Mercedes Venzen

“You don’t join this organization if you don’t like service. That’s one of the first things we always tell new members and people that are interested. It doesn’t feel like work when you’re doing it with a great bunch of people. It’s just fun and good memories, which I’m going to remember forever once I leave Notre Dame." - Francesca Circosta '22, president of the Omega Phi Alpha service sorority for the 2021-22 academic year.

One of the unique aspects of the nursing program at Notre Dame is that we learn about caring science. It’s a term I was not familiar with before coming here. The faculty emphasize that we as nurses need to take care of ourselves before we treat our patients. We ourselves need to be ok in order to treat someone who’s not ok. I’ve carried that with me throughout my work experiences so far, and I know it will stick with me in the future.

Notre Dame is a rigorous academic environment that allows you to grow in the classroom as well as in the world beyond campus. While you are pushed academically you are never alone; the close-knit community rallies around you to help you achieve more then you ever believed possible.”