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Student Stories

Notre Dame endeavors to be a place where each student can grow individually in both mind and heart, and become a part of something larger than themselves. By celebrating the unique gifts each student brings to our shared community, student life is enriched immeasurably.

The stories below share just some of the ways Notre Dame students are celebrating and taking advantage of the wonderful diversity on our campus – through both scholarship and development and formation outside the classroom.

Women engineers gather at Notre Dame, bring the ‘brains and beauty to engineering’

Published: March 05, 2015

Notre Dame News

This Friday and Saturday (March 6 and 7), approximately 850 female collegiate students and professionals will gather at the University of Notre Dame for the 2015 Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Region H Conference, highlighting women engineers’ unique place and voice within the engineering industry and bringing a significant economic impact to the area.

Robinson Community Learning Center celebrates 14th anniversary

Published: February 18, 2015

Catherine Ake

The University of Notre Dame’s Robinson Community Learning Center celebrates its 14th anniversary from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 (Friday) at the RCLC. The celebration is open to the public.

Notre Dame among top producers of Fulbright students

Published: February 12, 2015

Michael O. Garvey

Ten University of Notre Dame students have been awarded Fulbright grants in the 2014-15 program, placing the University among the top-producing universities in the nation. The U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, Fulbright recently announced the complete list of colleges and universities that produced the most 2014-15 U.S. Fulbright students. The success of the top-producing institutions is highlighted in...

$3 million gift from Susan Scribner Mirza to establish Notre Dame’s first endowed professorship in Islamic studies

Published: January 21, 2015

Dennis Brown

The University of Notre Dame announced Wednesday (Jan. 21) its first ever endowed professorship in Islamic studies, established with a $3 million gift from alumna Susan Scribner Mirza of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Hey, we just launched a school of global affairs. Now what?

Published: January 07, 2015

John Nagy ’00M.A.

Notre Dame carves out a holistic, religion-savvy niche with the creation of its first new school in 93 years.

Political science student interns with Supreme Court

Published: December 17, 2014

Jonathan Warren

As a judicial intern at the Supreme Court of the United States last summer, Notre Dame senior Veronica Guerrero got a behind-the-scenes look at one of the nation’s most influential institutions. Guerrero, a political science and Chinese major in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters, worked in the Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice, where she helped...

ACE launches $1M project to improve reading outcomes in Haitian Catholic schools

Published: December 11, 2014

William Schmitt

The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Haiti initiative recently launched its “Haiti Reads” project, an innovative literacy program in 52 Haitian Catholic schools. Working in partnership with the Haitian Episcopal Commission for Catholic Education (CEEC) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the project began in the summer and is supported by a $1 million grant from an...

Student Spotlight: Karen Antonio, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Published: December 09, 2014

Mary Hendriksen

Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate Student Karen Antonio has been twice honored during her graduate school career—once for her research and once for her leadership in promoting women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

Notre Dame biologist Nora Besansky leads international consortium in sequencing the genomes of malaria-carrying mosquitoes

Published: November 27, 2014

William G. Gilroy

Nora Besansky, O’Hara Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame and a member of the University’s Eck Institute for Global Health, has led an international team of scientists in sequencing the genomes of 16 Anopheles mosquito species from around the world. Anopheles mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting human malaria parasites that cause an estimated 200 million cases...

Former prime minister of Poland to deliver 2014 Nanovic Forum Lecture

Published: October 24, 2014

Monica Caro

Hanna Suchocka, former prime minister of Poland and former ambassador to the Holy See, will deliver the 2014 Nanovic Forum Lecture at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 28) in the Jordan Auditorium in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.

Making the most of a Notre Dame education

Published: March 02, 2015

Carol C. Bradley, NDWorks

The fundamental function of CUSE, the Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, is “helping students maximize their undergraduate experience, with an eye to contributing to their post-baccalaureate success,” says Deb Rotman, Paul and Maureen Stefanick Faculty Director of the program. CUSE, founded in 2009, provides undergraduates opportunities for research, scholarship and creative projects, as well as assisting with applications for prestigious...

New antibiotic holds promise against antibiotic-resistant infections

Published: February 13, 2015

Gene Stowe

Estimates of deaths from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the United States range upwards of 19,000 annually. Around 1960, when Staphylococcus aureus developed resistance to first-generation penicillin, methicillin and other second-generation beta-lactam antibiotics were adopted to fight the illness. The modern variants of the bacterium have developed resistance to the four drugs now used to treat it. A team of...

ND Expert: Media must resist Islamophobia in wake of Chapel Hill murders

Published: February 11, 2015

Michael O. Garvey

Sensational reporting and commentary must be avoided in the wake of the recent murders of three Muslim college students in North Carolina, according to Ebrahim Moosa, professor of Islamic studies at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

Faculty and staff to minority students: You belong here

Published: January 20, 2015

The Observer

This Letter to the Editor appeared in the January 20, 2015, edition of The Observer, the student-run, daily print and online newspaper serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s.

Nora Besansky-led studies featured on the cover of Science

Published: January 02, 2015

William G. Gilroy

Two studies led by Nora Besansky, O’Hara Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame and a member of the University’s Eck Institute for Global Health, which resulted in the sequencing the genomes of 16 Anopheles mosquito species from around the world, are featured on the cover of today’s (Jan. 2) edition of the prestigious journal Science.

