Once a star BC football player, Sean Guthrie ’01 found a winning second half as a respected school leader.
By Michael Blanding
24 A Conversation with Jack Butler, SJ, Boston College’s
Next President
“If you don’t know how to wipe away tears, or give a hug, or give encouragement to your child, then you haven’t learned what a BC education is all about.”
By Jack Dunn
Photography by Jason Grow
32
What Sustainability Looks Like at Boston College
Everywhere you turn, the BC community is building a greener future.
By Elizabeth Clemente
Illustrations by Chiara Vercesi
The Grinder
Sal Frelick ’22 was an undersized high school athlete with a ferocious competitive drive…and exactly one offer to play college baseball. Here’s how he hustled his way to becoming one of the best ballplayers in BC history, and an emerging star for the Milwaukee Brewers.
By Archer Parquette ’18
Photo Illustrations by Nadia Radic
4 The Frontlines of Care
As one of the military’s highestranking medical officers, Air Force
Major General Jeannine Ryder ’91 has a critical mission: saving lives.
6 Campus Digest
8 All Aboard the Hot Dog Highway
How Stephen Harrison ’24 saw America from behind the wheel of a giant frank.
10 Mates for Life
In her new film, Katie Corwin ’13 finds humor in the challenge of maintaining adult friendships.
11 The Tastemaker
As Vanity Fair magazine’s chief critic, Richard Lawson ’05 covers the hottest movies, television, and plays.
12 Hot Ticket
There’s nothing like a sold-out game at sports-mad BC. Just ask head of ticket sales Jim O’Neill.
13 At Home—and Everywhere
Shannon Doherty ’06 is redefining domestic bliss for her millions of social media followers.
14 Documenting a Crime Drama
After closely covering the Karen Read trials, TV reporter Kristina Rex ’15 is lending her insights to a major new documentary about the case.
15 It’s Really Expensive, but Why?
In his new book, BC professor Henrik Hagtvedt shines a critical light on the economics of the art world.
16 Taking On Big Chemical
With children’s health in the balance, BC researchers are leading a charge to regulate manmade chemicals.
17 Change Agent
McKinsey’s Shelley Stewart III ’06 believes strong business and social impact go hand in hand.
18 A New Way to Work?
BC Professor Juliet Schor’s latest book challenges the wisdom of the five-day workweek.
72 Jobs Well Done
Recently retired as one of BC’s longest-serving faculty members, David Twomey ’62, JD’68, reflects on a legendary career in law and labor.
73 Parting Shot
Cover photograph by Jason Grow
EDITOR
John Wolfson
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Keith Ake
DEPUTY EDITOR
Scott Kearnan
STAFF WRITER
Elizabeth Clemente
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Lee Pellegrini
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER Caitlin Cunningham
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Hannah Say ’18 (left) and Amanda Zhao ’22 enjoy the encouragement of the Boston College community as they pass BC’s “Mile 21” Boston Marathon celebration. Zhao, who lives in New York, and Say, who is living in Bangkok as a digital nomad, traveled to Boston for the race as part of a reunion of friends from BC. After running the entire race together, finishing in four hours and twenty minutes, they plan to run the New York and Sydney marathons later this year. Say has now completed all six of the world’s major marathons. “Boston was the final lap of the six majors for me,” she said. “I’ve wanted to save it for last, since watching Marathon Monday on campus as a student was what kicked off running for me.” John Wolfson
photograph by seho lee
Linden Lane
The Frontlines of Care
As one of the military’s highest-ranking medical officers, Air Force Major General Jeannine Ryder ’91 has a critical mission: saving lives.
BY SCOTT KEARNAN
On the evening of September 11, 2001, as much of the nation sat stunned and weeping before television screens, Major General Jeannine Ryder—then a young Air Force captain—received a call that would test her mettle in a time of crisis. Her commander summoned her to Dover Air Force Base, home to the US military’s largest mortuary, where she was to lead a team of medics in the duty of identifying victims of the attack on the Pentagon. With Americans still reeling from the deadliest terrorist attack on domestic soil, Ryder marshaled her team, guided them in grief through their urgent responsibility, and fulfilled the crucial mission of the moment. The weight of the experience set a course for the rest of her life. “I knew from then on,” Ryder said, “that my job was to save every casualty we could.”
It’s this combination of commitment, compassion, and resolve that has defined Ryder’s thirty-four-year military career, in which, among many other positions, she has previously served as chief nurse of the Air Force Nurse Corps. Today, Ryder occupies two of the most critical health care leadership roles in the United States military. As director of Defense Health Network Continental, she oversees a $1.1 billion budget and twenty-six military hospitals and clinics across the country that care for more than half a million patients, including active duty service members and veterans. But Ryder’s responsibilities stretch far beyond health care administration. In her role as commander of Medical Readiness Command Bravo, she prepares Air Force medical teams for deployment to conflict zones around the world. As global tensions rise and conflicts grow more complex, Ryder’s job is to ensure that military medical personnel—including doctors, medics, and lab technicians—are ready to respond however needed, whether that means performing air evacuations, responding to emergencies in flying intensive care units, or delivering lifesaving care on the ground under the most extreme conditions. “It’s about organizing, training, and equipping, to make sure that we have the right force for the next fight,” Ryder said, speaking
from the Defense Health Agency headquarters just outside of Washington, DC. “When our medical personnel step off the plane, they need to be ready.”
Ryder said she was instilled with a strong sense of responsibility and caring for others while growing up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Her father, a high school principal, would show up early to greet teachers and students, while her grandfather, a first-generation Italian American and state legislator, cared for Ryder’s grandmother, a former nurse, after a debilitating stroke.
At Boston College, where she studied nursing, Ryder found a community that
“
It’s about organizing, training, and equipping, to make sure that we have the right force for the next fight. When our medical personnel step off the plane, they need to be ready.”
shared her values of hard work and integrity. “The instructors didn’t coddle us. We had hard clinical assignments,” she recalled of her training at local hospitals. It was also at BC that Ryder met an Air Force recruiter who offered her an intensive six-month obstetrics internship as part of her enlistment. “I wanted to gain clinical experience and grow as an independent person,” said Ryder, who took her enlistment oath in the living room of her six-person BC Mod, number 37A, on the morning of the Commencement Ball.
“There was a crew of us there to support her,” recalled Patty Leyden Paul, Ryder’s then-roommate and a close friend today. Paul said Ryder, besides being a fun and sup -
portive friend, was already showing leadership qualities. She was the one who woke up before everybody else to exercise, head to work, or study, Paul said. “There was a maturity to her. She was your wing woman.”
At the end of her Air Force internship— and after marrying her husband, Terry, with whom she now has three children—Ryder was deployed to Germany, where she quickly distinguished herself in a high-volume maternity ward. It wound up being the first stop in a long and successful career. Ryder has received two dozen assignments, including deployments to command medical operations in Southwest Asia and Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, which followed the 9/11 attacks. She was part of the first medical evacuation piloted by American-trained Afghans, and earned a Bronze Star Medal, awarded for achievement in combat zones.
Her success was no surprise, said Lieutenant Colonel Kathy Conrad, who oversaw Ryder’s Air Force recruitment. “I knew even then—this woman was going places,” Conrad said. “She can be tough, and she’s not afraid to confront people who aren’t doing the right thing. But she’s also understanding and an excellent communicator.”
Ryder’s responsibilities have evolved along with the world and the military. For instance, today her charge includes providing medical care at some of the most highly classified workplaces in the country: United States Space Force installations, where military and civilian personnel monitor satellites and cybersecurity, among other duties. Ryder, a marathoner, said her greatest professional challenge is staying two steps ahead. What will global conflicts look like in the future, and what tools and training will medics need to respond? To prepare, she’s championing new training technologies, such as virtual reality simulations, and the development of enhanced equipment and supplies to support the agility of the Air Force’s mobile medical teams.
The responsibility is great, but Ryder said it’s nothing compared with serving her country and saving the lives of those who protect it. “We have,” she said, “the best job in the world.” n
Training the Next Generation of Midwives
With the country facing both a shortage of obstetric care providers and a maternal mortality crisis, the Boston College Connell School of Nursing has launched a new master of science degree program in nurse-midwifery. The program will train students to become certified nurse-midwives, which are advanced practice clinicians with expertise in caring for women’s health, including during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. “Nurse-midwives are really experts and specialists in women’s health across the lifespan,” said CSON Associate Professor of the Practice Katharine Hutchinson, director of the new program and a certified nurse-midwife of twenty years. Despite spending more on health care than any other nation, Hutchinson said, the US ranks twenty-sixth in the world for maternal mortality rates, and deaths from pregnancy-related causes more than doubled in the country between 1999 and 2019, according to one recent study. Nationally, demand is growing for certified nurse-midwives, who work in hospitals alongside patients giving birth, as well as in outpatient settings providing primary care. Hutchinson said that introducing more certified nurse-midwives to the health care system through programs like the new one at BC—the only such program in eastern Massachusetts—makes care more personal and improves health outcomes. “The data shows that when women and their newborns are cared for by midwives,” Hutchinson said, “they have fewer unneeded interventions, people like the care better, and it costs less to the health system.” Students in BC’s program will learn both outpatient specialties, like gynecologic and prenatal care, and inpatient services, such as postpartum and newborn care. Elizabeth Clemente
Not Your Standard Spring Break
In early March, twenty-one BC seniors traveled to Spain to retrace the 1522 pilgrimage of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, as part of a new course, The Discerning Pilgrim, which explores themes of leadership and Jesuit principles. Students traveled portions of the 120-mile route St. Ignatius, a former soldier, took following his religious conversion. Here are three significant stops from the students’ eight-day trip, which was designed to encourage contemplation and community.
Loyola Castle. Through an audio tour, students explored St. Ignatius’s birthplace in the Basque Country of northern Spain, which is also where he experienced his conversion while recovering from battle injuries.
Montserrat. The group drove up the winding roads and experienced breathtaking views at this famous mountain range in Catalonia, where Ignatius spent a night in vigil at a Benedictine monastery still in use today.
Cave of St. Ignatius. Fr. Casey Beaumier, cocreator of the course, led an Ash Wednesday mass in this cave, where Ignatius spent a year writing the Spiritual Exercises, a set of meditations and prayers. —E.C.
“I
hope everyone thinks about the issues they read about, get fired up about, or have their heart broken about, and asks, what are the skills you already have? Because they can be part of the solution. You don’t have to change who you are. You just need to maximize what you can bring to the table.”
— Barbara Pierce Bush, the NBA’s head of social responsibility, speaking at the Chambers Lecture Series.
BC has established the Murray Center for Student Wellness. The center integrates existing campus wellness programs, such as the primary care center and psychiatric services, alongside significant enhancements, including increased access to same-day mental health counseling and the addition of BC’s first full-time medical dietitian. The center was made possible through a gift from Tami Murray ’83, P’09,’15,’19, in honor of her late husband, former BC Trustee Stephen P. Murray ’84.
BC’s human-centered engineering program has graduated its inaugural class of students. Besides offering wide-ranging training in the field, the HCE major is unique for its philosophical focus on solving real-world problems for the common social good. As their final projects, the graduates presented innovative designs for, among other things, monitoring indoor air quality and delivering epinephrine to patients in shock.
Messina College, BC’s two-year residential college, has joined the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and established the Beta Omega Rho chapter. The official honor society of two-year colleges, the organization provides students with opportunities such as exclusive scholarships and leadership development programming.
BC has again been recognized as one of the nation’s top research universities. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education designated BC a Research 1 institution—the highest classification, held by less than 3 percent of American educational institutions—based on the University’s level of spending on research ($81.4 million in 2023) and number of doctorates awarded.
Amanda M. Teo has been named executive director of the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy at Boston College Law School. A career public servant, Teo formerly managed and advised two of Massachusetts’s largest public law offices. She succeeds the retired Elisabeth “Lissy” Medvedow, the inaugural executive director of the Rappaport Center.
Meet BC Radio’s Country Mainstay
Times and technology sure have changed since George Hauenstein ’81 launched his WZBC radio show, Sunday Morning Country, in 1979. For one thing, Hauenstein has gone from dropping record needles in the campus studio to uploading digital audio files from his home in Albany, New York. But the weekly four-hour show, which may be the longest continuously running music program in the station’s half-century history, sounds much the same to FM radio and online listeners. And its host is as dedicated as ever.
“When I met my wife, she knew Sunday mornings together would be shot,” Hauenstein said, laughing. A lover of sprightly bluegrass, new and classic folk, and lesserknown album cuts from legendary country artists, Hauenstein produced and hosted the show from its inception through 2007. He’d drive more than forty miles from his home outside Boston to the WZBC studio, where he played albums and hosted in-person interviews and live on-air performances featuring influential country musicians like Del McCoury and Jim Lauderdale.
Moving even further away prompted Hauenstein to pass the microphone to a successor. But when she moved on a decade and a half later, in 2022, Hauenstein, now advancement director for the Rensselaer Newman Foundation, eagerly accepted an invitation to return remotely. He still starts every Sunday show as he always has, with the Porter Wagoner song “Country Music Has Gone to Town.” Said Hauenstein, “It keeps me connected to BC. Many of the earliest listeners are still listening today.” Scott Kearnan
Provostship Endowed
A gift from longtime BC benefactors Bob and Judy Winston has established Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley as the inaugural Robert L. and Judith T. Winston Provost and Dean of Faculties. The gift additionally supports academic innovation and programming, and includes $2 million in challenge funding to encourage further investment. Bob Winston ’60, a former BC trustee, called Quigley “one of the most effective and respected provosts in higher education.” S.K.
photos: Courtesy of George Hauenstein; Gretchen Ertl (Winstons)
All Aboard the Hot Dog Highway
How Stephen Harrison ’24 saw America from behind the wheel of a giant frank.
BY SCOTT KEARNAN
Last summer, while most of his newly graduated peers were deciding between committing to a post-college job or taking some time to travel, Stephen Harrison had it both ways. Harrison was one of just twelve new college graduates, chosen from seven thousand applicants nationwide, hired to tour the United States in a “Wienermobile,” a hilariously oversized hot dog–shaped vehicle that is used to promote Oscar Mayer products at small-town grocery stores, big county fairs, and everywhere in between.
As part of the annual mobile marketing campaign, which Oscar Mayer first put on the road in 1936, Harrison spent a year in the ketchup-and-mustard-colored driver’s seat, clocking about forty thousand miles across the western half of the country and making three hundred or so scheduled stops to pose for photos, pass out coupons and souvenirs,
and wave from the Wienermobile’s open “bun roof” during parades.
For Harrison, the experience was more than a (slightly absurd) adventure in marketing a major American food brand through laugh-inducing live appearances and silly social media posts. He also found this unique road trip to be an excellent opportunity for self-reflection. Harrison kept a journal of his adventure and his interactions with everyday folks, a process that helped him learn more about what he really values and where he sees himself going next. “You have a lot of time to yourself,” he said. “I realized a lot of the things that made me happy at BC are the things I want to continue to do in life.”
Crisscrossing the US inside a massive hot dog wasn’t in Harrison’s plans when he first arrived at Boston College from
his Jesuit high school in Pennsylvania. He majored in communication while leading student retreats and the Eagle for a Day program for prospective undergrads. That sociableness helped Harrison stand out when he applied on a whim to be an Oscar Mayer “hotdogger” at the suggestion of his mother, who learned about the position on a TV morning show. After an initial interview with the Oscar Mayer team, Harrison was flown out to Madison, Wisconsin, for a finalround meeting.
A few weeks later, Harrison was walking out of a midterm exam when he got a phone call and an offer: a twelve-month paid stint at the steering wheel. “I had been going through the process for fun. Then I was like, shoot, this is real,” said Harrison, who had already lined up a position as an alumni assistant at his former high school. The Wienermobile won out.
photo: Joel Barhamand
One Year on the Road, in Numbers
30 States visited 27
Wienermobile length in feet
“I told them I was sorry, and that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I couldn't turn down doing something so iconic.”
Less than two weeks after his BC graduation, Harrison was back in Madison for “Hot Dog High,” a two-week training that included history lessons about Oscar Mayer, media training, and learning to navigate the fourwheeled frankfurter through “wild” obstacle courses with the help of local police. At the end, Harrison was paired with a copilot, assigned a region of the country, and set out on the open road for drives and appearances five days a week, with two days off for relaxing and sightseeing. Drivers switch partners and are reassigned regions halfway through the twelve-month experience.
140,500
Wienermobile’s seven-ton weight in hot dogs
“It was so fulfilling, and really scratched my itch to travel,” said Harrison, who took full advantage of the rare opportunity to see a huge swath of the country. He spent his free time collecting postcards, sampling all the local cuisine he could—from gumbo and crayfish in New Orleans to Wisconsin cheese curds and real-deal Texas barbecue—and covering the water bottle in his Wienermobile cup holder with stickers from as many National Parks as possible. “I’m an Eagle Scout and love being outside.”
Then again, a day working from the Wienermobile wasn’t bad, either. “People take their kids out of school to see us,” Harrison said. “One older man came up to us and said, ‘I was having a really bad day, and
“We did a lot of big national events, and one of the biggest was an IndyCar race. We welcomed people all weekend and got to see performers like Luke Combs, Post Malone, and Kelsea Ballerini.”
“We went to an Oscars watch party produced by Something New, a company that gets adults to do fun, whimsical things. There’s a difference between being childlike and childish. I think it’s really important to embrace your inner child.”
2 Newlywed rides to wedding receptions
your smile made me smile. Now I’m going to make someone else smile.’”
Those experiences reinforced for Harrison that connecting with people is what he really enjoys—and so, with his year driving the Wienermobile now wrapped, he’s heading back to BC to pursue a master’s in higher education. He hopes to work in college admissions someday. In the meanwhile, he’s grateful for the education he earned during one truly unforgettable gap year.
“In my journal, I wrote down my lessons from the road,” Harrison said. “One of the first things I learned is that you never know the magnitude in which you can impact someone’s day. That's true of a year-long adventure, and it's true of life.” n
“I can’t even describe how exhilarating the Chicago Pride parade was. The streets were mobbed with people in different colorful outfits, with energizing music already playing at six in the morning. It blew almost everything out of the water.”
“There’s something special about experiencing a Fourth of July parade in a Midwest city. People are so kind, with pride and joy in being the heartland of America. We had a huge flag flying out of the bun roof.”
illustration: John S. Dykes
Mates for Life
In her new film, Katie Corwin ’13 finds humor in the challenge of maintaining adult friendships.
BY SCOTT KEARNAN
Cinema has no shortage of romantic comedies. So when Katie Corwin and her best friend, Delaney Buffett, set out to cowrite and produce their debut feature film, they decided to focus on the hilarious ups, downs, and misadventures of a less-explored kind of relationship: lifelong pals.
“We wanted to make what we’re calling a ‘platonic comedy,’” explained Corwin. “Many films talk about navigating romantic relationships. But few movies talk about navigating friendships, where it’s not about staying together or breaking up, but finding the balance between holding someone too tightly and completely letting them go.”
Now streaming on Max and elsewhere, Adult Best Friends stars Corwin and Buffett as exaggerated versions of themselves, in circumstances inspired by their actual rela tionship. Buffett’s character is a sardonic thirtysome thing single who can’t bear to grow up. She struggles with bitterness and jealousy when Corwin’s character, a respon-
sible striver, becomes engaged to a handsome Mr. Nice Guy.
Over the course of a trip to their childhood beach town, the friends deal with issues like codependency and the anxieties around adult milestones, like marriage, to comic yet heartfelt effect. The movie lampoons modern relationship dynamics such as the infiltration of therapy-speak into everyday conversation, and the social awkwardness of oversharing coworkers.
Making Adult Best Friends together felt like a full-circle moment for Corwin and Buffet, who first bonded as the “only girls in fifth grade” who loved the ’90s buddy comedy Tommy Boy. After graduating, Buffett and Corwin—an English major who developed her comedic craft with the BC improv group
My Mother’s Fleabag—turned friendship into creative collaboration, working together on a web series and developing film and TV projects that never quite got off the ground. The idea for Adult Best Friends came together when Buffett was writing a speech for Corwin’s wedding. “She was kind of coming to terms with this idea that she would be technically demoted.”
BC Alum Hits a Comedy Home Run
Nate Fisher ’15 has cowritten a new baseball movie that’s earning critical acclaim for its funny, tender look at quiet camaraderie among men. Named for a trick pitch, Eephus is about one final game between old friends in small-town New England. Making the movie, set in a single day on the diamond, was its own team effort, Fisher said. “The whole cast and crew lived together in two houses near the baseball field. That collaborative spirit came through in the movie.” That said, every sports film needs a spirited monologue, too, and Fisher, who also costars, wrote a rousing one for his character. “I wanted to sum up the point of the movie directly, and it’s a lot easier to deliver when you’ve written it yourself.” S.K.
Working without traditional financing from a movie studio, Corwin and Buffett funded the film largely on their own and leaned on support from friends Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto, who costarred and served as executive producer.
Adult Best Friends eventually premiered at the renowned Tribeca Film Festival, and Corwin was struck by how well the movie’s exploration of fragile adult relationships
resonated across generations. “Older people would come up to us after screenings and say, ‘It’s so important to keep making the effort, or else you’ll turn around one day and realize how much you’ve lost.’”
When it comes to nurturing relationships, Corwin believes the same rule applies to both friendships and filmmaking. “Where there’s a will there’s a way,” she said. “You may not hang out every day, but you can still call someone when you’re at the grocery store. That effort means a lot, and you’ll see the result.” n
photo: Courtesy of Katie Corwin film still : Courtesy of Nate Fisher
The Tastemaker
As Vanity Fair magazine’s chief critic, Richard Lawson ’05 covers the hottest movies, television, and plays.
BY ELIZABETH CLEMENTE
A lot of people wish they could make a living by watching films, television, or theater. But as chief critic at Vanity Fair, Richard Lawson ’05 actually lives the dream, writing about the buzziest movies and shows of the moment and cohosting the magazine’s pop-culture podcast, Little Gold Men
Having grown up in the days before streaming and YouTube, Lawson first fell in love with movies by watching films his father, the BC professor emeritus of history Alan Lawson, brought home from the University’s library. Vanity Fair, with its long legacy of celebrating all things Hollywood, was the perfect place for a cinephile like Lawson to end up working when he joined the magazine in 2013. “I’ve been aware of Vanity Fair since I was aware of magazines,” said Lawson. “I lucked out. I landed at the right place at the right time.”
These days, whether he’s interviewing Academy Award winners like Kieran Culkin, reviewing the next noteworthy Netflix show, or sharing his predictions for the Tony Awards, Lawson stands out in today’s sea of entertainment journalists for his irreverent humor and air of approachability. He may be a member of the prestigious National Society of Film Critics and New York Film Critics Circle, but Lawson is no snob. You’re as likely to catch him watching reality TV (especially Survivor) as covering the Cannes Film Festival.
“I think it keeps me closer to the reader that I didn’t go to film school, and didn’t come into this profession as an academic,” said Lawson, who majored in theater and English at BC. After graduating, he made a name for himself writing for the influential celebrity blog Gawker, as well as publications such as the Guardian and the Atlantic Wire
More than a decade after joining Vanity Fair, Lawson still occasionally finds himself starstruck—usually when he’s in the presence of actors connected to theater, his first love. He will always remember the time in 2019 when he got the opportunity to interview the actress MaryLouise Parker before a Broadway performance. “I’ve loved her since Fried Green Tomatoes all those years ago,” he said. “The door opened, she went to shake my hand, and I literally went weak in the knees.” n
Raves and Faves
Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson shares some top picks (and guilty pleasures)
Favorite summer blockbuster: Independence Day
“It’s not the best movie, but I have distinct memories of being thirteen and seeing the posters for months before. It seemed like the biggest thing I’d ever seen in my life. It holds a special place in my heart.”
Favorite play: Angels in America
“I first read it on the BC campus with my professor Scott Cummings. I’ve seen it on stage a couple of times, but the TV miniseries with MaryLouise Parker and Meryl Streep is really an all-timer for me.”
Favorite movie (sort of): Children of Men
“It’s an eerily prescient look at civilizational collapse, but that’s not a very fun answer. So, you know what? I’m going to say Jurassic Park because I’ve seen it the most times.”
Most underrated TV show: The Leftovers
“It should have a way bigger fan base than it does. It's a cult favorite, but ought to be held up as among the best TV ever made. I feel the same way about Enlightened.”
Hot Ticket
There’s nothing like a sold-out game at sports-mad BC. Just ask head of ticket sales Jim O’Neill.
