Category: Spring 2012 Features
Transforming Students into Leaders
Poise. Professionalism. Team-building skills. Resourcefulness. Students in BU’s Summer Leadership Program gain far more than a paycheck.
By Corinne Steinbrenner (COM’06)
Photo courtesy of BU Orientation
Recent BU graduate Adanta Ahanonu is preparing for a big presentation to her company’s senior leadership. She’s only 24, and she’s only been with the Hanover Insurance Group for a year and a half, but she’s not sweating it. Public speaking is a skill she mastered years ago.
In 2008, during her sophomore year, Ahanonu (CGS’08, SMG’10) was one of about 90 BU students selected for the University’s Summer Leadership Program. Each year, students interview for these coveted positions in January, are notified of their acceptance in March, and in April begin the rigorous training that will prepare them to lead BU’s summer Orientation and community service programs. As coordinators for the First-Year Student Outreach Project (FYSOP) or advisors for BU Orientation, these students accept the responsibility of donning BU’s official red polo shirts and introducing incoming freshmen and their families to the University community.
Orientation Director Shiney James (CAS’99) organizes the 100-plus hours of training that helps these students become experts on Boston University and masters of public speaking, conflict resolution, etiquette, organization, and teamwork. “We take a lot of pride in working with our students and helping them grow as individuals—not just to do this job, but to go out and be successful afterwards,” James says.
Student advisors are introduced at freshman Orientation. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky
Case in point: Ahanonu vividly remembers learning a lesson in professionalism in her early weeks as an Orientation student advisor. “There was a weekend when I had to be in Philadelphia for a family function,” she recalls. “I emailed Shiney a day or two before saying, ‘Hi Shiney. Just wanted to let you know that I can’t make training. Thanks for understanding.’ I thought that was a fine letter at the time, but Shiney wrote back a long email explaining why my email was out of line, what the best way to request that time off would have been, and how far ahead of time I should have written the email.” The response initially hurt Ahanonu’s feelings, but then James explained that she wasn’t simply being critical, rather, that she wanted Ahanonu to understand that her future success would depend on being able to communicate professionally with her employers. “And that’s something I’ve taken into my career—how to effectively and appropriately communicate with others,” Ahanonu says.
Training in teamwork and communication aren’t the only perks of a Summer Leadership Program position. Students are paid an hourly wage and are given free campus housing for the summer—a valuable commodity. They attend workshops in creating résumés and cover letters, study group dynamics, learn every inch of BU’s campus, and meet BU staff members who can support them throughout their college careers. “I always tell our students to find a mentor over the summer,” says James. “They get to meet academic folks, student-life staff—a whole array of different professionals on campus who are not faculty who can mentor them in a way that’s different and enriching.”
Incoming freshmen pose for a photo with their student advisor. Photo courtesy of BU Orientation
Veronica Faller (ENG’13), who served as an Orientation student advisor last year, says the program helped her become more self-aware. “I learned a lot of things about myself—the way that I work with other people, the way that I convey information. So it was a summer of self-discovery, in addition to all the things I learned about BU.”
“It’s a really fun summer,” Faller adds. “You get to meet a lot of people—many of whom are freshmen, and their younger siblings, who quickly come to idolize you.”
While Summer Leadership Program positions literally involve hours of fun and games, any student expecting a laid-back summer is in for a surprise. “It’s not just a summer job,” warns Mac Wrixon (CAS’12), who worked as an Orientation student advisor the summer after his sophomore year and as a coordinator of programs the next year. “It’s a busy summer with long weeks. It’s definitely more work than your typical part-time job at Dairy Queen.”
Sheena Chatterjee (CAS’15) dons her yellow FYSOP t-shirt and joins other FYSOP students to paint a mural at a local school. Photo by Cydney Scott
The Community Service Center and BU Orientation each employ just a handful of professional staff, so most of the herculean task of planning, organizing, and executing BU’s summer programs is entrusted to students in the Summer Leadership Program. “The level of responsibility you have is a level you’ve never had before,” says former FYSOP coordinator Sam Smith (COM’13, SMG’13). “We had to do things like call different nonprofit organizations all over the Boston area and try to coordinate service with them. My co-coordinator and I contacted 60 to 70 different organizations over the course of the summer. It’s really scary at first to realize that you’re in charge of this, and you have to put this program together somewhat from scratch.”
