The City is our home
Freshman Class was created to recognize the people building from within — the ones shaping Brockton’s future before the spotlight fully reaches them.
WHY FRESHMAN CLASS?
Brockton has never lacked talent. What it has lacked is enough platforms committed to recognizing that talent with the seriousness, creativity, and visibility it deserves.
The Freshman Class was created from a simple belief: the people shaping Brockton’s future should not have to leave the city, outgrow the city, or wait years for outside validation before their stories are told.
Inspired by the energy of national recognition platforms and reimagined through a Brockton lens, Freshman Class exists to spotlight the people building businesses, creating culture, serving families, leading institutions, mentoring students, and moving quietly behind the scenes to strengthen the city.
This inaugural class is not just a list of names. It is a statement about what Brockton is becoming — and who is helping lead it there.
A New Platform for Brockton’s Next Generation
The Freshman Class is GBYP’s annual recognition platform honoring the emerging leaders, creatives, entrepreneurs, professionals, and community builders shaping Brockton’s future.
Created as more than an awards campaign, Freshman Class was designed to give serious visibility to the people building from within those whose work is already moving the city forward, even before the spotlight fully reaches them.
Each honoree was selected for their impact, momentum, commitment to Brockton, and potential to help define the city’s next chapter. Through editorial features, photography, public storytelling, and community celebration, GBYP is elevating their stories as part of a larger mission: to recognize talent early, amplify local leadership, and make Brockton’s next generation impossible to ignore.
what we look for?
Freshman Class honorees are selected for more than titles or visibility. GBYP looks for people whose work reflects meaningful momentum, community connection, and the potential to shape Brockton’s next chapter.
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Work that is already creating meaningful value for Brockton, whether through business, culture, education, civic life, advocacy, or community building.
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A clear sense of growth, traction, and forward movement — the feeling that their story is still unfolding and the next chapter matters.
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A demonstrated connection to Brockton and a desire to build, serve, create, or lead in a way that strengthens the community.
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A compelling personal or professional journey that reflects the complexity, resilience, creativity, and ambition of Brockton itself.
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The ability to influence what comes next, not only through past accomplishments, but through vision, leadership, and the promise of continued impact.
Brockton Has Never Lacked Talent.
It has needed more platforms bold enough to recognize that talent early, seriously, and publicly.
The honorees
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Entrepreneurs OF THE YEAR
Francois & Iraimi Diatta
Founders, Empower Nutrition & Orion BJJ
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Civic Leader of the year
Nelson Fernandes
Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of Mayor Moises Rodrigues
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Creative of the year
RUI LOPES
Filmmaker & Founder, Anawan Studios -
Non-PROFIT of the year
Veronica Thompson
Founder, Victory For Families
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Restaurateur of the Year
Salo Afonseca
Owner, Salo Bar & Grill
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PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
Katie Balboni
Business Teacher, Brockton High
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EMERGING BUsiness of the year
Dr. Ellie Paris
Dr. Ellie Paris Social Bookstore & Ice Cream Cafe
built to be seen
Freshman Class ’26 was built to be seen.
Not only on a website. Not only on social media. But in the physical landscape of Brockton itself — on the streets people drive, the corridors they pass through, and the places where the city’s daily life unfolds.
The billboard campaign is more than promotion. It is a public statement that Brockton’s next generation deserves visibility at scale.
Too often, local impact happens quietly. Businesses are built without celebration. Artists create without platforms. Educators shape futures without enough recognition. Advocates carry families and communities forward without the spotlight they deserve. Freshman Class was created to change that.
By placing honorees across the city, GBYP is helping turn private effort into public recognition.
The goal is not simply to celebrate seven honoree slots. The goal is to expand the way Brockton sees itself — to make leadership more visible, possibility more tangible, and local pride more immediate.
Freshman Class ’26 is a campaign for the people building here, serving here, creating here, and choosing to believe in Brockton’s future.
It is a reminder that the city is not waiting for its next generation.
They are already here.
freshman class reception
The inaugural Freshman Class ’26 will be celebrated at a special reception bringing together honorees, sponsors, partners, community leaders, and supporters from across Brockton.
This event will serve as the official in-person celebration of the campaign honoring the stories, impact, and momentum of the first-ever Freshman Class.
Reception details will be announced soon.
Not a List. A Signal.
The inaugural Freshman Class is a statement about what Brockton is becoming, and who is helping lead it there.
Campaign Sponsors
The Freshman Class ’26 campaign is made possible through the support of partners who believe in elevating Brockton’s next generation of leaders.
SUPPORTING SPONSOR
COMMUNITY SPONSORS
The Freshman Class ’26 visual campaign was photographed and filmed by Kwame Blue, whose creative direction helped bring the campaign’s editorial identity to life.
The Freshman Class is a new recognition platform created by Greater Brockton Young Professionals to elevate emerging leaders shaping Brockton’s next chapter.
Below are answers to common questions about the campaign, the selection process, and what comes next.
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The Freshman Class is GBYP’s annual recognition platform honoring emerging leaders, creatives, entrepreneurs, professionals, and community builders who are shaping Brockton’s future. The campaign combines editorial storytelling, photography, public recognition, and community celebration to elevate people making meaningful impact across the city.
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GBYP created the Freshman Class to recognize Brockton talent early, seriously, and publicly. The campaign was built from the belief that the people shaping the city’s future should not have to leave Brockton or wait for outside validation before their stories are told.
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Honorees are selected based on their impact, momentum, commitment to Brockton, and potential to help shape the city’s next chapter. The campaign highlights individuals across industries, including business, arts and culture, education, civic leadership, community advocacy, food and hospitality, and emerging entrepreneurship.
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The inaugural class was selected by GBYP based on each honoree’s work, visibility, momentum, community connection, and alignment with the mission of the campaign. The Class of ’26 was intentionally built to reflect different sectors of Brockton’s emerging leadership ecosystem.
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No. While GBYP is rooted in building platforms for emerging professionals, Freshman Class is not limited strictly by age. The focus is on emerging influence, meaningful impact, and the role each honoree is playing in Brockton’s future.
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Yes. Freshman Class is designed to become an annual GBYP platform. The Class of ’26 is the inaugural class, setting the foundation for future classes and continued recognition of Brockton’s next generation of leaders.
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Nomination details for Freshman Class ’27 will be announced at a later date. GBYP encourages the community to stay connected and begin thinking about leaders, creatives, entrepreneurs, and community builders whose work deserves to be recognized.
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Yes. GBYP will host a special Freshman Class ’26 reception to celebrate the inaugural honorees with sponsors, partners, community leaders, and supporters. Reception details will be announced soon.
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Sponsors can support the campaign, the reception, and future Freshman Class programming. Sponsorship helps GBYP expand the platform, elevate honoree stories, and create high-quality public recognition for Brockton’s emerging leaders.
Contact GBYP
Built for Brockton’s Next Generation
Greater Brockton Young Professionals exists to create social, professional, civic, and economic opportunities for the people shaping the future of Brockton and the surrounding region.
From networking events and community partnerships to signature platforms like the Freshman Class, GBYP is helping build the connective tissue between emerging talent, local institutions, businesses, and civic life.
Freshman Class ’26 is one expression of that work — a public campaign designed to recognize the people building here, leading here, creating here, and choosing to believe in Brockton’s future.
