The Bonds of Babson: Friends

Writer

Hillary Chabot

Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.

April 8, 2026

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On move-in day in 1982, they were just first-year students—some shy, some cheeky, most only 18. They landed in an off-campus Victorian house in downtown Wellesley called Green Gables, relying on a single shuttle to carry them back and forth to campus. It was hardly glamorous. But somewhere between late-night study sessions, crowded rides to the library, and dinners eaten together whenever possible, a bond took root.

Forty-three years later, it’s still going.

The

Bonds

BaBSon

Friends:

The Green Gables Girls

The classmates—Kathy Cohane Chunias ’86, Colleen Gaffney Eichor ’86, Marianne Citro Flayhan ’86, Lisa Haskins ’86, Linda Lackey ’86, Karen Madden ’86, Sheilagh Hamill McNeil ’86, Carolyn Fox Mula ’86, Kaylee Dodge Murphy ’86, Maryellen Papelian ’86, and Gerri Nathan Russo ’86—call themselves the “Green Gables Girls.” What began as proximity became permanence. They studied quantitative methods side by side, cheered at soccer games in painted faces, and navigated the uncertainty of housing lotteries and post-graduation life together. After Commencement, four of them even shared a house in Newton, Massachusetts, easing the leap from college to career.

Over time, marriages, children, and moves—to North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, and beyond—stretched the miles between them. But distance never dulled the connection. Text chains hummed. Weddings became reunions. When life brought challenges—career pivots, illnesses, the quiet doubts of adulthood—they turned instinctively to one another.

Five years ago, they decided it was time to gather the group again. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was the first official girls’ trip. Cancun followed. Now, their annual getaway of eight is sacred. They laugh so loudly neighbors complain. They retell their stories. And each time, it feels as if no time has passed at all.

Their bond isn’t built on business referrals or job leads—though Babson prepared them for success. It’s built on something quieter and arguably more rare: unconditional support. The women hold different political beliefs, different faiths, different life stories. But they share a foundation birthed in those formative years—when they were “babies,” as McNeil says, learning who they were and who they wanted to become.

“We’re so lucky, and we’re so grateful for the education that we got from Babson and the opportunities that Babson brought us all,” McNeil says. “But, it’s not just the education that Babson gave us; it’s the powerful friendships that I know are going to last a lifetime. It’s those friendships that we’re more grateful for than for anything.”

Babson Alumni Are…

The Babson alumni network is the strongest in the nation because of the unique bonds that connect them. In the Spring issue of Babson Magazine, we highlight nine examples that illustrate the varied types of relationships. Click the photos below to read each one.