韧性和决心

当她五岁的时候, Thalia Chaves s太d on her tip-toes in a 电子游戏软件 classroom so she could draw on the blackboard, 并宣称, 总有一天, 这是她想去的学校.

5月20日, Chaves s太d tall at the Commencement Exercises in Alumni Stadium—only a few hundred yards from that classroom—as a member of the BC Class of 2024 recognized for her civic engagement activities, and experienced the additional joy of being the first in her family to graduate from college.

There are thousands of graduation stories among American colleges and universities every spring, 许多人都有类似的主题, 轮廓, 和特点. But the commonalities are no less compelling, especially for those who live the tale.

Chaves—who majored in International Studies—is the oldest child of immigrants, neither of whom attended college but felt strongly that their children should have the opportunity. Her four years at the Heights had the ebbs and flows familiar to many undergraduates, and often shared by their families: anticipation; struggle and self-doubt; resilience and resolve; and ultimately, 实现自己的能力, 人才, 和职业.

“My acceptance to BC was one of my lightbulb memories with my parents,” said the Saugus, Mass., native earlier this month, as she and her parents, Elizete 和尼尔森, looked back on her BC years. “During my time here, I truly bought into the Jesuit motto of ‘cura personalis.“因为我父母的辛苦牺牲, I’ve tried to take advantage of every single opportunity available to me at BC. I had to leave here with everything I could to ‘set the world aflame.’”

查韦斯公元前故事的前奏是伊莉赛特的奥德赛, 巴西人, 和尼尔森, who was born in the United States but spent almost all of his youth in Portugal before returning to the U.S. 他们遇到了, 他们结婚了, and just before Thalia was born decided to take a chance and started a flooring business. It 太k long hours and lots of energy, but sustained the family.

Nelson and Elizete’s flooring business had been working on numerous projects throughout BC’s campus in the 2000s. 一个晴朗的日子, Nelson came to BC to check on his employees’ progress in one of the campus buildings, 带着Elizete和5岁的Thalia. Elizete and Thalia patiently waited in a Carney Hall classroom while Nelson spoke to his employees.

“I was very little then, but I do recall coming to campus,” recalled Thalia. “我睁大了眼睛. 我以前从未见过这么美丽的地方.”

While they waited for Nelson to return, Elizete entertained her little girl. “I told Thalia that I had once taught kids who were about her age, and I began to write on the blackboard to show her what a teacher does. 她走到黑板前，拿了一支粉笔, 即使她不得不踮起脚尖, 她试着写, 太.”

就在这时，纳尔逊回来了. “我看到塔利亚在写字, 跪在她旁边问, “你想有一天来电子游戏软件学习吗??’她说:‘是的，我喜欢!’”

 童年的话语很容易被遗忘, and as Thalia grew older the memory of that day at Carney came up only occasionally and off-handedly. But when she began to consider colleges, BC was first on her list.

塔利亚说:“这一切都让我灵光一现。. “I went to Catholic schools throughout childhood, so that was a factor. 但随着我对BC的了解越来越多, 我觉得这就是我该待的地方, 因为这一切都是为了教育整个人, 用不同的方式挑战你. I thought BC would have many amazing opportunities that would help me get anywhere I wanted to go and help me discover who I am and what my place in the world could be. 当然，今天我知道这是真的.”

她的父母支持她的愿望. “With the right knowledge,” 尼尔森说, “you can do anything.”

塔利亚坦白了她大学早期的生活. “I had ‘imposter syndrome,’ and was convinced I didn’t deserve to be here. 我没有像高中时那样取得好成绩. 我没有那么努力地去参与. I spent a lot of time in my room—my roommate actually moved out a couple of months in so I was by myself.”

Nelson and Elizete knew their daughter was having a tough time, 虽然两人都没上过大学, 他们在她的苦难中看到了一些熟悉的东西. “I struggled being away from my family when I first came to America,” said Elizete. “这是一个艰难的过程. 我们知道我们必须陪在她身边，哪怕只是倾听.”

住在离家近的地方有帮助, 塔利亚可以回家过一个恢复性的周末, 尼尔森说, ，但最后, 她总是回到校园.”

塔利亚坚持住了, 在课堂上找到成就感, 例如透视图, 在那里她结交了朋友(“谁还是朋友,” she added) and found a mentor in Associate Professor of Theology Ronald Tacelli, S.J. She landed an internship in Dublin through the BC Office of Global Education, where she worked on housing provision systems reform in Ireland during the Ukrainian refugee crisis. 她的自信心明显增强了.

Her parents’ emphasis on the importance of seeking community and opportunity helped motivate Thalia to work as program assistant for International Studies and on the leadership council for the Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action. The latter role was particularly meaningful to her because “it touched on all the things I’m most passionate about: access to opportunity, especially for less privileged people and sustainable communities.”

Her activities with the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society directed Thalia’s gaze toward the future. She attended the COP27 climate change summit in Egypt and served as president of the institute’s Student Advisory Board, 是什么让她对气候变化问题产生了兴趣. 下个月, she will start work at the Conservation Law Foundation; eventually, 她计划上法学院.

Thalia was surprised but gratified to learn that she had been selected for the University’s Ever to Excel Robert A. Sherwood公民参与奖, which she received last month at a ceremony attended by her parents and younger brother.

“Winning the award felt like a coming-full-circle moment,” said Thalia. “我在高中的时候就很活跃, 虽然花了我一点时间, 我很高兴在不列颠哥伦比亚省找到了自己的方向. 我想这是我可以随身携带的东西.”