From New Mexico to Notre Dame: Bjorn Mauritsen’s Journey of Religion, Enjoyable, and Objective | Tales & News | Go to & Interact | Undergraduate Admissions

When he was in sixth grade, a scholar from Artesia, NM—a desert city with 5 stoplights, Friday night time soccer satisfaction, and extra church buildings than you’d assume potential—informed his P.E. coach he was going to Notre Dame.

At the time, admits Bjorn Mauritsen ’26, he wasn’t completely positive the place Notre Dame even was. “I got Indiana and Louisiana mixed up,” he laughs. “But I knew the school stood for the same three things that mattered most to me and my hometown: faith, family, and football.”

Years later, that dream grew to become actuality. He inspired his older sister to use first, “at least partly to make me happy,” he says. When she was admitted, it made the dream really feel extra potential. “It wasn’t really a question of what I wanted,” he says. “It was whether or not I’d get it.”

Now a senior finding out political science, Mauritsen has spent his time at Notre Dame embracing each alternative to discover the world and his goal inside it. He has studied overseas in South Africa and Australia, labored with entrepreneurs and native nonprofits, and plans to pursue civil litigation legislation after commencement.

“There’s no shortage of people who need help, especially in New Mexico,” he says. “I’d like to be one of the people who goes back.”

But the transition to varsity life removed from residence wasn’t straightforward at first. He acquired a head begin navigating change when he and his household made the troublesome choice to ship him and his youthful brother to a small Catholic highschool in Utah in the course of the top of COVID-19.

The first six months, a lot of the college 12 months in reality, had been robust, Mauritsen admits. “But it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” By the time he arrived at Notre Dame, he knew how a lot mindset mattered.

“I told myself, if I don’t make friends here, that’s what I’ll regret most. So I put myself out there,” he says.

From climbing bushes on the quad to working into future pals throughout soccer sport watch events, he discovered that connection got here naturally on campus, and particularly within the residence halls.

“Notre Dame feels a lot like a small town,” he says. “You can be yourself here and be supported in what you want to do.”

For him, a few of these issues included being co-president of Dillon Hall, serving to to re-open and run the corridor’s meals stand, Bullwinkle’s, and he grew to become a godfather by way of Campus Ministry’s RCIA program. He can be a rural and small city intern for Notre Dame admissions.

To college students from rural or small-town backgrounds, Mauritsen’s recommendation is easy: “Don’t underestimate yourself. You have something unique to offer. And if you’re worried about leaving everything behind, know this: at Notre Dame, people care. You’ll find support. And more than that, you’ll be encouraged to live with purpose.”

Watch the video above to listen to extra about Bjorn Mauritsen’s Notre Dame journey.

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