Hometown:
I grew up in a little town on Long Island, about an hour outside of New York City.  People often think of Long Island as one great big extension of the city, but we had a small dairy farm right in our neighborhood, about three blocks from our house.

Undergraduate Institution:
My undergraduate was at Princeton University – I entered intending to major in math or engineering, but found I was woefully unprepared, both academically and in terms of maturity. I ended up majoring in beer and foosball, which led to the dean politely asking me to take a year off to consider my commitment to education.  It was one of the best things to ever happen to me – I returned to school with a much more open mind about the future, and really engaged in my studies for the first time.  I ended up studying religion, which set me on a path of personal and academic growth that has led me directly to the program I’m attending here at Boston College.

Adam’s life pre-BC:
After graduating with a degree in religion, I had no job prospects at all, and so took the first offer that came along – I joined a computer systems consulting company as a “tester” – that is, as someone who didn’t need any real computer skills.  I was blessed to find that I very much enjoyed helping businesses and other organizations use technology to solve problems.  I ended up spending most of my career at Fidelity Investments here in Boston, working in technology and business operations. 

What led Adam to Boston College:
I very much enjoyed the work, and Fidelity was a wonderful environment for me, but I felt that there was something missing.  Although Fidelity (and other companies like it) provide really important services to the world, my passion didn’t lie with trying to help people make sure they’d have enough money in retirement.  At the same time, through involvement with my own parish, I started to recognize that many of the lessons I was learning in the business world about the stewardship of temporal assets could be applied to the Church’s ministries.  I felt I was being called to take my knowledge and experience and see if it could be put to use to help the Church become more effective in using her gifts in the service of the people of God.  BC’s dual ministry / business program is unique, at least here in the U.S., so I felt blessed to find it and to be invited to attend.

Adam’s experience at BC:
My program has been amazing.  When I got my undergrad degree, I swore that I’d never darken the halls of academia again, so I was worried about coming back to school.  I’ve found graduate school to be a wholly different and wonderful experience because my studies are fully aligned to my interests and desires for the future.  I’ve also been blown away by the sense of community I’ve found at both of my schools here, among the students and with the professors and staff.  The biggest surprise, I think (aside from the staggering amount of work involved), has been the power of the BC network.  Through mentorship programs at both the CSOM and the STM, I’ve been able to connect with members of the business and Church communities at the local, diocesan and national levels – opportunities that simply would have been impossible otherwise. 

Adam’s current projects:
I’m working as a graduate assistant at the Roche Center for Catholic Education, and it’s really inspired a love of Catholic Schools and a desire to help them achieve their missions in a sustainable way.  Growing up, I went to public school, and firmly believe in the importance of a strong public education system, but I’ve been so impressed by the maturity and centeredness of the Catholic school students I’ve met that I can see the importance of this ministry to the country.  Right now, I’m working on a number of projects – my favorite is that I was asked to join a small group of leaders to help create a set of national-level rubrics for assessing Catholic Schools against a brand-new set of standards and benchmarks.  These new tools will ensure that every one of our nearly 7,000 Catholic schools nationwide has the ability to assess their approach to maintaining academic excellence, strong Catholic Identity, effective governance and operational vitality and sustainability.

Hobbies:
Most of my time outside of school is spent with my family – I’m married, and have an eight-year old daughter who is very jealous of Daddy’s time.  Other than that, I’m a singer, and am part of my Church’s music ministry – I’ve also just joined a local choral group called Polymnia which promises to be very rewarding.

Post-graduation plans:
I’m just now trying to figure that out, too.  It’s my hope to be able to expand on my interest in serving Catholic education, and to find a way to draw others with business backgrounds into the service of the Church’s many ministries.

Parting words/advice to those interested in pursuing a similar career path:
Unfortunately, I am (to some extent) breaking new ground here, and am in much more need of advice from others than in any position to give it.  I will say that if you’ve felt a call like mine, a desire to serve the Church as a lay leader, give it some serious consideration.  In parishes, schools and dioceses, in religious congregations, hospitals, homeless shelters, food banks and all the other social justice ministries run by the Church here and internationally, solid business skills are desperately needed.  More and more Church leaders are recognizing this need, and the important and growing role that lay people are playing in these works.