Hello and welcome to the Providence College podcast. I'm your host, Liz Kay, and I'm joined by producer Chris Jones of the Class of 2005. Here in the Providence College podcast, we bring you interesting stories from the fire family.

This week, we're talking with Richard Quest, who spent most of his adult life minus one year as a student, faculty or staff member at Providence College. The Brooklyn Needed and Social Work Major graduated from PC in 1974, where he was a member of the Friars Club, was captain of the club football team, and met his wife, Terry

, a member of the class of 1976. Richie came back for a master's degree in theology in 1978, as well as a degree in fire science in 1982 from what is now known as the School of Continuing Education. He also taught theology for continuingly ed and later returned to work in student affairs while also serving as the advisor

of the Cal PC student newspaper, the Veritas, the yearbook, and also Shepherd for many years. It's so great to have you back on campus. How has retirement been treating you so far?

It's been wonderful and know I, I have I have been still in living a full speed life, mostly assisting, helping in involved with family, which was the big beckoning of why I retired. It's just been great. It's just been great.

I miss my friends here, PC, but I'm not too far, as you know. And here I am. So all all all along pandemic aside, we're doing great. We're doing great. And adjusting Marvel marvelously.

So tell us let's start at the very beginning. What brought you to PC initially and what are some of your favorite memories from undergrad?

Well, I am my mother's cousin was Dominican priest, Father James Quigley, and he was chaplain here at P.S. in the early 70s. And I also was pretty good track athlete in Brooklyn, New York, and had won New York City or Brooklyn, Queens, hurdling champion.

And among other events, I was pretty good athlete. And I received a letter from the track coach to come, and they gave me a partial scholarship. So I actually came here to to, you know, run it p.c. But when I get up here, there was no track and there was no hurdles.

And I was thinking, what am I going to jump garbage cans, you know? So they tried to make me a half mile away, but I was really a sprinter. But then I discovered that Pisi had a football team and was club, but that was my number one passion.

And so I ran for two years, but I played football here for four. And I was a social work major. The years of the 70s, growing up in the 60s was a very tumultuous, you know, Vietnam civil rights era.

And many of us chose social work as we were the generation who was going to change things. You know, we had John Kennedy telling us, ask what, not what your country can do for you, what could you do for your country?

And, you know, the Peace Corps and all these volunteer endeavors exploded. And I think P.C was very reflective of the the nation at the time. So that was my interests. I always had a deep interest in in working with people.

I can remember my guidance counselor in in high school looked at my one of those personality and career profile examinations or, you know, self-examination that you do. And he he said, well, you don't want to become an accountant.

And I said, no, no, my math subject, but things like recreation director, social worker, teacher, all were heavy in my profile. And PC had a great social work department, and that's where I gravitated to.

But it was that that athletic connection that you.

Yeah, that was you know, and it's funny. You talk to some modern day athletes, you know, collegiate athletes today where, you know, they have a campus visit. They you know, they given the tours you this my letter was as big as it like a three by five index card, you know.

And then you looked up in the Baron's book with the profile of Providence College was no glossy pictures, no CD, no website to go to. It was like, okay. And when I got here and saw the city of Providence, having grown up in Brooklyn, in New York City my whole life, I was like.

That can't be a city because that my neighborhood is based. But I fell in love with Rhode Island. I really did, along with falling in love with Terry. But that's that's down the road, you know, and I absolutely found that my years as an undergraduate, just self discovery, more about myself.

I was very immature. I was probably the youngest of my class in the class of 74. I was a late baby. Oh. So I was December 26th was my birthday. And so I am being the youngest of four children in Brooklyn, New York.

You know, I should have been held back, but I think my mother was kind of crazy of me, like, get this kid into school, you know? And as a result, I was only 17 years of age in my freshman year.

And I was looking back, I was very immature, but I had a happenstance, a wonderful, serendipitous moment with Father Walter Heath, who is the director of residence life. And he was the combination dean of discipline, if you are.

