by Kandiss Edwards
September 8, 2025
Baltimore Collegiate students have been met with handshakes from males throughout the town to welcome them again to highschool.
On the primary day of college, boys at Baltimore Collegiate Faculty for Boys obtained greater than a easy “welcome again.” The younger students have been met with handshakes from males throughout their metropolis. The welcome handshake custom is now in its eleventh yr.
The gesture gives college students a dose of encouragement earlier than they even enter their lecture rooms. The kids filed previous a line of male neighborhood members, together with Metropolis State’s Legal professional Ivan Bates, earlier than being greeted personally with palms and phrases of affirmation. Many imagine the gesture is about greater than a greeting. It’s a refined lesson in presentation.
Baltimore Collegiate Faculty’s CEO Edwin Avent stated to 11 Alive, “You by no means get a second likelihood to make a primary impression.”
For that purpose, the boys are inspired to decorate nicely, tuck of their shirts, put on belts, and polished sneakers. On the primary day of college, males throughout the town make it doable to see what that appears like in motion. For lots of the boys, these handshakes are a each day reminder that the broader neighborhood is rooting for his or her success.
The ritual bridges college and metropolis, connecting younger palms to grownup assist and optimistic expectation. This welcoming ceremony has turn out to be a defining second for the younger college students arriving on campus, signaling that their development, conduct, and presence matter. As they stroll from the gate to the classroom, every handshake carries weight. A lingering message that they’re seen, valued, and able to strolling confidently towards their future.
Based in 2015, Baltimore Collegiate Faculty for Boys is a tuition-free public constitution serving college students in grades 4 by way of 8. It was created with an pressing mission to disrupt the cradle-to-prison pipeline for younger males in Baltimore. The establishment gives a rigorous liberal-arts training grounded in character, management, and demanding considering. The varsity blends lecturers with the humanities, debate, athletics, and advisory assist to assist younger boys not solely reach college however thrive as considerate, self-confident neighborhood leaders.
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