BY REID OSLIN
As the associate athletics director for ticket operations at Boston College, Jim O’Neill has spent the past thirty-seven years overseeing ticket sales for all Eagle teams. During that time, he has supervised the sale of millions of tickets across hundreds of sellouts…and endured countless pleas from disappointed fans who couldn’t get passes to the big game. As we look forward to fall and Boston College football’s blockbuster 2025 home schedule, we caught up with the man on the other side of BC’s ticket sales window.
What’s the toughest ticket at BC? It’s any time we play Notre Dame here in football. The first time that we played them at BC was right after Alumni Stadium had been rebuilt [an October 8, 1994, game that BC won 30–11]. That was a very, very tough ticket. We’re playing Notre Dame at Alumni again this year, and my phone is already ringing. BC and Duke in basketball has been a tough ticket lately, but back in the days of the old Big East Conference, games against Georgetown and Syracuse were instant sellouts. Those were great games—BC was often nationally ranked in those years. And any time you have BC-BU in hockey, it’s a big
game. In the old Boston Garden, the Beanpot tickets were tough ones to get.
How did you end up in ticket sales? I always wanted to work in sports. I wound up in the sports management program at the University of Massachusetts and became a student manager for the UMass basketball team. In my senior year, one of my responsibilities was taking care of the game tickets for the players and staff. After I graduated, I went to West Point. Army was having a resurgence in football, and they realized that they needed more help in their ticket office. They created a position for me. While I
was working there, Army installed the new Paciolan computer-based ticketing system, and I learned it inside and out. To this day Paciolan is still the leader in college athletics. We use it here at BC.
What was BC like when you arrived in 1988? When I got to BC, Conte Forum had just opened, and the entire athletics operation moved in. I always like to say that Conte Forum and I started at the same time. Back in those days, your whole stadium was printed tickets. Boxes and boxes of them. Every game, every section, every row, every seat. We had these enormous filing cabinets, divided up by game and section order. Once you got an order, you would go and pull the tickets and mail them out. It seems so archaic now, but that’s what it was like.
How have things changed since then? Now, everything is in an electronic, digital format. If a person loses tickets now, if they were purchased through the venue or an authorized seller, we can track them and probably take care of it. It’s all based on bar codes now—if the ticket scans, you’re in. If it doesn’t, you’re out. That’s today’s ticket business world.
Nearly four decades later, how do you feel about taking the job at BC? The two best decisions in my life were coming up here to BC—no, maybe that was the best one, because that’s how I met and later married [in 1991] my wife, Kathleen [Grady]. Kathleen was the secretary to BC football coaches Jack Bicknell and Tom Coughlin. We got married at St. Ignatius Church and had our wedding reception in McElroy Commons. Kathleen is a double Eagle; she finished both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees while working in the football office. Our son, Trevor, graduated from BC last May and is now at Washington & Lee Law School. When I came to BC, I never expected to be here for thirty-seven years. This has been a great place to work, and it’s a great community. It has all turned out so well. We have no regrets whatsoever. I’ve got a lifetime of memories, a lifetime of friends, both inside and outside of the athletics world. BC is a place that I love. n
photo: Lee Pellegrini
At Home—and Everywhere
Shannon Doherty ’06 is redefining domestic bliss for her millions of social media followers.
BY ELIZABETH CLEMENTE
One day in 2020, Shannon Doherty ’06 decided to transform her career. The boutique shops she owned had closed during the pandemic, so Doherty, inspired by a business influencer she followed on TikTok, tapped into her passion for crafting and decorating to launch her own social media channels from her Connecticut kitchen. Five years later, she has built her social media handle, At Home with Shannon, into an online empire by sharing fun and ingeniously simple ideas for decorating, cooking, and entertaining with her 2.2 million followers on TikTok and another 1.5 million across Instagram and Facebook. Her quick and clever videos generate staggering online engagement. In March, for instance, one twenty-second clip of Doherty gluing colorful paper plates into the shape of flowers garnered twenty million views on Facebook within just a few days. She’s earned the attention of national TV audiences too, appearing on shows like Good Morning America, Today, and Live with Kelly and Mark. Whereas many other content creators make their every post and project look oh-so-perfect, Doherty, a busy mom of four, stands out by sharing simple, smart ideas that come straight from the heart. “It’s my real life,” she said. “I try to make it feel very accessible, that you could do it because I could do it.” We asked Doherty to share a few tips for planning a summer party.
A COOL IDEA FOR PARTY PREP:
“Get a muffin tray and put a cupcake liner and a scoop of ice cream in each hole. Put the tray in your freezer. On party day, you’ll have twelve ice creams already scooped. Just pop cones on top and throw the liners away.”
COLORFUL FOURTH OF JULY FLORALS:
“Fill three mason jars with water. Put in white flowers. Add red food coloring to the water in one jar, and blue to another. In a few hours, those flowers will change color.”
FAST FOLLOWS
At Home with Shannon isn’t the only alum-run account worth following on social media. Here are a few other Eagle influencers on Instagram and TikTok.
FOOD: @ZackaryEats
Doctor by day and foodie by night, Zack Park ’17 seems to have a Boston or NYC restaurant recommendation for every craving, from “New Asian-French Bakery” to “Must-Try Seafood Boil.” He serves them up to about 40,000 hungry followers.
FITNESS: @GymHooky
Featured on Good Morning America for her encouraging approach to home workouts, Ariel Belgrave ’11 keeps nearly 150,000 followers motivated with exercise ideas, fitness tips, and glimpses of travel to wellness retreats she produces.
FAITH: @JamesMartinSJ
James Martin, SJ, the bestselling author, magazine editor, and Clough School of Theology and Ministry graduate, offers his modern Catholic perspective on contemporary issues to outlets like ABC News and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and to some 170,000 followers.
UPGRADED ICE CUBES:
“Use balloon expansion pliers to open a balloon and put the head of a flower inside. Fill the balloon with water and freeze it. When ready, rip the balloon off and you’ll have pretty ice cubes with flowers inside.”
“FORE!”: @kclairerogers
Director of social media for Golf magazine, Claire Rogers ’18 shares “The Scoop,” her series of ice cream social–style interviews with the PGA’s top players, on her personal Instagram account. Nearly 18,000 fans follow along.
Documenting a Crime Drama
After closely covering the Karen Read trials, TV reporter Kristina Rex ’15 is lending her insights to a major new documentary about the case.
BY ELIZABETH CLEMENTE
As a news reporter and anchor for Boston’s local CBS station, Kristina Rex ’15 has spent nearly a decade chronicling countless stories. But only one thrust her into the national spotlight. Last year, Rex began covering the trial of Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman accused of murdering her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, on a snowy night in January 2022. Read claims she was framed, and the controversial case has generated years of national media attention, true crime podcast episodes, and social media chatter that reached a crescendo last summer when a judge declared a mistrial. The entire ordeal is chronicled in a new documentary streaming on Max, A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read, and Rex is featured in several episodes providing her expert insights. Rex has also reported on Read’s retrial, which began in April, and we spoke to her about what it’s like covering a major crime story with the nation watching.
When did you first realize that the public fascination with this case was bigger than anything you’d covered before? I’m not sure I really expected the number of people who would be there, in person, at court every day. Showing up to court and seeing dozens to hundreds of people gathered outside gave me a realization: Whoa, this is not like typical cases I cover. Also, people knew who I was because they were paying such close attention to our coverage, and that’s not typical either.
What has it been like to cover the striking details of this case? So much of the testimony was people airing out their dirty laundry, and those moments were unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. For instance, a witness having to read his flirty texts to Karen Read on the stand, and listening to Karen Read’s drunken voicemails that she left John O’Keefe. Those are personal, bad moments in someone’s life that you don’t ever expect to get aired out in court and on national television. If those moments felt awkward for people watching
at home, the tension in the tiny courtroom was indescribable.
How did you react when you were approached for the documentary? My first reaction was twofold. I was like, wow, what a cool opportunity, and also, that is so frightening in this polarizing case. I didn’t know if I wanted to put myself in it, because the cardinal rule of journalism is, “Don’t make yourself the story.”
What kind of feedback have you received from viewers? I’ve gotten comments from across the spectrum, but a lot are like, “Hey, I just watched you in the HBO documentary and I still can’t tell what side you’re on.” I’m like, “that’s the point.”
What has covering this case taught you about journalism? These are things I knew beforehand, but it really solidified them. One is you need to have thick skin, and another is you need to stay above the fray. Facts matter, and people’s opinions are not facts. It’s a case where no two people think the same thing happened. There’s so many theories, and my job is to focus on what is true and provable, or is at least part of the evidence in court, and not rumors.
You were also in law school while covering this trial. How did your studies affect your perspective on the trial? With everything I’ve learned in school, I can fly through court documents now. When a decision comes in, I can read and understand it. I know what’s happening in the courtroom in a way I’m not sure I would have four years ago.
How does it feel to have gained a new level of recognition through covering this case? It’s an amazing opportunity. I feel kind of weird saying that, because it’s a horribly tragic situation. At the same time, I feel like in most journalists’ careers there is that one story that gives you the opportunity to really prove that you’re good at your job, and so I’m grateful that this has been mine. n
photo: Jim Campos
It’s Really Expensive, but Why?
In his new book, BC professor Henrik Hagtvedt shines a critical light on the economics of the art world.
BY SCOTT KEARNAN
Art isn’t only a matter of aesthetics. In a world where the most highly priced works can sell for millions, it’s also a big business—one that is shaped by market forces that many people never consider. They should, says Henrik Hagtvedt, an associate professor of marketing at the Carroll School of Management.
In his new book Money and Marketing in the Art World, Hagtvedt, a former full-time artist, offers a revealing look at why some contemporary artworks are valued so highly. Using marketing research and insights, he argues that talent and technical skill are now often irrelevant. Rather, he writes, it’s the power of publicity and the allure of eye-popping price tags that woo moneyed buyers, and ultimately influence much of what we see in galleries and museums.
“Conspicuous consumption is huge in the contemporary art market,” Hagtvedt said. “It’s about the making of art as an event, rather than the making of well-crafted art itself.” Before technological advancements like computers made it faster and easier for just about anyone to make art, he said, the time, labor, and talent of an artist were more dearly prized. But these days, coming up with a conceptual stunt, or simply attaching a hefty price tag to a piece, are ways for an artist to stand out and make money. Consider, for example, a two-hundred-pound pile of candy by artist Félix González-Torres that sold for $4.5 million at an auction in 2010.
There’s cultural cachet in being the person who owns a pricey work like that, Hagtvedt explained. “Today, people want something that makes you wonder, ‘Why on Earth does this cost so much money?’” he said. “That raises eyebrows and gets press, and people are willing to pay a lot for it. If buyers want it, it winds up in galleries—and this becomes a selfreinforcing circle.”
Born in Norway and trained as a visual artist in Florence, Hagtvedt built a successful career exhibiting work across Europe and Asia. But he became disillusioned by the art world, watching many gifted artists struggle while others with dubious merit made millions. Hagtvedt decided to shift careers and study business, a field that he said is “at least honest about wanting to make money.” That’s in contrast to the “quasi-intellectualism” of the art world, he said. “A lot of people shove the market forces under the carpet and pretend this is just a world of brilliant people we don’t understand.” He continued, “I just want transparency. A lot of public money is used to subsidize museums and galleries. I think it’s important for people to understand how and why some pieces are presented.” n
Artistic Values
Professor Henrik Hagtvedt on three famous works whose sky-high prices have earned wide attention.
Fountain, Marchel Duchamp (1917). Top sale: $1.76 million. “It’s an ordinary urinal he decided to call an artwork. Many consider it the most influential modern artwork of all time. I consider it a marker in time. If that was an artwork, anything can be. After that, there were no longer any boundaries to break in that regard.”
Balloon Dog series, Jeff Koons (1994–2000). Top sale: $58.4 million. “Koons has pretty much said, ‘This is kitsch stuff for fun.’ It’s other people who shower profundity upon it. He’s a proficient marketer who has never tried to hide that. That’s part of his charm. I respect that aspect of him.”
Comedian, Maurizio Cattelan (2019). Top sale: $6.2 million. “A banana taped to a wall that gained a ton of attention because it’s nonsensical. There’s no quality, no great idea, certainly no great execution. People wonder why it creates buzz and that’s exactly what they want. The stature of the artist has been raised.”
photo illustration: Keith Ake; photo: Lee Pellegrini (Hagtvedt)
Linden Lane // Research
Taking On Big Chemical
With children’s health in the balance, BC researchers are leading a charge to regulate man-made chemicals.
BY ALIX HACKETT
According to an alarming new report led by Boston College researchers, an act as simple as drinking water could lead to serious health problems for children—including birth defects, brain disease, and cancer—thanks to the unchecked production of chemicals that have become ubiquitous in the environment. “Chemicals should no longer be presumed harmless until proven otherwise,” the researchers wrote in their report, which was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine and which calls for bold global action, including new precautionary laws and regulations. The measures they’re calling for would, among other things, require chemical manufacturers to establish through independent testing that chemicals are not toxic to humans before they enter the marketplace. As it stands, the chemical industry “endangers the world’s children and threatens humanity’s capacity for reproduction,” the authors warned in the report. “Inaction is no longer an option.”
Synthetic chemicals are derived from fossil fuels and used in everything from plastic bottles to plant fertilizer, and traces of them have been discovered in the farthest reaches of the planet, from the Himalayan glaciers to the Mariana Trench. They also wind up in the human body through the food we eat, the air we breathe, and absorption through the skin. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates that the average American’s bloodstream contains at least two hundred manufactured chemicals. The potential for toxicity is particularly concerning when it comes to children, accord-
ing to the new NEJM report’s lead author, Boston College epidemiologist and pediatrician Philip Landrigan, who has spent a career researching the links between synthetic substances and disease. “Children drink seven times as much water per pound of body weight as you or I and breathe four times as much
death among children today. According to the report, childhood cancer has increased 35 percent since 1950, while pediatric asthma has tripled in prevalence, and neurodevelopmental disorders now affect one out of every six children. Studies continue to highlight links between exposure to synthetic
air. If there are any toxic materials, they’re going to get more.” Landrigan said that when he started out as a pediatrician in the 1970s, the number of manufactured chemicals hovered around 60,000. Today, it has risen to 325,000, and is expected to triple by 2050.
The rapid proliferation of these chemicals coincides with an alarming rise in noncommunicable diseases, which are the leading causes of illness and
chemicals and chronic illness, and Landrigan believes the problem could be much worse than is understood because nearly 80 percent of manufactured chemicals have never been tested for toxicity. “We know that there are chemicals out there that are harming people whose harms we have not yet discovered,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Landrigan has taken on powerful industries in the name of public health. In the late ’70s,
his research was a major factor in the EPA’s decision to remove lead from paint and gasoline, and a decade later, he exposed the impact of chemicals found in pesticides on children’s health, persuading Congress to revamp the federal pesticide law. At Boston College, Landrigan directs the Global Observatory on Planetary Health, which is working with the United Nations on an international treaty to end plastic pollution.
To launch his fight against the chemical industry, Landrigan brought in colleagues from across the University, including Thomas Chiles, BC’s vice provost for research and academic planning; environmental law scholar David Wirth; and epidemiologist Kurt Straif. Along with twenty-one other researchers from universities such as Duke and Johns Hopkins, they formed the Consortium for Children’s Environmental Health and spent two years pulling together existing scientific studies and developing a plan. “Going up against these enormous, highly influential companies is hard,” Chiles said. “But if you look at Phil Landrigan, he’s been able to do it. He does what we always teach our students: Get the science behind you and then go lobby.”
In the consortium’s report, the researchers call for sweeping new laws requiring manufacturers to test chemicals for toxicity before they reach the market, and to continually monitor products to identify any long-term health effects. “It doesn't make any sense for scientists to be discovering these connections decades after people have developed diseases,” Landrigan said. “We should be screening chemicals beforehand and keeping the bad actors out of the market.” n
Change Agent
McKinsey’s Shelley Stewart III ’06 believes strong business and social impact go hand in hand.
BY EMILY GOLD BOUTILIER
Shelley Stewart III is one of the top executives at McKinsey and Co., the largest and arguably most influential of the “Big Three” management consulting firms. Stewart helps to run a company that has forty-five thousand global employees, annual revenues of $16 billion, and a client list that spans the world’s most powerful businesses, governments, and nonprofits. A senior partner, he has three distinct roles at McKinsey, and they overlap at a single point: the idea that corporate profits can be a societal good.
“I believe that growth of companies fuels broad value creation in society,” Stewart said on a Tuesday afternoon in April. Growth creates jobs and wealth, he explained. “The total of the individual things that we do as a firm must sum up to a world that has more opportunity, where more people are more prosperous, more happy.”
In his role as global leader of reputation
and engagement, which is akin to a chief marketing and communications officer, Stewart is in charge of everything from the company’s pro bono work and charitable giving to McKinsey Global Publishing, whose articles, videos, and podcasts about McKinsey research and insights reach a monthly audience of millions. He also advises McKinsey clients in industries such as private equity, manufacturing, and telecommunications on how to grow and transform, helping them think about, for instance, product launches, market share, and new technology.
In addition, Stewart is the cofounder and chair of the Institute for Economic Mobility, a McKinsey think tank and research group that after initially focusing on Black economic advancement has broadened to address Latino and rural Americans—groups that today have less economic mobility than many others in the country.
Stewart said his work is motivated by his upbringing. “I grew up with a sense of obligation to serve people as part of what I do,” he said. After attending segregated schools on Long Island, New York, Stewart’s father became the first in his family to go to college. “My grandfather had to sit-in and be arrested so that my dad could get a decent education.” Stewart said he was raised to consider both that sacrifice and his own privilege. After majoring in economics at BC, Stewart earned an MBA from Columbia and later added a master’s in public administration from Harvard.
“I didn’t go off and join the Peace Corps, and I’m not working for free at McKinsey—I don’t want to portray it that way,” he said. But, he continued, he learned from his family that, “regardless of what you’re doing, you have to find a way to help people who are less well off, less privileged, who have less access than you do.”
Stewart believes that we must go big on developing and scaling new technologies and approaches that can improve the lives of everyone. Take, for example, generative artificial intelligence. According to McKinsey research, generative AI could add the equivalent of $2.6 trillion to the global economy by 2040. “For the United States, which dominates generative AI investment, it could boost labor productivity and economic growth,” Stewart wrote in an article for Forbes.com last year.
At the same time, Stewart acknowledged that investments like these must be handled strategically, if all people are to benefit from their promise. In the case of generative AI, that requires supporting workers who might otherwise be displaced: During a CNBC interview earlier this year, Stewart warned that 60 percent of entry-level jobs will be “severely impacted” by generative AI, and Black Americans, who are disproportionately represented in entry-level jobs, are among those likely to be the most affected. But he is optimistic that companies will be able to identify transferable skills and proactively retrain workers to meet future needs, in part thanks to a methodology McKinsey has developed.
Finding opportunities to link business success to human advancement is exactly what keeps Stewart energized and inspired in his work. “If we invest upstream to foster more economic mobility, the payoff for society is massive,” Stewart said. “Yes, there are short-term costs, but the ROI is quite high.” n
A New Way to Work?
BC Professor Juliet Schor’s latest book challenges the wisdom of the five-day workweek.
BY SCOTT KEARNAN
What could life look like if we worked fewer hours for the same amount of money? That’s the question Juliet Schor, an economist and professor of sociology at Boston College, and a team of researchers set out to answer with a landmark study in 2022. In her new book, Four Days a Week: The Life-Changing Solution for Reducing Employee Stress, Improving Well-Being, and Working Smarter, Schor lays out in detail what she and the team have learned so far from their ongoing study, in which they monitored hundreds of companies from around the world that agreed to adopt a shorter workweek. Following the implementation of a four-day, thirtytwo-hour workweek with no reduction in pay, Schor writes, employees surveyed in the study were significantly happier, better rested, and less stressed, while many companies that participated reported higher revenue
Great Resignation. “I think the common sense about the feasibility of a four-day workweek flipped,” Schor said. “More and more employers are now wondering, ‘Could this work for us?’”
and less turnover. In fact, after one year, more than 90 percent of the companies were sticking with a four-day workweek. With an extra day off, Schor said, “everybody benefits.”
Schor has been recognized as a leading expert on labor since at least the 1992 publication of her book, The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, which explored the dramatic increase in working hours despite the proliferation of time-saving technologies in workplaces. She began the research behind Four Days a Week after witnessing how the pandemic caused employers to rethink just about everything. “Previously, the fourday workweek didn’t feel realistic or achievable,” Schor said. Suddenly, though, more and more companies were adopting new models of remote and hybrid work to keep employees satisfied during the labor shortages of what came to be known as the
To answer that question, Schor and BC Associate Professor of Sociology Wen Fan designed trial studies with an organization called 4 Day Week Global, which was founded by the New Zealand entrepreneur Andrew Barnes, who implemented four-day workweeks at his company after reading that UK office workers were productive for only a couple of hours each workday. The findings presented in Four Days a Week reflect what Schor and her team learned from 245 organizations enrolled in the study, from a 35,000-person hospital chain in New Jersey to a small craft brewery in London. Researchers used employee surveys and interviews to gather insights into worker habits and well-being. Their employers, meanwhile, provided data related to everything from company revenue to employee resignations and sick days taken.
Schor’s book uses both hard numbers and interviews with employees to tell the stories of the transformative effect the trial four-day workweek has had on workers. For instance, 42 percent of employees surveyed by Schor’s team reported improved mental health and 37 percent reported better physical health. What’s more, across
all twenty well-being metrics that were assessed—including levels of burnout, stress, sleep, and life satisfaction—employees reported statistically significant improvements, regardless of gender, race, or occupation.
It turns out that employees can accomplish just as much in four focused days as in five filled with distractions, Schor said, invoking Parkinson’s Law, a labor adage that work expands to fill the time available. In exchange for their efficiency, employees who work four days a week have an additional day off they can use to run errands, attend to the household, spend time with family and friends, and see to other matters that taxed their free time before. And happier, rested employees want to stick around. “Employees are less likely to quit,” she said. “They value their jobs more. They're less burned out, so their healthcare costs are going to be lower. Those are all economic incentives for the firm.”
Schor acknowledged the skeptics who doubt that fourday workweeks could be widely adopted in the US. “Some people think, ‘This couldn’t work in America because we’re a workaholic country,’” she said. “But that’s a relatively modern development. For about a century, the US was the world leader in work-time reduction. We were first to a five-day week.” It wasn’t until the 1980s and ’90s, when labor unions saw a decline in power, she said, that working hours started increasing.
Looking ahead, Schor believes that artificial intelligence will be a “game-changer for productivity,” and strengthen the case for four-day weeks. Her book also considers whether shorter workweeks, which cut down on commuting, could curb carbon emissions in a time of climate crisis. Maybe, as Schor writes, the best argument is this: “The four-day week now feels like common sense.” n
photo: Lee Pellegrini
Plot Twist
Mike Lupica ’74 leaves his prints on an iconic detective.
Mike Lupica never imagined he’d one day step into the literary shoes of his friend, the late mystery novelist Robert B. Parker. But starting in 2023, Lupica took over writing Parker’s acclaimed Spenser detective series. Now, with Hot Property, the most recent installment, Lupica once again brings his sharp wit, ingenious plotting, and deep affection for Boston to the adventures of the iconic sleuth.
It all began decades ago during Lupica’s days at Boston College, when he picked up the first Spenser page-turner at a local bookstore. “I realized immediately this was different from what anyone else was doing,” recalled Lupica, then a scribe for the campus newspaper. Years later, as a prolific sports columnist, ESPN commentator, and novelist in his own right, Lupica met Parker on the job. They bonded over shared loves of baseball and storytelling. Parker passed away in 2010.
In 2018, Lupica, who separately cowrites James Patterson thrillers, began writing new entries in Parker’s Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone series. Eventually, he took over Spenser too. Hot Property, Lupica’s second Spenser outing, revolves around a high-stakes bidding war for a coveted piece of Boston real estate, with a timely dash of political corruption.
Lupica said he found it easy to slip into Spenser’s identity. What makes the character endure after fifty-two novels and counting, he said, is simple: “He’s funny, he lives by a code, and he wants to make things right—even when he has to cross lines to do it.” That sense of honor, humor, and New England grit runs through Lupica’s own story too. “Everything I’ve achieved professionally started with the fact that I’m a Boston College man,” he said. Now, as the torchbearer for one of crime fiction’s most legendary characters, that story has come full circle. Scott Kearnan
BRIEFLY
White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton, JD’94
Easton’s debut novel is a tender portrait of Miyoung, an eleven-year-old girl who leaves a life of poverty in 1930s Korea to build a more promising future in Japan. As she enters adulthood, Miyoung navigates struggles reflecting the real-life experiences of Easton’s grandmother, including religious persecution and the suppression of her Korean identity.
