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(Chamberlain, S.D.) – On a cloudy May afternoon, the 17 seventh-grade students of St. Joseph’s Indian School—a member of the American Indian Catholic Schools Network— huddled in prayer before embarking on the trip that has become a spiritual and cultural rite of passage for the school’s students. The journey, which has undergone some changes during the pandemic year, is unchanged in its tradition of forming these students into the school’s leaders when school opens next fall.

Notre Dame senior Julian Bonds has won the 2021 Frabutt Prize for Outstanding Education Research in the Community for his work analyzing how race is represented in popular high school English texts – research that he’ll use firsthand next year as an ACE teacher in Atlanta.

Originally published by Sophia Lauber at al.nd.edu on May 19, 2021.

After growing up in a neighborhood where many of his friends didn’t make it to college, senior Diego Reynoso knows firsthand the challenges facing students in low-income communities.

Two graduating Teaching Fellows from the Alliance for Catholic Education have been awarded Fulbright grants. Colin de Guzman and Michael Kenney will be English teaching assistants abroad during the 2021-22 academic year.

Colin is a member of ACE 26 in Santa Ana and teaches middle school science at St. Anne School. He will be teaching in South Korea. 

"I am very excited to combine my long standing interest in Korean culture and society with my passion for education in an absolutely unfamiliar setting," Colin said. "I want to become more adept in helping students of different backgrounds to feel confident in learning a new language and to be able to use this newfound confidence to take risks in everything that they do, so that I can be an educator that not only teaches the mind, but also the heart."

Michael is a member of ACE 26 in the Twin Cities) and teaches middle school language arts at St. Jerome School. He will be teaching in the Czech Republic. 

"I look forward to drawing from my ACE experience next year as I'll teach English, foster cultural exchange, and contribute to communities through the Fulbright grant," Michael said. "I am particularly excited to learn from my new colleagues and to immerse myself in the unique beauty, culture, and adventure that the Czech Republic holds!"

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program, offering grants to undergraduate and graduate students and alumni to research, study or teach abroad.

“I’d like to congratulate all of the Notre Dame students and alumni who were recognized by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program this year,” said Jeffrey Thibert, the Paul and Maureen Stefanick Director of CUSE. “It was an especially competitive year, given that the program saw a record number of applicants for a limited number of openings, since many grants were automatically taken up by deferrals from last year’s competition. The fact that the University’s results this year are still roughly consistent with last year’s, despite the increased competition, is a testament to the strengths of both our CUSE and Graduate School advisers and our applicants. We’d like to thank all of the faculty, administrators and staff who worked with applicants directly and contributed to the excellent global education that Notre Dame provides.”

Remick Leader Maka Black Elk, the Executive Director for Truth and Healing at Red Cloud Indian School—a member of the American Indian Catholic Schools Network—was a guest on the AMDG podcast to discuss what truth and healing means for the Red Cloud and Pine Ridge Communities.