The ND Admissions senior interns get together for one last episode before graduation. They reflect on their final academic year as undergrads at Notre Dame and share what's coming up next for them this summer.
The ND Admissions senior interns get together for one last episode before graduation. They reflect on their final academic year as undergrads at Notre Dame and share what's coming up next for them this summer.
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Hello, lovely listeners. Welcome back to another episode of our new season of College Bound. My name is Lulu Romero and I'll be your host for this episode of Notre Dame's College Bound Podcast. Little bit about me. I'm a sophomore studying Psychology in American Studies with a minor in Latino Studies. I'm originally from Orange County, California, but here at Notre Dame, I like to call Lyons Hall my home. If you are new to our podcast, first and foremost, welcome. This season we've been exploring a lot of new topics here at Notre Dame that we typically have not talked about on this podcast, such as what it's like being Black at Notre Dame, being an Latinx , and so many more.
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But today is a very, very special day since we are wrapping up this season of our podcast and we will be discussing what it's like to be a graduating senior and kind of looking back at our l lovely media interns' years at Notre Dame by talking to every single one of them, having them share what their thoughts are, what their experiences have been like. So I'm very, very excited to welcome our lovely six graduating media interns Rory Finn, John Sebastian Thorn, Bailey Jordan, Hailey. Oppenlander and T.J
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Thompson. And I'm going to go ahead and have everyone introduce themselves. So welcome to the six fabulous seniors of the media team. How are you guys doing today? I'm good.
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Thank you, Lulu. I'll just introduce myself very quickly. So my name is Rory. I'm originally from Dallas, Texas, so a little far away and much more warm in South Bend. But I'm a double major in Psychology and Chinese with a minor and digital marketing and on campus. I lived in past Pasquerilla West. Hall.
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Hey everyone. My name is John Sebastian. I'm originally from Southern Vermont, but on campus I lived in Keenan Hall. Go Knights! I'm in Mendoza, majoring in Business Analytics with a minor in Medieval Studies. And I nowI live off campus as a Senior.
00:02:16:19 - 00:02:45:04
Hey, everybody. My name is Bailey Jordan. I am a fifth year architecture major, so a little bit older than everyone else. I have a minor in Energy Studies within the College of Engineering and a concentration in Architectural Practice and Enterprise within the Mendoza College of Business. On campus. I lived in Lewis Hall, which was absolutely incredible, go Chicks, and I've been off campus since getting back from Rome in 2020 after getting sent back due to COVID.
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Hey guys, I'm Hailey like Lulu. I'm a proud American Studies major and um, [Laughs] lso a Sociology major. I am originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area, and now I live in Pasquerilla. West Hall.
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Hi, everyone. My name's T.J. I'm also a senior. I live on campus in Johnson Family Hall and I'm a double major in Marketing and Sociology, and I'm from West Palm Beach, Florida. Thank you all for being here. We're so excited to have you, especially since you guys come from a wide range of majors and places on campus, I feel like you guys are the best group of people to provide a wide perspective about your time at Notre Dame. So let's start with something super, super easy. What was the best class that you took at Notre Dame and why?
00:03:32:06 - 00:04:09:22
I can start, um, I took a class sophomore year. I used to be an English major before I switched to sociology, and I took a class called Gender and Sexuality and American Drama, if I remember correctly. And the class was a lot of fun because it was like ten of us. We were all girls and it was just reading different plays throughout different history and throughout the history in the U.S. from I think like the 1700s to the 1900s, if I remember correctly. And there was just like a lot of diversity within like the different playwrights we were reading. So I remember that was like the first time I'd gotten such like a diversity of authors within the English major. So I really enjoyed the class.
00:04:10:27 - 00:05:18:22
So yeah, my sophomore year I joined the Medieval Studies Minor and the first class I took for it was called Harry Potter and Transmedia Narratives. And essentially it was like the most in-depth analysis of Harry Potter you could possibly do in college. We literally met three times a week and it was really cool. It was taught by two professors, one professor in the medieval studies department and focused on the history of Harry Potter and then a professor from the film department who spoke about how the films portrayed it. So we would like, analyze. We read part of the book, and then each, every two weeks we had to watch all the movies together and then we'd like talk about how it was made and the history behind it and where it was filmed. And the film professor who was part of the class, she was like on set for a bunch of the films, so she would just be telling us random things about the movies. So as a big Harry Potter fan myself. It was it was the coolest class ever and I literally got extra credit for watching all the movies. So that that is by far the coolest class I've ever taken.
