From a tight-knit town in Kentucky to classrooms in Zambia and soon Washington, D.C., Ella Bussell ’28 is discovering the world through Notre Dame. Her advice to small-town students: “Don’t underestimate the uniqueness of your story. Wherever you go, you carry your community with you.”
Bussell grew up in Brodhead, Kentucky, a rural town of fewer than a thousand people nestled between the Appalachian foothills and horse country. Her parents were public school teachers, her mom was her first-grade teacher and her dad her high school principal.
“I was used to walking into the grocery store and knowing five people,” says Bussell. “Community was everything.”
That closeness shaped her concept of what she wanted in a university. As the only Catholic student at her high school, she also longed for a place where faith was part of everyday life. When she toured Notre Dame, the mix of academic challenge, Catholic identity, and close-knit community felt right.
“There’s a magic in the air here,” she says. “I knew this was a place where I could belong.”
The transition wasn’t without challenges. Bussell recalls her first semester trying to mask her Kentucky accent, worried about standing out.
“I thought I had to fit a mold,” she says. “Eventually I realized what I brought from home—my background, my perspective—was valuable. That’s when I started to thrive.”
Bussell got a head start thanks to the Summer Academy at Notre Dame (SAND), a five-week program facilitated by the Transformational Leaders Program that introduced her to campus, faculty mentors, and a group of peers who became fast friends.
“It gave me a community from day one,” she says. “Having that support system changed everything.”
Since then, Bussell has taken every opportunity to get involved. She ran for residence hall senate, served in student government, and found leadership roles in Ryan Hall. She’s a McInerney Fellow with the Office of Student Enrichment and is, of course, part of the Transformational Leaders Program.
“I’ve always been someone who wanted to say yes to opportunities,” she says. “Notre Dame makes those opportunities accessible.”
Last summer, Bussell spent four weeks in Livingstone, Zambia, through the Kellogg Institute’s Experiencing the World Fellowship. It was her first trip abroad.
“I didn’t even have a passport before that,” she laughs. “The experience shifted my worldview. If I could go back tomorrow, I would.”
Next semester, Bussell will head to Washington, D.C., through Notre Dame’s Washington Program. She’s still discerning her career path, considering law, education policy, or international development, but knows the skills she’s building will serve her whichever direction she chooses. For now, she is intent on using what she learns to make a difference.
“I want to do something that allows me to give back, whether that’s at home in Kentucky or in the wider world,” she says.
To students from rural or small-town backgrounds, Bussell offers this advice: “Don’t underestimate the uniqueness of your story. Home will always be there, but stepping out doesn’t mean leaving it behind. Wherever you go, you carry that community with you, and you’ll find that who you are is valued.”
Watch the video above to learn more about Ella Bussell’s Notre Dame journey.