Incoming ACE Teacher Gives Thanks in Commencement Invocation

As Brendan Bell prepared to offer the invocation at this year’s Commencement Ceremony, he looked to the past, but also to the future, urging his fellow classmates to think about how they will carry Notre Dame’s mission out to the world.

‘[The invocation] focuses a lot on taking the things we've been given here and gifts that we may already have, and really channeling them in a purposeful way to make God known, loved, and served in as many capacities as possible," Bell said.

A member of multiple honors societies, a former intern for senators from the United States and Ireland, and carrying a 3.98 GPA as he ends his time at Notre Dame, Bell said he wants to give thanks for all the opportunities that he and his fellow classmates have been given.

"The first part of the invocation is just an expression of gratitude, and I think that's really what my whole Notre Dame experience has been, just one big expression of gratitude," he said. "I just feel extremely thankful. That was something that I wanted to touch on."

After completing his finals, the invocation was Bell's final responsibility before he joins the Alliance for Catholic Education's twenty-second cohort of teachers in June. After a summer of education classes, Bell will head to Sacramento, California to teach social studies at Cristo Rey High School.

"The whole process of thinking about what I wanted to do [after graduation], and ACE in particular, was asking, 'how do I see myself finding joy in my life, but also having a purpose, and how I can bring my talents and my skills to something much greater than myself?' That's what really brought me to ACE in particular; it just seemed like a fantastic opportunity to do that, precisely.

Bell's efforts throughout his time at Notre Dame have focused on the world of politics—he majored in Political Science and has interned for Senator Mark Daly in Dublin, Ireland, and Senator Bob Casey, Jr., in Washington, D.C. He also spent the summer before his senior year as a research intern at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in the nation's capital. But Bell said that it was moving away from the political sphere that really drew him to ACE.

"It's a really new experience, it's different, and in my heart, I felt like I wanted to be stretched in a different way," he said. "I think that going down to D.C. and my internships were really important because I got a clearer picture of those experiences and what those places were like.

"As I worked my way through the last year, I started trying to blend my interests together a little bit more—interest in schools and education, and interests in policy. Last summer was a really good marriage of those interests."

Bell will teach juniors and seniors at Cristo Rey High School in Sacramento, including courses in U.S. History, Government, and Economics. He said he wants to impart on his students that learning is not simply about knowing information for a test.

"For me, teaching is about thinking about what you're going to present as not only material that [students] will pocket and know for a test, but how they can internalize that and think about how they see themselves, and how they want to be as men and women as well."

While the first part of his invocation expresses gratitude for all that Notre Dame has given him during his four years as a student, he said he will keep the second part in his mind as he prepares to serve in ACE, and hopes his fellow students will keep it on their minds as they choose their path after graduation.

"I just hope my fellow classmates and I consider how we can pursue not only a job and a career, but a vocation."