00:05:18:29 - 00:06:58:14
So I my favorite class is actually a class I took freshman year and it's a class that I think Lulu is in or was in. It's called Latino Muralism. And I just like randomly happened to pick it as an elective because I had like it was impossible for me to get into any other classes for my major or my requirements or anything like that. But it's an American Studies class and it's taught by Professor Jason Ruiz, and we were like compiling a list of all the murals and studying them that were in the Latinx neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago. And it was so, so interesting to learn all about, like the history of that neighborhood and like the future of it. And we actually took a whole field trip to Chicago, which is super cool, and we could walk around and just like, see the art. It was so cool to be in such like a experiential college class. And funnily enough, I'm from Dallas and there is like a very, very famous Notre Dame, like he had played football at Notre Dame. It was Jalen Smith, he played football in the room, and then he had been drafted to the Cowboys, which is like obviously the team of Dallas and he just like happened to be in this class. So I was sitting next to this like insane man in all of these classes and it was just so cool, I think like as a freshman to see like the, the breadth of the Notre Dame education and just experience that with everybody.
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So when I got back from Rome during the COVID year, I didn't have a history credit yet, which we were all, all of us with in architecture I think is so silly because we take so many semesters of architectural history, but we still have to have like a more liberal studies history. And so to try to loophole it, I took Roman archeology from Caesar to Constantine with Professor David Hernandez, and he ended up being like real life Indiana Jones. Like he's actively an archaeologist. And then he comes and teaches at the school and he has this like entire excavation that he's in charge of. He just got a grant approved to write this incredible book. And it was so amazing just seeing all of this archaeology that I had seen firsthand in Rome and learned about from like an architectural perspective. But his knowledge was so vast with like the archaeology and the history behind where everything came from. And it ended up being super sentimental because it took place in Bond Hall, which was the previous home of the School of Architecture. So I hadn't been in that building in a few years and that was like so, so much my home for the first two years that I was here at school and so kind of been getting to be sentimental about my younger years at Notre Dame and sentimental about being in Rome and then just learning so much about things that I thought I already knew and then turns out like I'd only completely scraped the surface of was absolutely incredible. And then he is just such a cool guy to feel like I got to know just a little bit.
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Awesome. Thank you so much, you guys. Let's move on to the next question. How have you guys surprised yourself while in college, socially, academically, spiritually, mentally, physically? Anything that comes to mind.
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I can take this one first. Um, so personally, I came from a really small town and small high school in Vermont, and I didn't really I didn't know anyone who had went to their end or was at Notre Dame or lived like in the Midwest. So when I came here, I was totally kind of like a blank slate, so I don't really know what to expect. So in a sense, everything surprised me, but I had to answer your question to the best of my abilities. And so I kind of surprised myself by just doing these things, especially in like the extracurricular realm. And I think one of the best parts of going to the game is they had so many opportunities and so many ways to get involved off campus or with things not necessarily in the classroom. So I know every since I was in freshman year, I just got involved in the volunteer work they do and it just offered like a new perspective, I guess, and one that I wasn't expecting to get. And I was like, you know how to help people out in South Bend and which I guess could kind of transfer to any city. And so it's definitely like learning and there's a unique way where they give students more abilities to get involved. And part of that comes from just the size of Notre Dame and, you know, just the connections they have. So it was a surprise and something I was really happy to do and something I just kind of kept going over for years was just kind of volunteering and getting involved and like extracurriculars for good on and off campus.
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I can go as well. So I think in high school I had a really bad work life balance and sacrificed like a lot of my social life in order to succeed academically. And I think I was surprised to find in college that overall that wasn't the case for me and that I was able to find like a much healthier balance living here. And I didn't really have to give up the things that I loved either. So in high school I was really involved in the performing arts, and here I've been able to continue dancing like I did in high school. I joined an a cappella group and so those have been really great creative outlets for me, and I think that being involved in those has given me like more perspective on how to balance your work and what it means to enjoy your time here. And I know it's always like easier to go back and do homework after you've done something creative or like fulfilled some need in yourself. So I think that doing or getting involved in different things here has helped me be more well-rounded and have a better work life balance than I did in high school.
