Name: Kristin Komyatte Sheehan
Graduation year: 1990
Majors/Minors: Theology/Concentrations: Gender Studies and Peace Studies
Current occupation: Associate Director, Play Like A Champion Today™ Educational Series at the University of Notre Dame
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: Kathleen Maas Weigart
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: The University continues to grow in diversity and acceptance of all within our community. The gender studies program certainly helps to advance this agenda.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: I currently have the privilege to work for my beloved University with the Institute for Educational Initiatives in the Play Like A Champion Today™ educational series. We offer national workshops to help youth sport and high school coaches, parents and athletes to run competitive sports programs that also teach character, virtue and moral values. Sport is one of the best ways for girls and young women to engage their physical bodies and develop their whole selves. Our program strives to provide equal and growth-filled sport opportunities for all young athletes, regardless of gender, socio-economic status or physical abilities.
Name: Kelley Tuthill
Graduation year: 1992
Majors/Minors: American Studies/Gender Studies
Current occupation: Reporter, WCVB-TV Boston
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: I have wonderful memories of several gender studies professors including Kathleen Biddick, Sonia Gernes and Janet Kourany.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: My gender studies classes were some of the most exciting, interesting classes of my ND experience. It’s hard to explain, but it was fun being a part of a new program.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: My Gender Studies education helped me look at history, theology and literature from a different perspective. It definitely broadened my approach to academics. Gender Studies also helped me develop from a teenager into a more confident young woman. The professors were amazing role models.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I hope Gender Studies continues to be a vital part of the academic fabric of ND. This program has meant so much to the continued evolution of ND from a male institution to one where women and women’s studies take a central role.
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Name: Kellene Johnson McMillan
Graduation year: 1993
Majors/Minors: Psychology/Gender Studies Concentration
Current occupation: Insurance Coverage Attorney/Litigator (Not particularly gender related)
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: My favorite teacher and class was Gender and the Law(at the law school) by Professor Phelps. My favorite memory was when she had us all over for dinner at her house from the class. She was a great teacher and a nice lady.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: Gender Studies was great because I got to take so many awesome cross-listed classes that I might not otherwise be able to get into without the gender studies preference. Loved the film classes and the philosophy classes. Gender Studies was a breath of fresh air at Notre Dame.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: I secretly take great pleasure in the fact that most of my clients have no idea that a liberal, feminist democrat is representing them. It gives me the chance to provide advice they might not otherwise hear if they were listening to men/women that lean towards their conservative side.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: That it wouldn't be necessary to study gender at Notre Dame because the genders are equal. But, that's not likely to happen at Notre Dame, or anywhere elsefrankly.It was very worthwhile for me to get my Gender Studies concentration and it complimented my psychology degree very well.
Name: Michael Zimmer
Graduation year: 1994
Majors/Minors: Marketing, with Gender Studies concentration
Current occupation: Assistant Professor at School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: My introduction to the Gender Studies program was through Prof. Janet Kourany's "Gender & Science" course in spring 1993. The course opened up my eyes to the complexities of feminism and its relationship to society. I decided to join the join the concentration, and filled all my remaining electives with Gender Studies courses. (At the time, someone noted that I was the only male in the program, but I'm not sure if that was true)
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: The radical feeling I had taking "Feminist Theology" at ND, which prompted me to refer to God as "she" in one of my other philosophy papers. Also, I loved pretty much every reading in Prof. Brogan's course, which made me wish I had been an English major.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: Immersing myself in the Gender Studies curriculum was one of my best decisions while at ND. It greatly expanded my vision of the world, of the role of language, and of social justice. Through the program I got to know a wonderful group of students whom I otherwise wouldn't have met in my routine ND life; these friendships helped shape me as a person today.
Intellectually, the Gender Studies program made me recognize the limits of my chosen career path (business), which I felt was too late to change. After 7 years in business, I decided to leave everything behind to pursue a PhD and become an academic (studying the social and ethical implications of information technology). I kept my time in the Gender Studies program in mind as I pursued this new intellectual goal (and, one of my first papers as a PhD student re-visited a line of thinking I had carried with me from Prof. Brogan's course years before).
