Harley’s Approach to College Counseling
“Club Rush” is an afternoon every fall in the Upper School when students have the chance to sign up for clubs for the year, and each year it is very different because new clubs are created based on student initiative and enthusiasm.
Each and every year, students at The Harley School participate in HAC Athletics, and their success continues to be impressive, both as students and athletes. Our athletic program is an integral part of Harley, teaching student-athletes invaluable lessons about teamwork, time management, persistence, and competition. Our program allows them to develop physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally as they represent their school on and off the field. They grow, mature, and work hard to be the best teammate they can, while creating lifelong memories with teammates who often remain friends for life. 
Our Upper School is filled with formal and informal opportunities for students to take on leadership roles. Whether following passions or learning new skills, student-driven opportunities take many shapes.
Unlike this class, death is not an elective. Although it is one of two universal human experiences, our culture often ignores, denies, or misconstrues the true nature of death and dying. What happens when we bear witness to this natural process in the cycle of life and develop our ability to be fully present with others when they need us more than ever? It has the potential to change us deeply and fundamentally while shining a brilliant light on the path of our own lives.
This program utilizes environmentally-focused approaches to education and hands-on learning in order to foster the next generation of leaders through a lens of sustainability and problem-solving.
At Harley, our students learn how to evaluate social systems in order to identify complex problems in society through a lens of social justice. They take a hands-on approach to working for a fair, equitable society by researching, exploring and evaluating different perspectives, and offering solutions—both theoretical and practical.
Students may create independent studies with supervising teachers throughout their Upper School experience or, during Grade 12, they can design Capstone projects—intensive collaborations with Harley faculty and off-campus mentors—involving rigorous academic study and culminating in public presentations. 
Becoming Magazine checked in with two alums, Paul Barrows and Eric LaClair, who run DreamBikes in Rochester, about what they see happening with this healthy and environmentally friendly mode of transport.
DreamBikes: Creating Opportunities with Two Wheels
DreamBikes is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that hires youth from the local community and provides them with training about how to repair bicycles and work in a retail environment, as well as all of the other skills necessary to operate a bike shop.
DreamBikes is actually in three states — the first shop opened in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2008. Mark Joslyn ’80, a top executive at Trek Bicycle, which began the DreamBike concept, was on a bike trip with Paul and asked him for help finding real estate in Rochester where DreamBikes could open, then offered him a job managing the store.
Paul and Eric strive to provide “a well-rounded experience for our youth employees as we help prepare them for life after high school.” They sell used, refurbished bicycles to provide affordable transportation to those in need and donate bicycles to less fortunate members of the Greater Rochester community.
The “Bike Boom” and the Changing Future of Transportation
Both Paul and Eric agree, if Rochester is examined as a microcosm of a much broader national “bike boom,” bicycles are without a doubt the future of affordable, reliable, clean transportation.
Over the past five years, Rochester has gained many miles of bicycle lanes and bike paths. Bicycles are now viewed as a viable means of transportation, especially in urban areas. They help their riders save money, while contributing to a healthier environment and lifestyle. This has been especially pertinent during the COVID pandemic, as many people have become wary of mass public transit such as trains and buses, but still need to be able to get around.
Younger folks are also turning to bicycles as a means of transportation; rather than spending thousands of dollars to purchase a car, they are opting to spend significantly less by purchasing a bicycle. Using bicycles also helps to minimize traffic and congestion—and, quite simply, riding a bike is fun!
Everyone at DreamBikes sees the bicycle industry only continuing to grow. The public is realizing that we all have to do our part to combat climate change and strive for a greener, healthier future; the bicycle is an easy answer to this problem.
More and more people are moving away from purchasing personal automobiles and are looking for other viable means of transportation, and for many, a bicycle is at the top of their list of solutions.
City Streets Can Become Bike-Friendly: Here’s How
In order to make urban biking safe and beginner-friendly, the key is bike lanes that are separate and protected from auto lanes, as well as lower automobile speed limits.
Other changes that will encourage people to take up biking include urban planning that involves fewer major boulevards and highways and more two-lane roads with protected bike lanes (rather than four-lane roads with small shoulders), more “bicycle highways” with their own bike stoplights, and more secure bike racks and lockers.
COVID’s Impact on Biking
Eric shares, “After working in the bicycle industry for nearly 18 years, I have never experienced a cycling season like this. We have sold and repaired more bikes than in any other year I have worked in the industry.”
The entire industry is reporting huge growth in 2020. The “bicycle boom” has been so extreme that many bicycle manufacturers and bicycle component manufacturers have been sold out of products for several months, with some companies even back-ordered on parts and bikes until mid-2021.
People who use indoor gyms did not have that option for a period of time in 2020, and those who worked out at home were often frustrated by having to spend so much time in one place due to lockdown orders. So they pulled out their old bikes or purchased a new or used bike and have rediscovered their love of cycling. The DreamBikes team has seen more people using bikes than ever before.
During COVID, some American cities are creating slow lanes to prevent crowding and encourage social distancing, while others, such as Oakland, are using this time to roll out new plans for bike areas by closing streets according to an overall bike-friendly design that was already in the works. Because cities are acting on a large scale, instead of just a few miles at once, this could be the beginning of a permanent transportation shift.
Bicycles are amazing machines that help to create more equitable and sustainable cities, while offering significantly higher levels of freedom and independence. Now is the time for a permanent shift in urban design and increased bike use.