Texas heat may not have encouraged senior Kathleen Flynn to uproot herself from her home in Seattle, but the University of Dallas was reason enough for her. She had heard of the university from her cousins who attended, and after visiting campus during Groundhog her senior year of high school, she almost immediately decided to commit to UD.
“[Students] seem to take a genuine interest in each other in a way that I haven’t seen in many other places,” Flynn said.
Beginning as an English and business double major, Flynn soon switched to an English and classics double major after realizing that she enjoyed her Greek classes too much to end them once she fulfilled her Core language requirement.
As an English major, one of her proudest moments at UD was completing the Junior Poet project. “It’s an opportunity for you to dedicate yourself to becoming excellent in a very specific way or at one very specific thing,” she said. “You get to demonstrate to your professors, but also to yourself, that you can excel and show what you’re capable of.”
After her Junior Poet semester, Flynn took off to the Due Santi campus last spring. Her dedication to giving her all while studying in Rome began with a friendly bet with her cousin on who could visit the Vatican the most times. This enthusiastic spirit and intentional travel not only allowed herself to make the most of her Rome experience, but also become a recipient of the Rome Award, which recognizes outstanding students both in and outside of the classroom.
Because she went to Rome as a junior, she at first did not know many members of her Rome class, which was primarily composed of sophomores.
“[It was a] really awesome experience starting a new semester with new faces and getting to know all of them,” she said. “They’re really phenomenal people and I’m glad I got to spend that time getting to know them.” One special moment she remembers from Rome was her very last night there, when she and her friends stayed up and enjoyed each others’ presence for the last time in Italy.
Flynn’s absolute favorite campus event of the year is Charity Week. “There’s just something happening every minute of the day that’s awesome and joyful and usually hilarious,” she said. “There is so much bonding between students and professors, and everyone gets to see a different side of each other.”
This year, Flynn will hold several campus events of her own, as she sits as the president of the Classics Club and enters her first year as the Academics Intern for the Campus Activities Board. Already, she has successfully organized the debut of the Romesick Jeopardy, featuring Drs. Saylor and Engelland as the moderators and engaging many past Romers in a fun night of trivia.
“[Working as a CAB intern] has been a lot of fun, partly because I love our team, we have an awesome team of people this year. But also putting on events and working with professors is just a delight,” Flynn said.
She hinted that more great things are lined up for CAB this semester, including the Piraeus debates in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to see her great plans come to life on campus.
While she has much to look forward to this year, Flynn said that she is especially excited to reconnect with her senior class, as she spent the last semester in Rome.
“There are so many people that I really missed seeing around campus,” she said. “There’s so many seniors that I feel like I am already getting to know better so I’m excited about that.”
Balancing her busy schedule packed with two majors and many leadership roles can be difficult at times, but Flynn embraces all that she does with equal enthusiasm.
“[It is] important to try and find joy and fulfillment in everything that you’re doing, because our vocation right now is to be students,” said Flynn. “And fulfilling your vocation should bring joy to your life, as much as it is stressful sometimes.”