Inventing the Boston Game by Mike Cronin, academic director of Boston College Ireland, and Kevin Tallec Marston
In the 1860s, a group of private school classmates, calling themselves the Oneida Football Club, met on Boston Common to play a game they later claimed to be the first example of organized American football. Was it really, though? In this thoroughly researched work of nonfiction, the authors attempt to parse football’s true origins and examine whether the Oneida players’ upper-class status allowed them to manufacture an inflated legacy.
Justice Under God by Christopher J. Muse, BC adjunct professor of law
In 1986, the Massachusetts man Bobby Joe Leaster was exonerated after fifteen years of wrongful imprisonment for a murder and armed robbery he did not commit. In Justice Under God, Muse, a retired Massachusetts Superior Court judge, details his and his father’s nine years of pro bono appeal work on behalf of Leaster, whose story was instrumental in thwarting efforts to reinstate capital punishment in the state.
Eurotrash translation by Daniel Bowles, BC associate professor
Bowles’s English translation of Christian Kracht’s acclaimed, tragicomic Swiss novel has been heralded in the Washington Post and longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize. Originally written in German, Eurotrash follows a young man as he grapples with his family’s dark past, including its ties to Nazism, while on a cross-continental road trip with his elderly mother after her release from a psychiatric institute. —Elizabeth Clemente
WHAT I’M READING
A Thousand Threads: A Memoir by Neneh Cherry
“This is the personal story of the iconic artist and her journey in life, love, and music. I was fourteen when I first heard Cherry’s song ‘Buffalo Stance,’ and I was drawn to her style, the stories she told in her songs, and the way she carried herself. In this book, Cherry brings us into her unconventional upbringing and how she found herself as an artist and performer. For me, reading is not just for pleasure but also a way to step outside my comfort zone and lived experience.”
—Tori Weston, assistant director, pre-college programs and BC Summer Session
The Comeback
Once a star BC football player, Sean Guthrie ’01 found a winning second half as a respected school leader.
IBY MICHAEL BLANDING
N FALL 2006, Sean Guthrie ’01, MEd ’14, found himself in the last place he expected— standing in front of a group of students at a Boston public school. A few months earlier, he’d witnessed the collapse of his childhood dream come true, a career in the NFL. Unsure of what to do next, he’d agreed to give a presentation to students about professional sports. After his talk, he sat in on a math class where a teacher was struggling to explain how to solve algebraic equations.
“Is it okay if I try?” Guthrie asked the teacher. Soon, he was showing students how to cancel out variables. The students began to grasp the concept, and one of them turned to the teacher and said, “Why didn’t you teach us to do it that way? It’s so easy.” A rush came over Guthrie he could only compare to the feeling of sacking a quarterback. “I’ll never forget it,” Guthrie said. “The spark just went off.”
That moment started Guthrie down a different path than the one he’d laid out for himself back when he started out as a defensive end in high school, became a captain of the BC football team, and played in the NFL. With professional football now behind him, Guthrie would become a teacher. He spent eight years in public schools before returning to his alma mater in 2014 to earn a master’s at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. Now, he serves as assistant head of school at the Fessenden School, a private boys’ academy in West Newton, Massachusetts, where he’s transferred the leadership skills he learned on the gridiron to a new passion for shaping young minds.
A jubilant Sean Guthrie in 2001, moments after recording the game-saving sack to preserve BC’s 21–17 victory over Notre Dame at Alumni Stadium.
GROWING UP IN MIAMI in a working-class neighborhood sandwiched between housing projects, Guthrie excelled at basketball and football. His mother, Harieta, who came from Fiji, was a public-school teacher who always had chicken and rice simmering on the stove for neighbors or needy students to share. “She taught me the importance of community and family— everybody would always come to our house for a meal,” Guthrie said, sitting in his office at Fessenden in a puffy blue vest over a shirt and tie. He projected a quiet charisma, with a natural calm that belied his six-foot-four, 290-pound frame.
His father, Ian, from Jamaica, was an army vet who never complained about hard work. After Hurricane Andrew decimated the neighborhood, Ian repaired the family’s house himself. Then he used the insurance money to buy a nearby fixer-upper, waking Guthrie up early during the summer and school vacations to help with the work. “He taught me discipline, a dedication to getting the task done,” Guthrie said.
He was good at math but Guthrie said he didn’t apply himself at Christopher Columbus High School, dreaming instead of becoming a sports star. By sophomore year, his coaches were telling him he had a chance at Division I football. Guthrie had never heard of BC, but his father knew about the Eagles from the “Miracle in Miami,” Doug Flutie’s legendary 1984 Hail Mary victory pass. Guthrie accepted BC’s offer of a scholarship.
Then 220 pounds, he was a little small at defensive end, and red-shirted his freshman year to bulk up while playing on the scouting team to help the starters prepare for games. “I always gave it my best effort, and they didn’t like that,” Guthrie recalled. “The other guys wanted to take it a little easy, and we even got in some fights about it.” He persevered, however, and was rewarded with the Scouting Team Award for hardest-working player. “It’s still one of the awards I’m proudest of,” he said.
Over the next three years, his grit led him up the ranks to captain. His most memorable moment came during a 2001 home game against Notre Dame that started with him breaking through the line but missing a sack. Toward the end of the game, however, Notre Dame was within yards of a winning touchdown when Guthrie once again broke through. Guthrie barreled into the quarterback, throwing him to the ground to close out the game as the sellout crowd went wild. Guthrie wasn’t selected in the 2002 NFL draft, but he remained optimistic about his chances to establish himself in the league after signing as a free agent with the New York Giants. Then he tore his patellar tendon and was sidelined for his entire rookie season. He made the best of it, working an internship at Loews Hotels while rehabbing in Miami, but it was a hard year being without a team for the first time. After that, his knee was never quite the same, and he drifted from the Giants to the Indianapolis Colts and then the Washington Redskins. By 2006, he had to admit his dream wasn’t going to happen. “I gave this everything I had, and had no regrets,” he said. “But I was ready to try something new.”
AFTER THAT MATH CLASS back in 2006, the school’s assistant principal asked Guthrie if he’d consider teaching summer school for students who needed to pass math to graduate. Guthrie accepted the offer and felt another burst of pride when all his students passed. “They were literally jumping up and fist pumping,” Guthrie recalled. Inspired, he accepted several long-term substitute teaching positions around Boston, finding that he was a natural in the classroom. His unflappable demeanor and the caring approach that he learned from his mother seemed to help him reach even the most difficult students. “Some people can get triggered when someone says things that are disrespectful to them, but I have the mentality that everyone wants to be happy and thrive if given the opportunity,” he said. By refusing to take their disruptions personally, he earned respect from students. “They could sense I really cared on a deep level about them being successful—not just in math, but in life.”
Guthrie spent the next several years teaching in Boston and Cambridge public schools. He then returned to BC in 2014, enrolling at the Lynch School to earn his master’s of education through the Donovan Urban Teaching Scholars Program, a yearlong fellowship that equips teachers to provide high-quality education in urban schools. In addition to lessons in pedagogy and child psychology, he learned to connect with a broader range of students through a placement at a Cambridge middle school. When he struggled to connect with a student there from Denmark who was failing math, Guthrie first discovered that the boy was a Harry Potter fan and then watched the movies for a week, coming back with a new language to reach him.
Guthrie continued to teach at the middle school after graduating with his master’s degree. The principal noticed Guthrie’s students were coming into his office less frequently than others, and made him sixth-grade team leader, encouraging him to become a principal himself. In 2016, he took a position as an assistant principal at a Boston school.
The following year, Guthrie became the principal of the Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot School in Boston. The school was partnering with outside organizations to offer electives including coding, robotics, and boat building, but Guthrie observed that many students were being left behind in the classroom as teachers focused on the more successful kids. Assistant principal Jonathan Scott said Guthrie worked to institute a culture of helping every student succeed, while hiring more teachers of color to serve as role models for the largely minority student body. “He was a change agent,” Scott said. “He really believed in social justice through academic excellence and responsible leadership—and would repeat that ad nauseam.” Guthrie butted heads with some teachers who resisted the new culture, Scott said, but he never did so aggressively. “He’s a huge guy, but I’ve never seen him raise his voice, no matter what. He was very data-driven. He wanted to attack problems, not personalities.”
The job began to overwhelm Guthrie, however, as he often spent nights and weekends transporting students to various events, or even dealing with the police on their behalf. Eventually, the pressure took its toll on Guthrie, who has six kids with his wife Natalia (Danglade) Guthrie ’01. “It’s a lot more than a school. You are a psychologist, father figure, a counselor with parents,” he said. “My blood pressure was through the roof.”
In 2019, Guthrie took a new job as head of middle school at Fessenden, a very different environment, with a campus of red brick buildings and blossoming trees, and lab spaces with modern science equipment. He was leery at first about teaching in such a privileged environment, but realized he had a lot to contribute.
“I understand the challenges of low-income students on a deep level, but these students have their own challenges—learning differences, ADHD, the pressure from parents,” he said. “What drew me was the emphasis on character education and core values, helping students learn how to make the right decisions.”
When he first arrived, the school was having difficulties with rambunctious students wrestling in the hallways. Guthrie made the decision, controversial in some corners, to allow them to channel that energy into playing tackle football at recess. “But it’s under my rules, and once I hit the whistle, it’s over,” he told them. The activity became instantly popular, with one student even creating player cards for his peers. Guthrie also instituted a student of the week program to honor an exemplary pupil, and drew on his sports background to create weekly meetings for students to reflect on goals and achievements.
Soon, discipline infractions were plummeting and a new sense of purpose was emerging among students. “It had a big impact on the culture of taking pride in the things we do,” said Rory Sanborn, Fessenden’s athletic director. “Fostering the idea of doing the right thing and acknowledging it when you see it made it something that others really sought to do.”
IN 2021, GUTHRIE’S LIFE came full circle when he found himself in Alumni Stadium again—this time to accept an honorary degree from BC as Doctor of Humane Letters “for his accomplishments as an educator and his dedication to improving the lives of children.” The following year, he was promoted to assistant head of school at Fessenden.
Guthrie, then, has firmly established himself as an academic leader, but he’s never let himself get too far from football. He helps coach at Fessenden, and last year he was named director of player development for the BC football program. In that role, he applies what he’s learned from teaching and leadership to help players develop skills on and off the field. In one recent program, for example, players were taught to examine how their inner monologue affected their performance, and to consider how they could manage negative thoughts for themselves and their teammates.
Reflecting on his career, Guthrie marveled at the twisting path that led him away from Alumni Stadium and all the way back. “It’s hard to see it when you are going through it. But all those characteristics I picked up from my mom and dad and coaches along the way helped guide me to the next thing,” he said. These days, his focus is on recruiting and developing teachers, and helping them thrive in their careers. But he still experiences that rush of elation when he sees a student succeed, and he feels like he just sacked the quarterback before a hometown crowd. “It really goes back to that feeling I had teaching that math lesson,” he says, “those ‘aha’ moments of being able to improve people’s lives.” n
photo: Caitlin Cunningham
Guthrie at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development in 2014, leading a presentation on how teachers can create an inclusive and tolerant classroom environment.
“If
you don’t know how to wipe away tears, or give a hug, or give encouragement to your child, then you haven’t learned what a BC education is all about.”
A Conversation with Jack Butler, SJ, Boston College’s
Next President
by Jack Dunn photography by J a son grow
In february , the Boston College Board of Trustees elected John T. “Jack” Butler, SJ, as the University’s twenty-sixth president. Fr. Butler, who is currently the Haub Vice President for University Mission and Ministry, will assume the position in the summer of 2026, succeeding Boston College President William P. Leahy, SJ, who will step down after three decades of service.
Fr. Butler arrived at BC in 2002 and has been an influential member of the president’s senior leadership team since 2010. He has helped to design and lead the University’s commitment to formative education, which encourages students to develop their gifts in the service of others, and since 2019 has worked with University Advancement to raise nearly $40 million to support academics and student life at BC. An Atlanta native, Fr. Butler graduated from St. Thomas University with a degree in religious studies, and received a master’s degree in theology from Providence College before entering the Society of Jesus in 1991. He earned both a master’s degree and a doctorate in pastoral counseling from Loyola University Maryland, and a licentiate in sacred theology from the Clough School of Theology and Ministry.
For all his accomplishments as a higher education leader, however, what Fr. Butler may be best known for around campus is his warmth, gentle humor, and compassion. A gifted speaker and homilist, he has inspired many BC students to find their calling, and he is frequently invited to address students, staff, alumni, and parents at lectures, discussions, retreats, and reunions.
We recently spoke to Fr. Butler about his vision for Boston College, what he’s learned about leadership from Fr. Leahy, and how his upbringing helped shape him as a person and a priest.
The following conversation has been condensed and lightly edited.
What was it like for you when you received the news that you would be BC’s next president?
I found it exciting and humbling. The idea of presiding over a family, a community that I have worked in for twenty-three years and that I love and want to care for, was a bit daunting. It is a great deal of responsibility, but I am honored to have been chosen. In my prayers, I have always drawn great comfort from God in the idea that I am supposed to do what I have always done. And I really do see my job as caring for this University and, therefore, caring for the individuals who comprise it. Yes, I want Boston College to be a top-flight academic institution. I want us to be leaders in formative education. I want us to have a great athletics program. But ultimately, my job is to love this family that God has given me, and if I do that well, hopefully it will be inspiring and enable us to continue on our upward trajectory.
What are BC’s greatest strengths?
Our greatest strength by far is the BC community itself. We have a remarkable Boston College family, from our alumni right through to our employees and, of course, our students. The faculty is at the heart of the University. I am proud of them and what they do for our students. We also have a beautiful campus in a vibrant city. But the best thing about Boston College is our commitment to formative education. It is a distinctive kind of education, and that is one of our greatest strengths for sure.
And BC’s biggest challenges?
Right now, higher education is under assault from many different directions. There are concerns with funding from the federal government for research and financial grants and loans for students. College athletics is also changing right before our eyes. How is that going to be
resolved and funded? Also, the number of college-age children is decreasing, and Catholic higher education is in a period of transformation. Many of our smaller Catholic schools are going out of business. So, there is a lot of flux within higher education, and these are major challenges for us right now.
Boston College has emerged as a national leader in formative education, and you are one of its main architects. How has formative education transformed the BC student experience?
Formative education comes out of the Jesuit tradition. It is an education with a heart, a soul, and an imagination, meaning you become educated not for an end in and of itself, but to learn how to live life, to enjoy life, to find joy. It is an education that helps you learn how to handle disappointment and frustration. One that makes you more resilient. It teaches you to take responsibility
for the world around you, your life, and the lives of the people with whom you are going to engage. And lastly, formative education is an education with an imagination. How can you envision a future? How can you envision yourself? How can you see new things, and new possibilities? I tell students, I want you to be a great scholar, engineer, businessperson, nurse, or teacher, but if you don’t know how to wipe away tears, or to give a hug, or to give encouragement to your child, then you haven’t learned what a BC education is all about.
How did your family shape you and help you to become the person you are today?
As proud as I am to be a Jesuit, and as much as being a Jesuit has become the prism through which I understand and live my life, the most important part of my formative education was through my parents, and the family and friends who have been woven into my life. I learned how to love in that nuclear family. My mom and dad taught me about faith without ever reading the Bible to me. They taught me what it meant to make decisions, to be committed to each other, which is the foundation of love. Growing up, we had some difficult times in our lives, but I never knew they were difficult. And looking back on them, I can see how hard they were for my parents, and maybe even how it had some effect on me, but I never felt that I wasn’t cared for or loved, and I never had a time in my life where I felt hopeless. That was all because of them. I think that was the very beginning of my vocation, which allowed me to seek in my heart a deeper way of taking what they gave me and expressing it and living it, and I found that in the Society of Jesus.
You attended Marist High School in Atlanta, played linebacker on the football team, and planned to play college football before injuries shortened your career and forced you to change your plans. What did you learn from that setback?
If I hadn’t been injured, if I hadn’t had parents and friends who challenged me to find a different way to be me, then I don’t know how things would have gone. I am fortunate that I went to an Augustinian school, and they were the ones who said, “It is time to learn how to use your mind and engage your brain.” There is more to life than one path and you need to explore other paths. It was my injuries and not being able to fulfill what I had hoped to do that opened up new horizons, which allowed me to see myself in a different way, to end up doing things I would never even have imagined doing. And so, having the road altered on me showed me how resilient we are, how much God’s love allows us to grow.
What was college like for you?
I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do. I came from a family of faith, so when they asked me what I wanted to study, I told them theology, because I figured God had to
“I have been going to Mass every day for a long time. But working with the incarcerated, I came to find God more easily in prison than in any cathedral I’ve ever walked into in my life.”
a priest. And so, I have freely chosen Jesus, and I haven’t looked back once in thirty-four years.
When you entered the Society of Jesus, you were assigned to social justice ministry, including working with the incarcerated. What did you learn from that experience?
My work with people on the margins, and particularly in prison, taught me that God’s love is all-encompassing. That His love is freely given, and you either receive it or you don’t. I also learned from people in prison how to endure real hardship. How to get up every day and live life to the fullest in conditions that were really difficult and sometimes even inhumane. They taught me resiliency is a real thing, and that faith can give rise to hope. I learned as much, or more, from the people in prison as I was ever able to teach them. I have been going to Mass every day in my life for a long time. That is the center of my prayer. But I came to find God in prison more easily than in any cathedral I’ve ever walked into in my life.
be part of the answer and I could probably get through that. The Augustinians and my lay professors helped me understand that I could be more than I imagined. They pushed me to go beyond what I thought my limits were, when in fact there weren’t any limits at all. Through that experience, I saw how important faculty are in forming students. Because it was the faculty there that allowed me to dream bigger than I had ever dreamed in my life. Even now, at sixty-two, I can still dream big dreams and maybe I haven’t even dreamed big enough yet.
A vocation is an intensely personal experience. Can you describe your calling and what attracted you to religious life?
As a young man, I was surrounded by lots of people who were religious, and priests, all of whom had a great effect on me. But I really wanted to play football, I really wanted to be married, I really wanted to have children. At a very young age, I wrestled with this idea of religious life and priesthood, and it scared me. So, I ran from it. And anytime I thought that I was being pulled to it, I ran in the opposite direction. It was at St. Thomas where I saw these Augustinians who could engage young people that I started to feel even more intensely about it. Then, when I was in grad school, somebody challenged me and said, “When are you going to be brave enough to really explore things you are supposed to explore?” So, I went back to see the Augustinians. They said, “We thought this would happen, we thought you might be back. But you need to go and talk to the Jesuits because we think you have a lot of qualities of a Jesuit.” I talked to the Jesuits, and I fell in love with their vision. It took me until I was twenty-eight to be secure enough and brave enough to be able to say that I wanted to become
For fifteen years you have served as Haub Vice President for University Mission and Ministry. Looking back, what were your proudest accomplishments during those years?
Fr. Joe Appleyard, who was the founding VP, was truly a giant of a Jesuit. He set a foundation that a guy like me could build off. We have since expanded University Mission and Ministry to ten offices, and we work in collaboration with the Provost and the VP for Student Affairs and their two divisions. Our scope is to facilitate not only the mission, heritage, and history of Boston College as a Jesuit, Catholic university, but the implications of formative education across the board for faculty, staff, students, and administrators. That is what I am happiest about.
You meet regularly with Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley and Vice President for Student Affairs Shawna Cooper Whitehead to discuss formative education and address the intersection between academics and the student experience. What have you learned from those meetings? What we do at the University, first and foremost, is educational. The heart of formative education and the number one formator is a faculty member—the person in the classroom. So sharing Jesuit pedagogy, our history, and how Jesuits were taught to engage the intellect and to insert reflection into the curriculum of the different disciplines—that is the number one thing we do here. And then Mission and Ministry and Student Affairs are the laboratories where what students are learning in the classroom is lived out in the residence halls, on the service trips, and on the retreats they experience. The more they take that information and integrate it into the self, the better they are as human beings, the fuller they are
in the expressions of their emotions and feelings. And that is what those meetings are about—how we work together in a way that not only makes us a better community but enhances the learning of our students.
Since 2010, you have also served as chaplain to the BC football team. What has working with studentathletes taught you?
As a frustrated jock who never got to fulfill what he had hoped to do, working with our student-athletes on the football team has allowed me to fill a hole in my life that most people never get to fill. I’d love to be able to tell you that I gave something to them. But in fact, the coaches, and the staff, and most importantly, the players, helped me heal and fulfill a part of this life that was unfulfilled and unresolved. And so, for that alone, I am grateful.
Why is athletics important to the University?
Boston College is about whole-person education— mind, body, and spirit. And so, athletics is another way of educating our students—whether it is intramurals, club, or Division I athletics, they are vitally important to their personal development. And being in the Atlantic Coast Conference and associating with other top-tier universities allows us to have greater exposure than just in the Northeast.
The early Jesuits who founded Boston College chose as the school’s motto the line from the sixth book of Homer’s Iliad, “Ever to Excel.” How has Boston College lived up to its motto and where do you see future opportunities for excellence?
As a university, we punch way above our weight. If you look at our endowment, the size of our faculty, and the different measures we use to compare ourselves to our top competitors, we shouldn’t be doing as well as we are. We shouldn’t be a top-tier research university. And what does that tell me? That our administrators, faculty, and staff are not only dedicated, but they believe in this place, and they believe in our students, and they do heroic work. I think that is “Ever to Excel.” Every year our students get even better. The standardized test scores go up, the GPAs go up, and class ranks go up. Some of our students are already starting companies and nonprofits while at BC. Some are already trying to solve problems and bring solutions to major issues that are going on in the world. Our students are well-rounded. They like to have a social life, but they are excellent in the classroom. They are trying to be full human beings. That to me is “Ever to Excel.”
You have worked closely with Fr. Leahy and his senior leadership team since 2010. What have you learned from him?
Just about everything. I thought I was going to be a therapist. I thought I was going to work with those on the margins, maybe with street gangs and people who are
photos: Justin Knight (top); Caitlin Cunningham (middle and bottom)
Top: Fr. Butler (center) at a 2011 C21 event with BC President Willam P. Leahy, SJ (left) and Jeremy Zipple, SJ. Middle: Fr. Butler attends a 2012 fundraising event at Eagles Deli. Bottom: Fr. Butler distributing communion at the 2024 Mass of the Holy Spirit.
in prison. And then I found myself at Boston College. I found myself under the tutelage of Fr. Leahy who, just like the Augustinians, expanded my horizon about the essential purpose for the ministry of higher education, and the need for higher education in the world today, and then in both theoretical and very practical ways, how you manage, how you lead. He has taught me from the bottom up what a university is and what a Jesuit and Catholic university can be and should be, while giving me the freedom to realize that everybody’s vision is different. And as he has worked with me, he has told me that how I understand things and how I envision Boston
College in the future will be my way, and that I have to have faith in who I am, and in the vision that I have. Well, that is a great gift he has given me.
What are your plans for the coming year?
After a sabbatical, I’d like to talk to presidents at other Jesuit, Catholic schools and at non-faith-based schools. I would like to explore other ways of being in higher ed and dream a bit. And I think the sabbatical will allow that time to renew, refresh, and to dream. Then, from January until graduation in May, I will shadow Fr. Leahy and have discussions with him about implementations
“I found myself at BC, and I found myself under the tutelage of Fr. Leahy, who taught me in both theoretical and practical ways how you manage, how you lead.”
BC just admitted its most impressive class in University history. What advice do you offer to these students as they prepare to begin as first-year students in August of 2025?
trust who you are, get to know yourself a little bit more. Don’t try to get through the four years quickly and easily. Challenge yourself while you’re here. Remember, this is the best place in the world to fail, because we will be there to pick you up and get you to fly again.
What do you like to read?
In the morning I like to read something for my head, either theology or psychology. But at night I just like to read a good story. I like to read about good relationships and good triumphing over evil.
What is the best advice you were ever given?
The best advice I have ever been given has been given to me repeatedly: Be yourself.
Is there something about you that most people don’t know?
I am a true, honest-to-God introvert. Sometimes what God has asked me to do, and what BC has asked me to do, has developed this other person in me. But at my very core, I am an introvert, and I need some quiet and alone time so I can process all the things that happened during the day so I can pray, think about it, and respond to it. It allows me to come to understand that God is always with me, even when I missed Him, and that while the day has come to an end, there is another day ahead, so maybe l will get it right tomorrow.
