Francie Shaft thought her theology and Japanese majors would never intersect — until she went abroad. Now the connections keep appearing.
Francie Shaft has discovered intersections between her theology and Japanese majors through her classes and research — both on campus and in Japan. Those opportunities would not have been possible, she said, without the support she found at Notre Dame. “Notre Dame wants you to start pursuing what you’re passionate about,...
Puebla alumni series: Mike Spencer '05
Spencer is pictured with his wife & kids at Clifty Falls State Park, Madison, IN – July 2020 Mike Spencer is a 2005 graduate from Notre Dame, majoring in mathematics. Currently, he works as a senior marketing specialist in pricing for Cummins Inc, an engine and generator manufacturer based in...
Santiago alumni series: How an experience abroad led to unexpected opportunities for Erin Aucar
Erin Aucar '16 currently works for Notre Dame's Meruelo Family Center for Career Development in Washington, DC. She writes about her study abroad experience in Santiago and how it changed the path of her career. Working for Notre Dame was never part of my plan. However, if there is one...
Embracing Notre Dame’s spirit: An interview with Huili Chen ’16
A native of Guizhou, China, Huili Chen is a 2016 Notre Dame graduate who is currently a Ph.D. candidate at MIT. Chen was a Li Ka Shing Foundation Scholar and received a full scholarship from Notre Dame’s Greater China Scholars (GCS) Program. Recently, Chen was interviewed by fellow GCS Xinqi...
The Inspiration Place: Writers and artists find space to create at Ireland's Kylemore Abbey
You want to take it all in, but it’s impossible. Should you focus on the emerald mountain backdrop topped with clouds floating like puffy jelly beans? Or the foreground of willowy reeds swaying on a placid lake? Inevitably your eyes are drawn instead to the castle, a fairy-tale version so...
Immersed from afar: Canceled study abroad programs got creative to keep students connected
An Irish scone bake-off went viral. A TikTok challenge inspired kicking toilet paper like a soccer ball. An assignment to develop a literary walking tour of London became a walking tour for people in quarantine. Eleanor the Chihuahua became an Instagram celebrity.…
'A Different Kind of Research'
When Rev. Robert Dowd, CSC, started the Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity…
Connected to Rome: Spring 2020 student continues internship virtually
Margaret (Maggie) Dosch ‘21, originally from South Bend, Indiana, is an art history and Italian studies major with a minor in studio art. During the spring 2020 semester, she served as the student minister at the Rome Global Gateway (RGG…
The O’Connells, COVID, and computer apps: How a study abroad student made the most of her time in Ireland
At age ten, Irene Valdes Salazar’s aunt brought her a souvenir from a recent trip to Dublin, Ireland. “Look, there’s a street named after our family!” she remembers saying. She remembers putting the O’Connell Street fridge magnet up, finding it amusing, but not thinking too deeply about it at the...
Study abroad students reflect on their time in Puebla
In spring 2020, students returned home from Puebla early due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. They reflect on how the experience, though short, impacted their lives.
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Pedro Navarro: Finding home in Sorocaba and Knott Hall
Pedro Navarro, originally from Sorocaba, Brazil, is majoring in chemical engineering. He shares his story as part of the International Student Reflection series from the class of 2020. When I think about the fact that I am graduating from Notre Dame, it is still hard to believe. I can...
Nasir Azim Ilyas: Golden mornings and purple sunsets
Nasir Azim Ilyas, originally from Lahore, Pakistan, is receiving his MBA from the Mendoza College of Business. He also serves as an international ambassador for Notre Dame International. He shares his story as part of the International Student Reflection series from the class of 2020.…
Yiran (Erin) Shang: Dear freshman Erin
Yiran (Erin) Shang, originally from Beijing, China, is a double major in finance and applied mathematics from the Mendoza College of Business. She’s also part of the Greater China Scholars Program…
Margarita Marie Diego: "I’ll never forget Notre Dame"
Margarita Marie Diego, originally from Manila, Philippines, is an economics major with a minor in education, schooling, and society. She shares her story as part of the International Student Reflection series from the class of 2020. I'll never forget reading the email from the International Student and Scholar Affairs office...
Human Lines: Unveiling refugee experiences through a new web documentary
Danait, an Eritrean refugee, courageously shares her experience integrating into her new home in Italy. (Photo taken by Max Hirzel, Human Lines photographer.)
