Stories

Working with under-resourced children and families has brought Emily Rupchock EMNA ’20 a lot of satisfaction over the years, but that wasn’t the only outcome. Her work with these communities brought another beautiful — if unexpected — gift: a daughter.

Each year, the Notre Dame Alumni Association distributes free postcards for students, faculty, and staff to write and send messages to the mother figures in their lives. This year, we asked five students to write and narrate their cards on camera.

As a psychiatry resident, podcast host, ABC News medical correspondent, children's book author, and mental health advocate, Nick Nissen M.D. '16 is working to destigmatize mental health struggles and to teach emotional intelligence and empathy.

As the first in her family to graduate college, Joan Mileski '79 now works to support today's first-generation students as a professor and head of the Department of Maritime Business Administration at Texas A&M-Galveston.

In 2017, former teacher and principal Krystal Hardy Allen ’07 founded K. Allen Consulting, an educational and management consulting firm that supports a variety of organizations in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

After graduating from Notre Dame’s ROTC program, Kelechi Ndukwe '02 was one of two African American officers on the ship in his first Navy posting. Now a commander, in 2021 he became the second Nigerian American to command a U.S. Navy destroyer and now serves as a mentor to younger sailors.

As a Notre Dame law student, Tia B. Paulette '18 J.D., resurrected a latent Innocence Project chapter and helped turn it into the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic, which seeks to correct the miscarriage of justice for the wrongfully convicted.

Jessica Pedroza ’17, a 2021 Domer Dozen honoree, is working to increase equity in the U.S. education system through legislative action.

His sister's experience fighting cancer lead Dr. Rene Bermea '12 to a career in medicine. Now, the lung transplantation specialist not only treats patients, but continues to pursue research in an effort to understand and better treat interstitial lung disease.

“Whether it’s an unjust food system or healthcare system inequalities or social determinants of health, I think partnership and policy are the best ways for us to achieve the scale of change that’s actually needed for it to be felt broadly,” Maria Hinson Tobin ’14 M.S. said.

Domer Dozen honoree Zoe (Rote) Kourajian ’16 teaches her middle school history students history through a lens that reflects their own experiences.

Lisa Herb '88 founded the Alliance for International Women's Rights to support women in developing countries. Until August 2021 when the country fell back under Taliban rule, AIWR focused its efforts in Afghanistan and is now working with other groups to help Afghan women leaders flee the country for their safety.

In living out his faith while staying true to his identity, Greg Bourke '82 M.A., author of Gay, Catholic, and American from Notre Dame Press, strives to increase representation for LGBTQ Catholics.

Sr. Corinne Florek '80 M.B.A. is revolutionizing how women's religious communities invest for the common good.

Tyler Greenberg ’19, Brett Segobiano ’20, and Chris Finke ’19 marry art and entrepreneurship to empower artists of all abilities through their apparel company, Jake Max.