Domer Diaries

Cameron Compton '10 fell in love with beer-making shortly after graduation. Now, he is the co-founder and head brewer at Midwest Coast Brewing in Chicago. 

Sophia Costanzo ’19 grew up in a Cuban American family that passed down their culture and tradition through oral storytelling. Now, as a filmmaker, Costanzo hopes to bring more Latina representation to the screen.

Kathryn Martinez ’14, a Lieutenant and Naval Flight Officer, was part of the first-ever all-women flyover crew from the U.S. Navy for Super Bowl LVII. 

Janet McNally '05 MFA has published two novels and a collection of poems since graduating. 

Lyric Medeiros '22 is a contestant on Season 21 of American Idol. 

Dr. Darren Dochuk, Ph.D '05 teaches modern U.S. religious and political history to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Notre Dame. 

John Barnes '03, producer at NBC sports, got his start covering sports when he worked football and basketball games for WVFI radio station as a Notre Dame student. 

Jeff Morales ’86, an Emmy Award-winning nature cinematographer, producer, and director,  serves as President of Tamarin Productions and has produced documentaries for National Geographic and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).   

Editor’s Note: Domer Diaries is the newest storytelling series from the Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family tell their stories in their own words. This week’s Domer Diaries entry comes from Dr. Christina E. Fitch '00, a hospice physician at Humana and Baystate Medical Center and author of When You Give A Woman the World: A Travel Journal for Women. …

Jessica Smetana, producer, podcaster, and journalist, got her start as an FTT major at Notre Dame. 

Editor's Note: Domer Diaries is a storytelling series from the Notre Dame Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family share their story in their own words. This week's Domer Diaries features Ophelia Camiña '82 J.D., a longtime organizer, mentor, and advocate for inclusiveness in the legal field. The first in her family to attend law school, she credits her scholarship and the mentorship of her professors at Notre Dame.…

Editor’s Note: Domer Diaries is the newest storytelling series from the Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family tell their stories in their own words. This week’s Domer Diaries entry comes from Pat McFarlane '14, Assistant Director for Quantitative Analysis for the Philadelphia Phillies.  …

Recently, we at the Alumni Association asked you to share the stories of your own Notre Dame friendships. Read on for more examples of enduring bonds forged under the Dome.

Editor’s Note: Domer Diaries is the newest storytelling series from the Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family tell their stories in their own words. This week’s Domer Diaries entry comes from Dr. Jon Olansen ’87, ’89 M.S., manager of NASA’s Habitation & Logistics Outpost (HALO) Project of the Gateway, the lunar space station at the center of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send humans back to the surface of the moon.…

Editor’s Note: Domer Diaries is the newest storytelling series from the Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family tell their stories in their own words. This week’s Domer Diaries entry comes from Bob Kruse ’78, a former Naval and airline pilot who recently restored a 1974 Plymouth Duster as a near replica of the car he drove while a Notre Dame senior. He recently returned from an 11-day, 4,540-mile road trip from his home in Minneapolis through Notre Dame and several of his duty stations in Florida and Texas.…

Editor’s Note: Domer Diaries is the newest storytelling series from the Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family tell their stories in their own words. This week’s Domer Diaries entry comes from Annie Johnson '01, a South Bend-based entrepreneur whose company, Take Care South Bend, creates curated care packages for college students and hospitality bundles featuring local products and businesses.…

The 2020 college football season was an unforgettable one in many ways. With schedules shortened and constrained by the pandemic, intersectional rivalries interrupted, stadium capacities limited or emptied, and virus safety protocols earning as much attention as depth charts, it will be remembered as much for its novelty as for the teams and student-athletes that made headlines in their own right. For Notre Dame, the 2020 season meant a temporary hiatus from independence to compete as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, where the Irish went undefeated during the regular season, played for its first (and perhaps only) conference football championship, and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second time in three seasons.…

Editor’s Note: Domer Diaries is the newest storytelling series from the Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family tell their stories in their own words. This week’s Domer Diaries entry comes from Mandie Landry ‘00, a lawyer elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2019.

Name:…

Editor’s Note: Domer Diaries is the newest storytelling series from the Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family tell their stories in their own words. This week’s Domer Diaries entry comes from Peter Flach ’75, whose sunglasses-wearing chihuahua, Slater, works as a pediatric therapy dog and travels with the LPGA and PGA Tours. …

Editor’s Note: Domer Diaries is the newest storytelling series from the Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family tell their stories in their own words. This week’s Domer Diaries entry comes from Ashley Cavuto ’21, who published her first novel, The Dust That Danced, in April, just prior to her graduation from Notre Dame.…

Editor’s Note: Domer Diaries is the newest storytelling series from the Alumni Association where members of the Notre Dame family tell their stories in their own words. This week’s Domer Diaries entry comes from Michelle Melland ’88, an Army ROTC alum who was diagnosed with ALS in 2011 and has since embarked on a second career as a freelance writer.…

Name: Laura Hoffman
Class Year: 2004
Residence Hall: Howard and Lyons
Majors and Minor: Political Science with a theology minor
Student Activities: Notre Dame Liturgical Choir, Notre Dame Best Buddies, Notre Dame Student Diversity Educator, Daily Mass Cantor for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Student Organizer for Notre Dame Disability Awareness Week…

Name: Mike Brown
Class Year: 2001
Residence Hall: O’Neill Family Hall
Major and Minor: Bachelor’s in business technology with a minor in management from the Mendoza College of Business
Student Activities: Cheerleading (two years as the Notre Dame Leprechaun), Voices of Faith Gospel Choir, Founder of First Class Steppers, Troop ND, Interhall Football, Student Activities (sound technician)…

Name: Susan Prendergast Schoelwer
Class Year: 1975
Residence Hall: LeMans (St. Mary’s College), Walsh, Badin, Lyons
Major: History
Student Activities: The Observer, horseback riding classes
Occupation: Executive Director, Historic Preservation and Collections and Robert H. Smith Senior Curator at Mount Vernon
Local Notre Dame club…

Name: Monique White
Class Year(s): 1992
Major: Government
Student Activities: Black Student Association
Occupation: Travel, Running, & Lifestyle Blogger, Content Creator, Influencer
Local Notre Dame club or affinity groups: Black Alumni of Notre Dame; Notre Dame Club of Netherlands 

How did you set your goal to run 50 marathons in 50 countries by age 50, and what has the experience been like?…