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Our Alumni

One question motivates us. What kind of alumni do we want in 10, 20, and 30 years?

Our answer is that we want an Arts and Letters education to enable our alumni to grapple with the enduring questions and difficult challenges confronting our society. We want our alumni to write crisply, speak persuasively, and analyze data effectively. We want our alumni to become leaders in their professions, religious and political communities, and families.

Curious to know what our latest graduates are doing today? Visit our six months after graduation page.

To see what some of our alumni are doing 5, 10, and 20 year after graduating from Notre Dame, read the highlights below or browse the alumni news section of our website.

Alumni Perspectives: CIO Rob Cain on Studying What You Love

Rob Cain ’91 is the chief information officer, enabling functions, for The Coca-Cola Company. During a recent visit to campus, the English major shared his thoughts on the value of a liberal arts education from Notre Dame—both as an alumnus and a hiring manager. Read More

Haley Scott DeMaria to Deliver 2012 Commencement Address

Haley Scott DeMaria, the University of Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumna who made an inspiring recovery from critical injuries suffered in a tragic 1992 bus accident involving the Fighting Irish swimming team, will be the principal speaker and the recipient of an honorary degree at Notre Dame’s 167th Commencement Ceremony on May 20. Read More

Alumni Perspectives: Jim Corgel on the Right Attitude and Skill Set

Jim Corgel ’73 is currently general manager of independent software vendor and developer relations at IBM Corporation, where he has worked for 36 years. During a recent visit to campus, the American Studies major, who later also received an MBA from the University, shared his thoughts on the value of a liberal arts education from Notre Dame. Read More

Anthropology Alumnus Lee Gettler to Join Notre Dame Faculty

Biological anthropologist Lee Gettler ’05 made national news last year with his research on the linkage between fatherhood and testosterone. Currently completing his Ph.D. at Northwestern University, Gettler will bring his attention-getting work to Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters this fall as an assistant research professor in the Department of Anthropology. Read More

Theatre Background Gives Top Prosecutor an Edge

Jack Blakey B.A. ’88 J.D. ‘92, says studying theatre at Notre Dame was the perfect preparation for his future legal career. “Some people think it’s such a difference, going from the theatre world to the legal world, but it really seems like a seamless transition,” says Blakey, who has worked as a prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and is currently chief of the Special Prosecutions Bureau of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago—the second largest prosecution office in the country. Read More

Anthropology Alumna Puts Her Experience to Work in Chile

Erin Jelm ’10 can’t remember a time when she wasn’t interested in Latin American studies. “I’ve always had an interest in cultures,” says the anthropology and marketing alumna, currently working as a marketing specialist at Santiago Adventures, a tour operator in Santiago, Chile. Read More

Short Film by Arts and Letters Alumnus Wins Sundance Prize

A movie produced and co-written by University of Notre Dame alumnus John Hibey ’05 was awarded the jury prize for short filmmaking at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The winning film, Fishing Without Nets, tells a tale of a poor, young Somali fisherman who ends up joining a group of pirates. Read More

Molly Kinder to Receive Kroc Institute 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award

Molly Kinder ’01, who majored in political science and peace studies at the University of Notre Dame, will receive the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Kinder is director of special programs for Development Innovation Ventures, a new initiative at the United States Agency for International Development that funds groundbreaking approaches to global development challenges. Read More

Economics Alumna Focuses on Health Policy at Harvard

When she first arrived at the University of Notre Dame, Karen Stockley ’08 had no plan to major in economics and says graduate school wasn’t on her radar either. Today, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University and already has three years of professional research experience, an award-winning paper to her credit, and a bright future in healthcare economics. Read More

Political Science Majors Discover the World at Work

Andrea Selak ’00, director of strategic planning at American Express, says her political science major at Notre Dame built a solid understanding of the nuances of both domestic and international environments. “It enables me to think about and address business issues in a holistic manner,” she says, “taking into account the many factors in play in a situation and developing strategies for addressing them effectively.” Read More

