News

For the fourth year in a row, students at Holy Cross are starring in and learning what it takes to mount an outdoor Shakespeare festival.

On July 22, Holy Cross’ Redfeather Theater Company kicked off this year’s season with Macbeth at the Memorial Grove Amphitheatre in Worcester’s beautiful Green Hill Park. The company’s second production, Much Ado About Nothing, opens Aug. 4.

Students work alongside professional actors, members of the Worcester community, and Holy Cross alumni, and under the direction of Edward Isser, professor and chair of the theatre department at Holy Cross. Macbeth received four out of four stars from the Telegram & Gazette.

Minutes before showtime, students and alumni talked about what goes on behind the scenes and the excitement of performing at the Worcester Shakespeare Festival.

Watch the video (total time: 02:33) »

More media coverage:

• “Practice ensures bloodless battles; Redfeather cast in fighting form,” Telegram & Gazette, July 26

• “Theater company prepares for ambitious Shakespeare festival,” NECN/Worcester News Tonight, July 17

Pictured: Danny Goodman ’11 plays Lennox in the Redfeather Theatre production of Macbeth.

Related Information:

Danny Goodman '11

• Theatre

Holy Cross’ long history with Dismas House, a model community program for former prison inmates, has reached another milestone. With this new chapter, the engaged learning and social justice opportunities that are a hallmark of Holy Cross have been enhanced.

Plus, the Worcester nonprofit, which provides critical services in the community, gains additional and much needed resources during this tough economic time.

How did these pieces come together to benefit both Holy Cross and Dismas? With funding through a new federal and state initiative aimed at placing AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) workers in community organizations, Holy Cross and Dismas House successfully applied to host a position. As a result, a full-time volunteer will serve at Dismas House for one year.

Very good news indeed for Dismas, which has seen nearly half of its operating budget and workforce slashed this year.

The Dismas House VISTA volunteer is Kate Farrington, a recent graduate of St. Lawrence University and native of Brattleboro, Vt. Currently based at the main office on Richards Street, she will work at a new Dismas House location in rural Worcester County which is expected to open in the fall.

Farrington will facilitate the coordination of 25 volunteers from four Worcester colleges — including 10 from Holy Cross — who provide core services to Dismas House ranging from overnight supervision and job placement assistance to community service projects and cooking and sharing meals. She will also provide the agency with the capacity to continue and expand programs and services despite limited financial resources. She reports directly to David McMahon, co-executive director of Dismas House.

In addition to the VISTA worker, two Holy Cross students are working full-time at Dismas House this summer, filling a critical need after four out of the nine staff positions were eliminated earlier this year due to budget cuts. Caitlyn Cerundolo ’11, a psychology major from Lexington, is working through a Lilly Grant, and Linda Sula ’12, a chemistry major from Worcester, as a work study.

“These kinds of partnerships are the backbone of our Community-Based Learning program,” says Margaret A. Post, the program’s director. “The long term relationship we have with Dismas House and the multiple kinds of projects we do together are tremendously valuable to our work as educators. Our ongoing collaboration with Dismas House has been mutually beneficial for our students and the Dismas residents alike.”

The VISTA program is administered by the Massachusetts State Office of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Additional funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allowed the Massachusetts program to expand to the new core of community based volunteers. Katherine Robertson, special assistant to the president for community affairs, and Margaret Post applied for the grant through Massachusetts Campus Compact, a nonprofit coalition of college and university presidents committed to developing the civic skills of students, building partnerships with the community, and integrating civic engagement with teaching and research.

This is the first year that Massachusetts Campus Compact is assigning a VISTA to a community-based organization, in addition to an institution of higher education. The new program was designed for Campus Compact member campuses to support community partner organizations through the challenges of the current economic climate.

“This program provides Holy Cross with a wonderful opportunity to work with one of our community partners and provide them with the capacity to continue on in these tough economic times by capitalizing on the educational resources of the Worcester area,” says Robertson.

