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Education, Schooling, and Society Leadership Board Members

2023-2024

Olivia Harle	Lily Ryan	Maria Vaquero
Tyler Martire	Rachel Thompson
Mary Rozembajgier	Ashley Utnage

ESS Class of 2024

Sophia Alvarez

Emma Bauschard

Meg Beuter

Some 2023 Senior Thesis Topics

Effortful Control in the Puzzle Box Task In Maltreated and Non-Maltreated Youth - working with Drs. Valentio and Pentimonti

Nicole Campbell

Executive Functioning and Cognitive Mechanisms Involved in Mature Number Sense - working with Dr. Nicole McNeil

Bianca Contreras Lopez

Covid 19's Impact on Low Income Latino/Hospanic Students' Literacy Performance - working with Dr. Jodene Morrell

MyKayla Geary

From Houston, TX, MyKayla is an International Economics major and an Accounting minor. She is especially curious about forms of teaching that occur outside the classroom and "disparities in education in communities of color."

Emily Kane

Emily Kane is a senior from New Jersey majoring in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, as well as clarinet performance with honors. She conducts research with the LAMBS lab at ND on how to more effectively teach statistics. ESS has shaped how she views the world, giving her a fuller understanding of how the American education system came to be as well as how it can be changed for the better.

Alice McCullough

The Connection Between Political Sorting and Politicized Civic Education in the United States - working with Dr. David Campbell of Political Science and Dr. Collier from ESS.

Quinn McKenna

Ethics of Care in High-Poverty Classrooms -working with Dr. Maria McKenna

Annika Marshall

James Joyce's use of Dantean Sensory Impairment in Dubliners - working with Dr. J. Rosenberg

Sophia Nakfoor

Sofia is a Psychology and Economics major with a minor in Education, Schooling, and Society from Naples, Florida. She is interested in how to best improve instruction for all students and hopes to pursue a career in teaching in the future.

Madison Nemeth

Evaluating Critical Literacy within IB English Classrooms Across the U.S. - working with Dr. Maria McKenna and Dr. Ernest Morrell

Hannah Reynolds

Parental Attitudes On Vocational Education for girls in Northern Uganda - working with Dr. T.J. D'Agostino

Kayla Swiderski

The Impact of Teacher Tropes in Film and Television on Perceptions of the U.S. Education System - working with Drs. Ruiz and J. Morrell

Tia Williams

Impacts of Parent and Community Voice on Educational Landscape and Policy - working with Dr. Maria McKenna

Caroline Zitnik

The Variances in Social Studies Textbooks and their Usages in American High School Classrooms,” - working with Dr. Brian Collier & Professor Mark Johnson (2nd reader)

ESS Senior Class of 2023

Alisia Auguste

Alisia Auguste is a History major with minors in Africana Studies and ESS and comes from Newark, New Jersey. She is passionate about education in Black urban communities and plans to ensure that Black students receive high-quality educational experiences and have access to the resources and opportunities for educational success.

Emma Bartley

From Louisville, KY, Emma is a Neuroscience and Behavior major in the Glynn Family Honors Program. Emma is passionate about the intersection between education and psychology and more specifically the interplay between child maltreatment and learning.

Rose Benas

From Naperville, IL, Rose has majors in Political Science and Global Affairs. Her experience as a Writing Center tutor sparked an interest to learn about pedagogy in education. Through ESS classes, she has discovered a desire to pursue teaching.

Joonhee Bock

Joonhee is an Economics major from Torrance, CA. He is interested in equal educational opportunities within public schools. He hopes to further research education systems and pursue a career in education policy.

Adri Bodewig

Adri is from El Salvador and is pursuing majors in Economics and Global Affairs. She attended a private American school K-12 and hopes to eventually work with education systems in the international community.

Clare Brown

From Arlington Heights, IL, Clare is majoring in Sociology, Peace Studies, and ESS. Considering working for a restorative justice non-profit or going into social work, she is especially interested in restorative schools and stopping the school to prison pipeline.

Nicole Campbell

Double-majoring in Design and Neuroscience and Behavior, Nicole is from Fairfield, CT. Her end goal is a career in child development or policy. Meantime, she is interested in the idea that education can address socio-economic gaps.

Bianca Contreras Lopez

From Beaverton, OR, Bianca is majoring in English and minoring in ESS. She spent the 2022 summer working as a 9th-grade ELA teacher for a non-profit organization in Boston. Bianca hopes to pursue a career in education research and policy, specifically focusing on the educational support given to non-English speaking students and students from low-income backgrounds.

