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Eighteen of Holy Cross’ athletic teams have achieved a perfect 100 percent graduation rate, according to the Graduation Success Rate Report, which has been released by the NCAA. The data used to calculate the graduation success rate is from the four-class aggregate of entering classes from 1998 through 2001, for which the NCAA has compiled sport-by-sport figures.

Overall, the lowest graduation success rate for any Holy Cross team was 93 percent, far above the NCAA Division I average of 78 percent for all sports.

Nationally, three schools had 99 percent graduation success rates for their student-athletes: Alcorn State, Colgate and San Francisco. Holy Cross, Notre Dame and the U.S. Naval Academy were next at 98 percent.

“Speaking on behalf of our coaches, staff, and all involved in Holy Cross Athletics, we are very proud of the recent graduation rate report,” said Richard M. Regan ’76, director of Athletics. “As this reports demonstrates, while we strive to be competitive in the athletic arena, academic excellence continues to be a top priority at Holy Cross.”

Holy Cross also shared top honors with fellow Patriot League member Colgate, with 16 league-sponsored teams reporting at 100 percent GSR.

The Crusader programs to post perfect graduation rates were baseball, softball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s cross country and track, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s swimming and diving, women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, and volleyball.

This year marks the eighth year that GSR data have been collected. The NCAA began collecting GSR data with the entering freshman class of 1995. The latest entering class for which data are available is 2001.

The NCAA also released the federal graduation rates for the classes entering in the fall of 2001. Student-athletes at Holy Cross who entered college at that time had a 93 percent graduation rate, compared with the overall Division I rate of 64 percent.

The graduation-rates report provides information about two groups of students at a college or university: (1) all undergraduate students who were enrolled in a full-time program of studies for a degree, and (2) student-athletes who received athletics aid from the college or university for any period of time during their entering year. The class that entered in 2001 is the most recent graduating class for which the required six years of information is available.

The graduation success rate differs from the federal graduation-rate formula in that it factors in transfer students who graduate, and does not penalize schools for losing transfers who leave in good academic standing.

For the NCAA release on the graduation rates, click here.

Matthew Ruppel ’09 had such an incredible summer that he says it’s difficult to articulate his “amazing experiences and stories.”

In July, Ruppel, from Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., conducted research in the Siberian Arctic as part of the Polaris Project.

Many of his friends still have difficulty believing that Ruppel, a biology major with a concentration in environmental studies, made it to Cherskiy, Serbia, north of the Arctic Circle on the Kolyma River. The remote area is characterized by harsh weather conditions.

Ruppel was a member of a group of eight students and nine faculty members who slept on a barge for their two week research stay (another week was spent traveling to and from Siberia). The field research included an overnight trip by boat in the Arctic Ocean and sleeping in the tundra.

“The tundra was freezing,” says Ruppel. “That night my water bottle froze — in my sleeping bag!”

The Polaris Project is a collaborative effort involving the Woods Hole Research Center, seven universities and colleges, and the Northeast Science Station in Cherskiy, located in northeastern Russia. The project focuses on field research experience for undergraduate students in the Siberian Arctic working across five different ecosystem types (forests, tundra, lakes, rivers, estuaries).

As the faculty team member from Holy Cross, Bill Sobczak, associate professor of biology, invited Ruppel to conduct research on the river ecosystem. Ruppel had taken Sobczak’s freshwater ecology course, which covers the physical, chemical, and biological attributes of freshwater ecosystems, and conducted yearlong research on the ways that big storms influenced carbon flux into small streams at Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass.

The goal of the Polaris Project is similar, albeit on a much grander scale. The guiding scientific theme was the transport and transformations of carbon nutrients as they move from land to the Arctic Ocean.

Scientists have suspected that carbon that has been locked away for thousands of years will escape into the atmosphere if global warming thaws large patches of frozen ground in Alaska and Siberia.

Called permafrost, the frozen ground contains large amounts of prehistoric carbon-rich grass and animal matter. The thawing of permafrost will eventually release into the atmosphere as either carbon dioxide or methane, both greenhouse gases. An excess of these greenhouse gases can raise the temperature of a planet to record levels. Scientists estimate that permafrost makes up 25 percent of land in the Northern Hemisphere.

Ruppel and his fellow researchers conducted a series of experiments that examined the fate of nutrients released from permafrost in lake and river ecosystems.

Students participating in the Polaris Project in subsequent years will build on this research.

Ruppel, and several Clark University students who participated in the project, will visit area elementary school classrooms to convey the excitement of polar research.