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I hope the program continues to be intellectually rigorous, pushing boundaries, inclusive, and warm. I hope the University continues to support the program through expanded degree offerings and faculty lines.
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Name: Sarah (Sally) Koenig Simone
Graduation year: 1997
Majors/Minors: Sociology with Gender Studies
Current occupation: Private Practice Social Worker, Pickerington, Ohio
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: Professor Biddick's history course.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: It was such a natural fit for me ideologically, it was an awesome experience.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: I loved that it helped me to shape my broader values about social issues. It really helped me to align myself with the career of social work, as so many of the issues about gender were also about individual groupsthat are marginalized throughout culture.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I hope that it continues to be so relevant and impactful for future students.
Name: Mary Elizabeth Lasseter
Graduation year: 1999
Majors/Minors: American Studies, Gender Studies
Current occupation: Associate Director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi. Our mission is to document and celebrate the diverse food cultures of the American South. We set a common table where black and white, rich and poor-all who gather-may consider our history and our future in a spirit of reconciliation. www.southernfoodways.com
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: After leaving ND, I went on to do a year of AmeriCorps teaching in Tuskegee, Alabama, and then moved to the University of Mississippi to pursue a Masters Degree in Southern Studies. Now I work for an organization that uses food as a means of exploring all the same gender/ race/class issues that were first introduced to me through Gender Studies at ND.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: More student enrollment, of course!
Name: Emily Disque Hayes
Graduation year: 2002
Majors/Minors: Psychology (major) and Gender Studies (second major)
Current occupation: Education Coordinator at the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence in Jefferson City, Missouri
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: I enjoyed Gender Issues in the Law with Professor Phelps.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: I remember the energy in the air of the standing room only auditorium at the controversial first performance of the Vagina Monologues at Notre Dame. It was amazing and empowering, and I'm glad I was there to experience it.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: I began working in the anti-violence against women movement while still a student at Notre Dame. I did a Summer Service Project Internship which gave me the opportunity to live and volunteer at a domestic violence shelter. During my senior year, I volunteered at the local rape crisis center. After graduation my volunteer experiences and my Gender Studies education allowed me to transition easily into professional work in domestic violence shelters, campus rape education programs, and rape crisis centers. My current position as Education Coordinator for a state domestic violence and sexual assault coalition is the kind of work I envisioned doing. I train professionals to respond to domesticand sexual violence and stalking.I was able to get my "dream job" within five years of graduating.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I hope that Notre Dame will offer Gender Studies as a primary major and not just a supplementary major.
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Name: Shannon Kelly
Graduation year: 2002
Majors/Minors: Government & International Relations (minors: Gender Studies & Hesburgh Program in Public Service)
Current occupation: Director of Community Based Services for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Albany, NY
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: Women & Religion with Professor Heidi Ardizzone or my GS Practicum with Professor Mary Beckman.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: The Gender Studies courses at Notre Dame were a safe, academic space to explore relevant societal issues.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: The Gender Studies Program helped me to deepen my commitment to women's issues. My practicum experience with the women at the YWCA Shelter was really informative in terms of how I continue to examine non-profit service delivery with a special concern for the most marginalized populations. After graduating I spent some time working with women's groups in Latin America and eventually got my Masters in Gender & Cultural Studies of Latin America from the University of Chile. My thesis experience for that program really drew on some of the research techniques and styles I learned during my practicum experience at ND.Currently Iam working with Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Albany and continue to serve low-income women and their needs.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: My hope for the program would be that it would continue to grow and to focus on some more marginalized expressions of what it means to be a man or a woman (issues of sexual identity, third-world feminisms, etc.).
