Jimena Bermejo-Black, visiting lecturer of theatre, center, leads students from modern dance classes to develop a one minute interpretation of displayed art from “Pulse: New Work by Faculty Artists” the exhibit currently on display in the Cantor Art Gallery.
Photo by Tom Rettig
English Professor Helen Whall enjoys lunch with students in Crossroads. In early February, the Holy Cross Student Government Association launched the Bring Your Professor to Lunch program, a new initiative designed to foster students’ relationships with their professors. Working with Dining Services, SGA developed a gift card system which students use to pay for their professors’ meals. “Although the program was just recently instituted, it has already gained popularity among students and professors alike.” according to Megan Izzo ’17, director of communications for the SGA.
Photo by Tom Rettig
Members of the campus community celebrate the official launch of the Catholics & Cultures website during a reception in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom. Catholics & Cultures, an initiative of the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, is a brand new resource that invites visitors to explore the religious life and practice of ordinary Catholics living in countries and cultures around the world. With scholarly articles, interviews, demographic data, slideshows and videos, the site will serve as a growing, changing depiction of the global Church today.
Photo by Tom Rettig
Arts Transcending Borders 2014 artist-in-residence Cristina Pato returned to the College to present a new work-in-progress inspired by the Camino de Santiago and her Galician roots in the Mary Chapel.
Guests arrived early to explore an exhibit of photography from the Camino by Virginia and Michel Raguin in the gathering space outside Mary Chapel. Here, Professor of Art History, Virginia speaks to a guest about the photography.
Since the Middle Ages, pilgrims across Europe have undertaken an arduous journey along several routes, which, like the grooves on the scallop shells carried by the pilgrims, culminate in the town of Santiago de Compostela, the site of St. James’ tomb. Today, El Camino, or The Way of St. James, invites people from all walks of life, who often embark on the journey to mark moments of transition. “Making The Way” brought together the College Choir, theatre department faculty and students, and the Cantor Art Gallery in an exploration of the Camino in words, images and music, from medieval chant recorded in Codex Calixtinus, a 12th century illuminated transcript, to the tender aria “Lúa Descolorida” by Osvaldo Golijov, Loyola Professor of Music at Holy Cross. Drawn from the stories of local pilgrims, moments of hardship, resolve, camaraderie and mirth coalesce into a timeless narrative that invited participants on a spiritual journey along the Camino.
Last semester, members of the Holy Cross community were invited to participate in a photography and video project, titled “Faces of the Hill,” as part of Unity Week. Participants were asked to answer the question, “How do you define yourself?” Hundreds of students, faculty and staff took part. Portraits of members of the Holy Cross Community holding signs that define them now hang in the Hogan Campus Center. It reminds us that working together for social justice, while acknowledging our differences, is a hopeful process.
Holy Cross students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to explore together — through events, conversations, panel discussions, common readings and other academic and cocurricular programs — the reality of what it means to live as a community in solidarity today. Visit the HC in Solidarity site, and join the conversation today.
Photography by Christian Santillo.
Students participate in the Entrepreneurship Deep Dive that is part of the new Ciocca Office of Entrepreneurial Professional Studies Program as an alumni-led workshop to motivate students to clarify their ideas and to make them more viable. Thirteen students and seven companies participated and engaged with each other to: formulate new ideas; create a business plan; establish an elevator pitch; and identify their MVP (Minimum Viable Product). This workshop was preparation for the annual spring Shark Tank event which will be held on March 26. The entire student body can compete in the event or watch in the audience. Contestants have the opportunity to win up to $10,000.
Photos by Amanda Gonzalez ’11
Margot LaFortune Flionis ’89 of Framingham Public Schools attends the Alumni Dinner during the Non-Profit Careers Conference.
The annual Nonprofit Careers Conference hosted by the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning and the Career Planning Center is for students considering careers in nonprofit and community based organizations, activism, public service, and social change. The program is taught by Holy Cross alumni, faculty and staff working within a nonprofit or public service setting.
Late night study sessions and finals preparation are under way as the fall semester comes to a close.
