Henry Fox-Jurkowitz Made Lasting Impact In Arlington

ARLINGTON, MA — Henry Fox-Jurkowitz was not simply looking to make a difference in his school and community during his four years at Arlington High School. He was looking to do something that will make a difference for generations to come. That’s why the recent graduate chose to be a president of the school’s Sustainability Club, and worked to get the club a seat at the table in the planning of the proposed new high school to make it as environmentally friendly as possible.

"I think that is the biggest problem facing the world right now," the recent graduate said. "To get the school to help in any way it can to help fight climate change is excellent. Our goal is make the new high school building design as up to date as possible with new technologies. We want every decision they make to be as sustainable as it can be."

Fox-Jurkowitz also volunteered with the Arlington STEPS program to make healthy meals for those in addiction recovery and the formerly homeless, and was a three-year starting goaltender for the sectional champion AHS boys soccer team that captivated the school this fall.

"Soccer isn’t always as big a sport in America as it is across the world so it was great to see the way all of our classmates showed up for our games and supported us," he said. "Our fans were the loudest section at all of the games."

A National Merit Scholar, he received the Yale Book Award, was chosen for the Service, Integrity, Leadership and Spirit Middlesex Principals Award and earned one of the school’s prestigious Ida Robbins Scholarship Awards.

"I didn’t know I was getting it and was really excited when I did," he said of the Ida Robbins honor. "We don’t do class ranks so it was kind of up in the air who was going to get it. But I think that helps as students (not doing rankings) because you don’t know how anyone else is doing at the school. I think it motivates you in a way. That I didn’t know I was getting it made it awesome to hear my name called like that."

Fox-Jurkowitz will attend Amherst College in the fall where he intends to study something in the fields of math or science.