Alumni Share Fond Memories on CGS’ 70th Anniversary

Over the last seven decades, the College of General Studies has been renamed, moved from one side of Comm Ave to the other, seen the launch of the hallmark Capstone research project, implemented a gap semester ahead of students’ first year, created summer study programs in London and New England, and grown a pioneering undergraduate research program.

One thing that hasn’t changed: CGS continues to be a place where rewarding careers, lifelong passions, and deep friendships are forged. In honor of the college’s 70th anniversary, which will be celebrated with a reception during Alumni Weekend 2022, Collegian asked alumni to share their favorite memories from their time at CGS. For many, those two years were life-changing.

A Lifelong Love of Learning

With the challenge of the Capstone project, the eye-opening nature of the interdisciplinary curriculum, and the exceptional professors, CGS has fostered a unique learning environment for decades. For Linda Sloane Kay (’81, COM’83), a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board and former vice-chair at Century Bank, coming to CGS represented an intellectual awakening.

“The biggest lesson learned from CGS for me was that it made you love learning. You were pushed to be the best you could,” Kay says. “Coming out of high school, it gave you a bigger picture of the world and it just made you want to make learning become such a vital part of your self-growth and make it important to who you are.”

Laura Antonecchia De Veau (’87, COM’89, Wheelock’95), who now teaches in the master’s programs in higher education at BU and Boston College while also managing a boutique consulting firm, says that CGS changed her view of what is possible in education.

“The demands to think critically, find my voice as a scholar, and be curious were not things that were encouraged in high school, but at CGS they were part of the pedagogy,” she says.

Another Dean’s Advisory Board member, Ed Westerman (’66, COM’68), had planned to go to business school when he was accepted by CGS, known then as the College of Basic Studies. Turns out, he says, his two years at CGS formed the foundation for his successful career in logistics and nonprofit. “The curriculum, professors, and the inclusive atmosphere were just what I needed,” he says. “I learned proper study skills and how to perform tasks in a disciplined way.”

A Sense of Community

For Karin (Wilcox) Cassel Mitterando (’86, MET’91), whose father, Jim Wilcox, is a professor emeritus of humanities, the halls of CGS always felt like home.

“CGS has been a part of my entire life,” she says. “My dad taught at CGS for more than 45 years. Some of my earliest childhood memories take place in the school hallways. In the 1970s, he would invite his students to our home in Quincy for a cookout. He also led student and family hikes of Mount Monadnock. He was a rhetoric, humanities, and finally a philosophy professor, and there was nothing he loved more than teaching. It was special for me to be able to attend CGS, having met so many students and professors during my childhood. A special memory was [the late] Freddie Koss (CAS’50, GRS’66) [a professor emeritus of social sciences] always opening his lectures with a joke. He was a brilliant, warm, wonderful person.”

Many alums cite Karin’s father as a major force in their education. They say other faculty members, such as Michael Mahon, June Grasso, Robert Wexelblatt, Peyton Richter, Peter Busher, and former CGS Dean Linda Wells, cared deeply about helping students to learn and grow.

Personal friendships and relationships have taken root in the halls of CGS. Rhena (Wallace) Clark (’04, COM’06) met her husband, Derrius Clark (’04, COM’06), during freshman orientation in the CGS building.

“What started with a seemingly trivial icebreaker activity blossomed into a life of mutual love, respect, and support that has taken us—and now our twin girls—all over the world,” she says. “CGS gave me a solid foundation and many tools to succeed in my career. I had no idea it would also give me my life partner.”

Phyllis Solomon Starr (’63, Wheelock’65) also met her husband, David Starr (’63, CAS’65), at CGS. They married a week before graduation.

“We often talk about how our professors [at CGS] were the best teachers we had through our years of education and are thankful we had those educational experiences for two years on Boylston Street—and, of course, are happy we found each other there too,” she says.

The CGS Way

CGS is noted for its hallmark experiences that make up a student’s two years, from the summer semester in London to the Capstone project.

“Defending my Capstone project was my best memory at CGS,” says Kyle Mabry (’15, CAS’17, MET’22), whose project was on the topic of education reform. “It was the culmination of two years of hard work distilled into a single project with a team of individuals who shared the same passion for education reform that I had.”

Matthew Lee (’18, Questrom’20) says studying abroad in London during his freshman year was a highlight. Lee fondly remembers arriving in London and heading to Greenwich that afternoon.

“It was a great start to the summer semester, connecting with all my CGS friends on a bright and sunny day,” he says. “Being able to see the city view from the top of the hill made me realize how much I was going to love London. I appreciated every moment there because I learned so much about the city and myself.”

Learning opportunities outside of the classroom have been deeply memorable for others as well. Sunyyah Fenelon-Foristall (’22, CAS’24) participated in CGS’ summer 2021 semester in Boston, when the pandemic made study abroad in London impossible. Though she was initially disappointed, she says, the projects she participated in that summer, which involved creating photo stories about a historical aspect of Boston, ended up being some of her favorite CGS assignments.

“Spending the summer outside by myself biking around the city looking for things to video and photograph was so exhilarating and taught me a lot about the lengths I’d go to make a project that I’d be very proud of,” she says. “I found this to be one of the most fun, self-fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had.”

As the college continues to grow, one thing remains certain: the leadership team will work to make sure that a student’s time at CGS will be transformational.

“It is truly amazing to see how far CGS has progressed with its new programs and initiatives,” says Dean’s Advisory Board member Christopher R. Wade (’97, CAS’99), who owns an entertainment and event services company in Washington, D.C. “CGS makes me ‘Proud to BU.’”