Student Perspective: Carolyn Steger
Fitting in to the Notre Dame culture and how it is unique.
It was my first day on campus, and I remember feeling a great sense pride in joining a business school known for its prestigious academics and loyal alumni. It was clear that my classmates in the MSBA program had the same sense of awe for the University.
Later that day, my classmate, who works at the University, gave me a campus tour and told me about the traditions, superstitions and student life on campus. When we came upon the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the first thing I noticed were the words “God, Country, Notre Dame” engraved in stone above the side door. As my education progressed, I had come to learn that this motto exemplifies the culture at the University of Notre Dame.
The phrase “God, Country, Notre Dame” is meant to identify the importance of Notre Dame in the lives of the students and alumni. This strong sense of pride and community towards the University are the characteristics I think most represent the unique culture of Notre Dame.
On my first day of class, our professors welcomed us into the Notre Dame community. They welcomed us to become part of the traditions and heritage that Notre Dame stands for today. With this came a feeling of fellowship and the realization that we are all now part of a bigger community — especially my cohort — has already shown its camradery.
From struggling through stats assignments to fitting nine classmates into a small breakout room troubleshooting through our first dataviz assignment to sitting at lunch discussing how our professor made writing R and SQL queries more accessible than we thought would be possible, the whole cohort shares a similar goal of accomplishing each class to the best of our abilities.
One thing I love about Notre Dame’s culture is that it transcends to the Chicago campus where my program has most of our classes. The astonishing amount of paraphernalia purchased during our first week in South Bend is proudly and prominently displayed on the backs of everyone in my cohort.
Another aspect of Notre Dame that has surpassed my expectations is the sense of allegiance. The many students who have passed through the halls before me have created one of the most respected alumni programs in the country. I’ve heard multiple stories from professors regarding the willingness to lend a hand to fellow alumni. I have seen emails from alumni reaching out about potential job opportunities, because they want to hire someone from our University.
“God, Country, Notre Dame.” These are words that represent our University. I have seen them come to life both inside and outside of the classroom. I have been shown time and time again the unique culture of Notre Dame and I can say I am grateful to be embraced by this community.