This August, ILS officially welcomed its tenth cohort of merit scholars to campus: Andres Angel, Emily Frias, Giovanni Gonzalez, Kyle Horvath, Diego Patino, and Kyara Santana Roman. As the newest members of the Latino Studies Scholars Program (LSSP), we marched up the steps of Bond Hall during Welcome Weekend to connect with the faculty, staff, mentors, and community who will support us over the next four years.
Before arriving on campus, we embarked on a transformative wilderness bonding trip with WONDER. Hosted in partnership with Wyoming Catholic College (WCC), and previous Notre Dame faculty Illaria Schnyder, WONDER was founded by Schnyder as a means of taking a break and experiencing the “wonder” in nature. Before meeting in person, we introduced ourselves over Zoom in the days leading up to the trip. Our first interactions at the Utah airport were filled with nervous excitement, as it was the first significant outdoor experience for most of us.
For five nights, we immersed ourselves in Utah’s captivating surroundings. After learning important wilderness skills alongside WONDER instructors, we spent our days hiking across challenging terrains and our evenings gathered under the stars for deep, reflective conversations where everybody shared their story. Each testimony was filled with raw, faithful, and funny sentiments, where our bond strengthened more each day. Moving beyond the formal labels of scholarship recipients or friends, we transformed into something far deeper: una familia.
“I expected WONDER to be a hard, learning experience that would make me uncomfortable but in the end, it ended up helping me grow as a person. I wasn’t expecting to meet and grow alongside some of the most incredible people that I can truly call my friends, and have the most magical experience that I’ll be remembering for a while. I loved WONDER, and I love the people I met through it,” said Diego Patino.
Despite nights when rain left us with wet boots, days when the weight of our backpacks seemed unbearable, and evenings when the dishes seemed impossible to clean, our smiles never faded. We learned something new each day, and laughter became an integral part of the trip.
Kyle Horvath shared,“Who ever knew being stripped of my ‘modern boy life’ and forced to cook with a chemical burner would soon bring such wonderful blessings? Although my days consisted of sitting in a circle, eating out of the same bowl of couscous with my cooking mates, or fearing yet another battle wound as I cut our next ingredient, experiences such as these brought me both close connections I’d bring to Notre Dame, and faith that one week of observing Angela’s splendid seasoning skills bid farewell to my horrible cooking!”
Alongside us throughout the experience was alumni mentor Angela Olvera, a member of Notre Dame’s graduating Class of 2026 and LSSP Cohort 6.
“As someone who has done WONDER twice, once as an incoming freshman, and now as an alum, I can appreciate its impact tenfold. Seeing the incoming LSSP students be vulnerable with one another and come together only leaves me more excited for the future of our scholars program. LSSP 10 consists of the brightest and kindest young adults I’ve met and I can’t wait to see how Notre Dame will allow them to flourish,” Olvera said.
Angela’s mentorship was an integral part of our experience, and will continue to guide us, as we draw inspiration from her own journey as a Notre Dame student.
Although we gained a newfound appreciation of our modern commodities when we returned home, each day taught us something new, and each night we found solace in one another. In the woods, we discovered a sense of liveliness that will be impossible to take away, and we will carry with us throughout our time at Notre Dame.
Bound by shared faith, leadership values, and our identity as una familia, we begin our time at Notre Dame with relationships forged in the wilderness and a community that will accompany us throughout the journey ahead, prepared to enrich both Notre Dame and the communities we will serve beyond it.
