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-Amanda Peña | Monday, April 13, 2015
I’ve often wondered, “What is the point of life?” It’s a centuries-old question, so it’s not like I’m asking something profound or groundbreaking. I’ve just always thought about it more often than people know. I do believe, though, that the more important question is to understand why people start asking that question in the first
Amanda Peña | Monday, March 30, 2015
Being a university undergraduate is an interesting life experience and one a majority of people in the world are not, or may never be, privileged enough to have. Whether they actively seek to or not, university students experience an irrefutable wealth of opportunities that influence their holistic development and understanding of the world around them.
Amanda Peña | Tuesday, February 17, 2015
During my four years as an undergraduate at Notre Dame, I have witnessed most, if not all, students complain about gender relations, the hook-up culture and the social roles both males and females feel they are expected to maintain as students living on campus. These uncomfortable and sometimes tense gender relations are further validated by
Amanda Peña | Monday, February 2, 2015
We all know that February is the month of love. Romantic dates and Valentine’s hearts; candy, flowers and cards stationed around stores to seemingly taunt the single people just trying to buy groceries. I’m not going to hate on Valentine’s Day because I’m single or because I don’t have a potential prospect to even change
Amanda Peña | Monday, January 19, 2015
Most students can attest that the final semester of senior year has brought the inevitable questions of identity and has brought the future pounding at the front door. Whether you’re ready to answer it or not, the door bursts open, and you find yourself frantically racing toward employment, service, graduate school or some concrete opportunity
Amanda Peña | Monday, November 10, 2014
With construction around Notre Dame Stadium already begun, it’s difficult to imagine the 2015 commencement having a fighting chance to remain in the Stadium. The administration announced its relocation to Purcell Pavilion in August, and logistical organization is well underway. By moving the location from the Stadium back to Purcell, students will no longer have
Amanda Peña | Sunday, September 14, 2014
Two individuals I love were born in the United States, grew up in poverty as the children of Mexican immigrants and suffered in a world of gang violence, drugs and hunger until God brought them together in October 1982. Within six months they became 17-year-old teen parents and dropped out of high school to get
Amanda Peña | Friday, April 4, 2014
I remember as a kid, my cousins and I used to have underwater contests to see who could hold their breath the longest. Having asthma, I usually lost — except those times I cheated by coming up quickly to breathe and back under to pretend I had been holding my breath the entire time. I
Amanda Peña | Thursday, March 20, 2014
Studying abroad through a non-Notre Dame program has been one of the greatest experiences in my life — not simply studying abroad, but breaking out of the Notre Dame bubble while doing so. The friendships I am building with other students from schools like Vanderbilt, Tulane, USC and West Point have been gratifying and eye-opening
Amanda Peña | Thursday, February 27, 2014
Feeling out of place is a common human sentiment. In a recent conversation with my parents, they told me about a recruiting event they participated in for my younger sister, Ariana’s, university. My mom loved the opportunity to brag about her daughter, and my dad was inspired by the conversations he had with the alumni