Thank you for believing in our Eagles
Your support made a difference. Explore the impact of annual giving at Boston College.
2024–2025 GIVING FOR BOSTON COLLEGE:
Every donor makes a difference.
Donors
From Gifts of $1,000 or Less
Total Dollars Raised
%
of Donors are in the Neenan Society
households are part of the 1863 Society
new members in the Shaw Society
“I am so grateful for your generosity and support. I hope to one day give back to the BC community like you are now. Your kindness is cultivating the future leaders of tomorrow who, like myself, want to give back to the community in whatever way they can, so thank you.”
—Hope Clark ’27, Logue Scholar, Carroll School of Management
FINANCIAL AID
“Is this real?”: One Eagle’s Story of Gratitude
Attending BC felt out of reach—until a generous aid package made the impossible possible.
“If it weren’t for financial aid, I wouldn’t be here. Just being able to attend college without putting a burden on my family is such a blessing.”
—Baeram Alfreh ’28, Staley Family Scholar, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences
When Baeram Alfreh and his family arrived in the United States in 2016, escaping war and destruction in Damascus, Syria, they came with hope—but almost nothing else. College felt like a distant dream.
Hardly knowing English beyond “please” and “thank you,” Baeram was determined to learn. Every day, he would listen carefully to school lessons and conversations around him. At night, he logged new words he heard into a notebook, writing them up to 40 times each. Word by word, he discovered his new language.
It wasn’t easy. But Baeram didn’t give up. He worked hard—and excelled.
When an acceptance letter from Boston College arrived his senior year, he couldn’t believe it. He jumped up and down, celebrating with his friends. For Baeram, it was a proud moment—not just for getting in, but for everything it had taken to get there.
Yet the acceptance wasn’t the only thing that made the moment unforgettable. “If it weren’t for financial aid, I wouldn’t be here,” he emphasizes. “Just being able to attend college without putting a burden on my family is such a blessing.”
When he shared the news with his mom, she cried. “She started praying. My whole family did. It really touched me,” Baeram says. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
But beyond the generous financial support, Baeram felt something deeper drawing him to BC—academically, socially, and spiritually. “It has the majors I want—computer science, mathematics, economics,” he says. “The opportunities BC offers are endless, and the alumni network is amazing.” Baeram also found comfort and connection in BC’s Jesuit ideals. “I felt a lot of the values I hold being shared. Everything just fit. It was super, super amazing.”
Now Baeram ’28 hopes to one day pay it forward. “I look at the donors as role models. They’re helping me now and I want to help others in the future.”
FINANCIAL AID
“Is this real?”: One Eagle’s Story of Gratitude
Attending BC felt out of reach—until a generous aid package made the impossible possible.
“If it weren’t for financial aid, I wouldn’t be here. Just being able to attend college without putting a burden on my family is such a blessing.”
—Baeram Alfreh ’28, Staley Family Scholar, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences
When Baeram Alfreh and his family arrived in the United States in 2016, escaping war and destruction in Damascus, Syria, they came with hope—but almost nothing else. College felt like a distant dream.
Hardly knowing English beyond “please” and “thank you,” Baeram was determined to learn. Every day, he would listen carefully to school lessons and conversations around him. At night, he logged new words he heard into a notebook, writing them up to 40 times each. Word by word, he discovered his new language.
It wasn’t easy. But Baeram didn’t give up. He worked hard—and excelled.
When an acceptance letter from Boston College arrived his senior year, he couldn’t believe it. He jumped up and down, celebrating with his friends. For Baeram, it was a proud moment—not just for getting in, but for everything it had taken to get there.
Yet the acceptance wasn’t the only thing that made the moment unforgettable. “If it weren’t for financial aid, I wouldn’t be here,” he emphasizes. “Just being able to attend college without putting a burden on my family is such a blessing.”
When he shared the news with his mom, she cried. “She started praying. My whole family did. It really touched me,” Baeram says. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
But beyond the generous financial support, Baeram felt something deeper drawing him to BC—academically, socially, and spiritually. “It has the majors I want—computer science, mathematics, economics,” he says. “The opportunities BC offers are endless, and the alumni network is amazing.” Baeram also found comfort and connection in BC’s Jesuit ideals. “I felt a lot of the values I hold being shared. Everything just fit. It was super, super amazing.”
Now Baeram ’28 hopes to one day pay it forward. “I look at the donors as role models. They’re helping me now and I want to help others in the future.”
