ND Journey: Savannah Carr ’24 Broadens Her Experience and Perspectives

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.

Her passion for coding led her to major in computer science in the College of Engineering at Notre Dame. Because she wanted to combine that with her interest in business, she also opted for a minor in digital marketing through the Mendoza College of Business.

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.

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 Student Perspectives blogs, among other responsibilities.

These experiences have helped round out her education.

“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.”

Carr is passionate about her studies as well as her extracurricular activities, which include membership in Notre Dame’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE). (Read more about SWE here.)

“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.”

Carr has also found community in her residence hall on campus, Flaherty Hall. “That’s kind of my main community,” she says.

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.

Another big community of which Carr is part is the Band of the Fighting Irish. 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.

“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.

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.

“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.

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.

Watch the video above to learn more about Carr’s Notre Dame experience.

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