The Honorable Nathaniel M. Gorton ’58, 2023 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award, is accomplished in the legal field, having joined the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts upon being nominated by President George H. W. Bush in 1992. After graduating from Browne & Nichols, Judge Gorton went on to earn his A.B. from Dartmouth College, his LLB from Columbia Law School, and serve as a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy and later the executive officer on the USS Banner in the Western Pacific Ocean. Prior to his appointment as District Judge, Judge Gorton worked as an attorney in private practices from 1966 to 1992.
Judge Gorton attributes much of his success to the secondary education he received at the school.
“I had to do a lot of writing here,” he said. “And when I got to college, I was way ahead of most people. The fact that I had this training at an independent day school, one of the best in the country, was mindboggling. It was just so important not only to my educational career but my professional career after that.”
Outside the classroom, Judge Gorton learned important lessons from his mentors and athletic coaches, he said. Among those mentors was Bill Elliott, a baseball coach.
“In baseball, if you succeed one out of three times and fail two out of three times, you’re going to go to the hall of fame,” Judge Gorton said. “Well, in life, there is a lot to that. You’re going to fail more than you succeed. And Elliott made me understand that. That was almost 70 years ago. It’s hard to believe.”
James P. Collins IV ’05, 2023 recipient of the school’s Distinguished Young Alumni Award, serves the Boston community in the affordable housing sector at Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) where he is the Director of the Climate Equity and Impact Department. He oversees their program delivery, policy, and strategy. After graduating from Brandeis University with a BA, where he served as captain of the baseball team, he attended Boston College to earn his MBA from the Carroll School of Management. Mr. Collins currently volunteers as a member of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ Energy Efficiency Advisory Council’s Equity Working Group (EEAC).
Mr. Collins learned the importance of community during his time at the school, which has especially helped him when finding his career, he said. “The BB&N community boomerangs back, particularly when you get back to your alumni year,” he said.
“A reason why being involved in the alumni community is important to me is because you start to make connections and sometimes a conversation with an alumni in a certain field can totally change what you want to do.”
Mr. Collins has sought out environments similar to the school throughout his career, he said. “Being in a space where I could affect change, that was really what brought me to where I am today,” he said.
“Once I knew I was in a space that I enjoyed, and that wasn’t too far after college, I just committed to it. And it’s been fruitful.”
Elizabeth Clay Roy ’98, 2023 recipient of the school’s Lewis Bryant Award, is the CEO of Generation Citizen, an organization that aims to inspire students to take initiative in the civic world. After graduating from the school, she received her BA from Columbia University, where she majored in Urban Studies and Political Science. She then returned to Cambridge to study Urban Planning at MIT. During Governor Deval Patrick’s time in office, Ms. Roy encouraged youth participation in policy making.
Ms. Roy’s passion for teaching and engaging with youth was born at the school, she said. “[At Generation Citizen] we train teachers to really draw out that civics spark in young people,” she said.
“It’s not just about the curriculum. It’s really about what are the capacities and competencies of a teacher that helps their students feel a sense of agency and belonging and connection to community.”
Lewis Bryant, who was Ms. Roy’s African American history teacher, played a pivotal role in her development, she said.
“My commitment to working with teachers around the country was absolutely inspired by my time here with Mr. Bryant and other teachers,” she said.
Mr. Bryant took an interest in her preexisting fascination with politics, she said.
“Mr. Bryant noticed me, and I started to feel comfortable talking to him about the thing that I cared about, social issues, in his office. He really encouraged me to bring my full self into the school building. Mr. Bryant’s contributions in my life were important and definitely made me feel confident in leadership.”