FYSOP students in the Urban Renewal program visit the Dorchester Historical Society. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky
But each year, students find a way to accomplish their assigned tasks, and they walk away with skills and confidence that few other summer jobs could have provided. “I feel that a lot of times students focus on getting outside opportunities, things like internships,” Smith says, “and they really miss out on the opportunities on campus, even though they offer great professional development and levels of responsibility that you won’t get in any internship.” Besides, he adds, “after you’re done with college, you’re never going to have the opportunity to spend the summer working for a huge program that your college offers, whereas you have your whole life to go get a job in the business environment.”
For some students, the Summer Leadership Program offers both full immersion in campus life and excellent exposure to their future field of work. “We learned so much about the inner workings of higher education that had I had an interest in pursuing higher ed as a career, it definitely would have been a possibility,” says former FYSOP coordinator Zhandra Ferreira-Cesar (CAS’10, SPH’12). Instead, working in the Community Service Center inspired Ferreira-Cesar to pursue a master’s degree and a career in public health. “I fell in love with community service during high school, but it wasn’t until FYSOP that I realized that I could lead a volunteer project,” she says. Now a public health researcher, Ferreira-Cesar is pairing the knowledge she gained in her graduate classes with the skills she developed in the Summer Leadership Program to confidently and articulately advocate for improvements in public health.
That’s the ultimate goal of these campus positions—to provide professional training to complement students’ classroom preparation. In fact, says Lindsey Kotowicz (SED’07), director of the Community Service Center, the Summer Leadership Program provides such meaningful experiences that she’s careful not to hire the same students multiple times. “I don’t want any students in here who think they have it all figured out and aren’t going to grow from the experience,” she says. Bringing in new student leaders each summer infuses the program with fresh energy, she says, and allows a new group of students to step up to the challenge. ■
Class Gift Campaign 2012
If the Class of 2012 reaches its goal of 2,012 donors, one lucky student will throw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game.
By Chris Kramer (CAS’11, GRS’11)
Last year, Dean of Students Kenn Elmore offered to don a tuxedo and jump into the Charles River if the Class of 2011 met its Class Gift fundraising goal. They met the goal, and Elmore jumped.
This year, the University is offering a chance to throw out the first pitch at the May 15 home game of the Boston Red Sox to students who donate. If the Class of 2012 meets its goal of 2,012 donors, a student donor will be selected randomly during Senior Breakfast for the honor of stepping to the Fenway Park pitcher’s mound, accompanied by BU’s mascot, Rhett.
What is the Class Gift Campaign? Chris Kramer (CAS’11, GRS’11), cochair of the 2011 Class Gift Committee, shares his thoughts:
“Each year, members of BU’s graduating class join together in support of our alma mater by donating to the Class Gift Campaign. The many resources, experiences, and opportunities that shaped our time at Boston University were all made possible by the generosity of those who came before us; the Class Gift is our chance to ensure that those experiences continue to be available to new students for years to come. Participating in the Class Gift Campaign is the first step toward being an active member of the BU alumni community.
Last year, the Boston University Class of 2011 made history with big changes in the Class Gift Campaign, which resulted in record-shattering success in participation and fundraising, and for which I had the honor of serving as a cochair with my fellow senior, Taylor Riley (SHA’11, SMG’11). I decided to help with the campaign because I wanted to give back to the University that had done so much for me—because I love BU. I saw the Class Gift as an opportunity to make a significant and lasting impact on our University, in spite of the fact that I could not make a large monetary donation.
