Stories

Ever since sending students home mid-semester in spring of 2020, Notre Dame’s study abroad team has been working to get students back into the program. Their efforts have been successful; upcoming study abroad numbers will exceed pre-pandemic enrollment. A total of 824 students studied abroad in the 2019-2020 academic school...

"Sustainability is a way of understanding the world, recognizing the role each one of us plays in it as a part of an interconnected and complex web of societies, economies, and ecosystems," says Sofía Del Valle, a 2019 master of global affairs graduate in the Keough School of Global Affairs…

Beatriz de Campos Silva is a sophomore from São Paulo, Brazil, majoring in Physics in Medicine with a minor in the Glynn Family Honors Program. She plays the piccolo in the Band of the Fighting Irish. She is also part of the Building Bridges Mentoring Program, STEMentorship program, ISAB’s Mentorship...

“You’re not going to get a better internship than this program,”says Notre Dame sophomore Fritz Holzgrefe. In a time when internships are scarce, and international opportunities are even scarcer, a statement like this one stands out. Holzgrefe, one of the 128 students who participated in Notre Dame’s Virtual Global Professional...

Growing up in Austin, TX, with the city’s large Spanish-speaking population, Natalie Reysa ‘21 developed a passion for learning the Spanish language.  As a Notre Dame student, she majored in political science…

This story is part of Notre Dame International's series titled "Women Who Empower."   A clinical psychologist by trade, Thaïs Burmeister Pires is on a mission to enrich the lives of people around her.…

As the pandemic first exploded in the United States in early spring, international students had to make a tough call: Should they find a way to stay on campus or return to their home countries to wait for the situation to resolve itself? The crisis intensified in many locations across...

In early July, Nicole Marinho Vieira Weiss found out she would not be able to attend the University of Notre Dame’s campus due to the new COVID-19 regulations. The finance and economics major was excited to start her freshman year, but quickly found herself overwhelmed with disappointment, and started searching...

  Pedro Navarro, originally from Sorocaba, Brazil, is majoring in chemical engineering. He shares his story as part of the International Student Reflection series from the class of 2020. When I think about the fact that I am graduating from Notre Dame, it is still hard to believe. I can...

Tamima Levinsohn Mourad, a senior studying psychology and Spanish with a minor in business economics, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but grew up in São Paulo. In her final year at the University of Notre Dame, she served as a leader in coordinating outreach through the Hesburgh International...

In June 2014, a plane landed hard at the Kabul International Airport. It was after dark and the flight crew needed medical attention. The plane suffered damage, so the crew needed to stay overnight in Kabul until another aircraft could be flown in. Jaime Signoracci, who was only in her...

Godsee Joy is a senior from Silver Spring, Maryland, currently studying economics and peace studies with a minor in data science. While at the University of Notre Dame, she has been heavily involved with research, community engagement, and international travel. Currently, she serves as a department director in …

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Brazilian native Laura Henares is a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, currently studying international economics, German, and international development studies. This international student has already lived in the United States, South Africa and Germany, and believes a global perspective can only contribute to one’s intellectual and practical pursuits. Currently...

Fernanda Gianesella Bertolaccini wants her voice to be heard. An activist in her native Brazil, Bertolaccini focuses on how private companies comply with voluntary sustainability standards and how they are held accountable for them. She also looks at the effect these regulations have on vulnerable populations. It is the focus...

The University urges faculty and staff traveling abroad for work to register the travel at ndi-tr.nd.edu. Registration is mandatory for undergraduate students traveling internationally on University-sponsored travel, and is strongly encouraged for graduate students, faculty and staff.…

Since its inception, the University of Notre Dame has been a global school.  It was founded by a French priest and brothers in 1842 with money raised in Europe, and as soon as 1850 was enrolling international students.  In the decades that followed, more than 100 students would come to...

Ruth Di Rada is a fifteen-year-old from Brazil. Earlier this year, she received an Ismart scholarship to study at the University of Notre Dame. While on campus, she participated in the iLED summer program, focused on international leadership. The iLED program is a two-week curriculum taught by Notre Dame faculty. It includes...

Daniela Bohrt spent part of her summer interning at Gaveteiro.com.br Brazil’s growing technology and startup sector is proving increasingly attractive to Notre Dame students. While the technology and ecommerce industry is already well established in the United States, the environment in Brazil is one of excitement and uncertainty, with startups...

Gabrielle Brookins is a junior studying business analytics in the Mendoza College of Business with a minor in Africana studies. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native recently studied abroad in Rio de Janeiro. She writes about what life was like in Rio and the experiences she gained along the way.…

Joy (far right) is pictured with her new friends at GuiaBolso As the world’s ninth largest economy and sixth most populous country, opportunities abound in Brazil for those brave enough to chance them. The technology industry in particular has been experiencing growth, attracting tech-hungry entrepreneurs who are looking for adventurous...

Navarro and his mother From a young age, the importance of education was impressed upon Pedro Navarro, a junior chemical engineering student from Brazil. His mother is a Portuguese teacher and saw firsthand the discrepancies between public and private schools in their hometown, but she couldn’t afford to send her son...

Catarina Stella Daltro was set to graduate on May 20, 2018. Six months before the big day, she learned the news that Brazilian Judge Sérgio Moro was set to receive an honorary degree and serve as principal speaker at the University of Notre Dame’s 173rd commencement ceremony. She wrote about the experience and discussed...