Meet Our Students
Nicole O'Connor
Class of 2011
- Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
- Hall: Welsh Family
- Major: Business – Management Consulting
What was your first impression of ND when you arrived on campus?
A sense of peace and belonging. As a senior, I was so anxious about making the right decision about where I would spend the next four years. But once I moved in and had the chance to walk around campus, I knew I had made the perfect choice for me.
What are your favorite things about student life at ND?
Notre Dame is a very welcoming environment that is able to blend a wide variety of personalities, interests, and ideas. Being a student at Notre Dame means I am able to become active and involved in the different activities that interest me. Part of my favorite part is that I am able to balance a job, clubs, and academics while meeting and interacting with people who genuinely want to make a positive difference in the world.
What prompted you to choose Management Consulting as a major?
My father is a wonderful role model for balancing a successful, professional business career as well as his family commitments. I wanted to have a similar experience and felt that the business world offered an immense amount of opportunities to find a career that I would truly enjoy.
Extra-curricular involvement:
Student Government, Right to Life, Welsh Family Hall Council, Undergraduate Women in Business, ND Athletic Department
What do you think makes ND unique from other universities?
Whenever you meet a Notre Dame graduate, you have an instant connection. Even if they have graduated thirty years prior, there is still an awesome sense of pride and gratitude to the University. Our focus on faith and service is unparalleled and creates a strong feeling of responsibility for the entire Notre Dame “family.”
What are some of the things you enjoy about living in the residence hall?
Although it is a Notre Dame cliché, I was so grateful for the chance to immediately become a part of a community. The sense of pride for one’s particular dorm is a great starting point for new friendships. It’s also nice knowing that you’re not going to be the only one on a Friday night who has to study when there are five other girls in the section lounge with the same plans.
Do you have any words of wisdom to offer an incoming ND student?
Notre Dame offers so many opportunities that it can become involved with campus life as well as academics. It’s important to take a step back and just walk around campus, go to the Grotto, go to the Basilica, and be grateful that you get to spend four years at a beautiful, extraordinary university.
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