We didn't have one, but he ruled the roost. And I had some great encounters with him. And he along with a number of other professors and priests on campus, some who were my professors and some who I just knew casually outside the classroom, because in those early days, you know, most priests lived on the floors with all

the students. So every dorm had four or five, maybe eight priests living some two on a floor or someone. And they became your friends. I mean, drinking age was 18. So, you know, they'd come by and have a beer with you because you usually had a couple beers in the refrigerator or things like that.

And it was it just a different atmosphere and more home free. But you got to know a lot of the friars, the Dominican friars as personal friends, and they had deep influence in me and their intellect. I was in awe of I really was I wasn't an all star student by by any means.

But I think my encounters with many Dominicans over the years, especially in those early undergraduate years, whetted my appetite to say you're here to learn. And it was mostly learning about myself that I think transfigured myself to be the student affairs professional.

I was going to be come down the road. It really was. And I use that experience in my years in residence life as the assistant director residence life. And in speaking with young people who were making the adjustment of living on campus and then in the discipline office to the community standards office about, you know, you can

leave Providence College with a degree in marketing, with a degree in accounting, with a degree in bioscience. And whether you're a faurot or you're a two point five student, if you haven't learned about yourself during the four years of your matriculation here.

Two things have happened. The first is that you spent a lot of money on a fantastic education, and that's terrible because you could have spent the money elsewhere. The second is worse. You've failed yourself. You might be a faurot biochem major where you haven't discovered much about yourself.

You haven't learned the most important lesson.

And that's the big thing, I think, is the forté and the hallmark of a private college education. And why are students back in the 70s and 40s and even in present day love this place and the bonds of friendship and the meaning that takes place to them is all about that, that they discover themselves in ways that

they may not have before. So I'm looking back. Sorry for going astray here, but that's that's what I'm known for. Is that my own journey of self discovery and enlightenment, I guess, helped me in my later years working with students, and I loved it, loved it well.

And I think you mentioned Father Heath and there were so many generations of students who would who would have a similar feeling about their relationship with Father Heath. Oh, yeah. The other Dominicans that were here. I wonder, was it the close relationships you had with those Dominicans that inspired you to go on for your master's in theology

? Yes, it was. But there was a bit of a an episode in my sophomore year where I'm not proud of this, but it happened I had I was probably the last kid of the 60s and the early 70s not to try marijuana.

And I mean it I mean, even when I went back to Brooklyn, New York, or everybody, all my friends, and I was just like, no, I still want to put smoke into my lungs. It's not a good thing, you know, and but one time I tried it and I fell in love with it.

And but one night I had taken some stuff that had obviously I didn't know it at the time and laced with some LSD. And it was the last time I've had it. But I went through a deep period of, I guess, paranoia.

But during that time period, I did a lot of reading, philosophy and theology, and I had a fascination with the afterlife, like, you know, is there truly a soul? And in speaking and having that as a nagging question, you know, I grew up a Catholic.

I was from kindergarten. I was completely 100 percent unadulterated Catholic educated student. You know, I had the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Christian Brothers in high school. And here I had I was at a Dominican college and but still wanted a much more in-depth aspect of the spirit life.

And I started reading again on my own. This is outside the classroom philosophy and theology books. And for the first time, I read the four gospels and I started a deeper look at the person Jesus. And and I would grab the pen again and I could have a discussion with them.

I remember Father Tom Crosscurrent, who was one of the most brilliant men I've ever encountered. And as you know, a lot of Dominicans, very brilliant man. But he was, I would say, Anile, and he had he had taught the arts honest people, which I was furthest from.

But I got to know Father Tom casually going to daily mass and we would often have lunch together. And I thought it was just awesome that this guy who taught all the true scholars on campus was interested in speaking with me.

And and that just whetted my appetite for knowing a little bit more about the person Jesus. And to this day. I if there's a book about Jesus, I'm reading it. But again, it was all about how could my knowledge about theology and Jesus and the church.

And I wasn't even committed to the church at the time. I was just in this, like, searching web out there and like, whoa, you know, I'm not too sure I wanted to be Catholic anymore, you know, just but, you know, I'm going to I'm going to find out about Jesus.

And when I did it hook, line and sinker, I was like, yeah, he's my guy and he's my salvation. And for a lot of reasons. But that's a whole nother. But but but it's the driving force and everything I've done.

