On Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004, the College held its second annual Winter Convocation, which explored one of the four questions central to our College Mission Statement, “What are our obligations to one another?” The evening consisted of music, a series of brief talks from alumni, students, faculty, and staff, and a community dinner. Participants were encouraged to reflect on vocation, and share what brings joy, meaning and purpose to their lives. Read some of the personal stories and reflections that were shared during the Convocation.
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Vantrice Taylor ’04
If there is one thing I have learned from being in college it is that no one can make it in this world alone. There have been many people along the way that have walked with me, supported me, and loved me. From these people I have been given the example of what it means to give to others.
Everyone needs someone at one time or another. When someone is in need, you do not wait to see who else is going to do something. When possible, you step up and do what needs to be done.
In today’s world too many people think of giving in terms of dollars and cents. Regardless of who we are everyone can be of service to others. Giving back can be anything from helping to build self-esteem in children living homeless shelters through play, educating others on the facts surrounding HIV/AIDS, teaching adults to read, delivering meals to sick patients, or tutoring children at a local Boys and Girls Club. Over the years I have done all these things, and the only thing I had to give was a part of myself. Sometimes the best thing we can offer others is our time and ourselves.
Many of us here tonight are members of the class of 2004, and our Holy Cross careers will soon be coming to an end. Going to college is a privilege and a blessing, so it is not enough to just sit in a classroom and memorize facts and figures. There is a difference between learning and understanding. To know about and see people in need and not act on it is to be a part of the problem, and let’s face it, there are a lot of big problems facing the world. Far too many people underestimate the power of a few individuals. For an individual to change even one person’s life in some way for the better is worth it. It is time to put this Holy Cross education and philosophy to work. We must take what we have learned in and outside the classroom and apply it to the world. It is time for us to transition from the back of the class as students to the front as the teachers and leaders of tomorrow.
Sandra Shook, secretary, study abroad
About a half hour after saying yes to Alice Laffey when she asked me to speak at this Convocation, I went into total panic wondering what I could possibly say. According to my sons, however, I should not have worried. Apparently, I have been known to have more to say than anyone really wants to hear.
Good afternoon. My name is Sandra Shook and I have the good fortune to work with Maurice Geracht in the Study Abroad Program.
My obligation at Holy Cross is very simple. It is to the students.
Carrying out that obligation though, is not always simple. Yes, I can easily guide the students through the administrative maze of applications and visas, but the greater challenge is to listen to them when they visit the office, or when they call and e-mail from abroad. It demands a lot of attention, time and especially energy to listen, to hear and read the students, so I understand how to minister to their needs.
In our community, I too have been heard and read and ministered to.
Ted Shook and I had been married for almost 31 years when he died a year and a half ago, very suddenly and very unexpectedly. After two to three weeks of living the surreal, surrounded by my family, I was back here at my desk – the last place I wanted to be.
It was exhausting just to keep a professional face and to complete the most basic tasks of the job. I hardly remember any of it.
What I do remember are friends and colleagues coming to “walk with me.” Like a soft blanket in winter, their words and affection wrapped me in warmth and caring.
They sat with me when I wanted to be alone.
They talked to me when I wanted to be still.
They forced me into conversation when I wanted to be to be silent.
What I did want at that time was for them to go away and to leave me alone. Yet I will be forever grateful that they did not.
They were with me; maybe they even pushed me, as I struggled through the early grieving. So many months later, they continue “to walk with me,” and the truth is I still look to them and depend on them.
In the end, I believe it is each one of us in this community, responding to one another that makes the difference. I know it is the reason I am again carrying out my obligation…to listen, to hear and read, so I can minister to the needs of our students.
Daniel Ragheb ’05
Hello, my name is Daniel Ragheb, and to be entirely honest I am not quite sure why I am up here in front of you. By now it would seem fair to assume that in one way or another we are all here trying to find what role an “obligation to serve others” plays in our own lives. I was asked to, within a matter of two minutes, summarize something that has consumed the better part of my conscious life up until this point. Essentially I have little time to explain how my developing relationship with God affects my daily life, and as a result might also relate to you.
