Big change starts small.
That, in part, is the hope behind Notre Dame’s Together Irish program, which has served as a redefinition of the athletics department’s commitment to social change via education, engagement and enrichment. The Irish hope that what occurs through the initiative on their campus and the community of South Bend, Indiana, can create ripples of positive change across the world.
“The Together Irish initiative has been wonderful for our student-athletes to engage, to learn and to really enrich their experience here on campus and of course in our local communities to become better people and really be a catalyst for change,” said Alison Silverio, Notre Dame women’s tennis head coach.
Through Together Irish, Notre Dame has focused its efforts on embracing and embodying inclusive excellence for the following areas: race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, spirituality, citizenship and ability. The initiative directly led to more than 30 campuswide activations during the 2022-23 academic year alone and featured participation by each of the school’s 26 varsity sports. In addition to student-athletes, Together Irish engaged staff, coaches, campus and industry partners, philanthropic and corporate partners, the local community and alumni.
Originally published by Athletics at fightingirish.com on January 8, 2024.