The 2024 Gallery of Success was held on Friday, April 19.
Seven members were inducted to this year’s class.
The day began with all students and staff gathering in the auditorium to hear speeches from the inductees.
David A. Arnold, who was inducted posthumously, was eulogized by his wife and by Bradford Douglas, (class of 2016), who had been mentored by Arnold.
Alex Wyse’s speech, a rather unusual one, which was a favorite among audience members, was played over the screen, since he could not be in town.
Later in the day, students went to the cafeteria and had the opportunity to personally ask questions to each of the inductees. Below are conversations with four of the seven inductees who were available
Below is a list of the members inducted this year:
David A. Arnold, class of 1986 – posthumously recognized for his accomplishments in the entertainment industry, as well as his service in the US Navy as a medic.
The wife and friend Bradford Douglas were there to speak about his legacy and answer questions from students at the table talks.
What does the legacy of David A. Arnold mean to you?
Julie Arnold: “He did leave an extraordinary legacy. He was very active in the entertainment business in so many ways. From anything to writing, directing, producing, to acting. He was also an influencer on social media. He was also in the navy for four years. He sold encyclopedias, and was the number one salesperson of encyclopedias. He was just an extraordinary person who tried out and did so many different things.”
Bradford Douglas: “He was very kind. He was very generous. It was very important to him that he was successful, he wanted to bring others up with him. He taught an artist stand up comedy class and he kept like a tight knit community and he was very welcoming and he was hilarious and he was just willing to be an advocate and a supporter.”
Monique Davis Gordon, class of 1996 – recognized for her skills in marketing and product innovation within the beauty industry, as well as her dedication to make the industry more inclusive to better serve all of its customers.
What are your fondest memories of going to school here?
“I love that question. It was the pride and school spirit that we had. We [had] a lot of bonfires. I was on the drill team. So we danced a lot at football games. But there were times you know, it’s high school. It’s up and down. Overall, I look back fondly, and I still keep in touch with my friends”
Do you have any advice for people who want to go into your profession?
“What I’ve been telling people is to get experience in marketing. I believe that summer internships [are] a great way [to gain experience] in high school [and] definitely in college. Colleges are great companies, you earn money and you gain experience.”
Marshall E. Barron, class of 1974 – recognized for his contributions in the fertility industry in which he assists prospective parents in building families, and guides pharmaceutical manufacturers on the methods leading to the best patient comfort and pregnancy success rates.
Your job seemed interesting based on the speech you gave. Could you briefly describe what you do?
“To help build families, for women that were having trouble getting pregnant, and once they were pregnant, we had certain medicine that prevented miscarriages.”
Do you have any advice for people who want to go into your profession?
“If it’s something that they really like, pursue it. I had all kinds of obstacles at the beginning [of my career]. Persevere, keep at it, and hopefully a break will come your way.”
If you find your passion, if you focus on your passion and run towards the things that you love, you’re going to find people who care about the things that you care about, and who can see your heart and connect with your soul and who are as weird as you are.
— Alex Wyse
Rebecca Boroff Suhy, class of 1995 – recognized for raising awareness of food allergies and founding the Allison Rose Foundation, where she has led efforts up to the national level to provide education and emergency supplies to schools and various organizations.
What does being inducted into the Gallery of Success mean to you and your foundation?
“It’s really an honor to be inducted into the Gallery of Success because it’s really showing that people are recognizing the change that is being made in this food allergy community. I’m just really proud to be able to come back to my high school and represent in such a positive and impactful way, and I hope that we inspire the students of [BHS] to go on and do even better.”
Unfortunately, a few of the inductees could not be there for the table talks later on in the day. Key parts from each of their speeches are below.
Gayle I. Horwitz, class of 1998 – recognized for her work as an attorney to end disability, gender and race-based discrimination against students and educators across the United States, as well as her support for refugee families and her advocacy for gun-violence prevention.
Horwitz shared about her fond memories of her very active participation in extracurricular activities during her time at BHS.
“So basically for four years, I wrote, planned, learned about Zimbabwe, sang, marched, learned about Norway, made posters telling people when our meetings were, and sold [stuff] so we could raise money for our prom. Living this high school life I was very happy. Doing all these things was hard hard work as I’m sure many of our students know, but the reward was starting to accomplish things that really mattered to me. I got to know a lot of great new people, and for a kid who never would play one single second of sports, I finally learned how much fun it was to be part of a team.”
Dr. Brian Weiss, class of 1976 – recognized for his 17 years serving the Beachwood Board of Education, his time as a board member of both the Northeast Ohio Academy of Podiatric Medicine and the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Ohio, and his accomplishments in the medical field of podiatry.
In his speech, Weiss shared his words of motivation for the students.
“Find someone you love, create a family that you love and [that] loves you. Find a career that you love and do it well. Find a way and a reason to love helping others. Keep doing all of the above, and don’t stop, don’t change, don’t quit. The dividends that you will receive on a daily basis are immeasurable. Days like [Gallery of Success] are just a bonus.
Alex Wyse, class of 2005 – recognized for his efforts to increase representation of the LGBTQ community both in television and drama, as well as his accomplishments in theater, film and television as an actor, writer, director, and producer
In his speech, Wyse took a very humorous approach to explain the concept of fitting in and finding people similar to you.
“If you feel like you can’t find your people, I just want to tell you to stick it out and you’re going to find your people and get out of high school alive. There is life after high school, just stick it out. Because eventually, if you find your passion, if you focus on your passion and run towards the things that you love, you’re going to find people who care about the things that you care about, and who can see your heart and connect with your soul and who are as weird as you are.”
