On Apr. 4, the winner of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award, Dr. Alexandra Gold, came to speak to the Upper School about her career and the reasons for her award.
the Benjamin Upper School was given the opportunity to have alumna and guest speaker Dr. Alexandra Gold come and share her life experiences. She shared stories about her years at Benjamin as well as now, in the professional world. Gold, who was given an award for her excellence post-Benjamin by the Alumni Association, graduated in 2007 and now works in the Harvard writing department. Alumni Council president, Daren Craft, introduced Dr. Gold while also giving her the award she won.
Dr. Alexandra Gold shared her life story during her speech in Benjamin Hall. While still at the Benjamin campus, she was the president of NHS, editor of the Pharcyde, cheer team captain, and most impressively, valedictorian. All this hard work translated into Dr. Gold being accepted into Penn University where she studied political science as well as English. Her love for English eventually led her to obtain a PhD from Boston University.
Now, Dr. Gold has a major position at one of the most prestigious universities in the US, “I am a head preceptor at Harvard, which means that I teach in the first year writing program and I help train new teachers who come into the program,” she shared.
This role as a preceptor at Harvard as well as the impact Dr. Gold made on the Benjamin community caused the Alumni Council to consider, and eventually choose her as the Alumni of the Year.
Daren Craft, president of the Alumni Council, explains how the recipient of the award is chosen and why Dr. Gold was a perfect fit for the award this year, “The Distinguished Alumnus Award is given in recognition of exceptional achievement and significant contribution to the recipient’s profession, the community and/or the school. The Benjamin School Alumni Council votes each year to select the award winner. Dr. Gold was a clear choice this year given her incredible career success and contributions to her field. She has been on our watch list for a number of years now, and we believe her story of working through obstacles along the way serves as a great example for all of us.”
Dr. Gold’s speech hit on many aspects of her life while also encouraging current Benjamin students to continue to follow their passions and goals.
This extremely deserving Alumni shared an outline of what she talked about, “I told everyone a little bit about my career so far and how I got where I got, reflected on how Benjamin helped me get there, and then got a little bit more metaphorical and talked about some lessons I’ve learned along the way.”
One major part of what Dr. Gold shared with students was how going to school at Benjamin helped her achieve success both during and after her high school years. Now a writing professor, she explained how her teachers fostered a love of all things English.
“I think I had very excellent teachers throughout my time at Benjamin who really encouraged me to pursue things I loved to do, especially in literature and writing,” reminisced Dr. Gold. “That’s part of the reason why I ended up doing that.”
Dr. Gold’s winning of this award and the chance to speak to Upper School students did not only impact her but also all those who listened to her speak. Her life lessons as well as her chosen path are inspirational to many students.
Sophomore Iris Hoffman shared how she felt about Dr. Gold, “It was really cool to see how she has had the dream of being an English professor since she was a child, and she actually achieved those dreams.”
This year’s awarded Alumni, a published author and preceptor at Harvard named Dr. Alexandra Gold seems to be very deserving of this award as she continues to apply all that she learned at Benjamin in the outside world. This Alumni speaker shared many valuable life lessons while also thanking her teachers who inspired her at Benjamin.