At the end of your presidency, what do you hope people will say about you?
That he tried to love us and, as imperfect as it might be, that he did his best. n and decisions that are being made, so that after he takes that last graduating class of his presidency and he ushers them into the world and gives them their mission that we Jesuits so value, it will be my turn to take over in the summer of 2026. And I am very grateful that I will have this time to prepare.
Trust who you are. And in places where you don’t
What Sustainability Looks Like at Boston College
EVERYWHERE YOU TURN, THE BC COMMUNITY IS BUILDING A GREENER FUTURE.
By Elizabeth Clemente
ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHIARA VERCESI
Boston College’s work to decrease its carbon footprint, reduce waste, and preserve the health of the natural environment has been generating acclaim for years now.
The University, for instance, has received a coveted Gold rating in the STARS program of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. And last fall, Mass Save, an energy-efficiency initiative run by Massachusetts power companies, recognized BC as one of nineteen organizations in the state that are leading the way in curbing energy use and working toward a net-zero future. But what does sustainability look like at BC?
You can see it in everything from innovative technologies that repurpose water and heat in the University’s sparkling new academic buildings to the green energy that’s produced from composted dining-hall leftovers; from the bees pollinating campus flowers to a program that collects and donates students’ used furniture, clothing, and books that might otherwise find their way into the waste stream.
“What I cherish most about BC’s sustainability community is the collaborative spirit that brings together students, faculty, and staff across all disciplines,” said Amy Rini ’26, a graduate assistant in the Office of Sustainability. “The passion and dedication I see in our Eagle community is truly inspiring.”
Here’s a look at just some of the many ways that BC is contributing to a greener and more sustainable future.
The University Garden
Located behind Connolly House, the University garden is overseen by Real Food BC, one of several student environmental clubs on campus. Real Food BC uses the garden’s harvest—including cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, beans, and squash—in sustainable cooking classes and events it hosts to teach students how to do everything from pickle veggies to prepare a delicious stuffed squash. The group is also working with UGBC, the Office of Sustainability, and other student clubs on a program to promote composting in dorms and off-campus housing, which could also ultimately help the garden. “We’ll go collect those composting bins once or twice a week and then dump those directly into the garden,” said Real Food BC member Lily Arouth ’27.
The Fulton Hall Beehive
Though many people are unaware of it, the Fulton Hall rooftop houses a beehive that for nearly a decade has served as a site for important environmental research. The hive, home to many thousands of bees, was made possible through a 2016 donation from the parents of two BC alumni. Each month during the spring, summer, and fall, a beekeeper from the company that manages the hive visits campus to collect data and monitor everything from signs of disease to the state of the queen bee’s health and the colony’s strength. The findings offer insights into the local area’s biodiversity, climate shifts, and ecosystem. Of course, the hive also produces honey, which researchers examine to determine the plants that BC’s bees are most often visiting and pollinating. More importantly, the honey is delicious, which is why BC Dining often serves it at University events.
Donating for a Cleaner Tomorrow
For decades, BC students packing up after a long school year have had a welcome option for keeping unwanted items out of the waste stream. Instead of throwing away old clothing, books, furniture, and appliances, the students can give them to BC Clean, which donates the items to local charities. Here’s some of what was collected last year.
175 Refrigerators
21,143
Pounds of clothing
6,006
Appliances and furniture items
5,637 Pounds of books
11,815
Pounds of textiles
Tree U
Boston College is famous for its spectacular, tree-filled campus. Here’s a by-the-numbers look at all that greenery.
6,300 Trees across BC’s campuses
1.2 M
Gallons of rainwater absorbed annually by BC’s trees
Sports Fans: Can You Pass This Sustainability Quiz?
Each year, the BC Office of Sustainability sends student “green ambassadors” out to football, basketball, and hockey events to promote recycling and awareness of BC’s eco-friendly programs. How many of these questions, which the ambassadors ask BC sports fans, can you answer correctly?
1. BC has which of the following?
a. A wind turbine on top of Conte Forum
b. Solar panels on the Merkert roof
c. A greenhouse in Higgins Hall
2. Which of these green services is found at BC?
a. A bike repair station at Duchesne Hall
b. A bike repair station in the Comm. Ave. Garage
c. Electric vehicle charging stations in the Comm. Ave. Garage
d. All of the above
3. What color are BC’s compost bins?
a. Green c. Purple
b. Yellow d. Blue
4. Which of these tree species does BC have on campus?
a. Pecan c. Sequoia
b. Palm d. Apple
338
Pounds of carbon dioxide offset each year by the iconic Littleleaf Linden trees that line
100
Different tree species found around BC
1 European Larch tree
Dining Hall Composting
When most of us think of composting, it’s gardening that comes to mind. But at BC, the food waste collected in composting bins is actually converted into green energy. Each dining hall on campus has a bin that is emptied six times per week by a local company. The material is then taken to a nearby facility operated by the company WM, where it’s screened to remove any contaminants, like plastic packaging. It’s then blended and transported to a wastewater treatment plant, where it undergoes an anaerobic digestion process that converts it into energy sources such as electricity and what’s known as renewable natural gas. One ton of food waste processed in this way has the potential to generate enough electricity to power between eight and ten homes per day, according to WM. Last year, 376 tons of food waste was collected from BC. The University also contributes approximately four hundred tons of leaf and yard waste per year to composting efforts, which convert the green waste into a nutrient-rich topsoil blend that commercial landscapers use for lawns. n
The Grinder
Sal Frelick ’22 was an undersized high school athlete with a ferocious competitive drive…and exactly one offer to play college baseball. Here’s how he hustled his way to becoming one of the best ballplayers in BC history, and an emerging star for the Milwaukee Brewers.
BY ARCHER PARQUETTE ’18
PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY NADIA RADIC
photos: Scott Paulus and Kirsten Schmitt/Milwaukee Brewers summer
The sun set in Nashville, and Sal Frelick was on a hot streak. Frelick, in his second full season in the Milwaukee Brewers minor-league system, had homered a couple of days earlier, and now he had just helped his Nashville Sounds beat the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 17–3. At ten o’clock, after the last pitch was thrown, Frelick sat shirtless in the clubhouse, eating a late dinner with his teammates, when his manager walked in.
“Sal, you sure you’re OK to play tomorrow?” the manager asked. Frelick nodded. “Well, you ain’t playing here,” his coach said. “You’re going to the big leagues.”
It’s always an unforgettable moment when a minorleague prospect learns he’s being called up to the majors, but what made it all the more amazing for the undersized Frelick was how unlikely the whole thing had once seemed. Growing up in Lexington, Massachusetts, Frelick had been an excellent multisport athlete. But a professional ballplayer? Not likely for a five-foot-eight, 150-pound high school freshman.
But the former BC baseball head coach Mike Gambino saw in Frelick an intense, unrelenting competitive drive that transcended his small stature. He saw the potential for greatness. “Sal has this raw athleticism,” Gambino explained. “He plays tremendously hard. And he plays with this unbridled joy that’s just amazing to watch.” Gambino, seeing what many others missed, began his recruiting pitch, and by the time Frelick was a high school sophomore, he’d committed to play for the Eagles.
Frelick first took the field at BC in 2019, and immediately began playing like a star. In his three seasons at Boston College, he hit .345, smacked twenty-seven doubles, stole thirty-eight bases, and played sparkling outfield defense. In 2021, he was named to the All-ACC first team and selected by the Brewers with the fifteenth pick in the first round of the Major League Baseball
draft, receiving a $4 million signing bonus. Tony Sanchez, who was selected fourth by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2009, is the only BC player to have gone higher in the draft.
And now, after a year and a half of grinding his way through the Brewers’ minor-league system, of taking fourteen-hour bus rides to play in front of empty seats and hoping along with every guy next to him to get that chance to step up to bat in the majors, it was actually about to happen.
Frelick called his parents. “He doesn’t say anything,” recalled his father, Jeff Frelick. “There’s an awkward pause for like thirty, forty seconds. We thought he was hurt. We thought it was bad news. And then he says, ‘I’m going up to Milwaukee.’”
In April, Frelick and I sat in the dugout before an early-season game at American Family Field in Milwaukee. In his two-plus years in the big leagues, Frelick has emerged as a budding star. In 2024, he won the Gold Glove Award as the top defensive right fielder in the National League, making only three errors in 278 chances and leading his position in both runs saved and outs above average. He was going to be presented with his Gold Glove Award prior to the start of today’s game, but for now, the Brewers were taking batting practice in the still-empty stadium.
“I literally had no clue,” he said of winning the Gold Glove. “They called me maybe a week into the off-season and told me I won, and I was like, ‘What?’” It was striking how much talking to Frelick, who was wearing a pregame hoodie and headband, seemed like just hanging out with another BC alum, a guy who lived on Upper, majored in marketing and minored in religious studies, went to Mass at St. Ignatius. If you passed him on the street, you probably wouldn’t think he was a professional athlete. He’s still just five-foot-eight and 180 pounds, fairly small by normal standards, much less those of major-league ballplayers. And with his unassuming, friendly demeanor, he comes across more like the nice Italian guy who lives down the block than a Gold Glove winner.
But when he steps on the field, that friendly expression is replaced by a jaw-clenching intensity. He’s a scrapper. He goes all out with an endearing lack of interest in his personal safety, whether he’s sprinting toward a wall for one of his spectacular catches or sliding hard into the bag while stealing a base. By the fourth inning, you can expect to see his uniform covered chest-to-ankles in dirt and grass stains. Little wonder that the player he grew up idolizing was the similarly compact and hard-nosed Boston Red Sox spark plug Dustin Pedroia.
Frelick laughed when I referred to him as a fan favorite, but it’s undeniable that with his talent and playing style he’s developing a following alongside Brewers stars like Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio. When his name is announced, the fans cheer a little harder.
“Different people scream when Yelich runs out versus when I run out,” Frelick said with a laugh. “He gets a lot of teenage girls, young kids. The demographic I attract is males over the age of sixty-five. I think they like that I’m always flying into walls unnecessarily.”
Patty Frelick calls her son a scooch, Italian slang meaning a pain in the…neck.
“He was the kid who would get away from me,” she said of Sal, the middle of her three children. “I would be holding the baby, and Sal would be doing somersaults and dashing and darting, and I would try to catch him and I couldn’t, and I’d start laughing.”
There was one obvious outlet for all that energy—
A multi-sport athlete from childhood, Sal Frelick, was a star quarterback at Lexington High School, and was eventually even offered a football scholarship at Boston College.
sports, and lots of them. All three Frelick kids were multi-sport athletes from the moment they could run. “It was like a game every night, every season,” Sal recalled, starting with T-ball and continuing nonstop until the day he graduated from Lexington High School.
By the time he was in middle school, his three main sports were football, hockey, and baseball. He was very good at all three, but for a kid his size, they seemed more like a path to a good college than a career. “We didn’t think that he was a pro player in tenth, eleventh grade, anything like that,” said his father.
“My mindset,” Frelick recalled, “was just, I want to play whatever sport I can the longest.” BC was the only school that wanted him to play baseball, but Gambino, who is now the head coach at Penn State, was steadfast in his belief in Frelick’s potential. “People say that he’s undersized, but I never looked at him as undersized because he’s so explosive,” Gambino said. “He has speed, athleticism, tremendous bat-to-ball skills. But the thing I kept seeing when I watched him play was that he had this feel for how to beat you on the baseball field.”
With no other baseball offers, Frelick committed to BC early, the summer before his sophomore year. The decision was partly academic—assuming baseball stopped after college, he’d have a valuable degree from a great school. Though he’d signed with BC to play baseball, Frelick continued with his other sports in high school—and before long was actually starting to look more like a football than a baseball prospect. Despite his diminutive height, he played quarterback and defensive back, passing for 1,940 yards and thirty touchdowns in his senior year, and rushing for another 1,779 yards and twenty touchdowns. He was named Gatorade’s 2017–2018 Massachusetts player of the
“With his unassuming, friendly demeanor and small stature, Frelick comes across more like the nice Italian guy who lives down the block than a Gold Glove winner.”
year. Frelick was so good on the gridiron that soon former BC head football coach Steve Addazio was also offering him a scholarship.
“I was like, ‘Hell, yeah. I get to play both? That’s awesome,’” Frelick recalled. “Coach Gambino called me. He didn’t know that they’d offered me football.” Gambino was not pleased.
“If you’re coming here, you’re just playing baseball,” he told his young recruit. “You’re not playing football.’”
“In my head,” Frelick recalled, “I’m like, Screw that.” He considered ditching BC for a school that would let him play football and baseball. He told his high school football coach to let other colleges know he was open to offers—and quite a few came in. But then Gambino had another talk with him.
”Could you play football in college?” Gambino asked him. “Yeah, sure. But are you looking past that?”
Frelick realized that he wasn’t thinking big enough. “I wasn’t looking past college at all,” he recalled. Gambino “was the first one who thought I really had a shot at pro baseball. I thought he was crazy.” Crazy or not, Gambino convinced him, and Frelick enrolled at BC in the fall of 2018. But his college career got off to a frustrating start. He took a cleat to the ankle during a practice, effectively sidelining him for most of the preseason. By opening day he was healthy again, but with so few preseason at-bats, he assumed he would be starting the year on the bench. Instead, Gambino put him in at designated hitter. “I saw my name in the lineup that morning, and I was pretty surprised,” Frelick recalled. So was the rest of the team. There was some grumbling in the dugout.
“Nobody was going to say it, but I remember the feeling, especially with the older guys,” Gambino said. “They were like, ‘We just put a freshman who hasn’t done anything in our lineup on opening day? What’s going on here?’” Then Frelick went three for three, with a home run and a stolen base. “The guys were like, ‘OK, here we go,’” Gambino said.
photo: David
A couple of weeks later, in Lexington, Kentucky, BC was scheduled to play on Ash Wednesday. After waking early to attend Mass (to the surprise of his coach), Frelick joined the team to take batting practice before the game. Then a song came over the speakers. “Sal starts dancing,” Gambino said. “Then everybody starts getting into it. This kid is three weeks into his career, and he’s confident enough to be himself, and the guys are responding to him.” Later, during the game, Sal hit another home run and helped his team beat Kentucky. “I saw his leadership, his confidence, his personality, his ability to have fun,” Gambino said. “And then he goes and wins a game with power and speed.”
Frelick was named second team All-ACC in his freshman year, hitting .367 in thirty-eight games, driving in thirty-two runs, and scoring another thirty himself. His sophomore season was cut short by the pandemic, but in forty-eight games in his junior year he hit .359 with six home runs, seventeen doubles, thirteen steals, and fifty runs scored. Frelick was selected as both first team All-ACC and the conference’s defensive player of the year. Baseball can be something of an overlooked sport at BC, not always getting the same recognition as hockey, football, or basketball, but Frelick was capturing the attention of scouts throughout pro ball.
When draft day arrived in 2021, Frelick’s family, friends, coaches, and even high school teachers and BC professors gathered around the TV at his parents’ house in Lexington to see if he was going to get the call. “It’s nerve-wracking. You don’t know what’s going to happen,” Frelick said. With Gambino’s five-year-old son sitting on his lap, Frelick stared intensely at the television. “I’m sitting on the couch, like, please just someone call my name,” he recalled. Then, with the fifteenth overall pick, the MLB commissioner announced that the Brewers were taking Sal Frelick. Back in Lexington, the room erupted in cheers.
Draft day was another one of those unforgettable moments. But it was followed by something a lot less glamorous—the minor leagues.
Pat Murphy, now the manager of the Brewers, met him at spring training when Frelick was starting his minor-league career. At the time Murphy was the Brewers’ bench coach, and Frelick had no idea who he was.
“I told him I was the video guy,” said Murphy, who is known for his cutting, deadpan humor. “He didn’t know who I was or how to take me. I asked him if he had been drafted. He said yeah.”
Combining elite athleticism and a fierce competitive drive, Sal Frelick went on to become one of the best baseball players in Boston College history.
photo: BC Athletics
“Pretty low, right?” Murphy said.
“No, actually pretty high.”
“Wow. What were we thinking? Where are you from?”
“Boston,” Frelick said.
“You’re a Red Sox fan? Who’s your favorite player?”
“Dustin Pedroia.”
“Pedroia sucks,” Murphy said, and walked off.
So began Frelick’s time in the minors, where the goal is always to get out of the minors. Players might just be a step or two away from the big leagues—but even for top prospects, they can be big steps. Frelick remembers the interminable bus rides, bad food, his parents trying to watch him play over the glitchy streaming feeds that make up a lot of minor-league broadcasts. “It’s awful, it’s terrible,” he said about those months. As challenging as that time was, Frelick never
wavered in the commitment he’d made to earn his degree from BC despite being drafted after his junior season. He took summer classes and overloaded his final semester, allowing him to graduate in December 2021, half a season into his minor-league career. “My degree was the main reason I went to BC,” he said. “I wanted to use my athleticism to get into a good school to get a degree.”
With that degree earned, he worked his way up a long list of Brewers minor-league teams that only the most dedicated of baseball fans follow closely: the Low-A Carolina Mudcats, the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, and then, eventually, Triple-A Nashville, where he finally received the news during that post-game meal that he was being called up to the majors. The day after learn-
“I wasn’t thinking of playing past college at all. Coach Gambino at BC was the first one who thought I really had a shot at pro baseball. I thought he was crazy.”
ing of his promotion to the big leagues, Frelick was in Milwaukee, stepping into the batter’s box for his first major-league at-bat to the cheers of a sold-out crowd. With his father and siblings in the stands (his mother was back home in Massachusetts watching on the television because the family didn’t have time to arrange for a sitter for their dog Geno), he raised the bat above his shoulders. The count stood at a ball and two strikes when Frelick sent a changeup bouncing down the thirdbase line. He sprinted out of the batter’s box and beat a close throw for the first hit of his career. But his night was only just beginning. Just as he had done to begin his BC career, he went three for three, and added two runs batted in to help the Brewers beat the first-place Atlanta Braves 4–3. No Brewer had ever had that many hits with two RBIs in a debut. Sports Illustrated called his performance “historic.”
Two days later, Frelick launched his first big-league homer. In less than a week, he was making a name for himself as an impact player at the plate and in the field. The Brewers, with Frelick established as an everyday player, finished 2023 with ninety-two victories and won the National League Central. “He’s not about numbers,” said Murphy, who was promoted to manager after the season. “He’s about winning baseball.”
Last season was no different. Frelick was a fixture in the Brewers’ 2024 lineup, helping to win games with both his bat and his glove. He hit .259 and stole 18 bases…and saved one Brewers win with a homerun-robbing catch that Murphy said would go “down in the record books in Brewers’ history.” The Brewers again won the National League Central, this time with ninety-three wins. During the 2024 season, Frelick also fulfilled the dream of nearly every boy who ever grew
up in Massachusetts—playing a major-league game at Fenway Park (just with the wrong jersey on). “The first time we played at Fenway, standing in the line for the anthem, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s the Red Sox over there,’” he recalled. “Then the game starts, and you’re trying to beat their faces in.” After the game, Frelick was free to resume his lifelong love of the Red Sox, and one of the team’s legendary dirt dogs. In fact, Murphy even arranged for Frelick to hang out for a bit with none other than Dustin Pedroia, the same player he’d once disparaged to Frelick as a prank. “I mess with him pretty much every second of every day,” said Murphy. “I tell him he’s going to be in graduate school in a couple years because people five-foot-eight and 155 pounds usually don’t last in this league. I love the kid. I’d never tell him that, but I love the kid.”
Frelick continues to live in Boston during the offseason. When he’s not at his place in the city, he’s visiting his parents in Lexington, or taking batting practice at BC. During the season, his parents make more than their share of his games in Milwaukee. “After a game, he’ll stand on the field until I get down there, and he gives me a hug,” said his mother, Patty. “He always does that. I love that part of the game.”
That tenderness is no surprise to Frelick’s coach at BC. When talking about his former player’s majorleague success, Mike Gambino wanted to make it clear that Frelick is more than just a good baseball player. “This sounds cliché, this sounds fake,” Gambino said, “but the best way to describe Sal is this—he’s the guy that you want your son to idolize, the guy that you want your daughter to marry, the guy you want up at the plate with the season on the line. And not for nothing, if you’re gonna fight, he’s the guy you want fighting with you. He’s that guy.”
But when describing himself, Frelick just shrugged. “I grew up playing baseball hard,” he said. “I just love running around out there.”
Frelick and I concluded our dugout conversation and he headed to the clubhouse to prepare for the game. A couple of hours later, he walked out onto the diamond for a pregame ceremony to accept his Gold Glove trophy. With the jumbotron airing highlights of his many spectacular catches from the previous season, Frelick beamed as he accepted the award. He walked back to the dugout, handed off the trophy, and replaced his smile with the intense expression familiar to anyone who’s watched him play. The award was nice, but now it was time to go win another game. n
Archer
Parquette ’18 is the managing editor of Milwaukee Magazine.
You Had to Be There: An Oral History of Live Music at the Heights
If the walls of Boston College’s music venues could talk, what stories they’d tell!
Stevie Wonder slinging vinyl records like frisbees into a crowd. Nirvana giving an in-studio interview on BC radio. The B-52s performing in Conte Forum. Vanilla Ice crashing through the stage at the Rat. Chris Rock doing his stand-up set. Aerosmith getting the BPD Tactical Patrol Force called in for crowd control.
Boston College boasts a surprisingly rich history of musical and comic performances. The list of live acts over the decades includes jaw-dropping bookings.
To many Eagles, these experiences are some of their favorite memories on campus. “We had Kanye [West], Dave Chappelle, and John Legend,” remembered Roberto Peraza ’06. “Barack Obama even spoke here before he went on to run for the presidency.”
At Reconnect III, Duane Brown ’76 recalled who he saw on campus as an undergrad. “[Groups like the Black Student Forum] were spectacular at bringing talent to BC: Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, the Spinners, Chicago, Three Dog Night, Doug and Jean Carn,” he said. “When Stevie came to BC, ‘Superstition’ was his biggest hit, and he did something he’d probably be sued for today: he threw a bunch of 45 [rpm] records of the single out to the crowd. People went crazy.”
From the 1960s to the 1980s, BC hosted a slew of legendary acts, including the Beach Boys, Ray Charles, The Band, Simon & Garfunkel, and Jackson Browne.
Eagles of the 1990s and 2000s saw an incredible collection of up-and-coming R&B and hip-hop artists perform in Conte Forum and other campus venues.
For President of the BC Alumni Association Board of Directors Wynndell Bishop ’00, MBA’07, his time spent booking and producing Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) concerts was a
When Stevie [Wonder] came to BC, ‘Superstition’ was his biggest hit, and he did something he’d probably be sued for today: he threw a bunch of 45 [rpm] records of the single out to the crowd. People went crazy.”
Duane Brown ’76
foundational part of his time at the Heights. “Sophomore and junior year we put together some of the best on-campus concerts and live events: Chris Rock, OutKast, Eminem, Run-DMC, the Fugees,” he said. “We had a good time. [The concerts] brought everybody together. Whenever concerts came, it was my responsibility to work with the professional crews—and getting student volunteers to set up and break down the concert. And what was really nice about that was I got to work closely with Jimmy Costa.”
Senior Associate Director of Alumni Programs and Events Jim Costa has worn just about every hat there is on campus since he began working for the University in 1988. By the mid-1990s, he was working in event management at BC, collaborating with 200-plus student groups to put on concerts on a near-weekly basis. “The hours were long and the logistics were often stressful, but I enjoyed it very much,” he said. “When you’re working with students, their energy transfers over to you.”
In 2006, the University shelled out big money to bring rising (and not yet mired in controversy) star Kanye West. “Jesus Walks into Conte Forum,” The Heights headline reads, invoking West’s hit single off his debut album, The College Dropout. Generations of Eagles will continue reminiscing in Facebook posts about oncampus concerts—and the fun, chaos, and connections that accompanied them.
“ I look back fondly at pulling off those crazy Conte Forum events,” Costa said. “Sitting back and laughing with colleagues, roadies, and students—that’s what I remember most.”