Support for our campaign came from across campus: students, faculty, staff, administration, and alumni (that’s right, alumni are still an integral part of our campus community) all came together to realize our collective goal. Dean of Students Kenn Elmore even jumped into the Charles River to show his support of our campaign.
Photo by Kalman Zabarsky
Class Gift participants can designate gifts to an individual school or college, athletics, scholarships, student life (which includes student organizations), or the area of greatest need. Students also have the opportunity to honor a mentor when they give to the Class Gift Campaign. Like many fellow seniors, I donated $20.11 in honor of my class year. However, I chose not to designate a specific recipient for my donation. My BU experience was influenced by so many different departments and organizations that I decided to make my gift in honor of the University.
Participation shows others how much we care about our University, and it’s also a major factor in the U.S. News & World Report ranking system. Donating to BU is an investment in our future as alumni; when BU rises in the rankings, all of our degrees become more valuable. With that in mind, students are told to give more when they ‘hit it big,’ and to give what they can for now.
The many amazing experiences I had at BU would not have been possible without alumni support. As a student, I worked at BU Financial Assistance, and I am well aware of the high price of tuition and the struggles that many students go through to afford the BU experience and all it has to offer. I was fortunate enough to feel the direct impact of alumni giving by way of academic scholarships that I was awarded, endowed by my fellow BU alumni.
Nearly one year out, I have not quite ‘hit it big’ yet, but I have only just begun my career. I have been working for the Boston Red Sox on a part-time basis, and I recently started a great full-time job with Simon-Kucher & Partners, a consulting firm in Cambridge. Though I am moving on to the next stages in my life, I continue to stay connected to BU, and I continue to support the University with regular donations. I also remain active on campus by supporting the 2012 Class Gift Campaign in an advisory role and participating in various alumni events. Everything I have experienced since graduation was made possible by my time at BU, so I stay involved as a way of saying thanks.
We all know that BU can compete with the top schools of the world. The Huffington Post and Unigo rank BU as the best place to go to college; those of us lucky enough to attend BU know they are right.” ■
Several members of the Class of 2012 have already taken Chris’s advice and share theirs as well:
Parents of Seniors: Make a Class Gift in honor of your graduate!
Terrier Triumphs
BU’s sports teams are building a legacy of victory.
By Patrick L. Kennedy (COM’04)
Photo of Women's Beanpot by Brooks Canaday
We all know there’s more to college than studying. BU takes pride not only in its students’ academic accomplishments but also in their athletic feats. In 2011, Boston University earned its record-breaking 11th Stuart P. Haskell, Jr., Commissioner’s Cup, which is awarded to the best all-around athletic department in the NCAA America East conference. This was the ninth time in 10 years BU was so honored.
The University has captured no less than 43 conference championships in the past seven years, a span of time that has seen growing numbers of fans at Agganis Arena, Walter Brown Arena, and Nickerson Field. Attendance tripled last year alone.
The Terriers earn high marks off the field as well, with student-athletes across all sports keeping a grade-point average over 3.0 and combining for 4,500 hours of community service and outreach. “Our three pillars are athletics, academics, and community,” says Associate Athletic Director for Marketing Communications Jenifer Barsell. “We place a lot of weight on all three.”
What follow are just a handful of the highlights from the field, court, pool, ice, and mat over the past few years.
Momentous Momentum: Women’s Ice Hockey
Jill Cardella (right) of BU leaps past Harvard's Jillian Dempsey during the first period of the semifinal round match of 2012 Women’s Beanpot between BU and Harvard. Photo by Brooks Canaday
Established as an NCAA Division I team in 2005, the women’s ice hockey Terriers have “come a long way in a short amount of time,” says Barsell. In their fourth year, they went 18–11–7 and made it to the Hockey East semifinals. In their fifth, BU won the Hockey East title and went on to the NCAA tournament, falling to the nation’s best team, Mercyhurst, in the quarterfinals.
Last season, the team’s sixth, the Terriers again faced Mercyhurst in the NCAA quarterfinals, only this time they beat them 4–2 and advanced to the Frozen Four. With a 4–1 win over Cornell, BU made it into the national championship game, falling to that year’s No. 1-ranked team, Wisconsin.
