DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Intg 1: Prompt 1

Prompt 1

 

While Notre Dame is iconic for landmarks such as Touchdown Jesus, the Football Stadium, the grotto, etc., what truly makes Notre Dame special is the people that are here – from faculty and staff to students and alumni. There is a certain bond that everyone who goes to Notre Dame has, and as I have explored the Notre Dame community more, I have become a part of this bond and tradition.

 

Once experience I had since I have been here that helped me to explore the Notre Dame Community more was a Duncan-Ryan Scavenger hunt that my dorm set up during our brother-sister dorm week. My roommate and I walked into Ryan Hall’s lobby and joined a team of other freshman. Our team was comprised of two boys from Duncan, Jake and Eddy, and myself and my roommate Fiona. We began our scavenger hunt by going to certain spots on campus based on the clues we were given. As we continued the scavenger hunt, we lost track of the goal of winning because we got so distracted by getting to know each other better and exploring parts of campus not on our list. My roommate played her favorite songs as we walked, and so I learned more about what other kinds of music people listened to. Eddy and I are both from California, while Jake is from Chicago and Fiona is from New Jersey, so they got to learn more about where we were from and how different it was from the Midwest and East Coast. At the same time, we got to learn more about the Midwest and East Coast and understand where they came from and what their stories were. When we got back to the dorm late and the representatives asked how it went, we all laughed and told them about how off track we got. They were happy, though, that their ultimate goal of having people get to know each other was achieved. We exchanged numbers to stay in touch and have gone to dances together and hung out on campus so that we can continue to learn more about each other.

 

This experience helped us achieve the first course goal of exploring the Notre Dame Community. We got to know people in the community better and get to a point of understanding who they were, where they came from, and what their goals were. In this way, we became a part of the bond that so many Notre Dame students have and one that is so hard to describe. It is truly remarkable though, how this community can come together so well. For example, the freshman class has come together to help raise funds for the charity organization Rebecca Townsend used to volunteer with. In this way, we have built up the Notre Dame community and come together as a class to support each other and those affected by the tragedy and loss. We have truly come together as a family, one of the five pillars of a Holy Cross Education. With something as simple as a scavenger hunt, we helped each other learn more about the school and navigate it more so that this complex, often challenging environment wasn’t so scary anymore. As a class, we came together to support each other and come together as one. Additionally, the pillar of mind relates in that through the scavenger hunt, the Rebecca Townsend project, and many other events, I and other students have been active in engaging with each other, learning about each other and ourselves, and trying to figure out what our purpose is.

 

In regards to mind and being active, our ability to come together as one class and build up the Notre Dame community as well as explore it comes from our active engagement as bystanders. In week three when discussing meaningful relationships, this topic was discussed. We focused on the Notre Dame program “It’s on Us” and discussed how we had an expectation of responsibility to take care of each other. These expectations help us to build up a safe and accepting community, which is so valuable.

 

I feel as though so far, I have been able to do a good job of going out of my comfort zone to make the effort to make new friends and understand new people, despite how awkward it may be sometimes. My goal is to continue learning about others and to continue to meet new people as well as be an active bystander. It is important to make this a safe, accepting, and loving campus, and I know that my actions will help to continue to encourage this kind of environment. For example, in high school, I volunteered with an organization called Stomp Out Bullying, and I encouraged people to stand together in solidarity for others who had been bullied before through different events. I am hoping to bring some of these ideas to my dorm community. In this way, I can both explore and help develop the Notre Dame community.

 

 

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Intg 1: Prompt 2

Prompt 2

Growing up in Los Angeles, California meant that I was always exposed to many different cultures, foods, ideas, etc. because of the diverse people there. This helped me become a person who truly valued diversity and saw the importance of learning from people who had experiences other than my own. I also grew up Cuban-American with many traditions and food that became an integral part of my life and identity. So, when I came to Notre Dame and told people about this part of me, it seemed as though they wanted to learn more. I wanted to share my culture with my friends, and so we decided to do a Sunday Cuban food dinner since the majority of them had never had Cuban food before.

