Note: This message was originally sent on December 5, 2025.
My colleague Steve Keller (senior director of undergrad admission) shared this story—one that captures Sean’s spirit so clearly. It reflects the presence Sean was known for at Gonzaga—one rooted in kindness, genuine connection, and the quiet, transformative power of seeing others. Steve’s reflection says so much about who Sean was, and the way he helped others experience Gonzaga as a place of welcome, warmth, and light.
One quiet Saturday afternoon, I was walking into the Office of Admission in College Hall when I noticed a mother and a son sitting in the waiting area. They had just finished a tour of campus, and it was readily apparent that something was wrong. They both wore expressions of disbelief and shock. Fearing that they had a bad experience on their tour, I quickly said hello and asked them how everything went. The mother raised her wide eyes from the ground and looked at me for a moment before responding.
"Is everybody here really this nice?"
Instantly, the temperature in the room warmed up, and the concern that I had upon first seeing them disappeared. The mother and her son couldn't believe that everybody on campus was actually as nice as they had witnessed on the tour. They were in a state of complete disbelief because of the kindness that they had witnessed while walking around campus, and they were sitting in a quiet place trying to process what they had experienced. I had seen this before, but never to this extent. I smiled and nodded my head in reply. "Yes, they are," I said. "What did you see on your tour?"
The mother then proceeded to tell me about their incredible tour guide. He knew EVERYBODY. Whenever he passed somebody, he would yell out their name and ask them a different question about Gonzaga. Each person responded enthusiastically and with genuine excitement.
"Kelsey! Why did you choose Gonzaga?"
"Michael! What's your favorite part of being a Zag?"
"Ashley! What do you love most about Gonzaga?"
Upon hearing this, but never once learning the tour guide's name, I knew who it was who walked them around campus. It was Sean Ahearn. This type of enthusiasm and goodness is always readily on the surface during any Student Ambassador's tour, but Sean had a special gift of bringing the goodness and light that people have out into the open simply by his presence. His kindness and zest for life found resonance in all around him, and it left this mother and son in a state of shock because places of such friendliness and kindness are hard to believe.
You see, Gonzaga is a place of kindness and light amid a world that can many times feel like a dark place. It's a place of kindness and light because of the kind and caring people who make up its community—people like Sean. Sean is an example of what it means to lift up those around us and to stand for and with others. Every time I saw him in the halls or on campus, he made me smile and lifted my day. Every. Time.
Like the mother and her son sitting in the Office of Admission on that quiet Saturday afternoon, I've also found myself in a state of pleasant shock after being caught in Sean's blast radius of kindness, light, and love. I look forward to the time when I get to see Sean again, give him the world's biggest high five, and tell him how grateful I am for all the kindness and light he has shared with me and everybody around him. What a blessing it is to be somebody who can say that they know Sean Ahearn and that Sean knew me! Rest in peace, my friend. To be continued....