Chris Kolda and Paul Weithman
Dear alumni of the Glynn Family Honors Program,
We are pleased to send you this new e-newsletter that highlights just a few of the activities and achievements of the students who are currently studying in, or who just graduated from, the Glynn Family Honors Program at the University of Notre Dame.
The Glynn Program celebrated an important landmark this year: the tenth anniversary of the gift from John and Barbara Glynn that endowed Notre Dame’s Honors Program. The Glynns' generosity has allowed that long-established and highly regarded program to grow in numbers, in resources, and in opportunities for our students. These last ten years have seen many changes to the Program, and we have many more planned for the years to come.
One thing we hope to do is build a stronger community among our students and alumni. We intend this annual newsletter to be just one way that you will stay connected to the Glynn Family Honors Program, to each other, and to its current students. We hope you take the time to follow the links in each story to learn more about a few of our outstanding students and what they have accomplished during their time at Notre Dame.
We also encourage you to follow us on Facebook and look for announcements of alumni events around the country. The first event will be held in conjunction with the annual spring trip to Chicago. If you are in or around Chicago on February 23, 2019, we hope that you will join us for a reception at the Palmer House Hotel to talk with some of your former teachers, to reconnect with fellow alumni, and to meet our students. An event in Washington, D.C., is currently in the works, and more will be scheduled – if you are interested in helping us host a Glynn Honors reunion near you, please reach out and let us know! And if you are in South Bend, stop by the Lounge to greet some familiar faces (yes, Wendy is still there every day!) and to meet some new.
As we said, there have been many changes over the years. Some of these have included a marked increase in research funding available to students, an enhancement of the Program’s offerings during the sophomore and junior years, stronger undergraduate advising, greatly enhanced social programming for all the Glynn students on campus and planned events for students who are away from campus as they study abroad.
One thing that has not changed is the quality of the students who comprise the Program. Our students score in the top 0.2% nationally on the SAT and ACT. But their scores tell just a very small part of who these students are, and provide just a hint of what they can go on to accomplish with the help of the Program.
We are proud that Notre Dame’s last four valedictorians have all graduated from Glynn, and that ten of our students and alumni were winners or finalists for major national post-graduate fellowships this year. We are inspired by our students’ ongoing dedication to service, both during their time at Notre Dame and after they graduate. And we are optimistic as we meet and talk with the 107 first-year students who joined the Glynn Family Honors Program this year.
We see a bright future ahead for these students, and for the entire Program. We look forward to sharing our progress with you, and to seeing you in the Lounge — or at one of our alumni events — before too long.
Chris Kolda
Paul Weithman
Co-Directors