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“Once upon a wintry morning, while in slumber I lay yawning, and the college-bell was ringing as it often rang before…”

It’s always a dangerous proposition to tell someone a dream you’ve had; they always turn out to be much more interesting to the dreamer than the listener. But bear with me. For years, I’ve had a dream that I was back at Holy Cross, somewhere above the Hart Center, where the woods and practice fields used to meet, and at night the scarred city would spread out more beautifully than you would have thought, the lights glimmering. In this dream, as I was walking around, I came upon paths and roads and then whole buildings that I’d never seen before. I thought that it was so strange, since I’d lived there for four years and never noticed those places. It was a wonder, to think, all around me, there were places I’d never noticed, and that suddenly, I could see them. The Irish poet W.B. Yeats once wrote that “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”

What a prescient dream it seemed, once I saw, quite literally, how many new paths and roads and buildings have grown up around the edges of our College on The Hill. I wasn’t the only one astonished at how much had changed in the 25 years since we lived here.

Here’s the thing: I don’t think my dream was a prophecy. I think it was a metaphor for our living memory — how, each time we go back to the past in our minds, we scrabble about, searching for something, trying to find some new way of understanding our life, some new path amid the familiar geography of what’s happened to us.

Coming back to campus meant revisiting not only the past, but who I’d been then — a serious, socially awkward young man trying to figure out what I was meant to do with my life. Probably I wasn’t the only one who happened upon some little nook on campus, and was struck by a sudden memory of the past, something that I’d forgotten until just that moment. How, when I walked into Fenwick/O’Kane, I smelled that familiar scent of wood and closeness, and I almost shivered with delight. I was 20 years old again, preparing myself for another daunting meeting with Professor Cording, whose standards for a poem were far higher than my pen could propel me.

It’s true, every time we go back to the past, and the places of our past, we have the chance to find something new. It just so happens that two dear friends, Dan Seltzer ’92 and Kerry Grillo ’92, sparked a new relationship at the five-year reunion, and now are happily married with three great kids. I find, each reunion, I not only rekindle old friendships, but also make a few new ones. While we all had our favored groups, as the years wear on, whatever divided us seems to thin, and we become most ourselves, and what we shared — those four years at our College on The Hill — grows more bright.

Now I’d be lying if I didn’t have my share of rough moments at the Cross, days and even months where I was deeply unhappy. (I actually wrote a whole essay on my mistaken memory about what I’d remembered as a transcendent senior year. I was quickly disabused of that rose-colored view when I read my journals from that time, and found myself nearly drowning in self-doubt and anxiety about the future. It reminds me that the “Easy Street” that was most important to me at Holy Cross was not the kickoff party, but the song of the same name by Soul Asylum about a friend who helps another friend in a very dark moment.)

But what emerges quite powerfully now, as I look back, is the care and mentorship of beloved professors, the companionship of dear friends and the sparks and embers of love. (After all, I married “up” — Amy Breau, class of 1991!)

This time, I had so many chance hellos and full-blown philosophical conversations with so many different people — old friends and completely unknown classmates — that I literally couldn’t remember them all, when I took to writing about it this morning. I prized them equally — catching up with people who knew me and know me beyond words, and connecting with people who I doubt I ever really talked to at all, years ago when we were classmates. On that last point, I could be mistaken — memory, it turns out, has an overactive delete key.

Right before the reunion, I had lunch with Bob Cording, whose mentorship typifies what Holy Cross meant for me. Professor Cording was notoriously hard to please. He had exacting standards, and gave few A’s. Some students, understandably, avoided him, or wound up crying in his office. But during senior year, every week, I’d come into his office and bring him a terrible poem, and he’d patiently walk me through how it could be better. His secret, and perhaps the great secret of the education that I got, was that he loved not only his subject, but also his students. Love was at the center of what he did. I felt that acceptance strongly, at a time when I felt very little self-acceptance, and almost no inner peace.

Seeing Bob again was like seeing a father that I’d forgotten I had. Talking with him was like remembering who I was then, and measuring the distance to where I am now. When we parted, I told him that he was a blessing to me. He said he felt the same.

That’s Holy Cross to me.

Written by Philip Metres ’92 for the Fall 2017 issue of Holy Cross Magazine.

About Holy Cross Magazine

Holy Cross Magazine (HCM) is the quarterly alumni publication of the College of the Holy Cross. The award-winning publication is mailed to alumni and friends of the College and includes intriguing profiles, make-you-think features, alumni news, exclusive photos and more. Visit magazine.holycross.edu/about to contact HCM, submit alumni class notes, milestones, or letters to the editor.

Ask Eileen Howard Boone ’86 about life at home with her husband and their blended family of six children, and she’ll tell you that motherhood is the most rewarding job she has ever had.

So it’s no surprise that when she goes into work at CVS Health in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, it’s other children – and their mothers – who are her focus.

As the senior vice president for corporate social responsibility and philanthropy and the president of the CVS Health Foundation, Howard Boone directs CVS’ efforts to build healthier communities, create economic opportunities and protect the planet – what they call their “prescription for a better world.”

“Eighty-eight percent of our customers are women, and each of these women is the chief health care officer of her family,” Howard Boone says. “When we think about our decision making and what makes the most impact, we’re thinking about her — whether it is our products, the ExtraCare program or local funding.”

