Graduation year: 2014
Majors/Minors: Psychology major, Gender Studies major
One of my best friends took Introduction to Gender Studies during my freshman year and absolutely raved about it. Her readings for class inspired great discussion and sparked my curiosity, so I registered for the class the following semester, which was probably one of the best decisions I have made in my academic career at Notre Dame. Before the semester ended, I had registered as a Gender Studies minor, and quickly moved up to the full major as soon as possible.
The interdisciplinary nature of Gender Studies makes these classes some of the most fascinating on campus. I have tracked gender issues through literature, sociology, American studies, film, and history classes in ways that I never could have anticipated. This broad education ultimately informed my approach to classes in my primary major, making me a better scholar all around. Gender Studies has a way of taking the goggles off and forcing you to question why things are the way they are - and once you start that, it's impossible to stop.