BROOKHAVEN—The Marist School celebrated the 25th anniversary of Reach for Excellence this summer.   

Reach for Excellence recognized this milestone with a celebration on March 26 in the Marist School library and the dedication of a plaque honoring founders and early supporters in June.    

In 1998, as Marist School prepared to mark its centennial, then–Father Joel Konzen, SM, and the Society of Mary reflected on how they might serve students beyond the school’s immediate community. Their vision was to reach talented students from under-resourced backgrounds and open doors to opportunity.  

After three years of exploring enrichment programs, the Marists found a program to help promising students from low-income households gain admission to college-prep high schools.  

The first class in June 2001 began with 25 rising seventh graders. Twenty-five years later, Reach for Excellence has graduated 564 students. All but one completed high school, and 92 percent went to college. Alumni have earned degrees from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and MIT. Among them are doctors, attorneys, educators and an astrophysicist.  

Students with Reach for Excellence met during the summer to prepare for the high school entrance exam. The Reach for Excellence organization began to help students from working-class backgrounds prepare for college-prep high schools. It marks its 25th anniversary this year.

Lead by Executive Director Dr. Linda Lehmil, Reach continues its mission. This year, all students who applied to private or independent schools were admitted, and 61 percent enrolled. Scholars attend Marist School, Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School, The Paideia School, St. Pius X Catholic High School, Westminster, Wesleyan School, Dekalb Early College Academy and public high schools.  

Class of 2025 graduates attend colleges and universities including Columbia, Brown, Emory and Georgia Tech.   

“None of this would have been possible without Father Bill Rowland,” said Bishop Konzen. “He was the driving force who made it happen and who issued the clarion call that the Society of Mary needed to broaden the scope of what we have done in Atlanta for the next 100 years.”  

Reach has been guided by a committed board and supporters including Wade Stribling, Jim MacGinnitie, Bob Fitzgerald, Steve Raeber, the late Tim Cambias, Rocco Testani and others.  

Marist School alumni on the board include: Amanda Glover Bradley, Missy Chambless; Natalie Smith Childs, Brendan Dete, Brandon M. Fountain, Jennifer Thomas Gordon, Wolly Mendez, Kelly Cambias Miles, Katherine Riley Robb, Lyn Connolly Schaffer, Jordan Snellings and Alison MacGinnitie Thompson ’88.  

To donate, visit www.reachforexcellence.org.