Where Will ND Grads Go Next? Seven Seniors Share Their Plans
Where Will ND Grads Go Next? Seven Seniors Share Their Plans
Author:
Elizabeth Prater
Commencement is nearly upon us and the Class of 2024 has a bright future ahead. Most students are about to begin jobs, service positions, or graduate school after celebrating their Notre Dame graduation and the cumulation of four transformative years on campus.
So, what comes next?
Here, seven seniors share their post-graduation plans, what they'll miss about Notre Dame, and what they're looking forward to most.
Megan Crawford '24
Business Analytics
What are your post-grad plans?
I will be working as an Underwriting Associate at Chubb.
How did Notre Dame help prepare you for your post-grad journey?
My Mendoza core requirement classes have given me a well-rounded understanding of every aspect of business, while my major specifically has taught me how to find the key insights from data and how to effectively communicate those findings. I have gained invaluable technical and soft skills that I will apply throughout my career wherever it takes me.
What are you most looking forward to about post-grad life?
I am looking forward to returning home to Los Angeles where I will be able to spend more time with my family, play volleyball at the beach, and go to as many Dodger games as possible! I am also excited to come back for football games and keep in touch with all the amazing people I met at Notre Dame.
What will you miss most about Notre Dame?
Living on campus and being involved in the dorm community at Notre Dame is a really special experience. I will miss being surrounded by a community of incredible girls who have supported me throughout college by providing a shoulder to lean on during the low moments, celebrating our successes together, and keeping me constantly laughing for all of the moments in between.
Nada Alnagar '24
Political Science; Business Economics and Digital Marketing Minors
What are your post-grad plans?
My post-grad plans are to work at KPMG's Federal Advisory practice. I will specifically be doing Transformational Delivery.
How did Notre Dame help prepare you for your post-grad journey?
Notre Dame prepared me for my post-grad journey by giving me a holistic education. I have taken classes in politics, business, science, theology, and even classes that combined business and the liberal arts through the Sheedy Family Program.
Taking classes in a wide variety of subjects has introduced me to so many new topics and ideas that I never even considered. This has been important in shaping my personal and career interests towards new, unexpected directions.
What are you most looking forward to about post-grad life?
I am most looking forward to having more time and ability to explore new places and travel the world!
What will you miss most about Notre Dame?
I will definitely miss the community here. Everyone on campus, from students to faculty, is so supportive and wants to see you thrive. I will also miss the school spirit on display at football games and other sporting events. The energy is truly unmatched!
Trey Lane '24
Mechanical Engineering; Collaborative Innovation minor
What are your post-grad plans?
Post-grad I will first work for the University of Notre Dame as a Program Assistant for the Engineering Summer Study Abroad Program in Alcoy, Spain. From there I will go on to work as a fulltime hire at General Motors as a TRACK Hardware Engineering Design Employee.
How did Notre Dame help prepare you for your post-grad journey?
Notre Dame has prepared me in a plethora of ways. From the rigorous academia that prepared me for the type of work done within my internships to the countless relationships and connections I have been able to cultivate during my time here, Notre Dame has definitely played a part in it every step of the way.
I would like to mostly highlight the power behind the name; having Notre Dame behind me has genuinely opened so many doors for me that I never thought to be imaginable, and I am immensly grateful for the opportnity to say that I am apart of such an extensive network.
What are you most looking forward to about post-grad life?
I am mostly looking forward to seeing how much more I grow, both as an individual personally and professionally. Notre Dame has done a great job preparing me for this next stage of my journey, and I am just super excited to see where things will take me now. I understand that there is so much more for me to learn, and I cannot wait to soak it all in.
What will you miss most about Notre Dame?
I'll mostly miss having my closest friends be within walking distance of me. My parents told me that you make friends for the rest of your life during your time in college and that is most definetly the case! Notre Dame has allowed me the privilege to meet so many unique and amazing people and it truly saddens me to be leaving them.
Outside of friendship, I will also miss the sight of the Dome. During my time here, I have grown to appreciate it more and more; the sight of Our Lady as we enter onto campus is truly something to behold.
Sarah Grisham '24
Marketing and Psychology
What are your post-grad plans?
