tag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:/visit-engage/stories-newsUndergraduate Admissions | Stories & News2024-03-19T12:01:00-04:00tag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1600162024-03-19T12:01:00-04:002024-03-19T12:01:59-04:00ND Journey: Architecture Major Ricardo Pedraza Explores Rome in Academic Year Abroad<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h4Qpl2dWlqc" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>When starting his college search, Ricardo Pedraza '24, like many others, turned to Google for answers, searching for "top schools in architecture in the United States."…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h4Qpl2dWlqc" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>When starting his college search, Ricardo Pedraza '24, like many others, turned to Google for answers, searching for "top schools in architecture in the United States."</p>
<p>The program at the <a href="https://architecture.nd.edu/">Notre Dame School of Architecture</a> caught Pedraza's attention when it appeared in a list. Motivated by their nearly 100% job placement rate and the requirement to spend the third academic year living and studying in Rome, Italy, Pedraza decided to apply. As a student who had not traveled outside of the country, he sought the opportunity to learn abroad.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/558953/img_6236.jpeg" alt="Ricardo Pedraza studies abroad with the Notre Dame Rome Studies Program as an architecture student." width="600" height="800"></figure>
<p>Pedraza, now a fifth-year architecture student with a minor in real estate, attests that studying abroad in Italy has significantly altered his perspective on life and the role of architecture in daily life and culture.</p>
<p>"I think the year in Rome, in general, is one of the most life-changing paths people can take,” Pedraza says. “You get to experience so many cultures in Italy and different countries in Europe. You get to explore the culture, food, architecture, and an urban environment. It’s so important to see other cultures and how they live."</p>
<p>The <a href="https://architecture.nd.edu/academics-programs/rome-studies-program/">Rome Studies Program</a> invites students to deepen their knowledge of architecture and gain valuable life experiences. Courses, conducted in the city of Rome using the facilities at the <a href="https://rome.nd.edu/">Notre Dame Rome Global Gateway</a>, encompass design studios, drawing and watercolor, architectural theory, and architectural history.</p>
<p>For Pedraza, the journey to Notre Dame, and subsequently to Rome, has not been without obstacles. Born in Mexico City, Mexico, he moved to the United States as a child. As a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) student, he required a permit to stay in the country and had to apply for a work permit to study in the United States. Pedraza expresses gratitude for the support he received from Notre Dame and the School of Architecture throughout this process.</p>
<p>"Notre Dame is very special when it comes to resources provided. I have been a special case, and the university and the School of Architecture have been able to provide resources and support for me in these special circumstances. Notre Dame is super open to accepting you with open arms and taking your situation and guiding you through it and giving you the education you need and deserve."</p>
<p>During his first four years on campus, Pedraza found the <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/programming/fighting-irish-scholars/">Fighting Irish Scholars </a>program to be particularly helpful in navigating life as a first-generation college student. Administered through the <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/">Office of Student Enrichment</a>, this program assists students in understanding their financial aid packages, finding community on campus, and awarding a scholarship for discretionary use.</p>
<p>On campus, Pedraza discovered his community within Walsh Family Hall, among fellow Arkies. “As an Arkie, you live, breathe, and sweat architecture,” says Pedraza. “The architecture program is a tight-knit and connected bubble on Notre Dame’s campus. You can ask anyone—professors or peers—for help or feedback, and you will get it, helping you to grow.”</p>
<p>Reflecting on his time at Notre Dame as a senior, Pedraza emphasizes the strength of the Notre Dame community, stating, “The spirit of Notre Dame easily comes down to the one word that gets tossed around all the time, but that’s community. I’ve always had professors who care and love what they are doing. It is liberating to know you won’t be limited by your past experiences or your hometown; Notre Dame is going to help you become the student you are meant to be.”</p>
<p> </p>Jessica Fraziertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1605612024-03-18T08:00:59-04:002024-03-18T08:00:59-04:00The University of Notre Dame Announces Regular Decisions for the Class of 2028<p>The University of Notre Dame announces the completion of its comprehensive review of 18,445 Regular Decision (RD) applications for the undergraduate Class of 2028. Following a personalized and thoughtful review process, the University has admitted 1,600 students, while a limited number have been extended…</p><p>The University of Notre Dame announces the completion of its comprehensive review of 18,445 Regular Decision (RD) applications for the undergraduate Class of 2028. Following a personalized and thoughtful review process, the University has admitted 1,600 students, while a limited number have been extended an invitation to join the waiting list.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/562003/conductor_feature_rd_press_release.jpg" alt="A view of the Main Building and Basilica on Notre Dame's campus in the spring." width="600" height="338"></figure>
<p>Continuing Notre Dame’s strong tradition as the leading Catholic global research university, students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, seven U.S. territories, and 137 countries learned of their decisions on Friday, March 15, 2024, at 18:42 (6:42 p.m. ET), a symbolic reference to Notre Dame's founding year in 1842.</p>
<p>Reflecting the University's commitment to academic excellence and holistic education, the RD pool showcases students who stand at the forefront of their classes in a shared dedication to Notre Dame’s Catholic mission, academic preparedness, intellectual curiosity, leadership, and service to others.</p>
<p>Vice President for Undergraduate Enrollment, Micki Kidder, remarks on the qualities displayed by the Class of 2028 applicants, noting, "These young leaders are academically impressive and exhibit attributes such as kindness, joy, and resilience—qualities that reflect authentic and inspiring servant leadership."</p>
<p>Admitted students from the Restrictive Early Action and Regular Decision cycles have until May 1 to confirm their enrollment at the University. Notre Dame maintains one of the nation's top yield rates, with 60 percent of those students offered admission last year enrolling at the University.</p>
<p>“We are excited to welcome the Notre Dame Class of 2028 and look forward to celebrating their contributions to our community and the world, ” says Kidder.</p>
<p>Detailed information about the enrolled Class of 2028 will be released in late May 2024.</p>Enrollment Divisiontag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1603432024-03-07T08:31:00-05:002024-03-07T08:31:13-05:00Student Perspectives on Mendoza’s Updated Core Curriculum<p>First started in the 2022-2023 school year for first-year undergraduates (class of 2026), the Mendoza College of Business updated its core curriculum. This included a<a href="https://www.ndsmcobserver.com/article/2022/09/mendoza-drops-24-credits-in-core-curriculum-to-make-room-for-electives"> 24-credit</a>…</p><p>First started in the 2022-2023 school year for first-year undergraduates (class of 2026), the Mendoza College of Business updated its core curriculum. This included a<a href="https://www.ndsmcobserver.com/article/2022/09/mendoza-drops-24-credits-in-core-curriculum-to-make-room-for-electives"> 24-credit hour reduction of Mendoza’s requirements</a><a href="about:blank"></a>, freeing up space for eight additional courses in potentially other disciplines. Classes such as Business Technology and Analytics, Accountancy II, and six other courses no longer were required for business majors at Notre Dame.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/560695/conductor_feature_1_.jpg" alt="Ellie Villaruz pictured with SIBC project in the Social Impact Division (a
collaboration between KPMG and Nuestros Puquenos Hermanos)." width="600" height="338">
<figcaption>Ellie Villaruz pictured with SIBC project in the Social Impact Division (a collaboration between KPMG and Nuestros Puquenos Hermanos).</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition to this class reduction, starting with the class of 2026, Mendoza students are required to take three “broadening electives” which should be taken in at least two business departments outside of the student’s primary major. Comprehensively, the revisions to the curriculum aim to allow students to take “<a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/news/mendoza-revamps-the-undergraduate-business-core-curriculum/#:~:text=The%20key%20change%20is%20a,course%20from%20each%20business%20discipline.">ownership of their own curriculum</a>” and ideally, pursue another major more easily.</p>
<p>Observing from the following school year (2023-2024), students have certainly taken advantage of Mendoza’s updated core curriculum. Cristina Lahud is a sophomore student studying marketing and strategic management with a minor in constitutional studies. She was part of the first class of Notre Dame students affected by the curriculum changes. She says that the updates “opened a door for me to explore passions and interests that I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to do with a greater credit load.”</p>
<p>In addition to adding a minor in constitutional studies, Lahud has always “begun taking Italian in pursuit of learning another language.” She says that the changes “has allowed me to take advantage of all of the academic opportunities for growth that the university offers.”</p>
<p>Ellie Villaruz is also a sophomore at Notre Dame studying accounting with minors in social entrepreneurship & innovation and Italian. She describes that taking the introductory classes in the first few semesters allowed her “to get a taste of each of the different disciplines and decide what I wanted to study and major in.”</p>
<p>She says that the curriculum change “opened up the option to double major, which I did not end up doing, but heavily considered and appreciated the option of having.”</p>
<p>She also says that the decrease in 24 credits allowed her to take accounting classes earlier which helped her professional development.</p>
<p>“I had a better idea of what an accounting career would look like and knew more of the material necessary to secure an internship,” Villaruz shares. “I am grateful for the change and feel as though it has had a huge impact on my education.”</p>
<p>Some Mendoza students like Villaruz took advantage of the curriculum change to add additional minors in other disciplines. Others, such as Henry Anderson, used the curriculum change to double major within Mendoza. A sophomore in Keenan Hall, Anderson majors in both accounting and finance.</p>
<p>Anderson describes that he decided to complete a double major within the Mendoza College of Business because finance “has a lot of related concepts to accounting, and as a result, I feel that I’m gaining a deeper level of understanding in my classes. Getting to go in-depth into both accounting and finance gives me a better understanding of the entire process of being successful in the business world.”</p>
<p>He also shares that through his double majors, he has gained growing relevance to his interests on a semester-to-semester basis.</p>
<p>“While my friends with a single major in Mendoza typically take around two major-related classes per semester, there are semesters where I will be taking four classes related to my majors.”</p>
<p>Ultimately, the versatility of the curriculum change allows students to explore their interests more fully, whether that be an expansion in the liberal arts, or diversifying one’s business disciplines.</p>
<p>“While many of my friends are taking advantage of the double major within Mendoza, many are also taking advantage of the lighter credit load required and adding double majors and minors outside of Mendoza,” Villaruz says. “It has allowed us to take advantage of all Notre Dame has to offer and diversify the classes we take to really get [a] holistic education.”</p>
