By Elizabeth Walker
No bells sounded, no lights flashed and no
grand prize was awarded when Maureen Hanley Lynch ’84
became the 1,843rd member of the Holy Cross President’s
Council this summer. While it was a bit of serendipity that
her new President’s Council membership reflects the
year the College was founded, Lynch’s decision to join
was an intentional strengthening of ties to an important
touchstone in her life. It is one that she and her husband,
Phil, hope to share with their young son.
“I grew up in Boston and never thought I’d leave the area,” said
Lynch, who moved to the metro New York area nearly a decade ago. “You graduate,
you move away and you think life will stay the same. As you mature, you meet
all types of people, and encounter all types of lifestyles and values. I began
asking how can we demonstrate to our child what is important to us. He will have
very different options to choose among because he’s not growing up where
we did.
Lynch and her husband both grew up going to Holy Cross with their fathers, John
Hanley ’58 and George Lynch ’51. The fun they had and the memories
they created during those visits to campus are the kinds of experiences she wants
to reinforce for her son.
“
I want him to have ties to the place that had such a strong impact on our lives,” she
said. “My husband didn’t go to Holy Cross, but it has always been
important to him because of his father.”
While living in Boston, Lynch was an active alumna. She attended club events,
and helped with fund-raisers, including an art auction. After moving to New York
nine years ago and commuting into Manhattan for work for several years, she chose
to stay home with her son, Phillip, who is now four. On trips back to Boston,
she and her husband inevitably run into people they know—something that
never happens when they go into New York City.
“It was hard to think that our son might not have a place to go where there
are people who know his parents,” Lynch said. “We thought that Holy
Cross could be that place for him. We also saw joining President’s Council
as a good way to get back to Holy Cross for more than reunions. After talking
with friends, several of us decided that President’s Council Weekend would
be a great opportunity to see former classmates from classes other than our graduating
class. My father-in-law took me to the annual President’s Council dinner
one year and it was great fun. I also look forward to the special events and
other opportunities provided for (Council) members.”
The fact that Lynch’s President’s Council membership supports scholarships
also is important to her.
“As things change, we now have more to give and want to know that our resources
will go to the right places,” she said. “I had an unbelievable education
at Holy Cross. I have such good memories of my years there. I have friends who
are proud of having gone to ‘name’ schools, but they don’t
talk about what went on in the classroom. That’s what I’m proud of.
I had such great relationships with my professors. My Spanish professor would
look into my face, know if I wasn’t getting it, and then help me to understand.”
Lynch calls Holy Cross “a very personal place.” It provided her with
an education that has had broad applications, a sense of community and a love
of the Jesuit influence on the liturgy, which she greatly misses in her parish
church.
“To this day, I developed my best friendships there,” she said. “Joining
President’s Council is a way to get back to a place where I feel so comfortable.
It’s also a wonderful opportunity to give our son something that has been
very important in our lives, while helping to provide scholarships through our
membership.”
Even without bells, flashing lights and a grand prize, Lynch, as the 1,843rd
member of President’s Council, is pleased that her support allows everyone
to win. And as membership climbs toward 2,000 in 2000, it is obvious that many
alumni agree with her.
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