With the mad dash toward finals (did you know they’re just under a month away?), the additional stress to confirm a summer job, internship or experience heightens. The competitive nature of not only the job market, but Notre Dame’s environment itself, make securing a high profile position for the summer months seem like the be-all and end-all. In the midst of immense pressure to get accepted to some glowing opportunity that will be the pinnacle of all LinkedIn posts, let me compel you to take a step back and reevaluate exactly what a meaningful summer experience looks like.
If this seems to be a shameless plug for the Institute for Social Concerns (SOCO) summer programs, such as NDBridge for current freshmen and the Social Concerns Summer Fellowship for current sophomores and juniors, that’s because it is. Where else can one complete a fully funded experience where you immerse yourself within a community, do meaningful work that aligns with your professional interests, complete a research project under the guidance of Notre Dame faculty and reorient yourself in the pursuit of justice, all within eight weeks?
Further, the purpose of a Notre Dame education is not to produce generations of graduates with strictly professional aspirations. Although professional roles are a crucial part of a college education, your finance degree shouldn’t be the only knowledge you leave Notre Dame with. I recently heard an ND alum refer to Fr. Edward “Monk” Malloy’s 2000 Welcome Weekend speech. In it, he said that a Notre Dame education should make you uncomfortable. Uncomfortable doesn’t just mean that classes are difficult and overwhelming — although there’s an element of truth to that — but rather that a Notre Dame education will force you to grapple with issues that are spiritually, personally and professionally difficult.
Notre Dame doesn’t require a foundation in theology and philosophy to make their students suffer or to be elitist. They do it, particularly in one’s freshman year, to engage the “heart” aspect of education. The recurring theme of the Notre Dame experience is that it is MORE than simply an education. There is something deeper and more profound about coming to a place like Notre Dame. It challenges you to think critically about the world, about spirituality, about suffering and about justice.
Again, I ask you to reevaluate your intentions in finding a summer experience and further urge you to consider the “heart” component of your education alongside the “mind.”
To share how I felt my heart and mind were educated this summer, let me just say that there will forever be a piece of me in Kolkata, where I worked with the Missionaries of Charity to not only gain healthcare experience, but also to walk alongside the patients in moments of vulnerability. I don’t know what my future holds, but I know that I will always be able to look back at the summer of 2025 and know exactly where I was, what I was doing and who I was accompanying. Not only did every single day of my work hold immense personal and professional significance, but each day also further served as the “uncomfortable” portion of my education that Fr. Malloy referred to. Sure, Physics II was tough. But grappling with a lived experience in the pursuit of justice? Incomparable.
That is what is so compelling about SOCO. In their partnerships, in their research and in the core belief and message of their work, they challenge students to respond to the demands of justice in our world. In pursuit of the common good, they facilitate opportunities for students to work in close proximity to issues through authentic accompaniment. SOCO creates spaces for students to not only work towards their professional goals, but further engage with the complexities of justice. These summer programs cultivate experiences that allow us to respond with conviction and humility. They educate our hearts and minds, and neither to the detriment of the other. SOCO is a beating heart of faith and hope, an enactment of Notre Dame’s mission.
And as a friendly reminder, applications for both NDBridge and the Social Concerns Summer Fellowship open today, November 14th. So, one last time, will you be educating your mind AND heart this summer?
Ivy Clark is a senior pre-med studying neuroscience and behavior with a minor in global health and the Glynn Program. Despite living in the midwest her entire life, she has visited 11 countries and is excited to share her most recent endeavors working with the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, India. If Ivy could get dinner with any historical figure, it would be Paul Farmer or Samantha Power, whose memoir inspired her column name. You can reach her at iclark@nd.edu.