 

On a Friday, we went to the grocery store and bought everything we needed. My friends asked me why we needed a particular ingredient or what the name of the dish meant in English. On Sunday, I started cooking the meal, and the friends who were going to eat the Cuban dish, Ropa Vieja, with me later came by to help out at different times. Once the food was ready, we set it up in a lounge in our dorm and all ate together. My friends loved the food, were happy to have real food again, and asked me more questions about Cuban food and culture. I was more than happy to share with them. This conversation sparked conversations about their own cultures, traditions, and experiences. It even led to plans to have other people cook on another Sunday a food from their culture so that we could all learn about it and share it together.

 

This experience aligns well with Course Goal 2: Investigation of new communities and cultures. This goal was achieved because I was able to share my culture with my new university community, which prompted my learning about other cultures. I was able to investigate and ask questions about the cultures of my friends while they learned about mine. In addition to aligning well with the course goal, this experience shows how two of the five Holy Cross pillars of education, heart and zeal, were evident in our actions. Heart discusses how we make choices based on our values. During week one, we were able to complete a values list. On my values list, I highlighted identity as one of my major values. Identity is about having a “sense of self deriving from culture, traditions, rituals, [and] symbols” (Personal Values Chart). I made the choice to share my culture and traditions with others due to my value of identity, which aligns with the pillar of heart. Zeal has an element of helping other students to have desire, or be empowered to make good choices. I think that zeal works here because based on this experience, others have the desire to share their identities and work on their values. This is a good and healthy choice and helps to develop one’s character. In the end, these two pillars come through when it comes to the investigation of new communities and cultures.

 

I am proud of being able to share my culture with my friends. In the future, our goal as friends is to continue sharing our cultures with each other and learning more about where we each come from. My other goal is to learn how to speak French and Italian, possibly double majoring with Romance Languages, in order to go investigate other communities abroad and learn more about the world around me. I really enjoy learning about other cultures, so my own personal goal is to learn as much as I can and understand others better.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Intg 1: Prompt 3

Prompt 3

 

 

When I was in the eighth grade, I had a chance to work with the American Film Institute and direct a short film that my peers and I made. While I loved movies my entire life and had made some with my sister growing up, I knew from this experience that I wanted to make and direct films as my career. Because of this, film is the academic interest that I pursue.

 

 

This semester, I am taking a Basics of Film and Television course. It is a course that I really enjoy, which makes the homework easier to do and the assignments more enjoyable. I really love learning about film history and filmmaking. Every Monday we watch a film at nice in the Browning Cinema with our class, and then on Fridays our class has small group discussions with our Teacher’s Assistant. Growing up, my sister was known in her class as “the smart one” who always raised her hand. Teachers would say things like: “

 

Does anyone other than Samantha know the answer?” or “Sam, put your hand down.” In our discussion class a few weeks ago, we were talking about a topic that I was very interested in. I had done the reading for class and looked up more information about the topic, cinematography, and was extra prepared for the discussion class. For the first time in class, my TA said: “Does anyone other than Sophia know?” I thought to myself, “Wow! I’m just like my sister!”

 

From this experience, I feel like I accomplished Course Goal 5 of reflecting on emerging academic and cultural interests. Having such a desire to learn about film validated this emerging academic interest. I like to spend time on film really learning about and understanding it so that I am sure it is what I want to do with my life.  Because of this, I feel as though the pillar of mind. Because of my active engagement to learn about film, I have found my deeper purpose. Not only do I want to make films, but also I want to make films that can change people’s lives. I want to make films that inspire people to take action against what bad they see in the world, and to change it. Hopefully, through my films, I can teach people to do this. In addition to mind, hope is accomplished. Hope is a pillar that encourages students to be confident in their choices and think positively about what they want to do with their lives. After much discernment and experimenting with filmmaking, I have hope that this is the path I am meant to be on, so I am confident in what I am learning and doing.

 

 

During week five, we discussed effective learning. It involves getting a good night’s sleep in order to remember things, and earlier we also discussed using stress positively. By learning about something I love, I am less stressed. I also plan times throughout the day to do some work here and there so I am not cramming in homework and studying at night so that I can get more sleep. In this way, I have been able to balance my coursework. In regards to this academic interest, I have started to work with Fighting Irish Media as a paid intern and joined NDtv. I have helped my friends with film projects, and my goal is to take an Introduction to Production course next semester so that I can start working on my own projects and learn more about the filmmaking process. The media attached is an abstract short film I worked on in high school and am very proud of. I wanted to attach it to show some of the work I have done.

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.