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Bruce Garrison ’70 (pictured) and his wife Dyte recently donated several bushels of Macoun apples grown at their Westchester home, which were served at lunch to the Hackley community. The Garrison family’s Hackley connections run deep: Bruce’s brother, Roger ’62 (now retired), taught Middle School English for a dozen years, and Roger’s son, Josh ’03, was a classmate of English teacher Mike Canterino ’03. This thoughtful gift is a wonderful example of alumni giving back and staying connected to the Hilltop.

In September, Jack made his debut at the legendary Birdland Jazz Club in NYC, performing with his former teacher, Hackley Upper School Band Director Dr. Rafi Malkiel, and the acclaimed Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. Now a freshman at Stanford, Jack continues to pursue his passion for music, and we’re proud to celebrate this exciting milestone. 

As we celebrated the amazing Class of 2025, we were thrilled to welcome Julianne Puente ’91 as this year’s Commencement speaker. After graduating from Hackley and heading to Cornell, Julianne came back to the Hilltop, where she wore many hats — as a teacher, coach, admissions officer, college counselor, dean and Middle School administrator. Her journey later took her to King’s Academy in Jordan, and today she’s the Head of School at Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico. Julianne has stayed connected to Hackley over the years, including returning in the summer of 2023 to be the keynote speaker at Hackley's Hudson Scholars graduation. It was incredibly special to have her back to help send off this year’s Senior Class.

Ten students and two chaperones from fellow Round Square school the International Community School in Ghana enjoyed two weeks with generous Hackley host families and participated in classes and school life on the Hilltop. Hackley Trustee and HAA Director Eric Gyasi ’01 and Ernest Gyasi ’04 also hosted the ICS group for an incredible day in the city on April 24, complete with a trip to the Top of the Rock and lunch at Eric’s law firm, BakerHostetler.

Post-AP Physics students recently had the honor of hosting Demetra a guest lecturer. Demetra taught the fundamental physics behind how greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation through their vibrational modes. She also guided students in visualizing and analyzing data to understand long-term trends in Earth’s temperature and carbon dioxide levels, stretching back hundreds of millions of years. 

Jibran —now a managing director at Lone Pine Capital, a Greenwich — Conn.-based hedge fund, visited Mr. Sykes’ Economics classes this week. With professional experience in investment banking, private equity and hedge funds — as well as an MBA under his belt — Jibran offered students a clear and accessible breakdown of the different sectors within finance, the variety of roles in each, and the types of personalities best suited to each career path. 

Joseph came to speak to Intro, Intermediate and Advanced Photo classes in March and shared his photography work as a Hackley student and his experience as a current student at Cornell. One of the most valuable parts of his talk was his advice to students about the importance of building relationships and maintaining connections. 

This spring, Kaveh delivered an inspiring talk to the Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse team about how much he learned through Hackley Athletics and how he and his teammates took great pride in their identity as a team.

Marine geobiochemist Dr. Gillian Stewart ’94 returned to the Hilltop on April 17 to speak with Independent Science Research Program and Chemistry classes. Dr. Stewart is a professor at Queens College, with a research interest in the interactions between organisms and elemental cycling, particularly in the ocean. She is also the author of a new textbook, Oceanography: An Interdisciplinary Approach, set to release this fall.

In February, young alumni came together in New York City for City Nights, Hudson Lights—a special evening of celebration, reconnection, and philanthropy in support of Hackley’s Hudson Scholars program. Organized by the Hudson Scholars Alumni Mentor Network, Director of the Hudson Scholars Program Dave Sykes, and the Alumni Office, the event was filled with camaraderie, nostalgia, and a shared dedication to empowering the next generation of scholars. Through their generosity and enthusiasm, attendees reinforced the lasting impact of the Hudson Scholars program and the strength of the Hackley alumni community. Click here to learn more about Hudson Scholars. 

In January 2025, Oren Tirschwell ’20 returned to campus to visit Dr. Rigby’s seventh-grade orchestra class, where he played alongside students and shared insights from his journey as an accomplished cellist and musician. During his visit, he also had the chance to explore the Center for the Creative Arts and Technology, immersing himself in the school's vibrant creative spaces.

Vice President of the Hackley Alumni Association Tim Kubarych ’06 spent some time on the Hilltop in December speaking with Mr. Sykes’ Economics class and Mr. Lobko and Ms. Siviglia’s Advanced Creative Writing class (pictured). Tim spoke about his role as a partner and deputy director of research at Harding Loevner with the Economics students, sharing valuable insights into finance and investing through his unique perspective grounded in behavioral science and real-world experience. He discussed decision-making, critical thinking, collaboration and reflection in a way that felt universally relevant, offering lessons that extend far beyond the world of finance. Also a poet, Tim helped the writing students consider questions about how to find an audience, what writing on a regular basis looks like, how to build up the resilience that a writer’s life requires and more!

Emily Colwell ’88, MSSW, ND, shares insights from her 30-year career as a therapist and physician in What If You’re Right?, challenging the constant pursuit of self-improvement. Through her own experiences with chronic illness, cancer, shifting sexual orientation and childhood trauma, she discovered that feelings of anxiety, fear and fatigue aren’t wrong — they’re messengers of wisdom. Her book helps readers embrace curiosity over self-judgment, update their relationship with challenges, and find relief by trusting themselves.

Author and historian Andrew Burstein ’70 explores the inner lives of early Americans in his latest book, Longing for Connection: Entangled Memories and Emotional Loss in Early America. Spanning from the Revolution to the Civil War, the book delves into how poetry, fiction, humor, and biography shaped their experiences in an anxious, five-mile-an-hour world.