<p> </p>Elizabeth Pratertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1593912024-03-05T08:00:00-05:002024-03-04T15:50:44-05:00FirstGen@ND: Dominick Jesús Blanco From the Bronx to Notre Dame<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TXVqMd5S3o8" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Originally from the Bronx, New York City, Dominick Jesús Blanco '24 says he came to find Notre Dame by pure luck when a teacher posted about visiting the Notre Dame…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TXVqMd5S3o8" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Originally from the Bronx, New York City, Dominick Jesús Blanco '24 says he came to find Notre Dame by pure luck when a teacher posted about visiting the Notre Dame campus and on a whim, Dominick said “yes” to the invitation.</p>
<p>“From the moment I visited campus, I fell in love with it and the community.” Blanco says.</p>
<p>Currently a senior majoring in <a href="https://cse.nd.edu/">computer science</a> with a minor in <a href="https://latinostudies.nd.edu/">Latino studies</a>, Blanco has actively contributed to the Notre Dame community, particularly focusing on fellow first-generation students like himself. Serving as a board member for <a href="https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/programs/first-gen-careers-initiative/#:~:text=The%20FGC%20provides%20first%20gen,pride%20in%20being%20first%20gen.">First Generation Career Initiatives (FGC)</a>, Blanco collaborates with current undergraduate first-generation students.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://careerdevelopment.nd.edu/">Meruelo Family Center for Career Development</a>, located in Duncan Student Center, established the First Generation Careers Initiatives to foster the career development of first-generation students. The initiative provides resources such as resume workshops, financial assistance for professional clothing, networking events, and panel discussions.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/555046/img_1307_original.jpg" alt="Dominick Blanco '24"></figure>
<p>Blanco attests that his involvement as a board member and attendee of FGC events has transformed Duncan Student Center into a second home on campus. Through this engagement, he has formed friendships and received invaluable guidance from mentors like DJ Washington, director of employer and regional engagement at the Career Center.</p>
<p>"DJ has been a tremendous help in my career exploration and has been an amazing mentor," Blanco acknowledges. "Seeing him lead a team and witnessing how he has pursued his aspirations is inspirational, especially as a fellow first-gen student. I can envision myself in his shoes, which has boosted my confidence and inspired me to take on leadership roles."</p>
<p>Apart from his involvement with FGC, Blanco holds the position of President at the <a href="https://sites.nd.edu/shpe-club/about/">Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)</a>. He is an active member of various campus groups, including Wabruda, the National Society of Black Engineers, and participates actively in Black and Latino communities on campus.</p>
<p>“I found my sense of belonging by joining these clubs and groups—I’ve found my community in those small pockets,” Blanco says.” Those are my home on campus in terms of embracing new cultures and meeting people from around the world.”</p>
<p>Furthermore, Blanco is a member and teaching assistant for the <a href="https://galvinscholars.nd.edu/">Mary E. Galvin Science and Engineering Scholars program</a>, crediting it with playing a transformative role in his academic and social development at Notre Dame. This program offers academic and emotional support to underrepresented students interested in science and engineering disciplines.</p>
<p>Blanco's experiences extend beyond the Notre Dame campus, including participation in internships at various organizations such as a nonprofit, Ford Motor Company, Gaya.AI, and Zillow.</p>
<p>As Blanco approaches the culmination of his final semester at Notre Dame, he looks ahead with excitement. His post-graduation plans include relocating to Seattle, Washington, to work as a software engineer for Oracle.</p>
<p>"Coming from the Bronx, I faced numerous challenges, but I was fortunate to have a strong support system that believed in me," Blanco reflects. "My journey from the Bronx to Notre Dame was transformative, shaping not just my education but my character. The guidance and encouragement I received along the way have been instrumental in my growth. This opportunity at Oracle is not just a career milestone but a testament to the resilience and determination instilled in me during my upbringing in the Bronx. It's a reminder that with hard work, support, and belief in oneself, any goal can be achieved."</p>
<p>Watch the video above to hear more about Dominick’s journey at Notre Dame.</p>
<p> </p>Jessica Fraziertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1594382024-02-12T09:31:00-05:002024-02-12T14:23:56-05:00FirstGen@ND: Myldred Hernandez-Gonzalez Studies Architecture and Builds Community<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kMih_2LqG4k" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Junior Myldred Hernandez-Gonzalez is a first-generation American as well as the first in her family to attend college. When researching schools, she was drawn to the…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kMih_2LqG4k" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Junior Myldred Hernandez-Gonzalez is a first-generation American as well as the first in her family to attend college. When researching schools, she was drawn to the <a href="https://architecture.nd.edu/">Notre Dame School of Architecture</a> for its commitment to teaching the classical design tradition.</p>
<p>“Very early on we learn about the human scale and designing for people and communities,” Hernandez-Gonzalez says. “I think that is integral to the program and to the classical design tradition. We learn about the architect as a public servant and not just as an artist.”</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/555192/20230428_173752.jpg" alt="Myldred Hernandez-Gonzalez poses with work from the School of Architecture." width="600" height="451"></figure>
<p>After matching with Notre Dame through the <a href="https://www.questbridge.org/college-partners/university-of-notre-dame">Questbridge Scholars Program</a>, Hernandez-Gonzalez visited the campus with her family. Hernandez-Gonzalez said the visit left her feeling relieved to have been matched with Notre Dame. “Everyone wanted to change the world in some way,” Hernandez-Gonzalez says. “People here, when they talked about Notre Dame, they had a big idea of who they wanted to be and feeling that energy made me feel like I was amongst good company.”</p>
<p>Transitioning to college and moving across the country from California came with obstacles for Hernandez-Gonzalez. While Questbridge covered her full tuition, she was anxious about the expenses associated with college life.</p>
<p>Once on campus, Hernandez-Gonzalez got connected to the <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/">Office of Student Enrichment (OSE)</a>, which has helped her to afford expenses such as traveling, books, football tickets, obtaining a winter wardrobe, and supplies.</p>
<p>She’s also a member of the <a href="https://anbryce.nd.edu/">AnBryce Scholars Initiatives</a>, crediting them for being a key community and resource that led to her success at Notre Dame.</p>
<p>“The community of AnBryce has been great and the biggest thing for me. I genuinely believe that I wouldn't have gotten along without them,” says Hernandez-Gonzalez. “They have been there to help me with the little things along the way and meeting me where I was at. Finding people “like me” has been instrumental and it has helped me to find my place here.”</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/555194/img_8624.jpg" alt="Myldred Hernandez-Gonzalez " width="600" height="450"></figure>
<p>Presently, Hernandez-Gonzalez is a senior fellow for OSE, helping other first-generation students find and utilize their resources and focusing on advocacy work across campus with other departments such as <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/programming/for-undocumented-daca-students/">Dream ND</a>, <a href="https://studentaffairs.nd.edu/division-directory/student-development/multicultural-student-programs-and-services/#:~:text=Multicultural%20Student%20Programs%20and%20Services%20(MSPS)%20offers%20students%20access%20to,the%20needs%20of%20underrepresented%20populations.">Multicultural Student Programs and Services</a>, and the <a href="https://provost.nd.edu/academic-community/undergraduate-education/transformational-leaders/">Transformational Leaders Program</a>.</p>
<p>She says her goal is to foster diversity and inclusion in order to make the transition into college easier for students, especially those who come from immigrant family backgrounds like herself. Hernandez-Gonzalez is president for the <a href="https://sites.nd.edu/sciaclub/about-us/">Student Coalition for Immigration Advocacy</a> and serves as co-director for UndocuAlly ND in addition to serving on diversity councils on campus.</p>
<p>Hernandez-Gonzalez says the key to building her community at Notre Dame is to surround herself with individuals who inspire her. Her advocacy work across campus has allowed her to build connections with those who also want to see and inspire change.</p>
<p>The spirit of Notre Dame can best be described by Hernandez-Gonzalez as “people who win together and lose together.” She says her community at Notre Dame treats her like their own family. “At football games, we all come together from different majors, backgrounds, and countries but we’re all cheering for the same team,” Hernandez-Gonzalez says. “But that comes up in other places around campus too–we all come together even with our differences.”</p>
<p>Hernandez-Gonzalez picked up a second major in Latino Studies, saying she loves the way her architecture major complements this choice and her future goals. “My goal has always been to design communities that are built to house people who have been marginalized in the past,” Hernandez-Gonzalez says. “That may be urban planning or becoming a professor to teach others, but whatever path I choose, I’ll be using architecture as a mission.”</p>
<p>Watch the video above to learn more about Myldred’s experiences at Notre Dame and her advice to first-generation students.</p>
<p> </p>Jessica Fraziertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1591952024-01-30T10:10:00-05:002024-03-20T15:14:25-04:00ND Journey: Mike Macaluso's Path from Leprechaun Mascot to Associate Teaching Professor at Notre Dame<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FSU8URfxGy8" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Professor Michael Macaluso is a “Double Domer,” having earned both his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame and master of education degree through the <a href="https://ace.nd.edu/">Alliance</a>…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FSU8URfxGy8" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Professor Michael Macaluso is a “Double Domer,” having earned both his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame and master of education degree through the <a href="https://ace.nd.edu/">Alliance for Catholic Education</a>.</p>
<p>During his undergraduate studies, Macaluso pursued <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/">political science</a> and <a href="https://english.nd.edu/undergraduate/">English</a> through the <a href="https://al.nd.edu/">College of Arts and Letters</a>. He credits the choice to study these diverse subjects with shaping his education in a unique way.</p>
<p>“It pushed me and propelled me as a thinker and especially as a writer,” Macaluso says. “It made a huge difference in how I was able to express ideas and make arguments. I really value that I had both of those disciplines as my background at Notre Dame.”</p>
<p>Macaluso had a distinct experience serving as the Notre Dame leprechaun mascot for three years. His time as the mascot allowed him to travel with the football team and connect with Notre Dame fans nationwide.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/553860/maclep.jpg" alt="Professor Macaluso as Notre Dame leprechaun mascot." width="600" height="776"></figure>
<p>What started out as something fun soon turned into some of Macaluso’s fondest Notre Dame memories from his undergraduate years. “People would just come up to me and share what they loved about Notre Dame and how they loved it and grew up rooting for the team,” he says. “It was sort of this transcendent experience where I was able to see beyond much more than myself as a mascot of a university, but really be able to hear people’s stories and get to know them on a personal level.”</p>
<p>After five years as a high school English teacher and after earning his Ph.D. in education, Macaluso returned to Notre Dame. Presently, he serves as an associate teaching professor for the <a href="https://iei.nd.edu/">Institute for Education Initiatives</a>, teaching a broad range of courses with the <a href="https://ess.nd.edu/">education, schooling, and society</a> and Alliance for Catholic Education programs.</p>
<p>Among his favorite courses to teach is Issues of Diversity in Young Adult Literature. The course involves reading contemporary young adult books and contemplating the representation of students’ identities in traditional English classrooms. “It’s a great way of thinking about what is going on in the world today and using young adult literature as a lens to do that,” says Macaluso.</p>
