Letter from the Executive Director: August 20, 2026

Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,

Tomorrow, we’ll welcome the Notre Dame Class of 2030 to campus and usher in the start of another school year. With it, the quiet of summer will give way to the classes and extracurriculars, dorm masses and cheering sections that breathe new life into our beloved University community each fall.

I remember vividly the combination of nerves, anticipation, excitement, and hope I felt when I first moved into Breen-Phillips Hall, and how those feelings multiplied as my own children made their way through school and into adulthood. Even now, I can’t help getting caught up in the exhilaration of a new school year and harboring the same wishes for today’s students.

Our hopes and dreams for our children are all so similar: we want them to succeed, of course, but more than anything we want them to live happy, healthy, meaningful lives. The Alumni Association will lift these hopes up on Monday, August 24, at our annual Back to School Prayer Service. Submit your prayer intentions for your children—no matter where they are—and our staff and volunteers will offer them at the Grotto on your behalf.

As we embark on a new semester, we pray that the coming year is one of inspiration and growth for us all, and especially for the newest members of the Notre Dame family.