Bernoulli Award Winners Employ Skills Beyond Graduation

Economics majors in the University of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters develop the analytical skills and social perspective needed to better understand complex economic forces at work in the world. They also hone the ability to express their ideas and insights both clearly and concisely. That’s exactly what Class of 2011 students Elizabeth Koerbel and Matthew Conti demonstrated in their senior theses, which won first and second place, respectively, in the University’s annual Bernoulli Awards competition. Read More

Alumna Reports From the Heart of the Vatican

Elizabeth Simari ’08, crosses Saint Peter’s Square on the way to and from work, shops at the Vatican’s grocery store, and has even had the Pope drop by her office. “It’s an amazing experience,” says Simari, who majored in Italian and English at Notre Dame and now works for the weekly English edition of the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. “I feel blessed to have these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.” Read More

Graphic Designer Robert Sedlack Wins Pair of National Awards

Robert Sedlack, an associate professor in Notre Dame’s Department of Art, Art History and Design, recently won two American Graphic Design Awards for University-related projects. Graphic Design USA magazine honored Sedlack ’89 for his work on the Parallel Currents exhibition catalogue for the University’s Snite Museum of Art and for Words for Painting, an artist’s monograph showcasing the work of Notre Dame Assistant Professor Jason Lahr.

History Alumna Inspires New Generation of College Students

Notre Dame Department of History alumna Nicole Farmer Hurd ’92 was recently featured on NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams for her efforts to help disadvantaged high school students enter the world of higher education. Hurd is the founder and executive director of the National College Advising Corps, a program that strives to increase the number and graduation rate of low-income, underrepresented, and first-generation college students. Read More

Student Documentaries Continue Winning After Graduation

A pair of documentaries by 2011 graduates of Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre are “cleaning up” on the film festival circuit. Picking Up America, by Michael Burke and Marie Wicht, chronicles four young idealists who trek across the country collecting trash, while examining the challenges and rewards in promoting “a zero waste America.” Erin Zacek and Dan Moore’s film, The Elect, details the daily lives of the members of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan.

Alumnus Helps Vatican into New Media

At 6 p.m. on the eve of the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict XVI picked up his iPad and, with Thaddeus “TJ” Jones ’89 by his side, revolutionized Vatican media with the launch of News.va and the first Papal tweet. Jones is the project coordinator for News.va and worked with all of the various media sources, as well as the company that developed the portal, in order to create the site as it exists today. Read More

American Studies Alumnus Calls It As He Sees It

Ted Robinson is a two-time Emmy award-winning broadcaster of seven Summer and Winter Olympics, Wimbledon and French Open tennis, San Francisco 49ers football, and Major League Baseball. A 1978 Notre Dame graduate with a B.A. in American Studies, he tells students pursing a career in broadcasting that “the worst thing you can do is go to a broadcasting school.” Read More

“Great Books” Program Alumna Makes Underwater
Literary Discovery

A graduate of Notre Dame’s Program of Liberal Studies, Kelly Gleason ’98 was leading a team of maritime archeologists on a research expedition some 600 miles northwest of Honolulu when they discovered a gem of maritime—and literary—history: the resting place of the Two Brothers, which wrecked on a reef in 1823.The ill-fated Nantucket ship was captained by George Pollard Jr., whose earlier whaling vessel, the Essex, was rammed by a whale and sunk in 1820, inspiring author Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick. Read More

Alumnus Applies Peace Studies to Naval Career

University of Notre Dame government and peace studies alumnus Stephen Fuller ’92 was recently appointed commanding officer of the USS Nicholas, the ship that captured the Somali pirates in spring 2010. He previously was commanding officer of another storied frigate, the USS Hawes, which has been involved in international rescues, counter drug operations, anti-pirate work, and diplomatic missions around the world. Read More

Design Alumnus Turns Artists’ Visions Into Reality

At this summer’s Venice Biennale—often called the Olympics of the contemporary art world—the U.S. pavilion features a musical ATM, a treadmill atop an upside-down World War II tank, and gymnasts performing routines on airline seats. It was Notre Dame graduate David Hunt’s job to turn the unusual visions of Puerto Rico-based artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla into reality. Read More

