Jon Ahern is one of the faces behind-the-scenes here in the Admissions office at Emmanuel. He reads applications (maybe he read yours!) and works with high school students to tell them how great Emmanuel really is. But that’s not all he does: Jon has been involved with ASB Phoenix for several years now, so we sat down with him to learn more about him and his experiences working with the homeless community in honor of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Read on to learn more!
HCE: How long have you been working at EC?
JA: I’ve been here about two and a half years now. I started in 2013.
HCE: Could you tell us a little bit about your position? What do you do here in Admissions?
JA: I’m an Assistant Director of Admissions, so essentially what that means is [that] there’s a bunch of us, and we go out and we recruit high school students. We each have territories that we manage and we go into high schools [to talk to prospective students]. Then when winter hits, we are reading applications and making decisions on who gets admitted to the school. I’m part of the team, it’s not just [me] that makes those decisions!
HCE: Wow, sounds busy! What’s been your favorite part about working here in Admissions, or just at Emmanuel in general?
JA: Hmm… favorite part… Okay, I would say – I’m an alum of the school, so I know Emmanuel really well. It’s fun to go back and talk to high school students because I always think back to my experience coming here. It’s cool to see students just starting out that process.
HCE: Aww, we love to hear that! So, when you go out and recruit high school students, what is the biggest thing you tell them that Emmanuel has to offer? What’s our best or most unique feature?
JA: I think our biggest selling point is “campus in the city” and our community here. We’re really the only school in Boston to have the best of both worlds, kind of a small-campus feel, but you also have all the opportunities [that come with] being in a major city….I mean, there’s a lot of great things to say about Emmanuel, but I think that is the number one distinguishing feature.
HCE: Great answer; that’s something we all love about Emmanuel, too! I’m curious, what is the strangest question you’ve ever been asked by a prospective student about Emmanuel?
JA: [laughs] Okay, so a student asked me once if she could keep her horse here. She was an equestrian…I tried to quickly go over with her that this is an urban campus, but I don’t think she was quite understanding what I was saying.
HCE: [laughs] That is quite an odd question. I don’t know what I would have said to that! So, can you tell us how or when you got involved with ASB Phoenix?
JA: I’ve actually been on the trip six times! So, a lot [laughs]; four times as a student, and twice as a staff member. I initially got involved my freshman year, and I knew right off the bat that it was something I was interested in. It ended up being a great experience and it led me to a lot of other opportunities to get involved here at Emmanuel. Then when I came back as a staff member, Deirdre Bradley-Turner, who coordinates the program, invited me back. That’s how I got involved recently.
HCE: That’s so great! Are you planning on going again in the future? Is this an annual trip now for you?
JA: I’m taking a break for a little bit. I think it’s good to have [other] people go. Ian in our office is going this year, which is great. I’ve had my opportunity to go so I think it’s fair that other folks have that same opportunity, too.
Jon [second in from the right] with a group from last year’s ASB trip to Phoenix
HCE: Sounds fair. Before you got involved with the trip, did you have a lot of knowledge about the homeless community?
JA: Not initially. I knew a little bit about it, but Phoenix is unique in that it’s a warm city all year round, so homelessness is a lot more prevalent there. Here in Boston, it’s a very hard to be homeless in the winter because you really can’t survive outdoors at night. And Phoenix is also kind of unique in how it sets up its social services. They have a lot of programs for homeless folks and they’re kind of all relegated to one area of the city. So what this means is that all of the homeless people are segregated into one corner of the city….It’s all very concentrated and visible how extensive the problem is.
HCE: I didn’t know that about Phoenix; that must be very eye-opening. Speaking of the trip itself, what is it like? You’ve been so many times, but do you have a favorite memory or a particularly rewarding experience?
JA: There’s been a lot of great experiences. There’s a fun aspect to it, too. We have a taco night one night; we go to the top of South Mountain one day and you can see the whole city of Phoenix from there; we go to Sedona for a day, so those are the kind of fun parts. I’ve had so many memorable experiences…the conversations with folks [in particular]. Most recently, I forget which trip this was, but it was the end of a really long day and there was this little girl who wanted to play hide and go seek with me after dinner. And we did, and I was so tired, but I was really happy I did it. But then we were leaving the site and it was very striking because she was walking home with her mom and I didn’t know what her home situation was like, and I felt privileged to be going home to a safe space for the night. I don’t know if she that same security. That sticks with me.
HCE: Wow, that’s definitely a powerful memory. So, since this week is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, can you tell us a little bit about what that means to you? How can we help address this problem?
JA: I think awareness is always good, and that’s what’s great about this week; it calls awareness to this issue. I remember when I was a student, I was part of ECCO [Emmanuel College Community Outreach] so I remember working to raise awareness about this. It’s very easy to get lost in your day-to-day routine and to forget about these larger issues. If there’s anything the Phoenix trip taught me, it’s that anything you can do to help is going to be a drop in a much larger bucket.
HCE: Anything that we as college students can be doing?
JA: Keep doing stuff like this! It raises awareness on campus, with the staff members too, not just students. And being in college is a privilege all on its own; I think everyone at Emmanuel is privileged just to be here. [It’s important to] think about how you can use your degree when you graduate, no matter what you go on to do, to make an impact or give back.
HCE: And finally, do you have any last-minute advice for all of us college students? Any important life mottos you think might be relevant to us?
JA: Don’t take yourself too seriously! [laughs] Especially senior year, I remember feeling really stressed about transitioning to the “real world”. Everything is going to be okay, really. Emmanuel really does prep you well to be an adult.
That’s comforting to hear! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us, Jon, and for sharing your wise words and experiences with the EC community!