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Name: Mary Beth (Asmussen) Maginn
Graduation year: 2003
Majors/Minors: Film Television & Theatre (major); Gender Studies (minor)
Current occupation: Consultant (healthcare IT strategy)
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: Professor Sophie White's class - history of clothing.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: I participated in the Vagina Monologues the first 2 years.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: Gender issues are always in the back of my mind, in every professional or personal situation. Personally, I find myself raising awareness of gender issues to others. Professionally, I am always aware of how my clients treat men and women differently. It is difficult to be aware of this and not feel like there is much that I can do... it just seems to be the way things are, and women have to prove themselves much harder than men. I just continue to work to prove myself to gain respect as a professional woman, and raise awareness when I can.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I hope the program continues to grow with more participants and more course offerings. I would love to see a gender studies class be a requirement in the College of Arts and Letters!!
Name: Kelly Smith Gibson, MD
Graduation year: 2004
Majors/Minors: Biological Sciences, Gender Studies
Current occupation: Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cleveland, OH
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: I loved all my Gender Studies classes, but my favorite may have been my Feminist and Multicultural Theology course with professor Hilkert. More than any other class it challenged me to consider my beliefs and engage in dialogue with my feminist ideologies and my Catholic beliefs.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: Gender and women’s studies have been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember, and the Gender Studies Program was one of the reasons I came to Notre Dame. I felt more engaged and challenged by my gender studies courses than any other at Notre Dame, and I looked forward to the discussions born out of each class. I loved the program and am happy that it is continuing today.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: I have had a focus on women and issues involving them throughout my life, and I am now only working with women as an obstetrician/gynecologist. I have also always wanted to be a physician, so my Gender Studies background allowed me to learn about the obstacles that women have overcome to be in the medical (as well as many other) professions and inspire me to follow in their footsteps. By going into Women’s Health I have been able to continue my focus on women in my professional life as I care for women from their first pap smear, through childbirth, and beyond menopause.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I hope that the Program will continue to grow, continue to attract students interested in diversity and equality, and continue to challenge tradition in order to understand why we do what we do and how to better the future for all students at the University of Notre Dame.
Name: Rose Lindgren
Graduation year: 2004
Majors/Minors: Political Science (Arts and Letters Honors Program), Gender Studies (2nd Major), European Studies (Minor)
Current occupation: Small Enterprise and Non-Profit Development Extension Agent, United States Peace Corps, Togo West Africa. My gender-relevant projects include: teaching business skills to dressmaker apprentices so they can afford to buy sewing machines at the end of their training; organizing a group of peer educators to present skits and stories about HIV prevention and the importance of girls' education; coordinating a nation-wide girls scholarship program; training a local non-profit to take over administration of a summer camp to develop young people's self-confidence, knowledge of gender equality issues and motivation to overcome ethnic tension.
Outreach and Program Development, LGBT Youth, Edinburgh, Scotland. I developed an anti-homophobia outreach program to rural areas outside Edinburgh, Scotland to address the rising rate of teen suicide. I delivered workshops to education professionals, youth groups, and high school classes about the intersection of sexual health and mental health.
Administrator, Scottish Prostitutes Education Project, Edinburgh, Scotland. I facilitated the running of a small project doing outreach to sex workers all over Scotland. Our projects included condom distribution, needle exchange, advocacy, establishing links to education, drug counseling, and an 'Ugly Mugs' network where we aided women to distribute information on violent clients to avoid. We focused on women's dignity and worth within prostitution, recognizing a diversity in needs and choices among the women with whom we worked and fought the stigma, discrimination, and implicit acceptance of violence toward sex workers.
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: Engendering Theology with Mary Rose D'Angelo was a fantastically eye-opening class. I loved integrating the knowledge of the Catholic Church with a new understanding of the feminine divine. I have continued reading and studying books by the authors that Professor D'Angelo introduced to me in that class. It was particularly empowering to take a gendered theology class at a Catholic institution; I felt much better equipped to defend my feminism in the face of (let's face it) often overwhelming machismo that tried to base itself in Catholic texts and traditions.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: My experience was not only as a woman, but also as a queer woman. I found Notre Dame to be a very challenging environment. But I like to credit the experience with having formed me as an outspoken advocate for women’s' and LGBTQ rights. Thanks to the support from friends, many of whom I met in the Gender Studies classes, I found a strong community willing to face the challenge with me.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: Before my first 'Introduction to Gender Studies' class, I always felt a bit sheepish about calling myself a feminist. That class helped me to see the world, human interactions and social institutions with an entirely new lens. I now see gender in every aspect of academia and professional life. This has not only helped me to be more confident with my own feminism, but also equipped me with the ability to see others' perspectives and refuse to make judgments about others' choices. Having spent several years practicing gender-related work in the non-profit sector, I now plan to bring my gender studies education to law school.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I hope that that Gender Studies program will one day soon become a department with all the rights and benefits and responsibilities therein, enabling students to pursue an undergraduate major or graduate masters in the study. I also hope that more Notre Dame men take advantage of the fantastic breadth of the interdisciplinary study offered by the program.
