Latest news with #MerrimackCollege
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Massachusetts state championships schedule for spring sports
With April vacation in the rearview and Memorial Day around the corner, it's time to start thinking about the playoffs. The spring postseason often feels like summer, and there are more sports to track than ever. Now that the initial batch of power rankings are out, we are entering the stretch run. Here is when every sport starts its postseason and where the athletes will compete: Baseball Cut-off date: Monday, May 26 Advertisement Bracket release: Wednesday, May 28 Preliminary round: Friday, May 30 (can be played Thursday, May 29 if both athletic directors agree) Round of 32: Sunday, June 1 or Monday, June 2 Round of 16: Wednesday, June 4 or Thursday, June 5 Quarterfinals: Saturday June 7 or Sunday, June 8 Semifinals: Tuesday, June 10 or Wednesday, June 11 State finals: Friday, June 13 and Saturday June 14 Softball Cut-off date: Monday, May 26 Bracket release: Wednesday, May 28 The Hopedale Raiders celebrate in left field after defeating Millis, 5-1, in the Division 5 round of 16 game at Mellen Field in Hopedale, June 4, 2024. Tournament begins: Friday, May 30 (can be played Thursday, May 29 if both athletic directors agree) Finals: Friday, June 13 and Saturday June 14 Lacrosse Cut-off date: Monday, May 26 Advertisement Bracket release: Wednesday, May 28 Tournament begins: Friday, May 30 (can be played Thursday, May 29 if both athletic directors agree) State finals: June 13-15 Last year: Wellesley girls lacrosse can't catch up to Central Catholic in D1 state championship game Track & field Division 1: Thursday, May 29 and Saturday, May 31 at Tufts University, Somerville Division 2: Thursday, May 29 and Saturday, May 31 at Merrimack College, North Andover Division 3: Friday, May 30 and Sunday, June 1 at Westfield State University Division 4: Friday, May 30 and Sunday, June 1 at Merrimack College, North Andover Division 5: Thursday, May 29 and Saturday, May 31 at Westfield State University Advertisement Division 6: Friday, May 30 and Sunday, June 1 at Tufts University, Somerville Meet of Champions: Thursday, June 5 and Saturday, June 7 at Fitchburg State Tennis Cut-off date: Wednesday, May 21 Bracket release: Friday, May 23 Tournament begins: Tuesday, May 27 (games can be played as early as May 24 if both athletic directors agree) First singles Kaden Chen of Westborough holds up the Division 2 state tennis championship trophy after defeating Duxbury at MIT, Saturday, June 15, 2024. State finals: Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, June 15 Budding dynasty?: State-champion Wellesley girls tennis won state title without a senior Rugby Cut-off date: Saturday, May 24 Bracket Release: Tuesday, May 27 Tournament begins: Thursday, May 29 (can be played Wednesday, May 28 if both athletic directors agree) Advertisement State finals: Saturday, June 14 Boys volleyball Cut-off date: Friday, May 23 Bracket release: Tuesday, May 27 Tournament begins: Thursday, May 29 (can begin Wednesday, May 28 if both athletic directors agree) State finals: June 12-13 Girls golf Cut-off date: Thursday, May 22 Sectionals: Tuesday, May 27 and Wednesday, May 28 State finals: Monday, June 2 This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: MIAA spring sports state championship schedule for 2025
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronaut lands at Merrimack College for commencement
NORTH ANDOVER — NASA astronaut Suni Williams was honored at Merrimack College during commencement for the School of Arts and Sciences in the Lawlor Arena on May 15. Williams was the commencement speaker and also received an honorary degree. Merrimack College had 2,200 students graduating this year over its two-day commencement activities. 'Boy, I'm much more comfortable on a space craft,' she told the graduates. Williams returned to Earth in March after an eight-day mission turned into more than nine months on the International Space Station. She told the graduating students about the extended space stay. Williams said she and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore could have worried about their situation, but had time to embrace the 'unbelievable things if you stop for a moment and look out the window,' and took in the sights of space. The Needham, Massachusetts, native offered some advice to the Class of 2025 in her address. 'This is your time, your world to make better,' Williams said.
