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Michelle Arata always thought she’d be a doctor.

The recent Class of 2009 graduate entered Holy Cross four years ago with med school as her goal, but quickly found her plans changing as she gained experience in the sciences.

“Just from basic freshman year coursework, I began to discover that I really, really enjoyed the work we were doing in the lab,” says Arata, who was a premed biology major. As she progressed, becoming a teaching assistant, she spent even more time in the laboratory, growing more familiar with techniques and practices.

By the time she graduated, Arata had been doing research at Holy Cross since the summer before her junior year, both within the Holy Cross summer science fellowship program, and during the academic years.

Specifically, Arata has worked for the past two years in the lab of Ann Sheehy, assistant professor of biology, who has been studying the human protein APOBEC3G, which has innate anti-HIV abilities.

This collaboration began, Arata recalls, after she hesitantly attended a biology department meeting aimed at promoting research to students.

“I was a teaching assistant at the time” she says, “and even though I enjoyed the lab, I recall being unsure as to whether I really wanted to become a research student. Even when I first sat in that room, I still didn’t think I wanted to do research!”

Soon, however, the department professor began explaining their various projects and research needs, and Arata was struck by the project Sheehy described. “As soon as she was finished speaking I walked right up to her and introduced myself,” says Arata. “We met a couple of times after that, and that summer I began as her student.”

While working in Sheehy’s lab, Arata has had the chance to present her research project at several on- and off-campus symposiums. At the 16th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Montreal, Arata was one of the few undergraduates at the prestigious international conference.

Arata, however, really made her mark this year at the first annual Northeast Undergraduate Research and Development Symposium. The conference, held at the University of New England in Maine, was open to all undergraduate students who had participated in scientific research.

The conference was unique among those that Arata had attended, in that it allowed the students to choose how they wished to present their work: either as a poster exhibit, or as an oral presentation. Arata opted for the latter, which was her first-ever oral presentation in such a forum. At the closing ceremony of the conference, she received the award for best oral presentation, an honor which shocked her.

“Going in,” she says, “I just wanted to be coherent, to do my topic justice. I didn’t even know that awards were going to be given out until we arrived there, so the notion that I might win one — especially for my first time — was totally off my radar screen.”

Arata’s research record has won her more than accolades. She was recently accepted to Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s master’s degree program in biology and biotechnology. The research-based program is extremely selective — out of about one hundred applicants, only four students were selected.

Even more impressive, Arata was granted a merit-based teaching assistantship to attend the program. Aside from free tuition, Arata will also receive stipends for teaching lab classes to WPI undergraduates — a rare distinction for master’s level students.

Arata hasn’t finalized plans after WPI. She has the option of remaining on for a Ph.D. in the same field, though she may decide to apply her skills outside the academy.

She says: “I’ll answer that question during grad school. I know I love being in the lab, I know I want to stay in some kind of research. I know I love being at the bench.”

By Ross Weisman ’09

Under clear and sunny skies, the Holy Cross Class of 2009 was reminded that, over the last four years, their gifts of intellect and talent have been enhanced by the academic rigor of the curriculum and their own hard work.

Addressing the graduates, U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr., ’82, D-Pa., principal speaker at the College’s 163rd Commencement Exercises held on Fitton Field on the campus May 22, congratulated them on their achievements and urged them to incorporate service into their lives.

A total of 674 men and women were awarded bachelor of arts degrees before an estimated 6,000 people — family and friends of the graduates, Holy Cross faculty, administrators and staff, as well as honored guests such as Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, bishop of the Diocese of Worcester.

“Every graduate here today has the ability and opportunity to serve,” said Casey, who, like many Holy Cross graduates, entered the Jesuit Volunteer Corps after his commencement. He said teaching fifth grade and coaching eighth grade basketball in inner city Philadelphia had a profound impact on his life.

“All of us have an abiding obligation to serve,” he said. “We are summoned by the words from the New Testament, ‘To whom much has been given, much is expected.’ Whether it is service in the military or the ministry, public office or community service, volunteering to help the poor — whatever type of service you choose — please make a commitment and remain ever steadfast in fulfilling that commitment.”

In her valedictory address, Elizabeth Morse, a biology major with a concentration in biochemistry from Shelton, Conn., said that graduating from Holy Cross means answering a high calling.

