Senior Snapshots: The faces behind FACES

But what they hope you remember them for is not their personal achievements or involvements - it's their work to make this campus a welcoming place for everyone.

Jim Unis, LSOE '06, and Chelsea Jones, A&S '06, have been two of the most active students at Boston College in their four years here. But both are far more passionate about opening up their school and throwing away stereotypes than anything else.

That's why they co-founded FACES, a group dedicated to bringing together people from all races and cultures and unifying the campus.

Jones says that she got involved with FACES after working on a research project with Dr. Linda Tropp on race relations among students.

"Basically what we got was both black and white students wanted to interact with each other but weren't sure if the other groups wanted to interact with them," she says. From there she met Unis, and the two began to form a group dedicated to unifying BC, along with Dr. Lillie Alberts, the group's moderator.

"I found that all students don't feel comfortable here and a lot of that is sometimes along racial lines," says Unis, who used these experiences as the building-block questions of FACES.

"So how do we make our organization desegregate [the campus], but at the same time make everyone feel they belong at BC? And everyone feels like this is a school that they are proud of, and this is a school that represents them as a human being, both culturally and racially? Through education and bringing together diverse groups of people, we hope to accomplish those goals."

Unis was a national football recruit, rated as the best player in New England his senior year in high school. But after too many concussions forced him to leave the team after his sophomore year, he became dedicated to education, especially in race relations.

"I try to be a role model, try not to fall into that stereotypical role of what an athlete is, of athletes segregating themselves, and to try and step out of that role and use the influence I have as a football player to do positive good within the community," says Unis. "Because I have the ability to influence people, it is my responsibility to try and do something … I wanted to use the skills that I have been blessed with, the skills God has blessed me with, and try to help other people's lives be better."

Jones has been a member of the track and field team, recently throwing her way into the top five throwers in BC shot put history. She has also worked with multiple research teams, was an orientation leader, and is very involved with the Women's Resource Center.

"The person I tried to be on campus is an advocate for other students who maybe don't have their voices heard," says Jones, who points toward her developing faith, her work in FACES, and her service work as instrumental in her goals.

Their work together and the work of FACES has led to many discussions, panels, and debates about the nature of BC, which both believe is their greatest contribution.

"I think the structure we've developed for this year moving into next year is a positive one in terms of engaging the campus in dialogue," says Jones.

She added that the Office of AHANA Student Programs "had a major focus on multiculturalism, which is the existence of many cultures … coexisting and then interacting. And they put an emphasis on FACES because they want to have a dialogue between students so we can understand each other and also be educated about issues. Instituting that kind of structure into Boston College and then having a consensus that this is what this campus needs is a good accomplishment for me."

Next year both Unis and Jones will be working toward their masters degrees in education and they hope to be working toward changing the structure of our society.

"What I really want to be doing is helping people, and having people helping me, too, in terms of learning through other people to keep growing and never being complacent and always working towards change," says Jones.

Unis says he hopes he doesn't find himself "getting sucked into the system where I just forget about the issues … [but] continuing to fight and to continuing to push for change so that all people can feel love and feel respected and validated as a human being in our society."