<p>Macaluso’s primary research is focused on critical approaches to English education and the significance of literacy in middle and high school classrooms.</p>
<p>Resulting from his research, Macaluso established the <a href="https://iei.nd.edu/alexandria">Alexandria Book Award</a>. This award acknowledges books suitable for incorporation into school classrooms and entails crafting a curriculum based on them to revamp traditional teaching content. Supported by the Institute for Education Initiatives, the Alliance for Catholic Education, and <a href="https://iei.nd.edu/initiatives/cle">Center for Literacy Education</a>, these books are distributed out to teachers and classrooms nationwide.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/553861/image_1_16_24_at_11.38_am.jpeg" alt="Professor Mike Macaluso Alexandria Book Award" width="600" height="730"></figure>
<p>In 2022, Macaluso was awarded the <a href="https://provost.nd.edu/faculty-recognitions/faculty-awards/joyce-award/">Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.</a> Macaluso’s dedication to teaching and guiding undergraduate students in the teaching profession finds its culmination in his work with the Alliance for Catholic Education program.</p>
<p>“It's really fun to work with these new teachers and help them think about what they want their classroom to look like and what kind of teacher they want to be, and then working with them through their classroom and through their coursework to help them actualize their vision for teaching,” Macaluso says.</p>
<p>Drawing from his experience as a former high school teacher, Macaluso also instructs in the <a href="https://precollege.nd.edu/summer-scholars/">Notre Dame Pre-College</a> program. This program allows high school students to undertake a college-level course on Notre Dame’s campus for a two-week duration.</p>
<p>Macaluso teaches the <a href="https://precollege.nd.edu/summer-scholars/">Summer Scholars</a> course <a href="https://precollege.nd.edu/courses/learning-by-design-visual-design-and-the-learning-sciences/">Learning by Design: Visual Design and the Learning Sciences</a> and says he enjoys working with high school students who are challenging themselves while also getting a glimpse of a Notre Dame education.</p>
<p>To learn more about Professor Macaluso’s journey at Notre Dame as both a student and professor, watch the video above.</p>
<p><strong id="docs-internal-guid-dd11e084-7fff-de7e-5288-8cb4ae1a0688"><br><br><br></strong></p>Jessica Fraziertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1592852024-01-23T09:37:00-05:002024-02-12T14:25:43-05:00FirstGen@ND: Cheyenne Stewart '26 Neuroscience and Behavior Major in Glynn Family Honors Program<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sV7SceiM0bU" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Sophomore Cheyenne Stewart grew up in a single-parent household after losing her father to cancer when she was seven years old. With her mother working in education,…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sV7SceiM0bU" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Sophomore Cheyenne Stewart grew up in a single-parent household after losing her father to cancer when she was seven years old. With her mother working in education, earning a degree was a goal for Stewart early on.</p>
<p>"It was important for me to work hard and overcome those challenges as my mother did. Like many others, I enjoyed tremendous encouragement and guidance from her," Stewart says.</p>
<p>Originally from Hungary, Stewart immigrated to the United States with her parents, settling eventually in Terre Haute, Indiana. Having lived in small towns and entering university as a first-generation student, Stewart sought a supportive community that could embrace her unique story and life experiences.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/554510/image_1_19_24_at_1.44_pm.jpeg" alt="Cheyenne Stewart '26 poses with a group of friends in Notre Dame stadium." width="600" height="776"></figure>
<p>“I knew I wanted to find a community that would foster the people like me that have come from all these different backgrounds. I couldn’t wait to get to Notre Dame because I’d heard of the friendships, lifelong memories, professional connections, and collaborations developed here,” she says.</p>
<p>Stewart has found many ways to get involved with community life at Notre Dame, including serving as a Eucharistic minister and lector during hall and Basilica masses. She’s also taken on the role of <a href="https://gsg.nd.edu/committees/diversity-inclusion/">director of the Department of Diversity and Inclusion, First Generation Low Income Division</a> within student government.</p>
<p>In this role, Stewart and her team host <a href="https://studentgovernment.nd.edu/platform-tracker/#FGLI">special events</a> in order to raise awareness of the available resources at Notre Dame for fellow first-generation students and provide additional support.<strong><br></strong></p>
<p>One resource Stewart has personally utilized is the <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/">Office of Student Enrichment (OSE)</a>, which aims to enable students to engage in developmental opportunities, foster communal learning, and pursue personal growth.</p>
<p>The OSE offers financial aid for college expenses, including providing funds for football tickets, professional outfits, laptops, travel expenses, and winter clothing.</p>
<p>Stewart is studying <a href="https://science.nd.edu/academics/degree-programs/neuroscience-and-behavior/">neuroscience and behavior</a> in the <a href="https://glynnhonors.nd.edu/">Glynn Family Honors Program</a> through the <a href="https://science.nd.edu/">College of Science.</a> Transitioning from a smaller high school with more limited resources, Stewart initially felt intimidated about entering a STEM field. However, she found academic assistance at Notre Dame to help her with challenging coursework.</p>
<p>“It’s been the first place where I have found valuable support, like teaching assistants, study groups, and professors who are willing to help,” says Stewart. “You just have to voice your needs and follow the leads to the right resources.”</p>
<p>Presently, Stewart is actively engaged in a <a href="https://psychology.nd.edu/about/research-labs/memory-lab/">research lab</a> with Professor G.A. Radvansky, focusing on memory research, a field that initially sparked Stewart’s interest in neuroscience.</p>
<p>Stewart has also appreciated Notre Dame’s resources and connections to travel abroad. In spring 2022, Stewart joined a group of 30 students in Panama with a Global Medical Brigades group, providing medical care through a mobile clinic.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/554511/image_1_19_24_at_1.43_pm_2_.jpeg" alt="Cheyenne Stewart '26 serves with Global Medical Brigade." width="600" height="790"></figure>
<p>“My trip to Panama was one of the most influential moments, not just from the medical perspective and having hands-on involvement, but having the camaraderie on that trip was one of the most unique experiences I’ve had,” she says. “The way we supported one another was the definition of what the Notre Dame family is and that is exactly why I chose Notre Dame and why I feel it is such a home.”</p>
<p>As Stewart continues into her second year at Notre Dame, she marvels at her journey—from a small Hungarian town with under 2,000 residents to becoming a leader on campus. </p>
<p>“I feel so fortunate to be at Notre Dame with all these exceptional professors, peers, staff, and means right in front of me. There’s such a loving environment where everyone can find something that fits their needs and interests. I especially value the kindness and collaboration of students and faculty alike. There are numerous non-academic support systems on campus such as rectors, priests in residence halls, RA’s (resident assistants), and various directors. Besides, I am amazed at how the upperclassmen are there to guide us. The supporting community is such a distinct aspect of Notre Dame,” Stewart concludes.</p>
<p>Watch the video above to learn more about Stewart’s experiences at Notre Dame.<strong id="docs-internal-guid-3f57ddc7-7fff-cd34-8105-cf6ddfe99097"><br></strong></p>Jessica Fraziertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1590222024-01-11T09:45:00-05:002024-02-12T15:08:14-05:00ND Journey: Emily Shelburne Global Affairs and Political Science Major Contributes to Community Life at Notre Dame<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h2dX9D0y4PI" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Emily Shelburne '25 knew when beginning her college search that she wanted service to be at the heart of the school where she would spend the next four years living…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h2dX9D0y4PI" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Emily Shelburne '25 knew when beginning her college search that she wanted service to be at the heart of the school where she would spend the next four years living and studying.</p>
<p>Born in Uganda, Shelburne and her family spent several years working in education before moving to Abilene, Texas. These early life experiences led Shelburne to pursue a career in service to others. She began researching universities offering political science and global affairs majors and came across the <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/">Keough School of Global Affairs</a>.</p>
<p>“I was very attracted to the school of global affairs,” says Shelburne. “Primarily what separated Notre Dame [from other schools] was their dedication to service and not just within one discipline. I thought it was very important that I had a school where I was not only getting an education where the major itself centered around service but Notre Dame as an institution that valued it. Service is embedded into the fabric of the Notre Dame community.”</p>
<p>As a current junior studying <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/">political science</a> through the <a href="https://al.nd.edu/">College of Arts and Letters </a>and <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/undergrad/global-affairs-major/">global affairs</a> with the Keough School, Shelburne has found ways to give back to the community.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/552977/image_1_8_24_at_9.30_am.jpeg" alt="Emily Shelburne 25 at ND football game"></figure>
<p>In fall 2023, Keough launched a pilot mentoring program. Upperclassmen mentors like Shelburne are paired with incoming first-years as they transition into Keough, introducing them to research opportunities, discussing classes, and helping them become more connected to the school's resources.</p>
<p>“The program has allowed us to not only form an intergenerational friendship but also has allowed the bridging of gaps between the classes,” says Shelburne. “We’ve spent a lot of time talking about life over coffee. It isn’t strictly just an academic relationship; it’s also about building true friendships.”</p>
<p>Shelburne also served as a teaching assistant for a class that had a huge impact on her own life, taught by Professor Steve Reifenberg, <a href="https://www.lifedesignnd.com/">Life Design: The Art and Science of Human Flourishing</a>. The course explores different mindsets, skillsets, and habits to help students live a happier and more meaningful life.</p>
<p>In the greater Notre Dame community, Shelburne has extended her involvement as a member of the <a href="https://notredameday.nd.edu/organizations/black-student-association-of-notre-dame">Black Student Association</a>, <a href="https://www.sub.nd.edu/">Student Union Board</a>, <a href="https://sites.nd.edu/african-student-association/">African Student Association</a>, <a href="https://www.questbridge.org/college-partners/university-of-notre-dame/scholars_on_campus">Questbrige</a>, and the <a href="https://provost.nd.edu/academic-community/undergraduate-education/transformational-leaders/">Transformational Leadership Program (TLP)</a>.</p>
<p>TLP is a scholarly initiative with a focus on Notre Dame students who have also, in some way, been historically marginalized or challenged. The program serves the students’ academic, professional, social, and spiritual development, helping them reach their academic and intellectual goals. (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH8ntB4GG94">Watch our video to learn more about TLP resources.</a>)</p>
<p>“TLP is a lot of people who might not have had a traditional Notre Dame background. It’s really nice to have that connection to other people who have that similarity,” says Shelburne. The program also provides a place for students to gather together for special events. “I’ve really enjoyed being able to be a part of establishing this newer community at Notre Dame,” says Shelburne.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/552976/103de012_1e14_46f5_aad8_1e77572444ac_2.jpg" alt="Emily Shelburne 25 P-Dub"></figure>