This local funding includes charitable donations, fundraising and volunteering to support programs that improve access to and quality of health care for underserved populations, and also reduce the costs of health care.

Innovation and Growth

Howard Boone says that CVS Health believes it is the company’s responsibility to help people on a path to better health. She joined the company 14 years ago, when it was primarily a pharmacy retailer, and CVS Health has since grown into a pharmacy innovation company that is ranked No. 7 on the Fortune 500 list and currently operates more than 9,700 retail locations, 1,200 walk-in medical clinics, a pharmacy benefits manager, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business, specialty pharmacy services and a stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

When she arrived at CVS in 2004, it was as the head of corporate communications and community relations. As the company grew, so did her desire to “leverage our size and scale to make a difference in the lives of those that need it the most.”

“Community relations was something I had always treasured about my job, and I thought we could do more and extend our impact in a much greater way,” she says. So external communications became a separate division, and Howard Boone focused on what CVS deemed social responsibility initiatives.

Capacity to Make a Difference

As a psychology major at Holy Cross, Howard Boone says she never envisioned this career path, but helping others has been ingrained in her throughout her education. She attended an all-girls Catholic high school before Holy Cross, and earned an MBA at fellow Jesuit institution Fordham University in New York City.

“I loved my time at Holy Cross and built lifelong friendships that have enriched my life immeasurably,” she says. “My time on campus also opened my eyes to our collective ability to make a difference in the world.”

At CVS Health, under Howard Boone’s leadership, that capacity to make a difference even supersedes profit.

In 2014, CVS Health stopped selling tobacco as part of their Be The First Campaign, a five-year, $50 million commitment to creating the first tobacco-free generation.

“Selling tobacco products was inconsistent with our purpose of helping people on their path to better health and with our growth strategy as a pharmacy innovation company,” Howard Boone says. “And while our decision was estimated to reduce sales by approximately $2 billion, we knew that in the long term it would help us grow. So in the end, our decision was made with both social impact and our long-term business imperatives in mind.”

In June 2016, an article in The Christian Science Monitor called Howard Boone “the embodiment of the alignment between the company’s profitmaking and philanthropic goals.”

A Personal Commitment

She says that the magnitude of the tobacco decision and its ripple effect across the pharmacy market and patients’ lives was one of the most important opportunities of her professional career. But there is another CVS Health initiative that is equally close to her heart.

They partner with the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics to offer grants to medical clinics and community health centers that offer free services to people without health care coverage. These clinics are staffed by doctors, nurse practitioners and other medical professionals who volunteer their time, and the grants help with expenses like medical supplies and keeping the lights on. For people who don’t have health care coverage, these clinics can be the only option for medical care.

“There aren’t enough of these clinics, and they are the safety net for health care in this country,” Howard Boone says. “It’s as personal and human as you can get when you meet these people who have to decide between putting gas in their car or food on the table and health care. I don’t want people to have to make that decision.”

For Howard Boone, this isn’t simply about CVS making a monetary donation. She shows up and actively participates in each of their initiatives: She traveled the country on a national listening tour for the Be The First Campaign, and meets with nonprofits and NGOs to cultivate partnerships and figure out the most effective ways CVS Health can help them.

“It’s truly not check writing – it is strategic health care investment that is making an impact in the lives of those who need it the most,” she says.

Five Questions with Eileen Howard Boone ’86

What is your favorite family activity?

“We spend a lot of time outdoors, hiking, running, you name it.”

What is CVS Health working on now that you are most excited about?

“We always have something new and exciting going on that we can be proud of, and right now we are removing chemicals of concern from our store brand. This is going to make a great deal of impact in the market – to remove potentially harmful formaldehyde and phosphates, etc. – and it’s a milestone in our journey. We want to make sure we are managing chemicals of customer concern and living up to our name of CVS Health.”

When was the last time you were back on Mount St. James?

“My 25th reunion!”

Where did you live when you were a student?

“Hanselman Hall, Alumni Hall and then off campus my senior year.”

Did you have a favorite spot on campus?

“St. Joseph Memorial Chapel. However, it was a tie between the upper chapel and the lower chapel. Often I preferred the lower chapel as it felt more intimate and peaceful.”

Written by Maura Sullivan Hill for the Fall 2017 issue of Holy Cross Magazine.

About Holy Cross Magazine

Holy Cross Magazine (HCM) is the quarterly alumni publication of the College of the Holy Cross. The award-winning publication is mailed to alumni and friends of the College and includes intriguing profiles, make-you-think features, alumni news, exclusive photos and more. Visit magazine.holycross.edu/about to contact HCM, submit alumni class notes, milestones, or letters to the editor.

Holy Cross stood little chance as it took the field against an undefeated and top-ranked Boston College football team at Fenway Park in 1942. The Orange Bowl-bound Eagles were prepping to compete for a national championship just a few weeks later, and were looking to close out their perfect regular season against the Crusaders.

At Holy Cross, scholar-athletes represent a strong tradition of excellence, and nowhere is this more evident than in the College’s athletic legacy families, where dual passions for athletics and alma mater often reach back generations. In a student body where approximately 25 percent of the campus population participates in varsity athletics, it is not uncommon to meet student-athletes whose parents or grandparents have donned the Crusader uniform before them.