After my freshman year at Notre Dame, I imagined myself participating in a study abroad program, or spending time on campus to take classes. However, after finals week I made the journey home to see my family, and eventually finished the remainder of my summer back in Hamilton, Indiana. My summer back at home was jam-packed, balancing between work, taking an online class through Notre Dame, traveling to see friends, and spending time on the golf course.
For my summer job, I was able to help out my parents' locally-owned business, Franz Nursery. Franz Nursery is a landscape company, which gave me the opportunity to spend a lot of time out in the sun this summer, while also growing my understanding of business. I was extremely grateful to have the opportunity to help my family business alongside my parents. I was also able to knock out my science requirement by taking “Biology and Society”, which gave me an immersive look into how biology has been able to impact the society around us. Despite being a business major, I found this course to be very exciting.
Outside of my summer learning experience, I was able to visit my roommate in New York City. Despite being away from campus, I couldn’t get away from the life-long friends that I have made at Notre Dame. Coming from a small, rural town, I loved being able to explore everything New York City had to offer. With this busy schedule, free time was hard to come by, but every time I had an open schedule, I found myself on the golf course working on my game. Towards the end of the summer, I grew very eager to get back to campus, but I am very thankful for the time that I was able to spend at home with my family and friends.