“It’s important to increase awareness about the Arctic because it’s the first environment that’s going to change most drastically,” he says. “We’re not going to feel the effects of global warming in New England anytime soon, but you can see them in the Arctic right now. It’s overlooked because it’s hard to get to and the Arctic only makes up a small part of the United States.”

Failure to take action now could have widespread ramifications beyond the warming of the earth, he says. Among them: increase in global sea levels and warming or cooling of other oceans that will cause dramatic global climate fluctuations.

In addition to engaging future generations in this area of research, Ruppel himself is looking to pursue a career in medicine. He calls his interest in biology and the environment a “separate, but equally fulfilling passion.”

Related Information:

• Environmental Studies

No two days on Mount St. James are alike.

Of course, neither the beautifully landscaped grounds nor familiar mix of traditional and modern architecture change from one day to the next.

But every minute of the day there’s something new to see and reflect upon. The Holy Cross campus is a dynamic place — with spirited discussion in and out of the classroom, a robust calendar of events and athletic contests, even the constantly changing New England weather.

A new blog will help tell those stories in pictures.

Related Information:

• Holy Cross Blogs

This summer, Ryan Wiik ’09 observed first-hand that there is a lot to learn about starting a business.

An economics and political science double major from San Diego, Wiik is interested in one day starting his own business. Over the summer, he interned at ScaleDB, where he shadowed Mike Hogan ’85, the organization’s chief operating officer. Located in Silicon Valley, ScaleDB has developed software that allows users to increase the efficiency of their databases through increased scalability.

Wiik landed the internship with the help of David Chu, prebusiness advisor and director of the Ciocca Office of Entrepreneurial Studies at Holy Cross.

In addition to blogging about the excitement and challenges of entrepreneurial life, Wiik recently wrote several lessons about starting and running a business successfully.

Read the documents:

• Importance of a Business Plan (PDF)
• The Value of Affiliates (PDF)
• Partnering with a Larger Company (PDF)

Related Information:

Ciocca Office of Entrepreneurial Studies

Nine members of the Class of 2008 and two members of the Class of 2007 are currently serving in locations around the globe as Jesuit Volunteers. The 11 alumni have dedicated themselves to a year or more of living and working for social justice alongside people living in poverty or on the margins of society.

In the United States this year, 237 Jesuit Volunteers will minister by teaching students of all ages, providing legal services, working with refugees and immigrants, serving with social services and at community centers, organizing low-income communities and caring for people with HIV/AIDS. This total marks a 10 percent increase in the number of volunteers for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps throughout the nation.

Three of the 11 Holy Cross graduates will minister though the international chapter of the Corps, which serves Tanzania, the Marshall Island, Belize, Micronesia, Peru, Nepal and Nicaragua. The volunteers accompany the poor in these developing countries while they work in schools, with youth and in parishes.

The rest will minister domestically, in large urban cities like Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, as well as smaller urban areas such as Portland, Maine.

Holy Cross hosts an annual post-graduate volunteer fair to allow students to learn more about these opportunities. This year, the event will be held on Oct. 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Hogan Ballroom. More than 30 domestic and international service organizations will be on hand to answer questions from students, including Teach for America, the Peace Corps, the Nativity School, the Alliance for Catholic Education, and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

The following 11 students are serving as Jesuit Volunteers this year:

Daniel Bodek ’08 will be serving with JVC East at Youth-United for Survival.

Caroline Burke ’07 will continue to serve with JVI at Loyola High School in Tanzania. She began in 2007.

Caitlin Corneliess ’07 will continue to serve with JVI at St. Cecilia’s Primary School in Micronesia. She began in 2007.

Maggie Halley ’08 will be serving with JVC Northwest at ElderHealth Northwest.

Kathleen Halloran ’08 will be serving with JVC Midwest at the United Community Housing Coalition.

Luisa Lora ’08 will be serving with JVC Southwest at the YWCA of Silicon Valley.

Amber Mooney ’08 will be serving with JVI at Proyecto Generando Vida in Nicaragua.

Megan Murphy ’08 will be serving with JVC Northwest at Matt Talbot Center in Seattle.

Damon Reynolds ’08 will be serving with JVC Southwest at Civicorps Schools.

Caitlin Sullivan ’08 will be serving with JVC Northwest at BABES Network.

Michael Wooters ’08 will be serving with JVC Midwest at St. Martin De Porres High School.

