By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
Interim Director of Alumni Relations Maria D’Agostino Crawford ’91 takes pride in helping build relationships between the past and present of Springfield College
On Aug. 29, Maria D’Agostino Crawford ’91 was announced as Springfield College’s Interim Director of Alumni Relations. Crawford’s love for Springfield College dates back to 1987, when she first stepped onto campus as an undergraduate in the newly-introduced introduced Sport Management program. The campus looked vastly different from how it looks now. A giant road divided the path between Cheney Hall and what was the campus union at the time, the Beveridge Center. With this road in place, people were able to drive from Alden Street to Reed Hall. Multiple buildings, such as the Wellness Center, Senior Suites and Living Center did not exist at the time.
Crawford first heard of Springfield College when her physical education teacher at Mineola High School in Garden City Park, New York – a Springfield alum – encouraged her to visit. Crawford took his advice and toured the school. Shortly after she arrived, Crawford knew she belonged.
“I loved the feel of Springfield College,” Crawford said. “I also toured the University of Massachusetts Amherst and I said to myself, ‘I guess I could learn to like this.’ But as soon as I got to Springfield, everyone was so friendly and I could picture myself attending Springfield College as a student.”
Arriving on campus the following fall was nerve-wracking for Crawford, as she came in not knowing anyone. Crawford was not deterred, telling herself that if she could get through the first semester, then the rest of the journey would be downhill from there. She joined several student organizations such as the Student Government, Best of Broadway, a small woodwind group and more.
Through these groups, Crawford met Betsy Moquin and Stacey Hall. She befriended Hall, who also lived in Abbey Hall and worked in the student government, while she met Moquin through working as a contributor to the student newspaper, The Springfield Student.
“She was well-liked as a student and person, and respected for her dedication to the Springfield Student and to the college as a whole,” Moquin said. “Maria was known for her strong work ethic and was someone you knew would do a thorough job with whatever task she took on, both inside and outside of the classroom.”
Crawford’s work ethic served her well. After graduating in 1991 she landed a job with the American Hockey League, where she served as the marketing services manager, managed accounting of the licensing program, and produced AHL sales and marketing videos. Crawford developed a fondness for hockey during her eight-and-a-half years with the AHL, which is evident from the collection of pucks and the AHL All-Star Game stick in her office.
Developing a strong passion for Springfield College, Crawford thought about how someday it would be wonderful to come back and work for the school. The opportunity arose in 1999 when she was hired as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations. Crawford worked in this position for almost two years but took a career break to take care of her two daughters.
“To come to work every day to a place that I love and to people that either I have met and have played such a positive role in my life, or the people that I get to meet doing the work here, it’s very rewarding,” Crawford said.
Ten years later, Crawford returned to Springfield College as the Office Manager of Alumni Relations. She became the assistant director five years later and then the associate director in 2017. When Crawford started working in the Alumni Office, Hall knew she was a great fit.
“Maria has a lot of passion for SC and our alumni,” Hall said. “I know I could count on her great follow-through, creative problem-solving and coming up with positive ways to support alumni. Maria remembers so much information about each alum she interacts with and it’s a gift of how skillfully she facilitates networking.”
In her previous role as Associate Director, Crawford’s proudest moments involved career development projects where she helped connect current students with alumni or connecting alums with other alums and hosting career networking events on campus. Before COVID-19 hit, Alumni Relations hosted networking programs in both the New York City and Boston areas.
Crawford takes pride in seeing face-to-face connections and relationships built between the past and present of Springfield College.
“It’s been extremely rewarding to see that our alumni love to come back and chat with our current students,” Crawford said. “I’m also very proud of our Alumni and Student Housing Assistance Program, which helps our current students going out on either clinical experiences or internships in areas where they may not have a place to stay secure housing with fellow alumni or folks connected to alumni that are happy to house students.”
Now, Crawford is taking on the role that was previously shared by her former mentors, Tammy Kidess Lucey ‘81,G’ 82 and Deleney Magoffin ‘05 and G’11.
As the Interim Director of Alumni Relations, Crawford will oversee everything in the department. There are six goals she wants to continue: assisting admissions in recruiting future students, assisting partners in development in raising funds for scholarships, career development and engagement, public relations, engagement of alumni and the education and engagement of current students.
With these goals in mind, Crawford looks to keep alumni engaged with Springfield College and its students while encouraging former students to wear their Springfield merchandise.
Crawford isn’t the only member of her family to attend Springfield College. Her cousin followed her and graduated from the physical education program in 2012, her nephew earned a sports management degree, and one of her daughters, Megan, graduated last year and is a graduate student in the physician assistant program.
To this day, Crawford keeps in touch with both Hall and Moquin. Hall is the Assistant Vice Provost of Student Life at the University of New Hampshire and Vice President of the Springfield College Alumni Council. At the same time, Moquin is the Vice President of People Practices at the YMCA of Central Massachusetts. Both have one word in mind to describe their longtime friend.
“Loyal,” Hall said. “Maria is loyal to SC, her friends and her family.”
“Maria is the epitome of the triangle,” Moquin said. “She is one of those people who truly wants the college and its students, staff and alumni to be successful. Maria not only knows everyone by name, she remembers details of their specific SC stories and knows what they are doing now. We are fortunate to have her in such an important leadership role.”
Though alumni is in her title, Crawford wants to focus on current students.
“We want our current students to know that their relationship with alumni relations is lifelong and that their time as a student is the short time of their relationship with Springfield College,” Crawford said. “You’re a student today, but an alum forever. We hope students have a lifetime relationship with Springfield College.”