As 2025 winds down, Saint Anselm College is reflecting on the stories, successes, and celebrations from yet another historic year on the Hilltop.
Students rang in 2025 and Black History Month with the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Themed “Infinite Hope,” the event celebrated King’s hopeful vision of the future, despite the many challenges and setbacks he faced.
As spring rolled around, so did Days of Giving, raising over $1.32 million in just two days. Donors’ generosity supported many initiatives, including scholarships, the Professional Development Initiative (PDI), campus clubs and organizations, and several community-focused projects. Shortly after, the annual Sr. Pauline Lucier Relay for Life brought students, faculty, and staff together to raise over $70,000 for the American Cancer Society. The event honored those impacted by cancer and celebrated survivors with a survivor’s lap, organized games, and a luminaria ceremony.
For the first time, the Dana Center for the Performing Arts hosted the Spring Arts Showcase, highlighting talented students from Saint Anselm’s Fine Arts Department. The vibrant event included music, dance, and theatre performances and hosted gallery exhibitions to celebrate students’ graphic design and studio art pieces.
In the classroom, Criminal Justice Department introduced students to Sean Ellis, a man who spent nearly 22 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Students spoke to Ellis about police corruption and systematic racism and learned how he adapted to life after several unsolicited years behind bars. Outside the classroom, Accounting majors got a taste of the real world by providing vital services to the local community through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program giving them tangible experience that made a meaningful impact by preparing tax returns for low-income individuals.
As summer set in, studies didn’t slow. Through the Honors Program, NH-LIFT Grant, and NH-INBRE, students conducted valuable research with the guidance of knowledgeable faculty. Whether in a muddy marsh, central Italy, or the Goulet Science Center, these hands-on opportunities were instrumental to students’ skill development. Some students took their academics abroad to Lisbon, Portugal, where they observed entrepreneurship and small business planning in Portuguese markets.
Going into their senior year, a handful of high-achieving students received distinctions for their exceptional academic accomplishments. Taisiia Illichevska ’26 and Brianna Moran ’26 were granted the Gordon Summer Research Fellowship, Norah Smith ’26 was named John S. Whipple Scholar for 18th-Century Studies, Anne LaBelle ’26 and John Beirne ’26 received the Thomas A. Melucci Jr. Memorial Scholarship, Ava Petrosino ’26 earned the Fr. Bernard Holmes, O.S.B., Scholarship, Abigail Egan ’26 was selected for the Brave of Heart Scholarship, and Megan Brewer ’26 was awarded the Grappone Fellowship.
The fall semester brought the largest, most diverse class in the College’s 136-year history and a new chapter of healthcare education with the grand opening of the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Grappone Hall. With nursing being one of the most popular majors for the incoming class, Grappone Hall will benefit students for years to come. Saint Anselm also broke ground for the Van Hoof Athletic Complex, the new home to the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Men’s and Women’s Soccer.
The Hawks dominated in athletics this year, with Women’s Soccer winning the NE-10 Championship for the first time since 1991 and Men’s Lacrosseclinching the NEILA Division II Championship for a fifth consecutive year.
Other notable wins of the year include new partnerships. Collaborations include MooreTOGETHER with the Meelia Center for Community Engagement, academic partnerships such as the Doctor of Physical Therapy and Master in Public Health Pathway Program with Tufts University, the Sophomore-Alumni Mentorship Program, the Strategic Communications Internship with Montagne Powers, and a journalism collaboration with WMUR-TV.
Perhaps the year’s biggest surprise was the monumental $40 million commitment to Saint Anselm by Robert and Beverly Grappone P’04, HD’21. Their donation was the largest in the College’s history and among the largest gifts ever made in support of a Catholic liberal arts college in the United States.
Before heading home for the holidays, students celebrated with long-adored traditions and plenty of fun festivities. After an action-packed year, the campus sits silently snow-covered, anticipating the return of students and a remarkable 2026.
