Archive

 5/26/23 - Congratulations to our Senior CBL Interns on Graduation Day!

The Donelan Office celebrated our seven senior CBL Interns at Commencement on Friday, May 26th. The seniors are: Sarah Ayers, Yadary Gutierrez, Jocelyn Hernandez, Alison Maloney, Patrick McQuillen, Valentina Maza, and Morgan Vacca. We are so grateful for the ways our seniors have served the Donelan Office and the College. They will be missed! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5/25/23 - Senior CBL Intern, Valentina Maza featured in Worcester Magazine Story, "Student volunteers make an impact on colleges, communities"

Senior CBL Intern, Valentina Maza '23 was featured in the recent Worcester Magazine story, "Student volunteers make an impact on colleges, communities." The article highlighted how Valentina's past experiences growing up in Venezuela have inspired her to work for social justice wherever she is. Thank you, Valentina for your service to Worcester, to the College, and to CBL. The article also highlights students from Worcester-area colleges. Read the article.

5/12/23 - 3 CBL Interns Announced as Senior Award Winners!

The Donelan Office congratulates Alison Maloney, Valentina Maza, and Morgan Vacca, three senior CBL Interns who have been selected as senior award winners. Alison is the recipient of The Philip A. Conniff, S.J., Prize in Latin. Morgan is the recipient of The Economics and Accounting Department Achievement Award. Finally, Valentina is a recipient of one of the Presidential Service Awards, which honor graduating students who, “to an exceptional degree, have used their time, their talents and their personal resources in the service of the College, their fellow students, the Worcester community, and all those who look to the students of Holy Cross for companionship, compassion, and good company.” Congratulations Alison, Morgan, and Valentina on being recognized for your many academic and extracurricular achievements. Alison, Morgan, and Valentina will receive their awards in a special presentation on Thursday, May 25th (the day prior to Commencement). We are so proud of all of our seniors!  

5/11/23 - Fall '22 CBL Course, "Making the Modern City" Featured in HC Newsroom Story

The HC Newsroom featured CBL Professor Amy Finstein's (Visual Arts) course, "Making the Modern City" in the story, "Students Combine Century-Old Documents and Modern Technology to Research Boston Landscape." The story details the community-based project students participated in with the Boston Public Library's Leventhal Map and Education Center about the history of the landscape of Boston’s Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The students used the library's Atlascope tool to review changes over time in the neighborhood and then produced research posts and blog content for the library. The Donelan Office congratulates Prof. Finstein and her students. The students also created a website detailing their research, which was launched in February (see a previous news story for more information about their website).

5/9/23 - Community Partner, Fjodor Dukaj, Honored at WPS' Evening of Celebration

The Donelan Office congratulates Fjodor Dukaj, Principal of Clark Street Community School for receiving the "Administrator of the Year" award at WPS' Evening of Celebration on May 9, 2023. The Donelan Office and Clark Street began their partnership in the Spring of '22 through a project with Prof. Katherine Hsu's "Refugees in Ancient Myth and Today" course. The project was so successful that Principal Dukaj desired to expand our partnership. In Fall '23, several students started volunteering weekly at Clark St. through CBL. Principal Dukaj was recognized for his dedication, warmth, and strategic initiatives. Certainly, his leadership makes our partnership not only possible, but meaningful and successful. Congratulations, Principal Dukaj! The Donelan Office also congratulates Prof. Lauren Capotosto (Education) for being recognized at the awards for her Scholarship in Action project at Burncoat Middle School. Review all of the honorees here. 

5/5/23 - With the help of a Marshall Grant, two CBL students bring Clark St. students to campus

First-year students, Cayla Friedman and Grace Doherty have been volunteered at Clark St. Community School this year through their CBL Montserrat seminars. They collaborated on a Marshall Grant to bring the students they have been working with to campus for a college visit, which included breakfast in Kimball, a campus tour, and a panel on the student experience. Clark Street featured the field trip on their social media, and shared the following: 

We are very happy about the partnership we have developed with the College of the Holy Cross this year and excited about the learning opportunities for both our students and theirs.

A shout out goes to Grace Doherty and Cayla Friedman, two of our College of the Holy Cross volunteers, for writing the grant that made this visit possible, and for coordinating the events. We'd also like to thank the student panelists for sharing their experience with our students, and everyone else that supported with today's visit.

Thank you, Clark St., for your community partnership, and thank you Cayla and Grace for your dedication to CBL.

5/4/23 - End of Semester Updates from the J.D. Power Center Newsletter

Check out our last newsletter of the academic year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5/2/23 - 3 CBL Interns Recognized at Student Leadership Awards Ceremony

Congratulations to CBL Interns Sarah Ayers '23, Valentina Maza '23, and Morgan Vacca '23 for being recognized with Student Leadership Awards at the Student Government Association's annual Student Leadership Awards Ceremony. Sarah received the "Outstanding Contribution to Holy Cross" award, Valentina received the "Dean Jacqueline D. Peterson Women in Leadership" award, and Morgan received the "Outstanding Service to the Worcester Community" award. The Donelan Office thanks Sarah, Valentina, and Morgan for their leadership in CBL and beyond. Pictured here are Sarah, Valentina, and Morgan with their awards. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5/1/23 - Fall '23 CBL Course, "Anthropology of Law" featured in Holy Cross Newsroom Story

Prof. Doug Bafford's (Anthropology), "Anthropology of Law" CBL course was the feature of the Holy Cross newsroom story, "Law Class Brings Holy Cross Students Out of the Classroom and Into the City." The story details the project-based CBL experience the students had in the course with the Bar None Program at Dismas House, which assists "individuals with criminal records address civil matters that are barriers to successful community integration." Students split into groups and assisted Anna Rice, the Director of Bar None, with research and with CORI and Consumer Report workshops. About the experience, one of Prof. Bafford's students shared, "We do a lot of studying law, and reading helps, but to see concrete examples and meet them, it was really great." 

4/26/23 - CBL Students Present in CBL Academic Conference Session, "Learning with Community: Student Reflections from CBL"

For the first time ever, the J.D. Power Session held a day-long academic conference session featuring several of its programs, including CBL. (Part of the inspiration for this session was the success of the CBL session at last year's Academic Conference.) CBL students kicked the conference session off with the presentation, "Learning with Community: Student Reflections from CBL." Students from four CBL courses were featured: Luke Letizia '25 and Matty Albano '25 from "Chemistry in Community" (Gaby Avila-Bront); Arianna Arguedas ‘23, Shelley Blumsack ‘23, Mark Pettinato ‘25, Alexis Soria ‘25, and Bryceida Valencia ‘23 from "Disability and Literature" (Hayley Stefan); Luke Belanger ‘26, Daniel Berlam ‘26, Michael Irlandez ‘26, and Claire Thibodeau ‘26 from "Worcester Stories" (Sarah Luria); and, Arianna Arguedas ‘23, Annie Kavanaugh ‘23, and Isabella Pagan ‘23 from "Substance Use, Misuse, and Abuse" (Jumi Hayaki). The students eloquently shared about their CBL placements and projects and their learnings from CBL, speaking to the ways in which CBL pushed them out of their comfort zones, helped them build connections between their peers and Worcester community members, encouraged them to critically reflect on their biases and assumptions, enhanced their learning of the course material, and more. The Donelan Office thanks all of the student presenters for taking the time to share about CBL. Other J.D. Power Center programs featured throughout the day included Scholarship in Action, the Academic Internship Program, the Washington Program, Trial Teams, and Research Associates/Weiss Summer Research. Over 40 students from the J.D. Power Center took part. Pictured here are several of the CBL student presenters. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4/13/23 - Two CBL Interns Inducted into Tri-Alpha; CBL Intern, Delaney Walch Offers Reflection at Induction Ceremony

The Donelan Office congratulates the new inductees to Alpha Alpha Alpha, which recognizes the academic achievements of first-generation college students and graduates. We especially congratulate the two current CBL Interns who were inducted, Fernanda Perez-Alvarez '24 and Valentina Maza '23. CBL Intern and current Tri-Alpha member, Delaney Walch was invited to offer a student reflection at the ceremony. Delaney reflected on forging her own path and hobbies in college and how the support of the Holy Cross community and her leadership positions have enabled her to do so. CBL Intern alumna and Assistant Director of the J.D. Power Center, Fátima Oseida was also inducted. Congratulations, all!

4/12/23 - CBL featured in Connections article, "Holy Cross Collaborations Benefit Community Partners in Worcester, MA"

The April 2023 Connections is part one of a two part series on "Town and Gown," with articles highlighting partnerships between AJCU schools and their communities. The Donelan Office is featured in the Holy Cross article, "Holy Cross Collaborations Benefit Community Partners in Worcester, MA." The article discusses the mutual and reciprocal relationships that occur through CBL: students' learning goals can be met right alongside community partners' goals. CBL community partner, Greg Tremba (principal at City View Elementary School) is featured as well, sharing about the partnership between LATN 101 and 102 students and the WPS students. Read the article.

4/6/23 - CBL Students Featured in Worcester T & G Article about Abby's House

First-year CBL students, Teresa Marciano '26 and Alexandra LoCoco '26 were featured in the Worcester T & G's article, "Abby’s House Thrift Shop runs smoothly thanks to more than 50 helpers." Teresa and Alexandra are students in Prof. Hayley Stefan's MONT seminar, "Activism and Pop Culture," and have been volunteering at Abby's House since September. The article highlights the many dedicated volunteers who sort, stock, and sell the items at the store, as well as the community that is built between the volunteers and the clients. The Donelan Office thanks our dedicated CBL volunteers! 

3/17/23 - Donelan Office Director Isabelle Jenkins named as one of the Society for Experiential Education's (SEE) SEE Fellows for 2022-2024

Isabelle Jenkins was selected to be one of the Society for Experiential Education's SEE Fellows for 2022-2024. The SEE Fellows program is a professional development program emerging out of the SEE Research and Scholarship committee, serving the Society's larger goal of fostering research and scholarship in experiential education. The cohort of fellows will explore their practitioner-scholar identity in light of their professional role and experiences. Through this shared exploration, the cohort will devise an action plan regarding a scholarly project they hope to accomplish at the completion of their fellowship. In addition to working with members of the SEE Research and Scholarship committee, the cohort of SEE Fellows will work closely with SEE Engaged Scholar, Dr. Patrick M. Green, of Loyola University Chicago. Read more about the SEE Fellows program and meet the entire cohort.

3/3/23 - Community Engagement Steering Committee Holds Annual Community Partner Appreciation Reception

The Community Engagement Steering Committee (Isabelle Jenkins [co-chair], Sue Hunt [co-chair], Marty Kelly, Michelle Sterk Barrett, Mary Beth Cashman, Meg Ober, and Mary Conley) hosted the annual community partner appreciation reception on Friday, March 3rd. The reception was held in the new Prior Performing Arts Center, and featured a welcome by Isabelle and Sue, remarks from President Rougeau, and impact stories from student leaders, Valentina Maza '23 (CBL Intern) and Daisy Fanter '23 (SPUD Intern) (read transcripts of Valentina and Daisy's beautiful speeches on the CBL Intern Blog). The event was a resounding success, attended by approximately 100 community partners and Holy Cross staff, faculty, and students. The high attendance and energy at the event is a testament to the power of community engagement and the generosity of our community partners. The Donelan Office thanks all who made the event, and community engagement, possible.

3/1/23 - Updates from the J.D. Power Center!

Review the latest J.D. Power Center newsletter here, which includes CBL updates, Center updates, and more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2/28/23 - “Making the Modern City” website now live!

For the past two years, CBL Prof. Amy Finstein (Visual Arts) and her “Making the Modern City” CBL students have been partnering with the Boston Public Library to research the Rose Kennedy Greenway neighborhood in Boston. The students, guided by the research question, how can we observe a city’s changes over time, used digitized records about Boston history from local libraries and archives to investigate the history of specific parcels of land that later hosted the Central Artery and its attendant on-ramps. This extensive research has resulted in a website detailing the changes to the neighborhood, parcel by parcel. Students will also be contributing to the Boston Public Library’s blog with a post on the project to share their research more widely. Congratulations to Prof. Feinstein and her students!

2/12/23 - CBL Interns Gather on Retreat

The CBL Interns and Donelan Office staff gathered in Campion House for a mid-year retreat to pause, reflect, and build community. Interns had time to silently reflect on their personal growth, as well as provide feedback on the structure of the program. The day was also filled with Valentine's crafts and an exciting round of CBL Intern trivia. The Donelan Office is grateful for the leadership of our 16 fantastic Interns!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/31/23 - CBL Students and WPS AP Art History Students Co-Create Scavenger Hunt for Cantor Exhibit Family Day

Students from Prof. Amanda Luyster's (Visual Arts) Introduction to Visual Arts CBL course joined together with Worcester Public Schools AP Art History students in the Cantor Art Gallery on Tuesday, January 31st to co-create a scavenger hunt for the current exhibit, "Bringing the Holy Land Home: The Crusades, Chertsey Abbey, and the Reconstruction of a Medieval Masterpiece" (co-curated by Prof. Luyster). During their visit, the WPS students received an introduction to the exhibit and then worked in pairs with Holy Cross CBL students to select objects that will be a part of the scavenger hunt, to be debuted to exhibit guests on the upcoming family day in February. Prof. Luyster's students will create drafts of the scanvenger hunt for the WPS student to vote on. The winning scavenger hunt will be used to engage young visitors (ages 4-10) in a fun exploration of the various objects. About their visit, one WPS student shared, "Taking a look at the works chosen and taking a small dive into what they portrayed and the thought of helping make a scavenger hunt for kids, because its sweet to know that they might grow up to love art history like I do. I think we were tasked with a great thing. I also simply loved looking at the exhibition itself and the small introduction at the beginning was clear and would help take us through the path of the exhibition." Learn more about the exhibit. Family Day will take place on Saturday, Feb 25th from 10am-12:30pm.

1/23/23 - CBL & SIA Faculty and Community Partners Take Part in First-Ever WISER Workshop (spotlight written by CBL Intern, Courtney Yockel '25)

In January, Holy Cross’s Worcester Initiative for Sustainability and Engaged Research (WISER) hosted its first-ever three day WISER pilot program, designed to bring together 10 WISER fellows, including members of the Holy Cross faculty and Worcester leaders, to discuss and reflect upon the future of clean energy in Worcester. A collaboration of Scholarship in Action, the Office of Sustainability, the J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World, the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, and Environmental Studies at Holy Cross, the program was led by Holy Cross Associate Professor of History and Director of Scholarship in Action, Mary Conley, and Director of Sustainability, Cathy Liebowitz. 

As an intern in the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, I was fortunate enough to speak with Professor Conley about the program. Deemed a “Worcester immersion for faculty,” Professor Conley spoke in-depth about the goals of WISER and about the immense planning that went into organizing the initiative. Highlights of the program included touring the Solar Farm of the former Greenwood Street Landfill, a visit to the EcoTarium, and presentations concerning the history of Worcester, the City of Worcester Green Plan, and current approaches to sustainability being implemented in the community. 

Overall, Professor Conley noted that she could not have imagined a “better start” to the program. Looking towards the future of WISER, she spoke of her hope to build an advisory board that would include community partners and members of the College’s faculty and staff, and to continue to extend the boundaries of the program’s effort to include those from other colleges in the area. She also hopes to involve students by asking them to speak and share what they are doing to be more sustainable and how they would like to be involved with WISER. 

Six members of the Holy Cross faculty were selected to be part of this year’s cohort and included: Visiting Lecturer Nicholas Geron of Biology and Environmental Studies; Associate Professor Denis Kennedy of Political Science and International Studies; Visiting Lecturer Victor Pacheo of Visual Arts and Studio Arts; Professor of Practice Allison Richardson of Accounting and Economics; Visiting Assistant Professor Chris Staysniak of History and Environmental Studies; and, Professor Kelly Wolfe-Bellin of Biology and Environmental Studies. Worcester community partners included: Travis Tran of Sustainable Comforts, Inc.; Josh Boucher from the Worcester Regional Research Bureau; Mary Knittle from the Worcester Community Action Council; Latasha Hughes Thomasson, Environmental, Equity, and Energy Advocate; Guillermo Creamer from Worcester Now/Next; and, Jessica Reyes from Un Toque Borikén/Worcester Families Feeding Families

1/20/23 - 28 Holy Cross Students Participate in Annual Non-Profit Careers Conference

The Donelan Office and the Center for Career Development hosted the annual Non-Profit Careers Conference (NPCC) the week of January 16th-20th. Twenty eight students from a variety of majors and all class years participated. The students took part in workshops with alumni, faculty, and staff, participated in reflection activities on vocation and discernment with the Chaplains' Office, had a networking event with local alumni working in the non-profit sector, and worked in teams on a case study with a local non-profit (agencies included Abby's House, Jeremiah's Inn, Dismas House, Worcester Refugee Assistance Project, Community Harvest Project, Girls Inc., and College of the Holy Cross). The Donelan Office thanks everyone involved in putting on this successful conference, including our speakers, community partners, and alumni. Pictured here are the 28 participants on the last day of the conference after they presented on their case studies to our community partners. 