CBS News
16-05-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Astronaut Suni Williams honored at Merrimack College commencement
If graduation is an entry into the real world, you may want to learn from someone who just entered that atmosphere. NASA astronaut Suni Williams just so happens to be an expert on the topic. "I wish everybody had the opportunity to take the view, you know get a lap around the planet and take a view," Williams told WBZ-TV. On Thursday, she was at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts to speak to graduating students. Williams expected to be on the International Space Station for eight days, instead, she was stuck there for nine months. "Stop for a moment" It's there she learned a lesson; one she imparted on the graduates as their commencement speaker. That lesson is to pivot. "Yes, we could have worried about getting home for those nine months but instead we looked at the foliage," Williams told the graduates. NASA astronaut Suni Williams addresses graduates at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. CBS Boston The astronauts saw auroras and two comets. "Unbelievable things if you just stop for a moment and look out the window," Williams said in her speech. "Just doing my job" After months of waiting, on March 18, her return pod splashed back into the ocean. Quickly she became a celebrity. "It's a little bizarre a little weird," Williams said. "You know in the words of Bill Belichick I am just doing my job." A career that now includes an honorary degree from Merrimack and, a chance to return to a normal life. "Just chill out and be with family, I think that's number one," Williams said. "Number two is giving back the things that I have learned." Just as she is giving these graduates advice, she will be doing the same soon for younger astronauts. "We try to offer our expertise and experience to them to make sure that they're ready to go," Williams said. Suni Williams visits Massachusetts State House After Merrimack's commencement, Williams, who is from Needham, Massachusetts, met with Gov. Maura Healey and local students at the State House. "It was great to welcome Suni Williams to the State House and back home to Massachusetts," Healey said. "Her resilience and dedication to service serves as an incredible model for young people across the state, reminding them that their potential is as limitless as outer space. We hope that some of the students who joined us today will be inspired to pursue careers in STEM and truly reach for the stars." Healey awarded Williams with a Governor's Citation in recognition of her dedicated service to her country and space exploration.
Boston Globe
15-05-2025
- Science
- Boston Globe
Astronaut Sunita Williams receives honorary degree from Merrimack College, recalls dramatic nine-month journey in space
'Sometimes, just stopping for a moment and looking around allows us to see what's happening right in front of us,' Williams, 59, said. '[There are] unbelievable things, if you just stop for a moment and look out the window.' Advertisement In an interview after the ceremony, Williams revealed plans to continue passing on her wisdom. On Friday, she plans to visit her hometown of Needham, dropping by Sunita L. Williams Elementary School—which was named for her in 2019—and in the future she pledged to mentor aspiring astronauts, 'giving back the things that I've learned, and pass it on to the future generations.' Her advice to these new astronauts closely mirrors the guidance she offered the graduates: be able to 'adapt and pivot.' 'I don't think I've had one spacewalk that has gone from A to B as planned. Every time there's been something that's a little bit different, and you just need to know that's part of the job,' she said. Advertisement Williams' speech follows her Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams posed for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 13, 2024. Uncredited/Associated Press She described in the speech witnessing 'unbelievable' auroras, watching two comets swing around the sun, and carrying out 'groundbreaking' life-science experiments and spacecraft trials. 'We wouldn't have had that opportunity to participate in these things if everything went as planned,' she said. 'We don't always intend to do these daring things and learn so much.' According to Williams, success lies in patience, steadfastness, and the willingness to support—and lean on—one another. NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams spoke with the media following the commencement. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff 'This is just the beginning,' she told the graduates. 'There are many more starting lines you need to find. There are so many more people you need to lend a helping hand to.' 'This is your time, your world to make better,' she said. Merrimack College also awarded Williams an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters—one of five honorary degrees presented at this year's commencement ceremonies. She beamed and gave a thumbs-up as a white stole was draped over her shoulders, officially marking her new distinction. NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams greeted graduates as they passed through a gauntlet of faculty during Merrimack College's School of Arts and Sciences Commencement in North Andover. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff The award is just part of a long list of accolades for Williams, who has received two Defense Superior Service Medals, a Humanitarian Service Medal, and numerous other Advertisement In fact, even on earth, her passion for running remains undiminished. She told the Globe in the post-ceremony interview, she will run again in the Boston Marathon in 2026. 'I have to be a little bit careful as [my] body adjusts to coming back home,' she said. '… [But] I'm going to make myself do it. Now that I've said it out loud.' Mostly, though, she wants to savor life on Earth. 'I missed it,' Williams said. 'To come back to walk my dogs... take them to the beach, feel the sand in your feet, you know, go hiking in the mountains and you know, smell the pine.' 'I took for granted none of it,' she said. Rita Chandler can be reached at
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Wicked smart': Pope Leo XIV shares connection to local Mass. college
A local Massachusetts college was a small stepping stone to the historic moment Pope Leo XIV became the first American-born pope in the history of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIV gave communion back in 2005 when he received an honorary degree from Merrimack College. He was recognized for his work in Augustinian education. Father Ray Dlugos is Vice President of Mission and Ministry at Merrimack College, one of only two Augustinian colleges in North America. The other one is Villanova, where Dlugos was classmates with the newly ordained pope! "I was in at least two or three philosophy classes with him, and from that experience I can, and I'm going to betray my Philadelphia roots and become a New Englander, I can tell you he is wicked smart!" Father Dlugos said. 'He's very unassuming, you would not know that until you'd have to encounter him and feel the strength of his intellect, the warmth of his personality and his just gentle goodness would come through, he was like that as a college student,' Dlugos explained further. Pope Leo XIV was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, entering the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977. He took his vows in 1981 and was ordained in 1982. Prevost earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977, then earned a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He was the apostolic administrator of Callao, Peru, from 2020 to 2021. Pope Francis appointed him as the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023, which was responsible for selecting bishops and was in that position until the death of Francis on April 21. He was made a cardinal by Pope Francis on September 30, 2023. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
