November 2023

George Ayoub

Class of 1968
Alumni Liaison

Volume 8 | Number 6

Welcome to Rise, the voice of Grand Island Senior High alumni and friends. We show up every other month in over 9,000 in-boxes bringing you news, views, and memories of GISH. Rise is a publication of the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation.

This is the sixth and final issue of our eighth year of publishing the only consistent connection for alumni and friends of Grand Island Senior High. That makes this iteration 48 of Rise. We are happy you’re a subscriber and hope you continue to read the comings and goings of Islander alums across the globe.

Here’s some of what you will find inside this issue: When Rise columnist Bianca Ayala writes her next piece for the January edition, she’ll have a different tagline. Ayala has been named the newest principal for the Grand Island Public Schools. She takes the corner office at Gates Elementary in January. Read all the details in "At the Top."

Harvest was once again a success. Annual Giving Coordinator Maggie McDermott has all the numbers and more in "Your Legacy. Their Opportunity."

Avery Rogers takes us on stage and backstage for GISH’s fall musical, "Beauty and the Beast," part of her "On the Island" column. The Grand Island Public Schools Foundation Executive Director, Kari Hooker-Leep, looks back on 2023 and the Foundation’s accomplishments in her "Making Your Mark" piece.

If you want to see some angels, don’t miss Mike Monk's "Distant Mirror" column in which he remembers the wonderful film "Angels in the Outfield" and other seraph roles on the big screen. The aforementioned Bianca Ayala talks about the uptick in EL students at Barr, and Sarah Kuta posits that you can find adventure close to home. My column encourages a New Year’s resolution in November. You’ll have to read it for the details.

In Memoriam, Reunion gatherings, a Milestone for writer and alum Ken Aldridge, and the lives and times of Islanders everywhere in Class Notes round out this edition.

Thanks again for subscribing, Islanders. Stay in touch. And remember: Keep pushing on.