Servant Leader

Trudy Monson ’97 takes the helm as Alumni Council president

Trudy Monson ’97 stands alone on the black stage and under the bright spotlights of the Leslie Phillips Theater. The doors to the Fine and Performing Arts building are open, but finals are over, and the students are gone, making the hallways just as silent as the bare theater. Inside, the seats are empty, except for one in the back, occupied by communications professor Patricia Sandoval ’84. 

Monson stands up straight and looks down at the papers in her hands. She finishes reciting the words in a slow and steady tone and looks up at Professor Sandoval in the last row. 

“You’ve got this, Trudy! You’ve got this,” says Sandoval, who has taught public speaking to scores of HCC students.  

In two days, Monson will deliver her first speech as president of the HCC Alumni Council to the graduating class of 2025. She’s nervous about speaking in front of such a large crowd, so the opportunity to practice in the Leslie Phillips Theater and get feedback from Sandoval is building Monson’s confidence.

“Trudy embodies what it means to be a servant leader in every sense — she doesn’t seek any recognition for any of the work she does, but her passion for HCC and her commitment to our community are infectious.”

— Julie Phillips

While speeches might not be in her comfort zone, talking is something Monson relishes, especially about HCC. Few things bring her more joy than putting on her green HCC T-shirt, walking around the city where she was born, and telling people about her alma mater. 

“Being out in the community, doing outreach, and talking about HCC — it’s what I love,” she said.

Julie Phillips, executive director of development, oversees the Alumni Council and has watched Monson’s dedication firsthand. 

“Trudy embodies what it means to be a servant leader in every sense — she doesn’t seek recognition for any of the work she does, but her passion for HCC and her commitment to our community are infectious,” said Phillips. “When she talks about the college, you can see her eyes light up.”

Finding Inspiration

Monson retired in 2002 from Verizon, where she worked as an engineering clerk, but has yet to slow down. Whether serving as fundraising chair at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Holyoke or attending events hosted by the Greater Holyoke Council for Human Understanding, Wistariahurst Museum, and the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, she’s deeply embedded in her community. She draws inspiration from her late father, Robert Evans Jr. ’50, who taught at HCC and served as its first affirmative action officer.

Evans grew up in Marion, Alabama, and was a sharecropper on the same farm where his grandfather was a slave. He enlisted as a Tuskegee Airman, but an injured knee that he later discovered was rheumatoid arthritis prevented him from completing his training, and he was honorably discharged. Of the remaining airmen from the flight to which he was assigned, none survived battle. 

According to Monson, her father believed in the power of education to transform lives, so he enrolled at Hampton Institute — a historically Black university in Hampton, Virginia, now known as Hampton University — where he met Monson’s mother, Agnes. The couple took a pause from school to move back to Holyoke, her hometown, and raise a family while Evans continued his education at Holyoke Junior College.

They found a home in south Holyoke, a community of mostly French and Polish neighbors, and Monson found that they fit right in.

“I loved growing up in south Holyoke. My mother learned how to cook golumpki and French meat pie, and she taught her neighbors how to fry chicken,” Monson said of the other mothers in their neighborhood.

Evans transferred to the University of Massachusetts and continued his studies there until his car died. After missing several classes, his professor reached out to Evans and offered to tutor him out of his Easthampton home during the evenings to catch up on the lectures. Every Tuesday evening after dinner, Monson would watch her father get bundled up, walk out of their house on Summer Street, travel up Cabot, and head for Easthampton Road on his way over Mount Tom. When the professor realized Evans was walking through the cold on dark and dangerous roads,
he arranged to pick him up for the rest of the sessions.

Moving Up

Eventually, Evans graduated from UMass and went on to earn a master’s degree from Springfield College before becoming the first Black teacher in Holyoke public schools. The family moved to the Smith’s Ferry neighborhood of Holyoke and into a big white house next to the Holyoke Canoe Club. 

Monson was the third of seven kids, and the only one who remained in Holyoke, living and working her entire life in the city, where she raised two daughters (Kim ’01 and Sarah ’03) with her husband Jessie. 

When her daughters were in high school, they challenged Monson to enroll in college and graduate with an associate degree before they finished high school. She agreed — with reservations. As an adult learner, she worried about fitting in with her younger classmates at HCC. 

“I thought, ‘they’re going to think I’m the old lady, and they’re going to make fun of me,’” she said.

One day during her first semester, she drove to campus early and sat in her car, reviewing the course material for her next class. One of her younger classmates walked by, and struck up a conversation. 

“He said, ‘Come on inside.’ So we went inside, and we just sat in the empty classroom,” Monson recalled. “And then somebody else came in to join us. Within a couple of weeks, almost all of my classmates came early, and we had our own study hall. So, all my classmates, instead of laughing at me, they really helped me.” 

“Trudy understands that HCC’s strength comes from embracing everyone’s story.”

— Julie Phillips

Monson graduated in time to meet the challenge. Kim and Sarah later followed, continuing the family’s three-generation legacy at HCC. Today, Monson continues to push the college’s influence in her daily life.

She has worked part time at Cracker Barrel in Holyoke for many years and still enjoys the convivial atmosphere and the company of her co-workers. She also runs a home-based business called Gem’s Creations, designing jewelry and teaching jewelry making. Monson is not only a consistent donor, making annual gifts to the college, she has also convinced several of her younger Cracker Barrel colleagues to donate as well, many of whom are not even alumni.

“It doesn’t matter how much you give, just give something,” she tells them. 

In Service

Monson joined the Alumni Council in 2005, seeing an opportunity to serve HCC that matched her own interests in community outreach. Now, as Alumni Council president, she wants to do more community programming and engage with local schools with the goal of introducing prospective students to the campus and encouraging them to think about applying. 

She hopes to infuse the council with alumni who bring different perspectives, recalling the melding of cultures in her South Holyoke neighborhood. Additionally, she wants to be more involved with the students on campus. Monson pictures herself sitting in on student club meetings, hearing student stories, and making sure they know they have a family of supporters ready to embrace them when they graduate.

“Trudy has the ability to bring people together from all different backgrounds and make them feel like family,” said Phillips. “She understands that HCC’s strength comes from embracing everyone’s story.”

Experience and Wisdom

On May 31, during the college’s 78th Commencement ceremony, Monson walked up to the podium in her black gown, her shoulders draped in the same African-American stole she wore to her own graduation ceremony in 1997. The MassMutual Center was much larger than the Leslie Phillips Theater, and the seats were filled with hundreds of students, proud parents, spouses, children, and alumni. She read confidently, pausing to gather herself when speaking of her father and how his HCC education changed the trajectory of his life and her own.

“Your journey with this institution doesn’t end today,” she told the new alumni sitting before her. “Come back to campus to share your success stories. Consider becoming a mentor to current students. Join us at alumni events. Volunteer your time and expertise. Your experiences and wisdom can inspire the next generation of HCC students.”