcosm of society at the time, “was not ready for a student of color.” Hamza reflected: “A century ago, Middlesex wasn’t ready to accept the son of one of the most prominent African American families in the nation. Today, the school partnered with Prep and sought me out. Middlesex not only committed great resources to enable me to attend, but when I arrived, welcomed me with open arms. It’s an encouraging reminder of the progress our country has made, especially during these days of Ferguson and Baltimore, when racial harmony can seem so elusive. We are a society that has come very far, but has much, much further to go. The time for development of diverse leadership in our society is now.”
Hamza will head to Harvard University in the fall.