Cayla Dent

Cayla Dent is a senior at the University of Notre Dame majoring in Sociology, and minoring in Education, Schooling, and Society. She is from New Orleans, LA where she first discovered her passion for youth development. After working at a summer camp for disadvantaged youth, Cayla quickly realized America’s neglect of underprivileged children. She recognizes the need for collective and systematic, social change. After her undergraduate studies, Cayla plans to attend law school to further her studies and continue her fight to make a change. At Notre Dame, Cayla understands the importance of her scholastic and extracurricular endeavors. In her sophomore year, Cayla served as the Diversity Council Representative for Shades of Ebony, and currently serves as a scholar ambassador for first-year students, a Fighting Irish and Posse Scholar.

Emily Gates

Emily is from Buffalo, NY. Majoring in Accounting, she is interested in what works and what doesn’t in the education system largely because of the influence of one of her teachers in high school. Emily hopes to become a math professor.

MyKayla Geary

From Houston, TX, MyKayla is an International Economics major and an Accounting minor. She is especially curious about forms of teaching that occur outside the classroom and "disparities in education in communities of color."

Joey Jegier

Studying Philosophy, ESS, and German, Charlotte native Joey Jegier is interested in education both as a personal journey and as a social good. He is writing his senior thesis in ESS on the psychological foundations of academic discernment.

Emily Kane

Emily Kane is a senior from New Jersey majoring in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, as well as clarinet performance with honors. She conducts research with the LAMBS lab at ND on how to more effectively teach statistics. ESS has shaped how she views the world, giving her a fuller understanding of how the American education system came to be as well as how it can be changed for the better.

Maddie McBride

Maddie is from Dallas, TX. Studying economics, design, and education, Maddie plans to pursue a career that finds an intersection between her three academic interests.

Alice McCullough

Alice is originally from outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and studies Political Science and ESS at Notre Dame. She is particularly interested in history and civics education and plans to pursue a career in teaching after graduation.

Quinn McKenna

Quinn is from North Palm Beach, FL and is a PLS major with minors in ESS and Poverty Studies. Her interests surround international education as well as the Ethics of Care in education, and she wishes to pursue a career intersecting education and social impact.

Annika Marshall

Annika is from Portland, OR and is majoring in the Program of Liberal Studies. She enjoys learning about school choice, education law, and liberal arts education. After graduation, she may teach English or attend graduate school.

Sophia Nakfoor

Sofia is a Psychology and Economics major with a minor in Education, Schooling, and Society from Naples, Florida. She is interested in how to best improve instruction for all students and hopes to pursue a career in teaching in the future.

Madison Nemeth

Madison is from the south side of South Bend majoring in Africana Studies and Political Science. She has researched hip hop pedagogy and is interested in reforming education to be more inclusive of minority students.

Marcello Olivares

I am currently attending Business School of Mendoza and I Major in Business Analytics and have a minor in ESS. I chose ESS as a minor as it grabbed my attention to learn how the American Schooling system is so diverse and how kids who live in poverty are affected day to day.

Hannah Reynolds

Hannah is from Rumson, NJ majoring in Economics and Global Affairs with a concentration in International Development Studies. Her two majors and minor in ESS have formed her interest in international education development. After spending her summer researching vocational education for girls in rural Uganda, she hopes to pursue a career in international education research and policy.

Sarah Rodriguez

Sarah is an Accounting major from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. She has been interested in education since she was a child. Given her own experiences as a student, she is especially interested in the achievement gap.

Meghan Rupnik

Meghan is from Springfield, Illinois, majoring in Business Analytics. She hopes to one day pursue a career in education policy in order to dismantle inequality and create change within school systems.

Aerin Scalco

Aerin is from San Diego, California, majoring in psychology with a minor in Education, Schooling, & Society. Her personal interests are grounded in the support for underrepresented groups and amplifying their voices. She firmly believes in place-based education and hopes to one day help strengthen schools in Native American communities like her own Native community.

Kiara Schmidt

From southern California, Kiara is an American Studies major. She has first-hand knowledge of the impact teachers have on their students because of her mom, a teacher who now works as a professional development specialist.