Holy Cross alumnus Terry Horgan ’67 helped found Dismas House in 1988. Holy Cross has been a strong supporter since its founding. Examples include:

* In 2007, a new Dismas location, Father John Brooks House, on Arthur Street was named after Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., president emeritus at Holy Cross, for his continued support of the nonprofit.
* For years, Holy Cross students have cooked for and shared dinners with former inmates through SPUD (Student Programs for Urban Development), the College’s umbrella service organization.
* Work study students are placed at the organization during the academic year and summer months, boosting Dismas’ capacity to provide services to its residents.
* Robert Grenon, controller at Holy Cross, serves as treasurer of the organization and is a member of the board of directors; and Kathy Robertson assists with grant writing.
* Last year, Brian Engelehardt, assistant professor of economics, taught a Labor Economics class that examined the difficulties former prisoners face when trying to reenter the job market. This Community-Based Learning course had students calling employers to find out whether they would consider hiring former prisoners. “We now have resources for former prisoners who are looking for a job where they can target their applications to specific areas,” McMahon says.
* Engelehardt also recently assisted Dismas House staff and residents, along with individuals from the Oak Hill Community Development Corp. and other volunteers, in rebuilding a city playground on Banis Street that was vandalized years ago. The playground and Brooks House are located in the same neighborhood.

Holy Cross’ support over the years has been invaluable, says McMahon.

“At Dismas, we gain everything from increased capacity to grant writing to resources that a small nonprofit wouldn’t otherwise have,” he says. “Holy Cross is living out its values in the community by its involvement with Dismas.”

Pictured: The Father Brooks House is named after Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., president emeritus of Holy Cross.

Related Information:

Father Brooks House

• Holy Cross in the Community

It was a “tiny, tiny” step, in the words of Scarlett Piantini ’11. But her proposal for a summer camp for Haitian and Dominican children — young people whose lives have been shaped by racial resentment and cultural conflict — attracted the attention of the influential Davis Projects for Peace and became a reality this summer.

In a project titled “United Sugar Nations,” funded with a $10,000 Davis grant, Piantini created a 10-day camp in her native Dominican Republic, and brought together 15 Haitian and 15 Dominican children ranging in age from 10 to 12 years. Through the camp’s educational and cultural activities, and the simple act of “co-existing,” children from two nations with a distinctly troubled history gained understanding of each other’s lives.

Haiti is the poorest and most politically unstable state in the western hemisphere, while the neighboring Dominican Republic is a developing country with more than two million Haitian immigrants — representing about 38 percent of the labor in the construction industry and 41 percent in the sugar industry. Centuries of strife and racial animosity have led to fear and defensiveness between the two peoples.

Governmental authorities have had limited success in constructively addressing the binational confrontations. Grassroots projects like United Sugar Nations must be the first step in combating entrenched economic, political, and social challenges, Piantini says.

The camp was the first co-educational project that worked with children of both nations to foster racial equality, she says. It included intercultural exposure through audiovisual activities, dance and music, arts and crafts, language lessons, and physical activities. Small group workshops also encouraged children with very different perspectives to share their lives and backgrounds.

Davis Projects for Peace was created in 2007 by philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis. The program funds 100 projects proposed by undergraduate students and select graduate students from around the nation, and put into action around the world. Piantini came to Holy Cross from a high school partly funded by Davis, United World College-USA in New Mexico.

The camp was inspired from classes Piantini took in the Constructive Engagement of Conflict program at her high school. The program encourages students to develop an analysis of local and global issues and to practice their skills in a variety of settings and to identify ways they might work in relationship to an organization active in their country of origin.

The camp, which was free for all 30 children, was held in the environmentally-friendly facilities of Campey, S.A., an open space environment in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

The project received considerable support from the Dominican Republic. The Dominico Haitian Chamber of Commerce selected the Haitian children; the Department of Education selected the Dominican children; the Dominican Republic Immigration Department and other government agencies facilitated special entry permits; several medical agencies donated medical supplies and had representatives deliver AIDS awareness talks; and private companies donated or gave discounts on purchased items.

“This project is but a tiny, tiny step involving only 30 children, but the objective was simply to coexist, to work together, live together, and do sports together. If we coexist, we are given the chance to break stigmas, racial and historical,” says Piantini.

Was the camp successful?

“Every day I could see more and more how kids forgot who was Dominican and who wasn’t and they became friends because they had a sport in common, or a dance in common. That was the miracle I was looking for, and I got it,” she says.

Piantini, who has designed her own multidisciplinary major titled Global Institutions and Law at Holy Cross, hopes to enter the field of international affairs. She will study in Strasbourg, France, during the upcoming academic year.

Despite what she describes as an intense and exhausting experience, Piantini doesn’t hesitate when asked if she’d like to hold a similar camp next year.

“This was just a small piece of a huge problem, and if I am given the chance, I will definitely do it again.”