12/22/22 - CBL Prof. Stephanie Clark and CBL students and alums contribute to educational film for medical professionals

Prof. Stephanie Clark (Deaf Studies) has been working with Deaf YES, one of the Deaf Studies' CBL program's community partners on a film production to educate doctors and medical professionals on how to work with Deaf, DeafDisabled, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing patients. Prof. Clark is directing the film. Additionally, Holy Cross Deaf Studies CBL students are going to be extras in the film. HC alumna, Alyssa Kastrinakis who graduated from Holy Cross in 2017 with Deaf Studies as a minor, is also going to be featured in the film. Alyssa worked with Deaf YES in 2016-2017 as a CBL student and is now a medical student, continuing to work with them. Alyssa has been the medical consultant for the film. Pictured here are the four CBL students and Alyssa. The Donelan Office thanks Prof. Clark and the students for this important work!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12/9/22 - Marlborough Middle School Creates Video Featuring Mythology Program Put on by Latin 101 CBL Students

This semester, the Classics department, through two Latin 101 courses, piloted a mythology program put on by Holy Cross Latin 101 students for Worcester-area youth (at City View Discovery School, Worcester East Middle School, and Marlborough Middle School). Our community partner at Marlborough, Latin teacher, Shelly McCormick, created a video with her students, as well as the Holy Cross volunteers, on the last day of the program to share about everyone's learnings. View the video. Congratulations to all involved on such a successful program!

12/9/22 - Happy Holidays from the J.D. Power Center!

Check out the latest newsletter from the J.D. Power Center, which includes a recap of CBL for the Fall '22 semester, CBL Intern blog posts, and more. 

11/28/22 - "34 Students Inducted into Jesuit Honor Society" (Holy Cross Newsroom), Including Two CBL Interns!

The Donelan Office congratulates the 34 students inducted into the Jesuit Honor Society over family weekend this semester. We especially congratulate two of our CBL Interns who were inducted, Sarah Ayers '23 and Morgan Vacca '23. The honor society, Alpha Sigma Nu "encourages members to a lifetime pursuit of intellectual development, deepening Ignatian spirituality, service to others and a commitment to the core principles of Jesuit education." Membership into Alpha Sigma Nu is awarded to only 4% of each class year. Congratulations, Sarah, Morgan, and students! Read the Holy Cross Newsroom story. 

11/14/22 - "Holy Cross Faculty, Staff, and Students Join with Worcester to Highlight Latino History" (Holy Cross Newsroom)

The Holy Cross Newsroom featured a story on the Latino History Project preview exhibition at the Worcester Historical Museum this fall. The Latino History Project, funded by Scholarship in Action, has intersected with the Donelan Office in many ways, including CBL students taking part in collecting and reviewing stories, and, most recently, preparing for and assisting with the implementation of the preview exhibition at WHM (students in Prof. Cynthia Stone's SPAN 304 course were involved). The Newsroom story also features alumna, Fátima Oseida '20, who served as a CBL Intern during her time as a student and now is the Assistant Director of the J.D. Power Center. Congratulations to all involved on the recent exhibit and on this important work!

10/21/22 - CBL Students Take Part in The Mustard Seed's 50th Anniversary Gathering

Over the weekend of 10/21/22, CBL community partner, The Mustard Seed celebrated its 50th Anniversary. The celebrations took part primarily at Holy Cross and featured workshops, an alumni panel event, shared meals, and more. This fall, Prof. Peter Fritz' Montserrat students have been assisting with the gathering through Community-Based Learning, including studying the Mustard Seed's history and serving meals at the Mustard Seed. The Mustard Seed was co-founded by Holy Cross alum, Frank Kartheiser. Read Holy Cross' Newsroom story about the gathering. The Donelan Office thanks the Mustard Seed for its hosting of Holy Cross CBL students over the years. 

9/27/22 - Check out the J.D. Power Center's first newsletter of the semester!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8/20/22 - Former CBL Student, Kit Meszaros '24 and Time Slips Project Story Featured on Holy Cross Instagram

Kit Meszaros '24 has been spending her summer doing research at St. Mary Health Care Center in Worcester on Time Slips, an intergenerational storytelling program for people with memory loss. Kit was introduced to  program through her MONT CBL course taught by Prof. Beard. Recently, Kit told her summer research story on Holy Cross' Instagram. Listen to Kit share about her learnings!

8/15/22 - Mattie Carroll Promoted to Assistant Director

Mattie Carroll '19 has been promoted to Assistant Director of the Donelan Office, after serving one year as the Donelan Office's Experiential Learning Fellow. In this role, Mattie will continue her work in supporting community partners, advising the CBL Intern Program, working with the J.D. Power Center Ambassadors, and more. Please join the Donelan Office in thanking Mattie for her excellent work thus far and congratulating her on this new position. We are delighted that Mattie is now in a permanent role with us!

6/26/22 - The Donelan Office Congratulates 2020 Holy Cross Graduates!

On Sunday, June 26, 2022, the College of the Holy Cross held a degree recognition ceremony on campus to celebrate the Class of 2020, whose in-person graduation ceremony was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We congratulate the Class of 2020, especially our CBL Interns from that class year: Hannah Benson '20, Jack Chaffee '20, Katie Kelsh '20, Will McAvoy '20, Fátima Oseida '20, Christian Realbuto '20, and Delaney Wells '20. 

6/22/22 - The Donelan Office Helps to Host First-Ever Community Engaged Young Alumni Night

The Donelan Office, along with the Office of Government and Community Relations and the Office of Alumni Relations, hosted the first-ever Community Engaged Young Alumni Night. This event brought together alumni from recent years who did community engagement at Holy Cross and/or are doing community engagement now. Alums in attendance connected, re-connected, shared engagement stories, and simply enjoyed each others' company. It was a particularly meaningful evening for alums from the class of 2020, as it kicked off their Commencement weekend. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6/6/22 - CBL Students and TimeSlips Project Featured in Holy Cross Newsroom Story

CBL students, Lindsay Riordan '25 and Kit Meszaros '24, Prof. Beard's CBL Montserrat course, and the TimeSlips partnership between CBL, Arts Transcending Borders, and St. Mary Health Care Center were featured in Holy Cross' newsroom story, "Holy Cross students join Worcester nursing home residents in unique storytelling project." In the feature, Lindsay and Kit share about the meaningful experiences they've had throughout the year with St. Mary residents, and presenting about their experience at the Academic Conference. In the article, Lindsay shared, "This work that we’re doing and how meaningful it is to what we’re learning, and the idea behind how much you can learn from observing and being in a place that’s a little uncomfortable and unfamiliar for two hours a week, it’s something you’d never do if you didn’t take a seminar on life and death.” Thank you to all who have made this partnership and project possible. 

5/31/22 - Omar Afifi '24 Named Campus Compact's Newman Civic Fellow and is Featured in Holy Cross Newsroom Story

Ignite Fund recipient, Omar Afifi '24 was selected to be Holy Cross' Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow for the '22-'23 Academic Year. Omar is highly engaged at the College and in Worcester, including his volunteering with the AVID program and his efforts with HC First. Omar's achievements were highlighted in a Holy Cross newsroom story. Isabelle Jenkins, Donelan Office Director, led the Newman Civic Fellow selection committee. Congratulations, Omar!

5/27/22 - College of the Holy Cross Celebrates its 176th Commencement; 5 Senior CBL Interns Graduate!

The Donelan Office congratulates the Class of 2022! The Class of 2022 was celebrated in the 17th Commencement Exercises on Friday, May 27, 2022 at the DCU Center. Read about the Commencement events and watch the celebration on Holy Cross' website. The Donelan Office especially congratulates our five senior CBL Interns and thanks them for their service to CBL and to the College: Dora Calva '22, Rachel Enad '22, Julianne Esteves '22, Kathryn Hauver '22, and Emily Taylor '22. We cannot wait to see what our Intern alums do next!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5/20/22 - Three CBL Interns to Receive Senior Awards During Commencement

The Donelan Office congratulates CBL Interns, Kat Hauver '22 and Dora Calva '22 for being selected as Presidential Service Award recipients. Presidential Service Award recipients honor graduating students who, “to an exceptional degree, have used their time, their talents and their personal resources in the service of the College, their fellow students, the Worcester community, and all those who look to the students of Holy Cross for companionship, compassion, and good company.” Kat and Dora are being recognized for their extensive service to the Holy Cross and Worcester communities through CBL and beyond. The Donelan Office also congratulates CBL Intern, Julianne Esteves '22 for being selected as this year's Rev. William F. Hartigan Medal recipient. The medal is given to the student for the best essay on a subject in religion. Congratulations, Julianne, Kat, Dora, and all of our seniors! 

5/19/22 - CBL Students Create Website Commemorating The Mustard Seed's 50th Anniversary

As a part of a year-long CBL project, the 30 students in Prof. Peter Fritz' Montserrat seminar, "Theology of Making" created an informational website that explores the Mustard Seed and its mission within the Worcester community, a special tribute to celebrate the Mustard Seed's 50 years of service and support. The site includes information about the current life of the Mustard Seed, its history, its Holy Cross roots, theology, the Annunciation House's garden, and next steps for the Seed. Explore the website. The Mustard Seed's 50th anniversary conference will take place at College of the Holy Cross in October, 2022.

5/19/22 - CBL Students Write Op-Ed for Worcester Magazine

CBL students from Prof. Megan Ross' Montserrat course, Hip-Hop and the Community, Meghan Hobbs '25, Declan Spellman '25, Jonathan Hofmann '25, and Sam Pappadellis '25, published an op-ed in Worcester Magazine, "First Person: Hop-hop songs creative expression or a confession? The op-ed discusses how rap lyrics have historically been used in trials as "character evidence" and calls for policy in MA to work toward eliminating the practice. Read the students' opinion piece.  The opinion piece was part of the students' final project for their CBL course. The students also contributed to "The Elements: Worcester Hip Hop Through the Ages," the inaugural exhibit of the "Living-Local" Worcester Hip Hop Archive initiative of the Worcester Hip-Hop Congress at the Aurora Gallery. The exhibit was also featured in Worcester Magazine.

5/2/22 - Three Senior CBL Interns Awarded SGA Student Leadership Awards

Three senior CBL Interns were honored at the SGA Student Leadership Awards, held on Monday, May 2, 2022. Dora Calva '22 received the "Outstanding Service to Worcester Award" for her work with Ascentria Care Alliance as one of the lead tutors through the CBL Intern Program for three years and as one of the volunteer tutors through her Spanish and Montserrat CBL courses during her first year. Julianne Esteves '22 received the "Admirable Leadership Traits Award" for her humble, kind, and generous leadership at Holy Cross as a CBL Intern, student leader in the Chaplains' Office and more. Kat Hauver '22 received the "Outstanding Contribution to the Holy Cross Community Award" for all of the ways in which Kat leads across the College, from being a CBL Intern, to a Gateways Orientation Leader, to a SBIP leader, to an E-board member of Feminist Forum, and more. We congratulate Dora, Julianne, and Kat on these honors!

The Donelan Office also congratulates J.D. Power Center Ambassador, Anne Comcowich '22 on being awarded "The Remarkable Vision Award" at the SGA Awards. 

4/27/22 - CBL Featured at Academic Conference

On Wednesday, April 27th, over 400 students and 30+ departments/programs came together for Holy Cross' annual Academic Conference, featuring student research and academic engagement at the College. CBL was featured in the Academic Conference panel, "CBL Across Disciplines: Students' Reflections on CBL in CIS, Montserrat, Religious Studies, Sociology, Spanish, and Visual Arts." The student presenters included:

• "Beginnings and Endings" - Kit Meszaros ‘24 and Lindsay Riordan ‘25
• "Art of Africa and the Americas" and "Kings and Caliphs" - Grace Morrissey ‘22
• "Theology of Making" - Luke Birch ‘25 and Michael Scuderi ‘25
• "Filmmaking in Spanish" - Diana Chavez Cruz ‘24, Marie James ‘24, and Sam Kirkpatrick ‘24
• "Seeking Justice" - Molly Doyle ‘22 and Rachel Enad ‘22

The students reflected on their CBL projects and how the projects enabled them to build connections, connect better and more deeply to course content, and learn academic and professional skills. Many shared about the impact CBL had on their academic and professional decisions, such as leading them to a major, minor, concentration, or interest in a particular professional field. Congratulations to all of our presenters! View their presentation (PDF). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4/26/22 - End-of-semester updates from the J.D. Power Center

Read the JDPC's end-of-semester newsletter for the latest JDPC and CBL happenings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4/8/22 - Isabelle Jenkins appointed as Director of the Donelan Office

Isabelle Jenkins has been appointed as the Director of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning. Isabelle's appointment letter from Margaret Freije (Provost and Dean of the College) included the following Isabelle's appointment:

Beginning late last fall, the College undertook a national search to select the next Director of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning. The Director of the J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts and the World (Michelle Sterk Barrett) coordinated with the Committee on Academic Programs to structure the search process and the formation of the search committee. The search committee was composed of Dan Frost (Spanish & LALC), Renee Beard (Sociology & Anthropology), Tsitsi Masvawure (CIS), Susan Hunt (Government & Community Relations), Marty Kelly (Chaplains’ Office/SPUD), Rudy Antoncic ‘22, Anne Comcowich ’22, and Michelle. 

Isabelle has served as the Interim Director since July of 2021. Isabelle is a Holy Cross alumna who majored in Religious Studies. She did a post-graduate year of service with the Life Together program through the Episcopal Service Corps. She then pursued her M.Div. at Harvard University where she was selected as a Presidential Scholar and worked with their Title IX initiatives, Office of Career Services, and Women’s Center. As part of her divinity school education, she interned in the Holy Cross Chaplains’ Office. She was hired to be the Assistant Director of the Donelan Office in 2014 and was promoted to Associate Director in 2016. While working full-time at Holy Cross, Isabelle has also been pursuing doctoral work in higher education at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her dissertation research is entitled, Developing Skills for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: An Examination of Faculty Teaching that Resonates for Students of Color. She anticipates defending her dissertation in the fall. Isabelle has taught courses in the Academic Internship Program and the Montserrat Program and has done dozens of formal presentations in classes, at conferences, and on retreats. She has also earned numerous awards for her professional contributions including: the 2019 Women’s Appreciation Award from the Male Involvement Coalition at Holy Cross; the 2017 SGA Outstanding Program Support Award, and the 2016 “40 Under 40” honor from the Worcester Business Journal. 

4/6/22 - CBL Community Partner and HC Alum, Frank Kartheiser awarded IVC's Madonna Della Strada Award

IVC (Ignatian Volunteer Corps) New England has selected CBL community partner and Holy Cross alum, Frank Kartheiser '88 as one of their Madonna Della Strada Award recipients this year. The Madonna Della Strada award is named after Sancta Maria Della Strada, the first church that St. Ignatius and the early Jesuits obtained to serve the urban poor in the center of Rome. The award honors lives that reflect the Ignatian values of direct service to the poor, and of working and educating for a more just society. Frank is being honored for his activism in Worcester, including his work to co-found the Mustard Seed and his many years as the Director of Worcester Interfaith. Congratulations, Frank! The Donelan Office thanks you for all that you do to partner with Holy Cross through community-based learning.

3/1/22 - CBL Professor, Megan Ross (Music) featured on on WCCA 

WCCA Executive Director Mauro DePasquale interviews Megan Ross, Ph.D., about the Worcester Hip Hop Congress, an arts non -profit founded in 2021 by a collaborative of local artists, educators, and scholars with a shared love for hip hop and Worcester. In the interview, Megan discusses her CBL courses and her community-based work. Congratulations, Megan! View the interview.

2/21/22 - Michelle Sterk Barrett publishes book chapter in Service-Learning Pedagogy and the Teachings of the Catholic Church

J.D. Power Center Director (and former Donelan Office Director), Michelle Sterk Barrett's book chapter, "Actualizing mission and holistic education through service-learning" has been published in the larger work, Service-Learning Pedagogy and the Teachings of the Catholic Church. The book features scholarship from around the world on service-learning in the context of Catholic higher education. Michelle's chapter examines the importance of mission at Catholic institutions and how service-learning is a way to enact mission in academic settings. Access the book and read Michelle's chapter (PDF) (pp. 93-115).

2/15/22 - Check out the J.D. Power Center's Latest Newsletter!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read the latest J.D. Power Center newsletter. This edition features many CBL-related updates and announcements, including about the 2022 NPCC, our upcoming Dialogue Session, and the CBL Intern application deadline. 

1/11/22 - "Filmmaking in Spanish" film Featured at MSDA Annual Symposium

In Fall '21, students in Prof. Bridget Franco's (Spanish) "Filmmaking in Spanish" course created short bilingual films for community partners to feature community partners' programs, communities, and extraordinary efforts. One group worked with the Medicaid | Medicare | CHIP Dental Services organization (MSDA) and created the film, "Giving Voice." This film features several patients that MSDA serves and how the dental care they have received has been meaningful for them. On January 11, 2022, this film was featured nationwide at MSDA's Annual Symposium in the session, "Understanding the Problems." In this symposium session, participants viewed the Holy Cross student-made video and then learned why access to dental care is so important to the individuals featured in the film. Dr. Renée Joskow then presented about barriers and challenges to achieving equitable oral health from the policy and program perspectives. Congratulations to the MSDA filmmakers, Stephanie Jordan ’22, Elizabeth Mahoney ’24 and Katie Stathoulopoulos ’24! Learn more about MSDA and view the students' film (and all of the films created through "Filmmaking in Spanish") on Prof. Franco's "Filmmaking in Spanish" showcase page.

12/8/21 - Updates from the J.D. Power Center!

Check out the J.D. Power Center's end-of-semester newsletter, which includes news and announcements from the Center, as well as a spotlight on one of our CBL community partners, Our Bright Future. The Donelan Office wishes everyone a happy holidays!

