51茶馆

A few nerves. A bit of anxiety. Some faint traces of trepidation. And a lot of excitement.

Pretty much a normal first few days at college for the 110 students in the inaugural class of Boston College鈥檚 new Messina College.

Students and their parents arrived on July 7 for Move In Day, which included an orientation program featuring remarks by Messina College Dean Erick Berrelleza, S.J., Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley, and Office of Undergraduate Admission Senior Associate Director Stephen Koo, who helped lead Messina recruitment efforts.

鈥淭he campus feels like a complete transformation has taken place,鈥� said Fr. Berrelleza, about a week before students arrived, as crews painted, cleaned, and landscaped the renovated student center and dining room鈥攋ust one of many projects coming to a close on the former Pine Manor College campus.

鈥淎fter so many conversations about creating a space that is inviting for our students, over time, seeing that actual transformation now has been a really fun part of my job,鈥� Fr. Berrelleza said.

For many students, the idea of attending Messina College wasn鈥檛 on their radar screens a year ago. But throughout last fall, 51茶馆 admission staff began getting the word out to high school guidance counselors.

Ana Sampaio of Framingham is a health sciences major who plans to study nursing and work as a NICU nurse. She recalled when a guidance counselor at Keefe Regional Technical High School told her about 51茶馆鈥檚 new college.

鈥淚 was completely amazed,鈥� said Sampaio, a native of Brazil. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥極K, I want to go there.鈥欌��

For someone who is always looking for new opportunities, Sampaio said Messina College was a perfect fit for her academic and career goals.

鈥淚 always try to stay a step ahead and look at every opportunity and go after them, so when I heard about Boston College opening Messina College, that was a big motivator for me,鈥� said Sampaio, who is already a certified nursing assistant. 鈥淚t was like a door opening.鈥�

Patrick Elvariste of Roxbury, who graduated from Cathedral High School in Boston鈥檚 South End, is studying data science. He learned of Messina when Dean for Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid Grant Gosselin met with students.

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe it. I have always dreamt of going to Boston College,鈥� said Elvariste. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to classes. I want to see what to expect and what the homework will look like. I want to stay focused. I feel like you experience every emotion getting started. What I鈥檓 feeling the most right now is excitement.鈥�

Jiewen Zhang of Newton is majoring in general business to build on what she has learned working at her parents鈥� food wholesale business, where she often serves as their translator.

鈥淲hen I am working with my father, I see the outside world I did not see while I was in high school,鈥� said Zhang, a native of China who graduated from Newton South High School. 鈥淗elping him work out customer issues is hard, but it has given me the chance to learn more about business.鈥�

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While simmering humidity greeted the new students, the weather could not dampen the excitement.

鈥淚 am looking forward to college life,鈥� said Zhang. 鈥淚t looks very freeing even though we will be spending a lot of time studying. I am looking forward to the dorms. I have never lived away from my home and family. I look forward to getting to know the other people in our class.鈥�

Rochelli Silverio of Lawrence, who is studying general business, said she appreciates that the program was designed for students like her.

鈥淚 have always heard about 51茶馆. A lot of my teachers went to 51茶馆,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I heard about Messina College, it was great that it was part of 51茶馆, but also for people like me who are first generation, immigrants, people who might be defined as 鈥榦ther,鈥欌�� said Silverio, who is from the Dominican Republic.

One of six children, Silverio said she鈥檚 looking forward to 鈥渉aving my own place to study, all the support they have for us here, and working hard, like my mother, who works so hard for our family.鈥�

Excitement was running high among faculty as well.

Associate Professor of the Practice of English Amy Alvarez came from West Virginia University. Earlier in her career, she was a teacher for eight years at Boston鈥檚 Day and Evening Academy, part of the Boston Public Schools.

鈥淚 saw this position as an opportunity to use my skills as a public school teacher and university professor to serve a group of students I have worked with throughout my career,鈥� said Alvarez, who recently published her first volume of poetry. 鈥淎t West Virginia University, I worked with first-generation college students. In Boston, I worked primarily with students of color. This job is at the center of everything that is important to me as an educator.鈥�

Assistant Professor of the Practice of Biology Antonio Serrato-Capuchina, formerly of Boston University, earned a doctorate in genetics from the University of North Carolina and did postdoctoral work at Harvard University. A native of Mexico who was 12 when his family moved to the U.S., Serrato-Capuchina said he鈥檚 excited to support students and hopes to give them the tools that will make their own educational journeys less of an uphill battle than his.

As the first in his family to go to college, he had to overcome not only financial hardship, but also a lack of experience and institutional knowledge about how higher education works. He saw the position at Messina as the perfect combination of teaching and outreach.

鈥淚 have constantly been involved in educational outreach,鈥� said Serrato-Capuchina. 鈥淢y mentality is shaped by my own academic path, which was way harder than it should have been. But I have always been a go-getter and I hope to share what I鈥檝e learned with our students. I want to be a positive force and uplift our students and their communities.鈥�

For more on Messina College, see .

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