“Regardless of the paths we choose, each of us will leave Mount St. James with both a gift and a calling. The gift is our education. The calling is one of faith. Armed with the skills of reason and open to the grace of revelation, we embark from this Hill called to be a sign of faith. Together, we are, quite literally, the sign of the Cross — of Holy Cross.”

In addition to delivering the commencement address, Casey received an honorary degree. Honorary degrees were also conferred on Rev. George V. Coyne, S.J., an astronomer who served as director of the Vatican Observatory (he was appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1978, retiring in 2006); Sister Maureen Fay O.P., Ph.D., former president of University of Detroit Mercy (1994-2004), the first non-Jesuit president of any Jesuit college or university in the country; Ogretta McNeil, Ph.D., a longtime Worcester civic leader who served as a member of the Holy Cross community for 27 years before retiring in 1997 and chaired the psychology department, helped develop the College’s African American Concentration, and led the earliest version of the ALANA program (for students of African-American, Latin American, Asian-American, and Native American heritage); and Bartlett Sher ’81, the Tony Award-winning director and artistic director of the Intiman Theatre in Seattle.

Related Information:

• Commencement 2009
• Video: Watch five outstanding members of the 2009 graduating class talk about their four years on Mount St. James
• Photo Gallery: President’s Tent

After breaking two school records and leading the league in many areas this season, Holy Cross third baseman Matt Perry ’10 was named 2009 Patriot League Baseball Player of the Year. Matt is the third player in school history to receive this honor, voted upon by coaches in the league.

Matt finished first in the league with 77 hits this season and second with a .423 batting average and .491 on base percentage. He also ranked third with 114 total bases and a .626 slugging percentage. Not surprisingly, these exceptional statistics landed him a spot on the All-Patriot League first team for the first time in his career. Matt, who started in all 49, was also awarded the 2009 Hop Riopel Award, given by Holy Cross to the baseball team’s most valuable player.

Success in Holy Cross athletics runs in the Perry family. Matt Perry’s father, Ronald K. Perry ’80, played basketball and was an excellent baseball player for the Crusaders. Ron set the school record for both most hits (66) and bases (99) in a regular season at Holy Cross in 1978. These notable records remained untouched until his son stepped up to plate and earned 75 hits and 111 bases before completing the regular season. Matt Perry’s grandfather, Ronald S. Perry, was also a standout baseball and basketball player at Holy Cross. He went on to become the athletic director for the Crusaders for nearly 30 years.

Despite the competitive nature of sports, the Perry family has been nothing but supportive of each other’s accomplishments. His father helped instill the good work ethic that led Matt to be so prepared for the year, spending extra time in the weight room and batting cages during the off-season.

“Each of us had our time to be the best we could be, and when it was over, the focus moved on to the next generation,” said Matt. “Now that I am at Holy Cross, I feel no pressure to be like my father or grandfather, but their success has definitely motivated me to be the best player I can.”

Matt’s parents were at nearly every game this season, and his grandparents and sisters made an impressive effort to attend many of them, as well. Seeing all the time that his family invested in him provided extra motivation for Matt to work harder throughout the year.

This sense of companionship and support has carried over to the way that Matt interacts with his teammates. Though honored to receive such a meaningful award, Matt humbly noted that his personal awards and statistics were not the most important aspect of the season.

“Those are things that I don’t reflect on during the year because our mindset as a team is to go out and do whatever needs to be done to get a win, with the ultimate goal being a team championship,” he said.

Matt will return to play for the Crusaders next year as a senior. The team finished the season with a winning in-league record, making it to the semifinals Patriot League Tournament.

By Mary Moczula ’11

Pictured: Matt Perry ’10

Related Information:

• Matt Perry Earns Second Team All-New England Honors
• Read a profile of Matt Perry in Holy Cross Magazine
• Matt Perry Named Patriot League Player Of The Year

Despite his religious upbringing and early Catholic education, Sean Fitzpatrick ’10 says that it took him a while a find God.

That all changed during a high school service trip to West Virginia, where he helped repair the roof at the home of an elderly couple. There, he felt the presence of God, just as he did last summer during a Habitat for Humanity trip to Malawi with 14 other Holy Cross students.

“Never was God’s love and life so clearly present, despite the relatively intense suffering we were around. People died around us throughout the month. A couple women died in childbirth. Many people suffered from malaria on a daily basis. But God seemed more present there than anywhere I have ever been.”

After Fitzpatrick attended the Spiritual Exercises in October of last year, offered through the Chaplains’ Office, his faith grew even stronger. He switched his major from economics to religious studies and “could not be happier for doing so.”

