Eleven longtime faculty and staff members share some of their favorite memories (and a fun fact or two) from their combined 300-plus years on The Hilltop.
Montague Brown, Ph.D.
Philosophy, 39 Years
When thinking about favorite memories of Saint Anselm College, it is the Eucharistic liturgy that stands out. Of course, I remember and treasure the many students with their searching questions and colleagues with their profound insights, but it is the treasury of the fthe memorial of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection— that has centered my life at the college.
There were the many years attending the feasts of Christmas and Easter with my wife and children. There were the opening day Masses shared with monks, students, and colleagues (especially well attended this last fall). There were the many daily Masses that I was able to attend from time to time.
Each and every Mass was conducted with serious joy and with near-perfect timing and elegance—a great tribute to the transcendent beauty of the Eucharistic Christ and the warmth and welcome of the monastic community.
As for fun, what a delight to meet up and play jazz with such friends as Dick Hechtl (piano player and psychology professor) and Ed Gleason (saxophone player and English professor). I learned so much from them and enjoyed the many times we engaged the muse together.
How fortunate I have been to be allowed to focus on philosophy and faith while playing music at such a high level with such good friends and the professionals they knew and recruited for our campus pub dates and concerts. For both the blessing of liturgical celebration and the fun of musical invention I am most grateful.
Holly Hamel
Operations Assistant, Office of Admission, 15 Years
My favorite part of the job by far has been my interactions with the students in our office, and throughout the college. It has been my pleasure to have been even a small part of their lives during their time on the Hilltop.
I have made long-lasting connections with a lot of them and this I will truly miss. We have shared many of life’s events and I would like to tell them all ‘Thank you’ for taking me on their ride here at Saint Anselm College.
I have also been so fortunate to have worked in an office environment that supported me both in and out of the office. I am the coach for the Manchester Special Olympic Ski/Snowboard/ Snowshoe team. We practice every Sunday throughout the winter at McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester, and I have been lucky enough to have help with the program from many alums, current students, as well as my current co-workers.
This year, we had 12 volunteers from our office (staff and students) helping with the program. Thank you to everyone for your help! My fondest memory of my time at the Hilltop would have to be the time I was able to share in my son’s journey here at Saint Anselm College (Jacob Hamel ’16) and for that, I am grateful.
Ann Holbrook, Ph.D.
English, 31 Years
Shakespeare Day was the annual ritual I loved most. My two daughters began reading sonnets by second grade, and I spent as much time listening on those April 23rds as I could, eating birthday cake and enjoying colleagues, students, and alumni.
I can’t name a ‘favorite’ memory, but I relish having acted on Shakespeare Day 2013 in a 10-minute Hamlet parody with Gary Bouchard, Royce Burney, and various students. I played Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, in The Tragical History of Prince Hamnut, where the prince suffers unjustly from the universal human existential predicament, peanut allergies and a family full of buggers, and who just maybe overthinks things on his way to the grave that is pretty full of other bodies by the time he finally gets there.
But who are we to judge? Complete with all essential clichés and bold thematic moments. It was wild, farcical, and decidedly unrehearsed, and the audience loved it.
Michael McGuinness, M.B.A. ’78
Economics and Business, 23 Years
My favorite memory of the Hilltop will always be the many good friends I made while attending school here and the many good students I have had the pleasure of teaching over the years. I find the Saint A’s connection everywhere.
It is a rare time when I go to a Bruins game and don’t run into a former student. I run into former students on the golf course. When hiking, I always wear a Saint A’s shirt and have frequently run into Saint A’s students on various mountains. I have also had the pleasure of meeting the children of former students and hearing about their families and successes.
The funniest class, perhaps ever at Saint Anselm College, happened back in 2010. I finished teaching a cost accounting class, walked out of the classroom, and walked right into Matt Szulik ’78 with his wife and daughter. Matt has been a friend and classmate of mine and, in another Saint A’s success story, had been CEO of Red Hat. I invited Matt and his family in to talk to the next cost accounting class. I told him I was embarrassed as I had the names of the 20 Kentucky Derby horses on the board.
It turns out Matt was an investor in a prior Derby horse, and besides giving the students great career advice, told them the economics of horse racing with the real value of the horse being in its breeding success. Matt told them a story of what sometimes happens with the breeding of a champion horse that I am certain has been repeated many times since that class.
It has been my pleasure to have taught here with the dedicated faculty and staff, the support personnel, and, most of all, the students.
Carol Traynor, Sc.D.
Computer Science, 27 Years
I don’t think that I could pick out just one favorite memory from the last 27 years. Definitely seeing students grow and successfully complete their four years at the college has been a highlight of my time here. Mentoring and helping students navigate their journey has been very rewarding.
One memory that stands out is a field trip to Francestown, N.H. Profs. Barry Wicklow (biology), Rajesh Prasad (computer science), and I ran the first STEM course for the Access Academy (biodiversity and GIS) alongside a group of SAC students. Throughout the semester, the high school students learned about biodiversity in our surrounding area and used GIS to map features. The field trip enabled students to explore and record firsthand what they learned in class. Seeing their excitement and enthusiasm was second to none. The faculty and SAC student volunteers worked together to organize the field trip, a true team effort.
Fun Fact: When I came to the college in 1998 and for the first few years I was here, students did not have email addresses or internet access in their dorms. Coursework was saved on floppy disks, and the first question I asked in the digital literacy course (then computer applications) was, ‘How many of you have used a computer before?’ Typically, over 50 percent of the class had not!
Keith Morse
Manager, Print Shop, 42 years
As I reflect on my time at Saint Anselm College, I cherish the many fond memories created on the Hilltop. One highlight was enjoying lunch at the old coffee shop beneath Alumni Hall, where administration, faculty, and staff gathered around a long table to share meals and conversation.
