HAP Marks Its 50th Year at Xavier

By Pat Mahon '04
HAP Director

Xavier's Higher Achievement Program (HAP) celebrated its 50th anniversary this summer. On June 29, the program commenced by welcoming an incoming class of more than 260 rising eighth graders from across the New York metropolitan area. At our opening assembly, I reminded the students of the important role that HAP has played in the lives of many alumni, including myself, and how it can be one of the many transformative experiences in the world of Jesuit education.

Each morning, our students studied writing, reading comprehension, mathematics disciplines such as algebra and geometry, and participated in a sports tutorial class. The afternoons were filled with extracurricular classes to further enrich the HAP experience for the students. Elective classes included such options as Forensic Science, Introduction to Rugby, Business Communications, and Poetry. The academic enrichment of HAP students would not have been possible without the excellent work of the classroom teachers, many of whom are educators at Xavier or other Jesuit institutions. Throughout the program, the students and teachers were assisted by more than 60 current Xavier students, who served as HAP tutors. Many of the tutors were former HAP students who have great dedication to the program and wanted to give back to HAP in some way.

On July 19 and 26, the annual HAP Games between Xavier and our brother Jesuit school, St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, resumed with competitions in basketball, soccer, dodgeball, chess, track, and volleyball. As always, the HAP Games were a great display of sportsmanship, respect, and talent. HAP students also attended several field trips to various museums and cultural centers around New York City, including the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Natural History. Tonight, July 28, we will celebrate our HAP graduation in the Church of St. Francis Xavier in front of a crowd of well over 500 proud family members. Upwards of 50 total students will receive special recognition as class leaders, team sports’ most valuable players, and earners of the highest grades on the HAP exam. One student in the entire program will receive the highest of honors, being recognized as the HAP Spirit Award winner named in honor of Michael Flynn, S.J. After the ceremony, many graduates and their parents will gather in Hurtado Hall for a light reception and enjoy one last chance to say goodbye to their classmates and teachers. Enthused by their HAP experience, HAP graduates are excited—and more prepared—for the rest of their educational careers.