The Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture, located in South Bend, seeks to educate people through art, culture and community engagement. Associate director of community relations Jackie Rucker said the South Bend community created the idea.

“We conducted surveys in the community to find out if Notre Dame had a facility in the west side of town what they would like us to do,” Rucker said. “Overwhelmingly the community expressed an interest in exposure to art and culture and, in particular, art and culture in underrepresented groups.”

The center was inaugurated in March 2013 when Gilberto Cardenas, founding director of the Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ, was looking for a new location in the community for the institute.

“Our job at this center is to connect the campus to the community and vice versa,” Rucker said.

Rucker said Cardenas had a vision for an art gallery and established the Crossroads Gallery, which showcases contemporary art. The center also has the Segura Arts Studio, which showcases the work of underrepresented artists, Rucker said.

“The Segura Arts Studio works with world class artists whose work has a social justice message,” she said. “The mission of the studio is to get the works of those artists into major collections.”

In addition to displaying art, the center also offers educational programs, Rucker said. Such programs include an after school program and an art summer camp.

Originally published by Daily Domer Staff at on October 14, 2017.

Ciara Hopkinson | September 18, 2017

Campus Ministry seeks to nurture the faith development of both Catholic and non-Catholic students in their time at Notre Dame.

“It is our hope that a student does not go through Notre Dame without encountering the work campus ministry,” Campus Ministry communications director, Danielle Collins, said.

Campus Ministry has a hand in nearly every Catholic aspect of Notre Dame: pilgrimages and retreats, masses at both the Basilica and residence hall chapels, sacramental preparation, evangelization,multicultural ministry and outreach, various faith-sharing groups and the Anchor leadership program, Collins said. For Kayla August, the assistant director of evangelization and head of Compass Freshman Fellowship, Campus Ministry provides an opportunity to take part in people’s faith formation at a turning point in their lives.

“College is when people for the first time are taking on their faith journey for themselves,” August said. “No parents are making them go to church, no one’s checking up on them and they’re deciding who God is and how he plays a part in their lives for them and not for someone else. I love that time in life, and I wanted to be there and a part of students as they grow and cultivate that.”

As director of evangelization, August said she works with interfaith and interdenominational organizations in addition to general outreach among Catholic students and accompanying them on their faith journeys. Compass Freshmen Fellowship is one of Campus Ministry’s main initiatives to guide students in their faith formation through small group discussion and reflection, she said.

Originally published by Daily Domer Staff at on September 18, 2017.

Alan Wasielewski | September 15, 2017

University of Notre Dame rowing head coach Martin Stone has announced two additions to his coaching staff for the 2017-18 season. Assistant coach Jami Montesano and director of operations Kurt Butler are now on campus and working with the team.��

Montesano joins the program as the third Irish assistant coach, joining associate head coach Marnie Stahl and assistant coach Teresa Logemann. She was most recently the volunteer assistant at Louisville for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.

“Throughout our search Jami stood out as the best fit for this position,” Stone said. “She will be working with all of our student-athletes and will focus on bolstering our recruiting efforts with an emphasis on our future classes. We had a chance to interact with her while she was at Louisville and I believe she is a great person to add to our staff.”��

Montesano began coaching after a successful collegiate rowing career at the University of Louisville, where she was named captain of the team during her senior season. In 2015, Montesano and her team achieved a fourth-place finish in their first appearance at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and a No. 17 national ranking.��

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Montesano contributed to Louisville’s 17th-place team finish at the 2014 NCAA Championship as a member of the 1V8+. This performance followed a team sweep at the American Athletic Conference Championship where Montesano was a member of the title-winning Varsity 8+. In 2014, Montesano received First Team All-AAC honors, as well as being chosen as a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Scholar Athlete (2014-2015).

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Originally published by Daily Domer Staff at on September 15, 2017.