11/26/21 - CBL Faculty member, Prof. Megan Ross featured as a "Hometown Hero" in Worcester Magazine

The Donelan Office congratulates Prof. Megan Ross for being featured as a "Hometown Hero" in Worcester Magazine. The magazine shared about Megan's work as executive director for the Worcester chapter of the Hip Hop Congress, as well as about the community-based learning projects Megan has done in the city. About CBL, Megan shared, “You can’t teach music, in my opinion, without having a sense of what culture and community is. I may not be a hip-hop practitioner, I’m certainly not someone who can speak on the Black American experience, but what I can provide is that historical lens, I can be an educator, I can help bring their music and their work into the light of a broader community.” Read the entire spotlight.

11/2/21 - SIA Grant Featured on Spectrum News 1

The Donelan Office congratulations Scholarship in Action (SIA) for being featured on Spectrum News 1. Spectrum News 1 highlighted the most recent SIA winners, including partnerships with Family Health Center, AIDS Project Worcester, and the Worcester County Poetry Association. Read and watch the feature. 

10/24/21 - 2 Senior CBL Interns Inducted into Jesuit Honor Society

Senior CBL Interns, Kat Hauver '22 and Emily Taylor '22 were inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society on 10/24/21. Alpha Sigma Nu encourages its members to a lifetime pursuit of intellectual development, deepening Ignatian spirituality, service to others, and a commitment to the core principles of Jesuit education. Less than 4% of the senior class is granted acceptance into Alpha Sigma Nu. Congratulations, Emily and Kat!

10/20/21 - Updates from the J.D. Power Center in the J.D. Power Center's first-ever newsletter!

Check out the J.D. Power Center's first-ever newsletter, which includes updates and happenings in CBL and across the J.D. Power Center's programs. 

10/14/21 - J.D. Power Center Director, Michelle Sterk Barrett featured in Conversations magazine

The Fall '21 edition of Conversations, the AJCU's magazine publication, features J.D. Power Center Director, Michelle Sterk Barrett's (and former Director of the Donelan Office) article, "Why Jesuit Education Can Lead the Way." In the piece, Michelle reflects on how the values of a  Jesuit education are particularly relevant to meet today's challenges of political and racial divides, mistrust in government and media, and even mistrust in our own colleges and universities. Particularly, the community engagement that a Jesuit liberal arts education fosters can help widen viewpoints and build relationships across difference. Read Michelle's article.

10/8/21 - "Holy Cross Celebrates Worcester Partnerships at Community Partner Appreciation Reception" 

On October 8th, the Community Engagement Steering Committee was able to hold it's annual  in-person Community Partner Appreciation Reception for the first time since Spring '19. The reception was hosted at Polar Park and included various Holy Cross faculty and staff, along with community partners that Holy Cross works with through its various community engagement programs. President Rougeau offered remarks, as did two student leaders. Read about the reception in Holy Cross' newsroom story. Thank you to our CBL community partners for not only making CBL possible, but for making it a meaningful and enriching experience for Holy Cross students!

9/15/21 - Updates from the Donelan Office and Newsletter Transition

Check out the Donelan Office's last e-newsletter. We are excited to combine our e-newsletter with the J.D. Power Center's new e-newsletter so that all of our readers can learn about J.D. Power Center news and happenings, in addition to CBL news and happenings. Our entire mailing list has been transferred to the J.D. Power Center's e-newsletter mailing list, so be on the lookout for the first newsletter from the J.D. Power Center soon. In addition to the J.D. Power Center’s new e-newsletter, you can still keep up with us through this news page, through the CBL Intern Blog, on myHC (for Holy Cross students, staff, and faculty), and on the J.D. Power Center’s social media (instagram and facebook).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8/20/21 - Holy Cross CBL Professor, Megan Ross (Music) and Holy Cross CBL student, Martell Audate '24 Featured in Worcester Magazine

Worcester Magazine featured the Worcester Hip Hop Congress' event which kicked off the "Living Local Worcester Hip Hop Archive." CBL Prof. Megan Ross and CBL student Martell Audate were both featured in the piece. Martell is overseeing the "Living Local Digital Archive" for the Hip Hop Congress. Read the article. 

6/7/21 - Holy Cross CBL Professor, Megan Ross (Music) and her Montserrat students featured in the Boston Globe

During the 2020-2021 academic year, Professor Megan Ross and her Montserrat students created an exciting web series where students interviewed members of the local hip hop community, including current students and alum of the College. All 14 episodes can be found on the class' instagram page and can also be found on the "living-local" archive of the newly formed Worcester Hip Hop Congress 501(c)(3)--a non-profit venture spearheaded by Chapter Head Ross and including Executive Board members from the Holy Cross community: Che Anderson '11, faculty member Taylor “RTHYM” Travassos-Lomba, and current student Mandusu Sidibay '21. The Boston Globe featured their work in the recent article, "College kids get an education in Worcester's hip-hop scene" by Natachi Onwuamaegbu. In the article, Prof. Ross explains, “This project, the series, the nonprofit, are really all helping to promote a culture in which Black Lives Matter.... Hip-hop artists and their contributions to the local culture have tended to be marginalized in narratives of the city. Hip-hop is originally Black American music, so in the Congress and in all of my classes, I hope to promote and celebrate that heritage.” The Donelan Office congratulates Prof. Ross and her students!

5/21/21 - Eight Senior CBL Interns Receive Diplomas at College's 175th Commencement Ceremony; CBL Intern, Emma Davison '21 delivers Valedictory Address

The Donelan Office congratulates our eight senior CBL Interns on their graduation from the College, Gabi Beaulieu, Jeremiah Bialkowski, Paige Cohen, Emma Davison, Caitlin Grant, Yesenia Gutierrez, Anh Nguyet Phan, and Jack Slania. The College was able to hold an in-person, socially distanced Commencement ceremony on campus on May 21st and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield delivered the address to 748 graduating seniors. Read more about Commencement in Holy Cross' newsroom. The Donelan Office's very own, Emma Davison was selected as the Class of 2021 Valedictorian and delivered the valedictory address. Emma eloquently shared about the power of experiential learning and about the transformative experience she had during her four years at Holy Cross: "When a transformative change occurs, like graduating, the question of “where do we go from here?” often arises. Such a question need not be elusive, but inviting: an invitation to engage with the world around us, to experience with devotion, with intention, and with joy. If we commit to accepting this invitation, the translation of our resultant experiences will swell, and joy will endure." Watch a clip of Emma's address on Holy Cross' Facebook page. Congratulations Interns and to the entire class of 2021.

5/14/21 - CBL Interns Honored with End-of-Year Academic Awards

Four CBL Interns were awarded academic awards for the 2020-2021 academic year. First, incoming Intern Fernanda Perez-Alvarez '21 was awarded the Montserrat Writing Prize for excellence in a piece of writing written for Montserrat. Second, three senior CBL Interns were awarded Presidential Service Awards, the College's highest Commencement award honor: Emma Davison '21, Caitlin Grant '21, and Yesenia Gutierrez '21. The Presidential Service Awards honor graduating students who, “to an exceptional degree, have used their time, their talents and their personal resources in the service of the College, their fellow students, the Worcester community, and all those who look to the students of Holy Cross for companionship, compassion, and good company.” Emma, Caitlin, and Yesenia are most deserving of this award for their leadership and service in CBL and beyond, and the Donelan Office is grateful to have been recipients of and witnesses to the gifts that Emma, Caitlin, and Yesenia have brought to the College. View all of the senior awards on Holy Cross' Commencement webpage.

5/7/21 - End-of-semester Updates from the Donelan Office

Check out our last newsletter of the academic year!

5/5/21 - Worcester College Corps Receives $100,000 Surprise Grant from United Way 

The Worcester College Corps (WCC) was awarded with a surprise gift at the United Way of Central MA's 101st Annual Community Celebration on May 5, 2021. This $100,000 grant will be used to support the WCC's efforts, including its creation of a "Readiness for Community Engagement" professional development online training for college students interested in volunteering/interning in the Worcester community and C.O.R.E., which is an online repository of asynchronous content made by college students for Worcester youth to supplement and amplify their in-class learning. Read more about WCC's gift on MassLive.

The WCC is a collaborative of HECCMA schools and was created out of the Worcester Together group, a collaborative of 200+ Worcester stakeholders who have come together during the pandemic to support the City. Holy Cross community engagement staff and faculty helped to create WCC and its initiatives, including Associate Director, Isabelle Jenkins, Sue Hunt (Office of Government and Community Relations), Meg Ober (Teacher Education Program), and Prof. Tsitsi Masvawure (Center for Interdisciplinary Studies). Congratulations to WCC! The Donelan Office is excited to see how this gift can amplify WCC's efforts.

4/28/21 - Senior CBL Intern, Emma Davison '21 Named 2021 Class Valedictorian (Holy Cross Newsroom)

Senior CBL Intern, Emma Davison '21 has been selected to deliver the Class of 2021 valedictory address at the Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 21. Emma was selected as valedictorian from a group of academically outstanding members of the senior class, each of whom submitted speeches for consideration. The Donelan Office congratulates Emma on this achievement and is grateful for the ways in which Emma has devoted her skills and talents to CBL, in addition to her many other leadership and academic commitments. Read the full announcement and more about Emma on Holy Cross' newsroom webpage.

4/27/21 - 4/29/21 - CBL Featured Throughout Holy Cross' Annual Academic Conference

Holy Cross celebrates the great and varied work accomplished by its students at the Academic Conference which takes place annually across campus over multiple days. Students bring the liberal arts to life through performances, poster sessions, and presentations, showcasing a high level of independence, creativity, and intellectual discipline. This year, the Academic Conference was held virtually, and featured almost 300 students from various departments and concentrations. Additionally this year, CBL was featured throughout the Academic Conference. First, to open up the conference on Tuesday, April 27th, Fenwick Scholar Maia Lee-Chin shared her year-long research project, "Classics in the Classroom: Retelling the Iliad in Worcester." This project involved Maia partnering with Recreation Worcester to implement a 6-week curriculum to introduce Classics and the Iliad to Worcester youth. Previously, Maia completed a Latin-related CBL placement through her Fall 2019 CBL course, "Community Engagement and Social Responsibility." Maia worked with students from Prof. Machado's Latin 101 CBL course to teach Latin to fourth graders at City View Discovery School. Second, on Wednesday, April 28th, students from the CBL course Latin 102 presented about their CBL projects, Latin videos for the College Corps' Online Repository of Educational Content (C.O.R.E.). The students shared about their experience making the videos and how the videos helped them develop their own understanding of the Latin language. Third, on Thursday, April 29th, CBL was highlighted at the Spanish Honor Society Induction Ceremony (Sigma Delta Pi): 91% of Sigma Delta Pi inducted members participated in CBL, with 73% completing CBL through the Spanish curriculum. Some of the sites where the students volunteered include Ascentria Care Alliance, Club E at the Latino Education Institute, and the Worcester Public Schools Transition Program. Finally, two CBL Interns were inducted into honor societies at the Academic Conference. Junior CBL Intern, Kat Hauver '22 was inducted into the Sociology Honor Society and senior CBL Intern, Caitlin Grant '21 was inducted into the Spanish Honor Society. Congratulations to Kat and Caitlin and to all of the Academic Conference presenters and honorees!

4/26/21 - CBL Interns and Civitas Honored at SGA's Annual Student Leadership Awards

At this year's SGA Student Leadership Awards, three senior CBL Interns, Paige Cohen '21, Emma Davison '21, and Yesenia Gutierrez '21 were honored for their leadership and contributions to the college. Paige was awarded the Admirable Leadership Traits award, which honors individuals who have led by example throughout their Holy Cross career and possess superior leadership qualities that make them a model for their peers. Emma was awarded the Bishop Fenwick Service Award, which honors a senior for their outstanding service to the Holy Cross community. Yesenia was awarded the Joseph J. Reilly Award, which honors a senior who exemplifies the ideals of multiculturalism and diversity in the loving and caring example of Joe Reilly ’55. The Donelan Office congratulates our Interns on these accomplishments and is grateful for the leadership they've exemplified through their roles as CBL Interns and beyond.

Additionally at the Student Leadership Awards, Civitas was honored with the Excellence in Collaboration Award. The Donelan Office is grateful for this award for our work with students and colleagues from the Chaplains’ Office, the Office of Government & Community Relations, the Office of Multicultural Education, the Office of Sustainability, and Scholarship in Action to make Civitas happen. The Civitas initiative was created to help students build community with one another and remain civically engaged during the pandemic. Civitas programs included two iterations of the Community Engagement Leadership Institute, Handheld Worcester, the Pay it Forward Mentoring Program, virtual volunteering, and more. The Donelan Office is especially grateful for all of the students who assisted with leading various pieces of Civitas: those who met with us to brainstorm initial ideas that led to the Leadership Institute; those that volunteered regularly with community partners; those who helped facilitate the Leadership Institute; those who attended the Ignatian Family Teach-In; those who participated in the Pay It Forward mentoring program; those who subscribed to Handheld Worcester emails; and CBL Intern Kat Hauver ‘22 who helped to create Handheld Worcester.

Congratulations to all of the Student Leadership Award winners and nominees!

3/31/21 - CBL Student, Bryceida Valencia '23 named as one of Campus Compact's 2021-2022 Newman Civic Fellows

The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who are changemakers and public problem-solvers at Campus Compact member institutions. Fellows are nominated by their president or chancellor on the basis of their potential for public leadership. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides students with training and resources that nurture their assets and passions and help them develop strategies for social change. The yearlong program, named for Campus Compact founder Frank Newman, includes virtual learning opportunities and networking as part of a national network of engaged student leaders and an optional in-person convening. CBL student, Bryceida Valencia '23 was named by Fr. Boroughs as Holy Cross' 2021-2022 Newman Civic Fellow. Bryceida, a sophomore and health studies major, was selected for the fellowship because of her extensive civic and political engagement, her dedication as a mentor to first-year students, and her commitment to deepening her understanding through Community-Based Learning (through CBL, she has volunteered locally with families at the Centro Las Americas food bank and formed connections with residents at the Brookdale Senior Living Center). Congratulations, Bryceida! (Update on 4/23/21 - Holy Cross Newsroom published a story about Bryceida's national award. Read the press release.)

3/26/21 - Updates from the Donelan Office

Check out our latest newsletter!

3/11/21 - Holy Cross Student Places 2nd in Worcester Mask Art Competition

The Donelan Office congratulates Holy Cross student, Erin Bengston '22 for placing second in the 18+ category of the City of Worcester's mask art competition. Erin's two-sided design features the phrase "Worcester. United Always." and the city skyline with the names of Worcester-area colleges and other important landmarks. Erin's mask will be printed and distributed to residents in Worcester by the Department of Youth Services. Erin was honored during a city briefing on 3/11/12. You can watch the briefing on the City's Facebook page (the announcement of the mask competition winners runs from 7:07-12:20). Erin was recruited for the art competition by CBL Professor, Rachelle Beaudoin. 

2/3/21 - Welcome Back from the Donelan Office!

Check out our first newsletter of the Spring '21 semester.

Winter 2020 - CBL Intern Alumna, Funmi Anifowoshe-Manning '17 publishes article in Virginia Journal of Criminal Law: "When Prosecutors Act as Judges: Racial Disparities and the Absence of due Process Safeguards in the Juvenile Transfer Decision"

Beyond her time as a student at Holy Cross, CBL Intern alumna, Funmi Anifowoshe-Manning '17 is continuing to advocate for social justice issues important to her. Most recently, this winter, Funmi published an article in the Virginia Journal of Criminal Law entitled, "When Prosecutors Act as Judges: Racial Disparities and the Absence of due Process Safeguards in the Juvenile Transfer Decision." The article explores an important issue within the juveline justice system, the transfer of juveniles to criminal courts, which disproportionately impacts racially minoritized youth. As Funmi writes in the abstract to the article, "a number of legislatures... permit prosecutors to transfer juveniles to criminal courts with no standards to guide them nor judges to check their decisions. This transfer strips young people of the protections offered by juvenile courts, such as psychological treatment, rehabilitative services, and the privacy afforded by sealed records. Transfer practices are particularly problematic because a disproportionate number of these youths are minorities." Read Funmi's article (PDF) to learn more. The Donelan Office congratulates Funmi on her achievement!

12/11/20 - Happy Holidays from the Donelan Office!

Check out our end-of-semester holiday newsletter.

12/9/20 - CBL Intern and NPCC Community Partner Featured in Local Newspaper, The Hopkinton Independent

Through Holy Cross' Academic Internship Program, CBL Intern, Emily Taylor '22 has been interning with the National Museum of Mental Health Project (NMMHP). The NMMHP is a non-profit organization and a "museum without walls" that researches and creates exhibitions in order to work to transform society’s attitudes about and understanding of mental health. Emily is a communications intern for the organization, and has worked on various projects this semester to amplify NMMHP's work. Emily's local newspaper, The Hopkinton Independent recently interviewed Emily on her work with NMMHP. In the interview, Emily shared about her passion for mental health work, the impact of NMMHP, and how her experiential learning experience has helped to inform her professional goals. About why she wanted to get involved with NMMHP, Emily said, "I’m really interested in mental health and mental health advocacy.... I want to be a therapist when I’m older. So I thought it would be great to look at mental health from a side that I hadn’t considered before, because everything I’ve been doing in school so far has been lecture-based, science-focused, learning about that aspect of psychology and mental health. But then when I saw there was an art connection that I could explore and have that exposure as well, I thought that would be really cool, so I wanted to get involved.”

