"We all chose Boston College for a reason, whether because the coin landed on a certain side, because it checked all of our boxes, or maybe even because our tour guide so passionately raved about Portico. Regardless of the reason, we all ended up here, in this beautifully collaborative space where ideas are shared, friendships are formed, and hearts are opened. Being a part of Boston College Admission's Student Admission Program, or SAP, I have learned just how many different ways one can end up at Boston College. I’ve learned so much, about so many, and I am constantly left in awe of my peers. As I sit on the director’s chair in front of 250 people, or as I stumble walking backward in the middle of the quad, I often have imposter syndrome - friends who turned down Ivies, friends who have started companies, friends who have smiles big enough to light up Alumni. They surround me. That exact feeling is why I chose BC, why I continue to choose BC, and why I choose to talk about it every day in SAP. The passion that this student body has for anything imaginable, and even the unimaginable, needs to be known and heard. SAP affords me the space to reflect on my own experiences, praise the passionate people, and speak candidly about the imperfections. We all have room for growth - it’s the reason I came here - and I am forever indebted to SAP for contributing so greatly to that growth and for letting me never shut up about it." - Nikki Kearney, SAP Mission & Mentorship Coordinator & BC '21

“From the moment I knew about the Pew Latin American Fellowship, I pictured myself as one fellow of this prestigious program. Now under the guidance of an excellent scientist and pioneer in the field, Dr. van Opijnen, the dream has come true. I cannot be more thankful for this lifetime opportunity...My [research] findings could lead to new strategies for combating and clearing Spn, a potentially deadly bacteria, which is currently the leading cause of pneumonia in young children, even in the post-vaccine era.” - Luisa Maria Nieto Ramirez, a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Associate Professor of Biology Tim van Opijnen, who has been named a 2020 Pew Latin American Fellow in the Biomedical Sciences | Read More: https://on.bc.edu/Ramirez_PewFellow

“Before Feed the Front Line Chicago, I wasn't connected to my community in the same way through food. I’m doing pickups at restaurants that I've gone to since I was a kid, but I never knew who owned them. Now I talk to those people every day. Our community is based on these business owners and these restaurant owners. Even though we're not sitting down and eating a meal together, the effort that they're putting in to prepare food for our community every day is really inspirational.” - Lori Niehaus ’18, co-founder of Feed the Front Line, Chicago | Read More: https://on.bc.edu/FeedTheFrontLine

“I could not have asked for a better work-study job. My time in the Robsham Theater Arts Center Box Office taught me so many important skills - teamwork, on the spot leadership, efficient problem solving - but more importantly, it brought me closer to the BC community. It's an incredible thing to see the excitement on students' faces when they're picking up tickets to Showdown or Homecoming, or to watch the proud families and friends attend shows. I was able to have so many meaningful conversations with the management team about how my time here would benefit my future. It was the perfect position for me to launch my love for arts administration, and it helped ignite my love for Boston College.” - Cassandra Pearson ’20, one of two seniors to receive the Boston College Robsham Theater Box Office's Director's Award

"Fuego means so much to me, and I think that it's gonna leave a really big gap when I leave. I'm Latina, I'm Brazilian American, and coming onto this campus, I struggled with identifying with one of those identities. But what I appreciate the most about Fuego is that I can be the best of both. - Briana Ferreira ’20, a captain of Fuego del Corazon: Boston College's Latin Dance Team | Watch more: https://youtu.be/oNpgeZ7aAX8

"As I look back on my four years on the Heights, I find gratitude in the friendships I’ve formed. If Jesuit education has taught me anything, it’s to focus on being authentic to myself and intentional in my time with others. Living an authentic life is something I’m still working on, but I’ve found that it’s helped me form and maintain the countless meaningful relationships that I’ve made at Boston College. I’m incredibly lucky and humbled to call so many amazing people my friends, and I’m forever grateful that not only did our paths cross, but our friendships will continue beyond our four years." - Jeff Wu ’20

"Greenwood, South Carolina will always hold a special place in my heart, as it was my first and last Appa trip. Though my trip members and I were building a home for a beautiful family, it was the community members who fed us, housed us, taught us, and welcomed us. Khalil Gibran said 'Work is love made visible,' and the work they did for us was just as important. Appa demonstrates how quickly shared experiences can bring people closer together and I am so glad that I was able to be a part of it." - Rachel King '20 | Read more about the home built in Greenwood: https://bit.ly/GreenwoodAppa

