On February 9th, 2004 Beverly High School students dedicated the yearlong project on African-Americans in Antebellum Boston at the Downtown Harvard Club. The room on the 38th floor, in which the luncheon was held,overlooks the neighborhoods of Beacon Hill and what used to be known as the West End, the area in which the project was focused.

Carlos Avila, alumnus of PATH II and III, talked about what PATH meant to him at the dedication ceremony of the African-Americans in Antebellum Boston project February 9, 2004. A current Deans list Springfield College history student, Carlos is interning at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington in the summer of 2004.

The Beverly High School students honored for their participation in the year-long project were Molly Conway, Meg Connelly, Erin Dunphy, Randy Hurley, Kori Lamontagne, Jessica Moody, Ryan Morse, Morgan Ryan, Esmeralda Soufan, Nicholas Spellman, and Alison Woitunski. Molly, Kori, Alison, and Erin presented their research projects which have been published on primaryresearch.org.

Kori Lamontagne presented her research on intellectual and literary societies, overlooking the Charles River and Beacon Hill.

BHS Unity Coalition students Drinalda Osmanaj, Erla Shehu, Larissa Haxhiaj were honored for their efforts in fundraising for the Waymond Pearson Foundation.

Uri Lafontant and Carlos Avila, students at Springfield College and PATH alumni, were in attendance and spoke about their experiences since being in the program. Carlos will be interning at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. in the summer of 2004. Uri is majoring in Elementary Education at Springfield College and plans to become an elementary school teacher.

Massachusetts Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan gave the keynote address at the dedication ceremony for the project on February 9, 2004 at Boston's Downtown Harvard Club.

Among those in attendance were Robert J. Allison (History Professor, Suffolk University), Marylene Altieri (Special Collections, Monroe Gutman Library, Harvard University), W. Dean Eastman (Social Studies Teacher, Beverly High School), Amalie Kass (President, Massachusetts Historical Society), Anders Lewis (Executive Director Office of Standards, Massachusetts Department of Education), Kevin McGrath (Library Media Specialist, Beverly High School), Mark McQuillan (Deputy Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Education), William Milhomme (Field Archivist for Massachusetts State Archives), Stephen Nonack (Head of Reference, Boston Athenaeum), Tom Scully (Director, Beverly Public Library), Carla Scuzzarella (Principal, Beverly High School), Bernadette Williams (Chief Interpreter, Boston African American National Historic Site), and Conrad Wright (Ford Editor of Publications, Massachusetts Historical Society).

Special thanks to Tim Curry and the rest of the staff at the Boston Downtown Harvard Club for their kindness, civic commitment and expertise in making this event such an unforgetable experience for these young scholars.