Graduation year: 2013
Majors/Minors: Information Technology Management & Film, Television and Theatre majors, Gender Studies minor
Going out on a whim and taking a random Gender Studies course during my freshman year was probably one of the best decisions I have made here.
My Gender Studies classes are always the ones that I look forward to during the week. They're engaging, challenging, enlightening, hilarious and fun all at once. Out of all the classes that I have taken at Notre Dame, the one that changed my experience the most is my Intro to Gender Studies course. Nowhere else will you traverse such a wide array of subjects without ever losing relevance and interest. Gender is everywhere. And the same goes for the complications that arise through gender. It is essential that we examine these areas as we navigate our lives, especially here at Notre Dame, where the dynamics of gender, sex and sexuality are so unique, and often troublesome to encounter without understanding. Coming here as a recently out gay student, Gender Studies opened so many new, elucidating avenues for understanding and developing my sexual identity on this campus. I saw life through an entirely different lens, a gendered lens that helped me to better identify what needed to be changed both around me and within me. Without this new perspective, I would not be the leader I am today. I would not have seen the problems we face both individually and institutionally. I would not have done my part to make this campus a more inclusive, safe and respectful environment. I owe a great many of my achievements, self-improvements and successes to the mind that my studies in this program shaped.