Speaking in this Chapel, sitting in class, eating in Kimball, running errands in Hogan, walking among the buildings on this campus: each of these experiences, albeit daily and even mundane to some, are truly blessings I continually value and cherish. While I would be the first to admit that leaving my family and native home in Egypt is never easy, I am also fully aware and grateful for the gifts God has granted my family in allowing me to study here. In exploring my ever-strong faith in the Lord and His will, I have come to the personal revelation that my gratitude to Him cannot solely remain in the words I whisper in prayer. Rather, the life I choose to live is one that embraces the love God has instilled in my own heart, and how I see it in all the people around me. With limitations in mind, my gratefulness translates into devoting myself to the best of my ability, to those in turn who also need help; the blessings of the Lord are everywhere in this world.
What else can I say but that I have learned to appreciate people and the need to help those around us? I see the work of God in each of us, and in a dedication to others I find myself closer in my relationship to Him. I believe God assumes a different role in each of our lives, and personally I see Him in all places, from my family and friends to complete strangers. Ultimately my drive to serve others draws from desire to be closer to our Lord, and the faith that the people we meet everyday are truly the children of God.
Thank you and God bless.
Nicole Mortorano ’04
Good afternoon. My name is Nicole Mortorano, and I am a member of the class of 2004. For the past three summers, I have been privileged to teach middle school social studies in a free-tuition academic program called Summerbridge. At the end of my first summer, one of my students – Marcos – excitedly called me, wanting to hear stories about Holy Cross. Focusing on the relevant topics for 11 year olds, I recounted Wheeler 4 pranks, listed all of the frozen yogurt flavors at Kimball, and stressed the countless opportunities to join academic and social clubs. In concluding the phone conversation, I excitedly told Marcos: “You’re going to love college.” Quickly, he corrected me and responded: “that is, if I go to college.”
Three years later, I continue to struggle with Marcos’ chilling words and his heightened understanding about the realities of our less than just society. Despite his middle school stature, Marcos’ passion for and understanding of space and scientific innovations far surpasses my elementary comprehension of NASA and space missions. At 11 years old, Marcos hoped for careers in space exploration and at 11 years old, I hoped for careers in teaching and law. At 11 years old, Marcos spoke of dreams by exclaiming, “If I go to college,” while I spoke of dreams by explaining, “When I go to college.” And yet the only difference separating Marcos and I is not one of intellect or resolve or passion, but rather, of external opportunities and obstacles.
I wish all of you could meet Marcos. Moreover, I wish all of us could have met more students like Marcos in the course of our tenure at Holy Cross. I often wonder how much more enriched all of us would be if more students like Marcos had the opportunity to celebrate with us, to challenge us academically in the classroom, and to inspire our community. I often wonder about Marcos’ potential and my own, and wonder about what each of us has missed or the potential that we could have tapped into if we each had the privilege to sit next to one another today.
I don’t want to wonder anymore. I don’t want any of us to wonder about what could have been if each of us, if our community, if our larger society truly realized that our individual freedoms, opportunities and potential are intricately connected with all men and women’s freedoms, opportunities and potential. Throughout the past four years, Holy Cross has taught me that our resolve for justice and opportunity must be matched with action. As we speak today about our obligation to others, I challenge each of us to reflect how we, as individuals, and as a community can work toward expanding opportunities for our peers, as well as future peers.
On my part, Marcos has inspired me to join Teach for America in the Rio Grande Valley for the next two years. At a larger community level, I would like to challenge Holy Cross to continue its mission by extending its partnership with the Nativity School. As Nativity’s students pledge themselves to a uniquely challenging academic program, Holy Cross also has an obligation to these students – an obligation to ensure that these students can continue to pursue their academic dreams. Similar to Clark University’s partnership with the University Park Campus School in Worcester, Holy Cross could extend its mission to guarantee a free tuition to all alumni of Nativity who meet the College’s admissions standards. Ultimately, Holy Cross’ future choices hold the promising potential to inspire others to join in this mission of connecting visions for justice and opportunity with action. Each of us has the responsibility to recognize that our position at Holy Cross is a privilege – a privilege that hopefully students like Marcos will one day enjoy.
Joanne Glavin McClatchy ’79, Keynote Address
Good afternoon,
Thank you for the invitation to speak at the Winter Convocation. I am honored to be here.