I also fondly remember participating in the Noon Time League Basketball games alongside esteemed colleagues such as Arthur Kenison ’63 and Paul Kenison ’62, Bill Farrell, Joe Catanese ’70, Todd Emmons ’75, Bill Andrea, Drew Litz ’78, Ed Cannon, James Mahoney, Greg Buck, Mark Cronin, and many others.
However, the proudest memory for me is the sense of family that permeates our community. I began my journey here in April 1983, and later that year, my son, Rory, was born with a birth defect. The support from the college was invaluable; I was able to take time off, and the community rallied to help us with raising money to travel to Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield, Mass. This support was crucial during a challenging time, and it reinforced the notion that the college community truly became our extended family.
While new faces may come and go on campus, the sense of community and belonging has remained constant. I must also express my deep gratitude to my wife, Sharry, whose unwavering support and encouragement have been instrumental in making my career a successful one. Her belief in me and her kindness have enriched my journey at Saint Anselm. I also take pride in the fact that both of my sons, Rory and Shawn, worked here and attended several sports camps at the college during their high school years.
It was always amusing when Rory would answer the office phone and people would mistake him for me, while Shawn made quite a name for himself working in the Coffee Shop. Retiring feels surreal, yet the memories and connections I’ve made will always hold a special place in my heart as I move forward, especially for the CCM team.
Philip Pajakowski, Ph.D.
History, 36 Years
A fun memory was when Prof. Matt Masur got me to sing “Guantanamera” with a bunch of street musicians in Havana on out first trip to Cuba in 2014.
Fun Fact: The water cooler in Joseph Hall was once named for me (it’s gone now). It was named for me by Prof. Hugh Dubrulle. I arranged with Fr. Augustine (academic dean at the time) to have the cooler installed on our floor. Hugh said that was my most significant achievement as department chair.
Carmen Sullivan, M.A.T.
Modern Languages, 27 Years
I have many wonderful memories of the Hilltop. Over the years, I have seen many changes and met many wonderful people, including my students. My favorite memories at Saint Anselm College from over the years are with Fr. Peter Guerin, who first hired me for a Spanish parttime position in 1995.
After a year, my family and I moved away, and I was rehired in 1999. Fr. Peter and I had a special bond because his sister-in-law was also from my native Nicaragua. After he retired, we shared a special tradition of enjoying my homemade tres leches cake. Fr. Peter helped me go through some very hard times in my life, and I will always be grateful for him.
Fun Fact: I was once mistaken for a ghost in Alumni Hall! One hot summer day, I decided to remodel my office on the fourth floor. I was moving bookshelves and furniture around and making a lot of noise, assuming that there was no one else in the vicinity. Unbeknownst to me, there were men doing repairs in the bell tower; all spooked out by loud noises in the building that is rumored to be haunted. One man came up to my office to investigate, quietly, and we ended up both screaming at the sight of each other!
Arlene Thompson
Office and Program Coordinator, Student Engagement and Leadership, 27 Years
My favorite memory will always be seeing each student fulfill their dream when they have successfully completed their personal goals and accomplishments as they walk across the stage at commencement.
Fun Fact: Never would I have ever expected to form so many strong bonds with so many young adults. I consider myself so fortunate to have been a part of this wonderful community. Thank you, Saint Anselm College, for this incredible ride!
Kevin A. McMahon, Ph.D.
Theology, 41 Years
I arrived at Saint Anselm College right out of graduate school in August of 1984. My brother, Sean, had graduated from Saint Anselm that May. Our father, John A. McMahon, graduated in 1947, having spent only two years at the college. The bombing of Pearl Harbor happened in December of his freshman year, and like just about every other student, he enlisted in the military. The next two years were spent in officer training school, for which he ultimately received college credit. Then followed two years on destroyers in the South Pacific. So when he received his discharge and returned to Saint Anselm, it was as a college senior. His diploma, still bright white, has hung on the wall of every office I have had over the years, dwarfing my yellowed Ph.D. from Marquette.
I was married in the Abbey Church on October 4, 1986, to Mary Margaret Meehan. Her brother, Tim, had also graduated from Saint Anselm and had spent several years as a member of the monastic community. It was his closest friend in the monastery, Fr. Jude Gray, who celebrated our marriage. Her father, Timothy F. Meehan, had been a member of the college’s board of trustees. Her brother, Dennis, was another graduate— though his matriculation, like my father’s, was interrupted by war. This time, the Vietnam War. I can remember as if it were yesterday my son, John Timothy, named for his two grandfathers, watching Jim Mazzone, now a priest of the diocese of Worcester, using a jackhammer to cut away the rock underneath the Carr Center to make room for new basement locker rooms. He had made a deal—brute labor in exchange for summer Spanish classes.
And then there was the student I’d never met before who, just after my daughter, Kara Elizabeth, had been born, came up to me to say that Kara Elizabeth was her name too. Such a touching thing to do. Forty years, teaching theology, has made it abundantly clear to me that the students are Saint Anselm’s greatest treasure, and it has been my great privilege to know them, in their personal triumphs and in their tragedies. Having spent the whole of my 20s in one library or another, reading and studying, it was my wife, herself a theology teacher, who finally taught me that, more to the point, in everything we do, is life. And the point of life is Christ.
Kevin Staley, Ph.D.
Philosophy, 39 Years
My most memorable moment on campus: May 10, 1994, at 2:11 p.m. I was sitting in the abandoned grotto behind Gadbois Hall during a near total eclipse of the sun (95 percent). The tree canopy was just beginning to bud. I suppose one would call it a holy moment.
