We hope the Blair Alumni Association website will become another place where you can go to relive the memories of three (or four) of what were some of the best years of your life.
We encourage you to visit all of the new parts of our website. You’ll be able to enjoy the many different ways that we pay tribute to the school we all loved, and discover how you can help us support the faculty and the students of today’s Montgomery Blair High School.
Among the features you’ll be able to enjoy as a member of the Blair Alumni Association are:
the Silver Chips archives
the Silverlogue archives
the Alumni News archives
our Scholarship Program section
the many articles we have about the history of Blair and Silver Spring,
links to the school website, Silver Chips online, and other related websites,
a list of class websites and social media outlets,
and news about what’s going on at today’s Blair.
We encourage you to contact us at blairalumni@gmail.com to send us information, pictures, memories and articles that we can add to our site for the enjoyment of all the Blazers who will visit it.
Get on social media, your class Facebook page, etc., and let your classmates know it’s time join the Blair Alumni Association and keep the Blair Spirit alive for all Blair grads!
We are thrilled to announce that, effective immediately, your Alumni Association has established
its own 501(c)(3), not-for-profit educational and charitable organization. This will allow all
donations to the organization, known as the Montgomery Blair High School Alumni Association,
Inc., to be tax deductible under IRC Section170. Our EIN is 86-3127453.
.
What does this mean for members? It means that in addition to your annual individual voluntary
contributions to our 501(c)(3) being fully tax deductible, the Alumni Association can now accept
tax-deductible bequests, devises, transfers, or gifts. This is important because many of our alumni
told us they have funds they would like to contribute to the Alumni Association, but those funds are
in accounts that are limited to 501(c)(3) entities.
Help Us Keep This Great Tradition Growing By Placing Your Tile on the ALUMNI HALL Wall of Fame
The Wall of Honor was created to provide a way for the alumni’s support of Blair to be immortalized at the school. You can help us “build” our wall by purchasing a commemorative brick tile (described below) for yourself, your family, a family member who attended Blair, or perhaps to honor a Faculty Member at Blair who made an impact on your life. We are really encouraging classmates to get together and purchase a Class Tile, to show their collective support for Blair. All of the proceeds from the sale of Wall of Honor tiles will be used to support the school, either through our Scholarship Program or through our Special Projects Fund. To date, our Scholarship Program has provided tens of thousands of dollars to support the continuing education of graduating Blair Seniors. Our Special Projects Fund has provided the school with funding for numerous activities, including three commemorative editions of the Silver Chips; scorers” tables for the Athletic Department; sponsorship of the Graduation Venue Video Contest; contributions to the students’ Human Rights class campaign; and producing the 75th, 80th, and 85th anniversary events.
This newest Blair tradition got off to a great start in 2018, with over 100 tiles making up our initial placements. Since our Wall of Honor will be a permanent addition to the school, you can participate whenever you wish. We do we encourage you to purchase your tile as soon as possible if you wish it to be placed near your classmates who have already participated. We left a number of spots open just for that purpose.
Examples of the tile options for you, your family, and your class. These are suggested sizes – the choice is yours.
Individual Tiles – for yourself or to honor a family member or other graduate
Memorial Tiles – to honor a family member or Blair faculty member
Class Tiles – to show the ongoing appreciation of your Class for Blair’s history and traditions, and to support the future of the school through the Alumni Association’s Scholarship and Special Projects
For size options, pricing and to order your Individual, Class or Memorial tile, just go to http://www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/blairalumni
Community Service, Academics, Athletics Mold the 2022 William B. Mason Scholarship Recipient
Natalie Morales
Cumulative GPA 4.07
Will attend either St. John’s University or Loyola University of Maryland
“Since my freshman year, I have played soccer for the Blair team and later I also played basketball. And, while sports play an active role in my life, there are other activities that exist outside that realm, such as Community Bridges. I joined the group my freshman year and met a fantastic group of inspiring girls, so I have been in the group since. And as of my junior year, I am also a member of National Honor Society and Class Council, and we work to complete acts of service for the community as well as organize activities for the class.” ...“My favorite Blair traditions stretch far beyond the fall pep rallies and the hufflepuff games. Although these are events I look forward to, I also need to include Culture Appreciation Day. Blair is such a beautiful example of the diversity that is spread throughout our country. Culture defines people's values, beliefs, and personal interests. Culture is important because it allows people to maintain a unique identity in society, and this Appreciation Day allows people to shed light on another part of them that others may not know of.” “In my freshman year on the Blair team, we felt like there was a sense of hierarchy, not only in regard to class but between the JV and Varsity team. We often felt isolated and belittled by some of the other girls. Each year I reached out to make sure everyone could create lasting relationships with all the girls, not only so that no one would feel the way we did in our younger years but also in hopes that the girls would carry that with them throughout the years for future Blair generations. We have a proud organization of Girls soccer at Blair, and we needed to make sure that was reflected on and off the field.”
