T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle december 15, 2011
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It all began with a pile of mismatched socks in the laundry room. But instead of being consigned to a trash can, the unmatched socks found new purpose in a family Christmas tradition started many years ago by Church in the 21st Century Center Associate Director Karen Kiefer and her daughters. The girls, McKenna, Madison, Emma and Rosie, decorated the socks and filled them with jingle bells, pine cones, candy, recipes and a poem. They hung the socks by red ribbons on neighbors’ front doors on Christmas Eve morning as a way to spread Christmas cheer. Today, the Kiefer family tradition is the centerpiece of a Christmas storybook written by Kiefer and illustrated by Belgium artist Kathy De Wit. The Misfit Sock tells of a sock that loses hope after its perfect match goes missing. Unhappy and unloved, the sock is labeled a misfit and overlooked until it is transformed, through the magical spirit of Christmas, into a “gratitude sock” filled with goodies for Santa and his reindeer and elves. “The Misfit Sock tells a simple message that everyone can relate to,” said Kiefer. “Everyone deserves to be loved and find happiness. There are times we lose hope. This story is about finding a purpose and believing you are worth something.” Kiefer also sees a strong anti-bullying lesson in the story: how labels can cause harm and make people feel marginalized. She has received orders for The Misfit Sock from families, adults, social workers and others who connect to its message. For Kiefer, the idea for the book came to her during her eldest daughter’s serious illness — “some of the darkest days and nights of my life” — when, unable to sleep, she
Caitlin Cunningham
A sock-cessful Christmas tale
Prof. Dwayne Carpenter (Romance Languages), co-director of the Jewish Studies Program, played the role of Santa during his visit to St. Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton as part of the University’s Read Aloud Program. See more at http://bit.ly/v58xdl.
C21 Center Associate Director Karen Kiefer, author of The Misfit Sock.
turned to writing as a way to occupy her restless mind. “I didn’t have a vision for the story, like some authors do. I just felt God’s pull,” said Kiefer. Her daughter’s illness now past, Kiefer calls The Misfit Sock experience “a blessing. I believe out of something bad, there always comes something good.” The Misfit Sock, which is sold online, comes in a kit with its own misfit sock that can be decorated, hung on the mantle and turned into a gratitude sock for Santa and his reindeer and elves. “It’s a nice tradition for families,” said Kiefer. To order The Misfit Sock or find more information, visit www.themisfitsock.com. —Kathleen Sullivan
As part of the ongoing BCConserves campaign to save energy across campus, the Office of Energy and Engineering offers a few quick and easy ways in which faculty, staff and students can help to conserve over the upcoming semester break. Before leaving campus: •Turn off items that consume electricity, such as lights and individual coffee makers. •Unplug chargers and other electronic equipment. •Shut down computers. •Review requirements and assignments for turning off office equipment such as printers and copiers. •Where possible, close blinds and curtains in offices and classrooms. •Close windows. •If a refrigerator is empty, raise the setting to a warmer temperature. •In offices with thermostats, lower the setting to 55 degrees. Small efforts collectively result in big savings, and every effort is appreciated!
Reaching out to Outreach Afghanistan Members of the Boston College Army ROTC unit have spent the pre-holiday season collecting children’s clothing and school supplies to support Operation Outreach Afghanistan, an organization of military and civilian volunteers dedicated to providing muchneeded items for hospitals, schools, orphanages and villages in the wartorn nation. “In the military that we are in now, most people will not finish their service without doing a tour in Afghanistan,” says Cadet Kathryne Bauchspies ’13, one of the leaders of the campus drive, which ended Tuesday. “I am sure that most of the soldiers who have fought there have run into children who need help. The whole point of the program is to help empower the Afghan people.” This is the second year that BC ROTC cadets have held the clothing and supplies collection to benefit Afghan children. In 2010, the unit collected 26 cartons of materials for children in the Kabul area. “Last year they really needed
a liberal arts education.” The students highlighted are: Ian Roundtree A&S ’13; Monica Chase LSOE ’12; David Kete A&S ’12; Kasey Jong CSOM ’15 and Scott Landay CSOM ’12. “Since we know prospective students are utilizing the web more and more to research colleges, I’m hopeful this new website will help to distinguish the Boston College experience in the minds of viewers,” said Mahoney. “We are competing for the best students in the country with the best colleges in the country,” he added. “With the web, our print publications, and our campus programming, our challenge is to capture the richness and spirit that define Boston College, to set it apart from other formidable competitors.”
The Boston College
Chronicle
Director of NEWS & Public Affairs
Jack Dunn Deputy Director of NEWS & Public AFFAIRS
Patricia Delaney Editor
Sean Smith Contributing Staff
Melissa Beecher Ed Hayward Reid Oslin Rosanne Pellegrini
New (virtual) look for Admissions Virtual visitors to the University’s Office of Undergraduate Admission are now met with an enhanced, redesigned website [http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/ admission/undergrad.html] that showcases the distinctive Boston College student experience. “The key enhancement is presenting Boston College’s academic richness and mission through what I consider to be our most authentic voices: BC students,” said Office of Undergraduate Admission Director John Mahoney. “We identified five messages we wanted to convey and then found students who could best articulate them. So, you’ll find five short videos on the themes of research opportunities, extracurricular involvement, Jesuit identity, community, and the value of
winter jackets,” Bauchspies says. “This year, we want to focus a little more on school supplies. We have received information from them that they need things like paper, pencils, markers – really anything that can be used to help teach the children.” Bauchspies, a mathematics and pre-med major in the College of Arts and Sciences, is planning to join the Army’s aviation branch after receiving her officer’s commission in the spring of 2013. She also hopes to attend medical school after her active duty service. —Reid Oslin
Kathleen Sullivan Michael Maloney Photographers
Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini
Mahoney credits the work of Office of Undergraduate Admission senior assistant directors Marybeth Cheverie and Elizabeth Borge, who took the lead in developing the themes and identifying students for the website. “We also could not have completed this project without the support of Brock Dilworth [se-
nior associate director, web content] and Ravi Jain [lead digital media and web producer] in the Office of Marketing Communications. They interviewed the students, shot the films, and completely revamped the look of the Undergraduate Admission website.” —Rosanne Pellegrini
The Boston College Chronicle (USPS 009491), the internal newspaper for faculty and staff, is published biweekly from September to May by Boston College, with editorial offices at the Office of News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 (617)552-3350. Distributed free to faculty and staff offices and other locations on campus. Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to The Boston College Chronicle, Office of News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467. Contact Chronicle via e-mail: chronicle@bc.edu.Electronic editions of the Boston College Chronicle are available via the World Wide Web at http://www. bc.edu/chronicle.