Capstone Moreau.pdf


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Father Kevin

Moreau Capstone Assignment

April 14, 2022

As I have come to settle into Notre Dame, the second semester has allowed me to accept

this new way of life and not take it for granted. During the first semester, despite the excitement

of such new experiences, getting used to life alone was extremely difficult and I wanted nothing

more than to be home surrounded by my family and friends. Getting adjusted to the workload

and building new time management skills took the entire semester to figure out. I started having

doubts about whether this school was the right fit for me and whether I would be able to ever feel

like I belonged here. During Christmas break, I wasn’t sure anymore I wanted to be a doctor. It

wasn’t until coming back for the second semester that I really made school my only priority and

worked harder than I ever had. While I still need to work harder, I made improvement from the

beginning of the year and am sure I am taking the pre-med track for my career.

Instead of feeling dissatisfied and disappointed with ourselves, we can take our hardships

and turn them into opportunities for learning. Dr. Kim’s video proves that over-analyzing a

situation will only bring us more suffering and dissatisfaction with the state of our lives. We

usually tend to focus on the negative when we are doing reflection because it is the easiest thing

to focus on. We sometimes think that our conditions are so bad but others wish they could have

what we do . This also connects to what Eurich states, “Asking “why?” in one study appeared to

cause the participants to fixate on their problems instead of moving forward” (Week 6 Eurich).



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When thinking about what I want for my future and career, I know what I want to do but

I know that it is possible for my plan to change. I want to become more involved in different

activities and research opportunities to see if I find my abilities are better suited for them. Father

Michael Himes helped me to narrow down my real passions and goals that I want my future to

entail. His three questions revolve around doing something in the future that is not only going to

benefit the world, but is also going to benefit you in the long run (Week 3 Himes). The first

question really resonated with me in that I want to pursue a career that I know I will truly enjoy

and want to do because I want to do it myself - not because it is a “successful” career or because

someone else expects me to. While hard, I really enjoy the classes that I am taking and know I

am benefitting from the work I do. In terms of the second question, I had to ask myself if I can

approach the career that I am pursuing, pre-med in neuroscience, an environment where I can

thrive in. Hime describes this as genuine humble openness to other people’s direction and I

believe that this is the only career I can see myself in. I want to positively impact others in the

medical field the same way that I was helped, which answers this third question that has pursued

me.

Complaining about the hardships of having to move away from home and to live on your

own will never get one anywhere. Instead, we need to be optimistic and realize the opportunities

that lie before us. Being able to attend Notre Dame and get this high-level education has filled

me with gratitude for the chances this university has given me. Father Hesburgh was able to pass

on the great morals he carried and the way he changed life all around him. His film allowed me



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to see education for what it truly is: “I believed education had to have morals, but there had to be

a way to balance faith and academics” (Week 2 Hesburgh Film). Father Hesburgh allowed me to

see that having this education is not only a chance to do something great in the future, a hope of

transcendence. It is also an opportunity to grow right now, every day, as we interact with one

another and get through the hardest assignments that seem so tedious.

I also learned the importance of mentors throughout my journey, not only here at Notre

Dame but throughout life. This mentoring comes from a palace of a “kind of tough love” as

Sharon Daloz Parks calls it (Week 4 Parks). As Reifenberg talks about, through support,

guidance, and challenge, mentors are able to inspire us as students to desire the feeling for

change of others and within oneself. “There’s an element of mystery, of openness, of trust, in

accompaniment” where the companion says “I’ll share your fate for a while” (Week 10

Reifenberg 4). Mentors are also crucial in teaching us how to work with one another when

divisions turn up. This problem can be seen as Mary Shelley’s modern Frankenstein conflict

where individuals have become so divided over their beliefs. Religion and politics are some of

the topics that have created the most tension over the past years and leaders are needed to settle

arguments (Week 5 Frankeinstein). Our contradicting beliefs have led us to become aggressive

and even violent towards one another. As Pope Francis mentioned, the main hope for this issue is

remembering that we need each other because everything is ultimately connected. Through the

implementation of solidarity in all aspects of life, not just professionally, is the main way to put

people first instead of products. It seems to be that much of this conflict comes from fighting for

what benefits one in such of the cases mentioned above, many having to do with wealth and

products. But what if caring for the wellbeing of others came first? Perhaps many of us would



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start to shift our beliefs towards more similar things. As Pope Francis said, love is the meaning

and source of life, and that can only be achieved through one another (Week 5 Pope Francis).

With love and the experiences of this year, I am excited to see how I implement this into my

future years here at Notre Dame and into the future.



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