This past March, the 23–14–1 Terriers won the 2012 Women’s Hockey East championship in a double-overtime win against Providence, advancing yet again to the national tournament, then shattered the program record for longest game in a triple overtime loss to rival Cornell. The score, after nearly 120 minutes of hockey, was 8–7.
The women’s coach is a long-familiar face to many BU hockey fans: Brian Durocher (SED’78) was a goaltender on the 1978 NCAA national champion men’s squad. He finished that season with a 14–2 record and an .875 winning percentage, the sixth best in University history. Later, Durocher was an associate head coach under Jack Parker.
“He’s done an incredible job with those student-athletes, taking that program to a championship level,” says Barsell. “It’s a huge testament to what he’s been able to do with respect to recruiting as well.”
Indeed, the women’s team includes Olympic gold medalists and world champions. Defender Catherine Ward (GSM’11) and forward Marie-Philip Poulin-Nadeau (CAS’14) played on the Canadian national team that, yes, beat USA in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver (Poulin-Nadeau scored both goals). Forward Jenn Wakefield (CAS’12) has also played for the Canadian nationals and was an Olympic alternate. In the offseason, she and defender Tara Watchorn (SAR’12) joined Ward in helping their country’s team win the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women’s Championship.
“We have been on the upswing the last couple years in attendance at women’s hockey, which is great,” says Barsell.
Hoop Dreams: Men’s Basketball
The BU men's basketball team plays the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Photo by Chris Radcliffe
After almost a decade out of national contention, BU’s b-ball men are now back in the spotlight. Last year, the team hosted Agganis Arena’s first America East title game and won it—their 11th win in a row—after rallying from a 15-point deficit in the second half. “It was actually during spring break, and we still packed Agganis Arena for that game,” says Barsell. “And after we won, the fans stormed the court. It was just an electric atmosphere.”
During 2011’s March Madness, BU fell to powerhouse Kansas, a school that went 37–3 for the season and entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Terriers didn’t go down without a fight: at one point late in the game, Kansas only led by six points.
Four of last year’s five starters returned this season—including first-team all-conference honoree Darryl Partin (MET’12) and all-rookie team members D. J. Irving (CGS’12, BU’14) and Dom Morris (CGS’12, BU’14)—and played hard under new coach Joe Jones, former head coach at Columbia University and associate head coach at Boston College.
“He’s a great guy, and he’s done a great job as coach, really gelling with the team,” says Barsell. “They’re on board with him and his philosophy.”
The hoops Terriers made it to the America East tournament again in March 2012, falling to the No. 6 seed, Hartford. Partin, who has scored more than 1,000 points over his junior and senior seasons, was named the America East Player of the Year.
Perennial Pitch Players: Women’s Soccer
Lina Cords (CAS’12) (left) and Jessica Luscinski (SAR’12) battle for the ball during women’s soccer practice. Photo by Cydney Scott
The BU women’s soccer team has made an NCAA tournament appearance nearly every year since 2000, and the fall 2011 season was one of the best yet. The Terriers shut out 14 opponents and went 19–3–1 (.848 winning percentage), a program record, on the way to capturing their fifth straight America East title—a conference record. The women defeated Ivy League champion Harvard to advance to the second round of the NCAA tourney for their third time. There, top-seeded Wake Forest finally ended BU’s 14-game winning streak.
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) ranked BU the No. 17 team in the country and honored five Terriers with All-Region accolades: Lina Cords (CAS’12), Brittany Heist (CGS’09, CAS’11, SED’12), and Jessica Luscinski (SAR’12) were named to the NSCAA’s First Team; and Katherine Donnelly (COM’12) and Kylie Strom (SMG’14) made the Second Team. Heist was also named the 2011 America East Midfielder of the Year.