Holy Cross and NMMHP first collaborated through the 2020 Non-Profit Careers Conference. NMMHP applied to the NPCC to seek assistance from a group of students on generating ideas for funding and writing language for potential future grant proposals (the student team included, Jany Gonzalez '22, Kat Hauver '22, Caroline McKinley '21, and Nathaniel Trotman '22). One of the team's recommendations in their final presentation to NMMHP was to hire a graduate assistant or undergraduate intern to help with the workload. NMMHP did just that, recruiting Emily as their first communications intern!

11/30/20 - Associate Director, Isabelle Jenkins and CBL Intern, Kat Hauver '22 featured in Worcester T and G and in HC Newsroom Story about Handheld Worcester

The Worcester Telegram and Gazette featured Handheld Worcester, Civitas' latest civic engagement initiative. Handheld Worcester celebrates the City through its public art, monuments, and historical buildings. It is meant to be a virtual walk about Worcester that connects users to its beauty, history, culture, and community. The walk is a loop, starting just down the hill from Holy Cross and finishing on its campus. Users can also sign up to receive weekly emails that contain more details about each tour stop and ways to engage remotely (the email campaign runs from 11/30/20 to 1/19/21). Isabelle and Sue Hunt (Associate Director, Government and Community Relations) developed the initiative, with assistance from Kat and Prof. Mary Conley (History and Scholarship in Action). Read the T and G article and the HC newsroom story to learn more about Isabelle and Kat's thoughts about the project.

11/28/20 - CBL Project with Music Worcester Helps The Worcester Chorus' Annual "Handel's Messiah" Performance go Virtual 

For 120 years, the Worcester Chorus has had the annual holiday tradition of performing "Handel's Messiah" at Mechanics Hall. This year, to keep the tradition alive, "Handel's Messiah" is going virtual. Prof. Megan Ross' "Introduction to Music" CBL course has been assisting Music Worcester to put on this virtual event through creating a pre-concert video lecture detailing the historical development of "Handel's Messiah" from 1741 down to the present day. This pre-concert video lecture is taking the place of the annual pre-concert talk that cannot happen this year due to the pandemic. While the on-demand concert isn't available until December 15th, the free pre-concert video lecture can be viewed now on Music Worcester's Vimeo page. Learn more about the Holy Cross/Music Worcester collaboration in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette's piece about the virtual Messiah event and in Prof. Ross' interview of Music Worcester's executive director. The Donelan Office congratulates Prof. Ross, her students, and Music Worcester on a successful collaboration!

11/15/20 - Updates from the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning

Check out our November newsletter!

9/10/20 - Updates from the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning

Check out our first newsletter of the 2020-2021 academic year!

8/26/20 - CBL Intern, Yesenia Gutierrez '21 Featured in LinkedIn Story on Volunteering during the Pandemic

CBL Intern, Yesenia Gutierrez '21 was featured in the LinkedIn story, "A rare bright spot in pandemic life: volunteers rush to provide support." In the story, Yesenia shares about her volunteer work with Ascentria Care Alliance, a Worcester-based organization that supports refugees and immigrants. At Ascentria, Yesenia has been translating refugees' life stories to help Ascentria's attorneys build successful applications for asylum. The article also highlights how 45% of Holy Cross students have indicated on their LinkedIn profiles that they are involved in volunteer efforts. This is the highest percentage for any higher education institution in the U.S. The Donelan Office thanks Yesenia and all Holy Cross students for their efforts to support Worcester-based community organizations and beyond. 

8/5/20 - CBL Interns Featured in Holy Cross Newsroom Story about Supporting Worcester Community Organizations During the Pandemic

CBL Interns Paige Cohen '21 and Will McAvoy '20 were featured in an HC Newsroom Story highlighting how HC students continued to support Worcester community organizations during the pandemic in the spring semester. The story highlighted Paige's work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central MA and Will's work with St. Mary Health Care Center. Navigate to the newsroom for the full story. Thank you, Paige, Will, and all of our CBL Interns for their continued service during these times of dispersion! We will certainly look toward their leadership as we continue to support Worcester community organizations during this time. 

6/23/20 - CBL Blog Posts Featured in fósforo

fósforo, the bilingual literary and artistic review at Holy Cross, is a forum for Hispanic inspiration in the Holy Cross community. The most recent edition, Número 17, is the first time fósforo has been published online. As stated in the prologue to Número 17, this edition "comes at a particularly difficult time. At press time, COVID-19 had caused some 2,000,000 infections and 120,000 deaths in the United States alone. In response to the pandemic, the College suspended in-person classes on Friday, March 13, obliging students to leave campus and finish their studies remotely. Earlier that morning, police in Louisville, Kentucky, burst through the door of Breonna Taylor’s apartment and, after a confused confrontation, killed her in a hail of bullets. Her death formed part of a murderous outburst against African Americans, one that prompted nationwide, and then worldwide, protests against a devastating history of racial killings and police violence. fósforo 17 appears against this bleak cultural landscape. A vein of its content reflects the outrage and suffering of a community rent by violence, alienation, and disease. More generally, however, the works serve as examples of how members of our community have tried to represent and understand difference, to inhabit new worlds, comfortable or not, through creative expression. Taken together, they invite us to reflect on ourselves and our communities during this season of fear and mistrust." Several CBL blog posts are featured in fósforo 17, highlighting the ways in which CBL can help community members reflect on their own experiences, identities, and roles to play in the struggle for racial and social justice. The Donelan Office thanks fósforo for inviting CBL to take part in this important publication. Read fósforo 17.

6/11/20 - Arts Transcending Borders (ATB) Features Spring 2020 Community-Based Learning Project, "TimeSlips"

From ATB's campus-wide announcement: This Spring, students from Renee Beard's "Aging and Society" seminar at College of the Holy Cross joined Ian Bannon, Figures of Speech Theater Director of Education, for regular visits to a pair of skilled nursing facilities in Worcester. They gathered with residents of Saint Francis Rehabilitation & Nursing Center and St. Mary Health Care Center to create stories together until classes moved online. The original stories were created using TimeSlips Creative Storytelling as a series of responses to open-ended questions about photos. To continue the creative collaboration in spite of the quarantine, Bannon worked remotely with students to create video adaptations of the stories, which will be shared back with the storytellers at Saint Francis and St. Mary. View more on the Arts and Creative Resilience Page. 

About the community-based learning experience, one student shared, "What was even more wonderful was the joy creating these stories brought all of us. Our various ages, backgrounds, and experiences blended together in the most beautiful way, and the TimeSlips process encouraged us to channel our individual ideas to create something together."

Navigate to YouTube to view the video adaptations of the three stories the students and community members created:

1) New Tell Us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__q8Axm8Loo 

2) Vaudeville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg4zEed4OOE  

3) Culinary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cla58iUHduo  

6/9/20 - Maia Lee-Chin '21 Announced as 2020-2021 Fenwick Scholar

The Donelan Office congratulates rising senior, Maia Lee-Chin '21 for being selected as the 2020-2021 Fenwick Scholar. The Fenwick Scholar designs an independent research program or project that will complete their undergraduate education in a meaningful and challenging way. Maia's project, entitled "Classics in the Classroom: Retelling the Iliad in Worcester," is to develop a curriculum for six- to eight-year-old Worcester students that will measure their reading motivations and provide engaging and effective transitional reading material for students who are shifting from fictional reading to informational reading, particularly for students from marginalized populations. Maia's project seeks to engage students during a critical period of their reading skills development. Maia's project will be advised by Prof. Lauren Capotosto (Education), Professor and Dean of the Faculty Mary Ebbott (Classics), and Professor Machado (Classics). Previously, Maia completed a Latin-related CBL placement through her Fall 2019 CBL course, "Community Engagement and Social Responsibility." Maia worked with students from Prof. Machado's Latin 101 CBL course to teach Latin to fourth graders at City View Discovery School. (Read more about the Latin CBL component of Prof. Machado's course.) The Donelan Office is excited to see Maia's work take a new shape through her Fenwick Scholar work. Congratulations, Maia!

5/22/20 - Graduating CBL Interns Celebrate the Conferral of their Degrees; Four Receive Presidential Service Awards

On Friday, May 22, 2020, the Holy Cross community virtually celebrated the conferral of Bachelor of Arts Degrees to 707 members of the Class of 2020. Congratulations to the entire senior class! The Donelan Office especially congratulates our seven senior CBL Interns, Hannah Benson, Jack Chaffee, Katie Kelsh, Will McAvoy, Fatima Oseida, Christian Realbuto, and Delaney Wells. These students have served our office extremely well, whether it was for one year, for two years, or for three. We are so grateful for their leadership. Three of our senior CBL Interns were honored with Presidential Service Awards: Will McAvoy, Fatima Oseida, and Christian Realbuto. Additionally, one of our seniors, Delaney Wells, received the George B. Moran Award. The Presidential Service Award (and the George B. Moran Award) honors graduating students who “to an exceptional degree, have used their time, their talents and their personal resources in the service of the College, their fellow students, the Worcester community, and all those who look to the students of Holy Cross for companionship, compassion, and good company.” Congratulations to Delaney, Will, Fatima, and Christian, and congratulations to all of our seniors. We are so proud of you! Watch the 2020 virtual Commencement celebration.

5/5/2020 - End of Semester Updates from the Donelan Office. Check out our last newsletter of the 2019-2020 academic year.

4/20/2020 - Several CBL Interns Honored at the SGA Student Leadership Awards

On April 20, 2020, the Holy Cross Student Government Association hosted their annual student leadership awards, this time in a virtual format. The awards recognize students and student groups who have been exceptional leaders and collaborators and who have made an impact at Holy Cross and beyond. Several CBL Interns received awards at the ceremony, and their excellent work with the Worcester and Holy Cross communities was highlighted. Congratulations to the following Interns: Hannah Benson - Outstanding Service to the Worcester Community Award; Jack Chaffee - Outstanding Contribution to the Holy Cross Community Award; Katie Kelsh - Humble Leader Award; Will McAvoy - St. Ignatius Loyola Award; Fatima Oseida: Remarkable Vision Award; Christian Realbuto - Bishop Fenwick Service Award; Delaney Wells - Jacqueline D. Peterson Women in Leadership Award. 

3/25/2020 - Holy Cross Featured in AJCU's "Connections" Issue on Service-Learning

The March edition of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities' (AJCU) monthly newsletter, "Connections" featured service-learning across the AJCU. Holy Cross was featured twice in the issue: for hosting the AJCU Service-Learning Professionals Conference in June 2019 and for our Latin CBL program with Prof. Dominic Machado's (Classics) Latin courses and with community partners, City View Discovery School and the Marie Anne Center. The article on the AJCU Service-Learning Professionals Conference, "AJCU Service-Learning Professionals Live Out the Mission" was written by Donelan Office Director, Michelle Sterk Barrett. Michelle is also the chair of the AJCU Service-Learning Professionals Group. About the conference, Michelle shared, "I have thoroughly appreciated how the Conference has fostered a space for professional guidance/support, critical thinking, innovative ideas, genuine friendships, and rejuvenation." The 2019 conference at Holy Cross continued to foster such a space, as it featured a variety of plenary and breakout sessions on relevant service-learning topics, engagement with the Worcester community through a visit to the Worcester Historical Museum, and time for attendees to reconnect.

The article on our Latin CBL Program, "Carpe Diem: Holy Cross Students Learn Latin through Teaching Elementary Students" was written by College of the Holy Cross Media Relations Director, John Hill. Our Latin CBL Program brings together students from Prof. Machado's Latin 101 and Latin 102 courses with two community partners, City View Discovery School and the Marie Anne Center. Through the program, Holy Cross Latin students create and teach Latin lessons for students at City View and at Marie Anne. The goal of the program is for Holy Cross students to have a more meaningful and engaging Latin learning experience and for Worcester students to be introduced to Latin at a young age, making Latin more accessible to the Worcester community. The "Connections" article highlighted the social justice aspect of the program, featuring a quote from Prof. Machado about how the program brings to light social justice issues inherent in traditional Classics learning experiences: "“Classics are primarily taught in universities. You think of a classics professor wearing tweed, right?” Machado jokes. “But by interacting with a population that’s exactly not that, and seeing how they respond to Latin, the students consider how we think about language and culture and whether that [approach] makes sense.”"

Thank you, "Connections" for featuring CBL at Holy Cross!

3/2/2020 - CBL Intern, Paige Cohen '21 interviews Bridget Bowman '13 for Holy Cross' Mission-Driven Podcast

In the sixth episode of The Mission-Driven Podcast, CBL Intern, Paige Cohen '21 interviews Bridget Bowman '13 about her career as a political reporter and how the Holy Cross mission has influenced her approach to connecting with voters and reporting the news. Listen to the interview. The Mission-Driven Podcast features conversations with alumni who are leveraging their Holy Cross education to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. Produced by the Office of Alumni Relations at the College of the Holy Cross. Learn more at holycross.edu/alumni. 

2/21/2020 - "Toxic Charity" Dialogue Session Featured in The Spire

Chief Features Editor of The Spire and CBL student, Kelly Gallagher reported on the "Toxic Charity" Dialogue Session held by CBL Interns for CBL students in early February. Read Kelly's piece to learn more about CBL Dialogue Sessions and things to keep in mind in getting started with CBL and throughout the CBL experience.

2/4/2020 - Updates from the Donelan Office! Check out our first newsletter of the spring semester.

12/11/2019 - Happy Holidays from the Donelan Office! Check out our end of semester updates in our latest newsletter. 

12/10/2019 - CBL Intern, Will McAvoy '20 interviews Frank Kartheiser '72 for Holy Cross' Mission-Driven Podcast

In the first episode of The Mission-Driven Podcast, CBL Intern, Will McAvoy '20 interviews Frank Kartheiser '72 about living the Holy Cross mission through his work in the Worcester community. Listen to the interview. The Mission-Driven Podcast features conversations with alumni who are leveraging their Holy Cross education to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. Produced by the Office of Alumni Relations at the College of the Holy Cross. Learn more at holycross.edu/alumni. 

11/21/2019 - CBL Project-Based Course, Latin 101 Featured in Holy Cross News Story, "Carpe Diem: Holy Cross Students Teach Latin to Local Elementary Schoolers"

Photo by Avanell Brock.

Students in Latin 101 at College of the Holy Cross usually spend long hours studying complex grammatical concepts and memorizing verb conjugations to ready themselves to read Roman literary masterworks. As a result, there’s not too much of a focus on things that might show up in an introductory course of a modern language — they don’t describe the objects they find in their rooms or recount their daily routines in detail. But when a group of fourth graders wants to talk about their favorite Thanksgiving foods, you figure it out.

As part of a Latin 101 course integrating Community-Based Learning (CBL), small groups of students from the class, taught by Dominic Machado, assistant professor of classics, have been traveling to Worcester elementary schools four times a week to teach introductory Latin to fourth and sixth grade students.

“The young students wanted to know about ancient science, so my students learned about Pompeii and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius,” Machado says. “Not only is the student-teaching reinforcing what we cover in class, but it’s pushing Holy Cross students to stretch the boundaries of what they know and don’t know.”

Continue reading in the Holy Cross newsroom. 

11/20/2019 - CBL Interns attend Ignatian Solidarity Network Teach-In for Justice in Washington, D.C. 

This November, two CBL Interns, Paige Cohen ’21 and Yesenia Gutierrez ’21 joined other student leaders from Holy Cross at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington D.C. The Family Teach-In for Justice, an annual conference sponsored by the Ignatian Solidarity Network, brings together high school and college students from Jesuit institutions across the country to advocate for social justice and change through learning, praying, and reflecting. This conference honors the Jesuits and their companions that were martyred in El Salvador in 1989. At this year's Teach-In, the Interns had the opportunity to engage with others on topics revolving immigration (focused on protecting DACA) and environmental justice. The Interns also had the opportunity to listen to different keynote speakers who shared their experiences with immigration and climate change. On their final day in D.C., the Interns participated in the conference's advocacy day on Capitol Hill. Advocacy day kicked off with a rally in the morning and then the Interns had the opportunity to speak to the staff of Senator Warren's (D-MA) office and to the staff of Representative McGovern's (D-MA) office about issues of immigration and climate change. 

Yesenia and Paige in Washington for the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice.

11/15/2019 - NROTC visits CBL community partner, St. Mary for Veterans Day

On 15-November-2019, members of Holy Cross Naval ROTC attended the St. Mary Veterans Day Ceremony. In honor of Veterans Day, St. Mary and Covenant Health staff members wanted to pay respect to the veterans who reside at St. Mary Health Care Center. Of the approximately fifteen veterans in the center, several were able to attend the ceremony. Veterans first listened to several songs sung by the students of Webster Square Day Center (which is located inside of St. Mary). Veterans then listened to the playing of the National Anthem with a color guard provided by the members of Holy Cross Naval ROTC. Following this ceremony, citations were presented to each resident by members of Holy Cross Naval ROTC and residents also received an American Flag pin. Thank you for your service, veterans at St. Mary!

NROTC members pin a St. Mary resident with a flag pin. 

11/14/2019 - Donelan Office and Scholarship in Action help to host Community Engaged Scholarship Event

On November 4th, the Donelan Office collaborated with the College’s Scholarship in Action Program, Campus Compact, Worcester State University, Clark University, and Anna Maria College to coordinate a half-day workshop for over 80 attendees focused on integrating community engaged scholarship into faculty identity.  The event began with a welcome from City Manager Ed Augustus. The keynote speaker, Timothy Eatman (Dean of the Honors Living-Learning Community at Rutgers University-Newark and former Co-Director of Imagining America), then offered an engaging and thought-provoking presentation that was described as “exceptional” and “excellent” in evaluations. One attendee said, “Tim Eatman's idea of engaged research practitioners as outlaws or bandits was very helpful and validating - it recognized the challenges and vulnerabilities inherent in doing this work.”