<p>In order to share her passion and knowledge of Notre Dame, she also serves as a digital media intern for Notre Dame Admissions. This involves showcasing ND life on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ndadmissions">TikTok</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ndadmissions/">Instagram</a> and writing for the <a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/student-perspectives/">Student Perspectives</a> blog page. In spring 2024, Emily will be studying abroad in Rome and sharing about her experiences with prospective students.</p>
<p>Shelburne can’t talk about Notre Dame without sharing about her residence hall: Pasquerilla West Hall (P-Dub). With a smile on her face, she describes P-Dub dorm life as, “a very lively dorm community with a history of being very welcoming, open, and accepting.”</p>
<p>A favorite memory of her hall is her first night on campus during the first-year Welcome Weekend. Upperclassmen from P-Dub welcomed Shelburne and a group of other first-year girls to come and chat. The chat turned into the group staying up talking until 4:00 a.m., creating lasting friendships for the women of Pasquerilla West Hall.</p>
<p>For Shelburne, this memory serves as the first time she felt a true sense of belonging at Notre Dame and began to understand the impact the community has on one another.</p>
<p>“I felt like I could call this place home and I could call these people ‘my people,’” says Shelburne. “It was formative because I saw what the ND community looks like and what I need to do to contribute to it.”</p>
<p>Watch the video above to learn more about Shelburne’s Notre Dame experience.</p>
<p> </p>Jessica Fraziertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1587982023-12-18T07:36:00-05:002023-12-18T07:36:15-05:00University of Notre Dame Releases Restrictive Early Action Decisions for the Class of 2028<p>The University of Notre Dame has completed its review of 11,498 Restrictive Early Action (REA) applications for the undergraduate Class of 2028. This represents a three percent increase over the 11,163 REA applications received in the prior year.</p><p>The University of Notre Dame has completed its review of 11,498 Restrictive Early Action (REA) applications for the undergraduate Class of 2028. This represents a three percent increase over the 11,163 REA applications received in the prior year.</p>
<p>Students from all 50 states and 109 different countries learned of their decisions on Friday, December 15, 2023, at 18:42 (6:42 p.m. ET), a nod to the University’s founding year of 1842.</p>
<p>A total of 1,724 applicants were offered admission in this year’s REA cycle. The University will continue its review of Regular Decision (RD) applications and announce detailed information about the enrolled Class of 2028 in late May 2024.</p>
<p>Students in this year’s REA applicant pool represent the top of their classes for academic preparedness, intellectual curiosity, and leadership. Applicants also share a commitment to Notre Dame’s Catholic mission, compelling service to others, and a diverse portfolio of lived experiences.</p>
<p>This year’s REA applicant pool includes the largest number of international students the University has ever received.</p>
<p>“The impressive accomplishments and personal qualities of the REA admitted students are a testament to their talent, hard work, and personal attributes that align with the mission of the University,” says Vice President for Undergraduate Enrollment Micki Kidder. “We are honored to welcome them to the Notre Dame family and look forward to seeing their contributions to our community and the world.”</p>
<p>Notre Dame offers a non-binding application process, allowing students to apply in REA as long as they do not apply early decision to another school with a binding early decision program. Despite no binding agreement, nearly 70 percent of REA-admitted students typically enroll at Notre Dame.</p>
<p>The University is in its fourth year of a test-optional practice, extending through at least 2025. The test-optional practice allows students to choose whether to submit a standardized test score to be included in the evaluation of their application.</p>Enrollment Divisiontag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1581752023-12-12T10:03:17-05:002023-12-12T10:07:00-05:00ND Journey: Savannah Carr ’24 Broadens Her Experience and Perspectives<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tD01QvzSfvU" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Savannah Carr '24 started coding as a junior in high school. She participated in a program called Girls Who Code and it exposed her to “an environment of women in STEM…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tD01QvzSfvU" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Savannah Carr '24 started coding as a junior in high school. She participated in a program called Girls Who Code and it exposed her to “an environment of women in STEM that encouraged and inspired us to believe we can achieve anything,” she says.</p>
<p>Her passion for coding led her to <a href="https://cse.nd.edu/undergraduate/">major in computer science</a> in the College of Engineering at Notre Dame. Because she wanted to combine that with her interest in business, she also opted for a <a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/undergraduate/digital-marketing-minor/">minor in digital marketing</a> through the <a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/undergraduate/">Mendoza College of Business</a>.</p>
<p>The two programs have offered the best of both worlds for Carr, who also broadened her experience by completing an internship with Notre Dame’s University Relations Department on the Information Technology team.</p>
<p>She has also spent several years as a digital media intern with Notre Dame’s Enrollment Division. In her role, she assists with many aspects of content creation for University social media channels and writes posts for the <a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/student-perspectives/savannah-carr/">Student Perspectives blogs</a>, among other responsibilities.</p>
<p>These experiences have helped round out her education.</p>
<p>“I think my academic combination is really cool and will lead me down a great path career-wise,” says Carr. “Whether I’m coding, completing an engineering project, or doing something in between, I can definitely apply some business and networking skills. I think that any sort of degree in conjunction with a marketing degree only allows you to have a broader perspective on what consumers actually want.”</p>
<p>Carr is passionate about her studies as well as her extracurricular activities, which include membership in Notre Dame’s <a href="https://sites.nd.edu/swe/">Society of Women Engineers (SWE)</a>. (<a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/q-a-sarah-wells-23-president-of-notre-dames-society-of-women-engineers/">Read more about SWE here.</a>)</p>
<p>“We do a lot of community service,” says Carr. She mentions working for Habitat for Humanity as an example. “Doing that, giving back to the community, and getting career advice, plus meeting other women in computer science or other STEM careers, has been really great and inspiring, and it makes me excited to enter into the workforce soon.”</p>
<p>Carr has also found community in her residence hall on campus, Flaherty Hall. “That’s kind of my main community,” she says.</p>
<p>She recalls being set up for meetings with other first-years in the hall as an incoming student and says that was a good way to get to know other residents. She formed strong friendships with her dorm mates and the other women she met that year, and she still rooms with her first-year roommate.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/548752/400x/savannahcarr1.gif" alt="Savannahcarr1" width="400" height="629"></figure>
<p>Another big community of which Carr is part is the <a href="https://www.ndband.com/">Band of the Fighting Irish</a>. She plays the clarinet and is an assistant drum major this year. Being part of a section in the band and experiencing the football games with the other students has been an incredible experience.</p>
<p>“Just being with everyone, filled with all grades, of all majors, it is really awesome just to see so many people from so many walks of life come together and play music,” says Carr.</p>
<p>Meeting people from different backgrounds and broadening her perspectives are themes of Carr’s Notre Dame experience. She spent last spring in Australia, traveling with five other students, taking courses at the University of Sydney.</p>
<p>“I think just being able to be in a totally different place from America, and being halfway across the world was so cool and allowed me to dive into a new culture and gather so many new perspectives,” says Carr.</p>
<p>So much of her time at Notre Dame has been about appreciating new perspectives, meeting new people, and experiencing new places. Carr says that’s all part of the “Fighting Irish spirit” that permeates the Notre Dame atmosphere.</p>
<p>Watch the video above to learn more about Carr’s Notre Dame experience.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="image image-right"><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-sophia-ochoa-25-expresses-creativity-builds-community/"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/547826/300x/sophiaochoa2.gif" alt="Sophiaochoa2" width="300" height="200"></a></figure>
<h2>Learn More</h2>
<p>Meet other Notre Dame students:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-sophia-ochoa-25-expresses-creativity-builds-community/">ND Journey: Sophia Ochoa '25 Expresses Creativity, Builds Community</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-ryan-murray-26-finance-and-political-science-major-and-football-student-manager-2/">ND Journey: Ryan Murray '26, Finance and Political Science Major and Football Student Manager </a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-patrick-smart-25-sophomore-class-president-chose-notre-dame-to-make-an-impact/">ND Journey: Patrick Smart '25, Recent Sophomore Class President, Chose Notre Dame to Make an Impact</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Shannon Rooneytag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1581852023-12-05T10:16:00-05:002023-12-05T10:16:03-05:00FirstGen@ND: Alejandro Villalvazo '26 Makes Meaningful Connections Through Community and Academics<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NiYX475owos" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Sophomore Alejandro “Alex” Villalvazo began his college search by considering what was most important to him. At the top of the list were his faith life and his desire…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NiYX475owos" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Sophomore Alejandro “Alex” Villalvazo began his college search by considering what was most important to him. At the top of the list were his faith life and his desire for a holistic education.</p>
<p>While he was looking at different schools, Villalvazo looked at his involvement with Catholicism—his participation in Bible studies and the fact that he’d met some of his best friends in that community.</p>
<p>“It made me realize that it was something of value to me. Discerning this was incredibly important and Notre Dame offered that to me,” he says.</p>
<p>He also appreciated Notre Dame’s academic reputation, but says it was easier to find a college with rigorous academics than it was to “find a school that cares about you.”</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/548765/400x/alejandrovillalvazo.jpg" alt="Alejandrovillalvazo"></figure>
<p>Villalvazo has found that at Notre Dame, where the residential life has made it “incredibly easy” for him to make friends and adjust to college life. The adjustment was a potential hurdle as Villalvazo is a first-generation college student.</p>
<p>One of the communities that helped him settle in at Notre Dame is the <a href="https://anbryce.nd.edu/">AnBryce Scholars Initiative</a>. As an AnBryce scholar, Villalvazo attended the scholars meeting during the summer before his first year. Director of Financial Aid Mary Nucciarone was there to meet with the students.</p>
<p>When he stopped by her office later that week to voice his concerns about affording Notre Dame, he says, “Taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with me demonstrated that she was willing and open to helping…Understanding the financial necessities of students like myself and really holistically understanding what it means to afford college—Mrs. Nucciarone understood that. She took the time to understand my needs and meet them beyond what any other school was able to do for me.”</p>
<p>Resources like this are plentiful on campus, says Villalvazo. “If you make the extra effort to reach out to people, the resources are more than available to you.”</p>
<p>That includes the friends and connections he has made in his residence hall, Fisher Hall. He points to resident advisors and his rector as people who make it clear that they care about students. He has made some of his best friends in Fisher.</p>
<p>“And it’s not the stereotypical surface level friendships that you might have had in high school. Friendships that you make in your dorm are long-lasting and these are probably going to be my best friends for life,” says Villalvazo.</p>