Dominican Children

Pictured: During a painting session, Ramon (left), of the Dominican Republic, and Sebastien, of Haiti, interact. “I think this really shows a barrier breaking and symbolizes what the camp is about,” says Piantini.

Another casualty of the battered economy this year was paid summer internships for college students. Company cutbacks in many sectors reduced the number of “real world” opportunities nationwide, and especially in New York City.

Many Holy Cross students, however, got a helping hand this year from the Leadership Council of New York, a group of alumni and parents who work together to raise the profile of the College among business leaders in the New York metropolitan area, primarily through internships.

The council dipped into their “rainy day” funds to support 31 percent of paid internships through the Summer Internship Program this summer. The council typically funds 19 percent.

“The leadership council thought that if ever there was a rainy day, this was it,” says Amy Murphy, director of the Summer Internship Program.

The highly competitive program is developed through the network of Holy Cross alumni, parents, and friends throughout the country and earmarked and designed specifically for Holy Cross students. This summer’s opportunities range from performing business duties for the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation to learning the ins and outs of the fashion industry at Marc Jacobs to working with the quality control research team at Pfizer.

Continuing a trend that started since its founding in the late ’90s, the Summer Internship Program is seeing another record year: 148 students are doing internships at 101 sites. Last year, 135 students interned at 88 sites.

In addition to their financial support, members of the Leadership Council of New York help cultivate new opportunities for internships. This year, for example, Mary Quinlan ’76 established a new advertising internship for two students at her employer, Cosmopolitan magazine, and David Jordan ’01 established a sales & trading internship at his employer, J.P. Morgan.

“The council has tried to develop strong relationships with host sites and high levels of expectations for students,” says Larry Doyle ’83, chair of the council, who worked on Wall Street for 23 years and is founder of SenseonCents.com. “We want this to become an extension of the Holy Cross experience.”

Typically about 60 percent of internships are paid through the host site. This year, the number fell to 48, which is why the leadership council’s contributions were especially important. In addition, 9 percent of internships are funded by the General Alumni Association Summer Fellowship Program. The remainder is supported by Holy Cross permanent funding of the Lilly Grant, the Atchinson Family Fund, and the J.D. Power Worcester Internship Fund.

There are two reasons for the spike in student interest this year, says Murphy. Students realize that doing an internship is an essential part of building a good resume, and media coverage of the sour job market has motivated students to seek out internship experience.

Related Information:

* Summer Internship Program

* Read a blog by Alice Simcoe-Matthews ’10 who is interning at Autism Speaks
* In Their Own Words: My Summer as an Autism Speaks Intern” by Simcoe Matthews (AutismSpeaks.com)
* Read a blog by Christine Giamattei ’10 who is interning at Brooklyn Industries

New York City

This summer, a dozen Holy Cross students spent a month in Kenya as part of the College’s newest international study program that integrated classroom experiences with community internships — a combination of theory and practice learning that is helping set a new standard in study abroad programs emphasizing social justice.

“Kenya: Development, Peace and Social Justice” was a transformative experience for students, says Judith Chubb, W. Arthur Garrity, Sr. Professor in Human Nature, Ethics and Society and professor of political science. Chubb spent the last few years developing the program, and accompanied the students to Kenya along with Margaret A. Post, director of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning.

The program consisted of three components:

• Kiswahili language study
• An interdisciplinary course composed of a series of lectures by local experts on the challenges of peace, development and social justice in East Africa
• Community service internships in Kibera, the largest slum in sub-Saharan Africa

Students spent weekdays in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, attending classes in the morning and participating in internships in the afternoon. The program was offered in partnership with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa and its Jesuit affiliate, Hekima College. The weekends were reserved for excursions into rural areas to experience the cultural and socio-economic diversity of Kenya. Students were housed at Hekima’s Institute for Peace Studies and International Relations, located within short walking distance of the internship sites.

“The combination of rigorous academic study with grassroots community service, unique among the College’s study abroad programs, epitomizes the mission of Holy Cross to promote global citizenship and social justice with special emphasis on the preferential option for the poor,” says Chubb. “I think all of the students were profoundly challenged — intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually by the experience,” says Chubb. “They were forced to question their preconceived notions about poverty in the developing world, the role of the West in promoting development, and how to translate the Jesuit mission of the College into their own lives and future career goals.  They have begun a long journey of personal transformation.”

That seems to be the case for Casey O’Keefe ’10, a psychology major with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies from Weymouth, who discovered how little the world knows about Africa.