Post-grad I’ll be in New York, working as a Paid Media Associate for the Wall Street Journal’s international marketing campaigns.
How did Notre Dame help prepare you for your post-grad journey?
The friends I’ve made at ND will definitely be a huge touchpoint for me going into so many life changes post-grad. The course Applied Digital Marketing specifically was helpful in preparing for interviews related to paid media. In this course, my group and I launched ads on Meta and LinkedIn to advertise Mendoza’s graduate programs. Classes like this expanded my learning to applicable skills I will carry with me for the rest of my career.
What are you most looking forward to about post-grad life?
I’m looking forward to gaining some financial independence and exploring hobbies outside of the classroom!
What will you miss most about Notre Dame?
I’m definitely going to miss having all of my friends in a one-mile radius!
David Finnell '24
Electrical Engineering
What are your post-grad plans?
After graduation, I will be joining the Engineering Leadership Program at General Dynamics Mission Systems in Pittsfield, MA.
How did Notre Dame help prepare you for your post-grad journey?
Notre Dame prepared me well by giving me a strong engineering background while also encouraging me to pursue extracurriculars and leadership roles. I was able to learn both in and out of the classroom, and that gave me so many skills to help set me apart when applying for jobs.
What are you most looking forward to about post-grad life?
I'm most excited to be living on my own and exploring life away from home!
What will you miss about Notre Dame?
I'll miss the community here [while] being so far from my friends.
Juliana Dantas '24
Political Science and Economics
What are your post-grad plans?
Post-grad, I will be moving to San Francisco, CA, to begin my full time job in private equity. I will be working at a company called Parthenon Capital Partners.
How did Notre Dame help prepare you for your post-grad journey?
Notre Dame was essential to providing me a path to my post-grad job. Before coming here, I didn't even know what private equity was, nor is my major finance-focused.
Being encouraged and empowered to explore career paths that go beyond the barriers of my majors made me want to seek out as many opportunities as possible in order to understand what I actually enjoy!
I was a Research Assistant at the Pulte Institute for Development, provided consulting services to small businesses in South Africa, and took classes that ranged from understanding what drives economic growth to the role of gossip in 19th-century France. Not just that, but I also had amazing mentorship from professors and ND alumni who helped me understand how all of my experiences and skills could be applied and in what ways!
What are you most looking forward to about post-grad life?
I am so excited to move to California! Being from the coast of Brazil, it will be fun to be back to living by the ocean. Not just that, but I have not been able to explore the West as much as I have wanted to. I have had the opportunity to live here in the Midwest and intern on the East Coast, so I'll be able to get to see a different part of the U.S.
What will you miss most about Notre Dame?
I will miss the community at Notre Dame the most. I feel like during my four years here I met so many incredible people and made friends that I know will be in my life for the rest of it. Being just a quick walk away from some of the most special people I know is something that I'm really trying to appreciate as much as I can as the semester ends.
The ND community is so welcoming, kind, and generous and I don't think I'll ever experience such a tight-knit place like this again. From football games with my friends to just hanging out at library lawn and Duncan, the memories I made here are special in part because I was blessed with some of the most special people in the world.
Francisco Cornejo '24
Mechanical Engineering
What are your post-grad plans?
I will be working with a construction company in Denver as a field engineer.
How did Notre Dame help prepare you for your post-grad journey?
Notre Dame gave me the tools to succeed outside of the classroom. It allowed me to dive into areas that I had not considered before.
The biggest example of this was my time with NDSEED, which is a student organization that fundraises, designs, and builds pedestrian footbridges for rural communities in developing countries. Because of this singular experience, I met awesome people and acquired important skills that allowed me to secure my job post-graduation.
What are you most looking forward to about post-grad life?
I look forward to making new friends, living in a new city, and, most importantly, to explore more deeply the interests and hobbies I have developed during college.
What will you miss most about Notre Dame?
The peace that comes with being in such a great place as Notre Dame. ND has always felt like home to me especially because of the people and friends I have met there and I know that replicating this won’t be as easy as it was here.
Learn More
Want to meet more Notre Dame grads and see where they go after graduation? Check out weare.nd.edu.