Hall of Fame: Men’s Wrestling
BU battles Princeton during a wrestling meet at Case Gym on February 3, 2012. Photo by Cydney Scott
BU has sent grapplers to the national wresting tournament nearly every year of this millennium. And from 1973 to 2000, BU made an appearance every single year except 1978 (disco injuries?). For most of this time (since 1980), the team has benefited from the coaching of Carl Adams, an inductee in the Massachusetts Wrestling Hall of Fame. Adams has written three books on wrestling, and he designed the ADAM Wrestling Takedown Machine and other training equipment used in high schools and colleges across the country.
Last season, cocaptains John Hall (CAS’12), Fred Santaite (CGS’10, CAS’12), and Hunter Meys (SED’12) qualified for the NCAA tournament, where they combined for three victories. All three returned this year, with Hall ranked 15th in the nation in the 197-pound class; Santaite 11th in the 133-pound class; and Meys 5th in the 174-pound class.
The team’s success continued in 2012 as Kyle Czarnecki (SMG’13) and Kevin Innis (CGS’12, BU’14) made their debuts at the NCAA tournament in March. Innis advanced to the second day. He ended his season with a 22–7 record, while Czarnecki led his team in wins with a 23–11 record.
Making a Splash: Women’s and Men’s Swimming and Diving
The Boston University swimming and diving teams practice at the Fitness & Recreation Center. Photo by Vernon Doucette
BU ruled the indoor waves this season. The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams captured their first joint America East team title since 1994. It was the women’s third America East title in four years. The men defeated University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the conference’s reigning champions for the past eight years. Fittingly, Boston University hosted the championship meet in February at its state-of-the-art Fitness & Recreation Center, which opened in 2005.
Connor Stuewe (ENG’15) earned the Most Outstanding Rookie award after placing fourth in the 200-yard backstroke and second in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke. Amanda Schmitz (SAR’12) set a meet record by swimming the 200-yard butterfly in 1:59.01. Three Terriers—Melinda Matyas (CAS’13), Chelsea Glincman (COM’14), and Jared Scheck (CAS’14)—went on to compete in the NCAA Zone “A” Diving Championships in Buffalo in March.
What’s more, eight Terriers were named to the 2012 America East Swimming and Diving All-Academic Teams: Schmitz, Scheck, Kristen Connors (CFA’12), Kara Zebrowski (CAS’13), Katie Radin (COM’13), Kendra Cheng (SAR’14), James Sundquist (CAS’14), and Wesley Pate (ENG’14).
Sporting on the Court: Women’s Tennis
Francine Whu (CAS’10) helped BU clinch the America East Championships in doubles in 2009. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky
Last season, Leonie-Charlotte Athanasiadis (CAS’14) scored the final point in a tight contest with No. 1 Binghamton to capture BU’s 18th straight America East title. (The women’s tennis Terriers have won 22 league titles overall.) From there, BU made its 13th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament, where they fell to California.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association named Stefanie Nunic (SHA’12) the Northeast’s Top Player to Watch and awarded Vanessa Steiner (SED’11) the Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship. The Leary Award goes to a woman who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, enhances her team’s performance, and exemplifies the spirit of college tennis. Steiner, a first-team All-America East honoree as a freshman, suffered multiple injuries that derailed her collegiate tennis career, but battled back to return for her senior season and earn second-team all-league honors in doubles along with partner Monika Mical (CAS’12). The duo posted a 12–5 record.
The tennis Terriers’ long streak of America East titles finally came to an end this year. Stony Brook beat BU by a single point in a closely contested 4–3 semifinal defeat in April. ■
Meet Provost Jean Morrison
BU’s chief academic officer keeps a close eye on teaching and research standards.
By Andrew Thurston
Photo by Vernon Doucette
When they were in day care, you made surprise visits. In high school, you got parent-teacher nights. With your son or daughter away at college, you might feel a little out of the loop when it comes to keeping tabs on the quality of your child’s education. You needn’t worry. Jean Morrison has it covered.
