Jumping High and Leading the Way

A profile and photo by Dov Weinstein Elul ‘24

In our new student voices series, “Get to Know,” Dov Weinstein Elul ’24 introduces us to fellow Poly students he meets around campus.

When Jack Bogner ‘25 joined Poly as a ninth grader, he didn’t consider himself much of an athlete. He had never really participated in any sports at an extensive level. But as he entered high school, he was determined to play a sport. In his first semester, Jack played on the soccer team, which he enjoyed, but unexpectedly he found his true passion that spring: running hurdles for the track team. Even though he considered hurdles to be “weird” and was “one of the only people in the whole school doing it,” he thought it looked fun and gave it a shot. 

Jack believes new opportunities are encouraged at Poly, whether it be with sports, arts, or math. “My experience with hurdling can be applied to pretty much anything at Poly.”

He quickly found that he enjoyed it and was even getting individualized attention that he had not anticipated. “I felt like every day I was being focused on. Strength coaches were talking to me, the hurdles coach was talking with me.” Jack began working really hard at it, and has now decided he wants to do it for the rest of high school. Last year, he qualified for the New York State Championship Track Meet and hopes to qualify for National meets in Grades 11 and 12. “Coming here I never imagined that I’d be this level [of] athlete.” Jack believes new opportunities are encouraged at Poly, whether it be with sports, arts, or math. “My experience with hurdling can be applied to pretty much anything at Poly.”

Along with hurdling, Jack was also inspired to participate in a number of other groups at Poly. One of these is student government, which he also joined in ninth grade. Now he is the Grade 11 student representative. “I’ve learned so much about being a leader. I’ve learned so much about what it means to be part of a community. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made here.” 

Jack has also recently stepped up as a leader of the Jewish Caucus, a student affinity group at Poly. Since birth, his Jewish heritage and culture has always played a vital role in his family and identity. In reflecting on his time as a member of the Jewish Caucus, Jack said, “It was really nice to learn about these things I hadn’t learned about in Hebrew school, and hear these stories I hadn’t heard before. I really felt like I was able to connect with other people in the group.” So this year Jack wants to make sure the younger members of the group feel the same way he felt.