“I learned that everything we think we know as Americans, Westerners, and people who are not from Africa or Kenya, about how to help other people around the world is completely and entirely wrong,” she says. “Pouring money into developing countries as a form of aid hasn’t worked in the last 50-plus years and it won’t work anytime soon. If we want to help we need to either let African people find their own solutions — because all too often we cause more problems than anything — or we need to get more creative. Poverty has become a business and every dollar that is sent is fueling it.”

O’Keefe says she really got to experience life in Kenya through her interactions with local residents. As part of her internship, she taught second, fourth, and seventh grade at St. Secilia’s Primary School in Kibera. “The kids always stood and sang a song to welcome me when I entered the room,” she says. “Though it made me a little uncomfortable after the first few times, it was very sweet and reflective of the broader cultural hospitality toward visitors.”

She continues: “While I taught them vocabulary words in English, they would teach them to me in Kiswahili which was a really cool experience. I learned the most outside of the structured classes, just chatting with the children and the teachers. I felt it was important to be careful to be honest about my views, but also be sensitive about the ways in which those views are shaped by my experience in my own culture — to offer a sort of pros and cons list for both American and Kenyan culture in a balanced way, in hopes that individuals I encountered could help me to learn as much (or more) about their culture and my own as I hoped to teach.”

Claire Luke ’10, a philosophy major from Delmar, N.Y., says her time in Kenya was enriched by the many experts who visited with the group and shared their knowledge and insight.

“Our lectures included environmental issues, tribal and social history, women and gender issues, British colonialism, the independence movement, post-independence government and current government corruption, and each speaker we had specialized in one or more of these areas. The lectures on the role of women in different Kenyan communities were fascinating,” she says.

For Piero Iberti, an English major with concentrations in Peace and Conflict Studies and creative writing from New York City, it was a lecture on the 2008 post-election violence in Kenya, delivered by Rev. Ignatius Ikunza, S.J., director of the Jesuit Hakimani (Justice and Peace) Centre, that had the most impact.

“Fr. Ikunza addressed why the elections were unfair and denied citizens a voice. He also discussed the causes of the violence itself and the aftermath and consequent effects. Maybe it was the timing of the lecture, being two weeks into the program or perhaps it was the explicit material we were dealing with, such as murder, rape and extreme acts of violence, but it consumed me. I realized that events like this may happen again if nothing is done to adjust the political system in Kenya,” he says.

The community-based experiences helped draw students even closer to these realities. “Through theory and practice we understand the world,” says Post, who helped guide students through the internships. “It is both the engagement in the classroom and in the local community that makes programs like this work so well.

“For instance, building relationships with Kenyans who live with HIV/AIDS on a daily basis gives students a new perspective on the region rather than just reading about it in books. Students can ask themselves ‘Do the statistics and theory reflect what I’m learning in the community?’ and vice versa. Whether you are in a country like Kenya or right here in Worcester, understanding firsthand the cultural, political, and socio-economic diversity of a place is critical to our students’ learning — and to their development as global citizens.”

Says Iberti: “Coming into the trip, not knowing how and if I would be able to make any difference in my time within Kibera, the people at my internship site, Carolina for Kibera Youth Sports Association, and the organization itself provided me a sense of purpose, however small, that was necessary for me to get past some of the frustrations I was having as a Westerner struggling to find my place in a foreign land surrounded by a severe economic divide.”

Pictured: Claire Luke ’10 interacts with a child in Kenya. She was one of 12 Holy Cross students who went on a monthlong study abroad trip to the country this summer.

Related Information:

• Study Abroad Program
• Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning

Claire Luke '10 in Kenya

As part of a professional development workshop running from July 6 to July 23 on the Holy Cross campus, 19 Worcester Public School teachers are engaged in intensive inquiry about the interface between mathematics and chemistry. The workshop is being taught by two faculty members at the College: Sharon Frechette, associate professor of mathematics, and Richard Herrick, professor of chemistry.

This is the second of a series of three annual workshops made possible by a $150,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. The program is designed to strengthen teachers’ ability to improve their students’ mathematics skills, especially in contexts linked to science.

Last year, teachers examined the interface between mathematics and biology. That workshop was taught by David Damiano, associate professor of mathematics, and Mary Lee Ledbetter, professor of biology.

The participants in the workshops are teachers of middle school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. That’s because the classroom experiences in middle school can determine the trajectory of students’ high school science and mathematics careers, according to Danuta Bukatko, Joseph H. Maguire ’58 Professor in Education, professor of psychology and chair of the department of education at Holy Cross. Bukatko, who applied for the grant — with the help of Charles Weiss, director of the Office of Grants and Corporate and Foundation Giving — is overseeing the project.

