Class of 2011 Profiles

May 20, 2011

While the best and brightest from Stonehill's Class of 2011 are far too numerous to all highlight, we offer a glimpse of what this year's senior class has accomplished and the likely success they will achieve as alumni of the College.

 

Emily Banas

Hometown: Brunswick, Maine
Majors: Studio Arts and Art History
Post-Graduate Plans: Georgetown University Art & Museum Studies Graduate Program

You'd be hard pressed to find many students who know the Ames' shovel collection like Banas does. For 18 months, beginning in 2009, she meticulously helped refurbish the 755 shovels that make up the Stonehill Industrial History Center's collection through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences. More importantly, her work on the Ames shovels opened the doors for a career in museum work.

With the help of conservation expert Rika Smith McNally and former Stonehill curator Greg Galer, Banas was accepted to Smith College's competitive Summer Institute in Art Museum Studies last summer. The six week program included tours of numerous museums throughout New York and New England, meeting with museum professionals, and planning and installing an art exhibit at Smith's Museum of Art. More recently, Banas interned at both the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Peabody Essex Museum.

Georgetown University has accepted Banas to its Art & Museum Studies Graduate Program, bringing her closer to her dream of a professional museum career.

 

Eamon Bencivengo

Hometown: Hawthorne, New Jersey
Major: History
Post-Graduate Plans: Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration

 

While earning a 3.87 grade point average as a History major, Bencivengo also participated actively in campus life. This year's student speaker at Commencement, he represented the student-body on the College's Strategic Planning Committee. Additionally, Bencivengo served as a student senator for the Student Government Association for four years and spent three years working as a tour guide for the Admissions Office. He also served as a Martin Institute Ambassador.

Bencivengo spent the Fall of his junior year studying in Ireland and this past Fall interning at Stonehill's Center for Nonprofit Management. Last summer, he interned for the United Way of Bergen County in his home state of New Jersey. Bencivengo also volunteered at My Brother's Keeper since his sophomore year.

 

Sarah Bolasevich

Hometown: Cromwell, Connecticut
Majors: Religious Studies and Multidisciplinary Studies
Post-Graduate Plans: Volunteer work in Nepal this summer then on to Harvard Divinity School in the Fall to study comparative religions and ethics

Bolasevich arrived at Stonehill as a quiet, timid computer science major. Four years and about three majors later, she is graduating as a prepared, confident Religious Studies/Multidisciplinary Studies double major. She credits the late Neal Price, director of the Counseling and Testing Center, and Religious Studies Professor Mary Joan Leith with helping her to discover her true interests, which include investigating belief and how it influences people's actions. To this extent, she spent the Spring of 2010 in Nepal examining Tibetan and Himalayan history and culture as part of the School of International Training (SIT) Study Abroad program.

From serving as the student director of the Into the Streets Program to coordinating the College's efforts with the MainSpring Homeless Shelter in Brockton, Bolasevich devoted 500 hours to community service as Stonehill student. This summer, Bolasevich, who speaks conversational Tibetan, will switch her volunteer focus for the summer to Nepal, where she will help implement education programs in a rural village.

In the Fall, she will enter Harvard Divinity School to study comparative religions and ethics while living at the school's Center for the Study of World Religions. From there, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in mythology and caves/catacombs within the earliest Christian communities as well as within Buddhist traditions.

 

Lauren DeRusha

Hometown: Westborough, Massachusetts
Majors: International Studies and Spanish
Post-Graduate Plans: Will begin Fulbright research in Ecuador

Just the second student in Stonehill history to receive a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, DeRusha is the first student to accept the scholarship, which will see her returning to Ecuador to develop the implementation of a community-run water filtration system. Millions of Ecuadoreans do not have access to clean water and DeRusha's project has the potential to improve the quality of life for many communities in that country.

At Stonehill, DeRusha has worked to highlight the social justice issues raised by the proliferation of bottled water, which wastes resources, creates environmental challenges and undermines faith in public water systems. Working with the national "Think Outside the Bottle" Campaign, she succeeded in persuading the College to reduce budget spending on bottled water while increasing access to water fountains and reusable bottle fillers. Upon the completion of her work overseas, DeRusha plans to pursue a master's degree in Public Health or Urban Planning.