Alumnus Choreographs Own Career

Jason Laws is a man who writes his own story. When the job he wanted didn’t exist, he created it. Since receiving his political science degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2007, Laws has built a successful career in Chicago as a commercial choreographer, creative director and producer. He’s also carved a niche for himself creating flash mobs—a concept that wasn’t even invented until 2003. Read More

Anthropology Alumna Supports International Housing Initiative

Stephanie Sluka Brauer ’97 helps house families in 18 countries as the resource development manager for Habitat for Humanity International’s Africa and Middle East regional office. “In a single month I might be sitting on a straw mat outside a grandmother’s house in Malawi, videotaping an inspiring community in Madagascar, meeting with a donor from Cleveland, and holding a conference call with colleagues spanning 20 time zones,” she says. Read More

English Majors Thrive in Diverse Careers

You can find Notre Dame graduates with degrees in English almost everywhere—and not just working in the classroom as teachers or professors. Indeed, according to a survey of alumni, they are thriving in a broad range of professions including medicine, publishing, and business. Consider, as just one sample of alumni success, the members of a virtual departmental dynasty: brothers Greg ’87, Jeff ’89, and Mark Miller ’05. Read More

Alumnus Works to Effect Change in Sudan

Sudan has been torn by religious, social, and economic strife for decades. Seeking to ease these tensions, the Sudanese people voted to divide the country in two—north and south. But the referendum has left a host of unresolved issues in its wake. Through the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Peter Quaranto ’06 is working with the African country’s residents to help reach a successful and sustainable resolution to the division. Read More

Anthropology Alum Wins International Prize for Education

Anthropology, education, and science are a winning combination for Notre Dame alumna Jessica Fries-Gaither ’99. Her website, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, is one of just 12 projects worldwide to win the 2011 Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE). “My anthropology degree has helped me so much with thinking about communicating with a diverse audience, which is what we do online, and being able to present material effectively,” she says. Read More

DePauw University President Receives ND Alumni Award

The University of Notre Dame Alumni Association this fall honored DePauw University President Brian W. Casey, an alumnus of the College of Arts and Letters. After graduating from Notre Dame in 1985, Casey received a law degree from Stanford University Law School and a Ph.D. in the history of American civilization from Harvard University. He served as assistant provost at Brown University and associate dean for academic affairs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard before becoming president of DePauw in July 2008. Read More

Philosophy Alumnus Promotes Ethics on Wall Street

International investment advisor Terrence Keeley, who received a philosophy degree from Notre Dame in 1981, is a founding director of a new movement to promote higher ethical standards in the world of finance. He spoke about the Financial Hippocratic Oath as part of the 2010-2011 Notre Dame Forum, a campus-wide discussion on the role of ethics, values, and morals in the rebuilding and reshaping of the global economy. Read More

Music Department Alumnus Tops iTunes Charts

Notre Dame Department of Music alumnus Patrick Dupré Quigley’s latest project topped the iTunes classical charts when it was released in August. And for a brief time, the recording was even more popular in the iTunes all-genre category than superstar Lady Gaga’s “The Fame Monster.” Quigley is the founding artistic director of Seraphic Fire, a Miami-based ensemble of professional singers that performs a variety of choral works. Read More

Industrial Design Alumna Pursues Passion for Shoes

If there were ever a story about a young woman pursuing her passion, it is that of Anna Scott. At 26, the fashion-forward graduate of Notre Dame’s Industrial Design program is already assistant shoe designer for both Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs. Her story demonstrates that following your passions can yield an incredibly successful career. Read More

Notre Dame No. 1 Producer of CEOs at Top Financial Firms

The University of Notre Dame is ranked No. 1 on a list compiled by Bloomberg of undergraduate colleges attended by chief executive officers of the 100 largest U.S. financial firms. Notre Dame educated five of the Top 100 CEOs, including James Rohr of PNC Financial Services Group and Debra Cafaro of Ventas Inc., who received their undergraduate degrees from Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters in 1970 and 1979, respectively. Read More