My four years at Notre Dame have been a blast. I’ve had my ups and downs, but I very much appreciate the journey. I have learned resilience, hard work, and adaptability. 

Some tips I have are to do well at ND are the following: Go to X-Period. Even if you fully understand the lessons and don’t have any questions about homework, simply doing your homework during X-Period in the classroom with your teacher shows your dedication, commitment, and discipline. X-Period also serves as an introduction to office hours in college. 

Get involved with sports and clubs. Notre Dame is known for our renowned athletic programs. We have more than 15 different sports and great facilities. Even if you are new to a sport, still try out! For whatever reason, if you cannot participate in the sport, go out to the games and show your support. Football and basketball games are exceptionally fun. Notre Dame has over 60 clubs having to do with academic interests, cultural identities, volunteering, social activism, and everything in between. Some of the most popular are Black Student Union, Bring Change 2 Mind, CSI Knights, Equality Now, French Club, History Club, Jewish Student Union, Pride Club, Ping-Pong Club, Ski and Snowboard Club, Triathlon Club, and many more. 

Talk with your counselor. Even if it’s over email, just let them know how you are doing (It’s okay to reach out even if everything is going well). Also, if you have low grades (C’s or below) reach out to your counselor before your teacher and explain the situation and how you will resolve it in a timely manner. 

Dedicate Sundays to studying and planning out your week. While this one may be self-explanatory, try to get ahead. Since we are on a block schedule you have two days to do your assignments—take advantage of it. Also, use weekends to get ahead as much as possible. Some teachers will make all assignments visible for the entire unit at the beginning of the unit—take advantage of that as it is what college professors do. If the teacher provides a detailed syllabus with dates, put the assignments into your calendar at the beginning of the year.

This may seem obvious but get good grades. Try your best and don’t be afraid to ask for help from your teachers or counselors. You can always ask your counselor to connect you with a peer tutor. 

At the semester, you can also ask your teacher for a higher grade. You should emphasize your hard work throughout the semester as well as your solid understanding of the course content. It’s okay to ask for a higher grade even if you are not borderline. While your teacher may not change your grade, the worst thing that can happen is they say no (or not respond at all). Be prepared to be denied, but that’s okay.

Now, my favorite classes. I mainly focused on electives because there is not much change in regard to required courses. 

My favorite courses were as follows:

Journalism

Law and Society

Civil Liberties and the Constitution

Church History

Forensic Science

Journalism was a great class that improved both my research skills and writing. It led me to work on the yearbook and magazine (including this article!) 

I took Law and Society my sophomore year (2019-2020). It was a great introduction to all types of law and litigation such as criminal law, arbitration and mediation, tort law, and Constitutional law. We were also fortunate enough to take a field trip to the courthouse only a few weeks before the Covid Lockdowns.

Similarly, the Civil Liberties and the Constitution course was a great introduction to Constitutional Law and History. We learned about landmark supreme court cases—a great introduction if you plan to take APUSH or AP Gov—as well as the structure of the Constitution, the Civil Rights movement, due process, and more.

While Church History is a required class, it was one of my favorites. I was fortunate enough to have Mr. Larsen, who has very extensive knowledge not only about Church History but also general religious history and Biblical Studies. The structure of his class was very similar to many college classes which I greatly appreciated. This class was the first time I was introduced to the history of the schism (split) between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. I also learned about Catholic ecumenical councils interesting. 

This year I took Forensic Science. One of the most interesting and informative classes in all of Notre Dame. This class is one of the most unique. The curriculum was created entirely by Mrs. Savage. She added that she created this class “To give students another option for their senior year of science.”We learn about how investagorts determine the circumstances of a crime and what techniques invesigators utilzie. Also, there are a ton of fun and informative labs. My time here has been amazing. Be sure to take advantage of all opportunities ND has to offer.