STUDENT LIFE
Compassionate, Timely Care for Students in Need
New Murray Center for Student Wellness will expand access to mental health counseling and other services.
“Health care today is a 24/7 operation that requires access to care and enhanced communication and collaboration between service providers. The Murray Center for Student Wellness will do all of that for the benefit of BC students.”
—Dr. Douglas Comeau, Associate Vice President, Murray Center for Student Wellness
Research shows that a significant number of college students experience depression and anxiety while on campus, a trend that has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet most colleges, administrators say, lack the resources and staffing to adequately address the issue.
At Boston College, the recently established Murray Center for Student Wellness seeks to combat this crisis head on by enhancing student health and wellness services through additional staffing, education, and training, as well as increased access to mental health counseling for all students.
Working closely with the Dean’s Office in the Division of Student Affairs, the Murray Center provides timely support to students in need, and is directed by Dr. Douglas Comeau, who had previously served as director of University Health Services and Primary Care Sports Medicine.
The Murray Center integrates campus health and wellness programs, placing University Health Services, University Counseling Services, Sports Medicine, and the existing Center for Student Wellness under its umbrella, and closely collaborating with the Dean’s Office in Student Affairs to provide timely support to students in need.
“The Murray Center for Student Wellness will play a pivotal role in placing BC at the forefront of collegiate efforts nationwide to address student wellness,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Shawna Cooper Whitehead.
Comeau said that the advantages of the Murray Center for BC students include additional staffing and enhanced coordination and communication between health and wellness services, as well as the addition of Pastoral Counseling, which works with the center’s teams to enhance access to spiritual counseling for those who seek it.
The center was established by a gift from BC alumna, parent, and benefactor Tami Murray ’83, P ’09, ’15, ’19, in honor of her late husband, former BC Trustee Stephen P. Murray ’84.
ACADEMICS
Caring for the Whole Student
Inaugural Ascione Faculty Formation Fellow Belle Liang, professor of counseling, developmental, and educational psychology;
A pioneering scholar in the field of formative education, Dr. Belle Liang often kicks off classes with a meditation—on gratitude, for instance—asking her students to consider all of the people who’ve helped them end up in the seat in which they now sit. For Liang and her students, this is an invitation to discover something new about themselves, the world, and how they’re called to change it.
She came to Boston College to teach in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development and continue her research on the importance of purpose and belonging in the holistic formation of young people. Along the way, Liang has earned a reputation as one of the University’s most dynamic educators and researchers. Here, she reflects on her time at BC.
What has kept you at BC for 20-plus years?
Over the years. I’ve come to appreciate how Jesuit values enrich BC’s mission of social justice. They offer spiritual inspiration for tackling difficult issues, and provide hope when outcomes are uncertain. Helping students craft their own authentic stories and see their lives as adventures has given me such joy and purpose.
What do you most enjoy about teaching BC students?
It’s the fun part of the job! I love the immediacy of impact, seeing that something’s registering on their faces. I’m excited to create an experience in the classroom that makes them want to be there, fully present and engaged. I want to cocreate a culture where students feel a sense of ownership over their education. We cultivate meaningful relationships and formative experiences, the ingredients for generating purpose and belonging.
What has your faculty fellowship made possible for you and your research?
It’s an honor to serve as the inaugural Ascione Faculty Fellow. This role has had a profound impact on me. The resources dedicated to researching purpose and vocational discernment have helped me contribute significantly to the University’s mission of formative education. What’s truly meaningful to me is the underlying message from the Ascione family and BC: “infusing research on purpose into BC’s culture and practices is important to us, and we’re choosing you to do this.” Knowing that people believe in me and are investing in my work makes a world of difference. I take that responsibility very seriously.
“It’s really unique and special that BC cares so much about cultivating the lives of students who are not only going to be academically strong and equipped for professional success, but well-formed, thriving personally, and committed to contributing meaningfully to the world around them.”
—Belle Liang, Inaugural Ascione Faculty Formation Fellow
Thank You!
For additional information about the impact of your giving or to renew your gift, please contact our annual giving team at bcfund@bc.edu.
Launched in September 2023, Soaring Higher is a $3 billion fundraising campaign for Boston College that will bolster the University’s highest, most strategic priorities and enhance its standing as the greatest Jesuit, Catholic university in the world. Through its three pillars—focused on scholarships and financial aid, faculty support and research, and whole-student formation—Soaring Higher will have a lasting impact on every area and aspect of Boston College.