Alum says supporting his alma mater is a great way to ensure the education he received is available for others.
Thomas O’Brien ’99 (NDP) is with his wife, Sara, and their two children, Tommy and Riley.
Many Notre Dame alums say that their high school experience set them up for future success in college and career. Many also say they wish more had the same opportunity they had in receiving such a well-rounded and high-quality secondary education.
One alum in particular, Thomas “Mac” O’Brien ’99 (NDP), said he fits squarely into both categories. But he also adds a third category: He actually is doing something about helping to make sure others get a Notre Dame education.
“You don’t get through life by yourself,” he said. “People and organizations have an impact on who you are and where you go in life. As far as a concrete example of this, I am certain that among other positive things I received from my NDP education, a recommendation letter a faculty member wrote for me had a large part in me getting into the University of Michigan.
“So when I donate to NDP, I request that my donation goes towards ‘Mary’s Way.’ This program provides students access to a Notre Dame education through scholarships and financial aid.”
For sure, O’Brien attributes his current career success in the finance industry to his high school education. And for sure, a lot of to came from his U-M education. But he doesn’t put the cart before the horse. If it wasn’t for NDP, he notes, U-M may not have gone so well for him.
“From an academic perspective, Notre Dame did a great job of mirroring the college experience,” he said. “And vice versa. There is a lot of freedom in college and I feel NDP did a good job teaching me how to take academics seriously. Entering U-M, I already had an understanding of how harmful falling behind in a subject could be and I felt that I had the necessary study habits to manage the first set of midterms and final exams.”
He said he thinks that because he started doing mid-term and final exams during his sophomore year at NDP, those exams were the most valuable experience he took into college.
“Successfully getting through your first set of college mid-terms and final exams has a huge impact on the rest of your college studies,” O’Brien said.
Traditional career path
O’Brien admits the road to his current high-level position in the financial industry was pretty conventional, almost mundane. But, he said, there was an extremely high-level of hard work and perseverance involved as well.
“My career path has been fairly traditional,” he said. “I started in an entry-level position, worked hard and did well. I earned the right to compete for promotions and I was able to gain more responsibility throughout the years.”
He said his best advice for anyone getting started in the professional world is that you need to work hard and earn each phase of your career.
“It’s important to like your job, but you need to realize that it isn’t going to be fun 100% of the time,” he said. “In fact, you probably won’t love your first job. Working hard and being a good teammate through the less-than-ideal times is what gets you noticed and helps advance your career.”
O’Brien also said one must always be an optimist.
“It sounds easy, but it’s surprisingly not as common as it should be in the professional workplace. A lot of work environments are full of people who like to complain about what isn’t working or how things should be different. It’s a negative feedback cycle that you can get sucked into.”
But, he said, avoid it at all costs. “Come into work every day with a good attitude. I promise good attitudes are noticed. And find solutions, not problems.”
‘We got crushed’
Meanwhile, even though it’s he’s heading toward a 20-year high school reunion in a few years, O’Brien still retains many Notre Dame memories as if they occurred yesterday.
“I would do a real disservice to so many teachers by rattling off a few of my favorites, but I guess I’ll point out two of the all-time greats: Mr. Borton and Mr. Rice, who were legends in the teaching game,” he said.
He also said that even though Irish football was in a real slump when he played, there is still much to love about that experience.
“During my senior year, we went 0-9 and I don’t think we lost a game by less than 21 points,” he recalled. “We got crushed literally and figuratively! But after every home game, we would go over to Dan Toffolo’s house to relax and deal with the injuries we sustained during the game. We had a lot of good laughs with a great group of players.”
O’Brien also misses many others at Notre Dame who may not have played football.
“I had a great group of friends from NDP. I also have four sisters and cousins who went to Notre Dame. The simplicity of being able to see friends and family on a regular basis in the hallways and after school is something that I truly miss. Also, I had about 90 people in my graduating class, so it was a fairly tight-knit group of students and teachers. That sense of familiarity was a very cool experience.”
Follow Notre Dame on Twitter at @NDPMA.
About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.