T his is an abridged version of an article that ran in Connections in March 2025. For the full version, along with additional photos, go to bc.edu/musicattheheights
The Beach Boys, 1966
Kanye West, 2006
The Roots, 2006
Run-DMC, 1997
Aerosmith, 1973
The Village People, 1970
Alumni Class Notes
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1955
70th Reunion
Charlie Costello writes that it has been 70 very fast years. He married Anne within two months of his graduation (one month after his entry into the US Army). The world has changed a lot and they have been blessed to see a lot of it. Their family has grown to seven children with six spouses, eight grandchildren with five spouses, and six great-grandchildren. They are retired, living in Virginia off the Rappahannock River. BC and all of Charlie’s classmates have been a great part of their lives. For Boston and the Heights! Class correspondent: Mary Lynn Strovink-Daukas // strovink.geo@yahoo.com
1956
Al Carignan graduated in 1956. He then served five years with the US Government Accountability Office in Washington, DC, New York City, and Boston (one year each) as well as at Fort Gordon (in Georgia) and in Germany. After marrying Jackie in 1960, he returned to Maine and worked for five years with the Internal Revenue Service. He spent the next 35 years as a certified public accountant (CPA). He was very active in parish activities and several civil boards. He currently resides in Biddeford, Maine. Al had four sons, 10 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. He is receiving home hospice care for kidney disease. // Jim Melloni reports that he is now 91 years old and fairly healthy. He has to use a cane to get around, mainly because of a quadriceps tendon rupture from an accident a few years back. He tries to keep socially active by meeting up with a few friends at Casey’s Irish Pub in Somerville. He has his grandson James William III living with him in Somerville. His grandson finds this convenient, as he performs at Improv Asylum in Boston. Jim says hello to all graduates of the Class of 1956.
PMC 1956
Patty Finkle Klein went to Pine Manor Junior College and married Mark Klein in 1957. She still lives in the Lehigh Valley on a farm in Pennsylvania, surrounded by hayfields and horse pastures. She reflects that here she is, an old woman, and she’s still in touch with her roomie, Judee
Halpern Berg. Patty’s email is patty.ponylady@gmail.com. She would love to hear from anyone who’s still around!
1957
John Joseph “Jack” O’Leary passed away in December. Following a long career in the federal government, Jack retired to the West Coast, where he enjoyed hiking, traveling, and exploring the areas around Eugene, Oregon. Jack attended BC along with his brothers Dan ’58 and Richard ’58 and his brother-in-law John Boussy ’59. Jack is survived by, among others, his nephew Brian Boussy ’93 and his greatniece Kate Boussy ’25 // Tom Pender writes that there are not many of the Class of 1957 alive, so he thought he’d check in. After graduation in 1957, he entered the navy and had a brilliant career. In addition to becoming a Soviet Navy expert, the navy sent him to graduate school, where he got a master’s in electrical engineering. After 24 years in uniform, he retired as a commander and went to work in the private sector at the MITRE Corporation for the next 20 years. He thanks BC and says he is a proud Golden Eagle.
NC 1958
Patty Schorr sends love and best wishes to her classmates. She lost her husband, Dave, in December and is now adjusting to life in a retirement center in Princeton, New Jersey. Her 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren chase away the blues and keep her balanced. Class correspondent: Patty Schorr // dschorr57@verizon.net
1959
Bea Love of Isle of Palms, South Carolina, happily witnessed the weddings of three grandchildren. Claire Anderson was wed in October in Oak Hill, Ohio. John Love was wed in November in Smithfield, Virginia. Michael Love was wed in December in Virginia Beach. // Richard Clifford, MA’59, STL’67, received the Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Award from the University of Scranton in April. Recipients are chosen both for the Ignatian vision that they bring to their ministry and their outstanding contributions to the Ignatian mission. The award is named for the late Very Rev. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the 28th
COURTESY OF PATTY FINKLE KLEIN PMC’56
superior general of the Society of Jesus. Class correspondent: Bill Appleyard // bill.appleyard@verizon.net
1960
65th Reunion
Steve Conners retired from KPMG in 2021 after working for 30-plus years as a banking consultant. He currently lives in Westwood, Massachusetts, with his wife, Patricia. He has three children, all living in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and six grandchildren. // Thomas O’Brien shared news of the birth of his fourth great-granddaughter, the second child of Chelsea Albus Rice, MSW’14 // James W. Russell, a proud BC alumnus and the first of his family to go to college, passed away on January 4.
NC 1960
65th Reunion
Stella Clark O’Shea and Kathleen Runkle O’Brien enjoyed a golf vacation last spring. // Pat McCarthy Dorsey, Berenice Hackett Davis, and Pat Winkler Browne were busy working on their 65th Reunion. // Martha Miele Harrington, the former Newton College student government president, died on March 18. Please remember her in your prayers. // Pat Browne and Patty Prince ’80 are co-chairs for the 28th Newton CollegeBoston College Tea on April 13 at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland.
Class correspondent: Pat Winkler Browne // enworb1@verizon.net
1961
John McCormack writes that he is thankful for so much. His faith began long ago, was nurtured at BC, and blossomed in middle age. For 60 years, he was married to his bride, Anne, who passed away two years ago. He has six children, 18 grandchildren, and five greatgrandchildren, with one more coming, at last count. John requests prayers for his deceased classmate, Jim Conway. He reflects that “God gives us so much more than we can ever return.”
1962
John Hackett shares the following updates about his grandchildren: After
graduating from BC, Kyle Hackett ’24 is now in Seattle as a Jesuit volunteer at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. He has also been accepted to graduate school at BC. Paige Hackett ’27 is now in her sophomore year at the Connell School of Nursing. Bridget Hackett, MEd’26, a 2024 graduate of Loyola University Maryland, is now enrolled in graduate school at BC. // Jerry Long shares that he has nine grandchildren (he calls them his baseball team) and three great-grandsons (1, 2, and 10). // Ronald Dyer continues to be passionate about his work supporting the AMVETS. He reports all of the activities that he hosts to the Falmouth Veterans and continues to organize and work with a food bank that takes place twice a month at the Falmouth AMVETS, as well as a monthly coffee and conversation group at the Falmouth Elks Lodge. These activities are for veterans, families, and friends; all are welcome. Call Ron for more information at 253-973-1530. // Eileen Faggiano and the 5:30 p.m. daily Mass community at Saint Ignatius of Loyola Church celebrated the 88th birthday of Gerald Finnegan, S.J., ’60, MA’61. This occasion has been an annual event since Fr. Finnegan returned to Chestnut Hill. Many may not know that he is a Double Eagle, having graduated from Boston College High School and Boston College. He joined the Jesuits when he was 17. Eileen reflects that the community is blessed to have him. Class correspondent: Eileen Corazzini Faggiano // efaggiano5@gmail.com
1963
Andy Capelli celebrated the 60th anniversary of his wedding with a renewal of his marriage vows on Thanksgiving Day in 2023. His entire family of 16 attended the event at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic, followed by a week of family fun and celebration. In January, Andy officially retired from his second career after 20 years giving back to his community as a planning commissioner. He hopes he will be able to see many of his centennial year classmates at their 65th Reunion in 2028! // Doug DeSilva reports from Londonderry, New Hampshire, that he and his wife, Joan, recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. They
now reside at the Baldwin retirement community after having lived for 30 years in Hampton, New Hampshire. Doug retired from Eastman Kodak after 32 years, where his career in information systems included assignments in the US, Europe, and with affiliated businesses in South America. Their two children and families now live and work in Massachusetts and have blessed them with four grandsons. // Bill Haley has recently completed his fourth successful year as an online, part-time adjunct instructor at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Maryland. He has been blessed with good health, a loving family, tolerant friends, and motivated students for more years than he ever thought possible. He is “not going gentle into that good night,” and he hopes to follow the exciting BC Eagles hockey team until Coach Brown retires. Go Eagles! Ad majorem Dei gloriam // Bill L’Ecuyer ’63, MBA’68, died on December 23 after a long illness. He left behind his beloved wife of 51 years, Trinna, as well as three children, many grandchildren, and a brother. Bill served on Coast Guard ships in Boston while also earning an MBA. He also passed the bar examination and work took him to six different states. He had claimed that he got “unofficial admittance” to the bell tower to carve his initials in the rafters. Maybe that’s why he had such difficulty hearing in his later years! // Since 1969 Liz Laferriere has lived in Waitsfield, Vermont. She retired (as an emerita) after 17 years from teaching maternal-newborn nursing at the University of Vermont. Her husband is a retired forester. She has two daughters, who are both University of Vermont graduates, and four grandchildren. // Peter Rockwood writes that his twin grandchildren are in their freshman year at Oberlin College, that he celebrated his 42nd wedding anniversary last June, and that Rockwood & Perry Fine Wine & Spirits has been in business for 42 years. He says that Fran Perry is his better half and that good things were launched side by side. He has completed four New York City Marathons. He reflects that BC had truly great football and hockey teams during his years, and that the quality of learning was top-notch. It made him and his classmates who they are, and he is thankful. // Antonia M. F. St. Germain ’63, MS’86, writes, “so far,
so good.” She is retired, alive, well, and active, and she is living in Naples, Florida, and New Castle, New Hampshire. Class correspondent: Ed Rae // raebehan@verizon.net
NC 1963
Mary Alma Bogert Connell died at home in York, Pennsylvania, on January 24, 2025, after dealing with a kidney disease for the previous year. Mary Alma’s husband, Jim, whom she had dated all through her Newton years and married a few weeks after graduation, died in 2023. They had four children and seven grandchildren. Mary Alma was a teacher and program director for the York County Literacy Council, taught at York County Prison, and was a founding member of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Penn State York. Class correspondent: Colette McCarty // colette.mccarty@gmail.com
1964
Bill Bennett reflects that geography is an obstacle, but technology allows several of his classmates to stay connected. They share notes about life as octogenarians and track BC sports closely. Participants include Walt Zwible in Falmouth, Massachusetts; Janet and Jim Bambrick in New Jersey; Marie and Rich Dunn ’64, MBA’71, in Florida; Frank Santy in Connecticut; Diane ’66 and Paul Quayle in Kentucky; and Bill himself in Arizona. They thrive on the connection, now in its seventh decade. // Don Collins shares that for the past 18 years, since retirement, he has traveled to Mustard Seed Communities in Jamaica, a home for orphaned children and children with disabilities. The group that he travels with is called “BC Alumni and Friends.” They prepare meals for and interact with the children and do some maintenance work. It is the most fulfilling thing he has ever been involved in. // Peter “Joe” Davin, a proud Double Eagle, is a retired high school teacher and coach who lives in central Massachusetts with his wife, Carol, and their German shepherd. They love to travel and Joe is passionate about golf and BC Athletics. // Jean Dunning ’64, MA’00, and Henry Godin will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in August. They have four children and six grandchildren and live in Barnstable
Village, Massachusetts. Jean earned a master of arts from the now Clough School of Theology and Ministry and worked in ministry at Saint Christine’s Parish in Marshfield, Massachusetts. Henry owned Godin Bros Tire Center in Weymouth, Massachusetts. They are both pilots who spent their younger years exploring the Eastern Seaboard and the Bahamas. Henry is an avid fly fisherman and Jean volunteers at St. Clare’s home for formerly incarcerated women and with those receiving hospice care. // After he graduated from BC, Albert Mendall Jr. attended Saint John’s Seminary in Boston and MIT in Cambridge. He is now retired in San Jose, California. // Finton Wallace II writes that his wife, Susan Dwyer Wallace, passed away on October 29.
1965
60th Reunion
In December, Max Ciardello made his annual trip to Lima, Peru, to visit his daughter and two grandchildren. His grandson has received a scholarship to attend Penn State to study civil engineering, which unfortunately BC does not offer. It is a custom among teenage boys in Peru to shave their heads upon acceptance to US universities. A multisport athlete, he was accepted to seven schools. Hopefully Penn State and BC might return to football rivalry in the future. // Nina Kilimnik graduated as Nina Ann Mukherjee. She had a long and fulfilling career in nursing that concluded
with 16 years as a nurse practitioner in the VA Boston Health Care system. She loved it. // Michael P. Roddy, father of six children and grandfather of nine grandchildren, passed away on January 25. // Harold T. Wolff, the brother of John Wolff ’68, passed away on December 26. Class correspondent: Patricia Harte // patriciaharte@me.com
1967
Larry Cashin has been married for almost 55 years to his wife, Kathy Desmond ’68, a graduate of the now Lynch School of Education and Human Development. He is retired from a long career in health care finance. His oldest daughter is a 1993 graduate of the Lynch School as well. Larry has three daughters, one son, and five grandchildren, and his life is good. He lives in Pembroke, Massachusetts, and would love to hear from some of his BC friends. // John “Jay” Nannicelli spent March in Marco Island with his wife of nearly 55 years, Kathleen Dalton ’68. Jay is very involved in several nonprofits and is currently heading the building committee of a New Hampshire environmental and education association. He’s also busy keeping up with three daughters and nine grandchildren. In May, he cruised up the Rhine River to Amsterdam. // D. Mike Ryan ’67, MA’88, writes that after 10 years as CPT, Army Rangers, he returned to BC and became the associate dean of student development. He exercised discipline for some 20 years and then retired, married, and moved to Treasure Island, Florida, where he enjoys the Gulf of Mexico on one side and intercoastal water on the other. He has two cats; his wife, Kate, passed away six years ago. He has a great life at age 81 and thanks God nightly! // Classmates who attended the wake and funeral of Jack Keating were: Mary-Anne and Charles Benedict ’67, MBA’70; Billy Butler; Al Butters; Len Doherty ’67, MBA’71; Harry Gallegher ’67, MBA’71; Peter Gately; John Hart; John Keenan; Peter Marto; and Ed Minor. Charles Benedict also received a note from Jack Burgoyne that Jim Louney passed away after a brief illness. Class correspondents: Mary-Anne and Charles Benedict // mainside55@gmail.com
COURTESY OF MAX CIARDELLO ’65
1968
Dave Canavan and his wife, Barbara, have retired to Cambridge after 40 years of teaching in Connecticut. They have four children and five grandchildren: two children in Cambridge and two in California. Their oldest, Kristin ’96, graduated from BC and her oldest, Max Berbeco ’29, has enrolled. // Kathleen Horton writes that she misses her time at the Heights, which were the best years of her life. In 2004 she retired from teaching first, second, third, and fifth grades, but she eventually went back to teaching kindergarten and first grade, as she missed the kids too much. She has now been teaching part-time for 14 years and loves it. Kathleen’s father, Daniel F. Horton ’39, also went to BC. Her niece, Rebecca E. Horton ’19, JD’24, passed the bar this year—the first time she took it! Kathleen reflects that her father would have been thrilled. Sadly, he passed away in 1973, only knowing one of his seven grandchildren, Kathleen’s son, Scott. Mention of BC always touches Kathleen’s heart. // Cheryl and Steve McCabe enjoyed an amazing trip to San Diego, where they were hosted by “SoCal Bill” McDonald during their stay in, well, SoCal. Bill gave a personal tour of both Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, which he knows like the back of his hand, and the unworldly Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, where Bill serves on the board of the Anza-Borrego Foundation. Bill added stops to see the fabled BC Eagle rock formation, the San Diego Zoo, and
all things touristy. Cheryl and Steve thank Bill. // Peter Tempesta was the husband of Michele Perrota Tempesta. He was an honorary Eagle who was at BC more than he was at his alma mater. He was a joy, a gift, and everyone who knew him loved him. He was also a cousin to Philip di Belardino ’68. Peter passed away surrounded by his beloved wife and daughters, one of whom, Marissa ’11, is also a BC alumna. Class correspondent: Judith Day // jnjday@aol.com
1969
Maureen O’Keefe Doran is back at the Heights! Her husband, Christopher “Kip” Doran ’68, is enrolled as a fellow in the new Boston College Companions program. While Kip takes undergraduate classes, Maureen has found a home back in the Connell School of Nursing, where she is a volunteer, and at the Boston College Neighborhood Center. She reflects that “being back on campus has not only been a super trip down memory lane, but also a reaffirmation of the dynamic, inclusive, and special place that is Boston College.” Class correspondent: Jim Littleton // jim.littleton@gmail.com
1970
55th Reunion
Bill Conti ’70, JD’73, writes that Boston College changed his life. He still has friends from his undergrad years and the Law School. It was a great experience for a small-town guy. // Bill Dullea ’70,
nephew of Fr. Maurice Dullea, S.J., ’17, passed away from heart disease in August. After serving in the National Guard, Bill got into the field of claims adjusting and got his law degree from New England School of Law. Bill was a big fan of sports. // William Kates ’70, MEd’71, MEd’73, umpired tennis at the Indian Wells Open in California. He is now the tennis coach at Rising Tide Charter Public School in Plymouth, Massachusetts. // Joanne Sullivan and Dr. Edward Marut will be celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary on July 18, and the 59th anniversary of their meeting at a mixer at McHugh Forum! They now live outside of Chicago, with two children, Kathryn Marut Birch ’03 and Ed Marut, and five grandchildren living nearby. Dr. Ed is retired from his fertility practice, as is Joanne from her career as perinatal nurse specialist. They plan to return for the scholarship dinner in the fall. // Suellen Aderholdt Nelson says hello to all of her classmates, especially in the School of Nursing. She is pleased that her good friend’s daughter, Fionnoula O’Reilly ’27, decided to go to Boston College and is now a sophomore in the Carroll School of Management. Class correspondent: Dennis “Razz” Berry // dennisj.berry@gmail.com
1971
David Amborski recently retired after teaching for 50 years in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada. He continues to undertake consulting activity in several international initiatives. He stays connected to his classmates and BC Rugby Club teammates, several of whom were the club’s founding members. David and his wife get away from the winter in Naples, Florida, where some of his classmates and teammates also spend winters. // Hon. Gerard J. Boyle has been awarded the Silver Buffalo Award by Scouting America. It is Scouting America’s highest recognition for outstanding leadership and service to youth on a national level. Fewer than 250 people have been recognized with this award, out of the tens of millions of people involved in Scouting over the past 115 years. // Frank Jenkins is semiretired from the automobile business, which he entered in 1985. It’s very interesting and he is always learning more about people.
COURTESY OF STEVE MCCABE ’68
He’s spent all this time in Richmond, Virginia, a great area for everything. But he does miss Boston. // John Murphy retired to Cape Cod in 2010 from his Manhattan-based asset management career. He served on the BC Board of Trustees with fellow classmates John LaMattina and Dave McAuliffe from 2008 to 2016. He has three children: two graduated from BC in 1999 and 2009. His third kid went to Georgetown University. His oldest grandchild will be at BC next fall in the class of 2029. John is still a football season ticket holder. Class correspondent: Jim Macho // jmacho@mac.com
1972
Tom Herlehy was named to the board of directors of the Rotary Club of St. Petersburg, Florida. Tom has been an active Rotary Club member for two years, volunteering to help with Special Olympic events (including swim meets and golf tournaments), mentoring two fifth-grade scholars and a sixth-grade scholar at three different schools, and organizing service projects. Rotary International’s motto is “Service above Self,” and Tom is intent on carrying out that mission in his retirement. // Arthur Makar, currently in his second year as co-chair of BC’s LGBTQ+ Alumni Council, received the 2025 Distinguished Service Award from Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, Massachusetts, in March. // Tony Polito ’72, MS’75, enjoyed a great event organized by the Sarasota Chapter at Cooper’s Hawk winery in February, as well as a very large and meaningful gathering of alumni and friends from the Southwest Florida Chapter in March for a special Lenten Mass celebrated by Fr. Leahy, followed by presentations and brunch at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Naples. Kudos to the Chapter chairs!! // Classmates Jack Harrington, Conrad Voldstad, and Larry Edgar attended the 50th reunion of their class at the Tuck School of Business last year in Hanover, New Hampshire. They graduated along with another classmate, George Pijewski, who passed away in 2011. Class correspondent: Larry Edgar // ledgar72@gmail.com
NC 1972
Shelly Noone Connolly and Mike cruised to South Africa, Madagascar, Réunion,
and Mauritius in January. They enjoyed safari adventures, a helicopter ride, and delicious food. // Nancy Brouillard McKenzie NC’72, MEd’75, and Norma Tanguay Frye contacted several classmates living in or near the Los Angeles, California, wildfires. Most were okay. However, Susan Martell Buffone was evacuated from her condominium in Santa Monica. Susan was able to return to her home in Bethesda, Maryland, while her condominium undergoes repairs. Sadly, her daughter Anna Buffone Hurst ’02 lost her home in the Palisades fire. // Lisa Kirby Greissing and Ed hosted Shelly Noone Connolly, Margot Dinneen Wilson, and Nancy Brouillard McKenzie at a luncheon to celebrate Lisa’s and Shelley’s 75th birthdays. In December, Lisa and Ed attended the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart Très Bien Ball with their daughter and granddaughter— three generations of graduates. // Fr. Robert “Bob” Braunreuther ’58, STB’66, the former Newton College chaplain, passed away at age 90 on January 6. After his chaplaincy at Newton, he returned to Boston College, where he held several positions over 24 years and received prestigious awards for his work on the campus. // Mimi Santini-Ritt is a level-15 professor of Ikebana. She has studied Ikenobo extensively in both the US and Japan and is currently taking a series of advanced classes at the Ikenobo Central Training Institute in Kyoto. When not practicing Ikenobo, Mimi can often be found at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, where she volunteers. // Margot Dinneen Wilson proudly announced the births of two grandchildren: Ruby Jean is 18 months old and lives in Richmond, Virginia, and Ryan Rose arrived on New Year’s Day in New York City. // In February, Nancy Brouillard McKenzie copresented a talk on Pope Francis’s latest encyclical, Dilexit Nos, to fellow Associates of the Sacred Heart of the Washington, DC, area. // After many years of faithfully coordinating prayer requests from Newton alumnae, Adrienne Tarr Free NC’67 has passed this duty to Nancy Brouillard McKenzie. Please email her requests for prayers.
Class correspondent: Nancy Brouillard McKenzie // mckenzie20817@comcast.net
1974
Congratulations to Mark Gibney for receiving a Fulbright to serve as a distinguished chair in law at the University of Trento, Italy, this spring term. This may be one of only two of these positions worldwide. He taught a course on international human rights law. Mark is an affiliated scholar at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Lund, Sweden. // Congratulations to Cheryl McEnaney, this year’s recipient of the GlobalFEST Impact Award. In January at Lincoln Center, Cheryl was recognized by her musicindustry peers as one “who earned respect and praise from the global music community for their outstanding commitment to the field.” Cheryl lives in West Los Angeles and has no plans to retire; she loves her longtime career consulting in strategic marketing and artist development and working with artists from many cultures and music genres. // Patricia McNabb Evans is happy to share the news that she and Jim have welcomed their eighth grandchild: beautiful, healthy Claire Frances. She also wants to remind classmates that they can still submit notes to her and Jane Crimlisk, or they may go to classnotes. bc.edu and submit any news on the form there. Submissions are limited to 500 characters. Thank you for sharing!
Class correspondents: Jane Crimlisk // crimliskp@gmail.com and Patricia McNabb Evans // patricia.mcnabb.evans@gmail.com
COURTESY OF CHERYL MCENANEY ’74
NC 1974
Patty Coen Lynch completed her PhD in political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, married Harry, and worked together with him at the Newman School until retiring, all while raising five daughters and one son! // Brigid Coles received a bachelor of arts in art therapy, raised two children, became a licensed mental health counselor, married Alan Guttmacher, moved to Washington, DC, and opened a private practice focusing on grief loss and life transitions, where she worked until she retired to Vermont. Class correspondent: Beth Docktor Nolan // menolan510@yahoo.com
1975
50th Reunion
Bob Casey completed his second Pan-Mass Challenge ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown last August. The heat was 95 degrees and there was 95 percent humidity. It was a much different ride from the first one. Somehow he seems to get more out of this than he puts into it. This is coming from a guy who has ridden more than 4,000 miles in training over the past two years and has completed the 186-mile ride twice. Hopefully the first week in August this year will be the third time. // Blake Godbout was busy working on the 50th Reunion gift committee and the Boston College Club Scholarship Fund.