Provost Morrison’s office is, as she frankly puts it, “ultimately responsible for the quality of academic programs Boston University offers.” The Office of the Provost helps run everything from study abroad opportunities to audits of academic programs; you can think of it as your surprise visit and parent-teacher night rolled into one.
Morrison, who joined BU in January 2011 after a distinguished career as a teacher and administrator at the University of Southern California, spoke to Parent about how she’s making sure your children get the best education available.
Parent: When you speak with parents, what questions do they usually ask you?
Jean Morrison: The one that’s commonly asked these days is about student debt: are our students going to be able to absorb the debt they incur by completing a BU undergraduate education? We work very hard as a university to ensure that the total debt our students take is not an impossible burden; I think we do very well on this point. If you take our Class of 2011 as an example, a relatively small 57 percent of those students took out loans to finance their degrees. The students who’ve chosen to borrow in the federal loan program, we have been proud to see, have had a default rate of less than 1 percent. We are very mindful that this is a difficult time for families, and so the University devotes considerable time and resources to help make these costs more manageable. This year alone, undergraduates are receiving $189 million in BU scholarships.
The other thing parents are concerned about is the quality of the education and experience that students receive. We have a large number of very different kinds of offerings and, with programs as diverse as engineering, theology, and communications, there’s really an extraordinary breadth of opportunities for students at BU.
Many parents may also be concerned about how well a BU education prepares students for today’s difficult work environment.
Students go on from Boston University to a whole range of different next steps—some go right into the workforce in a variety of different careers and jobs; many go on to graduate school. I think students who’ve attended BU tend to have a lot of real-world experience: they’ve lived in Boston and navigated life in the city, and many have had international experience as part of study abroad programs. Finally, a lot of our students have internships while they’re undergraduates and that’s critical. Oftentimes the internships lead directly to post-baccalaureate jobs; if they don’t, the experience is almost always extremely helpful to students when they go to look for a job.
Jean Morrison speaks about her new role soon after being selected as BU’s provost. Video by Devin Hahn and Joseph Chan
What checks do you have in place to make sure BU continues to offer the best education possible?
One of the initiatives I’ve launched is the academic program review. This is an ongoing effort to assess the quality of all of our academic programs. I think that will pay real dividends as far as parents are concerned because it will help us identify the strengths—and the weaknesses—in our academic program and give us the opportunity to fix things that need to be fixed and grow some of our strengths.
What other initiatives have you introduced since joining the University?
One that’s in the planning stage right now is a University-wide arts initiative to ensure all of our undergraduates have a substantive experience or interaction with the arts. I think one aspect of being a well-rounded and well-educated citizen is having a real appreciation for the arts, and the University-wide arts initiative will provide that kind of exposure to our students and also enhance the recognition of our outstanding arts programs and those of our city. We hope to launch that effort in the next academic year.
What has excited you most about BU?
The University is so intimately intertwined in the city of Boston, and we have really extraordinary faculty doing exciting things. The intellectual work that characterizes the University is exceptional, and I think we’re on a really important trajectory to increasingly being recognized as a very strong, high-quality research university. It’s exciting to be involved in continuing efforts to improve the quality and the stature of BU because there’s such a strong framework in terms of the quality of the faculty and the depth of the research and scholarship that’s already going on.
There are many opportunities for undergraduates at BU to be involved in some of that research. How important—and unusual—is that?
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) is one of our absolute gems; it’s a program that’s funded by the Office of the Provost and it provides research opportunities for our undergraduates in a range of disciplines, from science and engineering to political science and history. One of the reasons to choose a large research university over a liberal arts college is the chance to be involved with faculty who are creating new knowledge through research and scholarship, so the opportunities students have when they participate in UROP are comparable to the experiences that any graduate student would have in an advanced doctoral program. They work closely with our very best faculty and are involved in state-of-the-art research and scholarship. Students who had a good undergraduate research experience often go on to be researchers and scholars themselves, so it’s a critical opportunity for an undergraduate student to see if these kinds of intellectual experiences and activities around discovery of new knowledge are what they want to pursue. ■
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