A native of Worcester, Christopher Boffoli graduated in 1992, with a bachelors degree in English, from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. After his graduation he held the position of Director of Finance in the South Carolina senate, where he raised money for senate candidates. He was also a fund-raiser for Medical University in South Carolina where "I was able to design creative things" he says. Sitting in his cozy office in Higgins House and talking, you can see for yourself how imaginative and adventurous Chris Boffoli is. He wears his suit with the bow-tie that in an excellent way links his artistic personality to the historical beauty of the Higgins House. A gorgeous view from his office window complements the friendly and relaxed atmosphere. It is hard not to notice the enthusiastic attitude toward whatever he does. "I enjoy what I do, and my favorite part is the creative part. I tend to be a very creative person," he says.
Before Christopher Boffoli became Associate Director of Alumni Programs and the Alumni Fund, he was offered a job on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. and at the National Geographic Society. He chose WPI instead. "I wanted to stay and work with colleges and a college environment and I decided not to work at Capitol Hill in the Congress."
He puts his whole heart into all activities he performs. It is a part of his job to raise funds for WPI. The Alumni Fund generates over $2 million dollars a year. The money that he raises goes to scholarships and financial aid, and helps to run the school. Probably very few of us know that WPI could not exist without its help.
In his job, he deals mostly with young alumni. Raising money is not as easy as it seems. Boffoli possesses marketing skills, and he finds ways to appeal even to the most reluctant alumni without pressing anyone to donate the money. That's where his ability as a creative thinker comes to play. He does not have any special guide that he has to follow in order to raise money. Using his own ideas works best for him, and he appreciates and enjoys such independence in his work. "I feel lucky that I am in the place where they (the school) gave me a little bit of room to try things like this" he points out, and such freedom means a lot to him. He knows what he is good at. "Everybody is born with a genius but some of us only keep it for a few minutes. Everybody is born with something. It is a matter of finding what you are great at."
And yet he still wants to learn as much as he can. Going back to school and maybe getting a masters degree in literature is one of the possibilities to explore his life to the fullest extent.
Besides his work, he enjoys lots of activities. He did photography while he was in high school, he likes to sail, to travel, to cook, and to ride horseback. "A lot of my friends call me the Renaissance Man, because I like to do a lot of different things," he says, and "I am always open to new suggestions, and there is a lot of potential to learn here (from the Student Alumni Society)" he adds.
Any plans for new projects? "The reunion is coming up in June. The classes attending this year will be 1935, 1940, 1945, 1950, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985. Each class will have a hospitality suite where they can go to socialize with their classmates. The classes will also each attend class dinners, an awards luncheon, a parade, a Trivial Pursuit breakfast, and tours of the Academic Departments." Besides talks and lectures there will be "the Alumni Golf tournament at Stow Acres in Stow (which is owned by WPI alumnus), a shopping trip to the Worcester Commons Fashion Outlets, a nature walk at Broad Meadown Wildlife Sanctuary, and a historical tour of Worcester." There is something special about this year's reunion- a program for children. The organizers invited the three youngest classes (1975, 1980, and 1985) to bring their children to reunion. Besides various events on the campus such as tie-dying shirts on the back of the lawn of Higgins house, watching movies, and eating pizza, children will also tour the New England Science Center where they will watch the feeding of the popular bears and see a star show in the planetarium. Hopefully it will be as successful as Traditions Day.
"WPI reunions tend to be very popular, due to the high level of creativity, organization, and experience of their coordinator Sharon Davis, the Director of Alumni Programs," Chris Boffoli says, again not taking credit himself. "I'm sure this year's reunion (which is my first at WPI) will be just as well-attended and fun as those in the past. Reunions are important because they keep out alumni close to WPI and close to each other."
We wish Chris Boffoli the realization of all his plans and satisfaction with his new position.