Diane Borton and Betsy Peterson, Jessie’s mom, at last year’s event.
(Photo by Mackenzie Klem)
The annual Have a Jessie Day 5K continues to knit the Harvard community tighter and tighter each year, even after the graduation of its original founders, the Bromfield Class of 2012. The Class of 2016, the first nonfounding class to take on the 5K, is organizing the fourth Have a Jessie Day 5K road race to take place on May 11 at the Bromfield School.
Held each year in the spring, the 5K has become a community event anticipated by many. Participants can register online at www.haveajessieday.com, fill out a form to be turned in at the Bromfield main office, or sign up on race day right at the start site. Specially designed T-shirts are available for purchase weeks before the event. Recent Bromfield graduate and treasurer of the Class of 2012 Hunter Siegrist designed the T-shirts during his high school career and is doing so again this year, although he no longer is a Bromfield student. The 2013 design depicts a Tetris game using blocks in the shape of Jessie’s initials: JLP.
The 5K route is a loop beginning and ending at Bromfield. After the race, participants enjoy music and tasty refreshments outside the school, many of which are donated by local sponsors whose names are listed on the backs of the T-shirts. Because the founding class graduated in 2012, the current freshman class at Bromfield has taken on the 5K and will continue to organize the event until they graduate in 2016. Representative Jon Schmidt looks forward to his class’s involvement in the 5K: “From now until we graduate, we can improve the event year by year, learn how to make it better, and just make it fun for the whole town to come out and participate in the race.”
The Bromfield Class of 2012 established the Have a Jessie Day 5K in the spring of 2010 to honor Jessie Peterson, a classmate who tragically passed away in 2009. “Jessie was just such a loving and social person, so overall the event is a way to bring people together to enjoy themselves, remember all their fond memories with Jessie, and make new ones,” remarks Erin Molinaro, vice president of the Class of 2012 and founding member of the 5K. Not only does the 5K bring the community together in commemoration of a beloved friend, but it also aids Bromfield seniors preparing to take off for college.
The Jesse Peterson Scholarship Fund
All proceeds from the 5K go to the Jessie Peterson Scholarship Fund, first awarded last year to graduating seniors Hunter Siegrist and Katie House. According to Molinaro, the scholarship is given to students who display an especially upbeat and joyful attitude like Jessie’s.
The 5K holds different meanings for different people. For Molinaro, organizing the race was a way to cope with tragedy, raise money for charity, and celebrate a life worthy of celebration. People of all ages come to participate in the race each spring. Graduated seniors return to Harvard to run. Community members congregate once a year at Bromfield to honor Jessie, whether they knew her or not. Molinaro concludes, “I think the community looks forward to the event as a way to participate and honor our awesome girl we all loved so much.”
Lily Moore-Eissenberg is a freshman at the Bromfield School.
