Who do you want to be?  This question captures the underlying question of what one wants to do and takes it further.  It requires both external discovery and internal reflection to ensure that the identity that one embraces in their next stage is truly authentic and adaptable.

This is the question that our fifteen fellows have begun to explore the past two months leading into their recent October Break. One fellow noted their discovery has included “learning to read again,” as they delved into the Great Books and found that reading Homer’s Odyssey activated a different (perhaps dormant) part of the brain than what many had been reading.  It has involved engaging with great minds like New York Times columnist and author Tom Friedman, former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and many other visitors to campus. The exploration has also involved participating in classes covering topics such as Global Development, Science, Philosophy, Music, and Theology which has fostered insights not glimpsed before immersing into the University.

In addition, our cohort has begun to find rich rewards through relating to the other fellows, faculty, campus leaders and others.  The program has also afforded time for formal and informal, structured and unstructured discussion and reflection in small groups across campus and at faculty homes.

Their journey is just beginning. We hope this issue will provide a glimpse into what our inaugural fellows have been experiencing thus far, and how they feel about the ILI as they both participate in it and contribute to its development. This glimpse is now enhanced by a two-segment special video done by PBS on the ILI program (see links, below). We strongly encourage you to take a few minutes to view it.

If you have finished your traditional career and wish to consider exploring who you want to be in your next stage please visit our website at ILI.ND.EDU. The application for our second ILI cohort commencing next Fall is now open and we look forward to considering your candidacy.

We are pleased to acknowledge Margot Fassler, Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Music History and Liturgy and Director of the Program of Sacred Music at Notre Dame. Prof. Fassler is among a distinguished group of faculty partners who share their insights and experience during this inaugural year of ILI. Each of these scholars advises one fellow, providing dedicated guidance and support in course selection and during the semester.

"Women and men embracing new stages of life use the program to learn from cutting-edge researchers in fields they know, or plunge into new or related areas of understanding, taking up subjects they have always wondered about but never had time to explore. Many fellows in our inaugural year are being creative in mixing both approaches, and it is a pleasure and a privilege to experience their excitement, energy, and intelligence, and to witness the friendships developing within the cohort." 

Read more about Prof. Fassler and the Program of Sacred Music at Notre Dame.