Fitzpatrick recounted his journey in front of a packed audience in Hogan Jenks Suite A at Holy Cross. His talk was one part of the “How Can I Find God?”series, in which members of the College community speak about their personal search for and experience of God.

Currently studying abroad in Kenya through early June, Fitzpatrick will be doing a Catholic ministry internship at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya this summer. The students at the school are orphans due to AIDS. The internship is part of the College’s Ministry Internship Program through the Lilly Vocation Discernment Initiative.

Read his entire speech [PDF] »

Related Information:

• Chaplains’ Office

In addition to classroom teaching, student advising and mentoring, the faculty members at the College of the Holy Cross advance their fields of study with publication of scholarly and creative work. Holy Cross bylines appear on an astounding number of books, edited journals, articles and essays, poems, chapters, abstracts, and reviews. Professors in the fine and performing arts contribute to exhibitions and performances regionally and nationally.

Each spring, as the academic year draws to a close, the Deans’ Office celebrates those achievements — which have generated critical acclaim, grants, awards and even wider recognition to the College.

Take a look at the scholarly and creative work that faculty at the College produced in the last year.

Celebration of Faculty Scholarship [PDF] »

Benjamin Rayder, a member of the College of the Holy Cross class of 2009, has been awarded a Fulbright Grant to work as a teaching assistant in Germany.

A political science and German double major from Falmouth, Maine, Rayder spent last year abroad in Bamberg, Germany. While there, he assisted English language learners through conversation courses at the University of Bamberg, an experience he presented in a project titled “Studying, Living and Becoming German in Bamberg,” during Holy Cross’s 2009 Academic Conference.

“I knew after my experience in Bamberg that I was interested in going abroad again after graduation. I wanted to improve my German, to travel more and act as an ambassador,” Rayder said. “The Fulbright program provides the opportunity for all of these things, as well as the chance to conduct research and explore some of the more prominent issues facing Germany.”

Rayder also emphasized his interest in breaking down cultural stereotypes. He understands after interacting with other cultures for a year the kinds of misunderstandings Europeans may have about Americans. “It’s important for them to get acquainted with actual Americans. We’re so good at exporting our culture, but not necessarily a genuine experience of what real Americans are like.”

Rayder hopes to further his German speaking skills and serve as a cultural ambassador to the region in which he will be living and working. In the future, Rayder would like to work for the U.S. Foreign Service or as an analyst for European Affairs.

Each year approximately 1,000 college students are awarded grants through the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship program in international educational exchange. Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception in 1946, more than 250,000 participants — chosen for their leadership potential — have had the opportunity to observe each other’s political, economic and cultural institutions.

Rayder is one of four Holy Cross students to be awarded a Fulbright Grant this year.  Read more about the other recipients: James Brennan, Gerald Dickinson, and Kathryn Zingarelli.

Related Information

• Study Abroad Program
• German
• Office of Distinguished Fellowships and Graduate Studies

As a student in the Washington Semester Program, I gained some unforgettable experiences in the nation’s capital this spring semester. As a runner, I laced up my sneakers and took in as much of this dynamic city as I could. Come along as we race through the last couple of months.

Presidential Inauguration ’09
The inauguration and inaugural events, such as the “We are One” concert, were a highlight of my semester. The 15 Holy Cross students in the program, myself included, were lucky enough to join millions of others in watching a multitude of celebrities and performers on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and then witness history as President Obama was sworn into office.

Internship at NBC
At NBC, my writing and analytical skills were constantly tested. My duties included writing articles on an array of political topics, interviewing political figures, conducting polls, reporting on political events, and approving public comments on NBC’s First Read Web site.

All of these activities challenged me to keep an open mind while formulating my own ideas and skepticism surrounding different issues, and also allowed me to see that there are differing ideologies and opinions behind everything; nothing is as simple as it seems.

Highlights during my time at NBC included attending the Republican National Committee Chairman election, Conservative Political Action Conference, a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner hosted for Governor Bobby Jindal, and a live showing of Nora O’Donnell’s show and “Meet the Press,” in which I got to chat with David Gregory.

Tour of the Capitol
My NBC ID opened me to exclusive opportunities, including a tour of the Capitol, where I got to see the press galleries of the House and Senate and meet congressional reporters.

I also used the pass to gain free access to the Newseum, a specialty museum with news artifacts dating back to the Magna Carta, Pulitzer Prize winning photographs, and educational journalistic multimedia. I also called on the pass to enter an exclusive environmental conference and the film set of Salt, starring Angelina Jolie.

