To the Class of 2017:

Hello! My name is Jackie Saltarelli and I am a rising Junior at Holy Cross! At Holy Cross I’m involved in a few things like Relay for Life, the College Honors Program, and in the past I was an Orientation Leader in the summer and fall. I also am on the Campus Activities Board, which plans fun events throughout the year and am going to be the CAB intern this summer. I need your help!

This year, one of my jobs is working on planning Welcome Week. Welcome Week is the first week of school and starts with the First Night of your Orientation! As we plan it, we want to know, what theme do you want for Welcome Week this year?! Last year’s theme was beach/luau.

First Night is a celebration on the Hoval for all of the first year students. There is food, inflatables, music, free giveaways, and the entire first year class goes.

So I need your help! Comment on here with ideas for what you want your theme to be and any fun activities you would want to see for welcome week! Can’t wait to hear your ideas!

Get psyched for orientation and welcome week! You’re going to love it here.

Jackie

First Night Fun!

Hello everyone!

I just completed my last final and it is officially the summer for me! It is exciting to be done with my sophomore year, but time is going by so quickly. Next year, I will be going abroad to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. I am really excited, but I was upset that I wouldn’t be spending more time at Holy Cross. But I don’t have to worry about that because I’m going to be at Holy Cross this summer as the intern for the Campus Activities Board!

The end of my year was truly special. I planned spring weekend and worked at it, and it went really well!

I also planned Relay for Life, and we raised $32,000 for the American Cancer Society. It was a huge success.

Once my camera starts working, I plan on posting some pictures up!

Talk to you soon and enjoy your summer!

Jackie

I went on a Spring Break Immersion trip to Hurley, VA. I met amazing people from Hurley and helped a woman named Nell a floor to her home. In addition, we met amazing people who were working down at the Hurley Community Center like Hassle, Theresa, Amanda, and Junior. Not only that, but I also had an incredible group of Holy Cross students that I was with. When we arrived, we also worked with students from BC and William and Mary. Getting to know everyone was an incredible experience.

Have you seen the Harlem Shake Videos? Well, while we were in Hurley, we, along with BC, William and Mary, and Hurley Locals, made the “Hurley Shake” video. Watch and click below!

The Hurley Shake

Talk to you soon!
Jackie

Hello everyone!

I can’t even begin to explain how busy I have been so I apologize for not posting sooner!

Spring is here on the Hill! I have so many things to talk about

1. I just participated in Holy Cross Cares Day! We walked down the hill and just across the street we raked and weeded what is soon to become a national park! It was so much fun and I got to spend time with my friends helping out the community!

2. I am one of the Co-Chairs for Relay for Life (which has been taking a ton of time out of my schedule, and I love every second of it.) Relay for Life is a fundraising walk where we raise money for the American Cancer Society. It is full of entertainment, music, free food and more! We have three ceremonies where we celebrate those who have won the battle, remember those who have not, and pledge to fight back. It is going to be a great night and we have already raised $11,000! Our goal is $20,000 and we are very confident we will reach it!

3. I am also on the Campus Activities Board and am the Special Events Co-Chair. My job is to organize Spring Weekend. The Spring Weekend Theme this year is “United Saders of America!” We are really excited and have been planning for it, meeting with administrators, and contacting a lot of vendors to have a carnival, laser tag, comedians, fireworks, a outdoor edge (huge dance party!), and more! ALSO! The spring concert this year was just announced…MAC MILLER AND WALK THE MOON! It is going to be such a great ending to an awesome spring weekend!

These are just some of the awesome things I’ve been participating in here on the Hill!

Talk to you soon 🙂

Jackie

So it’s that time of year again! I’m going on Spring Break Immersion! I’m currently on the long bus ride down to Virginia. Last night everyone who is going on Immersion Trips had dinner together and I met my group for the first time (and they’re awesome!). So I’m psyched to go and I will tell you more about it when I get back! I’m going to try to make another video like I did last year. Enjoy your spring break!!

Jackie

Hey everyone!!

Single on Valentine’s Day?

I am one of the Co-Chairs for Relay for Life and this Valentine’s Day we hosted an all MALE pageant called “Mr. Valentine.” Fifteen boys competed to be “Mr. Valentine” by participating in an evening wear contest, beach wear contest, question and answer session, and a talent contest. In addition to that, the contestants were judged on their Relay Spirit and how much money they were able to raise!

We expected 150 but 300 people attended the event!!! Also, we raised $1277.90 for the American Cancer Society!!

