Photo Blog

Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld (above) recently spoke to political science students in Rehm Library as part a class titled “State and Local Politics,” taught by David Forsberg (below, left), adjunct professor of political science. Weld served as the state’s 68th governor from 1991-97.

Over the years, hundreds if not thousands of Worcester-area children have been paired with Holy Cross students through Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The “Bigs” have fun adventures and get togethers with their “Littles” each week, and in the spring, they let loose at the annual Field Day in (where else?) the Fieldhouse.

On Field Day, the “Littles,” including Valentina, (above) shown here with her Big Sister, volleyball player Dana Weston ’15 from Canton, Mass., get to shoot hoops and play other games, hang out, and make crafts…plus lunch and ice cream!

Lacrosse player Jamie Ward ’15 of Glen Rock, N.J., gives his “Little,” Jayden a lift (above).

(Above) Gary Acquah ’14, a defensive lineman for Crusader football from The Bronx, N.Y., says he and his “Little,” Fernando, both enjoyed going to see the Celtics play over the winter.  Fernando’s goal? “He wants to play basketball one day for Holy Cross,” Acquah says.

“Little” Damien (above) was wicked excited about getting the cones set up for a relay game with his “Big,” lacrosse player Tommy Shannon’16 of Andover, Mass.

The 174-acre Holy Cross campus (which is a registered aboretum) is once again blooming with spring colors, and local watercolor artist Nick Connors finds inspiration in the mix of classical and modern architectural styles that give the College its award-winning look. The son of John Connors ’56, Nick says O’Kane is his absolute favorite location to paint.

O’Kane Hall by Nick Connors. (Anyone interested in purchasing Nick’s work can contact him at nick.connors@townisp.com)

Nick (left) with his father, John Connors ’56, at a local art show in March.

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel by Nick Connors (nick.connors@townisp.com)

Created and organized by Holy Cross student Jeff Reppucci ’14 (below, right), Working for Worcester is a citywide project that mobilized hundreds of student volunteers from across Worcester, as well as folks from sponsoring companies, including Unum and The Hanover Insurance Company. After registration and speeches at the morning kickoff event at the Hart Center, groups dispersed to about a dozen work sites to construct new and renovate outdated family spaces, play areas, libraries and more. With tens of thousands of dollars donated, along with supplies and skilled labor, Working for Worcester garnered regional media attention.

At the kick-off event at the Hart Center, College President Rev. Philip Boroughs, S.J., (above left) spoke to the gathered crowd. (Photo by Dan Vaillancourt)

Volunteers posed for a group shot at one of the work sites, the Goddard School of Science and Technology, which serves 586 students from Kindergarten to 6th grade. (Photo by Patrick O’Connor)

One of the Goddard projects was prepping community garden boxes with fresh soil. (Photo by Patrick O’Connor)

At the Elm Park Community School, volunteers painted murals and gave the library and cafeteria a lift. They also installed playground equipment. (Photo by Patrick O’Connor)

Artists like this Crusader seemed to be having a blast at their work site. (Photo by Patrick O’Connor)

At the Worcester Youth Center, the girls’ dance team and a variety of after-school dance programs used a large empty space with a cement floor as their “dance studio.” The cement floor, in particular, was very limiting and possibly harmful to dancers’ knees. Working for Worcester volunteers prepped the space to receive a new, professional-quality hardwood dance studio floor AND a surround-sound corner-mounted speaker system. Walls got fresh paint, mirrors were hung around the perimeter, and a ballet stretching bar was installed on the west side of the room. (Photo by Patrick O’Connor)

The NROTC battalion got its hands dirty at South High School, where a lot of debris and brush around the grounds needed to be cleared to make way for upgraded outdoor play spaces and new plantings. (Photo by Matthew Atanian)

Over at The Belmont Street School, volunteers chalked out and painted basketball, hopscotch and four-square courts to make better use of a paved outdoor area. (Photo by Dan Vaillancourt)

As a warm spring day turned into a misty evening on April 19, Asian Students in Action (A.S.I.A.) presented ExplorAsian 2013. The popular event featured music and dance performances, student testimonials and an impressive buffet of Asian cuisine. All proceeds from ticket sales were donated to Kiva Microfinds, a nonprofit group connects thousands of people to borrowers and partner institutions around the world, working together to create opportunity and alleviate poverty with loans as small as $25. (Photo by Stephen Albano)

Student organizers for the evening event included

Left to right, front row: Stella Wan ’14 (in beige dress), Tery Vinh ’15, Ingrid Rivera ’13, Kim Khuu ’13 and Kharisha Laroco ’15 (holding umbrella)

Left to right, back row: Amy Cao ’15, Andrew Cavicchi ’14, Chapin Evans ’14 and Ian Jones ’15 (Photo by Stephen Albano)

Tery Vinh ’15 and Amy Cao ’15 dressed as empresses from the Tang Dynasty. (Photo courtesy Amy Cao ’15)

On Wed., April 17, the entire campus community was invited to kick off spring with the annual Wellness Fair. About 44 vendors from on and off campus offered samples and information. There were spinal screenings, foot assessments and vision screenings, as well as screenings for BMI, skin and eating disorders. Free massage and Reiki treatments were quite popular, as were goodies like moist chocolate zucchini cake from the bakers at Holy Cross Dining. Students and employees took home free pansy plants and Holy Cross string backpacks. There was a free raffle as well…prizes included 4 free front row box tickets to Disney on Ice, gift baskets, gift certificates, Kettlebells, stability balls, pull-up bars and a decorated hula hoop! (All photos by John Buckingham)

Evan Morgan ’13 of Cleveland, Ohio, took advantage of the expertise offered by South County Physical Therapy in Auburn, Mass. Physical therapist Melissa Graves was helping visitors by giving analyses of their feet and footwear. Morgan learned he needs sneakers with more arch support.

Matt Elliott, Senior Staff Psychologist in the Counseling Center, is also the Coordinator of Relationship Peer Education (RPE) Program at Holy Cross. “Most students come to see us with stress and anxiety issues related to relationships and transitions in their lives,” he explains. Those transitions may include moving from freshman year to sophomore year, going on a study abroad program or entering senior year with worries about what comes next.

Students from HEAL (Healthy Eating and Lifestyle) shared information about becoming a HEAL peer educator AND about a free clinic given by Brittany Kiel, the assistant strength and conditioning coach. The clinic will teach students how to  improve their exercise experience. From left: Joseph Vara ’15 of Blacklick, Ohio; Victoria Piscatelli ’15 of Middlefield, Conn.; and Meghan Donnelly ’15 of Trumbull, Conn. “Our goal today is to get more students involved in HEAL,” Piscatelli said.

Several fair-goers showed off their fitness in the friendly 4-minute plank competition.