'HC student interviews provide secrets to success'

Telegram & Gazette

In a column for the “Business Matters” section in the Telegram & Gazette, Aaron Nicodemus writes about eight seniors at the College of Holy Cross who  interviewed local business and community leaders four years ago as freshmen, then recently re-interviewed them as college seniors. “The students learned bits of wisdom and advice that, hopefully, will help them build successful careers. They also learned about some incredible life stories and accomplishments of ordinary people living and working here in Worcester,” he wrote.

Michelle Sterk Barrett,  director of the Donelan Office of Community Based Learning at Holy Cross, told the Telegram & Gazette, "In this particular class, the students asked their first-year Montserrat professors, Amy Wolfson and Patricia Bizzell, if they could reconvene again as seniors," she said "They were seeking the opportunity to collectively reflect upon their experience of attending a rigorous, Jesuit, liberal arts college and what it taught them about leadership, diversity and social change. ... In particular, the assignment required that they learn more about the path this person followed to success, the qualities he/she sees in an effective leader, and the extent to which she/he sees gender and diversity playing into leadership functions."

Interviews ranged from Tim Garvin, the president and CEO of United Way of Central Massachusetts, to Ann Lisi, CEO of The Greater Worcester Community Foundation.

Students in the class include Kelly Burke, Lauren Chin, Henry Callegary, David Odell, Carmen Ana Alvarez, Jonathan Casseus, Stephanie Okpoebo, and Jeffrey Reppucci.

This "Holy Cross in the News" item by Cristal Steuer.