I have been asked to speak on vocation. I was going to use the dictionary and give you the definition of the word “vocation.” As you may know, I am the executive director of The Nativity School of Worcester, a Jesuit middle school for boys located in the heart of Worcester. Each day at Nativity we start with a morning assembly. The gathering begins with a prayer or spiritual reflection, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and then the “Word of the Week.” Joining us tonight are the young men who are enrolled at The Nativity School. If we were in assembly I would give the word, then ask someone in the audience to give me the definition and use the word “vocation” in a sentence. But seeing that I only have 10 minutes to speak, I tried to find reflections of what vocation can mean to us. I decided that a quote might be more appropriate.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Each man has his own vocation. The talent is the call. There is one direction in which all space is open to him. He has faculties silently inviting him thither to endless exertion. He is like a ship in the river; he runs against obstructions on every side but one; on that side all obstruction is taken away, and he sweeps serenely over a deepening channel into an infinite sea.”
Tolstoy said, “The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.” (That quotes makes one wonder if Tolstoy had been trained by Jesuits instead of being a Russian writer).
Brian Andreas said “Most people don’t know but there are angels whose only job is to make sure that you don’t get too comfortable and fall asleep and miss your life.”
But my favorite quote, which is how I have come to view this mysterious calling on how to have vocation in your life, is:
“Always be in a state of expectancy,
And see that you leave room
For God to come in as He likes.”
– Oswald Chambers
So what is so special about my life that I have been asked to speak to all of you about it today. Until last year, I would have not seen how it would be interesting or relevant but upon review and reflection it has been an interesting journey and is a different way to view our lives or our vocations. It’s a little scary to be up here and to have to share a bit of my life, but I also believe that is part of the journey and the work I have to do.
I need to give you some background and tell my tale. I hope you enjoy the story. My tale begins in June 2003, with my father forwarding an e-mail with a job description for a position for a new school – a Nativity School to be opened by the College of the Holy Cross. He sent the e-mail to my husband and copied it to me. He told my husband to think about it. He really wanted me to think about it, but knew that I would reject it out of hand if he suggested it. I have always done things my way, not my father’s way. My husband and I both read the e-mail and not a word was exchanged for a few days.
I probably need to step back and give you some background on my professional life. I graduated from Holy Cross in 1979 and went on to a career in finance, specifically in the banking world. I had known since college that I want to be involved in commercial real estate construction. After two years at my first job in banking, I decided to pursue my master’s degree at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. After completion of my MBA, I worked in various banks underwriting large real estate construction projects. I worked at various levels and areas of Fleet Financial serving as vice president, senior vice president and ultimately, executive vice president.
I would have said that I was following my passion for finance and my love for real estate while I worked my way up the corporate ladder. I had used my gifts as a manager to do my job. I had fun doing what I had done in the corporate world. I had followed my vocation or so I thought. During this timeframe, I had encouraged and supported my husband’s career as an inner city school teacher. He taught in a parochial school and was recruited in 1997 to a small, independent school serving 60 inner city middle school boys called The San Miguel School. San Miguel started in 1993 and is based on the Nativity school model which is to provide a private middle school education to young men from vulnerable neighborhoods. San Miguel became an important part of our life and our service to the community of Providence. Not only was Brian teaching social studies and the first development officer at San Miguel, but I was on the board of directors, wrote grants and ran the strategic plan for the president of the school.
Now I know that you are thinking what does this have to do with vocation and why is she telling me this – but one’s vocation is a journey. It is your life and you may not see what God has planned for you. At certain points in your life you may see all the patterns and roads taken that lead to your real vocation.
So let’s go back to the e-mail from my father with a job description. I did not give the e-mail another thought, until two days later when driving home to Providence from a family gathering in Boston. I was alone in the car and it was like a laser light or a hand on my shoulder, which showed that all of my schooling, training, work experience, volunteer experience was leading me down the road to this position. Every job I had ever had was on that job description, and it was like someone saying, “I know that you think you have been doing all this for 25 years because you liked it, but I was preparing you for this.” It is weird to know you have been on a road but did not know where it was leading you. You then realize that the decisions you made along the way lead you to your destination.
We had dreamed of starting our own school (if we ever hit the lottery). Families and kids throughout the past 12 years have provided so much to us, as we have provided to them. The work that we do is not work but is our life and it is how we parent/mentor. It is a process that works in unusual ways and one does not know the impact or strength you have provided until years later.