By Cara Joyce ’09

Seniors Sarah Bolthrunis and Meghan Tighe recall that only two years ago they were among just eight members of Eco-Action, a Holy Cross student organization dedicated to the promotion of environmental awareness through education and local action.

As a result of increased environmental awareness, this year the co-chairs are working with 50 members on a number of ambitious projects to make Holy Cross — and the world — a greener place.

The projects that the group plans to tackle this year include collecting 500 Power Vote pledges from students; supporting a campus-wide initiative to create a community garden on campus; establishing accessible recycling; encouraging environmentally sustainable behavior by promoting the use of reusable mugs, canvas bags, and CFL light bulbs; working with Dining Services to promote healthier and more sustainable dining on campus; and partnering with Pax Christi to promote the interconnection of the environment and issues of peace and human suffering, which includes bringing a speaker to campus who will talk about mountaintop removal.

‘Power Vote’
Tighe, an economics major with an environmental studies concentration from Wilmette, Ill., is currently leading a group of Eco-Action members to collect 500 Power Vote pledges from students committed to supporting clean and just energy.

The national pledge effort, run by the Energy Action Coalition, a consortium of 48 nonprofit organizations that support responsible climate policies, seeks to spread environmental awareness leading up to the presidential election.

Community garden
Perhaps the most anticipated project of the year is the establishment of a community garden that is set to sprout in March or April. The exact size of the allocated lot by the Hart football practice fields has yet to be determined, but those involved expect an area large enough to grow an array of vegetables and fruits.

The idea for the project, which developed independently from Eco-Action activities on campus, sprang from a tutorial on philosophical issues related to food taught by Andrea Borghini, assistant professor of philosophy, last spring. After sharing the proposal of the garden with a number of colleagues and students, including Eco-Action, he received overwhelming support which was key in finalizing the proposal and getting it approved.

“Students spend as much time eating in a day as they do in a sport or club,” he says. “We want to prompt people to think about the food they eat, and where it comes from. In considering how to change food habits on campus, we realized that a garden yields the most intimate relationship with food, which the community can also learn from immensely.”

Robert Bertin, professor and chair of the biology department, will serve as the technical advisor and help maintain the garden and help discern how much food will go to the College and to outreach.

Dorm life
Encouraging students to recycle and conserve water and energy is another focal point for the group this year. “We hope to increase the use of the in-room bin program,” Tighe says.

Signage will be posted throughout dorms that will include tips on saving energy, making laundry “greener,” buying less toxic personal care and cleaning products, and other ways to reduce one’s environmental footprint.

Finally, the committee will coordinate a “Dump and Run” program in the spring where unused, unwanted furniture, clothing, and anything else left over during move-out will be collected and donated to local organizations.

Sustainable dining
Like last year, Eco-Action will work with Dining Services to promote healthier and more sustainable dining on campus, such as holding the second Annual Locally-Grown and All-Organic Thanksgiving Meal.

The group supports the initiative proposed by Dining and Auxiliary Services for Kimball Dining Hall to “go trayless,” which has seen positive results at other institutions. Eco-Action is taking steps to educate students about the benefits and facts of trayless dining.

“The idea is to reduce food waste and water use, and save money,” says Bolthrunis, an economics and environmental studies double major from Nahant, Mass.

Pax Christi
Eco-Action is partnering with Pax Christi, a group which strives to promote a more just, peaceful world, to bring to light the fact that environmental issues are inseparable from issues of peace and justice.

For example, the genocide in Darfur, says Bolthrunis, was caused in part by global warming, which destroyed crop land and caused fighting over remaining land. In the United States, lower income communities suffer from poorer air quality and resulting health risks.

As part of the coalition project with Pax Christi, Eco-Action is bringing a mountaintop removal activist, Dave Cooper, to speak on campus Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Rehm Library. The “Mountaintop Removal Road Show” advocates an end to mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Leveling mountains to obtain coal inside causes overflow of debris in valleys, which subsequently poisons local water supplies and increases the risk of flooding in low-income communities.

The event holds particular relevance to students at Holy Cross, Tighe says. Each year, dozens of students at the College spend their spring break participating in the Appalachia Service Project, where they serve in communities most affected by this destructive practice.

By Claire Luke ’10

When Iris Sanxhaku ’12 emigrated from Albania to the United States in 1996, she spoke little English. In May 2007, she graduated as one of the highest achievers of her class of more than 300 at South High School in Worcester.

What’s more, she completed more than 250 hours of community service during her high school career. Despite her leadership efforts, she never expected to receive an award for her work.

