Photo: Caitlin Cunningham
Hometown: Newton, Mass.
Major: Political science and Perspectives; minor in ancient civilizations
Notable Activities/Achievements: President, UGBC; executive board member, Ignatian Society; leader, Kairos retreat; volunteer, Jamaica Magis Service Immersion Trip; Bowman Advocate for Inclusive Culture; participant, Freshman League; member, Senior Legacy Committee; teaching assistant, Courage to Know.
Mentors: Jack Dunn (University Communications); Fr. Michael Davidson (Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center); Thomas Wesner (Business Law and Society); Angela Lowell (Business Law and Society); Matthew Razek (Student Involvement); Shawna Cooper-Gibson (Student Affairs); Tom Mogan (Student Affairs); Yvonne McBarnett (Montserrat); Kendra Eshleman (Classics); Kerry Cronin (Philosophy); Jamie DiLoreto (Athletics); Pat Kraft (Athletics); William Evans (Police); Ryan Heffernan (Campus Ministry); Chris Darcy (Campus Ministry); John Mahoney (Enrollment Management); Elizabeth Bracher (Courage to Know).
Post-Graduation Plans: Currently interviewing for positions in government; plans on attending law school in two years.
A graduate of Boston College High and self-described “Boston kid at heart,” Bracher grew up spending time on campus with his mother, Courage to Know Director Elizabeth Bracher ’91, and envisioned himself attending Boston College. After initially being wait-listed, his eventual admittance fueled his drive to make the most out of his time on the Heights, where he served as Undergraduate Government of Boston College president this past year.
Did you always see yourself attending BC?
My parents met here; they both graduated in 1991. My mom was the captain of the women's lacrosse team. I grew up around BC. My mom ran orientation, so I was really close with all of the orientation leaders from year to year. There was nothing I wanted more than to be a BC student. It was such a gut punch when I got wait-listed. But when I got in it also made me incredibly thankful just to be a BC student and to try to get as much out of this place as I could in the four years that I've been here.
How has BC made a difference in your life?
I think it’s having the courage and willingness to put myself out there in front of people. One of my favorite things about BC has been being able to develop great relationships with people who have encouraged me to put myself out in front of the community. I’ve been able to learn about so many people’s life stories through these relationships and friendships and to be around people who are willing to challenge me to be a better person and a better student.
What experience had the most significant impact on you?
I think student body president has been a role that’s pushed me to understand the community in a more thorough way than I would’ve before the role. There are so many things to praise about BC, but there are also many areas for improvement, and it’s been a privilege to be a part of teams and groups that have looked for ways to improve BC. I think we have done that over the past year. It’s been a privilege to be able to work with both administrators and students with the goal of improving BC, but doing so out of a love for the University and for the community.
What is your proudest accomplishment from your tenure as president?
In a post-COVID campus space, we've been able to revitalize a lot of old traditions such as the AHANA Leadership Council Showdown, GLC [GLBTQ+ Leadership Council] Formal, and Council for Students with Disabilities Dinner in the Dark. But we've also started new traditions. We brought back Ice Jam, which had been absent for the last 10 years; we started a really healthy partnership between student groups and administrators around creating a positive campus space for Marathon Monday; and we also matched six people with patients in need of stem cell transplants because they have blood cancer. The range from being able to create a positive community on campus in the wake of COVID and also extending the BC community out into making impacts on other people's lives outside of our community is what I'm most proud of.
What sparked your interest in public service?
My grandfather was very civically engaged and he was my role model growing up. All I wanted to do was be like my grandfather and I think that’s why I gravitated towards public service because I just saw someone who was so passionate about it. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and after his time in the military, engaged often in civic discourse. Public service takes many forms, and I see so many of those different forms embodied in my grandfather.
Favorite class?
Business Law with Thomas Wesner was my favorite class. It taught me how to be a more critical thinker and really sparked my interest in the excitement of legal cases.
How did you decide to run the Boston Marathon for the Campus School? Did you always like to run?
No, I actually did not like running at all growing up. My family would do 5K races and I would struggle to finish. During the pandemic, running became kind of therapeutic for me as a way to decompress and get things off my mind. It also gave me challenges to push myself—26.2 miles is a really awesome challenge to shoot for. My family grew up on Mile 18, so we watched the Boston Marathon every year for hours. Running in the race was so much fun. I wish I remembered it more but there was just so much adrenaline and I saw so many faces. I'm running Chicago in the fall, so I'm already back out running.
Christine Balquist | University Communications | May 2022