<p>Villalvazo is a <a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/undergraduate/finance-undergraduate/">finance major</a> with a minor in <a href="https://realestate.nd.edu/education/undergraduate-minor/">real estate</a>. He enjoys the fact that his studies are also about community and connection.</p>
<p>“You often hear that you go into finance for lucrative reasons. That’s not necessarily true, especially at Notre Dame. Finance means something much more profound than just a career in business,” says Villalvazo.</p>
<p>Villalvazo is learning ways to give back and to “do good for others” through his major and minor. His professor <a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/mendoza-directory/profile/carl-ackermann/">Carl Ackerman</a> has led by example.</p>
<p>“I’m looking to get involved in something [Professor Carl Ackerman] does, helping nonprofit organizations structure their finances to better assist those communities or nonprofit projects,” says Villalvazo.</p>
<p>Making these connections has shaped Villalvazo’s Notre Dame experience so far and he appreciates that they are a reflection of the campus community.</p>
<p>“The wealth of resources and support from individuals who made me realize Notre Dame was attainable truly impressed me," he says. “I deeply valued this. It is about the human connection too. You’re not just another number or another application here. You’re definitely viewed as a person who is a part of the Notre Dame family.”</p>
<p>Check out the video above to learn more about Villalvazo's Notre Dame experience.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="image image-right"><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-savannah-carr-24-broadens-her-experience-and-perspectives/"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/548751/300x/savannahcarr2.gif" alt="Savannahcarr2" width="300" height="236"></a></figure>
<h2>Read More</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-savannah-carr-24-broadens-her-experience-and-perspectives/">ND Journey: Savannah Carr '24 Broadens Her Experience and Perspectives</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/firstgen-nd-department-of-american-studies-professor-jennifer-huynh-was-the-first-in-her-family-to-attend-college/">FirstGen@ND: Department of American Studies Professor Jennifer Huynh was the First in Her Family to Attend College</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-patrick-smart-25-sophomore-class-president-chose-notre-dame-to-make-an-impact/">ND Journey: Patrick Smart '25, Recent Sophomore Class President, Chose Notre Dame to Make an Impact</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Shannon Rooneytag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1582552023-11-28T10:44:00-05:002023-11-28T10:45:31-05:00Alumni Profile: Rob Lewis '88, How Studying PLS Led to Executive Communications Lead at IBM<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/549139/400x/rob_lewis_feature.jpg" alt="Rob Lewis Feature"> <figcaption>Rob Lewis '88</figcaption> </figure> <p>Rob Lewis received his bachelor of arts degree at Notre Dame in 1988, majoring in both the <a href="https://pls.nd.edu/">program of liberal</a>…</p><figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/549139/400x/rob_lewis_feature.jpg" alt="Rob Lewis Feature">
<figcaption>Rob Lewis '88</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rob Lewis received his bachelor of arts degree at Notre Dame in 1988, majoring in both the <a href="https://pls.nd.edu/">program of liberal studies (PLS)</a> and <a href="https://romancelanguages.nd.edu/undergraduate/italian/">Italian</a>.</p>
<p>He currently serves as a speechwriter and executive communications lead at IBM, authoring internal and external CEO speeches, executive correspondence, and other communications.</p>
<p>Previously, Lewis served as the assistant commissioner of strategic and executive communications at the New York Police Department (NYPD), chief speechwriter to the commissioner of U.S. Customs, and personal aide to New York’s former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.</p>
<p>His career has spanned various fields, ranging from politics to business.</p>
<p>Lewis says the most memorable PLS classes he took during the program were the seminars, “because of the interactions we had with one another and with the professor leading it, but also because to me, basically, the seminars were an exercise of Socratic dialectic method. You have that dialogue between participants with the goal of arriving at some greater truth through reasoned argumentation.”</p>
<p>He also recalls Intellectual and Cultural History, Philosophical Inquiry, and the Fundamental Concepts of Natural Sciences as notable classes.</p>
<p>The program, Lewis says, “taught me how to be a better listener, how to be a better speaker, and how to be a better writer, all of which were very important to the profession I wound up in.”</p>
<p><em>Invisible Man</em>, <em>War and Peace</em>, <em>Democracy in America</em>, and <em>The Brothers Karamazov</em> are some of his favorite texts he read in the program. He chose to write his PLS thesis on <em>Plato’s Symposium</em> and St. Teresa of Avila’s <em>The Interior Castle</em>.</p>
<p>“That made a big impression on me,” Lewis says, speaking of <em>Symposium</em>. “It explores the differences between true and false rhetoric through the teachings of Socrates.” Lewis was struck by what he identifies as, “the exploration of the power of rhetoric and how it should be employed for the truth.”</p>
<p>Overall, he says, “PLS gave me a core skillset in how to read and analyze text closely, how to think critically, how to ask the right questions, and how to write with great precision, clarity, and depth.”</p>
<p>After Notre Dame, Lewis went to Washington, D.C. to pursue an interest in politics and government.</p>
<p>As a junior staffer on Capitol Hill, he relied on his broad familiarity with texts from the PLS program to help conduct research for a senator well known for peppering his speeches with classical references. In drafting statements, he was met with, “an exceedingly demanding editor who upheld the highest standards of language, not unlike PLS professors. So again, I felt that I was well prepared for that.”</p>
<p>After the events of September 11th, 2001, Lewis was heavily involved in articulating the law enforcement response from government at both the federal and local levels, first at U.S. Customs and then the NYPD, where he served for 12 years.</p>
<p>Lewis shares that PLS prepared him for all his professional experiences. “Whether you’re writing speeches for government or business in the tech industry, it’s an activity that draws upon many different fields of knowledge. It draws on politics, it draws on art, history, science, philosophy, and religion," he says. "Again, PLS gave me exposure to a lot of those subjects and that core familiarity with the philosophical and intellectual traditions that underpin the economic and political systems that I was writing about.”</p>
<p>When speaking of his current role, Lewis says that his main attraction to IBM is that, “it’s a company that has always been engaged in trying to solve big societal challenges with the help of technology and they’re very engaged with a lot of different organizations to advance that mission.”</p>
<p>“It is still intellectually stimulating to me,” he adds. “Especially given how technology is impacting the world so significantly in many different ways.”</p>
<p>Lewis also emphasizes the importance of a bachelor of arts degree because, “critical decision-making is something that really calls upon the diversity of skills one acquires through a liberal arts education. It’s in demand and it’s needed.”</p>
<p>The liberal arts offered Lewis a holistic foundation. He says, “It’s not just about finding a job; it’s about becoming a better, more informed, and capable human being. And that’s what this education helps you to become.”</p>
<hr>
<figure class="image image-right"><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/alumni-profile-jasmine-shells-13-founder-and-ceo-of-five-to-nine/"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/506787/300x/jasmineshellscropped.jpg" alt="Jasmineshellscropped" width="300" height="221"></a></figure>
<h2>Meet More Notre Dame Alumni</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/alumni-profile-jasmine-shells-13-founder-and-ceo-of-five-to-nine/">Jasmine Shells '13, Founder and CEO of Five to Nine</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/alumni-profile-erin-hayes-political-science-and-arabic-majors-took-her-to-cairo-and-oxford/">Erin Hayes' Political Science and Arabic Majors Took Her to Cairo and Oxford</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/alumni-profile-jim-lampariello-13-aerospace-engineer-for-blue-origin/">Jim Lampariello '13, Aerospace Engineer for Blue Origin</a></li>
</ul>Elizabeth Pratertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1579752023-11-21T08:34:00-05:002023-11-21T08:34:46-05:00ND Journey: Sophia Ochoa ’25 Expresses Creativity, Builds Community<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_cMI5LxyEsQ" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Sophia Ochoa ’25 first heard about Notre Dame when she was a senior in high school.</p> <p>Her uncle, a Notre Dame alumnus, talked to her about Notre Dame when he found…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_cMI5LxyEsQ" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Sophia Ochoa ’25 first heard about Notre Dame when she was a senior in high school.</p>
<p>Her uncle, a Notre Dame alumnus, talked to her about Notre Dame when he found out she was going through the college search process.</p>
<p>He talked up Notre Dame so much that, since Ochoa couldn’t get to the States from her hometown of Manila in the Philippines due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, she decided to attend an <a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/visit-campus/#virtual">online information session</a>.</p>
<p>The session was hosted by Notre Dame’s director of international recruitment.</p>
<p>“I immediately was enamored with how holistic Notre Dame was,” says Ochoa. “It was a good school as far as academics. I googled and found out it had a really good design program. It had all these extracurriculars people were so passionate about. And I was also really excited about the community and the constant opportunities for giving back to the community.”</p>
<p>Now a junior at Notre Dame, Ochoa is pursuing a major in <a href="https://artdept.nd.edu/undergraduate/design/">visual communication design</a> and a <a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/undergraduate/digital-marketing-minor/">minor in digital marketing</a>.</p>
<p>When she came in as a first-year student, she relied on the Asian community groups at Notre Dame, with whom she first felt a sense of community. She still talks with friends from the <a href="https://campusministry.nd.edu/get-involved/retreats/asian-first-year-retreat/">Asian First-Year Retreat</a> and the Filipino-American Student Organization (FASO).</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/547827/400x/sophiaochoa1.gif" alt="Sophiaochoa1" width="400" height="569">
<figcaption>Sophia Ochoa '25</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>She has also found community where she lives in Cavanaugh Hall. And she values the Christian friendships she has formed with other students through <a href="https://isi.nd.edu/">Iron Sharpens Iron</a>.</p>
<p>One of her favorite Notre Dame memories took place on her first night on campus, when she had arrived earlier than almost everyone on her hall’s floor. One of the resident assistants (RAs ) from another section came up to invite her to hang out with a group while they made posters to welcome students who would move in the following day.</p>
<p>“That outreach and interaction–someone coming to check in on me and asking me if I wanted to participate–was really meaningful for me. It showed me that I did have a place here as early as my first night on campus,” says Ochoa.</p>
<p>Community is important to Ochoa and she has also found ways to explore that through her major and minor.</p>
<p>“I think that design is collaborative and very human-centered,” says Ochoa. She has always loved creating.</p>
<p>“I remember when I was maybe five years old or so, I already had notebooks of different fashion drawings that I knew I would make for myself one day and it slowly manifested into making real products,” she says.</p>
<p>As a child, Ochoa made clothes for her dolls and jewelry out of recycled materials, among other things.</p>
<p>“Essentially, I love the process of envisioning something in my mind and taking the steps to make it a real tangible thing that other people can enjoy,” says Ochoa.</p>
<p>As a visual communications design major and digital marketing minor, she gets to express this creative side of herself while learning how to make products and information accessible to people.</p>
<p>Through all her Notre Dame experiences, Ochoa has grown in many ways.</p>
