Friendly contact with a local presence, especially with Harvard alumni who also grew up in this part of the nation, can be inspiring to young scholars. Since 1998 the committee's primary method of raising Harvard's profile among local secondary students has been to award a Harvard Book Prize at area high schools. The prize is given in the spring to a junior who exhibits not only strong academic capability, but leadership outside the classroom and initiative in responsible pursuit of his or her own interests and values. For more information on the Harvard Book Prize and the award process, as well as a list of the 2001 winners, click here . The Recent Graduates group was formed in the summer of 1999 to provide social opportunities for individuals who have lately received a Harvard undergraduate or graduate degree and settled in the Portland area.
Members organize get-togethers at restaurants and for cultural events such as movies and plays.
RSVP to the Portland Art Museum by July 17. If you haven't been to an event this year, make this your first. If you know any recent alums in the area who are not on our e-mail list, let them know about the event. A trip to a bowling center earlier in the year was so popular that it may happen again soon. In the late spring of 2001, members of the Recent Graduates committee and the club at large formed a book club with the intention of meeting once a month to discuss a book, and once a month to see a movie.