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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

West Lake Hall houses design department, federal TRIO programs to serve South Bend students

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West Lake Hall, where the Department of Design and TRIO programs are located.
West Lake Hall, where the department of design and Notre Dame’s TRIO programs are located.


On the west side of campus — bordered by St. Mary’s Lake, Pangborn Hall and Lake Lot — lies a building with two distinct purposes.

The second floor of West Lake Hall holds dynamic classroom spaces, computer labs offices and display areas for design programs in the College of Arts and Letters.

Within Arts and Letters, Notre Dame offers industrial design or visual communication design majors for those interested in design. They also offer a collaborative innovation minor.

Yet, West Lake Hall does not just serve as an academic building; it also serves as an integral way of serving the South Bend community.

The first floor of West Lake Hall contains classrooms and offices for the U.S. Department of Education’s TRIO Programs, guiding South Bend students as they progress through middle school, high school and the college application process.

Notre Dame hosts two TRIO college access and preparatory programs: Talent Search and Upward Bound.

Notre Dame’s TRIO Talent Search program was established in 1980, originally housed in Grace Hall. They expanded into West Lake and now serve around 750 students from grades seventh to twelfth. Students come from virtually every community school in South Bend.

Talesha Redding, an advisor for Talent Search, said the program prepares students for secondary education by offering tutoring and class mentorship. They also instill positive study habits and assist students through the college admissions process by helping them navigate FAFSA and applications, she said.

Redding works mostly with students at John Adams High School.

“We prepare workshops each week for each grade level. We also make contact with each student and plan events for all of them,” she said.

Redding and the other advisors at TRIO also organize trips to universities to show high school juniors what life as a college student is like.

“We want to give them the opportunity to experience being on campus and living on campus,” she said.

Through an immersion program in Washington D.C., Talent Search students went on college visits, watched a baseball game and visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The first floor of West Lake Hall is also home to another Notre Dame TRIO program, Upward Bound. With Notre Dame’s chapter established by Fr. Theodore Hesburgh in 1966, Upward Bound serves as one of the oldest college preparatory programs of its kind in the nation.

They offer opportunities for high school students in both the academic year and the summer to enrich their learning and gain insight into the college experience.

Upward Bound is similar to Talent Search but is more rigorous and features a smaller group of students. Whereas Talent Search helps high school and middle school students, Upward Bound only extends into the high school curriculum.

“Some students start in Talent Search then switch into Upward Bound, though it is more selective,” Redding said.

Student Jennifer Leon participated in a summer internship through Upward Bound with the Notre Dame Center for Civic Innovation, where she helped develop a Lead Remediation Kit.

She wrote of her experience on the Center for Civic Innovation website.

“Since I am still in high school, working with the Notre Dame Lead Innovation Team and learning more about lead remediation helped me gain a better perspective on public health,” she said.

Many participants in TRIO programs are potential first-generation college students who may not be aware of the options they have after high school graduation. Redding summarized the realization many students have after partnering with Talent Search and Upward Bound, saying, “I don’t have to just get a high school diploma. I can also get a secondary diploma and open up a range of options for myself and my family.”

Through her internship and work with Upward Bound, Leon uncovered the options available to her as she discerned her career path.

“Ultimately, public health became a potential area of study I could see myself wanting to explore further in the future,” she said.

Because of students like Leon, Redding said her favorite part of her work as an advisor is opening up new perspectives for students.

“It may start with just one generation, then you get several people behind you that may want to pursue a college education. It really is a wonderful thing.”