"I traveled to Kenya for the first time in 1990, when I was a seminarian in Holy Cross Seminary. I took this opportunity because I wanted adventure--but also felt God calling me to stretch, to move beyond what I was comfortable with and enter into the next part of his plan for me. In a sense, God can be calling you through the drive for adventure. That was how I felt. My time in East Africa was an experience that has affected the rest of my life: I attended graduate school for political science at UCLA, concentrating especially on African politics. When I became a faculty member here, I became the head of the Ford Family Program, which connects grassroots engagement and communities with research and student learning. After all my time spent in East Africa, I've found that the most valuable aspect of it is the human connection. It's not about what 'we' do for 'them', but what we realize together and become for each other. Students who have been part of the program often feel like they've come away with more than they've given. I know I have.
"This might sound corny, but what I love most about Notre Dame is its students--more specifically, their idealism. They have a desire to make the world a more humane, just, and peaceful place. People nowadays can become cynical, and I think that we need a good dose of idealism mixed with realism. And students here exude that. They inspire me."