 

Matthew Gorman

Hometown: Torrington, Connecticut
Major: Political Science
Post-Graduate Plans: Full-time intern for the Mitt Romney Presidential Exploratory Campaign Committee

If you've visited Stonehill over the last few years chances are you've come across Gorman somewhere. Whether it was witnessing his winning performance at the Mr. Stonehill contest last Fall, reading his "From the Editor" column in the Summit student newspaper, guiding an Admissions tour as a student ambassador, or representing the Class of 2011 as its President, Gorman has made his mark at Stonehill.

While at the College, Gorman secured impressive internships that complemented his course work and helped to pave the way for a future career in political life. In 2009, he interned for Michigan Congressman David Lee Camp in his Washington, D.C. office. This past semester, he interned for Free and Strong America PAC, Inc., Mitt Romney's political action committee which has now transitioned to Romney's Presidential Exploratory Committee as he eyes another run at the White House next year. Impressed by his ability, Romney's staff recently hired Gorman as a full-time war room intern for their Exploratory Committee.

 

Tyler Hebert

Hometown: Accord, Massachusetts
Major: Finance
Post-Graduate Plans: Financial Analyst in the Financial Planning and Analyst Division of PayPal in San Jose, California.

Just the second student-athlete in school history to earn a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, Hebert is one of the most rounded members of the senior class as he was named a "renaissance man" by the Boston Globe. As the Globe noted, he could become a big shot on Wall Street, a hip-hop artist, an economist, or a mover and shaker in Washington.

During the Summer of 2008, Hebert worked for Brown Brothers Harriman, the oldest and largest private bank in America, as a securities lending risk analyst intern. The following Summer, he was a venture capital financial analyst intern at Cambridge-based General Catalyst Partners. Last Spring, Hebert called Washington, D.C. his home for five months when he interned at the Pentagon for the Command and Installation Program Analysis Division. There he helped analyze the needs of the United States Army for 2012-2017, working directly for Deputy Chief of Staff Tom Watson. Last summer landed Hebert in San Jose, California working for PayPal, whose president Scott Thompson is a 1979 alumnus, as a global financial planning and analyst intern.

Hebert balanced a demanding academic program with an equally challenging schedule as a student-athlete. A four-year letter winner on the men's soccer team, he played in 58 games. In addition, he dedicated time to his music and, to date, has written over 100 hip-hop songs.

After graduation, Hebert will return to PayPal in San Jose, this time as a full-time employee for the Financial Planning and Analyst Division. He intends to use his NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in two to three years to study at Stanford University.

 

Raúl Martínez

Hometown: Brockton, Massachusetts
Major: Biochemistry
Post-Graduate Plans: Research Associate at MIT for one year before moving on to medical school

Martínez began conducting scientific research before entering Stonehill and now after four years of extensive lab research and conference presentations as a college student, he leaves the College well prepared for life as a medical student.

After interning at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research the summer before entering Stonehill, Martínez was one of 15 students selected nationwide to participate in a preparatory physician-scientist program run by Tri-Institutional (Weill Cornell Medical College, The Rockefeller University, and the Sloan-Kettering Institute) MD/Ph.D. Program in the Summers of 2008 and 2009. Last Summer, he took part in Harvard University's Division of Medical Sciences Honors Undergraduate Research Program.

At Stonehill, Martínez assisted Professors Robert Peabody and Magdalena James-Pederson on research for one full year. Aside from his scientific research, he served as coordinator of Stonehill's ALANA Brothers and Sisters Leadership Program and was one of the first students to run one of Stonehill's Common Sense Lectures. Additionally, he was a member of the Diversity on Campus Club and took part in the H.O.P.E. Alternative Spring Break Program in which he traveled to La Romana, Dominican Republic. In the Spring of his junior year, he studied at the University of Granada in Spain.

