Alumni Day at Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy is time where all in attendance are reminded what is possible when we choose to dream bigger together.
Alumni Day is an annual event designed to celebrate scholars moving the HFCA mission of “to and through college” forward. The day is thoughtfuly crafted to honor those on this journey and inspire current students to pursue their own paths to higher education and career success.
As a high school committed to supporting first-generation students of color, we understand the unique challenges our students face. This event provides a platform for alumni to share their stories of resilience, determination, and achievement while offering mentorship and advice to current students. This day also offers us a chance to reconnect with our alumni and to offer them support with FAFSA completion, networking opportunities, and one-on-one college coaching.
This year, graduates from the Class of 2008 all the way to the Class of 2025 filled the building. Some came to reconnect. Some came to reflect. And some were stepping, perhaps unknowingly, into the next chapter of their purpose.
Among those paving the way forward was Jacob Allen.
Now a freshman at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, Jacob is majoring in Physical Education with a minor in coaching. On Alumni Day, he wasn’t just back to visit. He was back to serve.
“I’m here at Alumni Day helping the younger classmen better understand college on a first-level basis and influence their decision on going to college,” Jacob shared.
For him, giving guidance felt natural. HFCA had done the same for him years earlier. That commitment to giving back didn’t go unnoticed.
As CEO Dr. Rodney Lynk Jr. explained, Alumni Day has always been about more than nostalgia. “It’s a great tradition of Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy,” he said. “It’s a day where our alumni come back. We had classes from 2008 to 2025 in the building, celebrating them.”
But this year was different.
“For one of the first times,” Dr. Lynk shared, “we were able to give one of our students who’s majoring in education an offer.”
That student was Jacob.
A former star quarterback at HFCA, Jacob had already planted the seed months earlier. During a fall college visit, he told Dr. Lynk, “I want to come back and teach at HFCA.”
So on Alumni Day, that vision became real.
Standing in the same building that helped shape him, Jacob was offered a full-time teaching position at HFCA beginning in fall 2029, following his graduation from UW–Whitewater. The offer included a competitive salary and a commitment to help pay off $5,000 in student loans.
For Jacob, the moment was overwhelming in the best way.
“When I heard it, I was excited. Not only excited, but surprised,” he said. “I didn’t expect it, but once he said it, I knew this was something I wanted to do. Before he even described it, I knew. This high school has given so much to me,” Jacob said. “The opportunity to give back would be amazing.”
Dr. Lynk calls moments like this both beautiful and necessary. “When we have alumni who want to come back and contribute to the ongoing vision and mission of our organization, we have to honor that,” he said. “I know Jacob will follow through.”
For Jacob, success isn’t about titles or recognition.
“I feel like I’m seen as successful in a way,” he reflected. “But what I want to be seen as is hard-working. Yes, I got opportunities, and those opportunities put me in the position I’m in today. But they also changed me into who I need to be and what I need to show others.”
At HFCA, Alumni Day isn’t just about celebrating where our students have been. It’s about believing in where they’re going and sometimes, welcoming them home before they even know they’re ready.
“I love my high school so much, said Jacob. “They’re amazing. And the best is just yet to come.”