The keynote was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Professor Margaret Post from Clark University that focused on concrete aspects of how local professors and community-based organizations have partnered with one another. Panelists included: Prof. Stephanie Yuhl (Holy Cross) & Bill Wallace (Worcester Historical Museum), Prof. Laurie Ross (Clark University) & Eric Batista (the City of Worcester’s Youth Prevention Initiative), Prof. Francisco Vivoni (Worcester State University) & Domenica Perrone (Latino Education Institute).

Professor Mary Conley from Scholarship in Action took the lead in organizing the event in order to stimulate thinking among Holy Cross faculty around community engaged scholarship.  The next round of Scholarship in Action grants (which offer financial support for community engaged scholarship efforts) are due on February 3rd.  Faculty interested in learning more can refer to the Scholarship in Action website.

10/28/2019 - Check out the latest updates from the Donelan Office!

10/26/2019 - Holy Cross Claremont Volunteers Featured in Claremont's Newsletter

This fall, 13 CBL students from SPAN 301 are volunteering at Claremont Academy working one-on-one with Spanish-speaking students to assist them with their MCAS preparation. This week, Claremont highlighted the Holy Cross tutors in their weekly newsletter. Thank you to our Holy Cross volunteers and to Claremont for making this partnership such a meaningful one. 

Ubuntu, Holy Cross Style Students from The College of the Holy Cross are required to engage in community-based learning. A few years ago, a handful of them came to Claremont to fulfill that requirement by observing in classes. Some of these were fulfilling their community outreach component of the Spanish class, so Dee Carlson got the idea to pair them with Spanish-speaking students who needed help preparing for the MCAS. The idea turned out to be a powerful one--both for our students and for the students from Holy Cross. As one of them explained, “Community service is not just about helping, but about the people you’re helping knowing that they’re giving something to you.” The point is, it’s not about charity, but about community. Everyone has something to offer, and everyone helps each other. Sounds like Ubuntu! “I learned about it from my friend who did it last year,” another Holy Cross tutor explained, “and she really liked it. She liked working with the kids. It is more fun and rewarding than just speaking with someone in Spanish.” A classmate agreed: “It’s so much more rewarding learning Spanish from someone who grew up with it. So much better than sitting on the computer completing grammar activities.” That handful of tutors from Holy Cross has now grown to fourteen students coming here each week to work one-on-one with our students! For their part, our students enjoy the attention, learn from the tutoring, and feel proud that they are helping someone learn Spanish. One of the tutors summed her experience up by saying, “This puts purpose behind our learning Spanish.” As we continue efforts with our MyCAP activities and our classwork to help students find purpose in their learning, this provides us with a great model.

10/14/2019 - CBL Intern, Will McAvoy '20 Featured in The Catholic Free Press for his work to Install an Accessible Garden at St. Mary

Will McAvoy '20 was interviewed by The Catholic Free Press about his work to install a wheelchair accessible garden at St. Mary. Will, along with student Megan Treanor '20, received a Marshall Grant in the spring of 2019 for funds to purchase garden beds and garden tools. Will and Megan came up with the idea for the garden after many visits with their resident, Sr. Ellen, whose love for gardening was the topic of many of their conversations. Sr. Ellen passed away before the garden was installed, but it is now fully in bloom at St. Mary and named in her honor. Will and his current resident, Vicky enjoy the garden during Will's visits. Read the Catholic Free Press article. 

Photo credit: The Catholic Free Press.

10/5/2019 - CBL Intern, Christian Realbuto '20 Receives the Mechanics Hall 2019 Collegiate Apprentice Award

Senior CBL Intern, Christian Realbuto '20 was honored by Mechanics Hall with the first-ever Collegiate Apprentice Award. The award honors undergraduate or graduate students in Worcester who have demonstrated leadership, creativity, and innovation, whose academics are exemplary, and who is involved in their community. Christian has been a leader in CBL and beyond during his four years at Holy Cross. Through CBL, Christian has served as an Intern for three years, contributing to the work of the Donelan Office through facilitating reflection sessions, planning evening Dialogue Sessions and additional campus-wide events, and, this year, through managing the CBL Intern blog and other marketing tasks. Christian has also volunteered with the WPS Transition Program all four years he has been at Holy Cross. With the WPS Transition Program, Christian has worked with the WPS students by giving swimming lessons and by advocating with them for better access to public transportation. In addition to his work with CBL, Christian is the co-president of the SGA, is a member of the men's swimming team, has served as a retreat leader, has participated in Spring Break immersion, has been a Working for Worcester site leader, and has been a part of Students for Responsible Choices. Congratulations, Christian!

10/3/19 - CBL Intern Delaney Wells '20 Featured in Holy Cross Newsroom Story 

In her junior year, Delaney Wells ’20 interned in the Disability Rights section of the Department of Justice during the Washington Semester Program. There, the religious studies major with a concentration in peace and conflict studies learned about a group called EmbraceKulture, a nonprofit organization working to destigmatize disability in Uganda. With assistance from the Ignite Fund and through the Weiss Summer Research Program, Wells spent 10 weeks in Entebbe, Uganda this past summer conducting ethnographic research. This fall, Wells presented her research in a discussion sponsored through the J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World. We caught up with Wells to learn about her passion for advocacy and to see what insight she’s brought back to The Hill. Continue reading on the Holy Cross Newsroom page.

9/10/2019 - Check out the latest updates from the Donelan Office in our first newsletter of the 2019-2020 year!

8/7/2019 - Community-Based Learning and CBL Intern, Emma Davison '21 Featured in Holy Cross Newsroom Story, "Learning Outside the Classroom at Holy Cross"

Win, win: Academic credit meets civic engagement through community-based learning (CBL) opportunities at the College of Holy Cross. The heart of CBL courses is to bring classroom learning to life through a range of projects and service opportunities that meet community needs. Consistent with the College’s tradition of preparing students for a lifetime of learning and moral citizenship, CBL courses join students, faculty and local agencies in an effort to lead students to become more invested in their course subject matter — and to support the community in a real and purposeful way.

Emma Davison ’21, a political science and Middle Eastern studies double major, became involved with community-based learning through her first-year Montserrat course. Through the class, Davison became a teacher’s assistant for a kindergarten class in Worcester and helped create a documentary on an LGBTQ+ asylum task force at a local church.

“I’m most drawn to my areas of study for their human components. I take great interest in formal lectures and paper writing, but have found I learn most deeply when I can pair lessons with lived experience. My most intellectually stimulating courses have been those that demand just as much from my interpersonal skills as they do of my more traditional studies.”

7/24/2019 - Community-Based Summer Research Students and Director Michelle Sterk Barrett Featured on Worcester News Tonight 

For eight weeks this summer, Sylvester (Sly) Dwyer, Joe Ertle, and Kathryn O'Sullivan were involved in a summer research project, Disrupting the Summer Slide, advised by Michelle Sterk Barrett. Through their prior SPUD experiences at the Ascension After School Program, Sly, Joe, and Kathryn were aware of many students in the Worcester community that did not have any formal summer plans. They were concerned the students would be vulnerable to the academic summer slide phenomenon well-documented by researchers. This concern led them to create and implement a summer program for 3rd and 4th grade students to be run out of the Ascension Center (affiliated with St. John's Parish). Through the support of the Weiss Summer Research Program and the Ignite Fund, they were able to focus on prior research documenting best practices in designing summer academic programs and visit a long-running summer program in Cleveland. They utilized this information to structure daily activities and carefully track student engagement over a 4 1/2 week program. Assessment results indicated that students improved 16% (on average) from the administration of pre-tests to post-tests in math and English Language Arts. Meet some of the people involved with this summer research project and the Ascension Summer Program on Worcester News Tonight (5:57-8:15). 

6/25/2019-6/27/2019 - The Donelan Office Hosts the Biennial AJCU Service Learning Professionals Conference at Holy Cross

From June 25th to June 27th, the Donelan Office hosted the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) Service Learning Professionals Conference at Holy Cross. Fifty four people took part in the conference, including service learning and experiential learning professionals from a variety of AJCU institutions, as well as representatives from Villanova University, Manhattan College, and Catholic Relief Services. The gathering featured several sessions on topics relevant to service learning and community engagement, including: civic dialogue, becoming anti-racist, social justice teaching, enhancing community partnerships, community impact, and faculty development.  Conference participants also attended a community-based event at the Worcester Historical Museum. There, Prof. Stephanie Yuhl and rising senior, Emma Powell presented on their work creating LGBTQ+ archives at the Historical Museum and at Holy Cross. Participants also toured the exhibit, "For the Record: LGBTQ+ Worcester." Prof. Stephanie Yuhl helped to co-curate the exhibit, which foregrounds the histories, voices, experiences, and images of the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Finally, the conference provided ample opportunities for participants to network and learn from each other.

The Donelan Office is grateful to all of the conference participants for their engagement throughout the event, to the conference planning committee (Kim Jensen Bohat, Marquette University; Katie Figiel-Miller, Loyola University Maryland; Heather Mack, Heather Mack Consulting; Sean Rhiney, Xavier University; Elizabeth Seymour, Seattle University; Michelle Sterk Barrett, College of the Holy Cross; and Leah Sweetman, St. Louis University), and to the Office of the Provost for its financial support to help make the conference possible. 

6/16/2019 - Holy Cross Delegation Attends 6th Biennial JUHAN Conference at the University of Scranton

Seven students took part in the 6th Biennial JUHAN Conference at the University of Scranton, June 14-16, 2019.  The delegation included: Hannah Benson '20, Maya Collins '19, Carolyn Fenerty '20, Megan Hawke '20, Daniela Henriquez '22, Izzi Lambrecht '19, and Alicia Vesey '20.  Isabelle Jenkins (Associate Director of the Donelan Office) accompanied the delegation.  The Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network (JUHAN) was launched in 2006 by Fairfield, Fordham, and Georgetown Universities as a way to raise awareness on Jesuit campuses of the meaning of humanitarian response as well as to jointly address the humanitarian needs of those who are suffering.  The conference's theme this year was "health and humanitarianism."  The students who took part in the conference heard from a variety of plenary speakers, including representatives from the Kino Border Initiative, Jesuit Refugee Service, and Catholic Relief Services, as well as Fr. Michael Sheeran, S. J., the current president of the AJCU.  The students also participated in a number of sessions ranging on topics from advocacy and organizing to self-care in humanitarian action work.  One Holy Cross representative, Izzi Lambrecht, presented her research at the conference.  The students who took part in the conference look forward to bringing their learnings back to Holy Cross in the fall.  The Donelan Office and the JUHAN Selection Committee (Mattie Carroll '19, Prof. Judy Chubb, Isabelle Jenkins, Prof. Denis Kennedy, and Michelle Sterk Barrett) are grateful to the Office of the Provost for its generous support of the JUHAN delegation.  Navigate to the University of Scranton's JUHAN website to learn more about the conference.

5/24/2019 - Senior CBL Interns Graduate from Holy Cross!

On Friday, May 24th, 2019 at the DCU Center, our five senior CBL Interns graduated from Holy Cross: Mattie Carroll '19, Maya Collins '19, Kara Cuzzone '19, Caroline O'Connor '19, and Jerome Siangco '19.  Over the course of the spring semester, our seniors were honored with numerous recognitions and awards.  First, in February, Maya was the runner-up in the undergraduate poster competition at the Eastern Sociological Society (ESS) Annual Conference.  Maya's poster featured her year-long thesis research: "Midwifery Matters: An Ethnography of Perceptions, Practice, and Choice."  Maya was also nominated for the Thomas P. Imse Alpha Kappa Award, an award given to a fourth-year sociology major in recognition of scholarly excellence.  Second, all five seniors were invited to present at the Academic Conference.  Mattie presented on her experiences working with English Language Learners in Worcester, Maya presented on her anthropology thesis, Kara presented on her work in her Ethnographic Field Methods course, Caroline presented her research on accessibility at Holy Cross, and Jerome presented on his Asian studies thesis.  Third, in late April, Jerome, Mattie, and Kara received Student Leadership Awards at the SGA Student Leadership Awards Ceremony.  Mattie was awarded the St. Ignatius Loyola Award for her service to the Worcester community, Kara was awarded the Remarkable Vision award for her service to Holy Cross through starting the Peace of Mind recognized student organization, and Jerome was awarded the Bishop Fenwick Service Award for his service to Holy Cross.  All five senior CBL Interns were nominated for Student Leadership Awards.  Fourth, Mattie and Jerome were recognized at the Senior Awards Ceremony during Baccalaureate.  Both Mattie and Jerome were recognized with Presidential Service Awards, which honor graduating students who, "to an exceptional degree, have used their time, their talents, and their personal resources in the service of the College, their fellow students, the Worcester community, and all those who look to the students of Holy Cross for companionship, compassion, and good company."  Finally, at Commencement, Mattie, Maya, Kara, and Caroline graduated with honors.  These recognitions and awards highlight just a small fraction of the incredible things all of our seniors have done during their time at Holy Cross and the impact that they have had on those around them.  We are grateful for their leadership and are so very proud of who they are, what they have accomplished, and all that they will do in the years to come.  Congratulations to our seniors!

5/9/2019 - Marshall Grant-Funded Project Featured in the Telegram and Gazette

On Wednesday, May 8th, Holy Cross students and WPS Transition Students gathered behind City Hall for a morning of ultimate frisbee. Alex Kanya '22, who has been volunteering all year with the WPS Transition Program through his Montserrat course, "Identity, Diversity, and Community" (Prof. Ginny Ryan), organized this event using a grant he received from the Marshall Memorial Fund. The Worcester T and G featured pictures of the event in their May 9th edition. 

5/4/2019 - The Donelan Office Featured in the Telegram and Gazette Article, "Worcester-area colleges merge community, classroom"

The Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning was recently highlighted in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette article on how Worcester colleges are connecting classroom learning to the community:

The College of the Holy Cross has the largest and oldest community-based learning program. Last year, 742 students participated, and Holy Cross reached out to 52 community partners, the WPS Adult Learning Center, Ascentria Care Alliance and Abby’s House among them.

“It’s very transformative and powerful for many of the students who are involved in a way that it touches their hearts and their heads simultaneously,” said Michelle Sterk Barrett, director of the school’s Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, which was founded in 2001 and makes the connections between class and community.

Sterk Barrett added that beyond studying course materials, students learn about commitment to the community and what their duty is to the common good. Their involvement also helps short-staffed organizations deliver more services.

Navigate to the Telegram and Gazette article to read more about the Donelan Office and other area-college service-learning programs.

5/1/2019 - End-of-Semester Updates from the Donelan Office

Check out our May 2019 Newsletter!

4/24/2019 - CBL Highlights from Holy Cross' Academic Conference

At the annual Academic Conference, several CBL students presented on their experiences in CBL project- and placement-based courses:

• "Bilingualism in the Spanish-Speaking World," Prof. Alba-Salas (Fall 2018); presenter: Mattie Carroll '19

• "CREATE Lab: Community," Profs. Cohen, Golijov, and Kremer (Fall 2018); presenters: Liam Lewis '21 and Vidya Madineedi '20

• "Designing Green," Prof. Finstein (Spring 2019); presenters: entire seminar

• "Human Environments," Prof. Raguin (Spring 2019); presenters: entire class 

• "Italian Composition and Conversation," Prof. Chierichini (Fall 2018); presenter: Talia Spirito '21

• "Jesuit Spirituality," Prof. Fr. Harman, S. J. (Spring 2019); presenters: Natasha Pontoriero '19 and Brian Senier '19

• "Leadership and Social Change," Prof. Crawford Sullivan (Fall 2018); presenter: Elizabeth Driver '19

• "The Modern Home," Prof. Finstein (Spring 2018); presenter: Ben Marchand '19

• "Seeking Justice," Prof. Sterk Barrett (Spring 2019); presenters: Mattie Carroll '19, Sandy De Jesus-Cortes '19, Courtney Esteves '19, Katie Floyd '19, Caroline O'Connor '19, Isabel Tehan '19, and Rossangelly Toro Carrillo '19

Through two of these courses, two community partners, Nativity School of Worcester and Worcester Tree Initiative, also participated in the Academic Conference. First, in "Human Environments," students from the course and additional students from the Global World Montserrat cluster worked with Nativity School to put on the Academic Conference event, "Trashed!!!" Designed to raise awareness of environmental degradation via waste, this event featured a trash parade from Brooks-Mulledy to the Hoval. The parade included enormous colorful dragons all made from waste found at Holy Cross and beyond. The trash was displayed on the Hoval throughout the day. Second, in "Designing Green," students from the course created posters for Worcester Tree Initiative to help Worcester Tree Initiative celebrate their 10th anniversary. The posters featured individuals and organizations who have benefited from Worcester Tree Initiative's trees and tree advocacy work. At the conference, representatives form Worcester Tree Initiative were able to hear "Designing Green" students present on their posters and were gifted with the physical posters at the end of the presentation. Thank you to Nativity and to Worcester Tree Initiative for being a part of the Academic Conference in these ways! Continue reading to view pictures from the "Trashed!!!" event and a picture of Worcester Tree Initiative receiving the posters from Prof. Amy Finstein. 

