Jenks Class of 2019

Did you know that one in eight families in Newton, Massachusetts, lives on less than $25,000 a year? Did you know some homeless shelters are overwhelmed with cast-off T-shirts and shorts at the height of winter? Or that Boston College’s own Alumni Stadium has limited seating for students with disabilities? These are a few of the problems that the Jenks Class of 2019 tackled as part of their service projects. The students shared their stories at a lively graduation event in April in the Fulton Honors Library.

“It has been a joy to learn from all of you these past three semesters,” said Winston Center Director Monetta Edwards, speaking to a crowd of students dressed in business finery and charged with excitement. “You all have demonstrated that you are people of good character and values. . . . And if you leave today believing that kindness, respect, compassion, and empathy for your fellow human beings are the most important traits needed to be a successful leader, then I am satisfied that the Jenks Leadership Program has accomplished what it has set out to do.”

Student co-director Philip Collins ’19 praised the cohort for the teamwork and growth they showed as they overcame challenges and setbacks in their projects. “After all, Sandy Jenks’s original vision for this program revolved around the idea of learning for leadership, and leadership for service,” said Collins. “And throughout the last three semesters, you’ve all learned skills that will help us become better leaders, regardless of where our lives take us.”

Then each group of students took a turn discussing their service project, beginning with BC Lax Has Your Back: Forming a Service Partnership with Harlem Lacrosse Boston. The team consisted of Abbey Evans ’19, MaryElizabeth Mooney ’21, Jeeval Mehta ’21, and Michael Richard ’20. They worked with the Boston chapter of Harlem Lacrosse—a nonprofit that empowers at-risk youth through the putatively privileged sport of lacrosse—to bring local girls to campus for a daylong clinic with the BC women’s club lacrosse team. It was a way to connect the kids with potential mentors and role models in a collegiate setting. “One girl said, so adorably, ‘I love playing lacrosse with my new sister right here,’” Richard recalled.

Brigid McKeon ’19, Czar Alexei Sepe ’21, Drew Cappel ’21, and Kathryn Tatum ’21 called their project Extreme Makeover: St. Francis House Edition. With brutal honesty, the students recounted their Herculean task: to bring organization to St. Francis House’s clothing distribution center, which is perpetually buried under off-season donations. (The wintertime glut of T-shirts—and dearth of coats—mentioned above.) The team bought shelving and implemented an inventory system. Even so, said McKeon, the students realized that with limited manpower, “we’re not going to accomplish what we set out to do.” So they shifted their focus and brought in a steady stream of volunteers from BC. “We set the stage for a physical transformation of the space in the future,” McKeon said, by establishing enduring partnerships between St. Francis House and various BC volunteer organizations.

The next team up was Farming a Sustainable Lifestyle. Justin Sparrow ’20, Leah Hickert ’21, Kit Popolo ’20, and Cameron Cullen ’20 were surprised to learn about the persistence of poverty in supposedly tony Newton. They chose to work with Newton Community Farm (NCF), which educates the community on sustainable agricultural living. The students used their Jenks funds to boost the farm’s composting capabilities and spread awareness by creating an NCF sustainable living guide and an annual partnership with the Newton Free Library. They also connected NCF with a BC-bred startup, Brüzd, which takes surplus, “ugly” but safely edible produce and packages it into healthy meals for low-income families.

Coursework to Careers: A Mentorship Initiative consisted of a senior speaker panel and a mentor matching program, courtesy of Anthony DePalma ’20, Elizabeth McColloch ’21, Claire Greydanus ’21, and Alberto Tirado ’21. Through the initiative, underclassmen get to hear seniors’ insights about transitioning into careers after graduation. “Our biggest success was not only answering the questions underclassmen had,” Tirado recalled of the panel event, “it was that we were able to give them the courage to keep asking these questions.”

Richard Jove ’20 happened to be hobbled by a skiing injury when he was paired with Morgan Gamble ’20, William Trammell ’20, and Victory Adikema ’20. His experience navigating the Heights on crutches helped inform their service project, The Eagle Allies: Partnering with BC Students with Chronic Illness and Physical Disabilities. The team created a support group for students with disabilities—some visible, some not—as a way for them to build community and also organize so as to better advocate for their needs on campus. Going forward, Trammell said, the group can “effect change by putting pressure on the administration to fix that broken brick or upgrade the buttons that open doors into student areas,” or any number of accessibility issues at BC.

When Matt Davis ’20, Annika Li ’19, and Thomas O’Hare ’20 first met to plan a service project, they realized that they’d all played musical instruments growing up, and that the experience had lasting benefits. That led to Creating Music Opportunities at Thomas Edison K–8. The trio orchestrated a collaboration between BC’s music department and the Edison, an elementary and middle school that abuts BC’s Brighton Campus. The result was an eight-module introductory music curriculum to assist student teachers in instructing the Edison kids in singing, rhythm, piano, and guitar.

Following these presentations, Monetta oversaw the Jenks graduation ceremony. After all in the Class of 2019 had received their certificates, Jenks student co-director Natalie Hession spoke, and the emotion in the room was palpable. “You’ve all grown so much, it’s incredible,” said Hession, the words tumbling out in rapid bursts. “You’ve all just presented on a project you thought of and developed on your own, on top of all our coursework here at BC and everything we do and everything we’re involved in.”

At the close, Hession presented the Jenks Class of 2019 Joseph G. Bonito Servant Leadership Award. Named for Joe Bonito ’79 (read more details here), the award honors the student who best exemplifies the Jenks motto of “learning for leadership, and leadership for service.” Hession and Collins chose Claire Greydanus, who will also serve as a student director for the next Jenks cohort.

“She is so determined, she is a pioneer, she is a trailblazer, she is loving, she is kind, she is positive, she’s always there, you know you can count on her,” said Hession. “I’m sad to be leaving here, but I know I am leaving BC in such good hands.”

Patrick L. Kennedy '99 is a writer in Boston.