History in the making
At Boston College Commencement on May 18, the nearly 100 students who make up Messina College’s inaugural class will become the first to graduate from the University’s two-year, residential associate’s degree program.
They arrived in the summer of 2024 after graduating predominantly from high schools in Boston and other Massachusetts cities to begin the first associate’s degree program ever offered by Boston College. Messina College is a cornerstone of the University’s $100 million Pine Manor Institute for Student Success initiative to enhance educational opportunity for underrepresented, first-generation students.
Looking at the college and the class today, Patti and Jonathan Kraft Family Dean Erick Berrelleza, S.J., said the first two years have been marked by growth in both the program and the students themselves—whom he calls “co-creators” of their own academic and social experiences—helping to direct and refine the program within BC’s Jesuit-Catholic tradition.
Patti and Jonathan Kraft Family Dean of Messina College Erick Berrelleza, S.J. (Caitlin Cunningham)
“It’s been so exciting to watch—through the students’ efforts, through the work of our faculty and staff here supporting them—all the successes and to see the expectations we had two years ago blown out of the water,” Fr. Berrelleza said. “There is energy behind this from the students, their professors, the BC community, and BC alumni. It has all been overwhelmingly positive.”
Aligned with BC’s Undergraduate Core Curriculum, Messina offers the majors of applied data science, applied psychology and human development, general business, and health sciences. With their Messina degrees, students can apply to earn their bachelor’s degrees at BC or other four-year colleges and universities or go on to other programs focused on specialized skills, careers, or public service.
Approximately 40 students achieved a 3.4 GPA to earn acceptance to BC, Fr. Berrelleza said. A second direct pathway to completion of a bachelor’s degree is open to students. By meeting admission requirements, students can transfer to six institutions with direct articulation agreements with Messina: Bryant College (RI), Endicott College, Regis College, the University of Massachusetts-Boston, Worcester State University, and Albertus Magnus College (Conn.).
The exact pathways students choose won’t be known for a few weeks, Fr. Berrelleza said.
“We’re seeing with our student advising process that most are looking to continue into a bachelor’s degree program,” he said. “We have our agreements with both public and private institutions. And they are committed to working with first-generation students. I will say that these students are competitive applicants because they will have completed a two-year degree. They are already very different students than they were when they arrived. And these institutions see them as very different students because they have completed a degree.”
Darian Alao, a data science major who grew up in Boston’s West Roxbury neighborhood, has been accepted to BC. He said his experience at Messina College has been life changing.
“I feel amazing being in the first group of students to go through the program,” Alao said. “We are history in the making. It has been a great experience. I’ve made friends and connections both at our campus and on the main campus. I love Messina College.”
While he has been accepted to BC, Alao has applied to other institutions such as Stanford University, Northeastern University, and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
"It just feels like home. I like the opportunities I’ve had here," said Edmond Dotse, a health sciences major from Worcester, who has been accepted by BC as well as Williams College. (Matthew Healey)
Second-year student Edmond Dotse, a health sciences major from Worcester, has been accepted by BC as well as Williams College.
“It’s been a great experience,” said Dotse, who emigrated from Ghana with his family four years ago. “[Messina] is very diverse. It just feels like home. I like the opportunities I’ve had here. I was a teaching assistant in Anatomy and Physiology this year. I don’t think that is an opportunity typically open to a sophomore.”
Students arrived on campus in July of 2024 for a six-week program that introduced them to the curriculum, demands, and rhythms of college life and included the First-Year Discovery Seminar.
In all, students took 20 required classes. During their first summer break, they participated in for-credit service learning opportunities with community-based organizations. In the fall semester of their second year, they took part in internships or clinical rotations centered on their major fields of study and worked with a BC Career Center coach.
Second-year students pointed to the faculty and staff who made the biggest impact on their lives.
Yrvicca Paul, an applied psychology and human development major from Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood, has been accepted to BC. She praised the academic support services provided to Messina students, particularly the work of Genevieve Green, associate director for student success at Messina.
When Paul was injured in a car accident and away from campus while rehabilitating her injuries, Green collected her personal items and books and delivered them to Paul’s home. She kept her updated on the class and helped her finish the assignments she could.
“She has supported me since the beginning,” said Paul. “I’m a quiet person. So, when she passes by, she always stops to ask how I’m doing.”
Leidy Rodriguez Gomez, an applied psychology and human development major from Boston’s Brighton neighborhood, said First Year Writing Instructor Brian Zimmerman was a helpful resource during her early days on campus.. (Matthew Healey)
Leidy Rodriguez Gomez, an applied psychology and human development major from Boston’s Brighton neighborhood, said First Year Writing Instructor Brian Zimmerman helped alleviate some of her concerns in the first days she was on campus.
“I went to his office hours and told him I just felt lost and scared,” Rodriguez Gomez said. “He let that all come out and listened to me. He asked me what made me think that. And we talked through that. Having that conversation, which was so easy, and his understanding me, was so important. It really helped me as I was adjusting to life on campus.”
As she prepares for the next step in her academic career, Paul—who hopes to one day attend medical school—offered advice to the next freshman class at Messina: “As much as you are involved in clubs or other organizations outside academics, try to put as much time into academics as you can. If you want to go to BC, your GPA matters. Try to be disciplined and stay on top of everything. Life does happen, so just do your best. Take the initiative to do your work on time and succeed in class.”