~ The Saugus Advocate Asks ~

Andrew James Whitcomb talks about being awarded a Chancellor’s Medal for Student Service last weekend at UMass Lowell commencement exercises

  Editor’s Note: For this week’s interview, we talked to former Saugus Town Meeting Member Andrew James Whitcomb – the third in a Saugus family of quadruplets to graduate from UMass Lowell in the last two years. His sisters Collette and Diana graduated last year. His brother, Bryce, plans to complete his undergraduate degree within the next few years at UMass Lowell. Andrew’s graduation last Saturday was special, as he received the Chancellor’s Medal for Student Service, which is awarded to members of the graduating senior class who have made outstanding contributions to the university. This could include involvement with clubs and organizations, campus programs, leadership positions or other activities that improve the quality of life for students. Andrew, 23, was selected to represent the 75,000-plus students from the five UMass campuses as a student advisor to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education for the 2022-23 academic year. He attended monthly meetings and helped to steward the 29 campuses in the state’s public higher education system. Last Saturday, he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

  Andrew is the son of Precinct 4 Town Meeting Member Maureen Whitcomb, a single Saugus working mother, who Andrew said has made a lot of personal sacrifices to create a better life for her children. Besides serving on Town Meeting, Maureen is also a member of the Saugus Housing Authority. She is also working on a college degree for herself.

  Since an early age, Andrew has taken an active interest in local and state government. He hosted the “Know Your Town” cable television program for Saugus TV. He would attend town meetings with his mom, whose cousin is Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree. By age 10, he was holding campaign signs for family friends who were running for select board or school committee. When he was 14, he was on the steering committee for State Representative candidate Jennifer Migliore, a Saugus Democrat who ran against State Rep. Donald Wong (R-Saugus). Migliore later invited Whitcomb to Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government to speak to her seminar about the power of small-town government. Highlights of this week’s interview follow.

  Q: Briefly, please tell me about your college education.

  A: I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a dual concentration in Management and Marketing. In December I am set to finish my MBA at UMass Lowell and I am going to start working on my applications to law school very soon in order to start in fall of 2025. My top choices are Northeastern and Suffolk.

  Q: Andrew, it looks like you wore a bunch of different ceremonial sashes or robes last Saturday. Briefly, please describe them and tell me what they are for. You must have made your mom very proud last weekend! Please tell me how it went.

  A: Happily, my mother was so excited. As a Chancellor’s Medal recipient, my family got reserved seating at the ceremony so they had a really good view. All of the medal recipients are invited to sit on the stage during the ceremony and get recognized one at a time, so when I stood up, I could see my family waving their arms. As a rep for the department of Higher Ed., I walked in with the Chancellor’s procession and attended the graduate student/doctoral ceremony as well. It’s impossible not to feel pride and excitement for all of the graduates. While the Chancellor’s group was lining up before our entrance, all of the Vice-Chancellors and the department and college Deans were just beaming and admiring all the work that the students had done.

That’s how UMass Lowell is – all of the people on the executive cabinet are really genuine, approachable and want what’s best for students. Nobody takes themselves too seriously. And that’s why I got along so well with them.

  Q: What about the garments you are wearing in your graduation day photo?

  A: Two gold cords for Magna Cum Laude. Two red cords for my distinction in Leadership. I chose to tailor part of my degree and extracurriculars and had to write reflections on each of these experiences. Two Silver and Navy for my induction to the First Generation Honor Society (Tri-Alpha); one black, light blue and white for my induction to the National Leadership Honor Society (Omicron Delta Kappa [or ODK]).

I was given one stole to indicate my Chancellor’s Medal, one “Student Leader” stole for serving on a club E-Board, one stole for being an ODK member, and the last stole is for being a member of the River Hawk Scholars Academy; it’s a university department that promotes and supports First Generation students. (It’s university/faculty run; different from a student club).

It’s fun putting it all on but you feel a bit ridiculous – like Cher or Elton John or something – very different from the jeans and quarter zip that I typically wear to Town Meeting.

