
Profound Thanks: J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World

Thank you for Enabling Experiential Learning to Thrive
Experiential learning brings the classroom alive; it engages our students’ senses in a manner that cannot be replicated by traditional classroom education alone. By giving our students a taste of how their aspirations can be applied in context, you are allowing them to discern how they may wish to use their gifts and talents while they still have time to pivot. This invaluable knowledge and self-awareness enable our students to knowingly strive beyond the campus gates with deepened zeal and passion for how to best accomplish a fulfilling and value-added life.
The J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World proudly promotes and supports immersive learning experiences for our students. With the help of dedicated faculty and staff, who work to create substantive and meaningful offerings through the Center, more students participated in internships, community-based learning (CBL) courses, research programs, and trial team experiences in Worcester, Washington, D.C., and beyond. These experiences are transformative, and we acknowledge the critical role you play in bringing them to fruition. For the opportunities you have created and the lives you have changed through your generosity, please accept our sincere thanks.
A Thank You from the J.D. Power Center
We are profoundly grateful to those alumni, parents and friends who have supported the J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World including significant support from:
- Anonymous
- Michael E. Daniels '76 and Patricia P. Daniels '77 P04, 03
- Kristen Conroy Diggins '90 P17, 15
- Deborah C. and Timothy W. Diggins '80
- Christine G. and Joseph P. Donelan II '72
- Betsy and Michael Greene '84
- Eileen D. and Richard J. Greisch '72 P99
- Patricia L. and Alfred O. Hayward P01
- Ryan J. Hayward '01
- Kenrose Kitchen Table Foundation
- Robert J. McKay '55
- Paula H. and Brian M Powers, Esq. 71
- Stephen L. Urbanczyk '71
- Agnes N. Williams W41 P83


2024-2025 Highlights
- 52 Students presented about their engagement with a myriad of J.D. Power Center programs at the Academic Conference.
- 141 Students participated in the Academic Internship Program this year.
- $20,000 Thirty-two students took advantage of more than $20,000 in Ignite funding for conference travel, student-developed research and entrepreneurial projects.

Experiential learning encourages our curious students to explore what is possible, and we strive to ensure that these high-impact practices are central to every student’s Holy Cross experience. It is because of your generosity that we can make that happen, and I am most grateful for your role in this essential mission.

A Big Year for the Donelan Office
The Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, Teaching and Engaged Scholarship had a record year.
- 1,226 Students participated in community-based learning courses and programs, more than ever before.
- 56 Community partners engaged with the Office to develop community-based learning, Scholarship in Action (SIA) and Non-Profit Careers Conference (NPCC) experiences for Holy Cross students and faculty.
- $74,500 In SIA grants were awarded to eight faculty and six community partners.
- $26,000 Awarded to 32 Marshall Fund applicants to serve and enhance the creative and intellectual involvement of students and faculty with the Worcester community and build closer ties. The figure marked a monetary increase of over 200% from the previous year.
Grants in Action

The Donelan Office hosted the Transition Program Gala: A Night to Shine, a spring dance which celebrated inclusion, empowerment and community for over 60 Worcester Public School transition students with disabilities.

The festivities honoring these 18–22-year-olds promoted independence, wellbeing and community involvement.

On May 5, 2025, the Holy Cross community celebrated the unveiling of a new mural at the Worcester House. Through the support of the Marshall Memorial Fund, students in Professor Frances Maughan-Brown’s Montserrat course, Thinking for Oneself: Machine and Revolt, collaborated with Worcester-based artist Jennessa Burks in order to bring this artwork to life.

This mural represents the bridging of the students’ deep listening in their CBL placements and their reading and analysis of their philosophy texts in the classroom. The hope is that the mural amplifies the voices of those in the community around us and represents thei course texts differently–in a clearer and more urgent way that wouldn’t happen otherwise.

Lasting and Relevant Experiences
Taking advantage of the presidential election cycle, Peter Flaherty and Congressman Tim Bishop’s Academic Internship Program course included visits from presidential candidate Chris Christie, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, three congressional representatives and a post-election analysis with pollsters for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

Non-Profit Careers Conference
The Center for Career Development and the Donelan Office worked collaboratively to host the Non-Profit Careers Conference (NPCC) where 43 alumni, faculty, staff, network colleagues and community partners participated in the week-long conference to help the 23 participants learn more about non-profit careers.