The Notre Dame Way

The Notre Dame Way

"Take what you have learned here at Notre Dame and let it enable you to go forth and do good. Always be as generous as you can with your time, talent and all you have. In your family life, your professional life and your spiritual life, every day of your life, never forget that your charge as Notre Dame graduates is to be a force for good in the world."

- Fr. John Jenkins (Graduation Message, 2018)

Assessing Your Level of Competency

Graduate School is a time to seek out opportunities on campus that will provide you with a sense of belonging and mission that aligns with this competency. Ask yourself the following questions to dive deep into your self-assessment:

• Have I supported other students at Notre Dame that needed assistance in some way?
• What service groups have I joined while at Notre Dame?
• Can I set aside time each week that I will focus on giving back to the community?
• How can I provide a supportive environment in my group/lab with other coworkers?
• What classes, events, lectures, activities have I engaged in to expand my worldview?

Building Your Level of Competency

Here are some ideas to build your level of this competency:

• Support a peer or underclass student who is struggling to learn a challenging course concept.
• Serve as a Grad Orientation leader to welcome new students.
• Contribute to the improvement of a department or policy through an advisory role or committee.
• Become involved with the Alumni group in your summer or post-Notre Dame location.
• Engage in ally training to support other ND students who feel marginalized. 
• Get involved in Mercy Works, a joint program of Campus Ministry and the Center for Social Concerns (CSC).
• Participate in a CSC Common Good Initiative to gain broader understanding of how your discipline can benefit the common good.
• Research local and global social problems by enrolling in a Business on the Frontlines course. 
• Provide support and assistance to a fellow coworker in completing a project on time.
• Conduct your job search following the guidelines in the ethical job search policy (e.g. withdrawing from other applications after accepting an offer).
• Graduate students - participate in the Leadership Advancing Socially Engaged Research (LASER) program.

Communicate this Competency

There are many opportunities to communicate the Notre Dame Way to others; through your resume, cover letters, interviewing, 30-second professional introduction, networking, etc. Start with statements like the samples below:

• Tutored local 5th graders in life skills at the Robinson Community Learning Center.
• Trained a junior coworker or visiting researcher on a lab instrument allowing them to complete their project.
• Hosted a prospective student in my department/program for a weekend visit to Notre Dame.
• Developed and oversaw a coat donation program among Notre Dame students for a local charity to provide winter clothing to patrons.
• Volunteered to visit with patients in a local hospital, providing companionship and attending to basic needs.
• Researched public transportation options for community members and created a guide to enhance and promote access.
• Reduced chemical waste in my lab by 25% through an awareness campaign that optimized safety and experimental protocols.
• Analyzed the HR application process as a data analytics intern and provided data to show a skewed pattern of new hires that led the company to review its diversity hiring initiatives.

Career Ready Competency Tracking Tool

Download the Career Ready Competency Tracking Tool one time from the main Career Competencies webpage, and utilize one document to track the development of all your competencies.