Standing, Christopher Reynolds and Jessica Barnes; seated, Mary Ladesic and Jay Nam (Peter Julian)
University President William P. Leahy, S.J., presented Christopher Reynolds of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences with the Edward H. Finnegan, S.J., Award at Commencement Exercises on May 21. The award is given annually to the graduating senior who best exemplifies Boston College’s motto “Ever to Excel.”
Other finalists for the 2018 Finnegan Award include:
Jessica Barnes, Lynch School of Education: A member of the Lynch School Honors Program, she majored in applied psychology and human development, and pursued multiple minors—in Faith, Peace and Justice, special education, and management and leadership. She led the 2018 Jamaica Mustard Seed trip and served as FACES outreach coordinator; was research assistant to Lynch School Professor Brinton Lykes at the Center for Human Rights and International Justice and on a project on communication among autistic children for Lynch Assistant Professor Kristen Bottema-Beutel; she participated during her junior year in a community-based immersion in the Philippines, a study-abroad program which emphasized social justice; volunteered at the Campus School, where next year she will work full-time as a teaching assistant; and was chosen as an alternate for a Fulbright teaching grant in Montenegro.
Mary Ladesic, Connell School of Nursing: She pursued a Hispanic Studies minor and was a member of the Sigma Theta Tau and Alpha Sigma Nu honor societies. She participated in a variety of activities internationally, including a month-long comparative health care course in Switzerland, a study-abroad program at the University of San Franciso Quito, and a Nicaragua Service and Immersion Trip; and was research fellow on maternal and neonatal health for three years with Connell School Dean Susan Gennaro. She served as an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship team leader, a Freshman Nursing Seminar peer advisor, a SCRUBS sophomore retreat leader, an Office of Health Promotion health coach, and a mentor to fifth-graders through the College Success Academy. She will now study in the Connell School’s Family Nurse Practitioner graduate program.
Jay Nam, Carroll School of Management: A double major in information systems and finance and philosophy, he was a research assistant, resident assistant, Career Center peer advisor, and J.P. Morgan investment banking intern. Chosen by peers for the Carroll School Honors Program’s Semper Esse Excellentia award, which recognizes “the senior who excels beyond the classroom,” he was an AHANA Management Academy leader, tutored and mentored South Boston middle school students through PULSE, secured the first-ever student intern role as a researcher with One Way Ventures, an immigrant-focused venture capital firm in Boston, and won first place in national PwC Challenge Case Competition and honorable mention in Deloitte Advisory Case Competition. He has accepted a position from J.P. Morgan as an investment banking analyst.
University Communications | May 21, 2018