And so that led you master's in theology? Like, did you do that right out of undergrad? You were going.

Yeah. This is where I sometimes wish my wife was here, because when I was dating Terry, Terry was two years behind me. But I got to we were dating when I was in grad school. And her dad used to say, you know, Terry, I think you're taking a vacation away from the priesthood by dating this young man

. And, you know, the more I was weighing that, the more I was falling in love with Terri, so I never had any issue with it, to be honest with you. Neither did she. She just jealous. But it it was a thought that I might go into teaching.

And and that's what I did. But I had taken while I was an undergrad. A number of fire department exams. Both my brother and I. We were only 14 months apart from the time we were little kids. We just wanted to be in the fire service because we had a couple of uncles and cousins of my both

my mom and my dad side in New York City that was very prominent in our, you know, fixture as little boys, you know, go and visit the firehouse. So I had always taken exams for that. I did it in New York City.

And I also took a number of the exams around here in the state of Rhode Island as a fallback. You know, and I did get on the Providence Fire Department, and I was very fortunate to because it was it was just got and I had just gotten married and, you know, a good, good paying job.

And I decided well, I heard about the state of Rhode Island gave an incentive for Rhode Island firefighters. If you got a degree in fire science and there was one being offered at community college for Rhode Island and there was one being offered at Providence College, and there was no doubt where I was going to go.

Well, I went into the school continuing education to sign up for my fire science courses. And Dr. Roger Pearson, who was then the dean of the school continuing education, said, hey, class, come here, I need you. And I was like, well, what do you need me for?

And I he just knew me socially and a great Hemingway scholar in its own right, wonderful guy. But he said, hey, you got your master's and the algae, right? And I said, oh, yeah. He said, how did you did you ever think about teaching here?

And I was like, where? And he said, in the school and continuing education. I said, oh, yeah, I'd be great someday, you know. He goes, really? He goes, Well, I call you. So the next day he called me and he said, hey, can you get in here?

And it turned out that he had a I don't think it was Father Dettling or somebody else who was scheduled to teach a course and got someone to go to Rome. And he said, I need you. And I said, well, well, he goes, well, here's a syllabus next week.

It's dark. And I did that. And that was in 1980. And so forty one years of teaching theology in night school. Worked out great.

So let's just clarify for our listeners. If they don't, they don't understand. So you had come in to sign up for your Feiner science classes and you also got pulled in to teach. So one day a week was a Monday night.

You were teaching usually Monday.

And I think maybe it started Wednesday, depending on those first, because it took me two and a half years to get my five science degree,

because you probably because you were teaching the other days of the week. So you were you were a professor one day, a few days of the week, but you were a student

and the others. And and that was for a young guy, it was intimidating. But again, I remember going to visit Father Keegan, Terry Keegan and Father Giles Dimmock, who I was friends with, who are, you know, somewhat mentors of mine, and and asked them about, you know, teaching college and all that thought, you know, who am I

to do this? But they said, you know, hey, we trained you so you're good. And and really, I look back at some of the brilliant theology professors that we had that would come here during the summers. John Brighton and Ray Ray Brown, who were just recognized, world renowned biblical scholars.

And I had them. So it was great that the great Dominican Thomas Aquinas College. How do you like that? Right. He was a biblical scholar and he was one of the editors of what is still used today, the.

Our own biblical commentary, and it was because of his forte that he was beat, was able to attract some of these wonderful scholars from around the world.

So people wanted to work for him.

It really was it was great. So I had that. And there was a big confidence booster for me.

So, Richie, there is a somewhat infamous website known as Rate, my professor dot com. And I'd like to read to you some of the reviews of your courses if you take a minute to do that, despite my indifference towards the subject.

I find myself doing the readings despite being optional. He's so energetic and animated and he really gets you thinking about the person of Jesus in a way that you don't normally. What you will get from the class cannot be measured by the grade.

So three different students over over a decade respond that way. So I should hope they don't. I don't know how you feel about that, but I guess.