Natalie Selover

Natalie is an International Economics major and Poverty Studies minor from Atlanta, GA. She is interested in the intersection of good, equitable education and economic development and the factors that drive effective teaching and policy.

Caroline Smith

Caroline is from Maryland and is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Poverty Studies. She is interested in the impact of early childhood interventions on children from low-income backgrounds, especially English language learners.

Kayla Swiderski

Majoring in Political Science and American Studies, Kayla grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. She's curious about the role of the teacher as it extends beyond instruction, and school desegregation as a moral imperative.

Theresa Villa

Theresa is a Neuroscience and Behavior major from Stuart, FL. She is interested in how education affects development in early childhood and throughout the rest of one's life.

Juliet Webb

An Anthropology and Peace Studies major from Larchmont, NY, Juliet has dreamed of being a teacher since she was six. Inspired by relationships with her own teachers, Juliet is currently researching how literacy fosters trust between students and educators. Eventually, she hopes to go into school leadership and administration, but not before teaching a class of her own!

Tia Williams

Tia grew up in New Orleans “loving to learn and wanting to learn more.” She is pursuing a degree in Mendoza because of her interest in nonprofit work. Tia is also interested in becoming a teacher.

Caroline Zitnik

Caroline is a history and Spanish major from Robertsdale, Alabama. She believes that education is the best way to ensure the success of all children. Following graduation, Caroline will pursue a master's of education through the ACE program.

Recent Alumni

Class of 2022

Alisia Auguste

Alisia Auguste is a History major with minors in Africana Studies and ESS and comes from Newark, New Jersey. She is passionate about education in Black urban communities and plans to ensure that Black students receive high-quality educational experiences and have access to the resources and opportunities for educational success.

Emma Bartley

From Louisville, KY, Emma is a Neuroscience and Behavior major in the Glynn Family Honors Program. Emma is passionate about the intersection between education and psychology and more specifically the interplay between child maltreatment and learning.

Rose Benas

From Naperville, IL, Rose has majors in Political Science and Global Affairs. Her experience as a Writing Center tutor sparked an interest to learn about pedagogy in education. Through ESS classes, she has discovered a desire to pursue teaching.

Joonhee Bock

Joonhee is an Economics major from Torrance, CA. He is interested in equal educational opportunities within public schools. He hopes to further research education systems and pursue a career in education policy.

Adri Bodewig

Adri is from El Salvador and is pursuing majors in Economics and Global Affairs. She attended a private American school K-12 and hopes to eventually work with education systems in the international community.

Clare Brown

From Arlington Heights, IL, Clare is majoring in Sociology, Peace Studies, and ESS. Considering working for a restorative justice non-profit or going into social work, she is especially interested in restorative schools and stopping the school to prison pipeline.

Nicole Campbell

Double-majoring in Design and Neuroscience and Behavior, Nicole is from Fairfield, CT. Her end goal is a career in child development or policy. Meantime, she is interested in the idea that education can address socio-economic gaps.

Bianca Contreras Lopez

From Beaverton, OR, Bianca is majoring in English and minoring in ESS. She spent the 2022 summer working as a 9th-grade ELA teacher for a non-profit organization in Boston. Bianca hopes to pursue a career in education research and policy, specifically focusing on the educational support given to non-English speaking students and students from low-income backgrounds.

Cayla Dent

Cayla Dent is a senior at the University of Notre Dame majoring in Sociology, and minoring in Education, Schooling, and Society. She is from New Orleans, LA where she first discovered her passion for youth development. After working at a summer camp for disadvantaged youth, Cayla quickly realized America’s neglect of underprivileged children. She recognizes the need for collective and systematic, social change. After her undergraduate studies, Cayla plans to attend law school to further her studies and continue her fight to make a change. At Notre Dame, Cayla understands the importance of her scholastic and extracurricular endeavors. In her sophomore year, Cayla served as the Diversity Council Representative for Shades of Ebony, and currently serves as a scholar ambassador for first-year students, a Fighting Irish and Posse Scholar.

Emily Gates

Emily is from Buffalo, NY. Majoring in Accounting, she is interested in what works and what doesn’t in the education system largely because of the influence of one of her teachers in high school. Emily hopes to become a math professor.

MyKayla Geary

From Houston, TX, MyKayla is an International Economics major and an Accounting minor. She is especially curious about forms of teaching that occur outside the classroom and "disparities in education in communities of color."

