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Next year, Michael Izzo ’14 will be headed to medical school. It’s a career path that makes sense, one he always said he wanted from an early age, watching his parents, a physician and ICU nurse.
But the arrival at his true vocation was more complex than it may appear. A student-athlete on the BC crew team, Izzo sustained a serious back injury that sidelined him in his junior year.
Izzo admits to being thrust out of his comfort zone. He wanted to be involved as a leader, as he would have on his crew team, but outside of sports.
“I really didn’t do much self-reflection prior to my junior year. Just the practice of taking a few minutes each day helped me come to a greater understanding of who I wanted to be and who I was not,” said Izzo.
That practice sparked an interesting “second act” for Izzo, he said: He got involved in Big Brothers, became an orientation leader, and was accepted as a senior captain for the Freshman League, a new program which helps first-year students navigate an uncertain path early on in college.
“My co-leader and I meet with eight freshmen once a week to check in, have a conversation about the high points of the week, but also the struggles,” said Izzo.
“I don’t think I truly appreciated what an experience this has been until during one of my interviews for medical school. I had a conversation about what it means to be a doctor. The vocation of a doctor, for me, is a humanistic one. Relationships in the Freshman League helped me become a more caring, compassionate doctor to care for the whole person, not just a physical ailment.”
The Freshman League, open to second-semester freshman men, is one of two programs the Center for Student Formation has introduced over the past three years to help support and mentor freshmen, and enable them to form deeper connections at BC. This year, the center began piloting Ascend, a program for second-semester sophomore women.
At the beginning of the semester, all participants attend a retreat in the Connors Retreat Center in Dover, Mass. Following the introductory weekend, groups hold weekly meetings when students participate in an abbreviated reflection loosely based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius that focuses on prayer, attentiveness and self-awareness. Monthly activities throughout the semester help underclassmen get off campus to experience the city and region.
The concept has been well received, with numbers swelling to include more than 500 applicants this semester, and more than 300 students taking part in the two programs combined.
Center for Student Formation Director Mike Sacco and Assistant Director Tim Mulvey came up with the idea of the Freshman League three years ago to engage male students at BC, who were chronically underrepresented in campus activities. The two admit to being pleasantly surprised by the popularity of the programs: This year, more than 350 freshmen applied to be part of the League.
“These programs also are an important formational experience for our seniors in the role of peer leaders,” said Sacco. “A stratification of classes exists here and this provides a really nice, collaborative and interactive way to confront that issue.”
Mulvey explained that many freshmen are coming from a highly competitive high school experience, where they felt overextended with AP classes, sports and extracurricular activities.
“I was a student at BC who decided to pull back after high school. It led to only experiencing my classes and friends in the dorm. After learning about some programs as an upper classman, I remember thinking there is so much more to Boston College that I missed,” said Mulvey, a 2009 alumnus.
Similarly, Ascend offers sophomore women an opportunity to branch out and meet new friends.
“As seniors, we can relate to what a challenging time sophomore year can be,” said Kayla Parr ’14, a captain in Ascend. “As a woman at BC, I think many of us are seeking deeper connections with other women. It’s hard to express that you’re feeling vulnerable, and Ascend is a safe place to have that conversation.”
“I was surprised to meet other senior women who I had not known prior to this. Sometimes you can forget what a big place BC is,” said Parr.
Center for Student Formation Assistant Director Margaret Nuzzolese, who leads the Ascend Program with graduate assistant Megan Krakowiak, said organizers were surprised this year when 170 sophomores applied to be part of the program.
“I think women responded because so many are looking for authentic conversations outside of their eight-man [residence hall suite],” said Nuzzolese.
“Often, women find themselves competing against each other. We’re hoping Ascend sparks a cultural shift so women here understand that they can be more and relationships can be more than that.
“But we also want this to help BC women understand that they are enough, just as they are. And there are a community of other women to support them to become their best self,” said Nuzzolese.
More information on the Freshman League, Ascend and other Center for Student Formation programming is available on the center’s website. Join the conversation on BC Formation social media: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.