Boston College Chronicle

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The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs may 21, 2015 Vol. 22 no. 17

COMMENCEMENT 2015

‘The Givenness of Life, the Grace of Life’ By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

A college graduation represents an important milestone in adult life, Chicago Archbishop Blase Joseph Cupich told the Boston College Class of 2015 at Monday’s Commencement Exercises, but he urged graduates to hold onto one important trait of childhood: the “innate appreciation of the givenness of life.” “Children instinctively grasp that life is ever graced,” said Archbishop Cupich, who received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Commencement. “They sense that more is always coming, and the more, be-

INSIDE •Medical humanities journal debuts, page 2 •BC Clean, page 2 •Annual Leadership Awards, page 2 •BC eyes Turkey for study and research, page 3

•Morrissey College, BC Law to launch joint program, page 3 •Symposium in Jesuit Studies to be held, page 3 •Finnegan Award winner, candidates profiled, page 5 •Math’s Grigsby is first to receive new award, page 6 •Veterans’ Reunion Reception is May 30, page 6 •Dinner for retiring, 25year employees; ‘Parting Thoughts’ from BC retirees; BC Law says good-bye to Katz, page 7

Lee Pellegrini

cause it is beyond their making, is inexhaustible, leaving them unafraid of their God-given thirsts.” Retaining this childhood quality, he explained, is critical both for meeting personal and spiritual challenges throughout one’s life – especially in early adulthood – and for serving wider societal needs. “It will give you a generous and brave heart to speak for those who have no voice because they are too small, too poor, too old, too marginalized, too forgotten. It will prompt in you the strength to be patient as you respond to your God-given longing for intimacy by pursuing loving relationships that are both lasting and life-giving. It will make you wisely suspicious of the voices urging you to sell yourselves short by pursuing a frenetic life pace dotted by false intimacies that leave you empty or by

Chicago Archbishop Blase Joseph Cupich speaking at Monday’s Commencement.

the fever of acquiring more stuff, to the point that we become possessed by the things we try to possess.” The world, he said, “needs the hope of those who know and are inspired by the givenness of life, the

A Love of BC, in Many Words

Student Admission Program coordinator seeks to help others find their way to Boston College By Jack Dunn Director of News & Public Affairs

Robyn Gesek

Archbishop Cupich tells graduates to speak for ‘those who have no voice’

Rebecca “Reba” Hatcher ’16 has never been shy about sharing her love for Boston College. The New York City native and accounting and sociology major found the perfect outlet for her affection freshman year when she joined Boston College’s Student Admission Program (SAP), where she was given the opportunity to direct admissions tours for prospective students. After earning the reputation as one of BC’s best tour guides, she was named student tours coordinator as a rising junior, winning the respect of fellow student volunteers who praised her for her knowledge of BC, unwavering enthusiasm and people skills. It is these qualities, administrators say, that resulted in her being named head coordinator of SAP, one of the University’s premier student leadership positions. As head coordinator of SAP,

Rebecca “Reba” Hatcher ’16

Hatcher oversees all aspects of the 600-student volunteer organization, including Admitted Eagle Day, tour-guide training, volunteer student recruitment and governance of the SAP Council. She also leads the student guides who conduct tours for some 70,000 visitors annually, offering a unique opportunity to showcase the University to the next generation of students. It is a job Continued on page 6

QUOTE:

grace of life.” Also presented with honorary degrees Monday were: Sister Marie Chin, a mainstay of the Sisters of Mercy in Jamaica; Lynch School of Education alumnus Michael Mo-

tyl ’01, president of the Guadalupe Regional Middle School in Texas; executive, writer and motivational speaker Steve Pemberton ’89; and Lee Woodruff, journalist, best-selling author and co-founder of a foundation to aid veterans. [Read the honorary degree citations on page 4.] Some 4,000 BC students received their undergraduate and graduate degrees following the main Commencement event at Alumni Stadium, fanning out to separate ceremonies held around campus, on a cool yet comfortable day that began under gray clouds but gave way to clear, sunny skies. Jesuit Community Rector Robert Keane, SJ, offered the invocation, and Boston Archbishop Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM, Cap. delivered the benediction. Continued on page 4

More Success in Fellowships By Office of News & Public Affairs Staff

Boston College graduating seniors, current undergraduates and graduate students alike earned prestigious fellowships for the 2015-16 academic year. These included eight Fulbrights, with an additional six students named as alternates, pending confirmation of funding for their projects. The Fulbright awards support a year’s post-baccalaureate study abroad, and students typically pursue research in various disciplines, or serve an English Teaching Assistantship, through which they not only teach English language but also use the opportunity to provide insights about American culture. Other awards of note have included Goldwater, Truman, Gilman and Boren scholarships, and a Rappaport Institute Public Policy Fellowship. A look at Fulbright winners and alternates: ANDREW BABBITT

AIDS patients’ receptivity to medical services. He hopes this understanding can help lead to an increased participation in testing and treatment. Babbitt will analyze both the NGO and government models and find ways for models to complement each other. FUTURE PLANS: Will apply to a doctoral program in health policy, and hopes to pursue career with a focus on global health. “I am thrilled by the opportunity to travel to Guangzhou to conduct public health research. In my time at Boston College, I have had multiple opportunities to travel to China and have been able to develop my interests in public health, particularly focusing on the social determinants of health. The Fulbright is an exciting opportunity to further explore these interests, and I am thankful for the help and support I have received from the BC community.”

Kristy Barnes

(Alternate)

HOMETOWN: Plaistow, NH DESTINATION: Switzerland PROJECT: Using reconstructions of chironomid and beetle fossils from lakes within the Swiss Alps, Barnes hopes to confirm the validity of using past cliHOMETOWN: Hampden, Me. mate change as a basis for understandDESTINATION: Guangzhou, China ing effects of current climate shifts. PROJECT: Babbitt seeks to understand FUTURE PLANS: Graduate studies in the Chinese approach to helping HIV/ Continued on page 8 AIDS patients, and conversely, HIV/

“The 3+3 Program eases the financial burden of law school and brings wellqualified students to BC Law, while accelerating the timetable for them to receive their degree.” –Boston College Law School Dean Vincent Rougeau, page 3


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