"It was such a cool experience to represent both Boston College and the United States as a Critical Language Scholar in Meknes, Morocco, this summer! Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States after its founding, and I was able to reaffirm the friendship every time I connected with someone in the community. I especially appreciated being able to build the bonds in the native language of the people I spoke with as I studied Arabic. I plan to carry those relationships (and language skills!) with me into the future as I discern my career path." - Caroline Serenyi '28

“Many of our students have experienced significant trauma or have complex needs that have led to the behaviors that we’re seeing. The mission of the Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development and the Jesuit values at Boston College—thinking about the whole person and promoting justice through service—are well aligned with my current organization." - Sarah Bertschmann, ’20, M.Ed. ’21, Principal of the Day and Residential School at Walker Therapeutic & Educational Programs | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/SarahBertschmann_Lynch

“In 1970, when PULSE was founded, you had all sorts of divisiveness within society—you’re in the middle of the Cold War, you’re in the Vietnam War, you’ve had the Civil Rights Movement— and a group of Boston College students decided to double down on theology and philosophy and service. I think that’s a great example that should give strength to our current students, who are thinking about this current moment, what’s happening in the world, and wondering how they can continue to be agents of change.” - Joshua Snyder, Associate Professor in the Boston College Theology Department, who was named the new Cooney Family Director of the PULSE Program for Service Learning | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/PULSELeadership

“It has been a privilege to serve the young players of Milton. What began as a personal passion for sports has grown into a meaningful expression of the Jesuit values that have shaped my life. Through this role, I have been able to bring together the lessons I learned working at Boston College with my love of baseball and commitment to our community. “Each day, I am inspired by the opportunity to contribute to something larger than myself—to help create an environment where young people can grow as athletes, teammates, and individuals. Guided by the Jesuit ideal of magis, I am continually motivated to seek ways to make our league better, always striving for the greater good of our players and families.” - Steve Novak, the 2026 Boston College Community Service Award winner | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/Novak_CSA2026

"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