Taking Stock

When spring semester classes begin on Jan. 17, seniors will face the harsh reality that they will graduate within just a few months.

Indeed, the class of 2007 will have a lot to think about coming into their final semester at Holy Cross this January — how to make the most out of their final semester on the hill and plan for the not-so-distant future.

But seniors will have a chance to reflect on their three-and-a-half years on Mount St. James and what they hope to accomplish not only in their final semester, but also in their life’s work at Senior Convocation on Jan. 16.

The event, now in its third year, was conceived to “reach out specifically to students not only to celebrate all that they have done in the previous three-and-a-half-years, but also to help them focus attention on how they want to best use their final semester here to become the people they aspire to be,” says Thomas Landy, chair of the Senior Convocation Steering Committee and director of the Lilly Vocation Discernment Initiative, which helps students to be more reflective about their life's work.

“We kept hearing from students that because of fears about what lay beyond and for other reasons, it could be hard to pay attention to what’s happening in the final semester and to really be purposeful about it. Convocation helps focus attention on those questions on the eve of that semester, and provides an enjoyable social event for the class as well,” he says.

Senior Convocation features music performances and speeches from the members of the senior class. Meagan Chuckran ’07, Andrew Jaico ’07, and Kerry Ann Hoffman ’07 will deliver this year’s Scholar Addresses. These students were selected from a pool of applicants to deliver a speech at convocation. They were asked to write about academic, spiritual, service, athletic and leadership experiences they have had over the past few years and describe how those experiences will play a role in their lives after graduation.

“The Convocation represents a wonderful opportunity for the College community to come together to recognize and to celebrate the senior class,” says Mark Freeman, dean of the Class of 2007. “For members of the senior class themselves, it also represents an important opportunity for them to reflect together about their experience at Holy Cross thus far, about how to make the most out their final semester, and about the kinds of lives they hope to lead as they move into the future.”

The class will also hear from Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president; Dean Freeman; and Katherine McElaney, director of the Chaplains’ Office.

The convocation will feature musical performances by Tracy Espiritu ’07, Moira Brady ’07, John Leschke ’07, College Organ Scholar Jacob Street ’10, as well as senior members of the College Choir.

“I think that Senior Convocation is a nice chance for our class to get together as a group before we start our last semester. I like that it incorporates speeches and performances from members of our class,” says Marissa Camerota, member of the Convocation Steering Committee.

By Erin O’Connell ’07

Related information:

# Senior Convocation Web site