Email: dkrill@nd.edu
Why did you opt to serve as a Senior Fellow for Internationalization?
Until my time at Notre Dame, I had never had the opportunity to travel outside the country. Despite being absolutely captivated by maps of any kind from a young age, I had always regarded international travel as remote and inaccessible. Here at Notre Dame, however, I have never felt closer to the rest of the world. From its diverse student body to the wealth of experiences abroad that it offers, Notre Dame is truly committed to connecting its students to the people and cultures outside of its bubble. I pursued serving as a Senior Fellow to become part of that mission and share my love for the international arena with other students.
Talk about your international experiences and why they are important. How have they served you (academically, personally, professionally, etc)
As an engineering student, I consider myself very fortunate to have had such a variety of international experiences. I was accepted into the Kellogg International Scholars Program in my sophomore year, which has given me so many opportunities at the intersection of my major and my interests in global development. This will be my third year of research alongside my faculty advisor. In that role, I build my web scraping and data processing skills to support my advisor’s work on the global diffusion of democracy as part of the international Varieties of Democracy project. The program has also exposed me to a wider variety of opportunities: I worked as a student programs assistant for two years, and I received a grant to attend an economics conference in Jamaica last summer.
Like ~70% of undergraduates, I also studied abroad. In the summer of 2022, I did it twice! I was first in Marseille, France for six weeks on a language study grant from the Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures. This was definitely a life-changing experience—from finding new housing in a foreign country by myself in the 48 hours before I landed to enjoying a glass of Ricard on the Vieux Port, the rush and rewards of those six weeks empowered me with a newfound sense of independence. After that, I joined my peers from Notre Dame for the Summer Engineering Abroad program in Rome, Italy, where I took classes with ND faculty at the Global Gateway. While there, I also had the chance to visit a friend living in Morocco, where I was afforded an intimate perspective of a country that, until recently, felt so foreign. Both halves of that summer helped me develop personally, and they fostered a sense of place that I will take to all of my professional aspirations.
Why do you think it's important to focus on internationalization at the University of Notre Dame?
It might be cliche to say that the world is becoming more and more globalized, but this certainly rings true for students of all backgrounds. Even as a software engineer intern this past summer, I have benefitted from the sense of place that Notre Dame has provided me when I interact with my team that comes from all around the globe. For me, it’s important to build up and promote the opportunities that lie at the intersection of my interests in international affairs and computer science. When Notre Dame prioritizes internationalization, it stands to benefit all students.