Emmanuel Kraft
Will continue his education at Penn state University
“Attending Montgomery Blair High School has most benefited me by providing the opportunity to expand my previous interests and develop new ones. I was fortunate to find communities that matched my initial interests. While being on the Blazer baseball team and playing in the Blair Jazz band were outlets to develop my athletic and musical skills, the CAP became my center of academic growth. Through a variety of interdisciplinary projects, I learned important skills such as public speaking, literary analysis, and critical thinking. Most importantly, I explored the intersection of these skills with real world issues. An example was when I wrote and performed an original play about the relationship between a prison guard and a wrongfully convicted inmate.” ...“Improving social justice means striving not only for freedom and fairness in the current day but ensuring equality of opportunity for future generations. Many times, throughout our nation’s history, we have made progress in the direction of social justice only to be faced with another barrier.” “I was able to advocate for social justice my sophomore year when creating a documentary, ‘Homeless Not Hopeless,’ about the homelessness crisis in the United States. I was inspired to focus on homelessness because I had recently worked alongside my church to provide food and necessities to underprivileged families. Our film concludes that a solution to homelessness requires action at a federal level. As I advance in my education, I aspire to study political science and become a central part of this action.” “If every person can find the issue that inspires them and devote themselves to finding a long-term solution for this issue, then we can make legitimate advancements towards social justice and fulfilling the guarantee of freedom and equality for all.”
Medhanit Desta
Cumulative GPA: 4.7
University of Maryland, College Park
“I really appreciate Blair's focus on mental health support,” said Medhanit Desta. “The support that I've received from the school has helped me so much ever since the pandemic started. I have been struggling with severe OCD and my grades suffered and I isolated myself. My counselor was there for me, and she listened to me and provided helpful resources. The journey has been long and tough, but Mrs. Sharma is a big part of why I am doing so much better,” she says. ...She played football - yes, football – for three years, ran track, and was a CAP ambassador. She also trained as a First Responder with the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department. “I feel that I have shown Blair students that it is OK to go outside of the status quo. A big part of this is the fact that I played football as a girl. I hope that I inspired people to follow their ambitions and dreams, even if it does not fit into society's idea of the norm. I hope that more people do what they want to do and do not listen to society’s restrictions.”
Ingrid Ellis
Cumulative GPA: 4.66
Drexel University
In addition to being the student director for Sankofa during both her junior and senior years Ingrid Ellis helped to create the entire script, organized all the auditions and rehearsals, and performed in the show. When she was not busy doing that, she had over 300 service hours from participating in community activities. She volunteered at the Washington Animal Rescue League and time ...to participate in Key Club, Green Club, Student Government, the National Honor Society, Mu alpha Theta Mathematics Honor Society, and the American Sign Language Honor Society. She also volunteered at Shepherd’s Table, a soup kitchen and clothing facility. “In my law class this year one of our lessons was from the history of segregation in Montgomery County and how Blair was one of the first schools to be fully integrated. I have always known that Takoma Park-Silver Spring community is a very diverse area, but to see how far we have come as a community is really amazing. Working with other students we have been able to have judgment-free discussions about different issues we saw at Blair and the surrounding community.”
Elijah Grady
Cumulative GPA: 4.30
Elon University
“Ms. Fox was my English teacher during my first year of high school, then again my junior year when I took Advanced Placement Language Arts,” recalled Elijah Grady. “The thing that makes Ms Fox stand out is that it is easy to see she genuinely cares for her students and will do anything necessary to ensure that they are doing the best that they can. I can say she definitely inspired me to be my best self.”...In addition to his academic achievements, Elijah’s “best self” was involved in the Minority Scholars Program, J.V basketball, and the Black Student Union at school, and in youth choir, Gapbusters Cyber Camp, and Usher Board in the community.
