I developed an interest in education as the catalyst for reversing the poverty cycle during high school, so I entered Notre Dame with a hunger to learn more about education, both in the US and abroad. Soon, I became fascinated with blended learning – the hybrid of traditional education and interactive technology-based learning – through a series of happy accidents that have changed my life forever.

In spring of my freshman year, I decided to put the theories I had read about into practice in South Bend by establishing an after-school program at St. Adalbert’s School that used a blended-learning model. Building upon that experience, I spent six weeks that summer as an on-site intern for the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), helping St. Paul School in Seattle, WA, transition from a traditional model to a blended-learning model. That same summer, I spent three weeks learning more about innovative education practices at Acton Academy in Austin, TX.

The following summer, I worked as an educational consultant for Edify in Accra, Ghana, where I designed and implemented blended-learning programs at four private, Christian schools in the Greater Accra region. After studying abroad in Rome during the fall semester of my junior year, I returned to campus to continue my studies of philosophy and education. For the next six months, I conducted research on blended learning for the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, both remotely from Notre Dame's campus and at the Institute's office in San Mateo, CA. 

Upon graduating, I joined ACE to lead the expansion of its blended-learning initiatives in Notre Dame ACE Academies. After piloting the program at Holy Angels Catholic School in Indianapolis, the blended-learning initiative has grown to include three schools and become an integral part of the academic vision for the network of schools. I am enormously grateful for the many learning opportunities, as well as the the autonomy and leadership, my first "real" job entails!