4/11/2019 - CBL and SPUD Interns Host Panel, "The Jesuit Mission in the Professional World" 

CBL Interns, Paige Cohen '21, Yesenia Gutierrez '21, Will McAvoy '20, Caroline O'Connor '19, and Christian Realbuto '20 and SPUD Intern, Marty Murphy '20 planned and executed the panel event, "The Jesuit Mission in the Professional World" on Thursday, 4/11.  This event featured a panel of Holy Cross alumni and a graduating senior who reflected on how they live out the Jesuit mission that they learned and loved at Holy Cross in their lives today.  The panelists shared about the successes they have had in doing so, some of the challenges they have faced, and the rewards that they feel in being able to continue to live out the Jesuit mission.  Panelists included, Kerrie Dupré (AAFCPA), Dr. John Kelly '88 (UMASS Memorial Medical Center), Jake Medina '16 (formerly, J.P. Morgan; currently, Educational Technology Entrepreneur), and Jerome Siangco '19.  After the event, several CBL and SPUD Interns joined the panelists for dinner at Campion House.  Congratulations to the Interns on a job well done, and thank you to our panelists!  This event was sponsored by the Donelan Office, the Chaplains' Office, and the Center for Career Development.

4/11/2019 - CBL Interns Meet Holy Cross Alum, Jon Favreau '03

Several CBL Interns had the opportunity to visit WBUR's CitySpace to hear Jon Favreau being interviewed by WBUR's Ben Brock Johnson.  In the interview, Favreau discussed politics and his podcast, as well as took questions from the audience and Twitter.  In addition to the CBL Interns, dozens of Holy Cross students and alums were in attendance. Read more about the WBUR interview on the WBUR CitySpace webpage.  Jon Favreau graduated from Holy Cross in 2003 and worked as President Obama's speech writer for many years.  Favreau now hosts the famous podcast, "Pod Save America," which offers political and news commentary and discussion.  Favreau delivered the 2014 commencement address at Holy Cross and was awarded a Doctor of Public Service honorary degree.  While at Holy Cross, Favreau participated in the Washington Semester Program.  Read more about Favreau's podcast on the Holy Cross news page.  

Jerome Siangco '19, Maya Collins '19, Caitlin Grant '21, Caroline O'Connor '19, Emma Davison '19, and Paige Cohen '21 at WBUR CitySpace. 

4/5/2019 - Michelle Sterk Barrett and Family Featured in the Wellesley Patch for their Involvement with Project Bread's Walk for Hunger

Read more about Michelle Sterk Barrett and her family's involvement in Project Bread's Walk for Hunger. The Walk for Hunger is Project Bread's annual fundraising event that has taken place since 1969. This May, Michelle and her family will be walking with their parish to support Project Bread. Michelle has been a part of the Walk for Hunger since she moved to Boston for graduate school in 1994. In addition to Michelle's involvement with Project Bread, Project Bread and Holy Cross also share another connection: Project Bread's newest President, Erin McAleer is a graduate of Holy Cross. Read more about Erin and about Project Bread.

3/22/2019 - Holy Cross CBL Faculty and Staff Collaborate on Community Engagement and Research Symposium Conference Poster

At UMASS Medical School's 8th Annual Community Engagement and Research Symposium on 3/22/19, Prof. Daina Harvey (Sociology), Sue Hunt (Government and Community Relations), and Isabelle Jenkins (Community-Based Learning) were featured as collaborators on the poster, "Forming a new community-academic coalition to support school gardens: The Academic Gardening to Enrich our Students Conference."  Prof. Harvey, Sue, and Isabelle served on the planning committee for the AGES Conference (which was held at Worcester State University on 2/9/19).  The AGES Conference brought together community organizations, K-12 institutions, and higher education for education and networking regarding community gardens in schools and their benefit to students.  Read more about the poster and its summary of the AGES Conference (PDF). 

3/11/19 - Updates from the Donelan Office

Check out our March 2019 newsletter!

3/7/2019 - Adriana Guadana-Huizar '21 Named as 2019-2020 Newman Civic Fellow 

Congratulations to Adriana Guadana-Huizar '21 on being recognized as a Newman Civic Fellow for the 2019-2020 academic year!  The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who are changemakers and public problem-solvers at Campus Compact member institutions. Fellows are nominated by their president on the basis of their potential for public leadership.  Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides students with training and resources that nurture their assets and passions and help them develop strategies for social change. 

Adriana's civic engagement at Holy Cross began in her CBL Montserrat course, "Identity, Diversity, and Community" (Prof. Ginny Ryan) last year.  Through that course, Adriana volunteered with Worcester Public Library's citizenship class where she tutored individuals working toward taking their citizenship exam.  This year, Adriana is interning with Ascentria Care Alliance's Legal Assistance Program.  Adriana is also co-chair of the Latin American Student Organization (LASO).  Adriana is an anthropology and international studies major with a focus on global governance and international law.  Learn more about Adriana and about the Newman Civic Fellows. 

2/21/2019 - CBL Partnership featured in College Column of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette

The T and G featured the partnership between Prof. Amy Finstein's (Visual Arts) "Designing Green" course and Worcester Tree Initiative in their College Column.

2/15/2019 - "Toxic Charity" Dialogue Session Featured in The Spire 

This week's edition of The Spire features a piece on the 2/6 CBL "Toxic Charity" Dialogue Session written by News Editor, Kate McLaughlin '21.  In the piece, McLaughlin, a former CBL student herself (through Prof. O'Donnell's Monsterrat course in 2017-2018), highlights how the "Toxic Charity" session caused students to think about why questions of privilege and justice should be taken into consideration when volunteering in the Worcester community and beyond. 

2/4/2019 - Updates from the Donelan Office 

Check out our February 2019 newsletter!

1/16/2019 - Worcester Telegram and Gazette Features Scholarship in Action and Prof. Stephanie Yuhl's (History) Work to Chronicle Worcester's LGBTQ History 

The Worcester Telegram and Gazette highlighted Holy Cross' Scholarship in Action Program and Prof. Stephine Yuhl's work to co-curate an exhibit at the Worcester Historial Museum chronicling Worcester's LGBTQ history. 

“Who gets to have a history is really important in this current political atmosphere,” said College of the Holy Cross history professor Stephanie Yuhl, who has partnered with some of her colleagues at Clark University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute as well as the Worcester Historical Museum to put together likely the most extensive archive to date chronicling the city’s LGBTQ past.

The initial efforts of that three-year project, entitled “From Margin to Center,” will go on display as an exhibit at the historical museum this April, in part to mark this year’s 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a seminal moment in the fight for LGBTQ rights in the U.S. Even after that exhibit ends in October, however, Ms. Yuhl said she and her student assistants at Holy Cross will continue to add to the archive for at least another year.

Their work is being funded with a new grant, worth around $40,000, from Holy Cross’s new “Scholarship in Action” grant program, an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-sponsored initiative at the college supporting community-based faculty research projects in the city.

12/31/2018 - "Service-Learning: A Powerful Pedagogy for Promoting Academic Success Among Students of Color" published in IJRSLE 

Michelle Sterk Barrett's and Isabelle Jenkins' research article, "Service-learning: A powerful pedagogy for promoting student success among students of color" was published in the International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (2018). The article discusses a mixed-methods study that investigated the service-learning experiences of students of color at Holy Cross to better understand how service-learning may be an effective pedagogical tool for reducing cultural dissonance and addressing related achievement gaps.  Findings indicated that students' service-learning experiences paralleled study participants' descriptions of how they learned most effectively.  Furthermore, the findings suggest that service-learning may resonate for students of color because of the way in which (1) it enables students to integrate social responsibility with academics; (2) students of color can personally relate to the course content as well as the people and experiences encountered at service-learning sites; (3) service-learning reduces cultural dissonance by empowering students who are struggling to build confidence and feel that they belong in a highly selective, predominantly White college. 

12/7/2018 - Updates from the Donelan Office

Check out our December 2018 newsletter!

12/3/2018 - CBL Interns Get Into the Holiday Spirit and Win the J.D. Power Center Holiday Door Decorating Contest!

CBL Interns have gotten into the holiday spirit through celebrating the CBL Intern community, exchanging "Secret Snowflake" gifts, and working tirelessly on the Donelan Office door for the J.D. Power Center holiday door decorating contest.  Featuring pictures of the CBL Interns on hand-made snow globes and an interactive community-building activity, the CBL Interns decorated the door in true CBL spirit.  And, their efforts paid off! On 12/3 at the J.D. Power Center Holiday Open House, the CBL Interns were awarded top prize.  Thank you, Interns, for spreading holiday cheer and community-building spirit.  Happy Holidays from the Donelan Office!

  

11/9/2018 - CBL Professor Bridget Franco (Spanish), Donelan Office Director Michelle Sterk Barrett, and CBL Students Present at NEFDC

Professor Bridget Franco and Donelan Office Director Michelle Sterk Barrett co-presented at the New England Faculty Development Consortium Conference on November 9th on Prof. Franco's CBL course, "Filmmaking in Spanish." The session, "Fusing Digital Filmmaking & CBL to Deepen Student Engagement," explored the fusion of digital technology with the creation of short films for community-based organizations. They began the presentation by explaining how both the filmmaking process and CBL enable non-linear, multi-faceted learning processes that teach adaptability and prepare students to independently engage in our diverse world. In the second part of the session, attendees participated in a hands-on introduction to filmmaking by utilizing iPads to interview former students, Tesa Danusantoso '19, Efrain Lozano '19, Isabel Tehan '19, and Nicholas Triant '19 about course impact. The presentation was extremely well received, as the participants appreciated learning about the course directly from a variety of perspectives (faculty member, CBL Director, students) and briefly experiencing what it was like to be a student in the class by practicing filmmaking. Congratulations to Prof. Franco, Michelle, and the students!

The student presenters: Efrain Lozano, Tesa Danusantoso, Isabel Tehan, and Nicholas Triant.

Prof. Franco and Isabel Tehan demonstrate filmmaking for participants using an iPad.

 

11/3/2018 - CBL Interns Attend Annual Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice in Washington D.C.

This weekend, four CBL Interns, Mattie Carroll ‘19, Emma Davison ‘21, Yesenia Gutierrez ‘21, and Fatima Oseida '20 joined the Holy Cross cohort at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington D.C. The Family Teach-In for Justice, an annual conference sponsored by the Ignatian Solidarity Network, brings together high school and college students from Jesuit institutions across the country to advocate for social justice and change through learning, praying, and reflecting. This conference, now in its 21st year, honors the Jesuits and their companions that were martyred in El Salvador in 1989. At the conference, the Interns had the opportunity to listen to different keynote speakers share about issues regarding racism, immigration, mass incarceration, climate change, and more. On their third and final day in D.C, the Interns participated in the conference's advocacy day on Capitol Hill. There, the Interns had the opportunity to speak to the staff of Senator Markey's (MA) office and to the staff of Representative McGovern's (MA) office about issues of immigration and mass incarceration, as well as what they hope the MA elected officials will advocate for in the coming years to enact justice-oriented change locally and nationally. 

October, 2018 - Isabelle Jenkins, Prof. Ginny Ryan, and Michelle Sterk Barrett's Article, "'I will forever be changed': Encouraging meaning-making in service-learning" Published in The Exchange

This past summer, Associate Director Isabelle Jenkins, Prof. Ginny Ryan, and Director Michelle Sterk Barrett presented at the New England Faculty Development Conference (NEFDC) on the meaning-making that happens in Prof. Ryan's Montserrat CBL course, "Identity, Diversity, and Community."  Isabelle, Prof. Ryan, and Michelle then turned their presentation into an article entitled, "'I will forever be changed': Encouraging meaning-making in service-learning."  In October, their article was accepted for publication in the Fall 2018 edition of the NEFDC's annual publication, The Exchange (PDF).  The article features quotes from students regarding their experience taking Prof. Ryan's course, as well as the reflection curriculum Isabelle and Prof. Ryan implement to assist students in their meaning-making of the course content and their community based learning experience.  

10/28/2018 - CBL Interns and CBL Professor Inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, The Jesuit Honor Society

On Sunday, October 28th, three senior CBL Interns, Mattie Carroll '19, Maya Collins '19, and Kara Cuzzone '19 were inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society. CBL Professor, Ginny Ryan (Religious Studies) was inducted as an honorary member as voted on by the Alpha Sigma Nu members. Alpha Sigma Nu is a society that seeks to honor those students of Jesuit Institutions of higher learning who embody and live out the values of Scholarship, Loyalty, Leadership, and Service. Alpha Sigma Nu also recognizes that the value of a Jesuit education is that it not only draws from the classroom learning experience, but also from emphasis on a commitment to and concern for the well being of others. The members of Alpha Sigma Nu form a community that successfully integrates the ideals of service and scholarship into a meaningful life. Congratulations to Mattie, Maya, Kara, and Prof. Ryan!

10/19/2018 - Updates from the Donelan Office

Check out our October 2018 newsletter!

10/16/2018 - Community Partner and HC alum, Frank Kartheiser '87 (Worcester Interfaith, the Mustard Seed) Featured in the Telegram and Gazette

The Donelan Office sends best wishes to community partner and HC alum, Frank Kartheiser '87 (Worcester Interfaith). Frank has just retired from his role as Director of Worcester Interfaith after 25 years with the organization (Frank founded the organization in 1993). Through his work with Worcester Interfaith and beyond, Frank has served as a mentor and co-educator of countless Holy Cross students. He has hosted CBL and SPUD students and interns at Worcester Interfaith and the Mustard Seed (which he co-founded in 1972), has been a presenter at the Non-Profit Careers Conference, supervised CBL projects, and been a presence at numerous Holy Cross events. The Donelan office is grateful to Frank for his service and dedication to Worcester and to the College. Recently, the Worcester Telegram and Gazette featured Frank Kartheiser and his work. Read the spotlight.

9/30/2018 - Director Michelle Sterk Barrett Serves as Panelist on "Women's Voices: How Should the Church Lead and Serve?" 

Donelan Office Director Michelle Sterk Barrett served as a panelist for the St. Ignatius Church event, "Women's Voices: How Should the Church Lead and Serve?" The panel discussion addressed clergy sexual abuse and the current crisis facing the Catholic Church. Read more about the event.

9/15/2018 - Updates from the Donelan Office

Check out our September 2018 newsletter! 

7/20/2018 - Former CBL Student, Marie Therese Kane '18 published article in Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education on her CBL experience in Bangalore, India (Conversations Magazine)

Marie Therese Kane '18, former CBL student and recent Holy Cross graduate, had an article featured in Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education magazine.  In the article, "Prophets of a Future Not Our Own," Marie Therese reflects on her Maymester CBL course, "Social Justice in Action" in Bangalore, India (Marie Therese participated in the course in June of 2017).  Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education magazine is a publication of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). 

Donald Trump rejected the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement that seeks to safeguard our planet from the increasingly disastrous impacts of climate change on June 1, 2017. I received this disappointing news 8,300 miles from my home, by an Indian schoolgirl tasked with reading the daily headlines at her school’s morning assembly. She declared these words with an innocence and clarity apparently universal to eight year-olds, leaving them to echo across a sea of other school children, sitting with prayerful attention in their schoolyard.

Allow me to explain. Last summer, I traveled to Bangalore, India—whose bustling streets are home to 10 million people—for a month-long academic immersion through College of the Holy Cross. Exploring “Social Justice in Context,” my peers and I dove into issues of urban development, globalization, gender, caste, and religious diversity through seminars and visits to NGOs and cultural sites. One weekend, we traveled to Manvi, a rural village in the Raichur district of the Indian state of Karnataka, twelve hours by bus from Bangalore, to build community with The Loyola Xavier School.

5/25/2018 - Seven Senior CBL Interns Receive their Diplomas at the College's 172nd Commencement Exercises

Senior CBL interns, Cassie Brouillard, Molly Caulfield, Katelyn Lyons, Clare Orie, Elaines Peña, Katie Trymbulak, and Jeff Warden graduated from the College of the Holy Cross at this year's Commencement Exercises.  The Donelan Office thanks the senior interns for their support and leadership throughout their time as interns and throughout their time at Holy Cross.  We are proud of them and wish them well!  The senior interns are pictured at Commencement below with Director, Michelle Sterk Barrett and Associate Director, Isabelle Jenkins.  Read more about the Commencement Exercises here.

5/3/2018 - Prof. Amy Finstein's "Modern Home" Seminar Students Present Reports to Worcester Interfaith and State Representative, Mary Keefe

Left: Frank Kartheiser from Worcester Interfaith leads a tour of "Modern Home" students through Downtown Worcester.

Right: One of Prof. Finstein's students presents her group's report on 5/3/18.

In the Spring 2018 semester, students in Professor Amy Finstein’s “Modern Home” seminar explored more than just the architectural variations of modern home building. The class probed the ideas of dwelling and shelter from the perspectives of design, planning, and social equity via course readings as well as community involvement. The class partnered with local advocacy group, Worcester Interfaith, and conducted semester-long research projects intended to empower its community leadership and activism. Students worked in two teams focused on two major current concerns in urban development: affordable housing, and gentrification. The class set out to measure and analyze the status of these issues in Worcester, and presented their findings to Worcester Interfaith and State Representative Mary Keefe via in-class presentations and final written reports. Throughout this process, students wrestled with issues of class, racial equality, private development, and the role of government in how cities face growth and accommodate diverse housing needs. The course’s community involvement made classroom topics real and more legible to the students, and allowed them to contribute to important local dialogues about creating equitable and affordable places to call home in Worcester. 

