Major: Business

For my job with Fidelity Investments in Boston, I'm on the service team at Fidelity Charitable, the largest donor-advised fund in the country. We help organize giving for those highest net-worth clients who are extremely philanthropically inclined and want to give to a lot of charities.

I was a business major and wanted to be in something business-related, but having come from Saint Michael's, I wanted to do something on the honorable side, so philanthropy appealed to me. My high school taught me to be a hard worker, and Saint Michael's taught me to translate that into something useful for myself and for others.

My liberal arts core classes gave me a well-rounded background, which is especially important with philanthropy, which encompasses a lot of arts and sciences, education and religion.

I was on the varsity swim team. Activities beyond class are a big part of education at Saint Mike's. I learned a lot of patience, control and overall finesse because of my swim team coach, Jim Donoghue, both in the pool and outside of the pool.

My late father was a St. Mike's alumnus: Joseph James Maher Jr., Class of 1969. My younger sister Anne also graduated in 2009 and now works at McLean Hospital doing hospital social work and counseling. My dad was a lawyer - general counsel for an insurance firm - so clearly he took his Saint Michael's degree and made something of it. Now that's what I'm trying to do.