John Beirne ’26 | American Studies and Legal Studies major
They say people make the place, and through [Saint Anselm] I’ve found people who have had huge influences on my life and will continue to for years and years to come.
John Beirne ’26 plays rugby, holds a campus job, is an Irish dancer, attends Mass, and more all while excelling in his studies. After graduating, the 2025-2026 Thomas A. Melucci Jr. Scholarship recipient plans to help incarcerated individuals access the services they need while making communities a safer place.
What made you choose to be an American Studies and Legal Studies major?
I grew up intrigued by detective stories and as an avid fan of Sherlock Holmes, I initially wanted to become a private detective. My career path turned towards law after a high school American government class. We required to read about supreme court decisions and to explain how some of the decisions were rooted in “bad law.” I fell in love with precise decision-making, the close reading of words, and extracting exact meaning from them. I love history and I love the United States, and I wanted a discipline that allowed me to fully immerse myself in the country’s history.
With this pairing of majors, what do you hope to do as a career?
I want to use my skills and my love of the law to help people that need it. I have read too many stories of people not being placed into the correct programs that they need for their mental health, or a program that is not the best suited to the situation they find themselves in. Police officers can only do so much. They can arrest criminals, but it is up to the prosecution team to see that there is a need to put them away. I want to see a danger for society as a danger to society and be a part of the decision to protect people from being harmed again. I want to be a person who can look someone in the eyes and see that they need help, not just that they need to be locked away.
How have the courses you’ve taken at Saint Anselm College benefitted you?
As an American Studies and Legal Studies major, I thoroughly enjoy my classes. They helped me to shape and refine my goals about what I want to do as a career. Taking International Law a few semesters ago really opened my eyes to a whole different realm of possibilities for a career that I had never considered. I have to write a thesis for my American Studies major, and my professors have helped hone my areas of study and decide on a topic I want to research.
Aside from studies, how are you involved on the Hilltop?
My primary activity outside the classroom is with Men’s Club Rugby. The club means the world to me. Playing rugby allowed me to find my place in the Saint Anselm community and to work with the Meelia Center for Community Engagement to find opportunities for the club to participate in community service. I also joined the Irish/Celtic Society, because my father is from Ireland and I was a competitive Irish dancer for my whole life. I began attending club meetings and participating in shows to keep my dance career going and put my hard-earned skills to use. I serve at Mass for the monastery as the director of student altar servers, and each week I help coordinate and organize the altar servers. I also lead a weekly Athletes Bible Study through Campus Ministry to read and discuss various passages of Scripture.
How have you made a difference as an undergraduate student?
With the help of several teammates, I was able to rebuild Men’s Club Rugby back to being a functional club that could participate in games and other club activities. Since then, we’ve been able to do community service, fundraisers and host events for the other students to participate in. Keeping the club going and making it a place for other people to make friends has been so rewarding and has made all the time and effort I put into the club worth it.
Do you have a mentor or favorite professor on campus?
When I think of people who have been influential to me at Saint Anselm, there is one who I immediately think of: Father Aloysius Sarasin, O.S.B. ’17. He is my work study boss in the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership (SEAL) and helped me manage altar services in the Abbey. When I was feeling lost, I turned to Father Aloysius for help. He is someone I can talk to that listens to me and the experiences I am going through. I continue to lean on him for help, advice and guidance. I even asked him what philosophy and theology classes he would recommend that I take! Another influential person is Professor Robert Anderson. He helped me refine and hone my writing skills, and held students to a very high standard when it came to the papers we submitted for class. Professor Anderson’s classes were instrumental in helping me develop my critical thinking skills and learn to read intelligently.
Have you enjoyed your time at Saint Anselm?
Coming to Saint Anselm is truly one of the best decisions I ever made. They say people make the place, and through this school I’ve found people who have had huge influences on my life and will continue to for years and years to come. I love the way I was welcomed by everyone, from New Student Orientation to my senior year. I was able to find people and clubs based on my interests and activities. I did not need to change a thing about myself and was able to maintain my values. I never felt that my identity was under threat or that I had any reason to change to fit into the school’s culture.
Adapted from “Seniors Anne LaBelle and John Beirne Named 2025-2026 Melucci Scholars” news story.