The scholarship fund had a great event on campus on March 26, where more than 100 former club members attended and heard presentations from current scholarship recipients about how the club’s program changed their life. There were several classmates in attendance who, after hearing these inspirational stories, agreed to make a generous contribution. // Herbert E. Johnson celebrated 50 years of marriage to Vickie Kello Johnson ’76 in August. They have one son, Joel, one granddaughter, Nalani, and two great-grandchildren, Olivia and Zavien. They are both retired. Herbert walks six miles every day. Their mission is to enjoy every day they have on this earth. Wow! 50 years since Herbert’s graduation from BC. Peace. // Tom Kniffen moved to Farmington, Connecticut, to live closer to his two sons and grandchildren. It is wonderful to spend time with them. // Frank Mastrocola wonders if anyone can tell him how he got the nickname “Flash.” It’s been bothering him all these years. Therapists can’t help. // Chris Panson is enjoying a lovely and relaxing retirement after a career as a high school guidance counselor. // Joseph Renton Jr. was recovering from hip replacement surgery in the lead-up to the 50th Class Reunion. Although retired in 2016, he is looking forward to getting back to volunteering at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort
Fisher, doing the scuba diving show, and being a guide on the Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington, North Carolina. // After graduating from BC, Patrick White attended Emory University Law School and was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1978. He spent most of his career working for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company (now Allianz Global Risks). Assignments took him back to his birthplace in New York, and then to San Francisco, where he served as vice president of claims legal management. Pat returned to Georgia in 2002 and now has a solo practice, working with his wife, Susan, and daughter Sarah. Class correspondent: Hellas M. Assad // hellasdamas@hotmail.com
NC 1975
50th Reunion
Karen Foley Freeman writes that, by the time you’re reading this, the Newton College Class of 1975 50th Reunion will have just happened, so there will be a full recap of this time together in the next issue! // Ann Vernon had a fun weekend at Amy Harmon Walsh’s beach house in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Ann, Amy, Cookie Young Gilliam, Dee Brennan, and Marilyn Hourihan Huntsman enjoyed getting together in December before the Christmas rush. Everyone looks great! Class correspondent: Karen Foley Freeman // karenfoleyfreeman@gmail.com
COURTESY OF KAREN FOLEY FREEMAN NC’75
COURTESY OF TOM KNIFFEN ’75
1976
David Discenza, Donna Hooven Frithsen ’78, Sarah MacLeod Piepgrass, and Richard Donovan, OFM, ’74, all former members of the BC University Chorale, reunited in Rome to mark the 50th anniversary of the Chorale’s first international trip there in 1975. Also on the trip were Neil Siegel ’76, JD’79, and his wife, Deborah. In keeping with recent Chorale tradition, they were accompanied by Baldwin, the mascot of Boston College. // Singer-songwriter Bert Keith has just released his third album, What a Country His other albums include Just Passing Through Volume 1 and Just Passing Through Volume 2. His music is starting to track with other artists around the globe. Check out his songwriting at bertkeith. bandcamp.com and on all streaming
platforms. // Carla Talento Lepke recently had a great time in Florida visiting James Nappi and Joe Giordano. Everyone is enjoying retirement! // Anita Tomaselli Satti is looking for two of her BC roommates. Their 50th Reunion is arriving quickly and she would like to reconnect. So if Suzanne Hutchinson and Lawreen Heller read this please contact Anita at anita.satti@gmail.com. If there are other BC graduates who read this and can share any of their contact information, please contact Anita as well. It’s been too long and there’s so much to share. Thanks! // John Strollo says hello to his classmates, especially those who lived in CLXF their freshman year. It was a long trek from upper campus to Roberts Center. Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Baby James, Stevie Wonder, and reggae still live in John’s head … Whammer Jammer let me hear you, Dickie! // Mary Cormican Horan writes that a group of classmates recently got together, and everyone expressed their sadness at the passing of Gerald “Gerry” Shea. Gerry did a great job as class correspondent all these years since graduation. His classmates will remember him and thank him for his service to their class. Mary recalls that Gerry often wished a departed classmate requiescat in pace. Mary wishes him the same.
1977
Grace Blauvelt Ferriter is living the dream since moving to Hobe Sound,
Florida. She is still working two different security gigs and figuring out a strategy to become a snowbird. Grace is a proud grandmother to four grandchildren. Both of her sons are BC alumni: Ryan Richard Ferriter ’11, father of Hailey and Callie Ferriter, and Stephen Patrick Ferriter ’13, father of Mia and Pierce Ferriter. // Doug McIntosh completed his 43-year career as a civil trial attorney in December 2023. Since then he has continued his work as a testifying expert in insurance bad faith litigation in state and federal courts throughout Florida and the nation. He serves as an adjunct professor of law at his alma mater, Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law in Fort Lauderdale, teaching insurance law. He lives with his wife, Theresa, in Plantation. // Amy Shapiro, MEd’77, has recently published a biography, Now Is the Time! The Dorothy Amdur Story Class correspondent: Nicholas Kydes // nicholaskydes@yahoo.com
1978
Paula Borsari and Jim Banahan met on the first day of freshman year when he invited her to lunch! They were married a week after graduation, and this June they are celebrating 47 years of marriage! // Cancer advocate Thom Barrett has found a new purpose as a bestselling author. Diagnosed with stage IV cancer in 2023, he now advocates for the healing power of nature, partnering with cancer centers and travel organizations. All proceeds from his books go to cancer research. Last summer Thom, Mike Devlin, Steve
COURTESY OF DAVE DISCENZA ’76
COURTESY OF BERT KEITH ’76
COURTESY OF JOANN RUSSELL, JD’78
Burgart, Kevin Lane, Tim Gainey, Tom O’Connor, and Tom Dunn reunited for a community project benefiting cancer thrivers. Read more about Thom’s journey at livinglifewhiledying.com. // Christopher Cronauer retired in 2023 as senior vice president after exactly 37 years at ABCO Peerless Sprinkler Corp. He and his wife of 42 years are anticipating the arrival of their 10th grandchild. // Chris Toomey reports the happy news that his grand-niece Lynsey will be a fourthgeneration Eagle this fall, precisely 91 years after her great-grandfather Edward W. Toomey ’38, JD’42, set foot on BC’s “new” Chestnut Hill Campus. Lynsey Reynolds ’29 hails from Potomac, Maryland. // Brian Cidlevich’s brother, Stephen ’79, wrote to say that Brian is now a retired Marist priest living in Missouri. // Will Brown, JD’78, served as general counsel of a state agency in Santa Fe, New Mexico, before retiring in 2015. After retirement, he worked for the New Mexico Legislature for nine years. He has also worked on several motion pictures and Netflix series, doing both background and acting work as a Screen Actors Guild member. Look for him in an acting part in the Apple Studios film The Lost Bus, starring Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera. // Joann Russell, JD’78, is retired and pursuing her passions. She earned a master of arts in World War II studies with distinction in 2023. She is currently a PhD research student at the University of Leicester, England. Her thesis is an exploration of whether World War II accelerated or slowed the civil rights movement. It is titled “The Elusive
Promise: The Gap Between the Rhetoric of Civil Rights Progress and the Lived Experiences of Black Americans During World War II and Beyond.” Class correspondent: Julie Butler // julesbutler33@gmail.com
1979
Lynn Carlotto and her husband, Bill Block, are leaving Tacoma, Washington, in July to move into their forever home in South Carolina. Lynn’s career as an arena and theater general manager and booker has taken them from Connecticut to Canada and lastly Washington. Working for Ogden Entertainment, SMG, Centerplate, Live Nation, and most recently ASM Global, Lynn has enjoyed a frenetic career in entertainment and may finally have the time to write the “behindthe-scenes” book she has been thinking about all these years. // Kevin Doherty’s Boston College undergraduate and graduate education in geological sciences led to a life career as a hydrogeochemist. He earned an economics and geology degree and went directly to graduate school in geology and hydrology. As luck would have it, the environmental industry was just emerging. He still has several lifelong friends, including a former professor in geology, he met at BC. Kevin reflects that the University offers great courses, professors, and opportunities in life. // John R. “Jack” Egan, a Boston College trustee associate, was honored by the National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter with its 2025 Leadership in Corporate Governance
Award at the Director of the Year Gala at Boston’s Seaport Hotel on April 28. He is currently lead independent director of NETSCOUT and nonexecutive chairman of Progress Software Corp., and has served on the boards of EMC Corp., Verint Systems, Inc., and VMWare. // Rick Iacobucci was appointed to lead fundraising for the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in Boston. // Josie Kaufmann finally retired in June 2024. It was not so easy to get used to, but there is plenty to do on the Cape. And the BC alumni group is active and fun! // Frank “Roach” Rider has retired as the human services financing specialist for the American Institutes for Research. Rider managed disability, child welfare, and mental health services for the State of Arizona. The United States Department of Health and Human Services then deployed Frank for 17 years on national teams to help 30-plus states refine their own systems. Frank and his wife, Keverly, are proud their daughter and son are both college graduates succeeding in their respective fields. // Jim Sano is living in Medfield, Massachusetts, with his wife, Joanne, and has published his eighth novel, Joline, the sixth of the award-winning Father Tom series. More important news was the birth of their first granddaughter, Harper Elizebeth, to whom the book is dedicated. There are many trips planned to Oregon to visit her. // Mitchell Stern has been retired from Concord Middle School in Concord, Massachusetts, for the past eight years. He has also been a substitute teacher at the Pollard Middle School in Needham, and recently returned to CMS
COURTESY OF THOM BARRETT ’78
COURTESY OF MITCHELL STERN ’79
as a substitute teacher. He has worked as an usher at the Xfinity Center for the past two years. In the winter, he lives in Naples, Florida, and works for the Red Sox at JetBlue Park on the fan and youth engagement team, as well as with Red Sox Fantasy Camp. In retirement, he definitely likes to keep busy. Class correspondent: Peter J. Bagley // peter@peterbagley.com
1980
45th Reunion
After earning a master of fine arts in poetry from the Solstice MFA Program in Creative Writing in 2022, Ellen Austin-Li is pleased to announce her debut full-length poetry collection, Incidental Pollen—the runner-up for Madville Publishing’s Arthur Smith Poetry Prize—which was released on May 20. This collection was also a finalist for the 2023 Trio Award and long-listed for the 2024 Wisconsin Poetry Series. Her book is available through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Madville Publishing. // John Batista greets his classmates and says it’s been a wild 45 years since graduation. For two years after graduation he worked as a child psychology counselor while finishing his premed courses. He then entered St. George’s University School of Medicine in St. George’s, Grenada, where he received a doctor of medicine. And yes, he was one of the students evacuated during the invasion of Grenada. He completed his internal medicine residency at UConn and did private practice in Florida for 35 years. He is now retired and has his four
beautiful grandchildren and wife, Susan! // Mary Menna has been promoted to regional vice president for Beasley Media Group and has added their Philadelphia and New Jersey radio stations to her Boston duties. // Beth Sawyer cherishes the friends she made at BC and all the many hours she spent at the Newton Campus in the art studio. Beth returned home to Chicago in 1983 to work in the city before getting married in 1987. She has a married daughter with a child of 18 months and another coming in July. Her second son will marry at the Chicago Botanic Garden on August 22 and her youngest son was just engaged! She has been extremely blessed while she also cares for her father. // Tom Siegert retired in April from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, where he’s been chief financial officer for the last 15 years. He’s put his five children through BC, so it’s time for him to focus on a growing count of grandkids and playing catch-up with family and friends. He hopes to dive deeper into the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Metuchen. // Michael Voccola and his wife, Nancy, are proud to announce their fourth grandchild, expected in late summer. Number four, courtesy of their son Michael and daughter-in-law Chivonne, will join his cousins Luke (7), Lennon (5), and Madeline (2), courtesy of their daughter Ami and son-in-law Tim. They all live in the next town over, allowing for frequent visits back and forth. Also, Michael was sworn into the US Supreme Court bar in early summer, marking his third bar
membership. Class correspondent: Michele Nadeem-Baker // michele.nadeem@gmail.com
1981
Dave Brown retired as president, chief executive officer, and chief investment officer of the asset management division of TruStage in 2021. Dave and his wife, Ann Marie, reside in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, as well as in Boston and South Carolina. Their daughter Abby ’13 and son Matt both reside south of Boston with their respective families. Dave serves as a board member for a few companies, and also plays drums with his blues/ country band, The Brown Dog Band. They have recorded two albums. Learn more at davebrownmusic.com. // Jamie Dahill is so happy to finally be residing in a red state. Class correspondent: Alison Mitchell McKee // amckee81@aol.com
1982
Susan Kane ’82, MSW’86, and Bob Coleman ’80 are excited to share that their daughter Siobhan, MA’21, was married on June 22, 2024, to Robert Mulvaney of Holden, Massachusetts. Sue is currently the assistant dean of field education at the BC School of Social Work, where she has worked for almost 25 years. Bob is a legal director and corporate counsel for NTT Data Americas, Inc. Siobhan Coleman Mulvaney is a senior assistant director of admissions at the College of the Holy Cross. // Brian Cummins shared that after 42 years of service in the intelligence community, in his military career and as a federal contractor, he has fully retired as of December. He and his wife, Patty ’81, MA’83, will travel, spend more time on hobbies, and spoil the grandkids as best they can! // John Hurley retired after a long and illustrious career with the US Department of the Treasury. He represented the US at the G20, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the African, Asian, and Inter-American Development Banks, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Paris Club of sovereign creditors. For his contributions to public service, he was awarded the Gallatin Award, the Treasury Department’s highest career service
COURTESY OF JOHN BATISTA ’80
COURTESY OF ELLEN AUSTIN-LI ’80
award, by Secretary Janet Yellen. // Mary Ellen Murphy Sowyrda ’82, JD’85, happily continues her law practice of almost 40 years as a school district special education attorney and partner with Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane, LLP, in Braintree, Massachusetts. As an aside, she was proud to learn several years after her 1985 graduation from BC Law that in 1939, her great-uncle and Boston College President (1939–1945) William Murphy, S.J., admitted the first women to attend Boston College Law School. Class correspondent: Mary O’Brien // maryobrien14@comcast.net
1983
Tim Haskins coached the Groveton, New Hampshire, Lady Eagles to the Division IV girls’ state basketball championship with a victory over their rival Littleton on March 8 at Colby-Sawyer College. As an assistant coach beginning in 1986, Haskins was part of the program’s first 11 titles, and has now added six more to the Eagles’ state-record 17 championships since taking over as head coach in 2006. // Rich Henkels has been fortunate to catch up with fellow Class of 1983 alumni Steve De Groot and Kevin Grady in separate visits this past year. Rich is now enjoying “Act 3” of his professional trail, as an actor with recent appearances in network TV shows Blue Bloods, FBI, and Law & Order. He is also now a regular on the Camino de Santiago, having produced films on his experience as a pilgrim crossing the north of Spain. Who’s interested in joining? // Anne Brennan Mason is very proud to
share that her daughter Laura E. Mason ’21 graduated from Sacred Heart University this May with a doctorate of nursing practice-family nurse practitioner. Laura and her husband attended the graduation with Laura’s sister Julie A. Mason, MS’24. They are a proud Boston College family. // Wendy Murphy recently published her second book, Oh No He Didn’t! Brilliant Women and the Men Who Took Credit for Their Work. She calls it “a labor of love for a group of extraordinary women.” Wendy’s law practice specializes in women’s rights. She also appears as an on-air legal analyst and has worked for NBC News, CBS News, CNN, and Fox News. Wendy stays in touch with Gina Bough Sisti, Lynn Dalton Lathrop ’85, Lyda Rojas, Mary Ann Lowney, and others! // Graduating from the Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry was a critical turning point in the life of Brother Andre Mathieu, MA’83. These were the challenging days following Vatican II. Upon graduation, Brother Andre was assigned to formation ministry in his community and later spent a number of years in leadership positions. Brother Andre expresses sincere gratitude for the gifts he received. His Boston College years were decisive in charting a transformative direction in his life. Class correspondent: Cynthia J. Bocko // cindybocko@hotmail.com
1984
Jim Dwyer was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship this spring in recognition of his
work as a scholar of children’s rights. His most recent book, on children’s international migration, was published in April by Oxford University Press. Jim is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his joining the law faculty at the College of William & Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the 14th anniversary of his marriage to Katerina, a pediatrician. Their two children are now in middle school, so happily there’s no empty nest yet! // Philip Huckins ’84, MAT’85, PhD’95, recently enjoyed a day in Boston taking in the John Wilson exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. Class correspondent: Carol A. McConnell // bc1984notes@optimum.net
1985
40th Reunion
Sherry Ambrosini Ellis ’84, MSW’85, had the honor of becoming chief executive officer at Stanley Street Treatment and Resources (SSTAR) three years ago. SSTAR is an integrated health organization with a federally qualified health center, community mental health center, inpatient and outpatient substance use disorder programs, and other wraparound services. They were privileged this year to be named one of the Boston Globe’s Top 100 Women-Led Businesses. Sherry continues to enjoy her work with BC students as a field advisor and is excited about the talent coming into the field! Class correspondent: Barbara Ward Wilson // bww415@gmail.com
1986
The Women of Colburne Estates, Lisa Firicano Decker, Laurie Mallon Hassan, Laura Shannon DeMaio, and Ellen Heavey Volpe ’87, celebrated their 60th birthday together in Tybee Island, Georgia. Great company, good food, and beautiful surroundings made their slide into their seventh decade easier to handle. Happy birthday, classmates! // Jim Ryder is working toward his master of arts in religious studies at the University of Detroit Mercy. He is writing his thesis on “Pope Francis’s Vision for Humanity and Eschatology.” // Ed Davis, PhD’86, received his PhD in sociology under the tutelage of Everett Hughes. He has been in college teaching or administration since 1970. Ed’s first teaching assignment was at Boston College, as a teaching fellow. He retired as a college dean but
COURTESY OF RICH HENKELS ’83
COURTESY OF TIM HASKINS ’83
Joan Berry ’91 to Christopher Miles, 7/6/2024
M. Scott Knox ’96 to Jay Vilar, 4/27/2024 // Eagles in attendance: Martin Summers (officiant), Moira McIntosh Torres ’96, and Jennifer Belfiore Schrader ’96.
Kelly Hassebrock-Shanley to Zeke Thomas ’01, 7/27/2024
Katie Shannon ’12 to Tim Lamb ’09 , 7/24/2024
Julia Parisi ’15 to Matthew Wendelken ’15 , 7/13/2024 // Eagles in attendance: Barbara ’86 and John Parisi ’86, P’15; and friends from the Classes of 1986 and 2015.
Melissa Bernard ’16 to Aaron Sleasman, 3/29/2025
Caroline Hopkins ’16 to Edgar Legaspi ’16, 8/17/2024
Leila Melhem ’17 to Brian Hastings ’17, 12/3/2022 // 20+ Eagles in attendance.
Brianna Fogarty ’18 to Joseph Swain ’18, 11/9/2024 // Many Eagles in attendance.
Genevieve Martin ’18 to Kevin Sullivan ’17, 6/15/2024 // 30+ Eagles in attendance, including John T. Butler, S.J. (officiant).
Sophia Fox ’20 to Patrick O’Connell ’20, 3/8/2025
Julia McTigue ’20, MEd’21, to Deven Bhattacharya ’19 , 6/22/2024 // Many Eagles in attendance, including Stephen Molvarec, S.J. (officiant).
Siobhan Coleman, MA’21, to Robert Mulvaney, 6/22/2024
COURTESY OF ZEKE THOMAS ’01
COURTESY OF JULIA WENDELKEN ’15
COURTESY OF TIM LAMB ’09
COURTESY OF JULIA BHATTACHARYA ’19
COURTESY OF BRIANNA FOGARTY ’18
COURTESY OF GENEVIEVE SULLIVAN ’17
COURTESY OF LEILA HASTINGS ’17
COURTESY OF JOAN MILES ’91
remained in the classroom, online during Covid, but now back to face-to-face. At 78, Ed’s still teaching introduction to sociology at Yuba College in Marysville, California. // Michael Hickey, MDiv’86, writes that even after all these years, he still misses the late Daniel Harrington, S.J., and his Bible classes. But most of all, he misses the man—one of the most humble and sincere men Michael has ever met. He had a vast wealth of knowledge and was Michael’s faculty advisor, teacher, and above all, someone who became his good friend and whom he still considers today as his “spiritual father.” Rest in peace, Dan. // Terry L. Poling, MA’86, from Asheville, North Carolina, continues to provide leadership development coaching, consulting, and training support to executive teams and high-potential leaders throughout North America, Europe, and Africa. He points to his customized master of arts program, which allowed him to blend counseling psychology with organizational studies, as one of the most positive influences on his career. “BC offered me a way to develop leaders one-on-one when no formal leadership coaching programs were available,” says Terry. Class correspondent: Leenie Kelley // leeniekelley@hotmail.com
1987
Karen Walsh Buschini started a professional organizing business in 2007. After a stint in human resources and raising her four children (two of whom are BC graduates: Lauren ’15 and Ryan ’19),
she saw a need to help people who felt stressed and overwhelmed by clutter and disorganization. In Its Place Organizing, based out of Lexington, offers tailored solutions to help individuals declutter and streamline their homes. // Members of the Classes of 1987, 1988, and 1989 gathered to celebrate the “retiring” of Paul Daigneault from SpeakEasy Stage Company—a company he founded in 1991 with Kerry Dowling ’87, MS’01, and other alumni and friends. Paul served as the company’s producing artistic director for 35 years, and Kerry filed the first articles of incorporation. The group gathered to celebrate Paul’s last show in this role—A Man of No Importance by Terrance McNally—at the Calderwood Pavilion on March 7. // Rocko Graziano was named to the United States Golf Association national committee, joining the approximately 350 volunteers who serve as rules officials for the 14 national championships. // Congratulations to Maria Montuori for her induction into the BC Varsity Club 2024 Hall of Fame. Maria was a four-year starter in soccer and softball, a team captain in both sports, and an All-American in soccer. Joining Maria in the celebration at BC were roommates and friends including Tara Bergen, Kathy Delaney, Jennifer Fitzpatrick Barry, Michelle Guzowski Litavis, Martha McNamara Kennedy, Joanne Spadorcia Fagan, Sheila Watts, Kevin Barry, Jim Coffey, and Tom Porell
1988
Kevin Dywer and Elizabeth Bernier Lamont were good pals at BC, and are still fast friends. Liz lives in Boston and is a physician/oncologist scientist and the vice president of clinical development at Dassault Systèmes Medidata. Kevin lives in Pinole, California, and is a senior litigation specialist at BETA Healthcare Group, the largest professional liability insurer of hospitals on the West Coast. // David McGlone became the chair of litigation of Gesmer Updegrove LLP. The only way he can get young people to listen to him is to pay them! // Mike Teeling and his wife recently moved to Grover Beach, on California’s central coast, after 31 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. While Mike’s not quite ready to retire, he was ready to cash out of Silicon Valley after a successful 35-year career
marketing enterprise software. He encourages any alumni here in San Luis Obispo County to reach out! Class correspondent: Rob Murray // murrman@aol.com
1989
Sean “Shaggy” Mullen ran into John Sulick backstage at the Hall & Oates reunion concert in Hartford, Connecticut. // After a 30-year career in neonatal intensive care nursing, Brenda Sheridan decided to leave the bedside behind and start writing. Her first novel, A Better Sense of Being, was published in December. It is available in print and digitally, wherever books are sold. She lives in Swampscott and is currently hard at work on her second and third (!) novels. You can keep up with her writing on her website, brendasheridanauthor.com. // John Taylor was profiled in understated Class of 1989 fashion in the Winter 2024 edition of News from the Road! John became a certified public accountant after graduating from BC. John lives in Beverly, Massachusetts; his eldest son is a Framingham State Ram studying fashion design, and his wife just retired. John is a fractional chief financial officer and an adjunct professor of finance and accounting. John also recently published “Tax Implications of Private Equity Deals in the Sports Industry” in the private equity/mergers and acquisitions section of the Financial Executives Journal // Erin Callanan writes to share that Andrea McGrath passed away in October. Andrea, the former 1989 class
COURTESY OF ROCKO GRAZIANO ’87
COURTESY OF MIKE TEELING ’88
correspondent, was an incredible friend to so many. She brought optimism and joy to every gathering, was always offering encouraging words, and made life better just by being there. Her classmates will miss her immensely!
