Alumnae News

"I was so well prepared for college!" This sentiment was noted by many of the Class of 2018 alumnae who spoke to junior and senior homeroom advisories on Thursday, January 10 at the annual Tartans Come Home program. More than 40 Ladies of the Academy (LOTAs) returned to share about their first semester of college. These graduates are attending colleges all over the country and internationally.

The returning LOTAs spoke about their choices for college, selecting roommates, managing school work and free time, resolving issues on their own, and the college campus cultures. Many alumnae noted how the course load at Holy Cross exceptionally prepared them for their college work. Most also remarked that the strong writing skills they acquired at Holy Cross served them very well in college. After visiting the junior and senior advisories, the alumnae reconnected with each other, current students and faculty members. Tartans Come Home occurs annually and is coordinated by the College Counseling and Alumnae Affairs Offices.

(L-R) Emily Teter, Eileen Dinn '19, Emily Muldoon '12, Tesfay Rezene, Katy Prebble

In observance of National Migration Week, the Holy Cross community gathered for a student-initiated assembly focusing on what it means to be a refugee, and what the Catholic church teaches about immigration. Eileen Dinn '19 worked with Director of Social Justice Emily Teter to organize the presentation with members of the Holy Cross Student Council and Pro-Life Club.

In addition to the information presented by the students, alumna Emily Muldoon '12 shared about her work with Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, where she works to support refugees, asylum seekers, and victims of trafficking in reaching self-sufficiency upon their arrival in the United States. Emily introduced Tesfay Rezene who spoke about his harrowing journey, fleeing from his small village in Eritrea at age 14 due to what the United Nations describes as "blatant disrespect for human rights." He lived in a refugee camp for three years in Ethiopia until he gained refugee status to come to the United States as an unaccompanied minor. At just 17-years-old, speaking no English, he lived with a foster family in Silver Spring. He attended high school and college and graduated from Penn State University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Global Studies. He now works with Emily at Lutheran Social Services. Emily said, "He is the embodiment of resilience...He reminds [clients] that a better, safer life is possible, [and] he is a living example of this."

Chi-Emeka Egwuagu '14 was selected to be included in the "Women of William and Mary", a section of the blog "Humans of William and Mary". Her interview was part of the College of William and Mary's yearlong celebration of women being admitted as students at the college. In her interview, "Envisioning a Community of Support," Emeka shared about the impact of her experience at Holy Cross on her life. She says, "When I hear from so many of my friends that they hated high school and don't talk to their high school friends, I get sad because my experience from the beginning was probably some of the best times in my life, not that I am someone who lives in my high school glory days, but our community was so bonded it [was] genuinely like a sisterhood. I was in a sorority at William and Mary and I would still say nothing compares to AHC." She also notes that the importance of the all-girls' leadership she experienced at Holy Cross gave her added confidence in her co-ed college environment. "I saw female leadership as a norm and my all-girls school reinforced that idea and the idea that women are and will continue to be powerful leaders."

Emeka graduated from William and Mary in May 2018 and is now a first year student at Columbia University Law School.

Read the entire blog post here.

Samantha Miller '18 was selected for the marching band at University of Notre Dame. Samantha played trumpet for four years at Holy Cross. Her proud mother Kathy Miller writes, "She is so grateful for all the lessons she learned at Holy Cross. Along with the skills she learned in the ever-growing music program, she learned the determination, hard work, and the courage that it took to try out and make the band."

Be sure to watch the Notre Dame games to see Samantha in the band!

Rock wall climbing has been a passion for Megan Lynch '16 since she was 10. As a student at Holy Cross, Megan was nationally ranked for her age group in Bouldering, where the athletes scale walls up to 20 feet high with no ropes and crash pads underneath. In addition to national competitions she has competed in two previous world championships. On Friday, June 22, Megan won the 2018 FISU World University Championship for Bouldering in, making her the best climber in her age group in the category. The competition took place in Bratislava, Slovakia at the end of June.

Megan says the support of her teammates and fans where a big help in her effort, "They are my inspiration and I am glad I can celebrate this victory with them. I feel on top of the world and I cannot even describe the feelings well."