"It was crazy just stepping out of my comfort zone. I’m a psych major minoring in immigration and am also in public health, so I was just feeling a lot like climate change alone wasn’t my background. But then when I was [at COP26], I realized that all of my disciplines were fully represented. At an event I attended called 'The Mental Health of Climate Migrants,' I was standing there stunned, thinking, 'Oh my god, this is everything I’ve been studying!' I left that section with a fire in my belly. Boston College sent people from different disciplines: a nursing student, an environmental studies student, me in Lynch, and then there were professors from every department. So when we came back, it made it much more of an interdisciplinary conversation, because we are all coming back into our different realms and able to share what we learned. "Anything that comes my way as an opportunity, I’ll take it. Especially now as I’m hoping to look into law and policy in my future. Attending this international conference where there are people from everywhere, sitting in small conversations with ministers of education and directors of forest reserves -- It was just so cool and got me so excited for what the prospects for the future are." - Ginny Alex '22, who attended the UN Climate Change's #COP26 with the BC delegation

"Some bands are just groups of friends that all listen to the same exact type of music or same artist and we're not like that. I think that's cool because I'll bring something, Matty will bring something else, and we'll both tug each other into the middle and find some entirely new sound. We're not copying anything because we're not trying to sound like any one thing." - Ben Crandall '23 (second from left), one-fifth of the BC band Photo Negative | READ MORE: http://on.bc.edu/ReadytoRock

“I definitely doubted I would go to college, and honestly, I never thought I would make it into Boston College. I actually gave up on college a very long time ago. I assumed it was unattainable, at least for me. You see, I was never the smartest kid in school; I never got the best grades. I didn't really have any talents like playing an instrument or was good at sports. I knew I wanted to go to college, not just to better myself, but also because I knew immigrants like my mother move to the U.S. not to better themselves, or to give themselves more opportunity. Many move to the U.S. to give their children a better opportunity than they had. So I always thought, why would my single mother risk it all for me if I wasn't willing to capitalize on her decision. To me - and many Latino families - college equals opportunity and success. I, too, would like to pass on that will to my children someday: To give them a better life than I had, as my mother says." - Enmanuel Cabrera ’23, a veteran who enrolled as a full-time Carroll School of Management at BC student through the Service to School program | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/EnmanuelCabrera

“It was the height of the pandemic and being on campus, kind of tucked away from what was going on in New York City, definitely made me feel helpless. Unlike in a normal year, I couldn’t go out and give hands-on help to people who needed it, but with the Missing Them project, PULSE found a really unique and effective way to still connect students to individuals in the real world. One of my assignments was to collect photos for the Brooklyn Bridge Memorial, and I was just awed at how much of an impact it had on New York City and grateful to be a part of it, even on the smallest scale.” - Ethia Hu ’23, a student volunteer for the Missing Them project | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/MissingThem

“When I first got involved with the Missing Them project I didn’t recognize how attached I would get or how much these stories would teach me. One of my interviews was over an hour long and he told me all about his father and said that, basically, his motto was to always be kind and recognize that you don’t need to be acknowledged for something for it to feel rewarding. That resonated with me because it kind of connected to what I was doing—I’m not being recognized by anyone for this work but it’s so gratifying to think about how important it is.” - Riane Lumer ’24, a student volunteer for the Missing Them project | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/MissingThem Photo taken by Yating Wang '24

“One of the things we’re always thinking about at PULSE is how a particular experience illuminates larger systemic issues. The Missing Them project couldn’t have been a more perfect match because it so clearly shows how the loss of an individual person is connected to their community, the type of work they did, even what’s going on in healthcare. When students were beginning their research they could look at a map of COVID deaths in New York City and see how concentrated those deaths were in areas of lower income, areas with people of color. It was an extremely clear visualization of the uneven effects of the virus, and it was eye-opening to them.” - Eileen Sweeney, Philosophy Department Boston College Professor who spearheaded Boston College's collaboration with the Missing Them project | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/MissingThem

