Senior is getting Ivy interest, says Notre Dame opened him up to a ‘new way of thinking.’
(Updated Nov. 1, 2016)
With Notre Dame now into its third month of the new school year, Luke Adams will be the first to tell you that homework has been a big part of his busy schedule since the summer break. Like many at Notre Dame, this senior spent the summer fielding overtures from quite a few colleges and universities. In his case, those included Ivy League schools Harvard, Yale and Columbia. He’s also just wrapped up his final season as a member of the Fighting Irish football team — something he said he’s really going to miss.
This was the fourth straight season that Adams has started for Notre Dame’s varsity football team.
Adams, who serves as one of Notre Dame’s special student ambassadors, said that when he graduates in May, he also will miss the academics as well as the overall Notre Dame experience, from which he said he’s gained a whole new perspective of the entire world.
“Simply put, NDPMA has opened me up to a new way of thinking,” he said. “Prior to Notre Dame, I was quick to make judgements about most anything — people, classes, teachers, etc. Now I find myself embracing a plethora of new things and engaging groups of people and subjects I would have never been exposed to had I not attended this school.”
He also said that joining new clubs like the Multicultural Alliance Club (Adams is current club president) has opened him up to a lot of real issues he might have previously ignored. Plus, Notre Dame has challenged him, he said, in ways that no other secondary school could have challenged him.
“At Notre Dame, I also have learned the value of time management, perseverance and have developed peer-group leadership skills due to the fact that our faculty constantly strives to bring the best out of every student,” Adams said. “And the curriculum at NDP really connects what we're studying to events outside the classroom, which allows me to look at my schoolwork not as just studying chapters but as a key to understanding the world.”
So what does a potential Ivy League grad think about for a future career?
“Well, at Notre Dame, I have found a love for mathematics and economics,” he said. “I think these two subject areas have so many real-life applications, and when combined can lead to some interesting careers opportunities. That being said, having some kind of finance/economics major along with a concentration or double major in mathematics. If I'm dreaming big, I would like to become a corporate CFO one day. However, I can see myself using my finance/economics degree to become a bond trader, fund manager or financial analyst as well.”
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
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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." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, 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.