Monday, March 4, 2013

weekend lens :: Notre Dame

After school on Wednesday, we left for an 8 hour road trip to South Bend, Indiana. We were going to try to make it to the Chicago area that evening, but due to snowy and icy conditions we decided to stop in Madison for the evening. Thursday morning we made the rest of the trip

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and arrived at Notre Dame. Jake was invited for an admitted student weekend. He would have the chance to meet with an admissions counselor, attend an open house, stay overnight with a current student, and go a couple of classes. This was a great opportunity for Jake to really get a feel for the campus.

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The Main Building.

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Notre Dame Law School.

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Jake sharing some of his many ND Bookstore purchases. (a golf club cover)

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(and a hat) :)

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Jake spent the afternoon with his student host and we met up with him in the evening for the Admitted Student and Family Open House.

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The open house was held in the Rotunda (under the Dome) of the Main Building. The Director of Admissions gave a  warm welcome to the students congratulating them on their acceptance. He then gave a very motivational speech. I wish I could remember all of his words, but his point to the students was that to succeed in school and in life you need to do what you love & where your passion is and you will go far. He also stressed the importance of giving back to your community. Good lessons for everyone to hear.

Then there was time to walk around and talk to professors, student service officers (ROTC) and current students.

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Leaving the Open House we walked by the Basilica of the Sacred Heart all pretty at night and Jake met  back up with his student host for the evening.

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We stayed at the Inn at St. Mary's which is right near campus. The location was great

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where Drew enjoyed the complimentary bathrobe and slippers :)

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and also the waffle breakfast. :)

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Friday morning we went over the the Compton Ice Arena to see the facility and also to buy tickets for the game that evening.

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It is a beautiful rink that was just recently built in 2011.

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We then met up with Jake and did some more exploring of the campus.

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Touchdown Jesus.

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Inside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart- which was absolutely stunning.

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We walked over to the Grotto.

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And then had dinner at O'Rourkes at Eddy Commons before the hockey game.

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The student section was quite entertaining with their changing signs :)

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and a leprechaun :)

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Look at those gold helmets.

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It was fun to be able to see a Notre Dame hockey game and I'm glad that it worked into our schedule.

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Saturday morning we headed back to Minnesota, but we had to first make a stop in the Chicago area for our favorite hot dog. :)

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A great way to end a fun trip! 

Jake hasn't made his decision on colleges yet as he is still waiting for responses from a few more schools in the next few weeks--but this was a great opportunity for him and to get more of a feel of the student life at Notre Dame.

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