You just need is put a tear in my eye. But I didn't know that. So I. Well, it's funny. I once had to give a talk to the students who are graduating as SCCA. And each year they ask one of the professors, although I'm not a professor in rank.

Visiting lecturer, I guess, was was my title. And as they introduced me, one of the students, I think it was in, he said, you know, Ritchie's class has been described at the crossroads of Margaritaville and Catholicism. Hmm. And I am very animated in the classroom.

And I, I do have always done my best, whether it's teaching a course on the church or teaching course about Jesus Christology class. I always try to get students to place themselves in the scene of any gospel story that they were reading, whether that would be the person who Jesus is dialoging with or whether that be someone

on the side watching Jesus dialog with this guy. You're a shepherd and he's talking to some fresh air. I'm glad he's not picking on me. This is great. You know, make that fisherman look like an idiot, you know, but to be listening to the words that he would be saying and I said, you know, when you do

that, you start to see the the flesh and blood of Jesus. And by that, it leads us into this. Absolutely awesome. Excuse my language here. Freaking astounding mystery, but wonderment of the incarnation that to think the being who created all that we understand and know and are unveiling, even the universe has taken on flesh.

And I just think that we're redeemed by not a God up there, but someone who walked around like us. And and it's it's in our humanity that we see the divine and not that spark has made me want to always do everything I can to animate the divine spark in other people.

I don't know if I'm explaining that well, but that's been a big influence on the way I teach in the methodology to. It's it's it's almost like like drama.

I think it's clear in just again, for our listeners who may not understand this or know this, but in the school, continue education. You're teaching students, adult learners from all walks of life. Oh, yeah. And unlike the students in the undergraduate school, many of them, I would say, probably many more, more certainly more than the undergraduate school

. They are not cradle Catholics, you know, I mean, certainly the population of cradle Catholics, you know, people who come in to undergraduate school, you know, the number of Catholics is declining, but certainly the population in the among the adult learners is higher.

And so how do you approach that challenge? I mean, it's from it's it is an opportunity for evangelism among a population that is so different than. Many others, and I feel like especially today, were so siloed, and we often talk to people who agree with us and think and were have very similar backgrounds to us, that the

work that you do in a see through these courses is is an amazing opportunity.

It is. And deeply humbling, because I tell you, when you're teaching adults what we call a nontraditional student. All right. These are people it's a mom who started her freshman year, whether it was a PC or Vilanova or some other institution.

You know, she's got two kids now. Husband was the breadwinner, but, you know, she always made a vow to herself or somebody, I'm going to get my degree. And they come back to school. I haven't been in a classroom at 15 years.

Or you get the veteran. I got to tell you, I, I sometimes choke up on, I think the many veterans that I had, men and women who were sadly, you know, but that was the reality of our last 20 years in Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan.

And they went through some traumatic events and but they came back and I'm going to get my college degree. And the key that I found in my success was A, I was humbled to have them and we'd meet them where they were at.

And by doing so, I had great respect for that mom who was coming back. But I know that she had to go back to a litter of puppies and two kids, one who's, you know, in the sixth grade and the others in the third grade and sniffling and, you know, own husbands away.

You know, that whole dynamic in my early is we used to have a lot more undergrads who would be taking classes at night, and that would be very stimulating for discussions because we would bring up a topic, let's say, and, you know, some of the the traditional student, you know, the 18 to 22 year old is in

my class, and they would have this remark. And and and then I could turn to say a mother or dad in the class and say, well, what do you think? You know, because the student was you know, my mother used to tell me when I was growing up that, you know, if you do this and, you know

, I was Catholic, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I said, well, what what do you think? I mean, they ask you about your mother. She's not in the class. What are you talking about? And you get this cross generational aspect.

So I think the respect was that the younger people would look to, oh, my God, I'm sure I'm taking a class with someone who is my mom's age. And boy, they think similar or dissimilar. And but it would provoke thought.

And but it would also be very affirming to the nontraditional learner, the more adult, and that they would say, wow, this this is OK and make them feel comfortable that I'm just as valid a student as that 19 or 20 year old young lady who was in class with me.

