Author Archive
Commentary: Notre Dame: A corporate family?
For the past two years I have had the pleasure of interviewing different staff workers at the University of Notre Dame for The Rover’s Who’s Who section. I have learned a lot talking to various Notre Dame staff. While all were endlessly grateful for their jobs and Notre Dame, I received the impression from many workers that they were being mistreated. Although staff members often enjoyed [...]
Who’s Who at ND: Catherine Robertson
This week’s Who’s Who is Catherine Robertson. Catherine has worked at Notre Dame for 18 years, for the last 10 of which she has been the administrative assistant for the Philosophy department. If you talk with Catherine for longer than a few minutes it instantly becomes clear what is most important to her: family, friends, and community. Catherine has three boys, Chas, Brian, and David, [...]
Who’s Who at Notre Dame: Phil Dixon
Phil Dixon is this week’s Who’s Who. Phil has worked for Notre Dame since 1986, first for four years at the Morris Inn and then for Building Services. He currently works in Stanford Hall. Phil was born in South Bend, but raised in Indianapolis. He tells me what it was like growing up there: “It was real nice. I went to a school there, threw the shot put for track, and had a lot of friends [...]
Who’s Who on the Notre Dame campus: Hanh Pham
This week’s Who’s Who is Hanh Pham. Hanh was born and lived in Vietnam until 1985, when she moved to America with her husband, Yungle, her mother-in-law, and her two boys, Theinle and Thanle. Yungle came over first and then sent for the rest of them in order to escape from the communist regime. “There was no jobs, and no money, terrible for living,” she told me. In 1987, 23 years ago, [...]
Our very own Kelly Mason on working at the CEC
My freshman year at Notre Dame I ran into a friend who was going to a talk on Shakespeare and Catholicism put on by the Center for Ethics and Culture. I somewhat mocked him, saying that anything Catholic at Notre Dame can’t be all that Catholic. (Some background information here, from the time I was in 8th grade and thinking of coming to Notre Dame my dad made it his purpose in life to remind [...]
Who’s Who: Tagen Gaul
This week’s Who’s Who is Tagen Gaul. If you have ever been to Starbucks in between classes you have probably met Tagen. She has worked at Starbucks for eight years now. She grew up in Niles, Michigan, where she worked for her parents’ family business until they had to sell it. This loss prompted her to come work at Starbucks, where her sarcastic sense of humor makes everyone who knows her [...]
Who’s Who Cassandra Brown
This week’s Who’s Who is Cassandra Brown. If you have ever ordered a pizza at North Dining Hall then you have probably met this tremendously loving woman. Cassandra Brown has worked at North Dining Hall for 14 years now. She has worked as the pizza artisan for at least 3 years. I met Cassandra one day as I was ordering a ham and pineapple pizza, and quickly discovered that my pizza [...]