‘God Labored for Me to Come Here’Associate dean of student life found her passion at Holy Cross — and is helping students find theirs “We had a few parents who said they want to come back to school,” said Kristine Cyr Goodwin after one of the Gateways summer orientation sessions last week. She was only half-joking. From the time students and their parents step onto the Holy Cross campus to begin their college careers, they are in good hands. A team made up faculty, administrators and students is there to offer information about academic and social life at Holy Cross during what can otherwise be a nerve-wracking experience. Instituted by Jacqueline Peterson, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, Gateways, now in its tenth year, allows students to learn about all the things the College has to offer, meet faculty, administrators, and students, and take care of practical matters like course selection during the calm of the summer months. The success of Gateways lies largely on these passionate individuals — like Peterson and Goodwin — who value the College’s academic program and believe in the difference that a Holy Cross education can make. Since her arrival in 2001, Goodwin has overseen several departments in Student Affairs: Residence Life and Housing; Orientation, Transition, and Leadership; and Student Programs and Involvement, which also includes Intramural and Club Sports. She says this is her calling, and that her arrival to campus was instigated by God. Goodwin had been working at another liberal arts college for eight years. Her only experience with Jesuits was through the Sacred Space Web site, run by the Irish Jesuits. During that time, she had gone on a retreat and had begun to feel a calling that “I was supposed to do more with faith formation” but didn’t know how. She received a call from a search firm looking to fill the open position at Holy Cross, but had to decline due to a contractual obligation. Meanwhile, the search at Holy Cross proved fruitless and Goodwin received a second phone call. “Ironically the day they called me a second time the president resigned from the college where I was working, so all bets were off. I really do think God labored for me to come here. It was so clear to me.” Goodwin even asked her spiritual director, “Do you think this is it?” Her response? “If this isn’t obvious then I don’t know what is.” The reasons Goodwin came to Holy Cross are the same reasons she stays. “When I first got here, the College had just received a Lilly grant [which supports colleges’ religion, community development and education],” she says. “It wasn’t so much the money that came along with it but the idealism and the connection between what Lilly wanted to do with theological vocational discernment and what the College does as a Jesuit institution. And having gone on a pilgrimage I just fell in love with the idea of pilgrims, companions — with the idea of personal transformation.” She pauses, and adds: “I just believe it with every ounce of my being. I believe it’s so in line with student development theory and then some. I even see parents who leave orientation saying ‘this was rejuvenating for my own way of living.’ ” Goodwin says Holy Cross’ Jesuit principles shape the college experience. “What I think Holy Cross brings is that additional connection to something bigger than academics,” she says. “It’s this understanding and this call to find meaning in life. After you graduate you have to ask yourself: What now? Where do I go from here?” She underscores her point. “At a liberal arts college the question is what do you want to be when you grow up? And at a Jesuit college like Holy Cross it’s who do you want to be when you grow up?” Goodwin says she sees parents and students come alive during the presentations about Holy Cross’ mission. Other administrators and faculty at the College agree. “As dean of last year’s entering class, I approached Gateways with some apprehension; given all that had to happen, it was hard to imagine everything coming together smoothly and seamlessly,” says Mark Freeman, dean of the class of 2011. “But it really did — in terms of organization, in terms of the quantity and substance of the information people received, and, not least, in terms of the spirit of the whole enterprise. Parents, many of whom had been to other orientations, seemed especially pleased with Gateways. They were therefore able to leave after a packed two days well assured that Holy Cross was in fact the right choice for their kids.” The evaluation forms that both students and parents fill out give high marks to the more than 30 programs — from “Planning for Academic Success” to “Finding God: Spiritual Challenge and Growth on Campus” — that are a part of Gateways, and the comments reinforce the ratings. “This orientation was very productive and worthwhile,” one parent wrote. “I commend the entire faculty and staff for the quality of all sessions. This was a most impressive introduction to Holy Cross and only served to reaffirm our decision.” Related Information: • Lauren Courtney ’09 works as orientation leader for third consecutive year |
June 25, 2008|nm