And so it was good. I loved it. I, I could have my work as a full time student affairs professional. I mean, we haven't talked about that yet, but when you're in residence life, you are pretty much going from crisis to crisis to crisis, whether it's a broken lamp in a student's room or to roommates that have

had a fight or you name it. I mean, you see every aspect of kids living on campus who was drunk the night before, who got sick, who got transported to the hospital. And I would be you're exhausted at the end of the day.

But I have to tell you, I slept in that classroom. I look forward to it. There was never a time when I was gone. I'm like, oh, man, I got to teach tonight. Never thought that. I'm like, oh, man, this is great.

Teach them me. That's how I felt. It was it it was it was great. It was wonderful.

Well, I mean, let's be honest, there are plenty of difficult jobs in higher education, but community standards where you worked for many years and residence life where you worked for many years, you know, student conduct and discipline. And, you know, it's the top of the list of tough jobs in higher education, without a doubt.

What are some of the things you feel? What are some of the things you feel like you learned in those years and working with? Students, but not only students, you know, their families and the neighbors, the neighbors of Providence College.

Oh, yeah. Well, let me just start by saying how I got involved. Coming back to work full time for the college, this is a part from teaching. I had a number of people who I had in my classes at night who were employees of the college, specifically Mike Barry and Mark Proposa were two guys, along with a

number of administrative assistant. And my proposer had heard that I had who was leaving the fire service. And he said, you would be absolutely fantastic in residence life. We need you, you know. So I applied and interviewed with Father Joe Tortorici.

And and it was there were a lot of applicants, but I got the job. And so I was the associate director of residence life for what they call operation. So I had to deal with all the physical attributes, work, the physical plant of trying to make sure students rooms and the settings and the buildings are running and

all that. And that was great. But that's where you got to meet and deal with many parents calling it because it was the era of the helicopter parent, you know, coming in. And you diplomatically tried your best to say, you know, okay, I'm dealing with your 19 year old son and you're calling from Maryland.

Why isn't your son here talking to me about the situation then? Well, he's busy, you know, like. And what do you do? Well, I'm working, too. But also the whole thing about this idea of let's try to have your son come in and speak with me first.

And if you're not satisfied, how about then we'll have a talk. And it's just and I would do that respectfully because I meant it. It's like, well, he's here to get an education, but not just in the classroom.

We want him to develop the skills to be able to talk to other adults and say, I have a problem in my room. I'm not calling mommy all the time, you know. And that generally would work out. But, you know, working in residence life, as I mentioned before, you saw the good, the bad and the ugly.

One of the things that I think my experience over the many years offered me was the perspective of seeing some of these absolutely wonderful, dynamic, brilliant students in ways that their professors didn't. Fusca was the he was one of my directors of residence life when he first came to the college.

And we went to a seminar, I think it was when we first started doing evaluations, studies of our own students. We had never done that before. And we were sitting in the back of the classroom. It was mostly all professors at the at the session.

And Dr. Second year was given the graphics of, you know, PC students study X amount of hours and they do this and they do this and then do this on the weekends. And one of the professors down below said, well, that's impossible.

I give 18 hours of reading a week, you know, and and second, I was like, well, you should come into the dorms at 10 o'clock on a on a Friday night and see that they're not reading your, you know, Beowulf for 18 hours, that you may have the science.

But it you know, it's the blend of of the academic pursuits. And, you know, you know, you talk about discipline. I was in residence life for many years, and we call the discipline office. It's emerged over the years from discipline to student conduct to now.

It's called community standards. But whatever it was called, if you were, you know, you're in trouble, like, OK, you got to go talk to someone. And I remember when I was in residence life, the director of it was then judicial affairs.

Ron used to say, you got to do this job, you got to come over here, you could become great. I'm like at all anything to do with that stuff. Like I have enough trouble in my life right now.

And, you know, when I got to a point where there were two women who had the job, Maureen Quinlan and and Emily D.R.C., they were the two ladies who were running the office. And they both had to leave simultaneously, completely to.

Or. And I was asked to go up there and put put my finger in the dike, so to speak, and hold the fort. I was the acting director for a year and a half while I was also doing the off campus living stuff.

