When Aidan Finnegan arrived at Saint Michael's College as a first-year student three years ago, he wasn't sure what he wanted to study and didn't have a lot of confidence in his academic abilities. One thing he did know: He wanted to play rugby. He'd grown up in the Boston area and had been playing the sport since seventh grade, so he joined Saint Michael's club rugby team. A few months in, Finnegan took a tough hit. "I caught a couple knees to the head and ended up with a traumatic brain injury," he said. He started having seizures — eight to 10 a day — that sometimes required hospitalization. His schoolwork suffered. The injury almost derailed his college career. What saved him was his professors. They worked closely with him to keep him on track. "They didn't let me off the hook," Finnegan explained, "but they encouraged me to know myself and work within my limits." With continuing faculty support, Finnegan improved his grades and found a major — political science. He took classes in French and philosophy because the college required it, but he liked those subjects so much he added them as minors. He got involved in student government. Finnegan suffered a serious setback last year and was hospitalized again. It was his most vulnerable point, he said. Yet his Saint Michael's network was there for him. "I've never felt more supported," he said of that time in his life. He managed to end his second semester with a 4.0 GPA and made the dean's list. "That's something I never thought I would be capable of," he said. Next year, he sees law school in his future. Transformative educational experiences such as Finnegan's are not unusual at the small liberal arts school in Colchester. Founded in 1904 by the Catholic Society of Saint Edmund, Saint Michael's has always been guided by the principles of education, justice and service. But equally valuable to its 1,100 students are the opportunities to be seen and known by professors and peers — 90 percent of classes have fewer than 30 students — and to give back to that supportive community. "At Saint Michael's College, the student experience is our priority," said Richard Plumb, PhD, who was inaugurated as the 18thpresident of the college on October 26. "Our vision is to provide students with the skills, professionalism and empathy to navigatethe…