Fluent in Spanish and proficient in French, Martínez is the recipient of numerous awards, including Stonehill's Presidential Scholarship and Inclusive Excellence Grant. As he prepares to apply for combined MD/Ph.D. programs, he will spend next year working as a research associate at MIT.

 

Patrick Noonan

Hometown: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Major: Political Science
Post-Graduate Plans: University of Wyoming School of Public Administration and Policy with a discipline in National Security Policy

For Noonan, a semester in Washington, D.C. turned into a summer research opportunity. After a Spring 2010 internship in the D.C. Office of Massachusetts Congressman Stephen Lynch, Noonan secured a research assistant position with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services during the summer. There, Noonan gained valuable experience in the area of national security, a field he plans to pursue in the future.

Since 2008, Noonan represented the College as a student ambassador for the Admissions Office, guiding campus tours and engaging prospective students at high school events. A three-year letter winner on the men's soccer team, he also served as a College ambassador to the Northeast-10 Conference and was the vice chair of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Noonan will return to Wyoming to study National Security Policy at the University of Wyoming School of Public Administration and Policy. He will also be returning to the playing field, this time as a member of Wyoming's Division I football team. Long term, Noonan would like to pursue a Ph.D. in government/political studies leading to a career in national security or policy intelligence analysis for the CIA, FBI, or NSA.

 

Katrina Organ

Hometown: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Major: International Studies
Post-Graduate Plans: Peace Corps Health Extensionist in Ecuador

One of the first students to join Stonehill's ALANA Brothers and Sisters Program, Organ was the student recipient of the Diversity and Social Justice Award this year.Thanks to her activism, the College will introduce a new range of diversity workshops beginning in the Fall.

Since April of 2010, Organ has served as the Executive Diversity Chair for the Student Government Association where she coordinated town hall meeting for students, addressed policy issues surrounding diversity, coordinated the annual DiverCity event and more. She has been a member of the Facilitation Team of the ALANA Program as well and she served as an assistant coordinator for Freshmen Orientation.

The first recipient of the Gregory "Rodney" Moynahan Memorial Scholarship, she studied Sustainable Development and Social Change in India through the SIT Study Abroad Program. A Peace Corps volunteer, Organ will be advocating for health education during her year of service in Ecuador.

 

Laura Sidla

Hometown: Pascoag, RI
Major: Communication
Post-Graduate Plans: Gift Team Member at Partners in Health

Sidla choose Stonehill because it is one of few colleges that offer nonprofit management options for students. She had started working on charitable causes in middle school and, at the College, she honed her skills as an emerging philanthropy professional. She interned at Stonehill's Center for Nonprofit Management (CNM) and took part in its Developing Fundraising Leaders Institute (DFLI) Program. She credits the DFLI Program in helping her obtain internships at several nonprofits, including Plan USA, Catholic Charities, and most recently The Children's Museum in Easton.

In the Fall of 2010, she received the Student Scholarship Grant from the Boston Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Sidla was also the first college student to receive an Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Rhode Island Chapter Community Award as well. Sidla recently accepted a position at Partners in Health, a Boston-based nonprofit health organization. There, she will work as a member of its Gift Team.

 

Alexandre Swayne

Hometown: Natick, MA
Major: Psychology
Post-Graduate Plans: State Street Global Markets Professional Development Program

Swayne secured a post-graduate position before even entering his senior year. The result of months of hard work interning for State Street Global Markets in Boston, he was accepted into the company's Professional Development Program last Spring. The Program will allow Swayne to rotate across three State Street departments for one year after graduating from Stonehill. After completing the program, he will be hired full-time by one of the departments. He has continued to intern at State Street, working as a Fixed Income and Equity Apprentice since last May.

Aside from his work at State Street, Swayne has served as a student ambassador in the Admissions Office and has volunteered at the Old Colony YMCA and People's Baptist Church, working with inner city youth. A 2009-2010 recipient of The William Randolph Hearst Foundation Scholarship, Swayne traveled to Belgium for an internship and took part in the Stonehill New York Externship Program.

Contact

For more information, contact Communications and Media Relations at 508-565-1321.