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A sad story

By The Observer · Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011

I went to mass on Tuesday and, as you know, there was a free picnic afterwards. As I waited in line for food, a girl with a huge Canon camera came up to me. She told me she was with the newspaper and asked if she could take my picture for The Observer's section called "Question of the Day."

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Locked out

By The Observer · Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011

You know that old motivational speech where the coach tells you not to let your opponent come into your house and steal your momma's television? Well, what happens when you can't get into the house because you lost the keys?

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And so it begins

By The Observer · Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011

Beginnings, by definition, are moments of incompleteness. They are the commencement of something that is not yet. So, thankfully, beginnings are filled with freshness, a sense that anything can happen. And yet, for precisely that same reason, but not always so thankfully, beginnings are also filled with uncertainty, disorientation, even some fear or anxiety.

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Athletic Department needs to use honest marketing

By The Observer · Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011

Like just about everyone at Notre Dame, I'm a huge sports fan. Unlike quite a few people here, though, neither of my parents own or run any companies that are household names, so I'm not exactly rolling in dough.

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Murder and medical ethics

By The Observer · Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011

I spent last fall as a teaching assistant in Medical Ethics. I was responsible for leading two discussion sections every Friday. My students taught me a great deal — though not what I expected.

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Changes ahead

By The Observer · Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011

This issue marks the second issue in The Observer's 45th year. Yes, The Observer is older than many of your parents. You would think by now we would be a polished, well-oiled operation.

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The real Saint Mary's

By The Observer · Friday, Aug. 19, 2011

On behalf of the faculty and staff at Saint Mary's College, I extend a warm welcome to the Class of 2015 and our transfer students. As the 11th president of Saint Mary's, and a proud alumna, I know how powerful this experience will be for you. You will spend the next four years in a rigorous academic environment supported by an excellent faculty, close friends and a deeply caring staff.

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Dance parties and other tips

By The Observer · Friday, Aug. 19, 2011

When my sister headed off to college a year after I did, I wasn't sure what to give her, but I knew that as a rising sophomore I had an infinite amount of wisdom to share.

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Keep your "eyes high"

By The Observer · Friday, Aug. 19, 2011

For 169 consecutive years, the University of Notre Dame has opened its doors to welcome new students. For those serving here, we approach this year with as much zeal and optimism as you, our first-year, transfer, professional and new graduate students bring to campus.

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Brotherly advice

By The Observer · Friday, Aug. 19, 2011

I, like many of you nervous freshmen, was not the first in my family to attend Notre Dame. My oldest brother claimed that prize in 1996. Then two more followed him before my turn came.

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Leaving the familiar to brave the unknown

By The Observer · Thursday, May 19, 2011

In a few short weeks, I will be trading God Quad for Times Square, the Golden Dome for the Empire State Building. A cubicle in the 48-floor Condé Nast building will replace my desk at The Observer in the basement of South Dining Hall.

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To my home: Class of 2011

By The Observer · Thursday, May 19, 2011

Five years ago, I never thought I'd be here. When I started looking at schools, Notre Dame was barely on my radar. It was only after persistent suggestions from a friend's grandmother that I even decided to come out to my first football game.

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Not 'The End'

By The Observer · Thursday, May 19, 2011

I've tended to associate the reality of this whole graduation thing with a series of "lasts:" the last home football game, the last final exam, the last Finny's (is there ever really a "last" Finny's?) and so on. For me, each of these lasts came and went, and reality still hadn't set in. I wasn't starting to say goodbyes, I wasn't thinking about moving out and I wasn't breaking down every time someone played Vitamin C's "Graduation." (Just to clarify, Vitamin C still hasn't gotten me yet, and I'm not sure it will.)

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Walking away

By The Observer · Thursday, May 19, 2011

On Sunday I will walk with the Class of 2011 and become a Notre Dame graduate.

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The graduation speech I never got to give

By The Observer · Thursday, May 19, 2011

I haven't told anyone this since Frosh-O, but I was salutatorian of my high school class. There were two valedictorians and then there was me, representing all those kids smart enough to get A's but too lazy to take honors physics.

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