Notre Dame Inspirations
On May 4–5, 2007, as the University kicked off the public phase of the campaign, it also presented the Notre Dame Inspirations: eight alumni, faculty, and students who have embraced the call to “think and speak and act” for the good of our University, our Church, and our world.
Each of these Inspirations are leaders who embody the distinctive spirit of Notre Dame—women and men who are generous to those in need, responsive to the demands of justice, and guided by the command to love God and neighbor.
“We have not just an opportunity, but a duty to think and speak and act in ways that will guide, inspire, and heal—not just for followers of the Catholic faith, but for all our neighbors in the nation and the world.”
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., in his inaugural address as Notre Dame's 17th president
Kendra Jackson
Notre Dame Class of 2009
Beat all the odds to forge her own path to Notre Dame.
Kendra Jackson’s route to Notre Dame differed vastly from that of most of her classmates. Born in Houston, Texas, she lost her father when she was just two years old. His death left the young family in economic straits. But with her mother's unerring support—and her own bright intellect and determination to rise above her circumstances—Kendra has beaten all the odds. Years of hard work, including a deal she brokered with the local Catholic girls high school in which she worked as a receptionist to help pay for her tuition, paid off when she graduated magna cum laude from Ursuline Academy. As a member of Notre Dame's Class of 2009, she is still guided by the principles instilled in her by those Ursuline sisters, including their core value of serviam (“I will serve”). In appreciation for all the support and encouragement she has received along the way, Kendra is working to help young people from similarly impoverished backgrounds understand that “it is possible to beat the odds, and that education is a must.” In that spirit, this psychology major and Africana studies minor works at Tolson Center, where she tutors and mentors local, mostly African American children who are facing the same obstacles to success that she once overcame.
Heather Cameron
Notre Dame Law Class of 2007
Committed her life to serving the poorest of the poor.
Raised in an Irish Catholic family in northern Virginia, and having traveled around the globe, Heather Cameron never imagined she would end up in the Midwest. Yet Notre Dame’s commitment to educating a “different kind of lawyer” drew her to the University, as she sought a law degree that would help her to work for development among the world’s underserved populations. She is now president of Notre Dame’s Student Bar Association. Heather credits a mission trip to Haiti as an undergraduate at the College of William and Mary with changing the course of her life: since discovering people there living in the direst conditions, she has worked tirelessly to bring education and healthcare to the poor. After spending four years as a missionary with the Salesians of St. John Bosco in Papua New Guinea, Heather returned to the United States to tackle the problem from another angle—by immersing herself in government and university agencies working in the field of international development. She earned a master's degree in international education and education policy from George Washington University before enrolling in the Notre Dame Law School. Here, her faith has deepened, as has her resolve to work for the dignity of all humankind.
Patrick Corrigan
Notre Dame Class of 2007
Lobbied Congress to put an end to the genocide in Darfur.
Moved to action by the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, Patrick Corrigan has become a campus leader for human rights advocacy. As a sophomore, he led a campaign to increase awareness of this issue, forming a student committee that raised $10,000 to organize a major (and entirely student–run) academic symposium featuring experts on Darfur from the White House and the United Nations. He then led a coalition of students to Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to put an end to the killings in Darfur. A stint researching the peace process in Northern Ireland convinced Patrick to pursue a career in peacebuilding. Now a double major in peace studies and the Program of Liberal Studies, this Cincinnati, Ohio, native has expanded his focus to include the violent conflict in Uganda, where he spent a summer interning through the Center for Social Concerns. He recently returned to Uganda to conduct research for a senior thesis on the dilemmas facing the International Criminal Court there. Convinced that he must build a grassroots understanding of peacebuilding and service before he can contribute to policy efforts, Patrick put graduate studies in international relations and conflict resolution on hold to serve the next two years with the Holy Cross Missions in Uganda.
Carolyn R. Nordstrom
Professor of Anthropology
Braved the frontlines to bring us the real story on modern warfare.
Carolyn Nordstrom is a pioneer in the anthropology and ethnography of warfare. She has spent much of the past several decades on the frontlines of Africa and Asia's deadliest conflicts. A fellow of the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies and a prolific researcher, her five books and dozens of scholarly articles paint a picture of war very different from the one portrayed by the media. Her 2004 book, Shadows of War: Violence, Power, and International Profiteering in the 21st Century, examines life on the frontlines amid the multi–trillion–dollar underground financial networks that underwrite modern wars. The three years she spent interviewing smugglers, profiteers, power brokers, and victims of vast criminal networks for her latest book, Global Outlaws: Crime, Money, and Power in the Contemporary World, have led some to describe her as the best fieldworker in anthropology. “This is the only way I know to write about war,” she has said. “By being there” Her breadth of firsthand knowledge, coupled with an ability to see the best in humanity despite even the bleakest circumstances, create an unexpected and always engaging classroom experience for her students. She has garnered several teaching awards, as well as Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships, among numerous other honors. Carolyn graduated from the University of Colorado in 1978. She earned a master's degree and doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.