Making friends from around the world
At NBC, I became good friends with Jade, an aspiring journalist from Germany. Jade and I tried out different movie theatres and ethnic restaurants (one at which we even saw political activist Howard Zinn speak), went to a Wizards basketball game, shopped at Eastern Market (a world-known, international flea market), took part in the Cherry Blossom and Kite festivals, and frequented different D.C. museums and night clubs.

Jade was studying with an international student program at American University, and introduced me to her friends from around the globe. By semester’s end, I had friends from France, Sweden, Africa and South America.

Taking in the political life
On the weekends, I made sure to see as much of D.C. as possible. Our Holy Cross group was fortunate enough to gain access to a highly coveted tour of the White House, as well as the Supreme Court building, where we met Clarence Thomas ’71, associate justice of the Supreme Court.

In January, I met up with friends from home to attend a pro-life conference in D.C. In March, I met up with friends and fellow teammates from Holy Cross to attend a youth action eco conference.

Sightseeing, sightseeing and more sightseeing
To explore on my own, I used my daily runs to see every corner of the city. On my runs, I saw the National Zoo, the National Mall, the Kennedy Center, Arlington Cemetery, Watergate, the Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington monuments, the Red Cross, the Pentagon, Old Town Alexandria, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown and American universities, Embassy Row, the Pulitzer Center, the Botanical Conservatory, FBI buildings and Old Postal Tower.

After or before my runs, I would stop in different museums, such as the Spy, U.S. Naval, National Geographic, American Indian, Holocaust, Air and Space, National Building, American History, Natural History, Gallery of Art, Hirshhorn, National Archives and National Portrait Gallery.

Exploring my academic interests
The D.C. Program also incorporates intensive academics. Every Tuesday, following work, our group would report to the American Political Science Association for a public policy seminar. Here, we learned about the disconnect between socioeconomic issues and the way these issues are represented in policy. Additionally, each student was responsible for working on the D.C. thesis, which we also discussed during the seminar.

Because of my interest in international relations and human rights, I wrote my thesis on humanitarian intervention. Researching for this project occupied my international relations interest, which was encouraged by my knowledgeable NBC supervisors.

With their advice, my thesis research and knowledge gained from the displays at the Newseum, I explored the field of crisis reporting and came to see it as a field I am interested in entering. While in D.C., I was able to interview with a few crisis reporting agencies, including the reputable International Crisis Group, and was offered a position with the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting this upcoming school year as a liaison between the center and Holy Cross.

My semester in D.C. was a journey of endless exploration. Despite all that I experienced, there was still more that I wanted to take in. Visiting one museum or event inspired new curiosity and questions which could be explored elsewhere in D.C. Without a doubt, I will return to this international melting pot with more confidence in how the city and its agencies — from NGOs and lobbying groups to the media and Capitol Hill — function together.

By Claire Luke ’10

Pictured: Claire Luke ’10 with Clarence Thomas ’71, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

As each school year ends, students who take a plane cross country or can’t manage to pack all of their belongings in their vehicles are often forced to leave behind computers, televisions, furniture, lamps, and clothing, among other items.

To improve this situation, Eco-Action is sponsoring “Trash or Treasure,” a program to redirect unwanted student items to Worcester-area organizations. Students will find boxes on most floors and dollies in all dorm basements to collect their goods.

Coordinated by Maria de la Motte ’10, “Trash or Treasure” is similar to initiatives now being instituted at other schools throughout the country.

While the service will make it easier for students to get rid of items they’ve accumulated throughout the year, de la Motte stresses that the program also allows an opportunity for reflection.

“We don’t want the program to just end up unintentionally glorifying overconsumption,” de la Motte says. “Instead, we hope students will reflect critically on the human and environmental impacts of our purchasing choices.”

An anthropology major with an environmental studies concentration from Newport, R.I., de la Motte has worked with a dedicated volunteer committee of five other students on the project. The group has worked closely with various College departments to make the ambitious program a reality.

“We’ve met extensively with Physical Plant, Residence Life, and Student Programs and Involvement to make this event work,” de la Motte says. The college staff, she adds, “has been immensely helpful and supportive.”

From May 5-9, student volunteers will collect the donated materials and bring them to a designated storage location in Loyola Hall. From there, the items will be designated for their next destination.