00:11:20:12 - 00:12:01:12
I would totally piggyback off of that and just say I was amazed at how quickly I was able to let my perfectionism decrease. It's not gone completely, of course, but I like there is that sense in high school of like you had to be in that pursuit of like just checking every box and doing everything you could to, you know, of course, like get into your dream college and have those accomplishments that you've been seeking. And then knowing that you can kind of take a chill pill just a little bit once you get to college. Surprised myself a lot and it was really great to be able to like kind of let loose in that way and just be like, as long as I'm learning and I feel like I'm accomplishing my tasks. It's okay to, like, mess up every now and then. Which was really freeing.
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That's awesome, you guys. It's actually, like, really good advice embedded into that. Love it. Next question. What is a goal that you guys achieved eventually within your first four years at Notre Dame that you felt like was really far away when you started or just something that you thought you could never accomplish?
00:12:20:26 - 00:12:53:16
I'm 48 hours from my thesis deadline, and when you're first year, you're getting to the School of Architecture and you watch the fifth year or the grad students do this level of work, it looks like so genuinely impossible. Like it's just jaw dropping and seeing what the older students do. And you just like, as you matriculate, you obviously learn everything you need to. And I'm so proud of all my classmates and we're all just working so hard and there's coffee running through our veins constantly. But it's just it's so impressive seeing myself and then, of course, all of my classmates. I'm so proud of them.
00:12:53:20 - 00:13:27:24
Congratulations, Bailey, for almost finishing your thesis. I didn't do one so I can't... Great job. But for, I guess, a goal that I think I've achieved is coming in, I didn't know necessarily how involved I wanted to be within like campus life and things like that, so I think that's a goal is that I kind of put myself out there and like got involved with like the hall and different clubs on campus and just kind of, you know, made different friends from like all different like aspects, whether that were inside the dorm, like in different clubs that I'm a part of or in my scholars program and just kind of made like Notre Dame, my home.
00:13:28:12 - 00:14:03:21
I don't want this to sound too materialistic and I guess this is on par with the business school. But I was able to just, you know, through the connections and the alumni and I got a job that I didn't think I would get at a place I didn't think I would get. And I think I was just really fortunate and for sure would not have done it if I didn't go here and didn't meet the people I met here or if I didn't work through the career center here. So I know that sounds way to business school to me or a journalistic but its true that I would not have gotten that opportunity if hadn't gotten there. So I was really excited and happy.
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But also, I'm thank you so much, you guys. We're very proud of you. At least I am. Even if that makes you, that means anything to you. I'm really proud of all of you guys. Two more things real quick. So what is your what are you guys plans for once you graduate, Notre Dame or any of you going into a fifth year or getting jobs? Like, what does that look like for you guys?
00:14:26:25 - 00:15:41:02
Um, I was just talking to Hailey about this at our meeting on Monday, but, um, I am officially employed as of last week. I'm going to be working as a business analyst at a management consulting firm in Chicago, which I'm thrilled about. I love Chicago, but yeah, I came into school thinking that I really wanted to be a psychologist. I was thinking of maybe going in to counseling and pursuing that, you know, like grad school and then perhaps like a Ph.D., but like through all the classes I was taking at Notre Dame, it really ended up that business and marketing and consulting and more of that was where my interests lie. But yeah, I don't know. I'm, I'm thankful for just like all of the classes I was able to take and all the just learning I was able to do. Thanks to all my professors and everything. But yeah, like John Sebastian, it was a job that I would not have gotten if I didn't go to Notre Dame because it was just through a connection that I had made in one of my classes. So just another, another great way that Notre Dame has impacted my life.
