In light of his selection as the 2007 commencement speaker, Heights Editor in Chief Patrick Fouhy sat down with Jack Connors, BC '63 for an interview on his Boston College experience and life after BC.
When you graduated back in '63, did you ever imagine you'd be giving a commencement address one day at BC?
Absolutely not. Never. I didn't imagine I'd be back at BC for 25 of 26 years as a trustee.
I thought I'd only be back for a sporting event every once in a while.
Were you surprised when you were selected as this year's speaker?
I was blown away. I was very touched and very honored.
You've been one of the most ardent and loyal alumni of this University. What was so special about BC to you?
I was a commuter in an era when most of us were commuters. You know that long stairway near Higgins, where the sports center is? There was a big parking lot for all commuters. We used to climb the stairway the whole way every day. No cheating taking Campanella elevator to the fourth floor and through O'Neill.
I drove a checker taxi from five at night to two in the morning … to pay for school.
I sold peanuts and hotdogs and scorecards at Fenway over the summer but also in the spring and the fall.
School was something that I did during the day and none of [the students I graduated with] experienced the campus life you do today.
I drove to school - I had a carpool too so I could afford the gas to drive here. Tuition was $700 a year when I started and I think $1,000 a year when I graduated.
What has been your most lasting memory from your time at BC?
When I was there, my mom died of colon cancer. I was a junior and it was just after I was elected vice president of my senior class. She was aware of that and was really quite pleased.
Then, something that absolutely blew me away happened. The university president at the time, Father Seavey Joyce, came to her funeral. I just couldn't believe that the president of a college would come to her funeral. Nobody knew me or who I was. That changed my perception of BC forever and made me realize that I was part of a larger family.
As I got out in life, I decided I wanted to learn a little about fundraising, but not for politicians. I was not sure I was comfortable raising money for politicians. I went to Father Monan and asked about raising money for him. I didn't know anything about it but I asked my friends. We had a couple events.
In 1979, he asked me to become a member of the board of trustees, which was unrelated to my fundraising efforts, and I couldn't believe that I was going to be a member of the board of trustees of Boston College.
Hill, Holliday began as a small ad shop. What from your BC experience contributed to the incredible success you had in growing the company, bringing it into national renown?
It literally started from scratch in 1968 when four guys came together: [Hill, Holliday, Connors, and Cosmopulos].
We each put in $1,500 to become 25 percent partners. One was 40, one was 35, one was 30, and I was 25. I had a wife, baby, and $500, and an apartment in a two-family house. I was able to scrape the money up from my dad and then I went to the bank because we needed to borrow money for working capital.
The first three banks rejected me out of hand. All I wanted was $10,000 which doesn't seem like much today. After being rejected from three banks, I learned that I had to do my homework. I heard about a guy named Dick Driscoll who was a loan officer at New England Merchants National Bank, which is now part of Bank of America, and that he had gone to BC. I went to see him at the Prudential Center and told him that I was a BC grad and that I was trying to start a business and needed to borrow $10,000.
He asked me if I had a pro forma, which is a business plan. I told him I had no idea what that was. First, he rolled his eyes and then he told me to come back in the morning and there would be a check on the table.
Thirty years later, Dick asked me to be the master of ceremonies at his retirement party. I learned that networking and relationships were essential. You could argue BC relations got us started.
You've been one of the most supportive yet outspoken lay members of the Catholic church in Boston. Can you discuss your early involvement with the church and how BC contributed to your faith?
The phrase you have heard is "practicing Catholic." And I'll be practicing for the rest of my life. My faith formation began with my mother and father when I grew up in Holy Name Parish in West Roxbury. I went to Dedham High School, but then I went, obviously, to a Catholic college. The values that the Jesuits live and teach of service to others has really been the basis of my life and I really identify with the Good Samaritan.
I am not an overly religious person by any means, but what do I mean by that? A lot of people passed by the person in need and ignored him and I'm not comfortable with that - passing by people in need. I have tried to build my life around helping people who need help.
If you think about the students today, when I was at BC if you ran around the track at the Reservoir they'd have you locked up. They'd think you were drunk, or under the influence of something. Nobody took care of their bodies, exercised, did yoga, or ran a marathon.
When you think at how many people were involved over your semester breaks in trips to help poor communities, we didn't have that kind of commitment when I was there. I am going to learn a lot from you and your colleagues.
And my faith is very strong.
I got a call from Michael Paulson, from The Boston Globe, right after the church abuse scandal. He asked me if my faith was shaken.
It took me all these years to build my faith - at the time I was 58, and it took 58 years to build my faith and it was not shaken - my faith in the leadership was shaken.
I am a big fan of Cardinal O'Malley. I was in Brockton earlier today trying to convince some folks to give some money to help fix a few of the schools there.
I'm not a big deal. I'm just another person out there trying to do good for others. It's best to be humble as you can. I'm a lucky guy. I've been successful. How'd that happen? Education was a part of that. I did understand important things. I worked hard.
What led you to take such an outspoken position?
I wasn't the first. I thought that the leadership should provide an example - that has a lot to do with my own thoughts on leadership. To determine that there was a rouge priest who had [molested] a little boy and that was going to damage the [boy] for the rest of [his life], forget the fact that it was dishonest and inappropriate - you can't hide that. When you take a priest from Dorchester to Weston thinking nobody in either town is going to find out, that is inappropriate leadership. When you find out there are not two or three cases but well over 100, that means it's time for new leadership.
If you could give graduating seniors one piece of advice what would it be?
Be thoughtful, be humble, and don't let anybody ever tell you that you can't do something. My life is a testimony to the notion that everything is possible.
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