Crusader

Issue date: 3/28/03 Section: News

Jonathan Favreau ’03, delivering his Vanicelli Address.

Jonathan Favreau, former Opinions editor of The Crusader, has been named valedictorian of the class of 2003. "We're proud to select him, and to have him be the representative of our class at graduation," says Cara Gontarz, commencement chair of this year's graduating class.

Favreau has been an exceptionally accomplished and active student during his tenure at the College of the Holy Cross. Aside from his work with The Crusader, Favreau has been active with the College Democrats, currently serving as their Treasurer and Debate Committee chair. He also studied classical piano with professor Tahmizian from 1999 to 2000.

Favreau has an extensive record of community service to his credit. He participated in Habitat for Humanity during Spring Break 2001, and in the UMass Memorial M.O.V.E. Program, through which Worcester-area college students visited cancer patients for several hours each week.

Favreau has been particularly active in S.P.U.D., both in volunteer and leadership capacities. From 1999 to 2000, he served as a volunteer in the Welfare Solidarity Project, a program designed to assist welfare recipients by informing them of their legally-entitled benefits, which are often overlooked in a post-welfare reform system focused primarily on reducing its caseload. In 2000, Favreau became the program's director.

"During my time as director, I sought to strengthen the college-community relationship by establishing the project as an official Holy Cross organization, securing funding through various grants, and working with professors to include the project as a community-based learning component of various courses" says Favreau of his efforts with the program.

In 2002, Favreau became head of a new S.P.U.D. initiative, the Main South Workforce Development Program. The program focuses on assisting unemployed members of the Main South community through job placement and the improvement of resumes and interview skills. Favreau stills heads the program, made up of fifteen Holy Cross students who run workshops, conduct one-on-one training, and communicate with local businesses regarding employment opportunities.

A political science major, Favreau participated in the Washington Semester Program, serving as a press intern for Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry. While there, Favreau says he "assisted [Kerry's] communications director and press secretary in drafting op-eds, writing press releases, fielding press inquiries, and attending press conferences."

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