1990
35th Reunion
Stephen R. Guilmet was a part-time student in BC’s “Evening College” back in the late 1980s. The dean was his academic advisor. Stephen has fond memories of meeting with Fr. Woods before selecting courses for the next semester. He was a wise man who shaped Stephen’s education and created a unique Boston College experience. // Rich Iannessa and his wife, Jaime, moved full-time to Cape Cod last fall after sending their son Zander ’28 to BC to start his journey. His sister Ava is in her junior year at New York University. Rich offers a big thank you to his classmate Amy LaCombe ’90, MBA’00, PhD’08, professor of the practice, for taking Zander under her wing as his advisor and first-year professor! // After making her living acting on television, film, and in theater in Los Angeles for many years, Deborah Puette has written and codirected her first feature film (in which she also stars). Cash for Gold is now available to watch on Amazon, Apple TV, and just about anywhere people can rent and buy movies. It is “100% fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing. Congratulations, Deborah! // Anne Burgard, MA’90, SNJM, celebrated her
60th anniversary of vows as a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. // Nancy Duffy, MA’90, was selected the employee of the quarter at Quincy Housing Authority. What a great honor in this journey of life in 2025! // At a memorial event held on February 1, Before Salem: Witch Hunting in the Connecticut River Valley, 1647–1663, written by Richard Ross, PhD’90, was recognized for its contribution to the resolution passed by the Connecticut General Assembly on May 25, 2023, to absolve the witch trial victims executed in the Connecticut Colony 50 years prior to the Salem trials. Richard’s latest book is entitled American Body Snatchers: Merchandising the Dead in 19th Century New England and Washington, D.C. // ileta A Sumner, Esq., JD’90, received a “Star of the Bar” award from the State Bar of Texas for “Best General News” article from the May–June 2023 issue of San Antonio Lawyer, the magazine of the San Antonio Bar Association. “Bocas Cerradas—¡No Mas!— The Reemergence of Emmett Till” surveyed an array of cinematic and political developments related to Emmett Till since the publication of her earlier two-part series in 2019 that dissected the original Emmett Till assassination and its aftermath. Class correspondent: Missy Campbell Reid // MissyCReid1@comcast.net
1991
Cara DeNuccio relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, after a 15-year stint in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She and her
husband, Dennis, have begun the empty nest adventure and are happy to have access again to restaurants, museums, shows, and more! She’ll soon be starting a new social work job with middle schoolers in the Forest Hills Public Schools District. // Valerie Fuller ’91, MS’98, PhD, DNP, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC, FAANP, will become the president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in June, representing more than 431,000 nurse practitioners nationwide. // C. Dale Young recently published his seventh book, Building the Perfect Animal: New and Selected Poems // Michael Dewey’s rock band, Prodigal Swine, released an album called House of Rock. It contains 10 original songs. Please check it out and follow them on Spotify and Facebook at prodigal_swine_official. They are booking gigs in Western Massachusetts. Michael is also the president of a new charity started in honor of his sister, who passed away tragically in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. Annie’s Next Dance offers scholarships to high school graduates who love dancing. Check it out at anniesnextdance.org. // Janice A. Magno, PhD’91, earned her doctorate in education and went on to a career in teaching and administration in public schools. She started her own consulting and professional development NGO, then finished her teaching career as an associate professor of education at Salem State University. In her retirement, she has turned to writing, having published two books under her pen name, Dr. A.G. Marra—A Way Out and A Way Forward She is currently writing her third book, The Ohana Way. She lives in New England. Class correspondents: Peggy Morin Bruno // pegmb@comcast.net and Leslie Poole Petit // lpetit@dominicanacademy.org
1992
A group from the Class of 1992 traveled together to France for a mini-reunion. In attendance were: Anthony Ricupero, Patti Cronin Durkan, Jill Primo and Matt Kearney, Lexy Edelen and Doug Boudreau, and Pasqualeen Supler Kessinger. They enjoyed catching up and spending a week traveling around France together. // Ingrid Chiemi Schroffner ’92, JD’95, was recently appointed by the
COURTESY OF ILETA SUMNER, ESQ., JD’90
COURTESY OF STEPHEN GUILMET ’90
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to its Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being for a three-year term. The committee is charged with planning and overseeing efforts to enhance the well-being of lawyers, judges, and law students in the commonwealth. // Steve Courtiss is enjoying life in Southern California and connecting with fellow alumni through the Orange County Chapter. Rumor has it that they have a beach bonfire coming up. Steve headed to campus this spring for the graduation of his daughter Katherine Courtiss ’25 // Kate Horrigan Folwell and husband, James, are learning how to enjoy their recently empty nest after their three girls, Jamie (24), Maggie (22), and Kelly (19), flew the coop. Jamie went to McGill University, Maggie to Cornell University, and Kelly goes to the University of California, Berkeley. Kate directs learning and development at a radiopharmaceutical company outside of Boston; connect if you are interested in nuclear life science solutions positions. Meanwhile, Kate and Jim have big travel plans this year in between caring for parents and occasionally connecting with their kiddos! // Scott Freeman recently relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona, from Vancouver, British Columbia, and started his private capital lending company, Ocotillo Lending LLC. Its primary focus is real estate worth less than $1 million. He is married to Jane ’92, JD’95, and is the father of Ryan, Clare, and Cam. // Caroline Mendoza Horrigan has opened her own boutique interior design firm based in Potomac, Maryland. After
working for six years for a local Georgetown designer, she has decided to go out on her own. Follow her at social@cmendozahorriganinteriors. // Stephen E. Irving has been named a partner of national construction law firm Peckar & Abramson, where he serves as co-vice chair of the labor and employment practice and leads the firm’s occupational safety and health practice. // Christine Marie Eberle, MA’92, is a freelance writer, speaker, and retreat facilitator. Her third book, Finding God Along the Way: Wisdom from the Ignatian Camino for Life at Home, was published in January by Paraclete Press. The book traces the 2022 journey of 25 pilgrims— ranging in age from 55 to 84—who spent a month following the footsteps of St. Ignatius across Spain as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps. You can learn more at christine-marie-eberle.com. Class correspondent: Katie Boulos-Gildea // kbgildea@yahoo.com
1993
New York Times bestselling author Dave Wedge is writing a nonfiction book about the Karen Read murder case in Canton, Massachusetts. Cop Town will be Dave’s ninth book, to be released in 2026. His upcoming book, Blood & Hate: The Untold Story of Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s Battle for Glory, comes out in June. Class correspondent: Laura Beck // laurabeckcahoon@gmail.com
1994
Karen Lim Kane still resides in Madison, Wisconsin. She started her own private practice conducting pediatric neuropsychological evaluations two years ago. She is also a consultant for the child/ adolescent inpatient psychiatry unit at UnityPoint Health - Meriter Hospital, as well as for the National Conference of Bar Examiners. // Elisa Bronfman, PhD’94, together with coauthor Johanna Sagarin, published the book Working with Parents in Child Psychotherapy. Grounded in decades of clinical experience, this empathic, practical book presents a research-informed framework for delivering parent guidance as a standalone intervention or adjunct to child therapy. Bronfman and Sagarin delineate coaching strategies to enhance family
relationships and find new solutions to struggles around daily routines. Class correspondent: Nancy E. Drane // nancydrane@aol.com
PMC 1994
Isabella Holazo Breslin met up with Susan Gibson PMC’95 in New York on St. Patrick’s Day.
1995
30th Reunion
Mark Botti was awarded the 2025 Classroom Excellence Award by the California Association of Teachers of English for his outstanding dedication and extraordinary contribution to the English Language Arts profession. Mark resides in San Francisco and teaches at Mercy High School, in Burlingame. // David Shapiro
COURTESY OF ISABELLA HOLAZO BRESLIN PMC’94
COURTESY OF STEPHEN IRVING ’92
COURTESY OF MARK BOTTI ’95
’95, MD, MHCM, published a book on critical illness recovery, After the ICU. He is a leader for the American College of Surgeons and Stop the Bleed, and was the consulting writer for the program’s feature in a GI Joe: Real American Hero comic book. He recently left the role of vice president of medical affairs and is now working as a consultant for education, patient safety, and quality. His book is available from McGraw Hill and Amazon. Class correspondent: Kevin McKeon // kevin.mckeon@ridgewaypartners.us
1996
Jennifer Doty is excited to share the new second income stream she is building with LivePURE. She recently hit the rank of diamond. Who would have thought a side hustle could help you grow in your day job, too?
1997
Robert Lafferty ’97, JD’00, is proud to join the executive committee of the Boston College LGBTQ+ Alumni Council. The council aims to build a strong community of alumni who identify as, and/or support those who identify as, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer. This council fosters a sense of community, promotes a close relationship between the alumni and the University, and works to advance the needs of LGBTQ+ students. // John Korman, JD’97, announces with great pleasure the formation of his new firm, Korman Lynch Attorneys at Law. The firm focuses on personal injury cases, including construction accidents, automobile accidents, wrongful death, general negligence, medical malpractice, and September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and workers compensation claims. Together, colleagues at the firm have over 50 years of experience. If you are in need of their expertise, please reach out. Class correspondent: Margo Gillespie // margogillespie@gmail.com
1998
Leslie Galiano-Sanchez was recently promoted to chief financial officer at TAWANI Enterprises, Inc., a Chicagobased company that oversees a variety of private investments and not-for-profit foundations. She lives in Elmhurst, Illinois,
with her husband, Javier, her daughter, Sophia, and their beloved yellow labrador retriever, Roger Federer. // Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, expanded its real estate practice with the addition of Sean P. Nehill as of counsel in Boston. Leveraging his nearly 16 years of publicsector experience with the Boston Planning Department (BPD) and the City of Boston, Sean focuses on a range of real estate matters including zoning, permitting, land use, and commercial transactions. // John Rilli ’98, MBA’09, released his first book, Adjacent to History, available on Amazon. A culmination of nearly 10 years of research, the book traces the history of his family from Europe to America and captures many unique and local details about the early 20th-century immigrant experience. Class correspondent: Mistie P. Lucht // hohudson@yahoo.com
1999
Matt Larson published his first book, 4000s by 40: Tackling Middle Age in the Mountains of New Hampshire, in September. The memoir chronicles his journey to climb all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-foot peaks before turning 40, while exploring themes of middle age, fatherhood, and chasing long-held dreams. He credits his time at Boston College with helping shape the principles that have guided him through life, and hopes the book resonates with readers finding their own mountains to climb. // Thomas E. Leonard, MBA’99, PhD, began a new role as a medical science liaison at Amgen, supporting the company’s respiratory disease portfolio. Class correspondent: Matt Colleran // colleran.matt@gmail.com
2000
25th Reunion
Dr. Natalie Gilks Farny has been awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the department of biology and biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. // William Harrison, PhD’00, has a new book, Leadership in a Shrinking Church: Finding New Vision in Unlikely Places. Most people do not join voluntary organizations today, so the church needs to reimagine the purpose of church and leadership.
Inspired by Bernard Lonergan, William invites the church to think about growth as intellectual, psychic, moral, and religious transformation, providing a guidebook and workbook with exercises for parishes and other organizations. Class correspondent: Kate Pescatore // katepescatore@hotmail.com
2001
Fox Rothschild welcomes Boston College alumnus Henry Baskerville to its Denver office as partner in the litigation department. Henry is an experienced trial lawyer who represents corporate clients in a wide variety of commercial disputes in state and federal court and in arbitration. He also serves as an outside general counsel to small businesses and startups. // Darryl Wegner, JD’01, shares that after 21 years as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he retired and joined an accounting, tax, and advisory firm in New York, PKF O’Connor Davies, as a managing director in the firm’s forensic, litigation, and valuation practice. Class correspondent: Sandi Kanne // bcbubbly@hotmail.com
2002
Faegre Drinker announced that Heather Burke has joined the firm’s litigation practice as a partner in its San Francisco office. Heather joins from a global law firm where she was the Silicon Valley office executive partner and a member of the global competition and antitrust group. Burke provides counsel in the areas
COURTESY OF HEATHER BURKE ’02
Anastasia and Edwin Xiao ’07, Audrey Q., 4/4/2024
Destiney and Robert Cathcart III ’08, Sakari, 11/21/2024
Rosa Maribel Colorado ’11 and Gabriel Sikarov, JD’16, Lucas Gabriel, 1/23/2025
Libby Kroening ’12 and Chris Hunt ’12, Genevieve Grace, 09/19/2024
Chelsea Albus, MSW’14, and Jim Rice, Lily Scarlett, 1/30/2025
Jess Marenco ’14, MS’15, and Fil Piasevoli ’14, Ella, 2/22/2025
Elizabeth Herb, MA’15, and Joshua Winters, Callum Thomas, 3/4/2025
Lily Smith ’16 and Joseph Hochrein ’16, Noah Gregory, 11/14/2024
Leila ’17 and Brian Hastings ’17, Everly Rose, 11/8/2024
COURTESY OF LIBBY HUNT ’12
COURTESY OF LILY HOCHREIN ’16
COURTESY OF EDWIN XIAO ’07
COURTESY OF ROSA MARIBEL COLORADO ’11
COURTESY OF ROBERT CATHCART III ’08
COURTESY OF LEILA HASTINGS ’17
COURTESY OF ELIZABETH HERB, MA’15
of antitrust, intellectual property, and class actions, and has extensive trial experience in high-stakes litigation. // Joe Capalbo, general manager of the Kimpton Marlowe Hotel, was honored when the hotel topped U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 rankings for the best hotels in Cambridge, earning a gold badge. Joe, who is also regional director of operations for IHG Luxury & Lifestyle, Americas, says, “we’re thrilled to see we rank first in Cambridge and I applaud the amazing team members who helped us achieve this incredible honor.” // Gary Gabor has taken a new position as senior financial advisor at Wells Fargo Advisors. In 2024, he also received the accredited wealth management designation from the College for Financial Planning. He lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his two children, and was remarried in the fall of 2024. // Oliver Perez was recently named chief marketing officer of Duke Cannon Supply Co., a men’s personal grooming brand based in Minneapolis. Oliver oversees all aspects of the marketing strategy as the brand rapidly scales. The move comes after a five-year stint as director of marketing for Red Bull North America. Oliver and his wife, Jamie Schuler, continue to reside in Minneapolis with their two children, Norah and Ryan. They compete in a monthly pub trivia league with fellow classmates Theresa Clifford ’02, MSW’06, and Wilson Acevedo // Adrienne Gore Sullivan, MBA’02, received the equivalent of the restaurant industry’s Oscar award. Sullivan’s Castle Island was awarded the prestigious James Beard America’s Classics Award for 2025. As chief executive officer and owner, Adrienne expanded the brand to four locations. The family, her husband, Brendan, and their sons (including Thomas ’27) preserve the restaurant’s 75-year history. This honor celebrates the restaurant’s role in Boston’s culinary story and the generations of patrons who have made it a part of their lives. Class correspondent: Suzanne Harte // suzanneharte@yahoo.com
2003
Chris Cammuso’s courageous, yearslong battle with cancer came to an end on February 25. After BC, Chris led a successful career in financial services, but you’d never hear about it from him. His
focus and pride were always reserved for his wife, Leslie Farish ’05, and their two sons, Colin and Alex. From coaching his boys’ teams even when he required crutches, to traveling whenever his treatment schedule allowed, Chris squeezed every ounce out of life. He’ll be sorely missed. // Yesenia Garcia joined the Raikes Foundation as their head of communications. Based in Seattle, the foundation expands opportunities for young people by investing in education, youth homelessness prevention, and racial equity.
2005
20th Reunion
Clelia Castro-Malaspina’s second book, Girls with Goals: How Women’s Soccer Took Over the World, was published in May by Quarto. It is a young adult nonfiction book detailing and celebrating the 150-year history of women’s soccer. // Arivee Vargas ’05, JD’08, H’22, released her first book, Your Time to Rise: Unlearn Limiting Beliefs, Unlock Your Power, and Unleash Your Truest Self. It was an instant bestseller in work-life balance, Hispanic and Latin biographies, and women and business, among other categories. It is also the number one top new release in Hispanic and Latin Biographies and Hispanic American Studies, and the number two top new release in work-life balance. // John Curley and Andrew Grillo traveled to Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, for
Groundhog Day. They met roommates Justin Barrasso and Drew Locke reading 19th-century French poetry (La fille que j’aimerai sera comme bon vin qui se bonifiera un peu chaque matin!) and staying out past midnight for the dueling pianos event. Stepping into the time loop, searching each day for Ned Ryerson, they embraced a sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist while wishing for world peace. Class correspondents: Justin Barrasso // jbarrasso@gmail.com and Joe Bowden // joe.bowden@gmail.com
2006
Mary Block’s debut book of poetry, Love from the Outer Bands, was published in May by The Word Works. Her time at Boston College had a profound influence on her work, especially Paul Mariani’s class on postwar American poets, Amy Boesky’s course on Milton’s Paradise Lost, and her independent study in creative writing with John Anderson. Mary lives in her hometown of Miami with her family and is an editor at SWWIM (Supporting Women Writers in Miami). Learn more at maryblock.net. // Tim Fitzgibbon, MST’06, has been selected to participate in the International Teacher Weeks held in Geneva, Switzerland, at CERN. Out of thousands of applicants, four American physics teachers are chosen every year to participate in this program, held for two weeks in August, with a total of around 48 teachers from around the world. The program is designed to provide teachers with in-depth knowledge of CERN’s research and activities, while giving teachers time to develop curricula. Class correspondent: Cristina Conciatori // cristina.conciatori@gmail.com
2007
After years of shaping digital strategy at Hulu, Paramount, and TikTok, Jason Ander recently swapped ad campaigns for artisan craftsmanship. He and his husband founded JB Ander, a men’s fashion label bringing attainable luxury to leather loafers—handcrafted in Italy, designed to outlast trends, and a stylish rebuttal to fast fashion. // At 40 years old, Becca Horan Carnahan is a career coach, a mom, and what most would consider a grown-up. But is she or any mid-career professional and parent all the way grown up yet? She doesn’t think so! There’s still
COURTESY OF ARIVEE VARGAS ’05, JD’08, H’22
a lot of growing up and exploring left to do, and that is the topic of her new book, released in March: When Mommy Grows Up: Finding Career Clarity While Covered in Kids. Find her career advice, funny parenting stories, and ’90s nostalgia wherever you buy books! // In May 2024, Ed Reynolds graduated from Georgetown University Law Center as a business law scholar and with exceptional pro bono pledge recognition. Ed was sworn into the Massachusetts bar this past November and is an associate at Latham & Watkins. // Richard Reynolds graduated from Georgetown University Law Center last May and received exceptional pro bono pledge recognition for completing over 200 hours of service. He joined Latham & Watkins in September and was sworn into the Massachusetts bar in November. // Gary Varnavides recently launched his own law firm, Varnavides Law, PC, in Los Angeles. The firm focuses on securities litigation, investment fraud, and business disputes. Gary’s wife, Priya Kumar Varnavides ’10, recently joined the law firm of Morgan Lewis in its Los Angeles office. Gary and Priya have also recently welcomed two daughters into the world, Layla ’44 and Jaya ’45, and reside in Palos Verdes, California.
Class correspondent: Lauren Bagnell // lauren.faherty@gmail.com
2008
Bryce W. Donohue was promoted to partner at ArentFox Schiff. // Lindsay Winget Schlegel published her first picture book with the OSV Kids division of Our Sunday Visitor. Inspired by a
quotation from St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s autobiography, God’s Little Flowers looks to counter the culture of comparison and encourage young readers to recognize the gifts God has given them and use these gifts—kindness, prayer, and joyfulness among them—to serve others. Class correspondent: Maura Tierney Murphy // mauraktierney@gmail.com
2009
Kristen Dacey was a finalist for the New Hampshire State Teacher of the Year Award for 2025. Kristen has worked as an elementary school teacher in the Salem, New Hampshire, School District since graduation. Currently, she is a first-grade teacher and has previously taught kindergarten and second grade. // The board of directors of law firm Maslon LLP in Minneapolis has selected Kaitlin “Katie” Eisler to lead its corporate and securities practice group. Katie joined Maslon in 2022. She assists clients across a broad range of corporate and transactional needs, including complex mergers and acquisitions, buy-sell agreements and business succession agreements; commercial contracts; corporate governance; and trademark management. Katie lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three children. // Pilar Landon was elected to be managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group in November. // Justin S. Rowinsky has been named a partner at Yetter Coleman LLP in Houston. Rowinsky represents clients in complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts. He joined Yetter Coleman after a federal clerkship and private practice in Washington, DC, and has demonstrated outstanding legal skills and client service across a range of matters. // Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil, MA’09, is participating in the Transforming Community training program through the Shalem Institute. Her ministry focus remains on providing coaching self-care and soul-care support to ordained clergy and spouses. Through her private practice, she leads women’s retreats with a special attention to BIPOC women reentering US homes after shortor long-term ministry abroad. She continues to publish articles through the Christian Citizen. Learn more at connect-sd.com. Class correspondent: Timothy Bates // tbates86@gmail.com
2010
15th Reunion
Andrew Donnelly’s book of cultural history, Confederate Sympathies: Same-Sex Romance, Disunion, and Reunion in the Civil War Era, was published this year by the University of North Carolina Press. // Paul Curley, MBA ’10, was promoted to executive director at ISS Market Intelligence in 2025. Class correspondents: John Clifford // clifford.jr@gmail.com and Kathryn Phillips // Katyelphillips@gmail.com
2011
Breana Ware accepted a position as vice president and counsel at Wood Partners, a construction and development company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. // Lauren Gavin Kopcso, MS’11, recently accepted a position as a clinical trauma performance improvement specialist at Boston Medical Center. She has also worked as a sexual assault nurse examiner for almost 15 years.
2012
Kelly Cheng was named chief marketing officer of the Boston-based startup Goldcast. Class correspondent: Riley Sullivan // sullivan.riley.o@gmail.com
2013
Chris Fitzpatrick was promoted to counsel in the antitrust practice of Hogan Lovells. // Tiffany House ’13, MA’16, earned her PhD in contemporary learning
COURTESY OF LAUREN GAVIN KOPCSO, MS’11
COURTESY OF LINDSAY WINGET SCHLEGEL ’08
and interdisciplinary research from Fordham University. // Anne Manning Finn ’72, MA’13, is enjoying her work with the Ignatian Volunteer Corps as well as her hospital chaplaincy. She is grateful for these avenues to find meaning at this stage of life. Class correspondent: Bryanna Robertson // bryanna.mahony@gmail.com
2014
Christine Reich, PhD’14, has been named president of TERC, a leading nonprofit in STEM education research and development, effective July 1. A distinguished educator, researcher, and former museum executive, she is committed to expanding STEM learning opportunities. Reich joins TERC from Knology, where she was CEO and senior research officer. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is president of the Visitor Studies Association.
2015
10th Reunion
Leslie Snapper recently earned a PhD in clinical health psychology from UNC Charlotte, successfully defending her dissertation in November. Her research explored clinical decision-making for medically unexplained symptoms, focusing on how patient gender and mental health history influence provider judgments. She is now a postdoctoral fellow at Allied Behavioral Healthcare, specializing in trauma-informed therapy, health psychology, and fostering self-
awareness and interpersonal growth. // Amir Reza, PhD’15, was listed as one of 50 Voices of 2024 in international education by the PIE. He is dean of the Babson Academy for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurial Learning and dean of Global Education at Babson College, and he recently served as president of the Association of International Education Administrators.
Class correspondent: Victoria Mariconti // victoria.mariconti@gmail.com
2016
Caroline Hopkins Legaspi has joined the New York Times as a reporter covering nutrition and sleep for the Well desk. // Rohan Rau matched into the competitive medical subspecialty of gastroenterology. Rohan is completing
his three-year internal medicine residency at Jefferson Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Starting this summer, he will head to Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for his gastroenterology fellowship.
2017
Nicholas Auriemma was accepted to the New Jersey bar and sworn in as an attorney in November. Class correspondent: Joshua Beauregard // joshuab136@gmail.com
2020
5th Reunion
In 2024, Jonathan Farah achieved his certified financial planner designation and was promoted to wealth advisor at JPMorgan Wealth Management. He and his team offer financial guidance to individuals, families, and institutions, crafting personalized wealth management strategies. Jonathan uses a holistic approach to advise clients on all aspects of their balance sheet, leveraging JPMorgan’s sophisticated research and global resources to assist clients in reaching their financial goals.
2021
Elliott Bennett was recently named to Forbes’s 30 Under 30 in Energy and Green Tech for his work as a cofounder of Ecotone Renewables, a company advancing sustainable food waste solutions. In 2025, he returned from medical leave to help scale Ecotone’s
COURTESY OF KELLY CHENG ’12
COURTESY OF CHRISTINE REICH, PHD’14
COURTESY OF AMIR REZA, PHD’15
COURTESY OF LESLIE SNAPPER ’15
impact, focusing on expanding their on-site digesters and fertilizer product, Soil Sauce. Elliott and his team are working to reach a $3 million revenue run rate this year, driven by growth in the Northeast. // Alton Price, PhD’21, whose doctorate was in curriculum and instruction, is now chair of the middle school English department at HarvardWestlake School in Los Angeles.
2022
This legislative term, Alexander Schroeder, MA’22, was selected to be the operating budget coordinator in the Alaska State House of Representatives. He is responsible for ensuring that the House passes a workable operating budget to the Senate, on time. Due to lower-thananticipated state revenues, Alexander
faces significant challenges. He must coordinate a difficult dance between setting a permanent fund dividend amount, adequately funding state services, and restricting expenditures.