Relay for Life is an fundraising walk that is affiliated with the American Cancer Society. The event is full of entertainment and three ceremonies throughout the night where we first “Celebrate” survivors of Cancer, “Remember” those who have lost the battle to cancer, and take a pledge to “Fight Back.” Students on campus make teams with their friends and raise money within the team. Relay for Life will take place on April 26th. We are getting so excited for it! If you want to make a team, you can sign up here: www.relayforlife.org/holycrossma

Here are some pictures from the event!! It was a ton of fun. The WONDERFUL contestants were: Anthony Curro ’14, James Balardi ’13, Joseph Terranova ’16, Andrew Dorman ’13, Kibbs Fortilus ’13, Brandon Nunn ’13, Javonee Cotton ’13, William Camarda ’15,Connor May ’15, Chalmer Swanson ’13, Kody Onyiuke ’13, Osvaldo Reza ’15, Kalif Raymond ’16, and John Frank ’16.

Talk to you soon!

Jackie

Can we just discuss how many famous people I have met since I arrived at Holy Cross less than two years ago? First, I was able to meet Chris Matthews, known for his show Hardball, when he came to Holy Cross last year. He even signed something for me!

Then, I heard Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas talk at Holy Cross and receive an award.

Then, I not only did I meet Mark Shriver, the Vice President of Save the Children, but I went to dinner with him and sat next to him while he discussed a book he wrote about his father.

Today, I went to the Hogan Ballroom and got to see the new Secretary of State, John Kerry, give a thank you address on his Massachusetts Tour. I got a bunch of pictures of him and stood close to the front of the ballroom! My friend Vania even got a picture with him in it. My friend Ozzie and one of the guys in my orientation group, Tim, got a picture with him!!

I have to say the opportunities at Holy Cross are endless.

Talk to you soon!

Jackie

Vania!

Ozzie and Tim!

I just got re-tweeted  by Holy Cross about the Non-Profit Careers Conference so naturally I had to blog with an update!

The conference was amazing! I not only learned a lot about Non-Profit Careers, but I also got to meet a ton of alumni who are involved in non-profit careers in general. Talking to them really helped me understand non-profits, but it was also very reassuring to talk to them about post-grad opportunities. Seeing what they did and how they got to where they are now was very helpful.

Also! Our Oxfam project was a success. Our Case Study Leader Katie Stuart ’09 works at Oxfam and we presented recommendations to her and she loved them! Here’s a picture of my group!

School starts Tuesday! I’m picking my textbooks up today. And I am going to attend Aptissimi, a leadership conference, on Monday. Should be great! Talk to you soon!

Jackie

Me, Alanna, Martha, Jeff and Mandy!

Hi Everyone!!

I’m back for my fourth semester at Holy Cross! I am here early attending the Non-Profie Careers Conference! By participating in the conference, I am learning more about the opportunities in the Non-Profit sector, while also meeting with alumni who are in the non-profit field. In addition to that, I am working on a project with Oxfam America, a non-profit organization that fights poverty, hunger, and injustice around the world. They have presented us with a “problem” in their company that they would like to be fixed. The crazy thing is that if we come up with good ideas on how to improve their organization, they could potentially use them! I am having a great time so far.

Anyways I will keep you posted as my week goes on! Talk to you soon and I’m so glad to be back at school again.

Jackie

Hello!!

I haven’t blogged in a while but thats what happens when you are busy with school and activities! My goal for the new year is to blog more often (I have so much to share!). I had a great third semester here at Holy Cross and am really looking forward to my schedule next semester! I am in the Honors Program at Holy Cross and I am excited for my first Honors seminar (it is called Religion and Violence). I am also taking Intro to International Relations, Corporate and Consumer Responsibility (a sociology class with one of my favorite professors), and The Ethics of Caring, a Religion class.

In addition to that, I also am a Co-Chair for Relay for Life. Relay for Life is sponsored by the American Cancer society and is a walk to celebrate those who have survived cancer, remember those who have lost the battle, and a pledge to fight back. I am really excited to start working on that.

ALSO! For CAB, I am one of the people in charge of planning Spring Weekend! I just got an e-mail today about the spring weekend schedule and let’s just say it is filled of a lot of awesome events!

So before I jump into the New Year, I wanted to share some 2012 memories!

1. NACA Northeast (National Association of Campus Activities) was in November. NACA is a regional conference for Campus Activities Boards all over the north east. It takes place in Hartford, CT and a bunch of colleges send their campus activities boards to the conference to get ideas of different events to book. The conference is full of performers and also sessions of how to improve our Campus Activities Board. Here are some pictures from that!!

2. CAB had their annual Winter Carnival. Every year, the Winter Carnival is known for the Stuff your Own Bear station. There are also caricature artists, craft stations, photo booths, and more!

3. For Christmas, Holy Cross has their traditional Tree Lighting Ceremony which was beautiful! I was so glad I got to go; it is a ton of fun!

4. I also got to see the Gamelan Gita Sari; a performance of traditional Balinese music and dancing. Students take a class in Balinese music and dance, and their final exam is how they perform in the performance. Every year, it is packed! I was sitting on the floor in the front. It was like I was in Bali for an hour!

So that’s my semester in a nutshell! I am really looking forward to continue sharing my adventures at Holy Cross with you!

Jackie