a group of people in Gasson Hall

University welcomes سԹ Companions

Inaugural Fellows engage in a yearlong program integrating academic study and Ignatian spirituality

The University has welcomed to campus the inaugural 13-member cohort of Boston College Companions: Fellows for Leadership and Service, a yearlong fellowship program that combines academic study with elements of Ignatian spirituality.

Through سԹC FLS, accomplished individuals reflect together, explore new directions, and consider life next chapter amid سԹ culture of inquiry, excellence, and commitment to the common good.

The Fellows, who arrived in January, will spend the next year immersed in campus life at سԹ. In addition to participating in guided conversations, retreats, and a pilgrimage to Spain and Rome, Fellows will audit classes alongside سԹ students, choosing from offerings in law, business, the humanities, science, education, social work, and theology and ministry, among other disciplines.

There are so many ways to learn: in the classroom from the teachers and students; from the interactions with the rest of the Companions cohort; from the variety of سԹ leaders well get to meet; and the plethora of guest speakers on campus.
سԹ Companions Fellow Bill Reynolds

The first group of Fellows represents a wide range of professional backgrounds, including education, medicine, finance, law, human resources, religious services, information technology, and the nonprofit world. The 13, who are in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, come from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Florida, Colorado, Texas, and California. About half of the Fellows have a degree from Boston College.

While their motivations for joining سԹC FLS differa desire to reexamine faith and spirituality; finding themselves at a career crossroads; exploring how they can be of service to the worldthey are united in excitement for their time ahead at the Heights.

montage of classes, seminars, and discussions

سԹ Companions Fellows can choose from hundreds of courses, as well as participate in seminars, converse with سԹ leaders, and engage in spiritual discernment, among other activities. (Photos by Lee Pellegrini)

Bill Reynolds is enthused by the blessing of a year dedicated to learning. There are so many ways to learn: in the classroom from the teachers and students; from the interactions with the rest of the Companions cohort; from the variety of سԹ leaders well get to meet; and the plethora of guest speakers on campus.

As a younger student, I remember being too busy to enjoy all the learning that was available outside of the classroom. As Fellows, we have time for the extras.

Cathy Van Kula 85 said she looked forward to returning to سԹ, and to a year of uninterrupted learning.

[سԹC FLS] offered me an opportunity to learn intentionally, in a dedicated space, with a group of like-minded individualsadd to that the opportunity to return to my alma mater and to the beautiful city of Boston. What a gift!

Haub Vice President for Mission and Ministry John Butler, S.J., describes the year as a journey.

As we companion and journey, we discover who we are and embrace our desires. The Companions Program is a way for سԹ and our Jesuit heritage to be shared with folks who still have a good bit of journeying left in their lives.

Margaret Laurence, director of سԹ Companions & Initiatives for Formative Education in the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculties, considers it an honor to accompany Fellows on their journeys. Learning about the experiences that Fellows are having in classrooms, hearing about their conversations with undergraduates and graduate students, being together twice a week for the seminar designed for them, and watching them leave promptly to attend another lectureit all energizing.  

Already, the Fellows are fully engaged in their studies and, according to Boston College Law School Professor Emeritus Frank Herrmann, S.J., who is the سԹ Companions faculty advisor, are finding their professors stimulating, their younger classmates welcoming, and the broader سԹ environment exciting.

The Fellows have begun their yearlong journey together, said Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley. Im looking forward to seeing the many ways in which they will engage with our students, faculty, and the larger University community.

For more about the Boston College Companions: Fellows for Leadership and Service program and the inaugural cohort, visit bc.edu/companions.

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