<p>“For one thing, I’ve become a lot more independent,” she says, pointing to all the things she has done on her own despite being naturally shy and, of course, not having her parents nearby.</p>
<p>Among other activities, Ochoa served on the St. André Bessette <a href="http://welcomeweekend.nd.edu">Welcome Weekend</a> Committee in her sophomore and junior years and was co-chair for the Cavanaugh Welcome Weekend team in her sophomore year. It’s fitting that she has taken on responsibilities for making other students feel welcome and included.</p>
<p>Check out the video above to meet Sophia Ochoa ’25 and learn more about her Notre Dame experience.<br><br></p>
<hr>
<figure class="image image-right"><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-ryan-murray-26-finance-and-political-science-major-and-football-student-manager-2/"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/544896/300x/ryanmurray2.gif" alt="Ryanmurray2" width="300" height="189"></a></figure>
<h2>Meet More Notre Dame Students: </h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-ryan-murray-26-finance-and-political-science-major-and-football-student-manager-2/">ND Journey: Ryan Murray ’26, Finance and Political Science Major and Football Student Manager</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/doctors-in-italy-internship-gillian-gaynor-24-spent-her-summer-interning-in-genoa-hospital/">Doctors in Italy Internship: Gillian Gaynor ’24 Spent Her Summer Interning in Genoa Hospital</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-nd-journey-luke-strawn-25-explores-neuroscience-faith-and-rock-climbing/">ND Journey: Luke Strawn '25 Explores Neuroscience, Faith, and Rock-climbing</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>Shannon Rooneytag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1580712023-11-16T13:08:00-05:002024-03-20T15:22:55-04:00Shadow for a Day: Talent Search Program Welcomes High School Students to Campus<p><a href="https://trio.nd.edu/">TRIO’s</a> <a href="https://trio.nd.edu/programs/talent-search/">Talent Search</a> program hosted Shadow for a Day, an annual event through which students in ninth through 12th grade are paired up with a current Notre Dame student to shadow them on campus for a day.…</p><p><a href="https://trio.nd.edu/">TRIO’s</a> <a href="https://trio.nd.edu/programs/talent-search/">Talent Search</a> program hosted Shadow for a Day, an annual event through which students in ninth through 12th grade are paired up with a current Notre Dame student to shadow them on campus for a day.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/548223/trio_shadow_day_23_2_copy.jpg" alt="Students participate in Trio Shadow Day program" width="600" height="400">
<figcaption>A Talent Search student and a Notre Dame mentor start off the day in McKenna Hall before heading to class.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sonya Watkins is the associate director of Talent Search and believes the event aligns with the program’s goal to provide programming for local youth, saying, “The mission of the Talent Search program is to provide college and career information as well as exposure to primarily first-generation, low-income students and their families in an effort to educate and assist the student with completing middle school, high school, and a post-secondary institution. By doing this, we aim to increase the number of students in our community who earn a postsecondary degree and therefore change the trajectory of their lives and the lives of their families.”</p>
<p>This year, Notre Dame hosted 50 Talent Search students from South Bend high schools, pairing them with a mentor based on their academic and personal interests.</p>
<p>“We hope students will take the opportunity to be adventurous, be curious, ask questions, and embrace this shadowing event to help shape their future secondary educational goals,” says Talent Search Advisor Asma Musleh.</p>
<p>Notre Dame students were excited to connect with students from the community while sharing their love of the University. Sam Marchand ’27 explains, “I volunteered to be a mentor because I know the public school background these kids are coming from extremely well, and how helpful it would've been to me to have someone like a Notre Dame student explain what daily life is like in college.”</p>
<p>Students spent a day living the life of a college student, including going to class, eating in the dining hall, and gaining a sense of how to balance community life and academics in a higher education setting.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/548225/trio_shadow_day_23_9_copy.jpg" alt="A Notre Dame mentor and a Talent Search student walk to class as part of " width="600" height="418">
<figcaption>A Notre Dame mentor and a Talent Search student walk to class as part of Shadow for a Day event on campus.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Marchand was paired with Muri, a local South Bend student. “Our day started with a tour of campus. We walked through the Mendoza College of Business, visited the weightroom in Duncan Student Center, saw classrooms in DeBartolo, looked at the exhibits in the FitzPatrick Hall of Engineering, [and] got to briefly experience dorm section culture in Keough Hall,” he says. “We were able to catch the 11:30 a.m. Mass in the Basilica and enjoyed lunch in South Dining Hall. After a quick trip through the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore, we went to theology class in O'Shaughnessey Hall.”</p>
<p>Adavion Perkins is a ninth-grade student at the Career Academy in South Bend and has been involved in the Talent Search program for the last six months. This was his first time taking part in Shadow for a Day and he doesn’t hesitate when asked what he was most excited about that day: “The dining hall,” Perkins says. “I’ve heard you can get any type of food in the cafeteria [here].”</p>
<p>Perkins is also interested in the college classroom experience, especially in exploring chemistry coursework. Before Shadow for a Day, he says, “I can’t wait to see all of the classes and learn about new experiments.”</p>
<p>Musleh has seen the broad impact this day of engagement with Notre Dame has on both the Notre Dame mentors and high school participants.</p>
<p>“The experience Talent Search students will receive is unique as many students do not get the opportunity to preview how it would be for them to attend college,” she says.”It is also a great opportunity to help students understand the process of applying and what they need to do in high school to prepare for college.”</p>
<p>TRIO staff and the Notre Dame mentors know the incredible impact this event has on local high school students as they are looking ahead into their future.</p>
<p>“Many of the students had no prior exposure to higher academia and now they have,” Marchand says. “The students have a clear vision of what's possible in college life if they decide to commit to academic excellence and the rewards that come with it. If there had been an academic titan like Notre Dame in my hometown, getting to see life there firsthand would have changed my life.”</p>
<hr>
<h2>Learn More</h2>
<p><a href="https://trio.nd.edu/">Explore the programs and services offered through TRIO at Notre Dame.</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Jessica Fraziertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1579242023-11-14T07:23:00-05:002023-11-14T07:23:55-05:00What is the Office of Student Enrichment?<p>Have you heard about Notre Dame’s <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/">Office of Student Enrichment (OSE)</a>? If so, you may be wondering what exactly this office does. The office name is broad and that is because the OSE provides a variety of services to the student body, with a focus on…</p><p>Have you heard about Notre Dame’s <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/">Office of Student Enrichment (OSE)</a>? If so, you may be wondering what exactly this office does. The office name is broad and that is because the OSE provides a variety of services to the student body, with a focus on helping students with limited income adjust to college life.</p>
<p>What does that entail?</p>
<p>The office’s motto is “Inform. Include. Invest.” In practice, the OSE offers <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/funding-opportunities/">funding opportunities</a> for eligible undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need. Specifically, the office stewards the Undergraduate Student Experience Fund.</p>
<p>Aimed toward helping students afford opportunities and resources, the fund assists students with expenses related to:</p>
<ul>
<li>moving in to the student’s residence hall</li>
<li>parent/guardian travel (especially for Welcome Weekend)</li>
<li>football tickets</li>
<li>class rings</li>
<li>winter clothing</li>
<li>laptops and computer repairs</li>
<li>professional clothing</li>
<li>and more!</li>
</ul>
<p>A student’s eligibility for funds is determined by the <a href="http://financialaid.nd.edu">Office of Financial Aid</a>. (Students interested in learning more should contact the OSE via email at <a href="mailto:enrich@nd.edu">enrich@nd.edu</a> or phone at 574-631-8639.)</p>
<p>In addition to funding opportunities, the OSE offers programming that addresses students’ academic, social, and professional development needs.</p>
<p>“Our goal as a team is to provide programming that enriches the student experience in ways that they will be able to access for years to come,” says Director Consuela Wilson. “Our programming includes sessions like Understanding Your Financial Aid, Navigating College, Budgeting, Network and the Job Search, Investing 101, Cooking on a Budget, and many more.”</p>
<p>The office is host to <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/programming/fighting-irish-scholars/">Fighting Irish Scholars</a>, which awards recipients $2,000 for the academic year to spend at their own discretion. Scholars are included in special events, are placed in a leadership role within the scholar group, and do not have to reapply in future years.</p>
<p>The OSE is also home to <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/programming/for-undocumented-daca-students/">Dream ND</a>, a community of support for DACA and undocumented undergraduate students at Notre Dame. Dream ND offers programming for students and financial, academic, and legal support. <a href="https://studentenrichment.nd.edu/programming/for-undocumented-daca-students/campus-resources/">Student resources</a> include pastoral care, career development services, and a support group through the University Counseling Center (UCC), among many others.</p>
<p>The Senior Fellows Program is another OSE resource. Senior Fellows take on specific roles which offer a stipend: Office and Communications, Dorm Ambassador Lead, or Peer Mentor Lead. Senior fellows “work to facilitate culture change on campus by helping to bring the issues and concerns of first-generation, under-resourced, and DACA/undocumented students to the forefront of student life.”</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/547737/300x/myldredhernandezgonzalez.gif" alt="Myldredhernandezgonzalez">
<figcaption>Myldred Hernandez-Gonzalez '25</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Senior Fellow Myldred Hernandez-Gonzalez '25, <a href="http://architecture.nd.edu">architecture</a> and<a href="https://latinostudies.nd.edu/undergraduate/supplementary-major/#Major%20program%20requirements"> Latino studies</a> double major, is a first-generation student who says the OSE has been a helpful resource since she was a first-year student. She has been assisted with funding for football tickets and help with flying her parents to campus for Junior Parents Weekend, among other needs. These resources have allowed her to take part in some very important parts of Notre Dame culture.</p>
<p>“There are few colleges that I can think of where they invest so much into student experiences, especially for under-resourced students,” says Hernandez-Gonzalez.</p>
<p>All OSE resources and programs aim toward creating an inclusive campus community where students feel empowered.</p>
<p>“Our goal is to support every student having their ‘Notre Dame Experience’ without monetary boundaries getting in the way and facilitating cohorts for first generation/under-resourced college students so that all students can find community!” says Wilson.</p>
<p>Hernandez-Gonzalez encourages students to take advantage of the resources available through the OSE. “The OSE team truly cares about the students they serve, are extremely approachable, and they go above and beyond to meet students' needs,” she says. “I have made great senior fellow friends who come from similar backgrounds as me and I think we all give 110% in the office to put events together.”</p>
<hr>