Joey Jegier

Studying Philosophy, ESS, and German, Charlotte native Joey Jegier is interested in education both as a personal journey and as a social good. He is writing his senior thesis in ESS on the psychological foundations of academic discernment.

Emily Kane

Emily Kane is a senior from New Jersey majoring in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, as well as clarinet performance with honors. She conducts research with the LAMBS lab at ND on how to more effectively teach statistics. ESS has shaped how she views the world, giving her a fuller understanding of how the American education system came to be as well as how it can be changed for the better.

Maddie McBride

Maddie is from Dallas, TX. Studying economics, design, and education, Maddie plans to pursue a career that finds an intersection between her three academic interests.

Alice McCullough

Alice is originally from outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and studies Political Science and ESS at Notre Dame. She is particularly interested in history and civics education and plans to pursue a career in teaching after graduation.

Quinn McKenna

Quinn is from North Palm Beach, FL and is a PLS major with minors in ESS and Poverty Studies. Her interests surround international education as well as the Ethics of Care in education, and she wishes to pursue a career intersecting education and social impact.

Annika Marshall

Annika is from Portland, OR and is majoring in the Program of Liberal Studies. She enjoys learning about school choice, education law, and liberal arts education. After graduation, she may teach English or attend graduate school.

Sophia Nakfoor

Sofia is a Psychology and Economics major with a minor in Education, Schooling, and Society from Naples, Florida. She is interested in how to best improve instruction for all students and hopes to pursue a career in teaching in the future.

Madison Nemeth

Madison is from the south side of South Bend majoring in Africana Studies and Political Science. She has researched hip hop pedagogy and is interested in reforming education to be more inclusive of minority students.

Marcello Olivares

I am currently attending Business School of Mendoza and I Major in Business Analytics and have a minor in ESS. I chose ESS as a minor as it grabbed my attention to learn how the American Schooling system is so diverse and how kids who live in poverty are affected day to day.

Hannah Reynolds

Hannah is from Rumson, NJ majoring in Economics and Global Affairs with a concentration in International Development Studies. Her two majors and minor in ESS have formed her interest in international education development. After spending her summer researching vocational education for girls in rural Uganda, she hopes to pursue a career in international education research and policy.

Sarah Rodriguez

Sarah is an Accounting major from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. She has been interested in education since she was a child. Given her own experiences as a student, she is especially interested in the achievement gap.

Meghan Rupnik

Meghan is from Springfield, Illinois, majoring in Business Analytics. She hopes to one day pursue a career in education policy in order to dismantle inequality and create change within school systems.

Aerin Scalco

Aerin is from San Diego, California, majoring in psychology with a minor in Education, Schooling, & Society. Her personal interests are grounded in the support for underrepresented groups and amplifying their voices. She firmly believes in place-based education and hopes to one day help strengthen schools in Native American communities like her own Native community.

Kiara Schmidt

From southern California, Kiara is an American Studies major. She has first-hand knowledge of the impact teachers have on their students because of her mom, a teacher who now works as a professional development specialist.

Natalie Selover

Natalie is an International Economics major and Poverty Studies minor from Atlanta, GA. She is interested in the intersection of good, equitable education and economic development and the factors that drive effective teaching and policy.

Caroline Smith

Caroline is from Maryland and is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Poverty Studies. She is interested in the impact of early childhood interventions on children from low-income backgrounds, especially English language learners.

Kayla Swiderski

Majoring in Political Science and American Studies, Kayla grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. She's curious about the role of the teacher as it extends beyond instruction, and school desegregation as a moral imperative.

Theresa Villa

Theresa is a Neuroscience and Behavior major from Stuart, FL. She is interested in how education affects development in early childhood and throughout the rest of one's life.

Juliet Webb

An Anthropology and Peace Studies major from Larchmont, NY, Juliet has dreamed of being a teacher since she was six. Inspired by relationships with her own teachers, Juliet is currently researching how literacy fosters trust between students and educators. Eventually, she hopes to go into school leadership and administration, but not before teaching a class of her own!

Tia Williams

Tia grew up in New Orleans “loving to learn and wanting to learn more.” She is pursuing a degree in Mendoza because of her interest in nonprofit work. Tia is also interested in becoming a teacher.

Caroline Zitnik

Caroline is a history and Spanish major from Robertsdale, Alabama. She believes that education is the best way to ensure the success of all children. Following graduation, Caroline will pursue a master's of education through the ACE program.