“The workshops are grounded in the idea that the pipeline for students’ success in science begins significantly earlier than the high school years and resides in the science — and perhaps most importantly — the mathematics experiences provided to students in middle school grades,” says Bukatko.

During the morning sessions, teachers concentrate on content using the hands-on discovery method pioneered by Holy Cross’ science and math departments. Afternoon sessions are dedicated to devising new mathematics and science curricula and to developing and testing a series of experiments, simulations, Internet exercises and other materials.

The workshops are being held in the state-of-the-art Park B. and Linda Smith Laboratories, which opened earlier this year. The key is working collaboratively to create active-learning laboratory experiences based on the theme that “mathematics is connected to science.”

“Objectives are met when Worcester Public School teachers and Holy Cross faculty work together during the summer designing project-based science activities in which mathematic concepts play a major role,” says Bukatko. “These activities are designed to show students that mathematical concepts do not stand alone, but are essential to the process of scientific fact-finding.”

Holy Cross and the Worcester Public Schools, the third largest school district in New England, have a very strong relationship. Since 1988, the College has collaborated with the school system in the sciences and other fields such as library research, educational technology, creative writing, poetry, music, theater, and more. With the help of more than $2 million of external funding raised by Holy Cross since 1988, several categories of science collaboration have taken place, including year-long sabbaticals for science teachers.

Related Information:

• Sciences at Holy Cross

Chemistry

This summer, a group of theatre students, recent alumni and faculty from Holy Cross traveled to Indonesia where they performed Mimpi, an original dance drama, created by Holy Cross theatre professor Lynn Kremer, as part of the internationally renowned Bali Arts Festival.

The only U.S. artists to perform at the monthlong festival — an annual cultural highlight attracting thousands to multiple stages in locations around Bali — the Holy Cross troupe gave “a powerful, mesmerizing performance,” according to one local critic. Local Balinese actors and dancers were recruited to perform additional roles.

Mimpi utilizes Indonesian fairy tales and poetry to tell the story of a lonely man in search of a soul mate and a self-sacrificing wife. The production weaves in tales of love, devotion, sacrifice, and greed. Kremer first produced the drama on campus in 2004.

Two students — Kate Hultgren ’10 and Mayte Martinez ’10 — spoke about their experience. Hultgren is a theatre major from Shrewsbury, and Martinez is a history major and visual arts minor with a concentration in Asian Studies from Los Angeles.

WHO ELSE WENT Theatre professor Lynn Kremer; Savanah Shaughnessy ’09; Paul Gardner ’09; Thomas Layman ’06; Jennifer Hannigan ’07; John Keller ’03; Barbara Craig, assistant professor of theatre; and Kurt Hultgren, lecturer and costume designer for the theatre department.

WHERE THEY STAYED In bungalows at Pondok Pisang, a retreat located in the Mendira Village of Karangasem in East Bali. The ocean bungalows were surrounded by a large tropical garden. “It was very simple living, but simple in the most delightful way possible,” says Hultgren. The group also stayed for a few days at the house of I Made Bandem, visiting fellow in Balinese Performing Arts at Holy Cross.

BREAKING DOWN THE CULTURAL DIVIDE “Because there were seven of us from America performing in the show and there were about 20 Balinese people, the first rehearsal was kind of tentative — the Americans were all in one place and the Balinese were in their own group,” says Hultgren. “We didn’t speak the same language, but by the final performance, we were all hugging and crying.”

AN ENRICHING EXPERIENCE “I took a Balinese dance class with I Made Bandem and I understood that it was a big part of their culture, but when I was in Bali it took on a completely different meaning,” says Martinez. “The music and performances are embedded in their blood — they live like this every day.”

A PIECE OF BALI AT HOLY CROSS “I think Bali is a country I never would have understood, but bringing in professors from that part of the world to Holy Cross has offered a really rich opportunity to get to know the island,” says Martinez. “It has made me appreciate having Bandem on campus. I’m going to continue taking Balinese dance and now I’ll appreciate it even more.”

REACTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE When the group performed for the third and final time, word about the play had apparently spread. “The theater was overflowing with people,” says Hultgren. “They applauded after every scene and they stayed for the whole performance which is pretty phenomenal because with traditional Balinese performances members of the audience come in and out.”

