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Going into her senior year at Emmanuel College, Stacy Walsh ’24 wasn’t planning a final project focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI). She had other concerns back in the spring of 1999.
Living off campus and determined to pay her own way, Walsh was balancing work and academics, and decided to finish her degree later.
“My plan was to return over the summer and finish up, but life happened,” said Walsh.
The journey included an extended stint in the restaurant industry, before joining the Boston-based advertising agency Zozimus as an executive assistant eight years ago. In time, Walsh was promoted to Director of Human Resources and Operations. It’s a good job, but she never stopped learning—and never forgot promising her father that someday she would finish her degree.
Things came full circle for Walsh last fall, when she volunteered to help her fiancé’s daughter relocate to college for freshman year. She too was attending Emmanuel, and returning to campus set a train of thought in motion for Walsh.
“I talked to my partner and he said, ‘Why don’t you just go back and finish your degree?'” said Walsh. “I said ‘it’s been so long, I wouldn’t know what it would entail.' He said, 'Why don’t you ask?'”
That’s exactly what she did.
A Happy Reunion
Walsh called Emmanuel’s Office of the Registrar, which confirmed she was one course short of an English degree. All she needed was the capstone, a culminating project in each Emmanuel student’s area of study.
Back in 1999, Walsh planned to do a capstone about storytelling with Professor of English Lisa Stepanski, now the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences. A member of the Registrar’s Office told her they’d look into it.
“I mentioned that to the Registrar’s Office, not knowing that Lisa is now the Dean,” said Walsh. “I talked to Lisa soon after and she told me that we’d figure it out.”
The request was unique in Dr. Stepanski’s 37 years at Emmanuel, but she admired Walsh’s dedication. Together they set about building an independent directed study to earn the capstone over the summer.
“I give her full credit,” said Dr. Stepanski. “She’s in a very successful place, and the idea of coming back for that one thing was so interesting-- and she was a delight.”
Capstone projects typically include a combination of seminars, discussion, engagement, and substantial research. Having used AI professionally, Walsh opted to explore its impact on storytelling. She worked with Dr. Stepanski to arrange meetings with subject matter experts and assemble an extensive reading list for the course.
Once again, Walsh was balancing work with academics, but this time she had the advantage of Zoom meetings and the ability to work from her home, in Canton, Mass. On average, Walsh reads a book a week, so the research was no problem. The writing was cause for some trepidation.
“That was the most daunting part for me,” said Walsh. “It had been 25 years since I’d written a research paper.”
Dr. Stepanski said Walsh more than rose to the challenge.
“She was completely engaged in pulling out as much as she could from the readings and discussions,” said Dr. Stepanski. “There was a unique level of commitment, from her maturity and experience and realizing the importance of the education.”
A Chapter Completed
A Dedham, Mass. native, Walsh was curious about media after graduating high school. She spent one year at Syracuse, but found it too large and too far from home. She preferred Emmanuel’s tight-knit campus in the heart of the city, with Boston and ample job opportunities within easy walking distance.
While her path to this degree was unique, Walsh has no regrets, citing the many social and soft skills developed over her career. She was also thankful to Dr. Stepanski and her family for helping to make it happen.
“It was amazing,” said Walsh. “It was so satisfying to see all of the pieces come together.”