Misgana Ghezai
Cumulative GPA: 4.53
University of Maryland, College Park
“The faculty member that made the greatest impact on my experience at Blair is Ms Gopin,” says Misgana Ghezai. “In my sophomore year I took Introduction to Justice, Law, and Society as an elective, and had the pleasure of meeting her. She ignited and encouraged my interest in criminal justice which is what I am planning to study in college. I would not be the same person or be where I am today without her guidance.” ...In addition to her academic work, Misgana found “Blair’s reputation for being a very diverse school is very meaningful to me,” Elijah, who has a twin brother at Blair, said. “Blair is proof that all kinds of people of different races and ethnic backgrounds can accept each other and thrive together. Blair’s acceptance of diversity is the example of what I hope our world will be like. That is why Sankofa is such an important Blair tradition to me. Through my participation in my clubs and Sankofa, I believe I have positively impacted the overall Blair experience from minorities as well as the whole student body.”
Megan Nichols
Cumulative GPA: 4.78
University of Wisconsin-Madison
“After spending all of middle school doing theater, Megan Nichols says, “I decided to continue my interest in stage crew and set design at Blair, where I ended up being the head of two departments. Also, the summer after my freshman year I decided to work on Mr. Grossman’s farm on a whim. Working at the farm for three summers was genuinely life changing, giving me a sense of purpose. Because of that experience of working in agriculture and learning sustainable farming practices I have decided to continue my education at Wisconsin's College of Agricultural Life Sciences.” ...“I've been working on the school's yearbook since sophomore year,” she continued, “the year the pandemic started, and I have gotten to know hundreds of new people around Blair. I have also seen every important event over the past 90 years through the eyes of the Blair’s students and the Silverlogue staff. We take pictures of people in our communities that reflect our annual theme, and we’ve grown together. Being on the yearbook staff not only gave me great writing and design skills, but also an ability to get to know my community and the best way possible. The way our yearbooks represent our community makes me proud to be a Blazer.
2021 ANNUAL REPORT
For the second year, we have all had to deal with the impact of a global pandemic. School systems, school-age children and their parents, and entire school communities are still struggling to help schools return to that sense of normalcy, safety, and security we all want. Your Alumni Association worked hard to be an indispensible resource for the school. Here is a summary of some of the activities we undertook, thanks to the generosity of our members.
Student Graduation Assistance – Alumni Association contributions allowed 100 graduating Seniors to participate in the in-person graduation at Blair Field last spring by supplying their Graduation Fees.
Faculty Appreciation Breakfast – Your contributions helped to continue the tradition of an annual Faculty Appreciation Breakfast during the covid-19 crisis. The entire faculty participated in a terrific show of mutual support for the staff who worked so hard this past year.
Unprecedented Scholarship Awards
We continue to get an incredible group of Blair Seniors to apply for Alumni Association Scholarships. This year we awarded four more scholarships, allowing these amazing students to attend the colleges of their choice
” Words cannot describe my happiness over this award. I kept thinking to myself, ‘Will I ever get enough money to make the cost of attendance easier on my parents?’ Suddenly, my doubts washed away like a waterfall when I received this award.” – Denny Tsitsiwu
Silver Chips Advertising Support – As always, the Alumni Association did whatever it could to encourage and fund the efforts of the Silver Chips staff as they strive to maintain the ongoing excellence of this award-winning publication that started in 1937. This year’s ad honored the great Silver Chips tradition of publishing an April Fool’s Edition each year
Updated Silverlogue Archives – After many years of challenging work, we now have almost every Silverlogue from 1930 to 1999 on our website at http://www.blairalumni.org . Tell your classmates that all they have to do is go to the website, register (it’s free!), then proceed to read through 80 years of Blair history in our Archives.
Wall of Honor Growth – Contributions to the Alumni Association continued to grow for the fourth consecutive year through your purchase of commemorative tiles for the ALUMNI HALL Wall of Honor. Each tile represents a unique chapter of the Blair experience.
Stickley-Stant Faculty Awards – In an effort to be sure there is ongoing recognition of the contributions faculty members make to Blair’s history and traditions, the Alumni Association inaugurated the Stickley-Stant Faculty Service Awards to two current faculty members. The Awards are named for two of Blair’s longest-serving teachers, Elizabeth Stickley and Norman Stant. Their careers at Blair overlapped, and combined they were at Blair from 1928 until 2004.
Alumni News Enhancements – Finishing its 35 th year of publication, the Alumni News became a full color publication for the first time in 2021.
Our Thanks to All of You Who Contributed So Much in 2021- Your Alumni Association appreciates the support of all of its members. These Blair graduates should receive special recognition for their voluntary contributions at the highest levels of our Scholarship and Special Projects Fund in 2021.