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The SAA connects students and alumni through events, programs and volunteer opportunities that foster critical skills, meaningful relationships and a supportive community.
Aidan Ward '26, SAA President
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SAA Spotlight: Aidan Ward
Student Alumni Association president talks finding a home at Stonehill and the importance of alumni involvement.
When Aidan Ward ’26 first applied to Stonehill, he had never set foot on campus. But during his initial visit, a meaningful conversation with a Holy Cross priest left a lasting impression and ultimately inspired him to choose Stonehill as his home for the next four years.
Now in his senior year, Ward actively participates in the Stonehill community and serves in several leadership roles. Among his extracurricular activities, Ward is president of the Student Alumni Association (SAA), treasurer of Best Buddies, and an executive board member of the Student Ambassador’s Lux et Spes program. To further his education as an accounting and Spanish major, he is also a member of the Beta Alpha Psi accounting honors society and supports students as a Spanish teaching assistant.
After studying abroad in Spain last spring, Ward eagerly resumes his involvement on campus this fall. As the academic year kicked off, Ward began his new SAA position with goals in mind to further strengthen the Stonehill community.
What inspired you to join the SAA?
During my first year here, I saw an email from Director of Alumni Engagement Anne (Pollick) Sant ’88 about the SAA, and I was curious as to what it entailed. Coming to Stonehill, I knew that getting involved right away would be important. SAA was a great opportunity to connect with current students and meet and network with alumni. I had no idea how close alumni are to Stonehill. No matter what year they graduated, alumni always come back, and they always want to hear student stories. I've been in the SAA since my first year, and I've worked my way up to president. I'm really excited for what we have planned this year.
As president of SAA, what is one goal you would like to accomplish?
One of the goals I would like the SAA to accomplish this year is to make our events and dinners more well-known to the general student body. To support this, the SAA launched a new committee that will enhance advertising and social media activity about the SAA, sharing the importance of networking with our amazing alumni, who have such valuable experiences and wisdom to share with us all. I want SAA events to engage not only our members, but the rest of the campus community as well. That's what we stand for here at Stonehill: community.
How is connecting with Stonehill alumni important to you and to students in general?
I've met and connected with a lot of alumni who were accounting majors. We've talked about the industry and how it's changed over the years. I always see talking to alumni as an opportunity to pick their brains about their experiences, so we, as students, especially seniors, can prepare ourselves for the real world and the journey after Stonehill. I think SAA has done a really good job in recent years of bringing back alumni from an array of different majors and disciplines for on-campus SAA events, so all students have that opportunity to talk to someone in their current concentration or major.
When we think of Stonehill, we think of community. Having our alumni and student body close together and interacting with one another becomes such an essential piece of Stonehill.
What do you enjoy most about participating in SAA?
I think one thing is how close I have become with other Stonehill students while I've participated in SAA. We enjoy each other's company, we all work together, and at the end of the day, we all have fun. I also love the Alumni Engagement Office—Anne and Jenn (Moura) Silva ’93 [senior associate director of Alumni Engagement] are incredible people and really want the current student body to engage with alumni. When we think of Stonehill, we think of community. Having our alumni and student body close together and interacting with one another becomes such an essential piece of Stonehill.
Why did you choose to come to Stonehill?
Because I had never seen the Stonehill campus in person before applying, I attended an Admitted Student Day in 2022. I was with my mom, and we were walking along a beautiful brick path when a priest came up to me. We ended up having this wonderful twenty-minute conversation about what I want to do with my life, what I want out of a college education and so on. After that conversation, I realized I had just talked to President John Denning, C.S.C. I had never experienced anything like that before on a college campus. You're not going to get that anywhere else—how engaged our faculty is with our student body. There's so much interaction. There's a strong sense of community here, and it made me feel like I was home. Right away, I knew Stonehill was the place for me.
What has been your most meaningful experience so far?
I really enjoy coming back to Stonehill the first week in June every year for Reunion. The SAA helps the Alumni Engagement Office and the Advancement division put together such a wonderful weekend for Stonehill alumni. This event is probably one of the best ways we communicate with alumni. They are so curious to see how our Stonehill lives are compared to what it was for them. I gave a tour last Reunion and so many alums said, “This wasn't here when I was here!” That was probably one of the best tours I've ever done, because it was cool hearing their perspective of Stonehill and what it was like when they were here.
[Written and edited by Camila Zuluaga Rodriguez ’26]