<h2>Learn More</h2>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/XjjgWCMC7Dk?si=LYa4YWzGJVgenOc6">Check out this video to learn more about the Office of Student Enrichment.</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Shannon Rooneytag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1577592023-11-07T08:25:00-05:002023-11-07T08:30:17-05:00Learning in Service to Justice: The Poverty Studies Interdisciplinary Minor<figure class="image image-default"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/546821/1040x/drconniemick_povertystudies.gif" alt="Drconniemick Povertystudies"></figure> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://www.nd.edu/about/mission/">Notre Dame’s mission statement</a> calls for the creation of “a sense of human solidarity and concern…</p><figure class="image image-default"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/546821/1040x/drconniemick_povertystudies.gif" alt="Drconniemick Povertystudies"></figure>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nd.edu/about/mission/">Notre Dame’s mission statement</a> calls for the creation of “a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice.” The <a href="https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/povertystudies/">poverty studies interdisciplinary minor</a> (PSIM) aims to do just that.</p>
<p>PSIM is housed in the <a href="https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/about/">Center for Social Concerns</a>—an “interdisciplinary institute dedicated to justice education and research for the common good with communities near and far.”</p>
<p>The minor was designed so that students can, “pursue any career, but will do that with the ‘disciplined sensibility to poverty and injustice’ Notre Dame’s mission calls us to practice,” says Connie Mick.</p>
<p>Mick is the director of the Poverty Studies Interdisciplinary Minor, in addition to her role as senior associate director and the director of academic affairs at the Center for Social Concerns. She teaches two core courses: Introduction to Poverty Studies and the senior capstone course.</p>
<p>In addition to these courses, PSIM students fulfill a three-credit “experiential learning” requirement completed by taking three Center for Social Concerns seminars throughout their undergraduate years or by participating in a summer program such as <a href="https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/ndbridge/">NDBridge</a>. These experiences bridge the gap between learning in the classroom and engaging with relevant issues firsthand.</p>
<p>“We don’t just want to study poverty in a distant, academic way; we want to be in solidarity with those who need the most and deserve our best,” says Mick. “The Center for Social Concerns provides those life-changing opportunities to engage poverty person-to-person with the support of faculty who deepen students’ understanding of the injustice they encounter.”</p>
<p>The elective course Poverty, Business, and Development exposes students to key content, frameworks, and perspectives regarding how poverty is addressed in the business community. In Consulting and Development, students work with low-income and disadvantaged entrepreneurs, helping to develop sustainable enterprises that change participants’ economic circumstances for the better.</p>
<p>Michael Morris, a professor affiliated with poverty studies, teaches both mentioned electives in the minor. He points to the nuance that Notre Dame’s program provides compared to other institutions.</p>
<p>“We approach poverty from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives,” says Morris. “Our educational approach to poverty places a priority on experiential learning.”</p>
<p>The emphasis on the experiential learning that poverty studies requires allows students to, “engage these hard questions with passion and empathy that expands through understanding,” says Mick.</p>
<p>Empathy is developed through involvement in these external communities and is also cultivated within the classroom.</p>
<p>“I’ve found a really wonderful academic community,” says junior Halle Keane. “Everyone I’ve met through the minor cares deeply about creating a more equitable world.”</p>
<p>Studying economics and Spanish, Keane added poverty studies after meeting with Mick in the spring of her first year.</p>
<p>“After confronting the income inequality in my hometown during high school, I knew I was interested in studying poverty in college,” says Keane. “After learning about the minor’s flexibility of curriculum and Professor Mick’s passion for interdisciplinarity in anti-poverty work, I was sold.”</p>
<p>Keane has seen her work in the minor translate to other aspects of her Notre Dame experience.</p>
<p>For example, through the <a href="https://kellogg.nd.edu/opportunities/undergraduate-students/kellogg-international-scholars-program">Kellogg International Scholars Program</a>, she conducts research regarding indigenous peoples’ autonomy in 16th-century Panamá. While Keane says that the research isn’t affiliated with the poverty studies minor, she does, “draw on a lot of themes from the minor,” in her research. She recognizes PSIM’s careful examination of justice, marginalization, and the legacies of systemic oppression through her work at Kellogg.</p>
<p>Keane’s favorite aspect of the minor is its interdisciplinary nature. She has taken classes ranging from Professor Dan Graff’s Just Wage Research Lab to Music and Social Change in the USA. In addition, she traveled to the southern U.S. in spring 2023 with the Center for Social Concerns’ <a href="https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/racial-justice-in-america/">Civil Rights course</a>.</p>
<p>“If there’s something I want to study or a discipline I want to explore, I am able to follow my curiosity through the poverty studies minor,” says Keane. “[The program serves as] an academic anchor for me on campus, a field of study through which I find supportive peers and professors and complete significant academic discernment.”</p>
<hr>
<h2>Learn More</h2>
<p><a href="https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/povertystudies/">Explore the poverty studies interdisciplinary minor. </a></p>
<p><strong>More Notre Dame programs:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/considering-civil-engineering-students-on-why-they-chose-the-major-and-what-they-love-about-it/">Considering Civil Engineering? Three Students on Why They Chose the Major and What They Love About It</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/psychology-major-q-a-three-current-students-on-why-they-chose-psychology/">Psychology Major Q&A: Three Current Students on Why They Chose Psychology</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/irasema-hernandez-trujillo-24-on-how-the-global-affairs-major-equips-students-to-become-future-policy-makers-and-advocates/">Student Q&A: Irasema Hernandez Trujillo '24 on How the Global Affairs Major Equips Students to Become Future Policy Makers and Advocates</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>
<p> </p>Elizabeth Pratertag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1577582023-11-07T08:23:00-05:002023-11-07T08:24:04-05:00What is the Transformational Leaders Program?<p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nH8ntB4GG94?si=ZRGq264ptoI1Q_Wf" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p> </p> <p>Academic support, mentorship, community building, competitive funding for academic materials and experiences, and much more—these are just…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nH8ntB4GG94?si=ZRGq264ptoI1Q_Wf" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Academic support, mentorship, community building, competitive funding for academic materials and experiences, and much more—these are just a few of the resources provided by Notre Dame’s <a href="https://provost.nd.edu/academic-community/undergraduate-education/transformational-leaders/">Transformational Leaders Program (TLP)</a>. The program is designed to support some of the University’s most high-achieving undergraduate students from historically marginalized backgrounds.</p>
<p>The program began in 2021 as a response to the growing diversity of the student body.</p>
<p>“As Notre Dame has diversified our student population, and we've thought about the face of Notre Dame [as it becomes] more representative of the world and the country that we live in, one of the things that we realized is that there were a number of students coming to Notre Dame for whom Notre Dame might feel like a really foreign experience,” says Dr. Maria McKenna, director of TLP and the AnBryce Scholars Initiative and professor of the practice in the Department of Africana Studies and the Education, Schooling, and Society Program.</p>
<p>For some students, it might be that they had never been to campus before they arrived for their first year or they are the first in their families to go to college.</p>
<p>Faculty and staff knew that, “it wasn’t enough to just invite people here; you have to accompany them along their journey,” says McKenna.</p>
<p>Accompaniment on the college journey is one of the key aspects of the Transformational Leaders Program. TLP consists of a permanent staff of eight, including educational outreach specialists who are responsible for connecting with students, mentoring them, and acting as a resource and connector to campus experiences and opportunities.</p>
<p>TLP also has an embedded care and wellness consultant through the C<a href="https://supportandcare.nd.edu/">enter for Student Support and Care</a> and a consultancy relationship with the office of <a href="https://campusministry.nd.edu/">Campus Ministry</a>.</p>
<p>Community resources are abundant for students in the program. In addition to the educational outreach specialists, TLP offers many opportunities for community-building. The program offers structured study hours with upperclassmen present to answer academic questions and a Peer Leadership Program. TLP brings academic enrichment speakers to campus, connects students with other offices around campus, and makes them aware of resources, including study abroad and research experiences.</p>
<p>TLP also hosts a cost-free summer pre-matriculation program called The Summer Academy @ Notre Dame. It is a six-week academic, credit bearing, and community-building program held over the summer after high school through which students can earn five academic credits.</p>
<p>In addition, TLP provides opportunities to apply for funding for various experiences for students who otherwise might not be able to afford them and are not covered by financial aid..</p>
<p>“[The] vision of this program was really to make sure that any student from a background that is particularly diverse and not typically or historically represented…has an opportunity to belong to a scholars community—to make sure that they can set and meet the goals that they're setting for themselves while they're here on campus,” says McKenna.</p>
<p>McKenna says the results of TLP Scholars’ involvement have proven fruitful.</p>
<p>Students who joined learned that they could find a personal connection with staff and other students. They found people who could act as sounding boards, people who could connect them with the career center, and study groups, and celebrate their accomplishments among other opportunities.</p>
<p>“We see students trying out new leadership roles on campus. We see them applying for opportunities to study abroad or to take part in service projects that they might not have otherwise known about,” says McKenna. “And we see students starting to form communities around identities like being a first-generation student or being an indigenous student or being part of the LGBTQ community—many of whom have found a place that is really welcoming and inviting.”</p>
<p>TLP continues to make a difference in students’ lives and Notre Dame experience in many tangible and intangible ways.</p>
<p>Check out the video above to learn more.</p>Shannon Rooneytag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1573912023-10-24T08:11:00-04:002023-10-24T08:12:03-04:00ND Journey: Ryan Murray ’26, Finance and Political Science Major and Football Student Manager <p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4q69HrABZ2w?si=iSl8udM0lCraEDhJ" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Sophomore Ryan Murray was familiar with Notre Dame from a young age. He is a longtime Notre Dame football fan and has family connections to the University.…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4q69HrABZ2w?si=iSl8udM0lCraEDhJ" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Sophomore Ryan Murray was familiar with Notre Dame from a young age. He is a longtime Notre Dame football fan and has family connections to the University. But what really inspired him to apply for admission as a senior in high school was his experience in the <a href="https://precollege.nd.edu/summer-scholars/">Summer Scholars</a> program.</p>
<p>Murray participated in the program online, but says he experienced the vibrance of the Notre Dame community through the screen. “I felt for one of the first times in my life that I had found a really amazing group of people that I can not only study and have fun with, but that I could thrive and be myself around.” he says.</p>
<p>Murray now finds that on campus in many different ways.</p>
<p>His love of Notre Dame football is unwavering and he is now a student manager for the football team. Among other responsibilities, he sets up and takes down equipment for practices.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/544894/400x/ryanmurray1.png" alt="Ryanmurray1"></figure>