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Name: Sean MacCready
Graduation year: 2004
Majors/Minors: Majors: Anthropology & Gender Studies
Current occupation: Director of Development at St. Agnes of Bohemia Catholic Elementary School, Chicago, IL
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: Gender, Race, Class, and Sexuality in Music by Professor Paula Higgins.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: From the initial welcome I received when I approached the Gender Studies program to declare a new major to the presentation of my senior thesis, I could not have been more pleased with Notre Dame's Gender Studies program. Given that gender studies was a rich source of practical applications of ideas to life at Notre Dame, it was a blessing to be engaged in a field of study where so many vibrant, heated, and yet respectful academic discussions took place.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: My Gender Studies education opened my eyes to the diversity of human experiences that we all encounter every day. Recognizing the range of expression of a concept that is so often taken for granted has allowed me to approach life with an eye for what rests underneath the surface of what we assume to be given. During my years attempting to inspire junior high students with a love of learning, I found many opportunities to use my Gender Studies background to hopefully more fully develop the hearts and minds of children whose gifts might otherwise have been overlooked.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I hope the Gender Studies department continues to grow in substance and in popularity. I would love to see the university fully embrace this wonderful collection of intellectuals advancing our knowledge of what it means to be fully human as an invaluable asset for understanding what it means to be good stewards of our divine gift of life. Also, knowing from personal experience how blessed I consider myself to have been able to learn from such strong and gifted women, I would love to see more men at Notre Dame join these women in the exploration of Gender Studies.
Name: Jessie Potish Taylor
Graduation year: 2004
Majors/Minors: Spanish and Gender Studies
Current occupation: Part-time artist, part-time activities director at an assisted living facility, and part-time dog trainer
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: Two of my most memorable classes were Marriage and Family (a sociology course) and Women in Early Christianity. Marriage and Family taught me to examine and redefine what the family unit is, and Women in Early Christianity had me questioning--in a good way--all of our conceptions of women and theology.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame: While at Notre Dame I was struck by the dichotomy on campus. On one hand the university could be very conservative and narrow-minded about gender and a woman's role. On the other hand, however, there was a progressive group of people that were redefining gender and sexuality at a Catholic university.
My proudest moment was participating in the Vagina Monologues for three years. Every year we came up against protest and condemnation, but every year we had a venue full of students and faculty supporting us.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: While Gender Studies does not play a big role in my professional life, it has certainly defined my personal life. I apply the excellence that I learned through Gender Studies at Notre Dame to every situation. Gender Studies has challenged me to be a better person, a better woman. I am constantly questioning our society's conceptions about gender and sexuality and redefining them for myself.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I am already so proud of how much the program has grown in the last five years, so keep it up! I would love to see a Gender Studies class become a requirement for all students to spur on even more conversation on campus.
Name: Katy Crone
Graduation year: 2005
Majors/Minors: Psychology (major), Gender Studies (minor)
Current occupation: I am currently completing my doctorate in clinical psychology, and I conduct therapy and psychological assessments for children, adolescents, and adults. I am completing my dissertation on the moral and identity development of females. I have also led therapy groups for adolescent females struggling with self-esteem issues.
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: My favorite professor in Gender Studies was Sophie White who presented a unique and dynamic view of feminism.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life: Professionally, I am able to view psychological issues between males, females, and transgendered individuals with a better understanding of social constructivism.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame: I hope that the gender studies program at Notre Dame will continue to work cooperatively with other schools in the university (science, liberal arts, etc).