2023
Ed Martens writes that back in the ’80s, he did like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and dropped out of college. Unfortunately he missed the “make billions of dollars” part. In the beginning of Covid, he took a buyout and, at his wife’s urging, went to BC and found his credits were still good. He graduated from the Woods College and is now helping an old friend build his online technology company, which markets vehicles. It’s exciting to build a company and take it nationwide. // Sr. Maureen Ahyuwa, STL’23, participated in an interesting summer intensive clinical pastoral education (CPE) program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital from May to August 2023. Besides the transformative encounter with clients from various walks of life, her CPE colleagues honored her with two titles: the most likely to offer you food, and the best dressed. Now at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University for her doctorate, it’s a home away from home! // Over the last two years Rachel O’Grady, MSW’23, found a passion for landscape photography. She started taking photos, every Monday through Friday morning, of the sunrise over the Connecticut River. Recently a small local gallery in Salem, Connecticut, put out a call for submissions to their spring show titled
“Welcoming.” Rachel submitted three of her photographs for consideration and all of them were chosen for the exhibit, which ran from March 22 to June 2. //
Erica Szczechowski, MA’23, just became a professional triathlete. She will be traveling internationally and representing the United States as she earns points toward her world ranking. Erica hopes to make an Olympic team!
2024
Claudio Colnago, LLM’24, passed the bar examination in Connecticut with a score that allows the practice of law in any Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction. Originally from Brazil, he relocated with his family to Massachusetts in 2022. Claudio initially joined BC Law as a visiting researcher before becoming an LLM student and graduating with honors. He lives in Natick, Massachusetts, and practices immigration law. He recently joined Mark Morais Law Firm, a small boutique immigration law firm.
COURTESY OF ALTON PRICE, PHD’21
COURTESY OF ALEXANDER SCHROEDER, MA’22
COURTESY OF ERICA SZCZECHOWSKI, MA’23
COURTESY OF RACHEL O’GRADY, MSW’23
Boston College is in a better place because of the energy, creativity, perseverance, and generosity of all Eagles through the years.
Following in the footsteps of those who helped build our University, Soaring Higher: the Campaign for Boston College is an opportunity for today’s benefactors to help BC realize its potential as the greatest Jesuit, Catholic university in America. With your support, it will grant an unmatched formative experience to all students. And its legacy will live on “’til the echoes ring again.”
$3B campaign goal 60% undergraduate alumni participation goal write the next chapter
3 priority areas: financial aid, academics, student life
Learn more about the Soaring Higher campaign at campaign.bc.edu
1940s
Robert Kelly ’45
Barbara Howes PMC’46
Elizabeth Edwards PMC’49
Peggy Rogers PMC’49
Diana Schultz PMC’49
Donna Thompson PMC’49
1950s
Ed Clasby ’50
William Gallagher ’50
Matthew Malloy ’50
Albert Palumbo ’50 MEd’55
Carl Deyeso ’51
Paul Kelly ’51
Ellen Noble PMC’51
Arthur Walsh ’51
Frank Bellotti LLB’52
Lawrence Bennett ’52
Enio DiPietro ’52
Dave Drislane ’52
Arthur Forcier ’52
Joseph Murano ’52
Frank Peluso ’52
Robert Cronin ’53
Timothy Daly ’53
Robert Perry ’53
Andrew Pullo ’53 MA’64
Paul Ares ’54
Joan Baxter Fogarty NC’54
William Kenney ’54
Dawn Lantzius PMC’54
James Magill ’54
James O’Donnell ’54 MA’55
John Parker ’54 CAES’79
Tom Salmon ’54 JD’57 HON’75
Francis Sheehan ’54 MEd’58
Vincent Arone ’55
Joan Sexton Callahan ’55
Anthony Coletti ’55
Paul Croke ’55 MBA’62
Joseph Cunningham ’55
Dave Doherty ’55
Paul O’Loughlin ’55
Francis Tannian ’55 MA’60
Alfred Tassinari ’55
Ann Bahan PMC’56
Joseph Luciano ’56
Mary Fraser Pizelli ’56
Patricia Towle MS’56
Barry Adams ’57
Robert Burke ’57
Edward Collins ’57 JD’74
Paul Covell ’57 JD’63
Elizabeth Ford Cronin ’57
Paul Duseau ’57
Vincent Falcone ’57
Patricia Genovese ’57
Ellen McDonough Good JD’57
George Hennessy ’57
William Morella ’57
John O’Leary ’57
Dona McManus Scandura
MEd’57
Barbara Regan Whitman ’57
Robert Braunreuther ’58 STB’66
Joe Buckley ’58
Dan Cummins ’58
Victor Dahar JD’58
John Doyle ’58 MSW’60
William Doyle ’58
Joseph Giardina ’58
William Halpin ’58
Suzanne Lawrence NC’58
Anthony LoPresti ’58
Tom Lynch ’58
Leo McCarthy ’58
Paul Roche ’58
Ellen Chambers Rooney ’58
Bernie Senick ’58
Dolores Vining ’58
George Bulger ’59
Frank Colley ’59
Bill Corey ’59
Richard Cronin ’59
John Donahue JD’59
Ellen Costa Farrington ’59
Robert Giordano ’59
Sheila Hodges PMC’59
Michael Jordan ’59
Janet Knight Mack ’59
Lee Magnarelli ’59
Joseph Mazrimas ’59
Catherine McDonough ’59
Mary O’Neil MS’59
Robert Riley ’59
1960s
Peter Budryk ’60
Chucker Duncan ’60 MEd’72
Girard Fortin ’60
Edward Harrington JD’60
Joseph Harrington ’60
Martha Miele Harrington NC’60
Elise Erickson Landau NC’60
Ed Levitt ’60 MS’64
Kathleen Bailey Murphy ’60
William Rohan ’60
James Russell ’60
Nancy Welch Ryan MSW’60
John Walgreen ’60 MA’63
PhD’65
Pauline Bates Woodward ’60
Ann Peppard Belason ’61
Abel Camara ’61
Francis Curley ’61
Kevin Donoghue ’61 MBA’70
John Farrell ’61
Judith Barden Hall ’61
George Hinchey ’61
John Hurley ’61
Elizabeth Kissel MEd’61
James McLaughlin ’61
Richard O’Brien ’61
Paul O’Leary ’61
Ginny O’Neil ’61
Carol Bolduc Padovano ’61
John Rossetti ’61
John Scales ’61
Joan Swanson Tulich ’61
Sylvia Fantasia Broderick ’62
Michael Canniffe ’62
Paul Carroll ’62
Judith Knight Coakley ’62
Dennis Condon ’62
Jane Curran-Kime ’62
Laurence Donoghue ’62
Dennis Farrell ’62
Jerry Greely ’62
Edward Heaney ’62
Patricia Fox Howell ’62
Luke McCarthy ’62
Walter Murphy JD’62
John O’Leary ’62
Annabelle Raiche MEd’62
James Riley ’62
Toni Lilly Roddy ’62
Dan Shea LLB’62
James Sullivan ’62
Mary Bogert Connell NC’63
Robert Dellovo ’63
Douglas Ehlinger ’63
Roberta Fitzgerald ’63
Michael Kallan ’63
William L’Ecuyer ’63
Carolyn McInerney McGrath NC’63
James McKee ’63
Carol O’Brien ’63
Richard Sidwell MEd’63
William Staples ’63 MBA’66
Sue Early Hurley ’64 MS’68
Owen McCann ’64
Peter Nee ’64
Hal Pheeny ’64
Jean Ouellette Radford ’64
Thomas Ryan MEd’64
Philip Stack ’64
Bob Stoico ’64
Judith Ernst Tortora NC’64
Robert Warnock ’64
Jean Coye ’65
Thomas Curley ’65
Nancy Sousa Daley ’65
Frank DeFelice ’65 MEd’87
Nicholas Finke ’65 PHL’66
MA’68
Gregory Haight ’65
Philip Hudock JD’65
George Humann ’65
Thomas Kenny ’65
Joanne Walsh McCann ’65
Howard McRae ’65
Doug Mello ’65
Paul Moroney ’65
JoAnn Plasse-Root ’65
Mike Roddy ’65
Bob Steinle’65
Tom Sullivan ’65
Harold Wolff ’65
John Doherty ’66
Pat Dwyer Dunn ’66
Irene Anderson Flaherty ’66
Richard Gross ’66 NTE’76
Richard Harries ’66 MA’68
John Higgins ’66
David Hunter ’66
John Keating MEd’66
Marguerite Hyland Manco ’66
Jim O’Connor ’66 MBA’73
William Ogilvie ’66
Angelina Barot Salvador MA’66
Maureen Dwyer Smith NC’66
George Thibeault MBA’66 JD’69
George Todd ’66 MBA’75
Maria Cardullo MS’67 PhD’71
John Connelly ’67
Frank Eisenhart ’67
Jack Keating ’67
William Palmer ’67
Joseph Petrie MA’67
Ellen Doherty Platt ’67
Peter Rogers JD’67
David Stillman ’67
Mary Whittle MA’67
Janice Zinno Allen ’68
Donna Carroll ’68
John Curtin ’68
John Dalton MS’68
Joan Duffy MEd’68
John Dunphy ’68
Michael Eschelbacher JD’68
Jane Ferguson PMC’68
Marianna Donnelly Gergen MS’68
Donald Kaplan MAT’68
Mary Ellen Flynn McGowan MSW’68
Audrey Robinson Michaud ’68
William Minichiello MEd’68
Carolyn Malkowski Rusiackas MEd’68
Bob Santoro ’68 PhD’74
James Whelan MBA’68
Richard Bachini ’69
Richard Berman JD’69
George Berry ’69
Charles Bittner MA’69
Leo Carroll JD’69
James Crotteau ’69
Douglas Dresser ’69
Brian Flynn ’69
James Halton ’69
Richard Harmer ’69
Anne Hogan MSW’69
John Monahan ’69
David O’Bryan ’69
John Pattavina ’69
Albert Rohling MSW’69
Thomas Sexton JD’69
1970s
Stephen Baisden ’70 MA’72
John Brady MBA’70
Joan Conrad Bruce ’70
Janet Cavalen Cornella ’70
Patrick Dobel ’70
Cynthia Essex MEd’70
Paul Fraioli ’70
Philip Gagan ’70
Patricia Halunen NC ’70
Michael Melia ’70
Edward Mooers ’70
John Sastri ’70
John Shevlin JD’70
Ermino Barbalunga ’71
Robert Cuomo MA’71 PhD’77
David Dierker ’71
Denis Donahue ’71
Leo Donovan MBA’71
Matthew Faerber ’71
Judy Davis Farrell ’71
Jerome Johnson ’71
Zalman Makower MBA’71
Kathleen Morrison McShane NC’71
Michael Trainor ’71
Marcia McCabe Wilbur JD’71
Thomas Amisson ’72
George Casey ’72
Bruce Croffy MS’72 PhD’76
Charles Hubbard ’72
Edward Kay ’72
Brian Loflin ’72
Sharon McLaughlin ’72
Class Notes // Fond Farewells
Linda McDowell Porcelli NC MPH’72
Robert Rheaume ’72 MBA’80
Michael Aube ’73
Peter DiGiulio ’73
Marilyn Buttlar Domain ’73
Donald Ford ’73
Sue Pitterich Molloy MS’73
Dennis Murphy ’73
Timothy O’Brien JD’73
Peter Robertson JD’73
Laura Belliveau ’74
Peggy Gibbons ’74
Thomas Kavulich ’74
Gerald Nanni ’74
William O’Day MBA’74
Linda O’Rourke MA’74
John Parker ’74
Richard Sawyer ’74
Jeanne Robertson Vlerebome ’74
Edward Walsh ’74
Gordon Bello ’75
Ronald Carrara ’75
Tony Cetrone ’75
Patricia Donovan Goehlert MSW’75
Richard Orlando ’75
Kevin O’Shea ’75 MS’90
Robert Ricciardello ’75
Joel Sugarman ’75
Audley Bell ’76
Betsy Bishop MSW’76
Edward Burke ’76
Mike Daniels ’76
Judith Hoffman JD’76
Bryan Mathaisel ’76
Melanie Peters ’76
Bob Senske ’76
Gerry Shea ’76
Anne Arndt PhD’77
Joseph Chabot MEd’77
Doris Campbell Green ’77
Kathleen O’Brien MEd’77
William Redmond ’77
Cindy Sherman ’77
Francis Tremblay ’77
Paul Bonner ’78
Geoffrey Gray MEd’78
Stephen Hug ’78
Jean McDevitt MA’78
William McDonough ’78
Mary Ross ’78 MS’79
Rosemary Collins Weiss ’78
Carolyn Crowne Cunningham ’79
Jan Dabrowski ’79 JD’83
Julia Mannix ’79
Joan Nelson ’79
1980s
Susan Cole ’80 MA’87
Joseph Decaminada ’80
Carol Ladd MA’80 MSW’86
David McIntyre JD’80
Francis Sacco MEd’80
Jerold Tucker MEd’80
Natale Gianino ’81
Katherine Goese ’81
Anne Manton MS’81
Mark Perlberg JD’81
Ronald Roulinavage ’81
Eileen Schwartz PhD’81
Carol Taylor ’81
Carol Daddio-Pierce MS’82
Elizabeth Hoffman MA’82
Rene Smith Buchanan PhD’83
Robert Gillies ’83
Karen Richmond PMC’83
Barbara Stella ’83
Stephen Comeau MEd’84
Glenn Hughes MA’85 PhD’89
Patricia Mahon MS’85
Tania Zielinski McNaboe ’85
Mike McNally ’85
Paula Rosebush ’85
Mary Ellen MA’86
Valerie McKeon PhD’86
Shawna Carboni MSW’87
Teresa Carchidi MA’87
Jen Leiblein-Campbell PMC’87
Della Mannion ’87
Michelle Meyers MTS’87
Kathleen Murphy ’87
Robert Sarazen ’87
Neil Collins ’88
Richard Pierson ’88
Marilyn Stern ’88
Gail Donaldson MA’89
PhD’94
Michael McNamara ’89
Brian McNeil MSW’89
Michal Meissner ’89
Tom Murphy HON’89
Aaron Thompson ’89
1990s
Dolores McCarthy MS’90
Robert Moynihan DED’90
Joyce Martin MEd’91
Michaelinda Plante DED’91
Scott Sherman ’91
Ned Graham PhD’92
Bernadette Longtin MSW’92
Martha Versprille MSW’92
Kara Larkin Hill ’93
James Markel MA’93
Susan Parker MSW’93
David Smartt ’93
Sarah Zaske ’93
Barry Bjork PhD’95
Adam Kelly ’95
Kathleen O’Connor MA’95 PhD’03
Chantala Chanthasiri ’96
Craig Fallon ’96
Anne Baddour PMC’97
Duncan Magoon MSW’98
Christina Sebastionelli MSW’99
Johnie Winfrey ’99 MS’03
2000s
Eileen Burke-Sullivan STL’00
Christopher Cammuso ’03
Jedidiah Mohring MA’06
John Switzer PhD’06
Nathan Ingham ’07 JD’13
Caroline Hellstedt MSW’08
Girish Menon ’08
Al Kelly ’09
2010s
Timothy Hogan ’10
Matthew Puntoni MBA’18
2020s
Nora Jolimeau PMC’21
COMMUNITY DEATHS
James “Jeff” Flagg, of West Roxbury, MA, on January 21, 2025. He was a Professor of the Practice, Romance Languages and Literatures Department from 1964 to 2019.
John W. Lewis III, of Middletown, RI, on December 18, 2024. He was an Associate Professor, Carroll School of Management from 1970 to 2003.
Susan Matys, of Holden, MA, on March 15, 2025. She was a Director and Officer, University Advancement from 2012 to 2024.
John Sallis, of Somerville, MA, on February 18, 2025. He was a Professor, Philosophy Department from 2005 to 2025.
The “Fond Farewells” section is compiled from national obituary listings as well as from notifications submitted by friends and family of alumni. It consists of names of those whose deaths have been reported to us since the previous issue of Boston College Magazine. Please send information on deceased alumni to Advancement Information Systems, Cadigan Alumni Center, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 or to infoserv@bc.edu.
Formation in Action
René Jones ’86, P’25, and Brigid Doherty ’96, P’25, are on a mission to help Boston College provide the same opportunities they received.
“When I came to Boston College, everything was new to me,” says René Jones ’86, P’25. “We were not financially well off, but maybe more importantly, we really didn’t know that at the time. The most exposure that my family had to business was a toss-up between my paper route and my sister’s job as a cashier at the Victory Supermarket.”
Jones grew up the youngest of six children in a biracial household in Ayer, Massachusetts. His father was an African American sergeant first class in the US Army; his mother a homemaker from Belgium. They met in 1944 during the height of World War II.
Inspired to attend BC’s Options Through Education program (recently renamed the McCrory-Francis Scholars Program) by his eldest sister Daisy, a BC Law graduate, Jones’s experience that summer and during his time at BC shaped his life and career in profound ways.
“I was trying to figure out how to become an accountant and get a job. It wasn’t until later that I realized what had happened,” he recalls. “BC was actually teaching me how to wrestle with enduring questions, tackle problems, and live in community. When I look back, I see formation in action.”
Now more than 40 years since he arrived at the Heights, Jones is a BC trustee and chairman and chief executive of M&T Bank, making him one of only eight Black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. His wife, Brigid Doherty ’96, P’25, is a University regent, and the couple serve as co-chairs of Soaring Higher: the Campaign for Boston College and philanthropic partners with BC.
“Back in the ’80s, the African American community at BC was really very small. But the University is in a very different place than when we attended—it’s extraordinary how far we’ve come,” says Jones. “It’s heartening to see the small progress you make every year lead to something really special in the end.”
During her college search, Doherty faced head-on the staggering cost of a college education: accepting admission to BC meant taking on tens of thousands of dollars of debt, even as she knew the University would open a world of possibilities for her. Today, as philanthropists and volunteers, Doherty and Jones focus on expanding access to BC’s uniquely formative education, especially for those who are first-generation college students and students with high financial need.
“Something René and I often talk about is that you don’t know what you don’t know. If you’ve never met a doctor, it hardly occurs to you that you could be one,” says Doherty. “So we have to be cognizant of people’s backgrounds, and the necessity of broadening their opportunity set to help them reach their potential.”
Strong advocates for increasing giving among African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American (AHANA) alumni, Doherty and Jones lead by example. In the summer of 2024, it was announced during the Reconnect III alumni gathering that the couple will establish the Reconnect III Scholarship to support financial aid for BC students.
While the gift from Doherty and Jones fully funds the scholarship, anyone who wishes to lend their support may also add to it. The couple hopes it serves as a rallying point for engagement and increased investment in BC from alumni of color.
“Given that BC is a need-blind university, we’ve got to recognize the importance of philanthropy in providing the best and brightest with an opportunity to attend BC. And for the entire student body to benefit from the diversity of ideas, people, and backgrounds—it’s critically important to a liberal arts education as well as the mission of BC,” says Doherty.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Jones’s long and successful career in finance is a testament to the ways a BC education can expand one’s horizons. In April 2025, he was awarded the President’s Medal of Excellence at the 35th annual Boston College Wall Street Business Leadership Council Tribute Dinner for his generosity, leadership, and myriad accomplishments.
“Forty-three years ago, when my BC story began, I never would have dreamed that I’d be in a position to receive any sort of award or that my wife, Brigid, and I would be able to give back to this community in any meaningful way,” Jones said upon receiving the award. “I turned 60 this year, and it made me stop and think and reflect on what’s important to me. My family, our friends, and giving back to the institutions that drove my formation so they can invest in the next generation of leaders.”
“I believe today my role as CEO is reflected in what I learned at Boston College, to find the uniqueness in each person, to build their potential and confidence, and to be transparent and self reflective. In other words, to find joy in lifting others.”
(Upper) René Jones speaking at the Wall Street Business Leadership Council Tribute Dinner on April 23, 2025 (Lower) Brigid Doherty ’96, P’25 and René Jones ’86, P’25
Jobs Well Done
Recently retired as one of BC’s longest-serving faculty members, David Twomey ’62, JD’68, reflects on a legendary career in law and labor.
BY SCOTT KEARNAN
“There was always a job to do,” said David Twomey, the Boston College professor and renowned labor law expert, as he sat in his Fulton Hall office and reflected on the work ethic that has defined his life. At just ten years old, the industrious child of Irish immigrants in Boston began earning money by hauling neighbors’ groceries in his red Radio Flyer wagon. Later, to pay his BC tuition, he worked as a laborer on campus. His hands helped build McElroy Commons.
When I met with him on a sunny day last spring, Twomey, at eighty-six, was a few months into retirement after fifty-six years on the faculty of what today is the Carroll School of Management. Perhaps unsurprisingly, though, he had yet to pack up his office, which was scattered with testimonies to his storied career. The hulking bookshelves were lined with the thirty-five editions of textbooks on labor, employment, and business law that he’s authored, as well as volumes upon volumes of decisions that Twomey has made in the more than two thousand labor disputes he has arbitrated since 1974. Nearby, a small decorative sign bore a quote by John Locke: “Where law ends, tyranny begins.”
On another shelf was a model railroad boxcar, a nod to yet another of his labor specialties. Such is his reputation for care-
ful deliberation and civility that, beginning in 1986, six US presidents have appointed Twomey to a record ten Presidential Emergency Boards. These are panels convened to quickly resolve—or “referee,” as Twomey put it to me—rail and airline industry disputes that threaten to interrupt essential transportation services. Most recently, President Biden named Twomey to a panel that managed to avert a national railway strike in 2022. He chaired two of those emergency boards, a role that demanded something he does best: building rapport before rendering decisions. “The first thing is to make friends,” Twomey said. In his office was a black-and-white photo of the longtime Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill ’36 raising a beer with Republican President Ronald Reagan. The photo was a gift from a BC student who evidently absorbed the affable arbitrator’s advice for relationships in work and life: “Be smart and be nice,” he said.
The third-born of five children, Twomey put away his childhood wagon and got his first formal job as soon as he could get his working papers. He started off as a dishwasher at a local restaurant, and worked his way up to pouring coffee and sweeping the floor. Over the course of his teenage years, Twomey would go on to sell newspapers on
the streets of downtown Boston and work at a nearby Wonder Bread factory, which exposed him to unions and primed his eventual interest in arbitration. After graduating from BC High in 1956, he served on active duty in the US Marine Corps. These were the days when “work was work,” he said. “You came home dirty.”
Following two years in the Marines, Twomey enrolled at BC, where he studied economics and marketing, worked on campus, and met his future wife, Veronica Lynch, who had a job in development. One day he wooed her with a ride home in his “junky old Ford,” and sharing frappes after work turned into sharing a life. They married in 1967.
Twomey graduated from BC in 1962, then earned his MBA at UMass–Amherst. In finding his career path, he seized opportunities and made his own. He placed an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal describing himself as a “Jesuit-trained MBA looking for responsibility,” and was hired by a financial services company to sell tuition plans. At age twenty-three, he took a position teaching American economic history at Suffolk University. He discovered that leading a classroom suited him. “I would just write something on the board and get something interactive going,” Twomey recalled. “It was exciting. It went well.”
Twomey never stopped teaching. He lectured at Simmons College while studying at BC Law, then joined the Boston College faculty upon earning his JD. He balanced his arbitration work with a full professorship that started in 1978. He and Veronica’s three children all went to Boston College. His office was filled with framed photos of family trips to ski mountains and national parks, and of Twomey standing with his uniformed son on the BC High football field.
As we spoke, Twomey gazed out the window to the grassy quad below, as beaming senior students, all dressed up for end-ofsemester events, posed for photos together. “It’s a beautiful view,” he said, smiling.
True to form, Twomey plans to stay busy during retirement. In his next chapter, he’ll be working to publish his first novel, which is inspired in part by the Irish-Australian folk song “The Wild Colonial Boy.” He recently uncovered a manuscript he started more than half a century ago. “I had completely forgotten about it,” Twomey said. “I had it retyped. I’ve completely repolished it. Now I need to find an agent. I’m sure that will be a challenge.”
It’s one he’s up for, of course. He’d never leave a job undone. n
photos: Caitlin Cunningham (Twomey); Ann Hermes (Parting Shot)
Parting Shot
Beat It
Not since the heyday of MTV had the music of Michael Jackson come alive like this. “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal,” and “The Way You Make Me Feel” were among the careerspanning hits performed with energetic leaps, spirited full-body spins, and a moonwalkinspired move or two by the Boston College Dance Ensemble at Robsham Theater in February. The ensemble, which took the stage brandishing King of Pop–style fedoras, was among several troupes from BC’s vibrant dance scene featured in Waves VIII, the eighth annual showcase produced by UPrising Dance Crew, a hip hop–rooted group. Scott Kearnan
