Most Notre Dame students have walked through the Main Building. Many have passed murals, plaques and portraits without stopping to ask what stories they tell, or what stories they leave out.
Or at least, I remember doing exactly that. At first, these images felt familiar. They reflected the…
Being 18 today means living in a world where everything is technically at our fingertips, but actual physical connection feels surprisingly out of reach. Born in 2008, I missed the early 2000s entirely, yet my generation is completely obsessed with Y2K aesthetics — baggy jeans, digital cameras, wired…
A Day in the Life Through the Decades
1975: Steven Sasson, engineer at Eastman Kodak, builds the first digital camera.
It weighs eight pounds and was far too heavy for commercial use.
…
Growing up in Northern Virginia meant reaping the benefits of proximity to our nation’s capital. From field trips to the Smithsonian museums, walks across the National Mall and many hours spent on the Metro (objectively the best public transportation system on the East Coast), I was spoiled from an…
The Answer to AI Might Be a Better Assignment
As I was preparing for college, I decided to invest in a new MacBook Air and an iPad paired with the latest Apple Pencil, following the recommendations of many of my friends. They all recommended it as the best way to take notes, study and organize everything I would need for my courses. I quickly…
How alum Michael Boland leverages Catholic social teaching and policy to shape AI guardrails through his company, Dome Compass.
AI is now being used in war. I experienced this firsthand living in the Middle East.
As the end of my time at Notre Dame approached, I wanted to soak in every last drop of wisdom this place has to offer — and I wanted to document it all. Of course, I learned in the classroom from all of the University’s amazing professors, but I also found a professor in each of my peers. For my senior…
Where Learning Meets Community
How the Black Church Built a Movement from the Inside Out
For someone who doesn’t think about who I’d want to date much, I sure think about the dates themselves an awful lot. Frequently, when I’m trapped in the musty back corner of 117 Hayes-Healy, scrawling down math equations I can barely comprehend, I give up and
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I had prepared my whole life, or at least every second of high school, for this moment: to attend a top university. Nonetheless, it still felt surreal to leave the only place I had called home to go to college. Despite being an adult and being supposedly ready for this transition, it was shocking…
Since beginning my first year at Notre Dame, I have already overheard countless conversations about taking day trips to explore Chicago. I will admit, I am one of those insufferable people who clarify that I am from downtown Chicago, not the suburbs, when introducing myself. And so, because I am a…
This summer, not once, but twice, my 15-year-old brother told me that I was going to end up in Hell. To be fair, both times were after I had forced him to go thrifting with me, an activity that wears on the patience of even the most seasoned scavengers. We flipped through interminable racks of clothes,…
Notre Dame is probably one of the few institutions left that requires their first-year students to live with a roommate, for a full year, who is randomly assigned to them. I remember the summer before freshman year when my home friends were scouring their future university’s various “Class of 2025”…
When I committed to the University of Notre Dame, I expected my parents to become indoctrinated by the Irish spirit. The surprise was its overflow into other areas of their lives. Both my mom and dad have traveled from Texas to South Bend with some of their closest friends. But it was my dad’s trip…
Growing up, there was one family vacation I looked forward to every year – South Bend, Indiana. We would load up the minivan on a crisp October Thursday afternoon before a Notre Dame Football home game and make the trek out to South Bend (Granger, specifically) all the way from northern New Jersey.…
What it's like to be a townie at Notre Dame
My First ND Football Experience was the NIU Game
On Dec. 20, 2024, my 19th birthday, Notre Dame was buzzing for its playoff clash against Indiana and the “College GameDay” experience that brought Pat McAfee’s kicking contest to town.
After arriving at the “College GameDay” line at 7 a.m., I was comfortably positioned near the front of the…
I had just woken up with plans of an intense study session prior to my exam. The world felt gloomy and failure inevitable. I got dressed in the dark and left my dorm. All of a sudden, I was enveloped in a white light. Was I dying? No, it was the beautiful sight of snow flurries falling to the ground,…
The typical path for a Latter-day Saint does not lead them to a Catholic institution. However, in examining Notre Dame, I found the commitment to both academic and moral formation very intriguing. These values, central to the university’s mission, are best expressed by Blessed Basil Moreau in his…
A Lay Perspective
I have a confession to make.
I am really, really excited to vote.
I know it sounds delusional and insane, but I’m not kidding. I’ve checked my registration about five times. I keep up with election news. I have responded to a text poll. My RA asked what we were excited to do during fall…
At Notre Dame, I aim to find opportunities that deepen my learning and allow me to engage with important causes. This summer, I hit my mark. I was fortunate enough to intern for Polo for the Cure, an event that combines sportsmanship with philanthropy, raising funds for Susan G. Komen Italia in the…
March 15, 6:42 p.m. To any other person, this arbitrary time has no significance, and most won't even notice it passing on the clock. For prospective Domers, though, this is the most important 6:42 p.m. of their life. As the clock ticks, the minds of those high school seniors race in anticipation…
I spent the summer at a shelter for the unhoused. The Supreme Court has it all wrong.
About five days into my summer internship, a woman came in and asked for a blanket. I’ll call her Diane. That’s not the name I knew her by — I’m not sure if the name I knew her by was her real name either.…