"After I graduated from Boston College, I stayed in touch with many of the mentors and professors from my undergraduate experience. I just found it so impactful and inspirational to learn from so many people who not only had work experience, but had life experience. So now I do everything I can to give back. I've had the pleasure of participating in guest lectures for the Shea Center where I get to educate probably hundreds of students each year on really relevant and critical topics to technology, and entrepreneurship, and speak on my work experience. "I'm always so inspired by the energy and the curiosity that people have when they are looking for help. And sometimes I think it takes that one conversation for someone to believe in themselves or believe in their idea. And I've been really lucky to see many students go on to start their own businesses, to join big tech companies, to join startups, and see them continue to grow throughout their own career and their own trajectories. To me, that's been the most fulfilling. Often I feel like people reach out with one idea in mind of what they want to do, and to see them go on to do what I think is really what they were meant to do and what they feel most passionate about - that's super fulfilling." - Michael Perry '18, AI Partnerships Marketing Manager at Meta and mentor through the Shea Center for Entrepreneurship | WATCH THE FULL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Fi-EzxspFfM

“I joined because I knew and admired so many of the members—and also, of course, because I like to read. I find that a book becomes so much more meaningful when a group of us meet to share our reactions. I invariably get something from the discussion that I had missed up to that point. I immensely enjoy the company and the camaraderie of the group.” - Harold Petersen, Associate Professor Emeritus of Economics who joined the Jean Mooney Retired Faculty Book Club after retiring in 2016 | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/BookClub

"Before I came to the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry, I worked and lived with people with intellectual disabilities in the L'Arche Chicago community for a year. I've noticed through my work that there are a lot of gaps in our ability to provide accessibility for people with disabilities in our parish communities. That is something that I'd love to be able to address. I also think we really underestimate what people with intellectual disabilities are capable of on a spiritual level. Liturgical accessibility and spiritual formation for people with disabilities are close to my heart. I think disability ministry and advocacy will always be an important part of my life." - Grace Gasper M.Div '27, an inaugural resident of CSTM's Formation House | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/TogetherinCommunity

"My freshman year at Boston College was anything but easy. As an immigrant, I carried the weight of separation, not just from my family, but from the familiarity of home, culture, and everything I had known. Leaving Lebanon at 17 meant stepping into an entirely different world; one where I had to rebuild my sense of belonging from the ground up. At times, it felt like no one fully understood what it meant to be caught between two worlds, one I had left behind but still held close, and another I was trying to make my own. "Co-founding the Lebanese Student Association of Boston College with two close friends became my anchor, giving me a space where my background wasn’t something that set me apart but something that connected me to others. That club became my first home on campus, but my growth didn’t stop there. I found belonging in the little things: late nights at O’Neill, shared laughter in the Mods, and the warmth of a community of friends I had once struggled to find. I pushed myself to embrace new opportunities, lead retreats, plan events, and fully immerse myself in everything BC had to offer. "Today, I am proud to be an Eagle. I’ve learned that BC isn’t just about the red-brick buildings or the traditions, it’s about the people who make this place feel like home, the ones with whom I’ve shared some of the most defining moments of my life." - Elie Assi '25

“When I reflect on Dr. King’s life, I think about how transformative his advocacy was. Growing up, I always had one view of what advocacy looked like, and that was just yelling to a large group of people. But when I think of Dr. King, I think of how he advocated even in small groups or through individual relationships. “That’s the kind of advocacy I am trying to reflect in my life. Where I’m not necessarily the biggest voice in a crowd, I can see myself advocating for things in small meetings or conversations with people. I’m so grateful to have received this award, but it also reminds me to continue that advocacy in every aspect of my life, whether it’s for people at work or for someone who feels as if they don’t have a voice. Using advocacy in ways that I feel are unconventional is what this award means for me.” - Esosa Owens '26, the 2025 Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship winner | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/EsosaOwens

“You have to have a good ear to be a fiction writer, and that means eavesdropping all the time. When I was a little kid, my mother thought I was doing something else, but I was always listening to her phone conversations, figuring out what was really going on with these women or that family member. I’ll be sitting in a cafe, waiting for my kids to finish a sports event, and people may think I’m writing a grocery list, but I'm actually writing down the conversation happening next to me.” - Marisa Labozzetta ’71, who recently published her third short story collection | READ MORE in Boston College Magazine: https://brnw.ch/CharacterBuilder_BCM

"I’m very grateful to Boston College for giving me the chance to explore my passions both inside and outside the classroom. The flexibility of liberal arts curriculum has allowed me to pursue minors in music and chemistry in addition to my English major, which I get to put into practice as an editorial intern for Post Road Magazine. Thanks to BC’s broad assortment of extracurricular offerings, I’ve found my home away from home in the Brighton Dance Studio. Being the head choreographer of Boston College Irish Dance has been an invaluable creative outlet and introduced me to lifelong friends. I’ve never had to sacrifice one of these interests to accommodate another, which is part of what makes BC so special." - Caroline Grimes '25

“We talk about entering into communion with people, about humanizing the other, and about seeing human dignity in any scenario. Because American music is so connected to issues of race and class, it’s really what I’m studying all the time as a sociology major. And when I’m performing, music is how I experience human dignity most strongly.” - Sofia Burke '25, the 2024 Pops on the Heights soloist | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/SofiaBurke

"To me, caring for the whole person is a deeply felt value that I learned over time. [At Loyola University Maryland], we have a lot of shared values that resonate back to my days at Boston College. The commitment to equity and justice, impact and community, and this idea of care for the whole person lives within the way we enact our mission." - Afra Hersi, M.Ed. ’02, Ph.D. ’07, a Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development alumna who is now the Dean of Loyola School of Education | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/LynchAlumni_FormEd

"Afrofuturism is a concept that Professor Sam Bradley focused on and that I have begun to consider in my day-to-day work. That is: How do we take stock of where we are now so that we can predict where we might be going in the future? And so how can we think strategically around that to position ourselves to help our clients achieve optimal well-being? "I’ve found myself advocating for clients that might not be adhering perfectly to the program requirements and thinking first and foremost about what might happen to them if they were to leave here unprepared. I believe I have a mandate to seek the best outcomes for the people I’m charged with caring for. I’m working from a framework of not pathologizing my clients, but rather seeing them as humans first with a focus on how social conditions have affected their individual psyches." - Marcel McClain MSW '24, a clinical social worker at Volunteers of America and participated in Boston College School of Social Work's Black Leadership Initiative | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/MarcelMcClain

"Courage comes to mind when I think about Black History Month. It takes courage to take up space and fill it with pride and understanding of who you are and where you come from. Courage to take hold of opportunities that may have been curated without you in mind but are now your responsibility to fill as an ode to those who could not, and as an example to those who can. Courage to walk in your own personhood and brilliance in a way that shines beyond the color of your skin but simultaneously nurtures a sense of belonging in that skin." - Esther Udoakang '25 #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM Photo: Amanda Simpson '28

"The most important thing I learned was to value and understand the importance of family and community. I think Afrocentric social work really highlights the community aspect of healing and I try to honor that in my work with people with substance use disorders at The Dimock Center. Oftentimes, when people are leaving substance use or leaving people they used to use with, it’s hard to cut the cord. These people supported you, even if it wasn’t in the healthiest way—they were there for a reason and filled a need. So I really work on helping people honor the idea of who those supportive people were and what they represented while also reminding them that staying around them might not be the best idea for their long term health and well-being." - Jamelia Willock MSW '24, who was part of the Boston College School of Social Work's Black Leadership Initiative program | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/JameliaWillock