4/26/2018 - Assumption Center Honors Partnership with Holy Cross

At their annual end-of-year mentoring celebration, the Assumption Center honored Holy Cross for our partnership. Assumption Center and Holy Cross have been in partnership for several years, and each year our partnership has grown. CBL and SPUD students serve as mentors in the Assumption Center mentoring program and ESL teachers in their ESL program. CBL students have twice made films for the Assumption Center (through Prof. Bridget Franco's CBL course, "Filmmaking in Spanish"), as well as served as program assistants to their Girls with Dreams Program. Additionally the Assumption Center has served as a case study site in two recent Non-Profit Careers Conferences. In 2016, an NPCC team examined the Assumption Center's Girls with Dreams Program and provided suggestions and recommendations for how the Girls with Dreams program can connect with career-readiness resources.  In 2018, an NPCC team examined the Assumption Center's AMA program (Assumption Mission Associates-a year-long post-graduate service opportunity) and provided suggestions and recommendations for how the Assumption Center can recruit better and more qualified applicants for the AMA program.  Both CBL and SPUD were honored to receive this recognition from the Assumption Center and will continue to cherish our partnership. We were also pleased that Fr. Campbell, the College's Vice President for Mission, was able to attend the celebration and receive the Assumption Center's token of gratitude on the College's behalf. Thank you, Assumption Center for your fantastic partnership!

4/25/2018 - CBL Featured at 2018 Academic Conference at Holy Cross

The annual Academic Conference was held at Holy Cross, April 24-27th, 2018. The conference celebrated hundreds of Holy Cross students and their academic work over the past year.  Community-Based Learning was featured several times throughout the conference. Here are a few highlights:

• Senior CBL Intern, Katelyn Lyons '18 presented her honors thesis (three times!) at the conference.  Katelyn's thesis, "Charitable Aims Versus Market Logics: Misrecognition in the Abby's House Thrift Store," was based on her anthropological research at Abby's House over the course of this year and last summer. Katelyn examined the concept of charity from the perspective of Abby's House thrift store volunteers. Katelyn became connected to Abby's House through a CBL course her first year at Holy Cross ("Intro to Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies"). Katelyn has stayed active in her volunteering with Abby's House all throughout her time at Holy Cross. Congratulations, Katelyn!

• Senior CBL Intern, Elaines Peña '18 presented her Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies capstone, "Long Term Impact of a Mother Caroline Academy Education on Low-Income, Urban Girls." Elaines' capstone stemmed from her own experience at Mother Caroline, which Elaines attended for middle school. Elaines' education there had such a strong impact on her that Elaines grew curious about the experiences of other Morther Caroline alumna and if they shared similar sentiments. Elaines conducted in-depth interviews with several Mother Caroline alumna. Their reflections confirmed Elaines' curiosity--a Mother Caroline education is a powerful experience for students and stays with Mother Caroline alumna long after they've graduated from Mother Caroline. Mother Caroline will be utilizing some of Elaines' interview materials for their upcoming fundraising event. Congratulations, Elaines!

• Two CBL students from Prof. Bridget Franco's, "Filmmaking in Spanish" course, Visaury Moreta '19 and Nick Triant '19 presented on their CBL experiences making films for two community partners (Assumption Center's AMA Program [Visaury] and Centro [Nick]).  Throughout their presentation, Visaury and Nick reflected on how much of an impact their experience had on them.  The relationships they were able to build with their community partners, the teamwork that they had with their film crews, and the hands-on experience of filmmaking all contributed to a deep and meaningful learning experience. All four films from Prof. Franco's Fall 2017 class were also featured during a poster session. Congratulations, Visaury, Nick, and all of Prof. Franco's students!

4/25/2018 - CBL Interns Invited to Speak at Ascentria Care Alliance's Volunteer Appreciation Event

On April 25, 2018, Ascentria Care Alliance welcomed numerous of their volunteers to their business offices for their first-ever volunteer appreciation event.  The Donelan Office and Ascentria have been in partnership for many years, and we were delighted to take part in the event.  Holy Cross CBL students volunteer with many of Ascentria's programs, including their Unaccompanied Refugee Minors tutoring and mentoring programs and their Services for New Americans program.  Two CBL interns, Molly Caulfield '18 and Jeff Warden '18 were invited to speak at the event to share about their experiences with Ascentria.  Molly and Jeff first became involved with Ascentria through their Montserrat seminar and their Spanish 301 course in the fall of their first year at Holy Cross.  They have remained involved throughout their four years at the College, serving as the coordinators of the tutoring and mentoring programs.  In their speeches, both expressed how meaningful their experiences with Ascentria have been due to the relationships they have been able to build with the Ascentria clients. Watch Jeff's speech and here to watch Molly's speech.  Thank you to Jeff and Molly for sharing your words and thank you to Ascentria for all that you do to welcome Holy Cross students into your community.  Molly and Jeff are pictured at the appreciation event below.

4/18/2018 - J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World Formally Dedicated; Center Featured in Holy Cross Magazine (Holy Cross Magazine)

On April 18th, J.D. Power '53 and his family were welcomed to campus for the formal dedication of the J.D. Power Center for the Liberal Arts in the World. In January of 2018, the Power family's Kenrose Kitchen Table Foundation gifted $3 million to Holy Cross to support the Center for Liberal Arts in the World, of which Community-Based Learning is a part. CBL Interns and staff took part in the celebration and are extremely grateful for the Power family's generous donation. Read more about J.D. Power and his family in the most recent edition of the Holy Cross Magazine. Recently, CBL Intern, Christian Realbuto '20 took to the CBL Intern blog to reflect on the dedication of the Center, as well as his gratitude for Mr. Power. Read Christian's post here.

J.D. Power '53 in front of the sign to the new J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World. Photo credit: Tom Rettig, Holy Cross Magazine.

4/12/2018 - CBL Students Participate in Naturalization Ceremony at Worcester Public Library 

On April 12th, 74 new citizens were naturalized in a naturalization ceremony hosted by the Worcester Public Library (WPL). This past year, several CBL students from Prof. Ginny Ryan's Montserrat CBL course, "Exploring Differences" have been volunteering with the WPL on a couple of their initiatives to support immigrants, refugees, and those seeking citizenship in the United States. The CBL students have assisted  with their citizenship preparation courses and their English conversation circles. A few of the CBL students were able to assist with the naturalization ceremony that was hosted by the library. One student, Adriana Guadana-Huizar '21 led the entire group in the Pledge of Allegiance (pictured below). Read more about the ceremony in the Worcester Magazine.

Photo credit: Katelyn Duncan, Worcester Public Library

4/11/2018 - CBL Students and Nativity School of Worcester and Woodland Academy Students Participate in Science Fair!

This semester, advanced chemistry and biology students have been working with Nativity School of Worcester and Woodland Academy students on science projects. In small groups, students aimed to answer the question, "What have you wondered about?" through completing a science project using items from everyday life. On April 11th, the groups presented their projects at a Science Fair held at Holy Cross to Holy Cross Science Ambassadors. The ambassadors judged the projects based on how well they executed the scientific method. Prof. Avila-Bront (Chemistry) has been advising this CBL project throughout the semester. Congratulations to all students who submitted a project!

One of the Nativity groups (top) and one of the Woodland groups (bottom) with their HC mentors and their Science Fair projects.

3/6/2018 - Michelle Sterk Barrett Presents at Saint Joseph's University

Director Michelle Sterk Barrett was invited to present at St. Joseph's University on March 6th. Through a speaker series supported by the Joseph William and Madeline Eberle Klein Fund, Michelle presented the talk entitled, "Fostering Young Adult Spiritual Development in a Competitive Digital World." The Joseph William and Madeline Eberle Klein Fund was established for the explicit purpose of “supporting educational events (including courses, programs, lectures, and the like) and materials specifically directed toward greater inclusion in the Roman Catholic Church.”

3/6/2018 - CBL Intern, Clare Orie featured in Holy Cross Newsroom Story about Peace Corps (Holy Cross Newsroom)

After graduation, four Holy Cross seniors will join the Peace Corps, one of whom is CBL Intern, Clare Orie. Clare will be participating in Peace Corps Rwanda. Part of what has informed Clare's decision to join the Peace Corps is her experience with CBL at Holy Cross: "That taste for political engagement was reinforced for Orie ’18... through her involvement in Community-Based Learning (CBL), integrated courses that bring classroom learning to life through community projects and direct service opportunities. “It’s been so formative — really moving beyond binaries, moving beyond power dynamics, and asking very hard questions.”" Read more. Congratulations, Clare!

1/29/2018 - Holy Cross Announces $3 Million Gift for J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World (Holy Cross Newsroom)

College of the Holy Cross has received a $3 million gift from the family of alumnus and pioneer in consumer research and information, J.D. Power III ’53, in support of the College’s Center for Liberal Arts in the World. In recognition of this transformative gift, the Center will be renamed the J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World. The Donelan Office is excited about being a part of this Center and looks forward to the additional support it will bring to experiential learning at Holy Cross.

1/20/2018 - Holy Cross Magazine Features Ten Years of Montserrat; Several Montserrat Courses Have a CBL Component (Holy Cross Magazine)

Prof. Neal Lipstiz' Montserrat CBL course, "Science of Happiness" is featured in this Holy Cross Magazine story. This year, six Montserrat courses include a CBL component. Read more of the history of Montserrat and the evolution over the past 10 years.

11/28/2017 - Worcester Magazine and Worcester T & G Feature Story on Holy Cross Being Awarded $800,000 Community Research Grant from the Mellon Foundation 

From the Worcester Magazine article: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded Holy Cross in Worcester a $800,000 grant to support community-based research projects in the city, the school announced Tuesday. The grant, matching the largest Holy Cross has ever received from the foundation, will fund five years of faculty research projects as part of the “Scholarship in Action” initiative, which Holy Cross Provost Margaret Freije said draws on the school’s strengths: strong community partnerships, active engagement of students in Worcester and a commitment by faculty to engaging students in their research projects. Read more of the Worcester Magazine article. Read the T&G article.

11/26/2017 - Holy Cross alum, Lillie Reder '17 (also a former CBL Intern) discusses her involvement in the Non-Profit Careers Conference in the Chronicle of Higher Education 

For two winter breaks I returned to campus a week before the start of second semester to attend my college’s annual Non-Profit Careers Conference. Participants spent the week diving into the logistics of running, maintaining, and expanding nonprofit organizations by sitting in on lectures given by our faculty and visiting guests and engaging directly with local nonprofits here in Worcester, Mass. Continue reading.

10/30/2017 - Director Michelle Sterk Barrett Elected Vice-Chair of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities' (AJCU) Service Learning Professionals Group

Donelan Office Director, Michelle Sterk Barrett has been elected as Vice-Chair of the AJCU Service Learning Professionals Group. The group is comprised of service learning professionals from all of the Jesuit colleges and universities across the U.S. As Vice-Chair Michelle will assist in the leadership of the professional group, assist with the planning of the bi-annual meeting, serve as a resource for all service learning professionals in the AJCU, and assume the responsibilities of the Chair should the Chair no longer be able to serve. Michelle has extensive experience in the AJCU network through working in AJCU schools for over 16 years, participating in the Ignatian Colleagues Program, and co-chairing the 2017 JUHAN conference at Holy Cross. Since early in her career, she has found the AJCU service learning professional network to be filled with incredible people doing incredible work and has thoroughly appreciated how it has fostered a space for professional guidance/support, innovative ideas, and genuine friendships. Therefore, she is privileged to serve the network that has been such a gift to her through the years. Congratulations, Michelle!

10/13/2017 - Latino History Project of Worcester Exhibit, "The Journey" Opens

On Friday, October 13th, the Latino History Project of Worcester exhibit, "The Journey" opens at the Worcester Historical Museum. The Journey is about coming to Worcester and straddling two worlds. One that is left behind and the new place that we make our home.  This project will enhance the understanding of the origins and cultural assets that Latinos contribute to the fabric of Worcester. It is inspired by the migration of Latinos into and out of Worcester and the objects that are important to them, represented by the items in the suitcase. Latinos brought with them many items from home: a rosary, a little bit of soil, a pilón (Puerto Rican grinder), and their music. Objects that Latinos thought were essential in starting a new life in Worcester.  The Latino History Project of Worcester is a multi-year initiative documenting the Latino presence in Worcester, in order to share the unheard stories of Latinos, institutions, culture, economy, and the daily life of the residents in the heart of the Commonwealth. Two Holy Cross Professors, Rosa Carrasquillo (History) and Cynthia Stone (Spanish) are members of the Latino History Project steering committee. In Professor Stone's Spanish 304 course, "Aspects of Spanish-American Culture," students are completing a CBL project with the Latino History Project. 

10/5/2017 - "Jesuit Organizations Lead the Way in Aiding Refugees Worldwide" (Holy Cross Magazine) 

The Fall 2017 Holy Cross Magazine cover story features the ways in which Jesuit organizations, Holy Cross especially, are actively responding to the refugee crisis. The story highlights the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Conference (that was hosted at Holy Cross this past summer), Pax Christi, SPUD, and Community-Based Learning, along with Holy Cross community partners, the Worcester Refugee Assistance Project (WRAP), Refugee Artisans of Worcester (RAW), and the Worcester Alliance for Refugee Ministry (WARM). Current and former CBL Interns' experiences are also featured in the article (Mattie Carroll '19 and Clare Orie '18). Regarding her passion to assist the world's most vulnerable, including refugees, Clare shares "I feel like it is my responsibility to use my education to help my brothers and sisters worldwide." Read the article in its entirety.

7/27/2017 - Maymester CBL course, "Social Justice In Context" Featured in Holy Cross News

In "Social Justice in Context," 12 students traveled to India to first learn about Indian society and culture and then participate in a two-week internship (the CBL component). Of the internship, Hanna Ballantine '19 shared, “The internship was an essential part of the Maymester as it allowed us to take what we learned from the first two weeks in Bangalore during lectures and from listening to guest speakers, and put this knowledge into action." Read the full article.

6/27/2017 - 6/29/2017 - College of the Holy Cross (CBL, Dean's Office, and Peace and Conflict Studies) Hosts JUHAN Conference (Holy Cross News)

The College of the Holy Cross welcomed over 150 people to campus for the fifth biennial Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network (JUHAN) Conference. The theme of this year's conference was "Principles in Crisis: Refugees and Responsibility." Students, faculty, staff, scholars, and practitioners from across North America attended the conference. The three days were filled with deep and engaged dialogue, provocative keynote sessions, thoughtful breakout sessions, and visits to local community partners working to support refugees, immigrants, and those seeking asylum right here in Worcester. Regarding lessons learned from participating in the conference, one participant shared:

I knew going into this conference that it was important for me personally and for our organization to accompany the refugees and immigrants in our midst and to collaborate with other community stakeholders and organizations who share the same vision and heart to serve. These commitments/values were strengthened. Also, I think of myself more as an activist than as an academic, but I leave the JUHAN conference with a renewed commitment to keep learning and developing a big-picture, systemic perspective on the issues involved in pursuing social justice.

Read the Holy Cross Newsroom report. 

Photos from L to R: Eva Millona, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition giving the welcome address; JUHAN participants on a site visit to the Worcester Alliance for Refugee Ministry; the Holy Cross JUHAN Planning Team, Prof. Denis Kennedy, Isabelle Jenkins, Dr. Michelle Sterk Barrett, Sahra Hassan '19, and Mattie Carroll '19.

For more about the JUHAN Conference, visit the 2017 JUHAN Conference website. Here you can view more photos, videos of the keynote sessions, as well as other news and resources. Also visit the AJCU JUHAN webpage. Here you can find more information about the wider JUHAN Network. The sixth biennial JUHAN Conference will be held in 2019 (location TBD). 

5/18/2017 - JUHAN Conference Announcement from the Holy Cross Newsroom (Holy Cross News)

Leading scholars, international humanitarian agencies and local Worcester partners will address the current refugee crisis at the 2017 JUHAN (Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network) Student Leadership Conference, to be held at Holy Cross June 27th-29th. Registration ends June 1st. Keynote addresses will be given by leading humanitarian scholars, Michael Barnett of George Washington University and Fr. David Hollenbach of Georgetown University; practitioners, Mark Potter of the Kino Border Initiative and Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; and Fr. Michael Sheeran, president of the AJCU. The conference also features breakout sessions and workshops, networking events, and visits to local community partners engaged in the work of supporting refugees, immigrants, and those seeking asylum here in Worcester. Navigate to the conference website (to learn more and to register).

5/4/2017 - CBL American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf Studies (DFST) Students Present on their CBL Experiences at the Annual ASL Banquet

Students from placement-based CBL course, DFST 202 "Intermediate ASL 2" (Professor Clark) shared their CBL experiences with community partners and other DFST students at the annual ASL end of the year banquet with a student-moderated CBL Panel. Among several topics, students discussed the most powerful experiences they have had during CBL, some of the social injustices they have witnessed at their CBL sites against the ASL/DFST community, and how their CBLs have encouraged them to be agents for change to counteract the marginalization of those in the ASL/DFST community. This semester, DFST CBL students have served with: Worcester Deaf Club, the MA Association for the Deaf, UMASS Memorial Medical Center, the Center for Living and Working, the WPS Transition Program, and Boston Children's Hospital. Thank you to the DFST CBL students, to all of our DFST community partners, and to DFST Program Coordinator, Andy Veith, for his fantastic work in coordinating the DFST partnerships. 

DFST 202 Students present on the CBL Panel at the Annual ASL Banquet.