Truly Christian and African: Notre Dame theologian Paulinus Odozor’s new book

Published: December 16, 2014

Michael O. Garvey

The election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as Pope Francis nearly two years ago is only one illustration of how the Catholic Church has become less concentrated in Europe and North America than in the southern hemisphere. Nearly half of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics live in Latin America, and the Catholic Church in Africa, home...

Two Arts and Letters students receive Gilman Scholarship to study abroad

Published: December 10, 2014

Daniel Sehlhorst

Two students from Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters—Bright Gyamfi and Ray’Von Jones—have been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad. The Gilman Scholarship is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The nationally competitive award aims to diversify the kinds of students who study and intern abroad and the...

Notre Dame Haiti Program dedicates new salt facility

Published: December 09, 2014

Marissa Gebhard

In partnership with the Haitian Ministry of Public Health and the Population (MSPP), the Congregation of Holy Cross and other partners, the University of Notre Dame Haiti Program dedicated a new fortified salt production plant Monday (Dec. 8) in Delmas, Haiti. Several dignitaries were in attendance, including Sophia Martelly, first lady of Haiti.

Michelle Whaley is 2014 Indiana Professor of the Year

Published: November 20, 2014

William G. Gilroy

Michelle A. Whaley, a teaching professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, has been named the 2014 Indiana Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She will be announced as the award winner at a luncheon Thursday...

Two Spanish architects win the Rafael Manzano Architecture Prize

Published: October 23, 2014

Notre Dame News

Spanish architects Javier Cenicacelaya and Iñigo Saloña have been awarded the Rafael Manzano Martos Prize for Classical Architecture and Monument Restoration, presented in partnership by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture and philanthropist Richard H. Driehaus.

Notre Dame launches online theology program for Hispanic Catholics

Published: February 23, 2015

Michael O. Garvey

The University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Church Life (ICL) has launched a new online adult faith formation program for Hispanic Catholics. The program, Camino, is a collaborative initiative of ICL’s Satellite Theological Education Program (STEP) and the Southeast Pastoral Institute (SEPI).

Notre Dame receives USAID grant to undertake global development research on 3 continents

Published: February 13, 2015

Joanne Fahey

Twelve University of Notre Dame researchers, students from the Graduate School and the College of Arts and Letters, have been selected by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) brand-new Research and Innovation Fellowship Program. They will travel to Brazil, Colombia, India and South Africa to research global development challenges and create innovative solutions to address these issues.

Notre Dame hosts business students from top-ranked Chinese university

Published: January 28, 2015

Amanda Skofstad

The University of Notre Dame expanded its reach in global education with the arrival of 35 students from Tsinghua University, a top-ranked school located in Beijing. The students, who arrived on campus Saturday (Jan. 24), are part of the PBC School of Finance at Tsinghua University. During the intensive two-week program offered by the Mendoza College of Business in coordination...

Notre Dame to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with prayer service, community events

Published: January 15, 2015

Notre Dame News

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, will preside at a prayer service to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Jan. 19 (Monday) in the rotunda of the Main Building. The public is invited to participate in the prayer service and the reception that will immediately follow.

Student Spotlight: Nicole Perez, Sociology

Published: December 18, 2014

Mary Hendriksen

Sociology doctoral student Nicole Perez explores the transition from high school to college, with a focus on how Latina/o students navigate familial and peer influences in deciding where to apply and, ultimately, attend college.

Student Affairs issues diversity goals

Published: December 11, 2014

Ann Marie Jakubowski

The Division of Student Affairs issued a list of 21 Diversity Recommendations this week, working within the President’s Oversight Committee on Diversity and Inclusion chaired by University President Fr. John Jenkins.

Claire Chow selected as Microsoft Research Graduate Women's Scholar

Published: December 10, 2014

Stephanie Healey

First year applied and computational mathematics and statistics graduate student Claire Chow was recently selected as a Microsoft Research Graduate Women's Scholar.

Notre Dame’s crèche pilgrimage: Celebrating life’s most intimate moment

Published: December 02, 2014

Michael O. Garvey

When the University of Notre Dame’s Crèche Pilgrimage begins at 2:30 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 7) in the Eck Visitors Center, those on hand to visit, view and pray at some 30 Nativity scenes on exhibit throughout the campus will be participating in a Christmas tradition as ancient as it is universal. “Mary is the most ‘inculturated’ person in the Church,”...

Notre Dame unites to fight Ebola

Published: November 01, 2014

Carol C. Bradley, NDWorks

When news broke of the outbreak of Ebola in Liberia, “We knew we had to do something,” says Katherine Taylor, director of operations for the Eck Institute for Global Health and interim director of global health training. “Ebola in West Africa is a crisis in our own family,” she says. “We felt we couldn’t stand around and do nothing. This...

Video: Arts and Letters major researches perceptions of race at national library of France

Published: October 22, 2014

Todd Boruff

During the summer of 2014, Notre Dame French and history major Curran Cross traveled to Paris to conduct research at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. His project examined the differing views of Arab and African immigrants in modern France. “My hypothesis is that the French have had centuries of experience racially mixing with people of African ancestry and this is...