"I essentially attended college from 1971 until 1996, going through undergraduate and nursing school. I was a little overwhelmed. But then I heard about Notre Dame from my friend, who loved her experience there. I was working as a nurse, but I looked at the graduate programs and thought: combining a business degree with a nonprofit edge is genius. When you're working in nursing, you have to know how to communicate with the business side, funding and finance, as well as the patients themselves. What better way to truly understand patients' needs than by a nonprofit approach? And I knew that, at Notre Dame, I would meet people from across the world, each with specific and unique ideas. I knew I would learn much, much more than if I attended anywhere else.
"I was a commuter student. It took five years to complete my degree, but I was always optimistic about it: that meant five years of football tickets!"