"Being connected through this work across time and geography reminded me that relationships built at Boston College don’t end at graduation. They can continue to create opportunities for learning, service, and shared purpose across the world.” - Grace Jenkins, a 2026 Boston College School of Social Work graduate who revised the child safeguarding policy for Aziza's Place, a Cambodian nonprofit founded by Amjad Ghori ’80 in memory of his daughter | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/AzizasPlace

“I want people to free themselves from the burden that their own personal self-expression is supposed to transform the culture of work...Whatever my hair looks like does not change the fact that I’m not being paid properly or that I don’t get the recognition that I need.” - Jodi-Ann Burey ’08, author of "Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work" | READ MORE in Boston College Magazine: https://on.bc.edu/JBurey_BCM

"I am deeply grateful for the experiences and relationships that have been so formative for me. I never imagined landing here at Boston College, and I consider it one of my life’s beautiful blessings to have had the chance to minister and work in such a wonderful community.” - Daniel Ponsetto, the Welles Remy Crowther Director of the Volunteer & Service Learning Center, has retired after 30 years on the Heights | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/DPonsetto

"After learning about the program, I decided to participate in the Atlantic Coast Conference Unity Tour to learn while connecting with fellow Boston College Athletics student-athletes and athletes from across the ACC. I felt honored to be selected because it’s a big deal to represent Boston College, as well as gain valuable knowledge and experiences. "One moment that stood out to me was the community service project. We partnered with SOUL to give back to the community. My group painted tennis courts, and seeing members of the community stop by to watch what we were doing made the experience even more meaningful. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. "I learned that the landscape of collegiate athletics is changing every day, and sports diplomacy will play a major role moving forward. I also learned that using our voices and sharing our perspectives can help create positive change for college athletes in the long run. This is something I hope to bring back to Boston College and continue to apply as a student-athlete." - Israel Oladipupo '29, a Boston College Football defensive lineman who participated in the 2026 ACC Unity Tour | LEARN MORE about the program: https://bit.ly/ACCUnity2026 Photos courtesy of Israel Oladipupo & BC Football

“Interacting with so many intelligent, good, and caring people every day has been a blessing. Exceptional individuals come to study and work here. Supporting their growth both personally and professionally has been very rewarding. I hope that in a small way my efforts to support that development enabled them to continue learning and growing throughout their entire lives.” - Bernard R. “Bernie” O’Kane ’70, M.Ed. ’72, M.A. ’05, who retired after more than five decades working on the Heights | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/BernieOKane

“My research looks at how and why rural areas are politically distinct from other places, and personally it means a lot to me—as someone who grew up in rural Minnesota—that the research community is interested in this. Understanding how place impacts politics is something I think many people didn’t really recognize or have much interest in until fairly recently, even though it’s something my family always recognized and talked about growing up. “This award will help me continue this line of work, and I plan to start researching how urban-rural animosity can be reduced while also respecting how people from different places might think and act differently. It also means a lot that I’m able to represent Boston College as an institution. I’m extremely grateful for the support I’ve had here at BC.” - Kristin Lunz Trujillo, Assistant Professor of Political Science who was named a 2026 Andrew Carnegie Fellow (from the Carnegie Corporation of New York) | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/LunzTrujillo_CarnegieFellowship

“The Hatchery is such an underutilized resource for entrepreneurship—if you have an idea, you can come here and make it. A lot of founders fall into the trap of wanting to perfect an idea before testing it, but one of the things we learned from our mentors was to be more scrappy with our product. I whipped up this prototype in an afternoon using the sewing and embroidery machines, and it was a great way to have something tangible to show to investors. Later we used the light box to take product photos, which was huge. You just walk in and they connect you with whatever resources you need.” - Leonard Alsleben ’26 & Lucas Schmidt ’26, who used The Hatchery, BC’s makerspace, to help launch their business, Wohlsein | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/TheHatchery2026

“Being recognized by students in this way means everything to me. The students are why I get to do my job and why I love it. The undergraduates are central to Boston College's mission of cura personalis; it is a privilege and honor to be able to teach them and to get to know them.” - Tracy Regan, Economics Professor who earned BC's 2026 Phi Beta Kappa Society Teaching Award | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/TracyRegan

“Winning the Truman Scholarship was a great honor for me and my family. It means a lot to me personally given what I have experienced growing up in Birmingham and losing so many peers to gang violence and my uncle to suicide. Grief has been the ignition behind much of what I do. I want to dedicate my life to addressing the critical issues of mental health and suicide because I do not want anyone else to know the pain my family and I have felt.” - David Nelson '27, one of just 55 nationwide recipients of a 2026 scholarship from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/DavidNelson

“Workshops are a really great way for people to dip their toes into The Hatchery, or even just doing small crafts, like clay magnets for the fridge. My Pinterest is full of different things that I want to DIY, and nine times out of 10 we have the materials for it. A lot of people ask, ‘What do you think the best way to do this is?’ And if I don't know the answer, I'll just say, ‘Just try it, tweak it, and try again.’ It's a nice low-pressure situation compared to so many other elements of life.” - Sarah Ryan ’26, who was employed at BC’s makerspace, The Hatchery | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/TheHatchery2026

“Boston College's Jesuit, Catholic ethos promotes people doing something to serve the common good. It could be a new program to help the homeless. Or it could be a new device to help people in another country. That ethos is here, and our efforts in design thinking are based on harnessing the power of design for the common good. That is the overarching goal.” - Sunand Bhattacharya, Associate Vice Provost on BC's new minor in Design Studies | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/DesignMinor

“It’s a funny story—I came to the States from Argentina as an au pair back in 2018, and my host family went to Boston College, so they took me to a football game and showed me around. I remember saying, ‘Man, this place is amazing. I wish I could study here.’ A few years later I got married and went back to school at Bunker Hill Community College. I knew I wanted to finish my four-year degree, but I thought BC would be out of reach. Boston College - Woods College of Advancing Studies showed me that it’s actually possible to earn a degree while working full-time. The flexibility of the program made it manageable to balance everything, which I really appreciated.” - Samantha Akers '26, a Woods College graduate | READ MORE of her Senior Reflection: https://on.bc.edu/SAkers