"I've heard differing opinions on transfer students. Some people tell you not to bring it up. But I'm not ashamed of it. Plus, I think it shows that I love my school that much more.
"Transferring to Notre Dame after my freshman year was one of the hardest things I've done. I previously played varsity soccer and had a knee injury, and I thought to myself: is this it? Looking around, I loved my college and my friends, but my gut wondered if the image of college in my head would ever fit my reality. My roommate my freshman year joked that she always knew I'd go to Notre Dame: apparently the first thing I talked to her about was going to a Notre Dame game, even despite being on the soccer team.
"It's tough to miss the experiences Notre Dame students have their freshman year. I think it could have gone smoother than it did. Because of soccer, I'd never been to a freshman orientation before, while many girls in my hallway were friends because of orientation experiences. On top of that, I was injured and had a brace on my leg, so my first few weeks at Notre Dame were limited to the community on the first floor of my dorm. I made friends in class and participated as much as I could in dorm activities, but I found myself drawn to my transfer family. We share experiences in a very specific way, and it brings us closer together.
"The transfer students come from all over and are placed in different dorms, but we're a family. Before I arrived for my sophomore year, I got a call from a Notre Dame student who said she'd be my transfer 'mom', and told me who my transfer 'dad' was. Now I have transfer 'brothers,' 'sisters,' 'nieces,' and 'nephews.' It's totally normal to us to talk about each other with family terminology.
"But in addition to being the hardest thing I've ever done, transferring to Notre Dame was also the most rewarding thing I've ever done. I was always interested in the London program at Notre Dame, especially because it's an opportunity you don't find anywhere else. This has been an opportunity for me to make British friends through my internship, yet become closer to Notre Dame students in London, since our specific program has its own dorm and classroom buildings. I'm making friends and becoming close to people with opportunities I wouldn't have had elsewhere.
"I think any transfer will tell you that it's not easy to come to campus after a year or two somewhere else. You have to make new friends. You don't always get the best pick of classes. You have to acclimate to a new campus. But I'm one who trusts my gut, and my gut told me I belonged here. I distinctly recall one of the first nights I was at Notre Dame, walking from LaFun with a group of transfers, and we all stopped at the same time and gazed at the Dome. Then someone said, 'Guys...we get to go here.' And I think that sums it up. It's not that Notre Dame students don't appreciate their college--but I think transfer students appreciate it in a specific and unique way."