So but I, I, I saw students at their most vulnerable, like they're coming in and speaking to you about probably and this runs the whole gamut of, you know, I got transported to go to a hospital because I drank too much.

I punch somebody. I punched a hole in the wall and did this from, you know, some really tough cases of of intimacy that that, you know, went not in a good way to talk about delicate subjects. And students are opening up their hearts and their minds to you.

It's a very humbling experience. And I never thought that it was would evolve the way it did. And, you know, it turned out I was OK with that and stayed there and got a lot of good accolades about my work in that that area.

But again, it was humbling. And, you know, I likened it to almost like you're seeing it's like someone going to confession. You know, it was like and to to look at that, to give an example, I know, you know, I can never talk about a case, but I remember one professor coming to me who had heard about

his star pupil was in trouble and saying, this can't be. And, you know, all I could say is I can't talk to you about the case, but in my head, the reality is it can be that star pupil sitting in your classroom was involved in an incident that was not reflective of her, but she or he did

something that we have to address. And and it becomes delicate. But again, the respect for the student, the respect for why they're here, we and in the people I work with in the many years, both in residence life and in community standards, we never felt it was it was a philosophy.

And it's goes to me back to the Dominicans. We never felt that, you know, and this is this. You hear this all the time. You got to set an example. You know, you got to take this kid and you got it.

You got to throw him out. You got to do this. And that's not our role. We're in the education business. So, you know, it's not the penal code. It's student conduct. So the conversations were point. OK, how did that behavior last Friday night?

How does that fit in with your pursuit of your degree here in four years? And you get students reflect on that and you get the students to say, man, I just oh, that's not me. It's not who I want to be.

And I said, well, it certainly doesn't fit into your matriculation, planchet, because if if this is the way you going. You're not you're not you're not ready for college or, you know, or you need a time out, you know, and sometimes students would take a semester off or depend on the severity of things.

You know, a lot of that. I notice over the years it would do. It changes from behaviors of you know, I just think of the different generations. I always think of undergraduate. A generation is five years, because if you are a senior and I'm a freshman, I kind of recall over the years you had a girl.

She was in my class. She was a senior. I remember her. But if you go five years, there's no connection. So I think of those over. And this is just my mind. Every five years is a new generation of students, you know, to the cause, the institution I'm not talking about out there in the general public of

a 20 year generation, but things change. And the evolution of the behaviors and the responsibilities, I, I often run into alarms and they're. So how is it how is it, you know, how are things? It's different, you know, and it is.

And it isn't. The the students, I think, are brighter. Well, you know, I know a lot of people here workpiece who've been here as many as I had, and I couldn't get in here today. You know, I mean, the SAT scores, this other thing, it's the profile of our student academically is just skyrocketed, which is wonderful.

But I'd say the big difference is the delayed responsibility. And that's just generational. It's just you know, I can remember one of the hall directors I worked with that in residence life said, you know, Richie goes, I just don't understand these parents.

You know, they did the crying and the kids go, it goes on. When I went to college, my mother didn't even get off the couch. You know, she was like, yeah, I'll see Christmas, you know, I'll see you later.

And that was it. And and now it's, you know, the daily ties of of, you know, texting back home every day or getting on, you know, FaceTime or zoom call a daily keeps that home connection. So it's just a different era.

But the students who are dedicated to each other, I still see the one thing that dynamic that I see runs through Providence College is that the students love each other. They love this institution. And that's what has never changed since my day and the days of if you talk, I literally ran and I was in stop and

shop yesterday and a guy came up to me goes cause a retreat. And he's a neighbors and fellow parishioner. And he his class has over this past weekend, the fiftieth anniversary, and he had been his lawyer and he hadn't been back to campus.

And he was astounded. Nikos and I sat and I talked to three students who was like, oh, my gosh, I felt I was back in the dorms. And I said, oh, yeah, that's the dynamism that that is PC education, the love of the the friendships, the people that you met, your roommates, all those people just you just

cherish. And that today is still going on.

So the more things change, the more they seem to say amen to Richi. It has been so good to talk to you. Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast.

20 more hours we could talk about, but I've enjoyed this. Thanks so much.

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