Last Sunday evening, upon arriving to O’Hare airport on an international flight, I boarded the Coach USA bus to Notre Dame campus, but it was already totally occupied by ND students returning from their break. My alternative was to wait for the next bus and arrive to South Bend by midnight. The conductor asked if someone would volunteer to give his seat, which was certainly an impossible proposition, but to my astonishment a student offer me his place while he sat uncomfortably on the metallic stair close to the exit door. This young man didn’t know that I have not slept for more than 20 hours, that I was exhausted and that I was not feeling well. He only saw a woman who could have been his grandmother, and he didn’t vacillate to help me. I want to express my deep thanks to this young man, Ben, for his kind gesture, which well reflects “the spirit” of Notre Dame.
Isis Quinteros
professor emerita
Saint Mary's College
Oct. 29