Last month, the United Way of Central Massachusetts honored her with the Meredith D. Wesby Young Leader Award.

“My principal at South High nominated me — I didn’t even know,” says Sanxhaku. “It came as a shock!”

A good shock, of course.

Each year, the Women’s Initiative at the United Way of Central Massachusetts gives the Young Leader Award to a young woman in the Worcester community who has demonstrated a commitment to the Women’s Initiative mission of “promoting women’s leadership and philanthropy to effect positive and measurable change for women and children.” The nominee must demonstrate clear leadership through volunteerism, an outstanding record of community service, and be a champion for the success of women and girls.

Sanxhaku “is one of the most talented, kind, reflective, and truly gifted young leaders I have had the pleasure of working with in my 30 years as an educator,” wrote South High principal Maureen Binienda in her nomination letter.

“It was my principal who got me interested in community service freshman year of high school,” Sanxhaku says. “I joined the South High Community Service Learning Youth Philanthropy Council, a student-run group which award grants to community organizations in South Worcester.”

As part of the CSL Youth Council, she was able to take classes at Worcester State College to learn more about the issues affecting the area, and connect to other volunteer organizations. She helped secure more than $22,500 in grants that was awarded to Friendly House, Girls Inc., the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, and many more.

Sanxhaku remembers one grant recipient in particular: “We gave a grant to Youth Grows, an urban garden planting group. They help local kids plant and grow vegetables, and then resell them to the community. It’s great because it gives local people who may not have easy access to the bigger grocery stores a chance to buy fresh produce at a low price.”

Enthused by her work on the Youth Council, Sanxhaku began volunteering at sites throughout Worcester, spending time at the Cambridge Street Shelter and UMass Memorial. She also interned for the Mayor’s Office. “The Council was a gateway; it led to my other volunteer involvement,” she says.

Now a freshman at Holy Cross, Sanxhaku is getting adjusted to campus life, the work load, and the big decisions that freshman year brings. For one, she’s not sure if she’ll stick with her declared major of political science. “I want to go to law school, so it’s a hard choice,” she says.

Sanxhaku has earned a spot on Holy Cross’ competitive Mock Trial team, and is still keeping up with her work in the community. She is currently interning with the Worcester Regulatory and Planning Division at the Office of the City Manager, where she is learning a lot about the local government. United Way may also soon have her working as a part of their mentoring program.

By Kaitlin Juleus ’09

The pouring rain on Sept. 27 didn’t prevent students at Holy Cross from stepping up for a good cause.

More than 45 students participated in “Miles for Smiles,” a 2.25-mile uphill run around campus, raising $500 in entry fees and donations for the benefit of children born with cleft lips and palates in Third World countries.

Operation Smile, the organization responsible for the event, has only been a registered chapter at Holy Cross for eight months.

The force behind the club is president Tim Donovan ’11. He established the program through the Student Programs and Involvement office during his freshman year. A native of Morristown, N.J., Donovan became inspired by the Operation Smile chapter at his high school, Seton Hall Prep. In particular, he was moved when he visited Fortaleza, Brazil, with his high school classmates, and met children with cleft lips and palates.

“In some countries, people attach a demonic aspect to cleft lips and palates,” Donovan says. “Kids are forced to walk with paper bags over their heads or aren’t allowed to walk around in public at all. They can’t get an education, their mothers can’t find work … it fosters a devastating cycle of poverty.”

Following this experience, Donovan wanted to bring the mission of Operation Smile to Holy Cross. “How could I know this is going on and not do anything about it?” he asks.

The mission of Operation Smile is to raise awareness and, in turn, raise funds to help as many children as possible.

“The nice thing about the Operation Smile mission is that it ties in with the Jesuit call to be ‘men and women for others,’ ” he says.

Donovan is not alone in his sentiment. The size of the club has been steadily increasing and participants of “Miles for Smiles” included many non-members of Operation Smile. Even parents of students participated.

The club will continue fundraising this year. The New England Patriots donated two NFL footballs, one signed by Tom Brady and the other by Tedy Bruschi. The club also received an issue of Sports Illustrated autographed by Brady and a photograph signed by Richard Seymour.

The items will be raffled off at a Hogan lobby table between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Oct. 24, the first day of Parents Weekend.

All proceeds from the events go directly to the Operation Smile headquarters in Norfolk, Va., where they are then distributed to pay for surgeries for children with cleft lips and palates in Third World countries.

By Anthony Curotto ’09