  Q: Please tell me about the Chancellor’s Medal you received.

  A: The University gives out medals to graduating students for Student Service, Community Service and Diversity and Inclusion. There is a faculty committee that reviews applications; they award up to eight for each category.

My student service medal was mainly for my work as a member of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education; for the last two years I have served as the representative for all of the UMass Schools. The board sets policy for all public colleges in Mass. We also wrote the fair share amendment proposals and Mass Grant+ expansion that was approved by Governor Healy.

In addition, I was a member of multiple University club boards that support students, like the Student Government Association.

  Q: You mentioned to me that your mom has done a great job raising quadruplets as a single mom.

  A: All of my mother’s investment is in us; for as long as I can remember she’s been captaining the ship. When we started school, she made sure we had everything we needed; her phone was constantly ringing from one of us. A lot of the time I wouldn’t have a chance to call her until late at night but she always picked up – weathering the storm before you get to see the sun.

  Q: Did you lose your dad at a young age? You don’t need to go into details unless you want to.

  A: My father is still alive, just not in the picture and hasn’t been for a long time. Even when he lived with us, my mother was doing all the heavy lifting. We have always needed food stamps; for the last 10 years we have lived in subsidized housing. That’s part of the reason why my mother decided to run for the Saugus Housing Authority.

She was a single mother, but never alone. We lived with my grandmother until I was 14; she meant the world to me. She passed away a couple of years ago. My Aunt Linda was a big champion for me as well and she passed just after we graduated high school in 2019. My mother still has family in Saugus though it’s just smaller now.

We never really had a lot of money; there were a lot of mouths to feed. Because of that we couldn’t take big vacations or something for school break like the other students. The UMass system gives the most financial aid and that made public college the best option for us. Looking back on it now, I wouldn’t have gotten many of the opportunities I have if I hadn’t gone to UML.

My mother is a workhorse. She always has been but there has been a lot on her shoulders since we were born. Now that my sisters have begun their professional careers and moved into their own apartments in town, it’s a little less stressful for her and a little less to carry around. Neither of us are good at relaxing and my hair is already graying – hahaha. She’s always tried to make the best of what we have. Eventually I hope to have enough where she won’t have to worry about finances. Even when I started to think about law school, she was adamant that I do what would make me happy and that we would find the money through loans, scholarships or otherwise.

While the family has gotten smaller, I have had a lot of support from others in my life. By chance there are a lot of public officials in town that I have known well before any of us got involved, and their friendship is very important to me. I refer to Selectman Deb Panetta, Jeannie Meredith and former Selectman Jenn D’Eon as my Aunts because they have supported me through a lot over the years and I don’t really have that kind of extended family left. So whenever I have big news to share, I call them. I called them all on Mother’s Day, too, and it’s always a comfort to me knowing that they are rooting for my success.

College and studying and sometimes just being 23 and trying to figure out what you are supposed to do with your life can be isolating a lot of the time, but when you have people like my mother and those three cheering for you, it makes it a lot easier.

  Q: Please tell me about your sisters and your brother, and how they are doing.

  A: Collette works in the Endoscopy department at Beverly Hospital and she recently got accepted into a radiology program at North Shore Community College. Diana is an Operating Room nurse at Winchester Hospital. Neither are planning on graduate degrees at the moment, but they wouldn’t rule it out down the road. My brother Bryce and my mother are set to finish their undergrads together at UML within the next few years. Both are studying in the business school.

As for me, I am set to complete my MBA before Christmas and then I hope to attend law school in fall 2025. My top law school picks are Northeastern and Suffolk but UMass Lowell will always be home for me.

  Q: What would you like to do as a career?

  A: I’d like to practice some form of business law, like intellectual property or white collar litigation.

  Q: Anything else that you would like to share?

  A: Please give my mother a ton of credit; she’s sacrificed a ton to raise quadruplets alone, and she really wants all of us to get through our degrees.

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