It is hard to know or accept that the jobs at Nativity Worcester were the next important step in our lives. We knew the time and love that is required to dream, start-up and sustain a small school. But we also knew the rewards of seeing young men learn that they can contain their anger and frustration, they can be respectful of others and have respect for themselves. We knew that there would be a lot of curve balls thrown at us in the starting of a new school, and a small one at that.
So, in August of 2003, we opened the 47th Nativity School. We are part of the Nativity Network of Schools. An idea whose birth happened over 32 years ago in the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the first Nativity School started by the Jesuits. The success of these schools is found in the students who learn, laugh and love, go onto high school and college and have found that when given the opportunity to have a private education, they too flourish.
This journey has been a continuation of faith, blind faith, and seeing God’s hand in all you do. It has been a hard year, one where we have stood at the precipice and thought we were failing to today where the school is open and we have 24 young men who are flourishing. We have a staff that is focused on the education of the whole person, mind body and soul. We have begun to impart the teaching of Jesuits with community service, “to those to who so much is given, so much is expected”. We have young men who love to sing and play games such as Chess, Sequence or Othello. They greet us each day with a firm handshake and a smile. They are up and dressed before their families come to wake them, making sure that they have their shirt tucked in and a belt (they know that it is one of Mr. Zequeira’s pet peeves to not wear a belt!). They are thriving and building their community as young men whom have found a place that treasures them.
So what is the next phase of the journey? Learning patience, learning to trust in God and to give Him control. It has been a difficult year for me personally to give in and give up in order to receive the many gifts that we needed to start the school. But in return I have seen God’s hand at work. I have seen the many gifts, friends and coincidences that show God wishes to remain anonymous, but is involved every day at the school.
We know that by doing good work, we will bring good things to the school. But each day another tidbit is placed before us that reminds us that we are just doing the work that God wants done. So, here are some great short stories that show the hand of God moving everyday in our lives that at times have left us speechless and in awe.
* The school is blessed with a principal who is superb – a Holy Cross graduate, one who also was educated at Belin in Miami and is personally steeped in Jesuit traditions and values, and whose personal long-term dream is to open a Nativity school in Miami on his own. Alex Zequeira is perfect for the job. Not only has he been a middle school teacher and high school teacher, he believes passionately in educating the whole person. He loves a challenge and was given the job description through an e-mail from his longtime mentor from Holy Cross, Bruce Miller. He values the arts and is a great performer, loves to coach soccer and basketball. He teaches and speaks fluent Spanish and an added bonus is that he speaks “Jesuitise.” He was a treasure that found us.
* Kathleen Gorski, our master teacher, followed Alex on this path. Kathy has a Ph.D. in chemistry. She has been in private industry in the chemical field and felt the call to teach middle school students to be great scientists. When hearing of the new school, she gave up a great job at a prestigious private school to join us in the opening of an inner city school. Her guidance to the staff, the students and countless others is invaluable and greatly appreciated.
* And our Nativity Fellows, young teachers who give a year of service in teaching, applied because of word of mouth. Marshall Flowers is a recent grad from Weston with a master’s in theology who has made the study of religion not only fun but also a conversation at the lunch table. Another fellow, just completed a year of service on an Indian reservation in the JVC, and read the Holy Cross magazine article on the new school and knew she had to teach there. Crista Carrick is teaching language arts to the sixth graders and is managing our senior and student volunteers. She provides balance and passion for reading, and makes learning grammar and vocabulary words fun. There is a vicious game of “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” going on weekly over the most recent vocabulary words. Crista found us and we are grateful for her service every day.
* Kelli McLoughlin and Jen Schmolz (2003 Holy Cross grads) also found us through the Chaplain’s office and have had a great year teaching language arts and math. Kelli manages our after-school activities and field trips and Jen is one of the assistant coaches for the stellar basketball team and someone who will pitch in at the drop of a hat.
* Alex and I have been blessed with a great team, one that is learning how to start a school. We have the responsibility to teach these young men about their own talents and gifts as well as to provide a base for rituals, traditions, spirituality and values that the school will use for the years to come.
There is a saying that is told to those involved in these schools that I want to share with you today. It is the saying that “you get what you need, not what you want, as the gifts from God.” That statement is a reflection of what these schools are all about. The Nativity schools, and their sister schools, the Miguel schools, are focused on the education of inner-city youth and nurturing them in mind, body and soul. In each of the Miguel schools you will find an icon at the front door. It is a picture or Christmas card that is framed and it is always of the Three Wisemen. Why the Three Wisemen? Because the Wisemen come bearing gifts, but these gifts only come when you need them and the gifts may not be exactly what you wanted but what you needed. The next part of my story revolves around the many gifts and coincidences which are God’s way of remaining anonymous.
