By supporting a University that educates students in mind, body, and spirit, Sorin Society members and donors to the Notre Dame Fund instill a value of service that continues long after students’ time at Notre Dame.
Stacy Manrique ’22 is just one example of how, with the help of the donors, Notre Dame graduates continue to be forces for good.
“At Notre Dame, I got to help underserved communities throughout the nation. I can't imagine doing that without Notre Dame, my scholarship, and the help I received from donors.”
Stacy Manrique ’22 recently graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a double major in Computer Science and Film, Television, and Theatre (FTT) with a minor in Latino Studies.
Through leadership on campus and internships across the United States, she spent her time at Notre Dame learning how to serve the Latinx community.
Stacy currently works in cyber security for the federal government, contributing to IT solutions against evolving cyber threats and setting new precedents as one of the few Latinas in a male-dominated field.
She also works part-time with the Fornes Institute, making Latinx art more accessible.
“Notre Dame instilled me with passion and helped me see the importance of my work and how it can directly impact a community and make it better. Now, I do that with the entire nation in cyber security.”
Before Stacy arrived at Notre Dame, she knew that serving the Latinx community was important to her. But it was Notre Dame that gave her the tools to act on her passions and talents.
“Thanks to my wonderful education, I feel more than prepared to be a powerful force for good in this world, lifting my community with me as I rise."
After only one academic year, she was offered an internship at the D.C.-based advocacy group UnidosUS through Notre Dame’s Cross-Cultural Leadership Program, where she worked to help improve educational opportunities for young Latinx people.
The next summer, she returned to Washington, D.C., as a congressional intern with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. There, she was selected from a pool of over 500 applicants to help foster Latinx leaders of tomorrow and act as a liaison between people across the country and Congress.
“Even in my first few years at Notre Dame, I was already starting to develop a true care for my community and learn the skills to make a real impact for them.”
Stacy also got involved with groups on campus such as the Latino Studies Scholars Program, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Themed Entertainment Association, Media Industry Club, Latino Student Alliance, and more.
“Any opportunity that came up, I would take it and make the best of it. I have so much respect for the University and the donors specifically because, as someone who was a scholarship recipient, if it weren't for them, absolutely none of this would have been possible. These opportunities made me into the person I am today.”
Stacy uses her Notre Dame education to pursue her passions and be a true force for good in the world, especially for the Latinx community.
“Sometimes, the Latinx story is misrepresented or mistold. If I can use my Notre Dame education to make sure that the Latinx story is being told and being told right, then that's what guides me. We have pioneers in our community that change the world for good, and I want the younger generation to see that. I am able to do that through the opportunities that Notre Dame offers, and that passion is still very much inside of me."