Week 8-Integration Three Peter O’Connor Moreau FYE Mr. Retartha 4 March, 2022 The Well Lived Life of Peter O’Connor On March 1st, 2093 Peter Fell O’Connor passed away from this Earth at the age of 93. He is survived by his wife that he met at the University of Notre Dame, their three children, and his 15 grandchildren. Peter attended the University of Notre Dame from 2021 until 2025 and received a Bachelors in Business Administration from the Mendoza College of Business. After he graduated college he moved to New York City where he got a job in finance. Peter grew up in the digital age where society shifted all of their focus online. “The amount of data humanity will collect while you’re reading The Art of Stillness is five times greater than the amount that exists in the entire Library of Congress.”(Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). During this era technology rapidly expanded from small “flip-phone” style communication devices to the advanced interconnected communications network we have today. He was alive for the creation of virtual reality and the first electronic vehicles. His experience with new technology was influential in his development as a person and as a student. The access to unlimited information and perspective made him a citizen of the world. One of the most important chapters of his life was his time at the University of Notre Dame. His college experience began as a Gateway student spending his first year at both Holy Cross College and Notre Dame. He met lifelong friends at the school and enjoyed many different experiences. Some highlights of his time there include his involvement with SIBC, NDIC, New https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ Jersey Club, and of course watching Notre Dame win three straight National Championships in football. He was always proud of his University's impact on the world and especially the legacy of Fr. Ted Hesburgh. “Father Hesburgh was one of the giants of the Civil Rights movement”(“Hesburgh” by Correta Scott King - Moreau FYE Week Two). Fr. Ted’s legacy continues to be an essential part of the University and something that Peter tried to emulate in his life. The phrase “God, Country, Notre Dame” is so important to Peter that he had a plaque of it on his desk for every day of his working career. Notre Dame is a place Peter forever loved which inspired his three children and so far seven of his grandchildren to attend. Peter always tried to live a happy life in everything he did. Joy was something that was important to him and it came in many different ways throughout his life. “Joy, on the other hand, is much deeper and much more central, it comes from within, and it’s a genuine rightness of how one lives one’s life.”(“Meet the nun who wants you to remember that you will die” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three) One thing that was always constant was the joy he got from the Jersey Shore. His desire to improve his community in all aspects is something that made him want to continue to live. He ran for school board in his hometown of Rumson and served as a school board member and eventually president for 20 years. In that time he vastly improved Rumson schools, especially his alma mater Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. Peter always found joy in his community whether it be his work, school, home, or family. Peter’s career was something that was very important to him. Working in Finance was a goal of his since the beginning of high school and he was very proud to have realized that goal after graduating college. “Planning your career is much like planning for a trip” (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Merulo Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four). Peter planned out what was necessary to advance his career in a very methodical way. He https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/ worked hard on what was required of him but still left time to work on what he cared about. Meeting people and making connections was something Peter did to be genuine and make new friends not to add names to a network for Linkedin. Career planning is not an easy job but it was a job Peter knew he needed to do. People who knew Peter described him as funny, creative, energetic, and genuine. When people talked he listened to them and when Peter talked people listened. From the beginning of his college experience his friends knew that Peter valued success not only in himself but in those around him. (Moreau FYE Week Five). He would do whatever was necessary to help a friend reach their full potential. Helping others was something he enjoyed and something he wanted to do. Self-reflection was an incredibly important aspect of Peter’s life especially in prayer. “This means that the act of thinking about ourselves isn’t necessarily correlated with knowing ourselves.”(“The right way to be introspective( yes, there's a wrong way)” by Tasha Eurich - Moreau FYE Week Six). Peter practiced self reflection at least once a week in church. Going to weekly Mass was an important part of Peter’s Catholic identity that affected his daily life. Being a Catholic was a tradition that he received from his parents and grandparents and passed down to his children and grandchildren. During weekly mass Peter would use the opportunity to reflect on his past week and pray for those that were important to him and what was going on in the world around him. Happiness was important to Peter as it is to every human being. Some things that brought Peter happiness but are not limited to the New England Patriots, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Boston Red Sox, Tottenham Hotspur FC, the Boston Bruins, his children, his grandchildren, the Jersey Shore, the winter, and Twitter. But happiness is more than a single thing. “Happiness https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/ can only be discovered as a gift of harmony between the whole and each single component”(“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week Seven). Peter always tried to find happiness in the whole and as friends of his we can say that he was successful. Peter O’Connor lived a life well-lived and we were blessed to know him. https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript