ND Alumnae Share Their College Campuses The college search process became even more complicated during the height of the pandemic. Luckily for these two ND teachers with
Writes ND English teacher, Jean Halloran: COVID certainly made many things difficult, and touring colleges was no exception. Although many colleges welcomed you on campus, it was often without the allimportant in person tour. That is when I remembered that one of my former students, Olivia Halstead ’19, went to the Univerity of Virginia (UVA). I quickly emailed her mom and was soon in contact with Olivia, who, without skipping a beat, said of course she could give my daughter and me a tour. Olivia was a wealth of information and took the better part of her Friday to impart all of her knowledge to us. My daughter learned about UVA dorms, some of her math classes, and the sororities. Olivia also was also able to fill us in on those all-important details about the food at the dining hall and the beautiful town of Charlottesville that is an extension of UVA. Often, we think of Chez Nous and the sisterly bond that the students have, but it is so nice to remember that the bonds of teachers and students stay strong, as well. Who knows, maybe my daughter will be lucky enough to be a sorority sister with Olivia someday.
applicant-age children, recent ND alumnae
Reports ND English Department Chair Scott Vasey:
currently attending the University of Virginia and American University had their backs! In March, my 12th grade daughter Emma ’21 and I visited American University to get a sense of the campus and the surrounding neighborhood. Like many colleges and universities at that time, American was closed to guided tours and we knew that the best we’d be able to do is walk the campus and learn as much as we could on our own. But then we remembered that ND alumna Meaghan Bondi ’19 was a sophomore at American and we reached out to her to see if she might be available for a quick cup of coffee and tell us a bit about the school that she’s loved from Day 1. As I knew she would (I had the pleasure and privilege of having Meaghan in class for two years at ND), Meaghan told us she’d be happy to meet up for as long as we’d like on any day that worked for us. Meaghan showed us all around the beautiful campus, answered what were probably hundreds of questions, and even introduced us to a few friends who passed by. After the tour was over, it was wonderful to have a nice lunch with Meaghan and reconnect after a couple of years of not seeing each other. By the end of the visit, American was my daughter Emma’s first choice out of dozens of schools she was considering at the time and I’m pleased to report that she began classes at American University in August of 2021. What really stands out to me here, however, is the value of Chez Nous connections. The bonds that form among ND students--whether they knew each other while at ND or not--are special, lasting, and valuable. So, too, are the bonds that form between ND students and their teachers. I will always be grateful to Meaghan for the time she gave my daughter Emma and me and, as Meaghan did before her, I know Emma will always be happy to help out her Chez Nous sisters in any way she can. 19