Gifts have come from a variety of sources around the College of the Holy Cross. Although we have the mantra that explains that Jesuits and the College of the Holy Cross are sponsoring us – we say that “they are praying for us not paying for us.” Although our funding comes from private individuals, foundations and corporations, we have had unbelievable in-kind support from all areas of campus. Some examples of the gifts are free office space in O’Kane, use of fields for soccer, tickets to football games, financial record keeping by the controller’s office.
We also had a highly successful SPUD program with 30 volunteers coming down to the school for tutoring three nights a week. The track team comes down for lunch every Thursday and each Nativity student has a Big Brother – 54 Holy Cross students volunteer on a regular basis at Nativity Worcester. The Jesuits on campus have provided a research center where 16 new computers were fired up last week on a wireless network and where new books arrive every week. We have over 2000 books on the shelves and 98% are gifts from friends and supporters. The boys have new winter coats through personal donations from the staff members of the Holy Cross development office. We have printers, copiers, office supplies and over 10,000 index cards that have been made from scrap paper by Mr. Roy and Tom Parsons and their whole team in graphic arts. We have had help from the Chaplains office, the administration, the library staff, and countless others who have given of their time, their talent and their energy. And, after the long days at Nativity Worcester we really need the support and care of this college community. The gifts are too numerous to list, but show the generosity that is the hallmark of Holy Cross and its community members.
We have just finished our first semester and the 24 young men are doing great things. They too are gifts we have been given and will treasure in the years to come. The boys have learned to sing with their voices and their hearts. They are learning to love to read, perform in drama class, make wondrous things in art and have been successful in the classroom with their academic studies from science to Spanish with some American history and bible navigation, to community service and sportsmanship. Whether in the classroom or on the basketball court where they are 10 and 3 for the season in the Catholic School League here in Worcester, the young men are doing great things and having fun doing it.
So I have talked a lot. I have woven my tale, but I hope you have enjoyed my story and that it has shown you one way to view the journey of your life and that you can be a part of God’s plan and you can watch him work through your family, friends and colleagues.
As I close, please remember the Oswald Chambers quote:
“Always be in a state of expectancy,
And see that you leave room
For God to come in as He likes.”
Because one day, you may come around a corner and bump into the rest of your life.
Thank you.
Osvaldo Golijov, associate professor, music department
Good Afternoon. My name is Osvaldo Golijov. I teach in the music department, and am a composer.
It seems that there is too much to be done. The answer to today’s question, “What are our obligations to one another?” can be so daunting that it may lead us to complete inaction. But I would like to tell you about two people that I met and have answered, in their own way, to this question. I have learned from them and will try to share with you those lessons.
The first person is a former Holy Cross student, Liz Dunn. She graduated about six or seven years ago and is now Liz Alvarez, and a new mother. Liz was a brilliant student and is a gifted musician. During her senior year Liz went through her mother’s illness and death. Still, Liz’s Honor’s Thesis was the most memorable concert in my Holy Cross years. Not because of her skill as a pianist and singer-songwriter, but because it was a transformative experience for all the students involved in the performance and the audience. She truly had something to say, something that at times hurt, but ultimately elevated us.
Despite her great talent, when Liz graduated she chose not to pursue a career as a performing artist. Instead she went to teach at the Nativity Preparatory School in Roxbury, which has since moved to Jamaica Plain. (Joanne McClatchy will tell us about that remarkable school model later.) Liz used her charisma to work with the children there, touching their lives in an irreversible way. In the process she created and performed some amazing music, together with her students. I think she probably grew as an artist and person even more than if she had hit the road with her songs immediately after Holy Cross.
In my 12 years at the College I have learned great lessons from many of my students related to the question we are posing today. I think of what Liz has done not only in the Christian spirit that guides her and Holy Cross but also in the spirit of where I come from, the Jewish tradition. There is a saying that I always remember when the world’s troubles seem overwhelming: “In saving one life, you are saving the whole world.”