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID “A sight to see … a dreamscape of moving visual and sound narratives,” hailed the Jakarta Post. “The dance drama … successfully reminded the audience that popular folklore and children’s tales can, in the hands of a skilled director and passionate actors, be turned into a powerful, mesmerizing performance.”

Pictured: A scene from Mimpi, performed on the Holy Cross campus in 2004.

Related Information:

• “Holy Cross dacers to Perform in Bali,” New England Cable News, May 12
• Theatre

Mimpi

Peter McGovern ’11 has been to many countries, but Peru is one of his favorites.

“I am fascinated by Latin America and the Latin American cultures, history, and particularly Peru and Peruvian culture,” he says.

Much to his delight, McGovern will spend an entire year in Peru as part of the Study Abroad program at Holy Cross. Throughout the year, he will be blogging about his experiences.

While classes don’t begin until mid-August, McGovern is leaving in early July for an immersion program that includes intensive language classes and travel. His year abroad concludes next June.

During the year, McGovern plans to travel around Peru and South America. He is interested in seeing, among other things, Machu Pichu, the pre-Columbian Inca site; ancient ruins; and a rainforest. He also plans on taking advantage of courses unique to Peru, such as Peruvian culture, politics and arts classes. He will be studying at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima.

McGovern, a political science and religious studies double major from Natick, says that his future will “undoubtedly involve travel because I love it so much.” He hopes to work for the government or in the non-governmental sector in international relations or diplomacy. Following graduation, he would like to join Jesuit Volunteers International or lead cultural immersion programs at the high school level.

Read the blog >>

Related Information:

• Study Abroad Program
• Holy Cross Blogs

Visitors to the Holy Cross campus earlier this week might have been a little taken aback by the intensity of a gathering in the Hogan Campus Center led by a Nepalese Buddhist priest.

For three hours, 30 scholars and Holy Cross community members repeated vows and made offerings on chalk mandalas as part of a collective Buddhist ritual, performed not only for the first time at Holy Cross but for the first time in North America.

The ritual — the astami vrata — was performed by Naresh Bajracarya, one of the participants in a summer institute on Tibet and Himalayas hosted by Holy Cross for the eighth consecutive year. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the institute titled “Buddhist Traditions of Tibet and the Himalayas,” brings 30 college and university professors from the United States and around the world to Holy Cross from June 22 to July 10 to study with co-directors Todd Lewis, professor of religious studies at Holy Cross, and Leonard van der Kuijp, professor of Tibetan and Himalayan Studies at Harvard University.

“Very popular in Nepal, the astami vrata is little known in the West but constitutes a meaningful ritual experience for renewing one’s vow to follow Buddhist moral precepts, seek enlightenment, and express unending compassion toward all beings,” says Lewis.

For more information, visit the institute’s Web site.

Pictured: Nepalese Buddhist priest Naresh Bajracarya performs astami vrata, a Buddhist ritual, on the Holy Cross campus.

Ten members of the Holy Cross Class of 2009 will serve as Jesuit Volunteers in the Pacific Northwest next year. Holy Cross has more graduated seniors committed to the region than any other college in the nation. Another 16 members of the class will serve as volunteers through Jesuit Volunteer Corps and Jesuit Volunteers International, bringing the total number of recent graduates who will serve as Jesuit Volunteers to 26.

Since 2006, Jesuit Volunteers Corps Northwest has operated independently from the other corps.

Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest engages women and men in a transforming experience of full-time volunteer service. Jesuit Volunteers work for a year or more in solidarity with persons living on the margins of society in culturally diverse communities, with Native American, Native Alaskan and rural Hispanic people in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Holy Cross graduates will join other JVC Northwest volunteers in schools, churches, and community organizations, addressing issues surrounding poverty, medical and legal assistance, homelessness, addiction and mental illness in rural and urban settings.

Rooted for more than 50 years in the Jesuit Catholic tradition emphasizing spiritual openness and depth, Jesuit Volunteers in the Northwest examine and act on the causes of social and environmental injustice to promote peace and structural change. Jesuit Volunteers live in communities that commit to simple living embodying a healing and sustainable presence on the Earth.

The following graduates will be serving as Jesuit Volunteers Northwest next year:

• Sarah Bernardi
• Emily Blumenstein
• Nicholas Campolettano
• Matthew Cortese
• Jeana Greco
• Brendan Mackinson
• Ann McGuirk
• Lauren Metevier
• Avanti Peters
• Alexandra Swiatocha