Boston College Chronicle

Page 1

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of University Communications MAY 24, 2018 VOL. 25 NO. 18

The Power of Words

Use your voices to uphold human dignity, Archbishop Gregory tells Class of 2018 BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

On a day when the Boston College campus reverberated with expressions of praise, congratulations and gratitude – formal, public and private – Archbishop of Atlanta Wilton D. Gregory reminded the Class of 2018 at Monday’s Commencement Exercises that words have the power to unite or divide, uplift or discourage. He urged the graduates and others in attendance to “take careful watch over their words” and do their part to promote civility, whether in conversation, online or via other forms of discourse. A “hostile language environment of hatred,” he said, can too easily turn violent words into violent acts such as those that occurred during the past few years in Las Vegas, Charleston, Orlando, Parkside, and – only last week – Santa Fe, Tex. “Our desired national identity is not that of a cruel or angry people,” said Archbishop Gregory, who received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from University

INSIDE honors Fr. Keenan; 2 •PBK spring sports update; BC Race to Educate

a Truman success 3 •BC story; Dreyfus Award for

Chatterjee; NCAA recognizes BC teams

Bellarmine 5 •Finnegan, winners announced

offer parting 6 •Retirees thoughts on BC

President William P. Leahy, SJ, at Commencement. “We are startled and offended by brutal human behavior that recently seems to abound. Therefore, men and women of our nation must unite in calling us to our nobler selves, and the way that we speak about and to other people must lay the foundation for a much-needed and long overdue restoration of civility and respect. “We must work together to address the causes that prompt and allow people to commit such acts of hatred and brutality.” Some 4,287 Boston College students received their undergraduate and graduate degrees at

Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory at Commencement. (Photo by Gary Wayne Gilbert)

separate ceremonies held around campus after the main Commencement event. In addition to Archbishop

BC custodian Manuel Martins is flanked by sons Ricardo (left) and Filipe, custodial staff supervisors who received master’s degrees Monday. (Photo by Peter Julian)

‘Go As Far As You Can’

Brothers become two-time Woods College grads BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

While others are sleeping, Filipe and Ricardo Martins are part of Boston College’s overnight workforce that cleans the classrooms, offices, hallways and other spaces of Boston College. The two custodial staff supervisors are also two-time BC alumni. On Monday, in the bright light of day, they joined 4,287 of their fellow undergraduate and graduate students as they received their master’s degrees in leadership and administration from the Woods

College of Advancing Studies. For the two brothers, who earned their bachelor’s degrees from the Woods College just a few years ago, the advanced degrees help to fulfill not only their dreams, but the dreams of their parents: their late mother, Rosa, who passed away in 2005, and their father, Manuel, who has worked on the University’s custodial staff for nearly 20 years. “My father emigrated from Portugal at a time when the average person got a sixth-grade education in that country,” said Filipe Continued on page 7

QUOTE:

Gregory, the University presented honorary degrees to: retired Boston College administrator Joseph Duffy, SJ, ’50, MA’51, STL’58; Drew Gilpin Faust, outgoing president of Harvard University; Kendall B. Reid ’79, award-winning HBO documentary producer; and Alberto Vasallo III ’89, president and CEO of El Mundo Boston [see page 4]. “Today is about gratitude, memories, and the future,” said Fr. Leahy, welcoming the graduates, along with their friends and

families, to Alumni Stadium. He thanked BC’s newest alumni for enlivening and strengthening Boston College “with their talent, energy, commitment and generosity.” As is his custom, Fr. Leahy invited family and friends to stand and be recognized for the support, encouragement and challenge they offered to the graduating class members. He also recognized BC faculty and administrators, as well as alumni and friends of the University, for their roles in the graduates’ intellectual and faith formation at BC. Fr. Leahy said Boston College has never been “stronger, more confident and more capable” of helping contemporary society and the Catholic Church address compelling challenges of the day and age. He exhorted the graduates to “give to others from the abundance that you have received, and to put into practice the principles, values, and beliefs of Jesuit education that continue to shape BosContinued on page 4

19 Earn Fulbright Awards lowships won by BC students include Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarships and a Fund for Education Sixteen members of the Class Abroad Scholarship. of 2018 and three Boston ColA look at this year’s Fulbright lege alumni have received Ful- winners: bright Scholarships, which support a year’s post-baccalaureate study Layla Aboukhater abroad. Recipients typically pursue HOMETOWN: Watertown, Mass. DESTINATION: Malaysia research in various disciplines, or PROJECT: Work on research at Malaya serve an English Teaching Assis- Medical School that, as part of developtantship, through which they teach ing HIV monitoring systems, will help identify at-risk populations with high English language and provide in- numbers of transmitted drug resistance sights about American culture. cases; volunteer at a clinic to learn more Two other 2018 graduates have about affected population. FUTURE PLANS: Attend medical been named as Fulbright alternates, school in dual MPH/MD program; pending confirmation of funding hopes to work at Centers for Disease for their projects. Eric Parolin ’13 Control or World Health Organization with focus on HIV/AIDS. also was awarded a Fulbright to “At Boston College my eyes were opened South Korea but declined it to to the opportunities in research and public health, and I became interested pursue graduate studies. Continued on page 8 Other externally awarded felBY UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS STAFF

“The number of international and AHANA students has grown tremendously at BC over the years. This remarkable rise has enriched the campus, and provided the University community with valuable learning experiences; it’s been a win-win for us all.” –Retiring administrator Jean Yoder, page 6


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