Two months ago I had quite an amazing experience. There was a “Concert for Peace” in Washington D.C., attended by former President Bill Clinton and many other powerful and influential people. The orchestra was a mixture of great artists, such as Yo Yo Ma, and young players from Israel and the Arab countries that was founded by the Palestinian scholar Eduard Said and the Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim.
So, there we were, probably everyone thinking how good we all are by participating in such an event. That is until Bono came onstage, officially to perform a piece of his. But, instead, he spoke about the unraveling of peace in Ireland. He didn’t speak as a “temperamental artist.” He did not present himself as a powerless outsider that can only criticize. He spoke in the eye of these leaders, articulately and with a mind-boggling command of the facts. And then, because he is a great artist, he read a poem that he had written, which ended (I am paraphrasing) like this: “The least we expect from our politicians is that they stick to their guns. I say ‘we are wrong.’ They should lay their guns down and walk towards the enemy.”
After the performance I witnessed how a man of great means came to Bono and offered to send money for Africa. Bono explained to him that what Africa needs is not money but help to eventually achieve self-reliance. He then described the situation of several countries, outlining concrete programs for each of them, that in his view could be implemented and be much more effective in the long run than just “sending money somewhere.”
Bono taught us that “good intentions” are not enough. He taught me that, many times, “enough” is really not “enough.” Without him, that evening would have been forgotten, or remembered as a “feel good” event populated with celebrities. He has transcended what we expect even from well-meaning rock stars. He lives by the lines of his own poem, working together with people with whom he has profound disagreements, trying to change what can be changed in this world.
Both Bono and Liz know who they are. They have answered our question, one by devoting himself to change the lives of a great number of people, the other by changing the lives of a small number of children. I have been and am inspired by them. I hope that today’s activities will help us to find our own answers to our question.
Bill Gibbons, head coach, women’s basketball
My name is Bill Gibbons and I am honored to be a part of Winter Convocation 2004 titled, “Walk with Me.” I am currently in my 23rd year working at Holy Cross, the first four as an assistant men’s basketball coach and the past 19 years as the head women’s basketball coach – a job that, in my mind, I would take for a year or two until I had an opportunity to get a full-time position coaching men’s basketball. So, as you can see, what I thought would be a short “stroll” here with the Holy Cross women has instead turned into a marathon walk on College Hill for me – yet, a walk for which I thank God every night when I hit my knees.
Being “men and women for others” and learning our “obligations to one another” is pretty easy in a basketball setting. Sacrifice for the good of the team, pass to the open player, help each other out on defense, stay positive, stay TOGETHER and have fun …and always play with passion, unselfishness, desire and intensity …play with that “Holy Cross Spirit” and you will never let your teammates down!
But, the more challenging question as a teacher/coach and as student-athletes, is to answer that “obligations to one another” question off the court. In a humble way, with the help of my wife Lisa, I have tried to show some examples of giving something back and helping out those less fortunate…with trips to the Mercy Centre School, canned good drives for the needy, Community Reading Days and various school, Jewish Community Center or church group basketball clinics. However, those are really “easy” choices, too. To me, the answer to this question is all about the really tough choices that we must make in the day-to-day activities that face us here on Mt. St. James and beyond. This is where the “teacher” (me) has become the student. The young women and young men (I’ve had 6 male managers – 7 now with my son Billy – a future Crusader – stepping up to help this year) …over 240 young people that I have been blessed with for their four years at Holy Cross -and beyond that, have taught me, my wife, my two boys, my assistant coaches and their teammates in the HC women’s basketball family, what indeed our obligations to one another are all about!
Please let me share one of the many stories that I have, in hopes of showing you what I mean. It is Girl’s Basketball Camp week. All my team comes back to coach at camp, workout, play and bond towards next hoop season. It is a midweek night and it is the night that (after lights out) my team and the other counselors have permission to have their fun night – the best night of the week! They all get to wind down, hang out, dance a little and celebrate camp week with their friends – old and new. The girls get dressed up, the guys get clean-shaven with their cologne and their dancing shoes on for a fun evening. The older counselors/coaches step up and take the dorm duty for the night.