Rev. Thomas G. Streit, C.S.C.
Research Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Saved millions of Haitians from a devastating infectious disease.
In 1998, after years of researching mosquito–borne infections with the Centers for Disease Control, Rev. Thomas Streit ('80, '85) founded the Haiti Program at Notre Dame with the goal of eradicating lymphatic filariasis (LF), which afflicts nearly a quarter of all Haitians. LF is rarely fatal, but its toll is devastating: identifiable by their grossly swollen limbs, victims are shunned by family and community, robbed of their dignity and often their livelihood. It is, as Father Streit notes, a disease whose geographic range maps perfectly with the poorest of the poor. Backed by the Gates Foundation, Father Streit has become not merely a scientist and public health administrator, but a priest and a friend to the millions of Haitians he has impacted over the past two decades. Under his leadership, the Haiti Program has collaborated with the Haitian Ministry of Public Health and the CDC to build clinical and research programs at the Hôpital Sainte Croix, educate Haitians about the benefits of bed nets and good hygiene to ward off infection, fortify the island's salt supply with drugs to kill the parasitic worms that cause LF, and administer those same drugs directly to more than three million Haitians. Father Streit's efforts are on target to altogether eliminate LF from Haiti by 2013. A 1980 graduate of Notre Dame, he was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1986. He earned a doctorate in biological sciences under the supervision of Notre Dame professors George Craig and Paul Grimstad.
Kelley Tuthill
Journalist, WCVB–TV
Went public with a private battle to raise breast cancer awareness.
As co–anchor of NewsCenter 5's weekend edition in Boston, Kelley Tuthill covers stories of local, national, and international significance. Yet it is her coverage of a deeply personal story that has garnered the most attention. A young woman with no family history of cancer, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage–III breast cancer just days before Christmas of 2006. The diagnosis initially shocked and devastated Kelley and her husband, Brendan. But, as she recently told Good Morning America in a nationally televised interview, she is “resolved” to survive for her family, especially her two young daughters, three–year–old Madeline and Cecilia, who is just 10 months old. Kelley has taken her private story public through a series of candid video diaries airing on Channel 5, which chronicle her diagnosis, treatment—including a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation—and recovery. Viewers have responded with an outpouring of support and gratitude, sending hundreds of letters and online posts thanking Kelley for sharing her story and encouraging other young women to be screened. Many of those viewers reported seeking mammograms, as a result of Kelley’s story, and finding early–stage breast cancer. A 1992 graduate of Notre Dame, Kelley earned a bachelor's degree in American studies.
Roderick K. West
President and CEO, Entergy New Orleans
Faced down the floodwaters to restore power to the citizens of New Orleans.
When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 28, 2005, Rod West was the director of distribution operations for Entergy New Orleans, the gas and electric utility serving the metropolitan area's half–million residents. Faced with a utility system that was completely incapacitated, he led a team of nearly 1,800 engineers, supervisors, linemen, and technicians—many still reeling from the loss of their homes and separation from their families—to immediately begin restoring power to the pumps that would rid the city of its floodwaters. For weeks, he remained on the frontlines, staying in a vacated downtown hotel with no electricity or running water to monitor his crew and ensure the ongoing recovery of his beloved city. His exemplary leadership and dedication were recognized in December 2006, when he was named the president and chief executive officer of Entergy New Orleans. Today he remains a key figure in the city's rebirth. A member of Notre Dame's 1988 National Championship football team, Rod graduated from the University in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in American studies. He earned his juris doctor and MBA from Tulane University. In 1996, he was voted president of Notre Dame's National Alumni Board, becoming the youngest person and the first African American to hold that post.
Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.
President Emeritus, University of Notre Dame
Inspired a university and the world with his profound faith.
The elder statesman of American higher education, a counselor to popes and presidents, an activist for peace and justice: despite being one of the century’s most distinguished Americans, the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh has remained, first and foremost, a priest. Educated at Notre Dame and the Gregorian University in Rome, he was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross on June 24, 1943. He earned his doctorate in sacred theology from the Catholic University of America in 1954 and, in 1984, Notre Dame conferred on him an honorary degree. His extraordinary life has been characterized by a profound faith and devotion to Our Lady, an uncommon intelligence, and a no-nonsense approach to everything from chairing the Civil Rights Commission (he nurtured consensus by taking opposing parties fishing) to pulling students from library carrels to celebrate Mass with him in his humble chapel on the 13th floor of the Hesburgh Library. For 35 years, he presided over Notre Dame, leading the University from its modest parochial roots into an international force in higher education. He has served four popes and held 16 presidential appointments, involving him in virtually every major issue of the day, from peaceful uses of atomic energy to Third World development. He is the recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, the Medal of Freedom, and 150 honorary degrees—the most ever awarded to one person. Father Hesburgh celebrated his 90th birthday on May 25.
