Alumni Stories
Sarah Wilson '10 and Katy Fallavollita '10 with Bon Secours
Stonehill Alumni - Stories of Service
Many Stonehill graduates have participated in various service programs in the Unites States and across the globe.
Click here to read some of their inspiring stories!
Stonehill alums have served with the organizations listed below.
AmeriCorps "NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps)
Associate Missionaries of the Assumption
Bon Secours Volunteer Ministry
Colorado Vincentian Volunteers
Council on International Educational Exchange
Franciscan Outreach Association
Global Health Volunteer Program
Jesuit Volunteer Corps - Northwest
Massachusetts Campus Compact (AmeriCorps VISTA)
Massachusetts Promise Fellowship (AmeriCorps)
Stonehill College International Extension
Peace Corps
Traveling overseas with the Peace Corps, Stonhill College alumni make a real difference in the lives of people all over the world.
Currently Serving in the Peace Corps
Austin Matte '09 - Nicaragua (read Austin's story)
Elyse Moreau '10 - Ghana
Meaghan Murphy '10 - Thailand
Katrina Organ '11 - Ecuador (read Katrina's blog)
Peace Corps Stories
Jason Ricciardi '04 of South Dennis, MA, returned from two years of volunteer service in Ecuador's Amazon Jungle. He plans to revisit Ecuador soon, in order to complete an ongoing project.
Assigned to the isolated town of Talag-Tena, Ricciardi was a health volunteer, not necessarily the path he might have expected after graduating with a degree in Criminal Justice from Stonehill.
As a Peace Corps volunteer, Ricciardi taught at a bilingual school in Talag-Tena, which uses both Spanish and a regional dialect, Kichwa.
Since Kichwa is such a regionally specific language, Ricciardi took on a second project in addition to his health promotion and teaching: the production of a Kichwa training manual of sorts for future volunteers to the area.
“The most important thing is really the language, that’s the biggest because to build the relationship you have to go through the language to show you appreciate the culture,” said Ricciardi, when asked about the project.
Ricciardi credits his Stonehill study abroad experience in Florence, Italy as prompting him to pursue the Peace Corps following graduation in 2004. His semester in Italy “sealed the deal” for him to pursue international living through the Peace Corps.
“Working in an indigenous site has been a powerful life lesson, reflected Ricciardi. “It’s a special experience as [the indigenous populations] are trying to preserve their culture, fighting to save their traditions.”
Ricciardi is clearly passionate about Ecuador's historical legacy and the people he learned to love during his service there.
“The way they live is so mind-blowing -- a medicinal remedy for them was to boil tobacco and take a shot of the juice to induce vomiting to cure an illness,” he said
In a few months independent of the Peace Corps, Ricciardi will return to Ecuador to continue work on his Kichwa book.
Just as Ricciardi was finishing up his first two years of service, the experience of a lifetime was just beginning for Stonehill alumna Astrid Gilles ’07. She recently completed her training and will also work as health volunteer.
Served in Guinea
Astrid Gilles '07 of Norwood, MA, utilized her B.A. in Health Care Administration to teach preventative health education and promote health-care activities in the West African nation of Guinea.
Gilles focused on the areas of reproductive health, nutrition, vaccination, disease and infection control, hygiene, and much more.
Served in Kenya
A 2004 Stonehill graduate with a major in U.S. History, Brian Van De Bogert worked from 2005 until 2007 with the Peace Corps in Africa. He is from Beverly, MA.
Serving in the public health sector, Van De Bogert brought HIV testing and informational services to the rural Maasai villages in the Kajiado district of southern Kenya.
Served in Lesotho
Robert Prime '07, known as Robbie, served with the Peace Corps in the South African state of Lesotho, formerly known as Basutoland. A Bridgewater, MA native with a degree in Sociology and Psychology, Prime was a community health and economic development advisor for the area, with a secondary focus on HIV and AIDS education..
"When there is power," he teachers computer skills to community members. He also conducted business courses, tutored at at an orphanage, and helped organize a trash pick-up day.
Served in Peru
A major in Biology with a minor in Sociology, Adiana Castro '05, served in Lambayque, working with the Center of Health, a public clinic that is funded through the Ministry of Health of Peru.
As a health promoter, Castro educated the community on nutrition, dental hygiene, parasites, and the prevention of common diseases. The Bridgewater, MA resident also led an effort to establish such income-generating projects as selling vegetables from local gardens, homemade soap and candles.
Served in Belize
Anthony Tarzia '97 and Virginia Gordon '97 recently returned from working for the Peace Corps in Belize, a country in Central America formerly known as British Honduras. Following graduation, the couple, who resided in Hingham, MA, moved to California and earned their masters degrees. They learned about the Peace Corps from fellow classmates, and became intrigued.
"We thought it would be an ideal way to make a difference," say Tarzia and Gordon.
About the Peace Corps
This year, the Peace Corps celebrated a 50-year legacy of service at home and abroad. Currently there are 8,000 volunteers abroad, a 35-year high for volunteers in the field.
Since 1961, nearly 200,000 Volunteers have helped promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 139 countries where Volunteers have served. Peace Corps Volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.
To find out more about Peace Corps visit www.peacecorps.gov For questions, e-mail Peace Corps recruiter Jerry Wagner at jwagner2@peacecorps.gov or call 617-565-5544.