Now, there’s one little 8-year-old camper who is struggling with the ‘ole homesickness bug. One of those older counselors, my wife, who settles them all down, can’t really settle this little one down. However, the girl is fine when her camp coach – my senior co-captain – is with her. It is now getting late, my captain runs to her room to shower and get ready as her teammates wait to go. She hustles back to say goodbye to her little friend, yet every time she gets up to leave, the tears come streaming back down the camper’s face. Meanwhile, her teammates are anxious to get going, and my captain is the driver! “Let’s go Cap, it’s getting late!” Then, Mrs. Gibbons chimes in, “Thanks for all your help, I’ll stay with her. Go and have a good time with your teammates and the others.” My captain gets up from the camper’s bed, starts to head out the door and then does a quick reverse pivot back inside as she flips her car keys to one of her teammates. “You guys go ahead, I’m needed here right now. I’ll catch up with you later or I’ll see you at breakfast.”
They do not catch her later, as she ends up in a sleeping bag on the little girl’s dorm room floor. The girl ends up having a super finish to her camp week…and becomes a huge fan of my captain and the Lady Crusaders. She never misses a home game, keeps stats, listens to every road game on the radio and even comes on some road trips…until sadly, she passes away, around this time, four years ago, just shy of her 13th birthday. However, the joy that HC women’s basketball gave her and the joy, courage and example that she gave and showed to all of us was remarkable! A wonderful five years for her and for us, that never would have happened, if not for one simple reverse pivot and flip of those car keys. An unselfish choice, a compassionate choice, a “woman for others” choice that night in Mulledy Hall. We talk about playing with “Holy Cross Spirit”…that was living with Holy Cross Spirit.
What about you? My captain wore the purple and white of Holy Cross across her uniform as an Academic All-American, Patriot League Player of the Year, and Crusader of the Year. And you know, she still wears that Holy Cross across her chest – not in those same bold, block letters that were on her basketball jersey…but under her white coat and doctor’s clothes as a successful M.D. in Boston…Holy Cross is there. The same as it is there for all of us! Jesuits, professors, administrators, workers, coaches, Nativity School boys and staff – and, of course, HC students past, present and future…the Holy Cross is also across our chests.
The question of our “obligations to one another” is extremely challenging…faced with our own tough choices in our daily life, what will we do?
It is my hope and my prayer today that all of us, when faced in our own way with a “fun/good time for me” vs. a “homesick little girl who needs me” type of dilemma, will let our “Holy Cross Spirit” come shining through and, in our own way, make that simple reverse pivot and flip our car keys to our friends saying “go ahead, have fun…I’m needed here now”…. That, my friends, would be the right choice…fulfilling our “obligations to one another” and truly helping us to become a man or woman for others!
I thank you for the opportunity and I thank you for listening.
William Breault, building services
My name is Bill Breault and I’ve worked in building services here at the College for more than 30 years. I am honored that I was asked to talk at today’s Convocation and, to be honest, a little confused. People who know me will tell you that I always speak my mind. Why, I wondered, would Holy Cross give me this forum so I could speak it?
But they did. I think it was because the organizers knew I always say what I think. So let me say this. The topic of this Convocation is “what are our obligations to one another?” For me, that’s not just a nice, friendly question. Being responsible for other people – at work, at home, and in the community – is a major part of my life. It seems that too many people sit on the sidelines and are critical about the people who are out there fighting for things. For me, something that’s worth believing in is worth fighting for.
We ARE responsible for one another. We DO have an obligation. And it’s not just for the people we know. We have an obligation to our neighbors, even if we’ve never met them. We have an obligation to our co-workers, even if we never see them outside of work. We have an obligation to speak out on issues and fight the fight for people who are afraid to do it for themselves.
I live in Main South, right across the tracks. I grew up here and care about that neighborhood. I care about South Worcester where I work with residents and businesses to bring attention to that area and to keep it from being stepped on just because the people are poor.
As Bill Durgin will tell you, I’ve never been in the back pocket of the College. But I was always honest with them and they were always honest with me. I have a responsibility to the College and to the people I work with, and they have a responsibility to me.
My obligation to others is to be direct, fair and honest; to let people know where I’m coming from and why I’m doing things. My obligation to others is to fight for what I believe in, even if it isn’t always what people want to hear or even if it makes me enemies. To believe strongly in something and to stay on the sidelines is a betrayal, not only of yourself, but of everyone else.
To finish up, I care about people and neighborhoods. Part of caring for people is taking their side when they are being bullied or pushed around. I have done that almost every day of my adult life, and I intend to keep it up. That is my obligation to others.