"After more than two years of the high school wrestling coach pestering me to join the team, he put out an interesting offer: If I come to watch a practice, he’ll never bother me again. Deal. But wrestling soon consumed my life. After my junior year of high school, I hurt my back. Various doctors all led to one conclusion: My senior season was off the table. Heartbroken, I had to figure out who I was without the sport I defined myself by. Without wrestling as a factor, Boston College quickly became my top choice. While the transition isn’t easy for anyone, I struggled to find my place at BC initially. Boston College EMS was a big part of making BC home freshman year. I met a group of people who shared my passion for helping others and medicine. Even still, something was missing from my life but I couldn’t put my finger on it. In the spring of my freshman year, my duty partner Sonja Goldman ‘19 was a gymnast that had joined the Boston College Coed Cheerleading team. She loved it and desperately tried to convince me to join since the team was short on guys. I brushed it off, writing off the sport immediately. Luckily, like my wrestling coach, she was persistent. The following fall semester, she continued asking. Finally, I said I would come watch a practice but she couldn’t ask again after that; sound familiar? So, reluctantly, I showed up to practice. What I saw blew me away: coed stunting, pyramids, tumbling, and more. I instantly became interested and eventually, my passion for wrestling had a rival in cheerleading. I didn’t initially have a place in a stunt group. Because of this, the responsibility of running the flag during games was placed on my shoulders. That seemingly mundane introduction to the sport led to the birth of 'Flag Guy.' The notoriety grew as my time running the flag continued, truly beginning when I showed up to Kairos, a campus ministry-run retreat, and I introduced myself to my roommate. Immediately, he said 'Wait, you’re Flag Guy!' That was the first time I was recognized for it and really where the persona began for me. The joy of running the flag grew as the student section began responding more to me. As I would run the flag, the students would cheer louder as I got closer and began waving the flag to celebrate the touchdown. Cheer has been such a blessing in my life. Flag Guy and cheering turned into something so special to me, helping me to become a cohesive part of BC and the spirit of our school. I made incredible connections with my teammates, medical and administrative staff, my coaches, and Boston College. From traveling to away football games to competing in Cheer Nationals in Daytona, the experiences I have had were life changing. This team has become my family and Boston College my home." - Brandon “Flag Guy” Bruttomesso '20 Photo: John Quackenbos, Boston College Athletics

“When we first started, it was just an idea. Grace had called me and mentioned, ‘Let's do a media brand,’ and she was explaining the concept to me, and I just said, ‘Alright, sure.’ I didn't know what was going to come out of it, I didn't know what to expect. I certainly didn't expect what we have now. I just wanted to provide people with a platform to be themselves, to say whatever it is they want to say, to express how they feel.” - Pamela Bailey ’22, co-founder of Vyntage, an online media platform for Gen-Z women of color | Read more: https://on.bc.edu/Vyntage

“What I’ve found is that, at the end of the day, if you have an idea and you really believe in something, you should always go for it. Growing up in Harlem, and being an immigrant myself, I didn't always see a lot of representation, particularly in the media, of the things that I was interested in. I always wanted to be able to tell stories, so I thought, okay, how can I incorporate all of my interests, and my love for wanting to empower people, to encourage us to look after ourselves, and my desire to build connections within my own community—how can I bring that to a platform that's going to reach a lot more people? That’s how Vyntage started.” - Grace Assogba ’22, co-founder of Vyntage, an online media platform for Gen-Z women of color | Read more: https://on.bc.edu/Vyntage

“We started thinking about making protective equipment, but we're really not set up for that, so we said,'Let’s make some signs and have the profits go to employees at small businesses.' We built a self-serve honor system kiosk, and people started loving it. It's become an activity for them to buy a sign and then drop it off on porches or in the mailboxes of the special people in their lives. Sometimes it's a nurse, sometimes it's a great friend, sometimes it’s a teacher. I think it's doing such a great job of teaching people compassion and giving and hope and helping. I have chills when I see nurses holding one of our signs, sharing the hope that people have brought to them. It’s truly amazing.” - Melanie O’Neil, a 2003 Boston College - Woods College of Advancing Studies graduate and founder of Rustic Marlin | Read More: https://on.bc.edu/SignofHope

“Uncertainty is something that's always present in our lives, but for the most part there's so much happening we don't pay attention to it. Now, uncertainty is very much in our faces, and that can cause a lot of stress and anxiety. When will this be over? When can I see my friends again? When will I get a job? The skills I live by and try to share with others who are struggling are the smaller-scale skills - trying to do little things that can have a big impact. What can I do today that's going to help me feel tended to? Maybe it’s laundry, maybe it’s Facetiming with friends. It’s not moving mountains, it’s just putting one foot in front of the other and having that be a mantra to drown out some of the anxiety we can't control.” - Angela Ficken, SSW ’05, psychotherapist and founder of Progress Wellness, LLC | Read more about how Angela manages stress: https://bit.ly/Ficken_ThriveGlobal