As an inspiring teacher, mentor, philanthropic leader, and employer of Suffolk graduates, it is hard to quantify all the ways in which Bruno Drummond, a triple Ram, gives back to this University. But there is no question about what drives him to do so. It is the power of Suffolk’s mission, Drummond explains, and the way in which we support our students.
“Everywhere you go at Suffolk, there is someone who cares about you and your story,” he says. “When you embrace students and your community, and you apply that vision over time, you will have successful individuals.”
This magazine is filled with powerful examples of members of this community who are supporting Suffolk students in so many different ways. It is a common thread that ties their stories together.
Through an endowed scholarship, Ed McDonnell, BSBA ’59, HDCS ’84, is making it possible for Suffolk students to travel abroad and explore other cultures. Dan Phillips, BSBA ’73, and his wife, Cathy, are providing stipends so that students who work unpaid internships can advance their career opportunities without worrying about basic expenses. The Demakeses—a quintessential Suffolk family—are supporting scholarships for students in financial need from their home city of Lynn, Massachusetts. An anonymous $2 million gift will support Suffolk’s Center for Women’s Health & Human Rights as it reinvigorates the path-breaking book Our Bodies, Ourselves for a whole new generation of students and others through a new online platform. And global financier Spencer Lake, BSBA ’84, is giving back to a Business School and a University that “believed in him when few others did.”
Our three new alumni board presidents—Dahlia Ali, JD ’15; Rachel Deleveaux, MEd ’07; and Linda Jones, MBA ’02, all women of color—are focused on opening doors for current students as well as alumni, and bring important perspectives and experience to that end.
Faculty and staff members across this University are sharing the lasting, life-changing gift of mentorship. That comes through boldly and clearly in the voices of students in English Professor Elif Armbruster’s First-Year Seminar—they fondly refer to her simply as “Armbruster.” Or Professor Jeremy Levine’s film students, who are being pushed and challenged “to create a rhythm of ideas and emotions” using filmmaking tools to tell stories that matter.
As we launch the first spring edition of the Suffolk University Magazine—bringing the publication to twice a year—I am filled with excitement about all that Suffolk will continue to accomplish in the future. The incredible commitment to support our students that I see every day from members of our campus and alumni community seeds the success of our graduates. And when our students and graduates succeed, we have succeeded as a University.
Marisa J. Kelly
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Photography by Michael J. Clarke
Dina Singh’s Suffolk story included semesters in Madrid and at The Washington Center. The Class of 2022 honors student, dance captain of Fusion Dhamaka, and law major finished last fall, and is now working with a prominent immigration law firm in Boston. INSET: President Kelly.
Photography by Michael J. Clarke.