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As the United States readies for the presidential election next week, the excitement of the race has reached Westmount. One of Westmount High’s own, Kamala Harris, is vying for the highest office down south.
“I think it’s really cool that, like, maybe the future president went to our high school,” says Westmount High School student Olivia Schnurbach, 14.
“There hasn’t been a woman president before,” says Kadiatou Barrie, also 14. “And as a Black woman, the first president—that’s such a big accomplishment. It’s very inspiring.”
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Harris, the California-born daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, moved to Montreal in 1976. She spent her teenage years here, though she has since downplayed her Canadian roots on the campaign trail for this election. For students at her alma mater, however, Harris represents possibility.
“It gives us hope for the future ahead,” says fellow student Marouli Karidogiannis.
Aminata Diallo, 14, feels a connection with Harris. “I heard she was on the dance team, and I am on the dance team, so I feel like I can relate to her in some way.”
While Vice-Principal Matthew Shapiro says Westmount High avoids political endorsements, he hopes her leadership roles in high office inspire the students. “We’re proud to add her to our list of notable alumni—alongside Leonard Cohen,” he says.
Beyond the school grounds, however, not everyone feels the same personal connection to the U.S. election.
“She’s in America, and I’m in Montreal,” quips a passerby.
But others in Westmount are excited.
“It shows the students that they can be anything in the world, even the president of the United States,” says local Maria Corinthios.
Denis d’Etcheverry, co-owner of the flower shop partner Flore on Grosvenor Street – the same street Harris lived on – says, “We Canadians are more than ready for Kamala Harris. It would be an honor for Westmount.”
When d’Etcheverry opened his shop 30 years ago, local politics were preoccupied with Quebec independence. Now, he marvels that we’re talking about an old Westmount high grad running U.S president.
Like Harris once did, the students at Westmount High have their own ambitious dreams, with many hoping to become doctors, lawyers, and world travelers.
But for 16-year-old student Ofelia Reinoso Valcourt, her aspirations focus closer to home.
“I strive to make a change in my province,” she says, referencing recent legislation she finds increasingly hostile to anglophones.
“There’s no way I’m going to be complicit to that.”
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