All Holy Cross libraries offer extended hours during finals week. From December 15-19, Dinand will be open 24 hours a day.
Final exams end Dec. 20. Spring semester classes begin on Jan. 20.
Photos by Tom Rettig.
The Office of Study Abroad held a welcome back reception for the class of 2015 and summer 2014 study abroad participants in the Hogan Ballroom. During the event, the winners of the fourth annual study abroad photo contest were announced.
First Place
Caitlin Cantor ’15
Title: “Unveiled Truth”
Location: Cusco, Peru
Program: Lima, Peru (Spring 2014)
Student quote: “After spending a week with weavers in Cusco, I learned about local, traditional techniques, patterns, and clothing, and that the clothes they wore were in fact uniforms to exhibit and preserve these traditions.”
Second Place
Caitlin Cantor ’15
Title: “Unknown Field, Unknown Workers”
Location: Caral, Peru
Program: Lima, Peru (Spring 2014)
Student quote: “The price of eating and feeding could mean waking up at 3 a.m. to find work at an unfamiliar camp with unnamed terms and lack of security and human rights.”
Third Place
Sophia Jin ’15
Title: “Do you want to build a snowman?”
Location: Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China
Program: CET Intensive Language in Beijing
Student quote: “Before coming to China, I watched Disney’s ‘Frozen’ with my sister. On a trip to freezing Harbin, I attended their annual Ice and Snow Festival, and was reminded of the movie and a particular scene where the main character sings the song “Do you want to build a snowman?” Being there amidst all the ice and lights was so magical; I knew I had to snap a photo to capture the memory. It definitely felt like an ice kingdom that Elsa, the ice queen in ‘Frozen,’ could’ve created.”
Honorable mention
Meghan Casey ’15
Title: “This is my home: A Zanzibari seaweed harvester looks out to sea”
Location: Paje, Zanzibar
Program: American Councils African Language Initiative
Student quote: “This photo was taken in the Paje region of the island of Zanzibar — women there are seaweed harvesters, often working from sunrise until sunset to create intricate fields of seaweed within the water. For cultural and religious reasons, they keep their typical clothing on during work, submerging the colorful clothing in the water. The ocean is integral to their daily life, as they use this seaweed for everything from cooking to soap-making to weaving. This photo shows the natural beauty of the seaweed fields as well as of Zanzibari women in daily life.”
Honorable mention
Maura Tracy ’15
Title: “A Coastal Walk”
Location: Connemara, Ireland
Program: University of Léon, Spain
Student quote: “The weekend I spent in the countryside of Ireland in Connemara, I witnessed some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. I took this photo while on a hike and decided to capture the beauty of the Irish coast with a flock of sheep grazing in their field. This photo depicts the natural beauty of this special place.”
Honorable mention
Meghan Casey ’15
Title: “A Road of Progress: An urban dala dala carries boys through town”
Location: Zanzibar, Tanzania
Program: American Councils African Language Initiative
Student quote: “This picture is of boys riding through town on a dala dala, the traditional Tanzanian mix between a truck and a taxi that characterizes urban Zanzibari streets and epitomizes their richly fast pace. Because Zanzibar is very rural, the presence of dala dalas usually means that the area is also more developed — you can see the electricity wires in the photo. Urban Zanzibar is also swarming with youth, as demonstrated by the throng of boys crowded into the vehicle. This scene is typical for urban Zanzibar, from the dala dala to the tropical trees to the makeshift shop on the left. ”
Galician bagpiper, pianist, and composer Cristina Pato has been named visiting artist-in residence at the College of the Holy Cross. A member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road, Pato’s residency is part of the launch of “Arts Transcending Borders” (ATB@HC), a new initiative designed to infuse the fine and performing arts in students’ academic lives and create new opportunities throughout the curriculum and the community by transcending cultural, geographic and disciplinary boundaries. Pato kicked off ATB@HC with a performance, accompanied by her band the “Migrations,” at the College’s Academic Conference yesterday to a packed house in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom.
Photography by Louie Despres.