When she imagined Italy, a young Eritrean woman named Danait never pictured the quaint and quiet hillside town of Trivento.…
Building Dialogue
Elsa Barron, a junior biology and peace studies major at the University of Notre Dame and two-time grant recipient from the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, studies the political and religious dynamics surrounding the construction of the first official mosque in Athens, Greece since the Ottoman Empire. Drawing on communal memories of the Ottoman...
Corona Stories: Notre Dame students share diverse pandemic experiences in their words
Notre Dame students left for spring break and were shocked to hear on March 11 that classes were going online. They had to process emotions, losses and worries. Then the reality of a pandemic literally hit home.…
The Advocate: Amid quarantine, Notre Dame undergrad aids Italian healthcare workers
Paolo Mazzara ’23 moved to the U.S. from Italy with his family two years ago, a move he said was part of a long-term family plan. His father studied in the states as an undergrad, and always intended to bring his family here from their home in Monza, a city...
How the Rome Global Gateway responded to the COVID-19 crisis
Three weeks before Italy went on lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19, the Rome Global Gateway (RGG) was preemptively taking drastic measures to protect its study abroad students, faculty, staff, and surrounding community. The RGG was the first study abroad program at the University of Notre Dame to witness...
Working from home? Stay focused with these tips
Working from home is the new normal for many of us. As skilled professionals, we are all called to do our part, but now we are doing it in a familiar environment used in a different way. I spoke with Megan Costigan, the human resources consultant for Notre Dame International...
Quick action gets 545 students, 13 faculty/staff home from abroad
Early in the evening on Friday, Feb. 28, Mary Kowalski, vice president of travel services at Anthony Travel, was on her way to an Instant Pot cooking class when she received a call that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued a level 3 travel advisory for Italy. ...
Two lifetimes with Shakespeare: Sir Stanley Wells in conversation with Dame Judi Dench
On Monday March 2, there was an excited silence as two legendary Shakespeareans took to the stage for the Notre Dame London Shakespeare Lecture…
Meet Jaime Signoracci: NDI's travel security and risk management expert
In June 2014, a plane landed hard at the Kabul International Airport. It was after dark and the flight crew needed medical attention. The plane suffered damage, so the crew needed to stay overnight in Kabul until another aircraft could be flown in. Jaime Signoracci, who was only in her...
How a CBL placement expanded Emily Brigham’s perspective in Ireland
Brigham and Habiba at their last tutoring session Emily Brigham, a junior from Rhode Island, majors in psychology and minors in education, schooling and society, and data science. She spent the 2019 fall semester studying at UCD in Dublin, where she volunteered with Youth and Educational Services for Refugees and...
The spirit of encounter
Notre Dame students visited St. Ursula's Special School in Jinja, Uganda The idea of encounter is something that Pope Francis talks about a lot in Catholic theology. The emerging theme seems to touch the deepest part of the Christian vocation, encouraging the faithful to be fearless and look beyond their...
How Notre Dame International staff abroad celebrate the Chinese New Year
Michael Pippenger, Vice President & Associate Provost for Internationalization, is pictured with Catherine Leung. Notre Dame International staff at the Beijing Global Gateway and Hong Kong Global Center are preparing for the Chinese New Year, which falls on Saturday, January 25. The Chinese festival, initiating the year of the rat, is a...
Through international research and internships, political science and pre-health major explores everything from global health to Gothic literature
In less than three years, Ellen Pil has conducted research in Germany, traveled to the Galápagos Islands, worked for a nongovernmental organization in South Africa, and interned with a nonprofit health center in Chicago. A Hesburgh-Yusko Scholar and a member of the Glynn Family Honors Program, Pil said she is amazed...
Japanese major’s study abroad and internship experiences help launch career as U.S. diplomat
Before Beth Gee ’10 studied abroad in Tokyo during her junior year, the Japanese and political science major had never left the United States. Now, as a U.S. foreign service officer, Gee travels for a living. She is currently working at the American Embassy in the Republic of the Congo...
Hill in the Holy Land
Originally published by the Office of Public Affairs and Communications. In the 1980s, Notre Dame undergrads began arriving at Tantur for study abroad programs, and the Ecumenical Institute began receiving more continuing education visitors — clergy from different Christian traditions from around the world who come to Tantur for a...
A Future for the Past: Notre Dame researchers help Italian church communities address seismic risks
Given Italy is prone to seismic activity, determining how to prioritize the protection of buildings can be complicated. Notre Dame researchers are helping Italian dioceses tackle this problem by completing a seismic risk assessment of 72 churches, some of which are thousand of years old, throughout the country.