00:15:41:19 - 00:17:00:10
I can go next. Um, I, I'm going to be moving to New York and ever since I was little, I wanted to work in like the aviation industry, especially like airlines. So I'm going to be joining a discrimination consulting firm that mainly works with airlines. But yeah, kind of like Rory. And like I said earlier, I found it through Notre Dame. Um, there were, I was talking to an alumni and we were on a got call the summer after my sophomore year and I was asking him questions and then he just like stopped me and he just told me and he was, he was, like, asking me if I'm passionate about anything. And I kind of got me off guard. And I told him aviation. And he was like, you just told me, like after our call to like. Actually looks like aviation companies. And he asked me why I wasn't doing that already. And I kind of thought that was a pretty big, big moment for me. And after that call, I Googled Aviation Consulting. And the first company that came up ended up having a guy who works there. So I called him like a week later and I interned there after about a year, and now I'm too busy working there full time in New York. So it's pretty much like a long Notre Dame circle. I mean, but yeah, it's really cool and I'm really excited and it's a job. I just kind of want to for a long time.
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Congrats, John Sebastian. That sounds awesome. I'm also going to be moving to Manhattan. I'm very excited. I never saw myself living in a big city when I got to school. I kind of figured I was going to maybe go back home or just kind of find a more like, kind of suburban area to live my life because I had never lived in the city. And then, not to say abroad changed me. Classic cliché. But after living in Rome and like walking to get my groceries and walking to the metro and just like having everything at your fingertips, I realized that, like, that was something that I wanted in my young adult life. So I started looking more towards New York. And that works really well for architecture because like architecture capital of the country. And so I'm really excited. It's the same company that I worked for in Nashville over the summer after my fourth year. And so it wasn't quite a return offer, but they have such a great community within their organization and they had a New York office. And I've had that kind of all figured it out for the majority of the semester, which has been a great peace of mind as thesis season has been rolling. So very excited and can't wait to see you in New York.
00:18:07:11 - 00:18:46:20
I can also go. So I will be also. I'm also in Mendoza, so I will be going the consulting route as well. I'll be working for Deloitte, Miami doing application and program analyst is like my official role title, but it kind of is more dealing with like cloud computing and like a more tech side consulting. So I'm really excited about that. It's not necessarily something I expected to get involved with. I'm like a marketing major, but and I didn't expect to even like go this route. And I and I kind of started applying places in the spring and I kind of just let things happen and this is where I'll be for the next while. So I'm really excited for the future.
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So I also will be in New York like a few of my colleagues. I'm going to be working for a mid-sized marketing communications firm. And yeah, I'm really excited. And like others have said, networking with Notre Dame alumni was vital to getting this role. So I had reached out on LinkedIn to a girl who was an American Studies major here, and I never knew her during my time, but she graduated a few years ahead of me and she works at this place now and was telling me what great of an opportunity it's been for her. And she sent me the link when the job applications opened and really supported and encouraged me throughout the entire process. So feeling really grateful to have all those Notre Dame connections like everyone else has said.
00:19:36:19 - 00:20:03:08
So what I'm hearing is I'm going to be going to Miami, New York and Dallas, Texas to go visit all of you. And New York will be a longer trip since there's so many of you going, Oh, my gosh, that's so exciting for all of you guys. Again, the, the most proud person I could ever be. You guys are all incredible people and getting to work with you guys for this year, I can really see how deserving you guys are. You're all so hardworking and the best humans. So a huge congratulations to all of you.
00:20:03:10 - 00:20:24:20
Just to wrap this up now, what is the biggest piece of advice that you guys have to offer to incoming freshmen or current freshmen? And I guess just any underclassmen that is not your typical "Enjoy your four years here that go by so quickly." What is what is something that you think kind of carried you through your four years that you feel like we should all know?
00:20:24:24 - 00:20:50:15
I can start. I kind of got into it with like my answer the last question, but I think to kind of just let things happen, I feel like being here, we want to like micromanage everything, but things that are going to happen are going to happen. So try not to stress about it too much and try to control every aspect. And it's okay to kind of just go where life takes you because like the opportunities that like that are going to come for you are going to come from places that you didn't expect.
00:20:50:21 - 00:22:14:25
So I would say that it's coming to college again with such like just a transition from that high school lifestyle and being able to like accept mistakes and accept failure and know that the memories that you make, having like a great experience with friends and the relationships that you make will be far more valuable than half a letter grade on an exam or, you know, giving a paper that you're going to turn it in like another draft through. And like that pursuit of perfectionism. The quicker you can let go of that, the more valuable your experience at Notre Dame or any university, for that matter. I really think that the broader experience that you can have, the better off you're going to be because you're going to gain these social skills and you're going to become just like a more colorful person. And then that's going to shine through like in a more tangible way. Like when you're in an interview and you're trying to get a job and like suddenly you're this person that has all of these, like, incredible anecdotes and great experiences, so if it does have to translate into something more material, like when it comes down to like getting a job and being successful, a person that has like had great times is going to shine through and like more tangible things. So chill out, have fun, work hard as like you, of course, will. But the quicker you can chill out, the better you're going to be,I think.