Reusable items (a list of which can be found on Eco-Action’s Web site) will be donated to sites frequented by the Student Programs for Urban Development (SPUD) — including Dismas House and the Village at Cambridge Street, as well as to the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance and the Salvation Army.

All donated books will be sent to Whitney Street Books, a one-person business in Holden, which sells books online to support local land conservation efforts. Over the previous three years, Whitney Street Books has donated more than $35,000 to the national non-profit group the Trust for Public Land to support its Worcester County Conservation Initiative.

Students who wish to donate have several options. Smaller items like clothing, office supplies and books can be left in the marked boxes located on individual floors. Larger items, like furniture, rugs, or bedding, can be brought to service dollies in the basements of the dorms. Also, pick-up service can be arranged by calling 401-835-4904.

By Ross Weisman ’09

Pittsburgh native Gerald Dickinson ’09 was recently awarded a Fulbright Grant to work and study at the University of Witwatersrand School of Law and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A member of the College Honors Program with a double major in political science and sociology, Dickinson’s honors thesis will serve as a springboard for the work he will pursue in Johannesburg.

Dickinson, who was captain of the men’s soccer team for three years and was recently selected as the 2008-2009 Crusader of the Year, offers some insight into his thesis, titled “The Section 8 Program: The role of housing policy design in facilitating black neighborhood movement and social mobility.”

Q: What did your thesis examine and why did you choose that topic?
A: My project examined the effectiveness of the Section 8 program. Section 8 is a social policy that helps low-income families afford rental housing. For my project, I was looking specifically at low-income African-American and African immigrants, because they are historically dealt the blow of sustainment, concentration and segregation more than any other group in American history. So, it’s relevant to examine how public policy affects these Black Americans and African immigrants.

Q: How did you go about researching this?
A: Through qualitative research, I actually looked specifically at the experiences of these black recipients. There were three that I interviewed in Worcester, and I also interviewed a staff member at the Worcester Housing Authority. Then I compared and contrasted the responses in terms of questions that had to do with counseling assistance, questions that had to do with social mobility and social capital.

Q: What were your findings?
A: I really found that the policy design of the Section 8 Program is ill-informing. With the limited counseling assistance design, it’s poorly informing these families about where the best neighborhoods are to move, and that’s a problem because when you’re not informing individuals to the best of your ability, then you’re denying them their personal autonomy to make an informed decision about where to go. So, I found that all three of these families have moved to concentrated, low-income neighborhoods by using a voucher, which is not what the voucher is supposed to do. It’s supposed to move them into better neighborhoods where they once were. So we’re finding a problem within the policy design and I have to say that I can’t necessarily argue that this is a problem on the national level. What I can say is the WHA policy design is the same policy that every other Section 8 program in the United States uses. So from that I can infer that there are probably some of the same issues going on in other places, but I can’t say for sure.

Q: What are the flaws of the policy?
A: For example, one of the quotes I had presented stated that the counselors don’t want to saturate the families with too much information during these two-hour briefing sessions. By saying that they don’t want to saturate them, they’re assuming that because these are low-income families, they can’t necessarily take in all that information, that they’re not capable of doing it. So they merely have a two-hour briefing session that limits how much information the counselors give. There’s a problem there, and it’s implemented into the policy design of Section 8.

Q: Did your research reveal any possible solutions?
A: The solution obviously is that you have to inform the families more and better, and that requires hiring individual counselors to be with these families and talk to them specifically. It’s not just having this mere two hour briefing session that gives them the nuts and bolts of what the voucher does; it’s going beyond that and actually helping these families find the right neighborhoods and informing them about them. It’s also a part of a change in mentality of staff at any housing authority in that they shouldn’t look at these families as these deviant individuals that can’t take in too much information. They’re not just little nomads that live out of boxes; they are people that need the benefit of a voucher. So they need to treat these people like individuals, like human beings, and not try to put upon this paternalistic viewpoint that they can’t help themselves.

Q: Will you be continuing this type of study in South Africa next year?
A: I would say that this project has been a catalyst for my proposal in Johannesburg because it’s interesting to me and I want to continue it on an international level. I want to see how policy design affects black South Africans. Now, that’s a very simplistic way of using the comparison. I mean, South Africa and the United States are two different worlds, so it’s not that simple. There are a lot more intricate details that go into play when you’re looking at policy design there and here. At the smallest level, though, the work that I’ve done here will inform my work over there.

By Anthony Curotto ’09