Q & A with Kate McClelland ‘06

Q & A with Kate McCelland '06
Kate graduated from Notre Dame in three years.

1. What were you involved in while at Marist?
I spent some time on academic team my freshman and sophomore years. Junior and senior years I was in Spanish Honor Society and National Honor Society. I was in the performance of Our Town during my junior year, which was a lot of fun. And I was a student ambassador all four years, which was great practice for being a tour guide at Notre Dame - I already had the key skill of being able to walk backwards!

2. What made you choose Notre Dame? 
I visited Notre Dame on a whim. I decided I needed to start doing tours of colleges, and ND was fairly close to home. By the time I was done with the tour I was in love with the campus and the people there. I knew it was where I wanted to go.

3. Did you get involved in anything at Notre Name?
I was very involved in student government at Notre Dame, but I also worked as a news writer for the campus paper, planned events for my dorm and volunteered as a tutor for elementary school students.

4. Did ND a Catholic institution make any impact either on your decision to go there or your experience while you were there? 

The Catholic aspect of ND didn't strongly impact my decision to go there, but I know my family felt better about me leaving for college knowing that I would continue to have a Catholic education as I always had! While I was on campus though, I know that Notre Dame's Catholic character definitely changed my experience of college. The University is very committed to maintaining its Catholic identity, and that puts a different perspective on everything from how classes are taught to how students spend their free time.

5. Most people would think that gettin out of Notre Dame in four years would be challenging enough...how did you pull it off in three? 

Actually, my time at Marist was what really allowed me to complete my studies at Notre Dame so fast -- the AP credit from classes that I had at Marist allowed me to place out of quite a few of Notre Dame's core requirements. So I started working on my major right at the beginning of freshman year, and had all of my required classes at the end of my third year.

6. What was your major? 
I graduated with a degree in Political Science.

7. Were you able to take advantage of opportunities at ND - internships, etc? 
Notre Dame has an excellent network for finding internships for students, and you can usually get academic credit for them. I worked in the South Bend office of Congressman Joe Donnelly during the 2007-2008 school year, then I spent the summer of 2008 working in the Chicago office of then-Senator Barack Obama. Finally, in fall of 2008 I studied abroad in London, where I worked for a Member of the British Parliament.

8. Did you feel prepare for college?
Absolutely. My time at Marist really gave me a chance to explore and define what my interests were, both inside and outside of the classroom. So by the time I reached Notre Dame, I had a very good idea of what I wanted my college years to look like. So I was ready to take on all of the challenges and opportunities that Note Dame provided for me.

9. What have you been up to since then?
Right now I'm living and working in Washington, DC. I'm participating in a one-year fellowship in public affairs, and I have sent out all of the applications to attend law school beginning in Fall of 2010. I'm just waiting to hear back from all of the schools before making a decision about where to go! I'm keeping an open mind about what type of law I want to study, which will play a big role in whatever I eventually decide to do. However, I have really enjoyed the time I have spent working in government and politics, so I imagine that's where I will end up.