"What I realized being back in Pakistan and intellectually canvassing the area is that in a country like that, the highest glass ceiling a woman can break is the political realm. Those are the most powerful positions and it’s still considered to be a male-dominated field where patriarchy reigns. So if any woman has come up from adverse circumstances and been able to claim one of those positions, that’s a story I wanted to investigate. The initial goal wasn't to write a book—that came later on." - Urwa Hameed '22, will graduate from Boston College in December at the age of 18 and is the author of "Steering Towards Change" | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/Unstoppable

"It was my passion for advocacy work that led me to Boston College. It was really important to me to be in an environment where social justice was at the core of the institution’s culture and I think that BC really exemplifies that through its focus on servant leadership, Catholic social teaching, and service. Through my academics, I've discerned that my passion lies in the intersection between media and human rights, so when I saw that there was an opening in the Department of Global Communications at the United Nations, I applied. It wasn’t until the final round of the interviews when they told me that this internship was no longer a two-month internship but rather a six-month commitment. I had this moment of, “How am I going to do 40 hours a week on top of school?” But I have some incredible mentors at BC who really encouraged me to keep going. Not only would I have not gotten this job without my mentors, but I wouldn't be able to do the job well without leaning on them. As I prepare to leave the Heights this spring, I can’t help but reflect on the multitude of gifts BC has given me, and the incredible relationships I have developed here most certainly tops the list." - Elizabeth McDermott ’22, International Studies major with a concentration in ethics and social justice who is currently working as a public information intern with the United Nations

“Having lived in Africa and grown up in India, the opportunity to go to a first-class university is something I still appreciate. It engraced me with what I am today. The Boston College atmosphere was unique and the Jesuit tradition of trying to find excellence in whatever you do for the greater glory of God resonates with me.” - Alexander Philiphose M'74, the oldest volunteer currently in the Peace Corps Response Program | Read More in Boston College Magazine: https://on.bc.edu/AlexanderPhiliphose

“Most people tune in to the Miss America pageant for one day and then forget about it, but it’s really an entire year of service and an opportunity for professional development, networking, and leaving an impact. As contestants, we all have our own social impact initiative that we're passionate about and ways we want to leave our mark. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, we're not just pretty women who have no idea what's going on in the world—we’re well-rounded individuals who are dedicated to our communities. I think that's a part of it that no one really gets to see.” - Elizabeth Pierre, Miss Massachusetts and a Boston College School of Social Work master’s student | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/ElizabethPierre

“The Boston College Connell School of Nursing program is so focused on the fundamentals - you do simulations, you have lectures, it gets repeated over and over again: airway, breathing, circulation. You learn all the things that can go wrong and all the things that nurses can do to intervene, and then hope when something happens, you don't have to think through how to handle it, it's just instinctual. I've been a lifeguard since high school and CPR certified for a long time, and yet had it not been for my nursing training, I don't know that I would have been as helpful or successful in that moment.” - Cameron Howe '18, DNP '23, helped save the life of a Boston Marathon runner | READ MORE: https://on.bc.edu/AlwaysonDuty

"In addition to being a disease caused by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 is a human moral tragedy. Put bluntly, it illustrates the failure of developed health systems to address the needs of global public health. COVID-19 has demonstrated that global health systems perpetuate distributive injustice. It's not a disease of equity. It disproportionately affects the elderly, poor, and brown and black communities. This is due to the “perfect storm” of determinants that increase the spread of coronavirus as well as the likelihood of dying from COVID-19. "As we know from our experiences of stay-at-home orders, self-quarantines, and isolation periods, COVID-19 has weaponized interpersonal relationships. We are confronted with a paradox, to survive the disease we need to isolate and social distance from each other, but can humans flourish in isolation? The pandemic has made it abundantly clear that nationalistic health policies are foolish. No nation can consider itself superior to the global community nor are they able to isolate themselves from the virus. The pandemic has forced the international community to accept this fact of our interconnectedness. The international community now needs to promote solidarity in terms of access to the vaccines. Without effective cooperation, sharing of resources, and coordination the virus will not stop. "COVID-19 leaves over 97 percent of its victims still breathing, but it leaves virtually every member of the global community afraid, anxious, isolated, and alone. The virtues of love, compassion, and endurance may help overcome this sense of despair. Likewise, combatting the COVID-19 pandemic requires public health initiatives that promote both the global common good and a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable." - Joshua Snyder, Assistant Professor of the Practice, Boston College Theology Department