"Every day at Salve, I felt so blessed to be a part of this incredible community", Becca Bertrand '08 says. That one word, community, is what drew Bertrand to Salve Regina in the first place. She wanted a smaller college where she could make an impact and not get lost in the crowd. Bertrand also wanted to be able to be in theater productions but not be a theater major.   

Bertrand’s final tour of campus was hosted by now Associate Dean of Admissions Stephanie Dupuis. Dupuis took Bertrand’s family into the theater department and where they were greeted by the department chair with the biggest hug. 

Bertrand says "I knew right then that Salve was special." She continues with her first impression of the Cultural and Historic Preservation program, stating "I could not believe that there were people like me out there who loved historic houses, cemeteries and museums as much as I did. I was even more surprised to find that I could make it my major!"  

"Your college decision is so personal. Don't let anyone else tell you that if you go to X or Y school, you'll have the same experience as them. That's simply not true. If you choose Salve Regina, you will meet an incredible group of people with kind hearts and inquisitive, open minds. I really believe that Salve Regina attracts a different type of person filled with kindness and compassion. Even to this day, a door is held open for me by a student every time that I enter a building on campus. That is the sign of an exceptional community."  

Bertrand continues to be involved in the local community of Newport. She spends time advising her former colleagues at newportFILM, where she worked for seven years. Bertrand also serves as a trustee on the board of Preserve Rhode Island, the state preservation advocacy nonprofit, and serves as a committee member for the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities annual fundraisers.  To continue her relationship with Salve Regina, Bertrand takes advantage of volunteer opportunities recruiting students through the Admissions office.   

Bertrand graduated from Salve in 2008 with a degree in Cultural and Historic Preservation (CHP) and a minor in Theatre Arts. She immediately went to graduate school at the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture through the University of Delaware. After eleven years in Rhode Island with various fundraising and nonprofit administration positions, including serving as the Executive Director for a documentary film organization called newportFILM, Bertrand is now the Executive Director of the New York Yacht Club Foundation for Historic Preservation. She loves living in Newport, steps away from Salve Regina's campus.   

Bertrand didn't always feel solidified in her path, though. During her freshman year, she was having a difficult time deciding what to major in between her initial enrollment in Secondary Education and History versus her love for the Cultural and Historic Preservation course she was taking. Bertrand's college best friend Blaise Odle '08 encouraged her to pray to St. Therese of the Little Flower for insight. Odle told Bertrand that when it was the right time, St. Therese would present her with a rose. For a week, Bertrand diligently asked for that rose to appear.   

One night she went to a lecture given as part of the Cultural and Historic Preservation Conference by the former mayor of Charleston, S.C., Joseph Riley. During Riley's lecture, while he was passionately speaking about preservation, a slide came up with a close-up photo of a beautiful white rose. Riley said, "I don't know why I put this rose up here, I just think it's a beautiful flower in this historic neighborhood."  

Bertrand recalls being shocked, "I almost fell off my seat, but my question was answered and the rest, as they say, is history. That rose and that decision shaped the rest of my professional career."