Lasting impression
On a busy day, the Office of Undergraduate Admission waiting room is abuzz with energy as hundreds of high school students and their families cycle through for tours and information sessions, their conversations reverberating through Devlin Hall. Sitting at the center of it all is Senior Receptionist Linda Reams, whose warm smile has been a balm to nervous teenagers for nearly half a century. For many new visitors, she is the first face they associate with the University.
Reams is set to retire this summer, just a few months shy of what would be a milestone 50th anniversary at Boston College. On paper, she has held the same position since she was hired in 1976, but a lot changes in 49 years: Reams has worked in three different buildings on campus, beginning with Gasson Hall (where pigeons were constantly getting into the tower storage room), and reported to four different directors. When she started, applications and decision letters were hand typed and delivered through the mail. She and the rest of the staff referred to the week before decisions went out as “Paper Mountain Week” because of the stacks of materials covering their office floor.
“There were nights we were here until 12 or one o’clock in the morning, just sorting and checking everything,” she recalled. “If somebody was missing a teacher recommendation, you’d check it off; nothing was computerized.”
At that time, the admission office also used paper bulletins to communicate with prospective students, and one morning, Reams got word that the company storing the leaflets had declared bankruptcy and any boxes not retrieved within the hour would be considered abandoned property. She phoned her colleagues in facilities, who rounded up all the trucks they could find, and she and her team drove with them to the warehouse, where they scooped up boxes at breakneck speed before the door was padlocked behind them.
“Linda's unwavering dedication and exceptional service as our receptionist, along with her ability to seamlessly partner with other departments, has been the backbone of our busy office. We are truly grateful for her hard work and commitment.”
Reams grew up in Dorchester and attended a Catholic high school but in 1990 she converted to Islam (her husband is a practicing Muslim), and a few years later, she decided to start wearing a hijab. As the face of the office, she worried that the change wouldn't represent the University's Catholic identity, so she approached University President William P. Leahy, S.J., as he was leaving a meeting.
“I said, 'This is my job and I would like to stay, but if I can't, I will quietly resign,'" she recalled. “And he just looked at me and said, ‘Who better to show diversity than you at the front desk?’ and that was that.”
Reams arrives at work every morning shortly after 8 a.m., giving herself time to ready the waiting area and meeting rooms and go over the day’s schedule before the first crowd of visitors arrives. From then on, she greets a steady stream of students and parents, doing her best to alleviate any stress or anxiety they may be feeling. At this point in her career, she can spot nerves the moment someone walks through the door.
“A lot of times they’re scared so I tell them, ‘You're going to end up where you're supposed to be and any school that gets you is going to be lucky to get you,” she said. “There's only one you.”
First impressions are important, and having someone like Reams behind the desk for so long has helped generations of BC students feel comfortable on the Heights, said Dean for Undergraduate Admission Grant Gosselin.
“She’s always extending a warm hello, a welcoming presence, and a sense of calm during what can be a stressful admission process,” he said. “Boston College has been blessed to have Linda in this critical role.”
Reams with members of the Student Admission Program.
Since 1976, Reams has also acted as a mentor to current BC student ambassadors who volunteer in her office through the Student Admission Program. Over the years, she’s developed close relationships with hundreds of students, helping them navigate roommate conflicts and family losses, teaching them how to cook a turkey, and even picking them up at the airport after cancelled flights home. In her many years at BC, she’s only missed one Commencement, and she’s already promised one current student she’ll return for his ceremony in 2027.
“Linda treats all of our visitors with her signature attentive hospitality, but when I see her with BC students, she treats them with the caring heart of a family member, and the students feel the same way about her,” said Associate Director of Undergraduate Admission Chris O'Brien. “She believes in BC, in her colleagues, and in our mission to form these students into great adults.”
For her next chapter, Reams is looking forward to spending time with her husband and children, improving her garden, and relaxing on the beach near her home. She may finally have time to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca with her son, something she’s been hoping to do for years. Being away from the students she’s come to love will be the most challenging adjustment, she said, but Reams feels nothing but pride for her career spent on the Heights.
“If I’ve made people comfortable and made them feel as though this is a home for their kids, that's my biggest accomplishment,” she said. “I can meet 250 people three times a day here, but if just once my kindness has meant something to somebody, then I've done my job.”