<p>“I’ve found a lot of friends and it’s a really fun job,” says Murray. “I’ve been a fan of Notre Dame football since I was a little kid, so this is something I’d always really hoped I’d be doing.”</p>
<p>In addition to the athletics community, Murray has made friends serving as a sacristan for Masses in his residence hall, Alumni Hall.</p>
<p>Though he’s majoring in <a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/research-faculty/academic-departments/finance/">finance</a> and <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/undergraduate-program/">political science</a>, Murray says the class that has had the most impact on him so far was his Foundations of Theology course during his first year, taught by Holy Cross Priest Father Kevin Grove. The course both helped him to make friends and expanded his faith life.</p>
<p>Even though the course had over 200 students, it was discussion-based and Murray says Father Grove set up small groups within the class that allowed students to engage in meaningful discussions.</p>
<p>“I really credit Father Grove's class with helping me build that community that I've found here at Notre Dame,” says Murray. “And when we were with Father Grove in the class itself, he was a really engaging speaker and helped us really become engaged with the material outside of class. He would also host office hours where he was more than happy to answer your questions.”</p>
<p>Outside of class, Murray’s list of activities continues. He helps out with <a href="https://welcomeweekend.nd.edu/">Welcome Weekend</a> in his residence hall, participates in the hall’s fundraising efforts for the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh, enjoyed interhall basketball as a first-year student, and is part of the Model United Nations club.</p>
<p>For Murray, one of the best parts of being a student at Notre Dame has been the connections he has made with students from all over the world.</p>
<p>“I have a lot of friends in my dorm, from outside of my dorm, and through my different clubs and activities who are from all over the world,” says Murray. “And even though we all have different backgrounds and we’ve come from different walks of life, we all share that same Notre Dame pride and Notre Dame spirit that makes our community so unique.”</p>
<p>Check out the video above to learn more about Ryan Murray’s Notre Dame experience.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="image image-right"><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-nd-journey-luke-strawn-25-explores-neuroscience-faith-and-rock-climbing/"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/544893/300x/lukestrawnvideo1.gif" alt="Lukestrawnvideo1"></a></figure>
<h2>Learn More</h2>
<p>Meet more Notre Dame students:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-nd-journey-luke-strawn-25-explores-neuroscience-faith-and-rock-climbing/">ND Journey: Luke Strawn '25 Explores Neuroscience, Faith, and Rock-climbing</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/doctors-in-italy-internship-gillian-gaynor-24-spent-her-summer-interning-in-genoa-hospital/">Doctors in Italy Internship: Gillian Gaynor ’24 Spent Her Summer Interning in Genoa Hospital </a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-jimmy-grammig-25-pursues-management-for-a-career-in-the-travel-industry/">ND Journey: Jimmy Grammig ’25 Pursues Management for a Career in the Travel Industry</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>
<p> </p>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>Shannon Rooneytag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1569922023-10-05T09:38:00-04:002023-10-05T09:38:18-04:00FirstGen@ND: Department of American Studies Professor Jennifer Huynh was the First in Her Family to Attend College <p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9fFV_o5Pxbg?si=Xz06u0ylrTs1DkRR" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p> </p> <p>Department of American Studies Professor Jennifer Huynh was the first person in her family to go to college.</p> <p>“Attending university…</p><p><iframe width="1040" height="583" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9fFV_o5Pxbg?si=Xz06u0ylrTs1DkRR" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Department of American Studies Professor Jennifer Huynh was the first person in her family to go to college.</p>
<p>“Attending university wasn’t only for myself; it was for my family and for a better future,” says Huynh.</p>
<p>Her father was a refugee from Vietnam and her mother was a hairdresser. They were proud of Huynh’s admission to the universities she applied to.</p>
<p>“My father was so proud of my acceptances. I just remember him–he wasn’t a very emotional person–holding a letter and crying…He put them all on the wall…and later, when I made the Dean’s list, [he added that and there were] all these letters of support,” remembers Huynh.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/542595/400x/profjenniferhuynh.jpg" alt="Profjenniferhuynh"></figure>
<p>Originally from Southern California, Huynh completed her undergraduate degree at <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> and went on to graduate school at Princeton University.</p>
<p>Professionally, she made her way to the Department of American Studies at Notre Dame.</p>
<p>"Notre Dame is a top 20 research institution in the United States and I really appreciate its strong Catholic mission with a focus on service to others. So that's what drew me here,” says Huynh.</p>
<p>Huynh now teaches courses in critical refugee studies, immigration, and race. She is particularly passionate about teaching Introduction to Asian American Studies, a signature course that focuses on the history and experiences of Asians in the U.S.</p>
<p>In addition to courses, she says there are many opportunities, especially for first-generation students, at Notre Dame.</p>
<p>“Notre Dame has so many resources, including career counseling…” She points to the <a href="https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/">Meruelo Family Center for Career Development</a>, which offers career counseling and programming through the <a href="https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/information-for/first-generation/">First Generation Careers</a> initiative.</p>
<p>Huynh describes other resources on campus available to first-generation Notre Dame students. “There are so many resources on campus to help you gain internship experience, service experience, including learning new languages or working at a nonprofit, for example, during the summer or working one-on-one with faculty,” she says. “I've had students work with me on research and they do this through applying for undergraduate grants, through all the different institutes on campus.”</p>
<p>Overall, Huynh advises prospective first-generation students to research and take advantage of the resources available to them. That includes reaching out to <a href="https://my.nd.edu/">Notre Dame alumni</a>, people from their high school who have gone to college, and, above all, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help,” says Huynh. “Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength.”</p>
<p>She notes that it’s up to first-generation students to figure out “the rules of the game” when it comes to applying for admission and attending college. “And how do you figure out those rules?” she says, “By asking lots of questions to figure out how the system works.”</p>
<p>Check out the video above to hear more from Professor Jennifer Huynh.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="image image-right"><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/firstgen-nd-tavin-martin-25-global-affairs-major-and-student-government-director-of-diversity-and-inclusion-first-generation-and-low-income-division/"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/504675/300x/tavin.png" alt="Tavin Martin" width="300" height="339"></a></figure>
<h2>More FirstGen@ND:</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/firstgen-nd-tavin-martin-25-global-affairs-major-and-student-government-director-of-diversity-and-inclusion-first-generation-and-low-income-division/">FirstGen@ND: Tavin Martin ’25, Global Affairs Major and Student Government Director of Diversity and Inclusion, First-generation and Low-income Division</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/firstgen-nd-daniel-lapsley-professor-of-psychology-and-ace-collegiate-professor/">FirstGen@ND: Daniel Lapsley, Professor of Psychology and ACE Collegiate Professor</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/firstgen-nd-erik-finch-soto-25-majors-in-neuroscience-finds-community/">FirstGen@ND: Erik Finch-Soto ’25 Majors in Neuroscience, Finds Community</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>
<p> </p>Shannon Rooneytag:admissions.nd.edu,2005:News/1566062023-09-21T17:00:10-04:002023-09-21T17:00:10-04:00Doctors in Italy Internship: Gillian Gaynor ’24 Spent Her Summer Interning in Genoa Hospital <figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/540303/500x/gilliangaynor.jpg" alt="Gilliangaynor"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> <p>Gillian Gaynor ’24 is a <a href="https://chemistry.nd.edu/undergraduate/">biochemistry major</a> with a neuroscience and behavior concentration. Originally from…</p><figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://admissions.nd.edu/assets/540303/500x/gilliangaynor.jpg" alt="Gilliangaynor">
<figcaption></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Gillian Gaynor ’24 is a <a href="https://chemistry.nd.edu/undergraduate/">biochemistry major</a> with a neuroscience and behavior concentration. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she spent the past summer working for a hospital in Genoa, Italy through the organization <a href="https://shadow.doctorsinitaly.com/program/">Doctors in Italy</a>.</p>
<p>Through the program, she says she shadowed various different specialties such as pathology, anesthesiology, surgery, gynecology, pharmacy, orthopedics, and the ICU.</p>
<p>While Gaynor was able to complete a lot of shadowing hours, she says that, “even more than that, it was really cool to see how their approach to patient care is in Italy.” </p>
<p>Before going to Italy in the summer, she participated in the year-long <a href="https://studyabroad.nd.edu/programs/oxford/">Oxford program</a> through Notre Dame Study Abroad.</p>
<p>“When I was at Oxford, I also volunteered at a hospital in England,” says Gaynor. “So I thought it’d be interesting to get another perspective on a different healthcare system.”</p>
<p>She noted that the most salient difference between the hospital systems in the U.S. and Europe was laws governing insurance.</p>
<p>As Gaynor ended her Oxford program in June, she found herself struggling to find opportunities that fit within her summer timeline as the Oxford term ends later than Notre Dame’s schedule. She found Doctors in Italy through an email that an advisor had sent a year or two previously and discovered that it worked with her needs.</p>
<p>The structure of the program consisted of starting her day at 7:00 a.m. shadowing at the hospital and ending around 2:00 p.m., allowing for time to explore Genoa.</p>
<p>“The program had a lot of built-in excursions,” says Gaynor, sharing what she did during her free time during the program. From participating in history classes to interacting with locals to visiting Portofino, she explored Italian culture when she wasn’t at the hospital.</p>
<p>As for next steps, Gaynor plans to attend medical school. She will take a gap year after graduating from Notre Dame this May, as she didn’t want to spend her Oxford term studying for the MCAT. She is now preparing her application to medical schools by January.</p>
<p>At Notre Dame, Gaynor has taken advantage of her time on campus to get involved in a number of activities. She has been involved in the American Medical Women’s Association, Chemistry and Biochemistry Club, Women’s Boxing Club, and is a former resident of Breen-Phillips Hall. She says her Notre Dame experience has been the right mix of academics and extracurriculars. </p>
<p>“I genuinely think we have some of the best professors out of any of the colleges,” says Gaynor. “It’s really unique to have a school that is renowned academically, but also has such a great community.”</p>
<hr>
<h2>Learn More</h2>
<p>Meet other Notre Dame students and learn about their experiences. </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-nd-journey-luke-strawn-25-explores-neuroscience-faith-and-rock-climbing/">ND Journey: Luke Strawn '25 Explores Neuroscience, Faith, and Rock-climbing</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/considering-civil-engineering-students-on-why-they-chose-the-major-and-what-they-love-about-it/">Considering Civil Engineering? Three Students on Why They Chose the Major and What They Love About It</a></li>
<li><a href="https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/stories-news/nd-journey-nicole-campbell-23-combines-her-passions-through-neuroscience-and-education/">ND Journey: Nicole Campbell ’23 Combines Her Passions Through Neuroscience and Education</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>
<div class="meta-share-group">
<div class="meta"> </div>
</div>Elizabeth Prater