5/3/2017 - "Holy Cross Produces Thirteen Fulbright Scholars" (Holy Cross News); CBL Intern, Caroline Tibbitts '17 is one of the recipients

Twelve members of the Class of 2017 and one member of the Class of 2016 have been awarded Fulbright grants to teach and conduct research around the world during the 2017-18 academic year. Among the recipients is CBL Intern, Caroline Tibbitts '17. Caroline will be traveling to Malaysia in the fall where she will teach English to Malaysian children. During her Fulbright, Caroline hopes to explore what she wants to do professionally after the assistantship, keeping in mind what she has fostered at Holy Cross: a desire to live a life for others, particularly advocating for women and girls. Congratulations, Caroline!

4/28/2017 - SPUD Community Organizers help to put on first-ever "Taste of Worcester" event (partially funded by the Marshall Grant); Use event to promote social justice

SPUD Community Organizers brought food from a variety of Worcester restaurants to campus for the first-ever "Taste of Worcester" event. The purpose of the event was to expose Holy Cross students to the vitality of Worcester through its food--through food can come engagement. SPUD Organizers took the opportunity to use the event as one to promote food justice and social justice. They put together a video to highlight how important it is to stand in solidarity with our Worcester community (see video below). Proceeds from the event were donated to Ascentria Care Alliance. Congratulations to the organizers for a fantastic event!

Watch the video.

4/27/2017 - CBL Intern, Funmi Anifowoshe '17 wins first-ever Dean Jacqueline Peterson Women In Leadership Award at SGA Leadership Awards Ceremony

Congratulations to CBL Intern, Funmi Anifowoshe '17 who was honored at the SGA Leadership Awards Ceremony for her incredible leadership at the College these past four years. In addition to being a CBL Intern, Funmi has served on multiple College committees, is a Resident Assistant, is the captain of the Women's Rugby team, is a peer mentor, and is a member of CASA. Funmi has been integral in creating a more inclusive and just Holy Cross. Additionally, Associate Director, Isabelle Jenkins was honored at the SGA Leadership Awards Ceremony with the Program Supporter Award for her work in supporting the Social Justice Coalition and HC Fossil Free. Several senior CBL Interns were also nominated for awards last evening for their contributions to the Worcester and Holy Cross communities: Bridget Cullen '17, Lillie Reder '17, and Caroline Tibbitts '17. Congratulations to Funmi, Bridget, Lillie, and Caroline! We are privileged to know our Interns and are so proud of all of their leadership accomplishments. 

4/27/2017 - Joe Donelan '72, Founder of the Donelan Office, Featured in the Holy Cross Magazine

"It’s that perspective that drives [Joe Donelan] to give back to the College — to give its students, in his words, an “unfair advantage” by providing them with the education and the real-world experiences that will shape their perspective. That’s why he established the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning with a generous endowment in 2000, enabling faculty and students to combine challenging course work with experiential learning in the Worcester community." Access the full article.

4/20/17 - Students to Lead Walking Tours in Downtown Worcester This Weekend (Holy Cross News)

Sarah Valente ’16 and Therese Starshak ’17 are inviting residents, students and visitors to participate in the first Worcester Wall to Wall, a free event featuring college student-led walking tours to explore the city’s public murals. The tours, which will cover a total distance of 1.5 miles, will be held between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 22. The murals to be included, such as those featured on the side of the Crompton Collective and Denholm Building on Main Street, were created during the first POW! WOW! Worcester Festival last year. Worcester Wall to Wall is sponsored by the Holy Cross Ignite Fund and Marshall Memorial Fund.

4/8/17 - Holy Cross Students Present their Research at Harvard University's Engaged Scholarship and Social Justice (ESSJ) Undergraduate Research Conference

Holy Cross students Julia Metzger '19 and Kristin Lane '17 were selected to present their research, "Redesigning the College Dining Hall into an Educational Space" at Harvard's ESSJ Conference this past weekend. For the past year, Kristin and Julia (along with Isabelle Lambrecht '19 and Christina Nee '19) have been working with Prof. Andrea Borghini (Philosophy) on developing ideas to create a dining hall at Holy Cross that fosters a learning environment which challenges students to make food choices that reduce waste, show appreciation toward food workers, respect different cultures, and improve both personal and environmental health. Julia, Kristin, and Christina have been working with Prof. Borghini's CBL Montserrat course this semester to put their ideas into action, including bringing in different eating dishes and utensils, developing signage about food products and their origins, and creating innovative eating stations to encourage students to actively take a role in their food decisions. Congratulations to Julia and Kristin on a successful conference presentation--their fantastic research earned them second place at the conference!

4/7/17 - "Women in '60s Civil Rights Movement Spotlighted at Worcester Library" (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

CBL professor, Selina Gallo-Cruz (Sociology), CBL community partner, Claire Schaeffer-Duffy (Saints Francis and Therese Catholic Worker and Center for Nonviolent Solutions), some of Prof. Gallo-Cruz' students, and Worcester community members have been working to develop a public dramatic reading of the stories of women civil rights activists, entitled "We Grow Into Courage." Over the next two weeks, their moving and inspiring production will take place twice. First, this Wednesday, 4/12 at the Worcester Public Library (5:30pm in the Saxe Room), and then on Monday, 4/24 at Dinand Library at Holy Cross (7:30pm in the Levis Browsing Room). Prof. Gallo-Cruz' students have been conducting interviews all semester with women civil rights activists and supporters of non-violence for the Worcester Women's History Project. Claire Schaeffer Duffy's story is featured in today's T and G article.  

4/5/17 - "What do Neuroscience and Deaf Studies Have in Common?" (Holy Cross News)

Victoria Mousley '17 was featured in Holy Cross news for how her American Sign Language CBL courses helped her discern her passion for language sciences and cognitive neuroscience. Mousely was selected as a Marshall Scholar, which will support her purside of master's degrees in both fields at University College London.

4/4/17 - SPUD, TEP, GCR, and CBL Thank Community Partners at 4th Annual Community Partner Reception

The Holy Cross Community Engagement Steering Committee welcomed dozens of community partners to campus to offer gratitude for their efforts to host and support Holy Cross students, faculty, and staff this past academic year. Students, Elaines Peña '18 and Sean Teebagy '17 offered words of gratitude. Read Elaines' remarks. Thank you to all of our partners (those in attendance and those who were unable to join us) for all that you do to welcome Holy Cross students into your communities and to collaborate with us in so many ways.

CBL Intern and Community Partner Reception Speaker, Elaines Peña '18 poses with community partners from the Assumption Center.

3/27/17 - SPUD and CBL Host Community Partner Panel. Panelists include: State Representative Dan Donahue '09, Judy Freedman Fask (WPS Transition Program) Rebecca Petty (Ascentria Care Alliance), Prof. Virgina Ryan (Religious Studies). Watch the panel online.

2/6/17 - Community Partner, Judy Freedman Fask (WPS Transition Program) Publishes Book, "Creative Collaborations Through Inclusive Theatre and Community Based Learning: Students in Transition"

"In this book, the authors (Judy Freedman Fask and Lisa Kramer) share stories of creative community based collaborations to illustrate how educators can use the arts to expand creative thinking and promote social justice beyond the classroom. Using their work in theatre classrooms as a central point, examples of innovative, inclusive programs designed to inspire learning for people of diverse abilities are presented. Through this examination, Kramer and Fask reveal the excitement, challenges and unexpected surprises that come along with implementing creative approach to learning" (back cover). Students Joe Metrano '18 and Blake Basmajian '18 and CBL Faculty, Prof. Virginia Ryan (Religious Studies) are featured in the book, as they have worked closely with the Transition Program through CBL. Congratulations, Judy! View more information about the book.

1/23/17 - CBL and the Center for Career Development Hold 11th annual Non-Profit Careers Conference (NPCC)

Thirty-three students across all class years considering careers with non-profit and community-based organizations participated in the 11th annual NPCC (held at Holy Cross 1/16-1/20, 2017). The program introduced students to the range of viable and diverse career options in the non-profit sector, engaged students in reflection upon how they might utilize their unique skills in service to the broader society, and prepared students to enter public service by providing experiences and skills helpful to them and their future organizations.  Additionally, for the duration of the week, students broke into teams to work with a local non-profit on a case study. These case studies are actual challenges the non-profits are facing. The students visited their respective sites and prepared presentations of their recommendations on the last day of the conference. This program was taught by Holy Cross alumni, faculty, and staff working within a non-profit or public service setting at the international, national, regional, and local levels. Read a recap of the conference.

11/16/16 - Worcester in 50 Objects Exhibit Opens - Prof. Stephanie Yuhl (History, Montserrat) Serves as Curator (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

"As part of its 140th anniversary celebration, WHM invited the community to tell museum staff what they believed most represents the history of the city." (Worcester T&G)

8/26/16 - Isabelle Jenkins named to WBJ's 40 under 40 (Worcester Business Journal)

Isabelle Jenkins, the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning's Associate Director, was named to Worcester Business Journal's 40 Under 40.  An event honoring Isabelle and the other 39 recipients will be held at Mechanics Hall on the evening of September 14th.

8/1/16 - College of the Holy Cross to Host 5th Biennial JUHAN Student Leadership Conference (To Be Held June 27-29, 2017)

The College of the Holy Cross will host the fifth bi-annual student leadership meeting of the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network (JUHAN). Learn more.

The conference theme, “Principles in Crisis,” references the moral and ethical frameworks, as well as guiding principles, that motivate and channel the global response to human suffering. Humanitarians, across faith traditions, espouse principles like the “humanitarian imperative,” whereby the international community provides assistance wherever it is needed. Simultaneously, the conference theme reminds us that we face dilemmas in the rush to assist; it compels us to consider the consequences of well-intentioned actions and to reflect on the practical meaning of compassionate deeds.

This conference is open to students, staff, and faculty in the AJCU (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities)  network. Apposite community partners, NGOs, and non-profits are also welcome to register. View more information.

5/1/16 - StEP (co-founded by CBL Intern, Jake Medina '16) Highlighted in Worcester T and G.

Michelle Sterk Barrett (StEP board member) joins members of StEP at Ascentria Care Alliance to install the mobile tech lab.

4/25/16 - Social Justice Panel with Community Partners on Campus

CBL Intern, Dung Nguyen '16 and SPUD Intern, Caity Reinfurt '16 facilitated a panel discussion with community partners on working toward social justice in Worcester. The panel, "No Easy Answers: Addressing the Complexity and Interconnectedness of Poverty in Worcester," created a rich and meaningful dialogue around work that our community partners are doing in Worcester, the stigmas that their clients and students face, and the institutional structures, policies, and challenges that serve as barriers for people who are trying to break the cycle of poverty. Panelists included, Donna Connolly (MassEdCo.), Kyle Flanagan '15 (Nativity School of Worcester), Parlee Jones (Abby's House), and Andrew Varuzzo '15 (Dismas House). Thank you to the panelists for providing such deep and insightful dialogue, and thank you to Dung and Caity for organizing and facilitating this event!

From left to right: Dung Nguyen '16, Parlee Jones, Andrew Varuzzo '15, Kyle Flanagan '15, Donna Connolly, and Caity Reinfurt '16

4/22/16-4/23/16 - 11 Student Leaders Participate in Social Justice Retreat

CBL and SPUD worked together to host 11 Holy Cross student leaders for a Social Justice Retreat: "Reflections in the City." Retreatants stayed at Concordia Lutheran Church in the Main South neighborhood, participated in some of Concordia's programming, and reflected together on their personal motivations for social justice work, their collective responsibility as members of a Jesuit Higher Education Institution, what Holy Cross is doing well in working toward social justice, and where Holy Cross can do better. Participants included: Funmi Anifowoshe '17, Molly Caulfield '18, Mackenzie Horl '17, Valentine Iwejuo '17, Maddy Jankowski '19, Marie Therese Kane '18, Sarah McGuire '19, Elaines Peña '18, Lillie Reder '17, Brian SanGiacomo '18, and Mia Yee '19. 

The retreat group poses in front of Concordia Lutheran Church in the Main South neighborhood of Worcester.

4/19/16 - Character Clearinghouse features an interview with Michelle Sterk Barrett, 2016 Dalton Dissertation of the Year recipient.

4/15/16 - Marshall Memorial Grant Supports Student Projects in the Worcester Community (Holy Cross News)

2/26/16 - Holy Cross community partner, Associate Ministries of the Assumption's Third Day Program highlighted in the Worcester T&G. Several Holy Cross CBL and SPUD students volunteer with their after school programs each semester. 

2/2/16 - Community-Based Learning Director Receives Two Awards for Dissertation on Spiritual Impact of Service Learning

1/25/16 - Research conducted by Caroline Fleming '18 in conjunction with Professor Virginia Raguin (Visual Arts) was unveiled on the Newton Country Day website.

Their research highlights one of the largest and most sophisticated stained glass commissions created by the An Túr Gloine (Tower of Glass) cooperative workshop in Dublin, Ireland: seven three-light windows and a rose installed in The Newton Country Day School's Sacred Heart Chapel.

12/19/15 - CBL Professor, Bridget Franco (Spanish) featured on the Holy Cross website for her course "¡Acción! Filmmaking in Spanish."

11/19/15 - CBL Intern, Jake Medina '16 spotlighted on Ascentria Care Alliance's "Volunteer Stories" webpage.

9/23/15 - Sister Jeanmarie Gribaudo's CBL Class featured on WBZ TV news.

5/25/15 - 6 CBL Interns awarded Bachelor of Arts Degrees at the 2015 Commencement Exercises:

Congratulations to our newest CBL Intern alums: Rachel Greenberg, Aaron Jackson, Kristen Kelley, Cindy Nguyen, Sarah Paletta, and Jenny Sipiora! On Friday, May 22nd, these six graduates received their diplomas. Cindy Nguyen also was awarded a Presidential Service Award for her service to the College and to the Worcester community at the Baccalaureate exercises on Thursday, May 21st. To view the Commencement video, read the Commencement Address by Public Interest Lawyer Bryan Stevenson, and browse other Commencement news and pictures, visit the Holy Cross Commencement webpage.

From L to R: Isabelle Jenkins, Jenny Sipiora '15, Sarah Paletta '15, and Michelle Sterk Barrett

5/20/15 - Blog: Reflections on my first year, by: Isabelle Jenkins

5/19/15 - Professor Stephanie Yuhl and students in her seminar, Presenting the Past receive special mayoral recognition for their website, "I Never Left Worcester": Revolution and Innovation in the Heart of Massachusetts"

4/15/15 - Crux Article Highlights Sterk Barrett's Research

2/11/15 - NPCC Case Study Team Chosen as Community Harvest Project's Volunteer of the Month

5/2/14 - Blog: Students Describe the Impact of Community-Based Learning

4/6/14 - ‘HC student interviews provide secrets to success’ (Worcester T and G)

Spring 2014 - Worcester: Now more than ever, as a city of hidden gems comes out of hiding, Holy Cross students embrace the spirit of their College's hometown. (Holy Cross Magazine)

Spring 2013 - Alumni pay it forward to future nonprofit Crusaders (Holy Cross Magazine)

Sponsored by the College's Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, the Office of Career Planning and the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies (CISS) and taught by Holy Cross alumni, faculty and staff-the five-day event introduced students to the wide range of careers available in nonprofit and public service settings.

3/12/13 - Holy Cross Receives National Recognition for Community Service (Holy Cross News)

The College of the Holy Cross has been named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its strong institutional commitment to service and partnerships that produce measurable results for the community.  The Honor Roll recognition is from the highest levels of the federal government and recognizes commitment to service and civic engagement on campus and in the nation.

11/14/12 - Holy Cross, South High pair up to create virtual tour for Worcester Art Museum (Worcester Magazine)

"How is art relevant today? Why do we study these strange objects? What does art have to do with our everyday lives? These were the questions that led Dr. Amanda Luyster to revamp her Introduction to the Visual Arts course at the College of the Holy Cross..."

11/14/12 - Volunteer Stories: Students Helping Students (Lutheran Social Services)

"After four years of collaboration between Holy Cross students and the LSS Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program (URM) and the Unaccompanied Alien Children Program (UAC), lives of both tutors and students continue to be impacted..."

8/12/12 - Business People: Michelle Sterk Barrett (Telegram.com)

"Michelle Sterk Barrett has been named the new director of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester.  Ms. Sterk Barrett has held positions of increasing seniority in academic administration, including roles in admissions, career planning, and community-based learning..."

8/3/12 - Holy Cross Names New Director of Community-Based Learning (Holy Cross News)

"Following a national search, Michelle Sterk Barrett has been named the new director of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning at the College of the Holy Cross.  Sterk Barrett earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Villanova University and her master's degree in higher education administration from Boston College..."

5/2/11 - Three Holy Cross Seniors Win Community Engagement Award (Holy Cross News)

"Holy Cross seniors Nina DiNunzio, Jordan Duffy, and Patricia Gomez received a 2011 Community Engagement Award last month for tutoring and mentoring refugees in Worcester's Lutheran Social Services' Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program..."

Winter 2011 - Syllabus: Catholic Thought and Social Action (Holy Cross Magazine)

"An advanced community-based learning seminar in which students explore the relationship between Catholic social teaching and sociological theories of social action, while deepening their knowledge of the practice of organizing for social change..."

4/23/10 - Holy Cross Hip Hop Symposium for Local High School Students (Holy Cross News)

"A group of Worcester high school students spent a day recently with Holy Cross faculty and students to talk about authenticity and commercialization related to something very close to their hearts: hip-hop music..." 

6/1/09 - Video: Students Learn Ins and Outs of Non-Profit Sector in Weeklong Workshop (Holy Cross News)

"What does it take to effectively run a non-profit organization?  Twenty-one Holy Cross students found out recently after taking part in the third annual Community and Public Leadership Workshop held on campus..."