Melissa Bailey Photo
Eugene Pergament, Hillhouse Class of 1951: graduated from Yale; became an obstetrician; made a fortune in genetic research; returned to Hillhouse to reinvest.
Chantal McHayle, Hillhouse Class of 2011: valedictorian; aspiring obstetrician; heading to Fairfield University, with Pergament’s help.
Those two people shook hands Wednesday evening onstage in the James Hillhouse High School auditorium, at an awards ceremony for the school’s 172 seniors.
Pergament quietly donated $1 million to the school last year. He showed up this week to personally sow seeds of investment in the “generations to come.”
Chantal and nine lucky peers got a handshake from Pergament and a $10,000 scholarship each for college next year. They are the second wave of seniors to join Pergament’s legacy: He gave out a first batch of scholarships last year. He plans to continue giving 10 each year until 2020. While the low-profile philanthropist skipped the ceremony last year, he showed up Wednesday to see a science wing dedicated in his name and to meet the young people he hopes will follow in his footsteps.
Pergament’s scholarships came as a surprise to both parties. Seniors didn’t know until they heard their names called out. Pergament didn’t know the recipients until he greeted them onstage.
Chantal’s hand was the first one he shook. He didn’t know it, but he was meeting a young Eugene. Chantal reaped copious awards Wednesday, including for high marks in AP Calculus, government and politics, and her favorite area, biology. She aims to go to medical school and become an obstetrician — like Pergament.
Pergament knew early in high school that he wanted to be a geneticist. A ninth- grade teacher at Hillhouse helped him get there.
“My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college,” he said in a hallway interview. “My father was a sign painter” who never finished high school. The family lived in a three-story, wooden home at 28 Whalley Ave.
Chantal is a first-generation American. Her parents moved to the States from Jamaica. She, too, will be the first generation in her family to attend college.
Pergament is the son of first-generation Americans: His Jewish grandparents hailed from Poland, England and Russia, fleeing pogroms to settle in the States. At the time he attended Hillhouse, Pergament said, the school was predominantly Irish and Jewish, with many second-generation American kids like him.
Pergament’s big chance came when he landed a college scholarship from the City of New Haven to attend Yale College. The competition at Yale was difficult, and it “took several years to catch up,” he said.
He made it through Yale and went on to get a medical degree from the University of Chicago as an obstetrician, and a doctorate in genetics from Purdue University. He founded a genetic testing firm that screens for high-risk pregnancies. At 78 years old, he continues to work at the firm and as a professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Pergament said when he thought about giving back to his high school alma mater, he was concerned that “we’re losing what everyone refers to as the American dream.”
“I lived that dream,” he said, with the help of a series of scholarships. He said he launched his own scholarships to “give people an opportunity, a chance that I was given many years ago.”
People like Tiffany Manning (pictured), Class of 2011: aspiring teacher; social worker and day care owner; headed to Southern Connecticut State University.
Manning lives on Congress Avenue in the Hill. She already has a jump start on her career: She has taken classes at Gateway Community College and worked in a daycare. She said when she started Hillhouse, “I was not doing so good.” Now she’s on the honor roll.
Tiffany teared up with delight when she heard her name called for the scholarship. She teared up again in the hallway, telling her story: Her parents went to trade school and never finished college. She’ll be the first generation to do so.
“I just want to give my mom and father the opportunity they never had,” she said.
Joel Clarke, Class of 2011: track and field champion; ranked fourth in his class; leaving in mid-August for Luther College in Iowa.
Joel just won the state championship in 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles. He put his legs to use Wednesday looping the stage to fill his arms with awards. His family lives on Ellsworth Avenue. Like Pergament’s family, his family can’t afford to pay full freight for college. Joel said he has about a $20,000 deficit on the tuition bill.
The awards he received Wednesday will “make a major dent in it,” he said, as he pursues a major in computer science.
Xaviera Jackson, Class of 2011: House News producer; soon-to-be freshman at the College of New Rochelle; the next Oprah.
Xaviera has her own show during Hillhouse’s morning announcements. She snagged an award Wednesday in broadcast technology and a special nod from Principal Kermit Carolina for being the unabashed, unofficial school spokesperson.
A panel of guidance counselors picked the next Eugenes partly for academic performance, but also based on personal essays, financial need, community service and character, said Hillhouse Assistant Principal Shirley Love Joyner. Pergament said he left the choices entirely up to school staff because they know the kids best.
Aubrey Roscoe, Class of 2011: star Spanish student; ranked third in her class; plans to become a scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency and work for National Geographic.
Aubrey lives in on County Street in Newhallville. “We’re not a rich family,” she said: The 10 grand will be a huge help toward tuition at Southern Connecticut State University, where she plans to major in biology.
She’ll be “the first generation since my great-grandfather to go to college.”
After the ceremony, Pergament said with the investment he’s making, he’s looking ahead to generations to come.
“I hope it starts a pyramid — they benefit, and they hopefully pass that award on.”
Schools Superintendent Reggie Mayo called Pergament a great example of the adage, “When you get there, pull someone up with you.”
“I’m just grateful and happy that there’s a guy that didn’t forget where he came from.”
These ten young people and the other Hillhouse students who were honored at last night's awards ceremony are excellent students AND truly good people. They have worked hard and will continue to work hard to make a difference in the world. We are blessed to have them in our community.