The little life at Stonehill: Brittany Lorgeree

By Audrey Sears

A fluffy pink rug and a knitted throw blanket. A pair of pink cushioned love seats. Flowy white curtains and raindrops on the windowpane. Dual monitors and a pink yoga ball. Half a dozen trash bags filled with donated clothes and shoes. Cans of non-perishables and bottles of water gathered on the floor.

Brittany Lorgeree’s office in the Chapel of Mary at Stonehill College is quaint and cozy. Mugs of tea and house plants litter her desk; a space she makes her own within the office of Campus Ministry.

As the Campus Minister for Community Engagement, Lorgeree interweaves building relationships with students and uplifting the greater community of Stonehill through service. Food drives, clothing drives, community partnerships, and sustainability efforts are only a few of the things on her to-do list throughout the year.

“My day to day can look different with meetings and different projects, but building community and supporting students is the core part of my job. I love it,” said Lorgeree.

On Tuesdays, Lorgeree devotes time to an office ladies’ lunch, joining her female coworkers in the ministry for a bite to eat and a conversation of catch-up. She is also a co-facilitator for Living with Loss; a peer group focused on providing grieving students and community members with connection and support every other Tuesday of the month.

Wednesdays are the longest days of the week for Lorgeree, who attends staff and director meetings, and teaches a class with Father Steven, RST 325, on Theology and Community Service. Lorgeree’s day ends with evening mass in the Villa Theresa Chapel, where Lorgeree also hosts a waffle night for students and other attendees in her apartment.

“In the beginning, there were a lot of blueberries and sweet toppings. Now, there’s a lot of pear butter going around,” said Lorgeree, who loves to bake.

Lorgeree’s husband, Tim, works in computer science and shares her faith. The pair got married when Lorgeree was still in grad school, and they lived together in Lorgeree’s parents’ basement before she took the position at Stonehill.

“When I asked Tim if we should move into a college dorm, he said, ‘let’s do it!’ but I think he was mostly excited to have a real kitchen sink,” Lorgeree said.

As the pastoral resident of Villa Theresa Hall, Lorgeree lives in the residence halls alongside students. Her experience raising a child and navigating married life while living on a college campus is a challenging balance at times.

When the door opens, Cinder, an orange and cream striped cat scurries over curiously, head-cocked and vocal. A short meow reminds Lorgeree it’s dinner time and where have you been all day and oh how I’ve missed you. He weaves through her legs and between her boots, rubbing his head along her calves.

“We got him a few months after we moved into Villa. Tim and I always knew we wanted to get a cat, but it was hard when we were living on my parents’ basement before,” said Lorgeree.

In the cramped apartment, a plush sunken couch rests against the left wall under a white-curtained window. Rainbow privacy film clings to the glass. Children’s toys litter the floor, small vegetable-shaped squishies and toy guitars.

A narrow kitchen juts off to the right side of the hallway, the beige-colored walls housing picture frames and pages from coloring books. Piles of books and boots and bags lend a lived-in effect to the sitting room. A warm, yellow-bulbed lamp casts a glow across the room.

Tiny shoes and pockets full of acorns mark Miles’ territory, Lorgeree’s two-year-old son. A boy of light hair and bright eyes, Miles is the only child living on campus with his parents.

“Visibility is a sacrifice of privacy. While some people can have a blurred line of work and life, I’m not able to leave my job at the door, but it does let me live in solidarity with students and make me more accessible to them,” reflected Lorgeree.

Sometimes, residents can run into Lorgeree and her family in their pajamas or switching loads in the laundry room. While it can get a little awkward, Lorgeree cherishes the opportunities she has while sharing intimate spaces with residents.

Lorgeree loves the aspect of her job that allows her to provide guidance at a higher education institution. Working as a tutor and a peer advisor at her graduate school showed her that guidance is one of her many callings. Her unique position on campus, in living with her family, is an element that Lorgeree appreciates being able to share with students.

“Whether students who aren’t sure if they want to enter clergy life or might want to start a family one day, I’m able to speak with them and help them understand that other pathways can be open while doing ministry,” said Lorgeree.

As attached as Lorgeree is to her life that she’s made at Stonehill, she knows that an apartment in a college dorm isn’t a feasible long-term plan for her young family. Although she doesn’t exactly know what’s coming next, she clings to the same advice she gives her students: Have faith.

“I don’t need to know what comes next; I don’t know what His plans are for me. I just know that the plans are good,” she said. “It will be what it will be, and it will be good.”

Lorgeree is very familiar with the anxieties of the future, providing guidance to her senior students who worry about grad school applications, the job market, and exiting student life.

“I just want to bottle up the feeling of my faith, in having trust in God and knowing that things will turn out okay and give it to them,” Lorgeree explains. “It’s human to envision what you don’t have or don’t know, but in hindsight, they can usually see that worrying didn’t help.”

Lorgeree loves the little life she’s built at Stonehill. From daily afternoon walks to evening mass and attending student events, the Lorgeree family feel right at home on campus.

“As Miles’ and Cinder’s first home, I love Stonehill. I love the students and the community. Everyone is so sweet to Miles. We like to call everyone our little ‘buddies,’” said Lorgeree. “When I first started working here, I said that this is something I could do forever. I could totally be the person that just stays for like thirty years.”