00:22:15:02 - 00:23:22:21
I'll say too, study what you're interested in. I have loved every second of my majors and a lot of people have come and told me that they're not marketable or how are you going to get a job afterwards? But especially with the alumni network, there are people from Notre Dame working in every industry possible, so if you make these connections, you can get to wherever you want afterwards. But I really feel like college is one of the only times where you can learn whatever you want to. You can try to become a better person. And so I feel like that's what I've done with my majors, and it was a really fulfilling time for me. So as tempting as it is, like, don't necessarily worry about what's going to come afterwards because you have the resources and the talent to secure that for yourself. So if you see classes that interest you, even if you can't like dedicate a full major to it, take that class because this is one of the only times in life where you can explore what you want. And if you're feeling happy and fulfilled in your majors, you're going to do better academically. You're going to be excited to go to your classes and complete your assignments, and you'll make friends who are also interested in those same things. So yeah.
00:23:23:15 - 00:24:07:01
I remember coming into college being so nervous about like making friends, like, would I have a friend group, you know, how does that, how is that going to work or whatever? And I would just tell incoming freshman that, you know, like everyone is just as nervous as you are. Everyone wants to make friends. So, yeah, just don't be afraid to talk to people. I'm like, naturally, I would say that I'm naturally more reserved in that way, but don't be afraid to talk to new people. And yeah, everyone here is just so welcoming. And you will. You will find your people and you will make the best friends of your life at Notre Dame.
00:24:07:22 - 00:25:37:28
I guess I can go next door along the path or whatever I'm saying. Someone told me freshman year, like to always say yes or at least try to say yes more than you say no. In the sense of like when someone asks you to do something or like someone's like, do you want to join this club or just try it out and stuff? Especially my first year, I just tried to say yes as much as possible. And you know, sometimes it works, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. But I think, like, like everyone's been saying, there's so many opportunities, there's so many new things you can do here. And all of them, maybe almost all of them are so amazing. And I just think like the first year. Yes, like sometimes it's really nice to like stay in and I do homework, but it's December. Oh, do you want to go like do trivia at the student center or something? Like just say yes, I made so many memories, just like doing random things for like a weekday night. Just because there's always clubs, there's always organizations putting out events or doing things, and it doesn't have to necessarily be like clubs and events, but you're like, It's a class. Maybe it's doing something else. But I think just having a mindset where like do as much as you can and sometimes it's not what you would think it would be doing. But that's like the whole point of college is trying new things and especially at a place like Notre Dame when there's so many great things you can do. I distinctly keep an open mindset and try to do as much as possible. That's what I say.
00:25:38:05 - 00:25:58:18
Well, thank you guys so much for your super valuable pieces of advice. I will definitely be taking those to heart and making sure that I apply them to my last two years here at Notre Dame. And again, thank you so much for being here. You guys, any of you have any last closing thoughts that you want to add?
00:25:58:29 - 00:26:40:09
I came to Notre Dame with like no background whatsoever. Like I was the first person to my family, first person in the history of my high school. And so I kind of came in blind. And the people you meet here, everyone always says it on like tours and stuff like that, but like truly impeccable and like it will absolutely affect my life forever. So that's about all I can say about it without getting too emotional. But like, it's just it's completely invaluable. And you can't put a price tag on it. You can't put any sort of like tangible anything on the value of coming here and spending time with such an incredible kind of family on this campus, so.
00:26:40:13 - 00:27:11:20
Awesome. Well, thank you so much, you guys, again, for being here and for sharing a little bit about your time at Notre Dame. Please make sure you all stay tuned for our new season of College Bound next school year. Also, don't forget to follow us on all our social media accounts @ndadmissions on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Well, we hope you all have a lovely rest of your day, have a great summer, and we'll see you in our new season of College Bound next school year.