PORTADA
UNIVERSITY OF
NOTRE DAME SOUTHEAST ASIA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 03 STUDENT PROFILES
11 ALUMNI PROFILES
NOTRE DAME | SOUTHEAST ASIA
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STUDENT PROFILES
Daniel Ramachandra
Pascal Phoa
Jocelyn Susilo
Dinh Thi Lan Anh
Jacqueline Brebeck
Connie Chen
Herman Tong
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STUDENT PROFILES
I chose Notre Dame because of its community. Notre Dame students have an unrivaled sense of pride and are excited to expand the family. The combination of academics, athletics, and moral fortitude really made Notre Dame stand out. Notre Dame is more than just an academic institution; it provides a uniquely immersive experience, which is especially important for someone from far away.
DANIEL RAMACHANDRA SINGAPORE CLASS OF 2019 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
I have been involved with several activities at Notre Dame. For example, I have been on recreational sports teams, been to Appalachia for a service trip, participated in design teams for a hybrid race car, studied abroad for a summer and a semester, and been a peer advisor for first year students. I also founded Grassroot Soccer, a service organization that aims to improve worldwide health awareness through soccer through fundraisers and publicity campaigns. My favorite experience at Notre Dame was participating in an Appalachian seminar, a week-long volunteering trip to West Virginia, during the spring semester of my first year. As an international student, finding a support structure early on was a huge benefit, and the Appalachian seminar brought me in touch with people I wouldn’t usually have class with and greatly expanded my friend group. It also allowed me to experience a part of the U.S. that I wouldn’t have been aware of otherwise, which was a great learning opportunity in itself.
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STUDENT PROFILES
The first time Notre Dame came to my mind as a place to go to college was when I stepped on this campus. It was the middle of the summer and everything was just so perfect. The campus was beautiful, the people I met were so welcoming, and the overall “work hard play hard� culture was something I really loved.
JOCELYN SUSILO JAKARTA, INDONESIA CLASS OF 2019 FINANCE AND APPLIED AND COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS
As a finance and applied and computational mathematics and statistics (ACMS) major, I really looked for activities that would provide more than just the theory in the classroom. I found communities in clubs such as Unleashed Social Ventures and the Student International Business Council (SIBC), where students work in teams on semester-long case studies with partner companies. I also got real-world experience through the Notre Dame Institute for Global Investing, where I was selected as one of the Investment Management Leaders. My favorite experience has definitely been taking the Applied Investment Management (AIM) course. This finance course is typically for seniors, however, I was lucky enough to take it in my junior year and it has honestly been one of the most challenging yet rewarding classes I have taken. The course allows its students to act as investment analysts who assess the real-world AIM portfolio valued at around $14 million. The combination of theory and application is exciting to see in a classroom and surely an experience to remember.
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STUDENT PROFILES
The reason I chose Notre Dame can be summed up in one word: family. The community that exists here is truly unparalleled and unique, permeating through all social barriers to reach every single person and make them feel at home. I also chose Notre Dame for its focus on a liberal arts education and goal of shaping open-minded and independent students who will use their education for the greater good.
DINH THI LAN ANH HO CHI MINH CITY, VIET NAM CLASS OF 2021 MUSIC THEORY AND HISTORY
The extracurricular activities that I participate in are definitely the highlights of my life at Notre Dame. I sing with the Notre Dame Chorale and the Notre Dame Folk Choir, and I am also a part of the Vietnamese Students Association (VSA), where we create activities to promote the Vietnamese culture. Over fall break, I participated in a week-long immersion program in Fort Wayne with the Centre for Social Concerns to learn about mental illnesses and how people can recover from them through work and community. Singing with the two choirs I am part of has been one of the highlights at Notre Dame. The friendships I have made and the support that I have received from my fellow choir members really helped me integrate into the community. Last semester, the Folk Choir performed a concert in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and all proceeds went to Yancana Huasy, a Holy Cross international mission located in Lima, Peru, that works towards improving the quality of life for impoverished children. It felt great to enjoy myself while having a positive impact on those in need.
AND PRE-HEALTH STUDIES
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STUDENT PROFILES
I chose Notre Dame because of the values that are so strongly ingrained into the student body. Notre Dame not only cares about one’s academic and athletic ability, but also about students’ spiritual and mental well-being, which I believe is very important in helping me grow and develop as a person.
CONNIE CHEN TAICHUNG, TAIWAN CLASS OF 2021 FINANCE AND PSYCHOLOGY
I am currently a part of JIFFI, a microfinance non-profit company, where I advise people and organizations on issues related to pay-day loans. I also sit on FUEL, the Student Government branch for first-years, where I design and implement policies to bring more unification and inclusion to Notre Dame. Lastly, I participate in the Student International Business Council (SIBC), a student-run business organization, and am the first-year representative for the Taiwanese Student Association. My favorite experience at Notre Dame so far was the day-trip to Chicago with my SIBC consulting team. Throughout the semester, we analyzed plausible Medicare value-based care models for the Michigan Medical Advantage market. At the end of the semester, we traveled to present our final recommendations to Healthscape Advisors, a healthcare-based consulting firm. I grew so much from this experience and was able to work with some of the brightest students on campus.
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STUDENT PROFILES
I chose Notre Dame because I want to be a force of good in society. Notre Dame not only makes its students intelligent and well-rounded through its liberal arts curriculum and student activities, but it also stresses the development of the heart. We need more individuals who are intellectually gifted, have great interpersonal skills, and at the same time are kind-hearted in society. Notre Dame is the place to find a balance of these three attributes.
PASCAL PHOA JAKARTA, INDONESIA CLASS OF 2021 COMPUTER SCIENCE
I am part of the Notre Dame Militia of Immaculata, a Catholic group, where we gather weekly to learn about Mother Mary. I also participate in the Futsal Soccer Club and Computer Science for Good, where we sign up for projects that help the local community in anything related to computer science. I have two jobs on campus: one at the North Dining Hall and another one at Starbucks. Lastly, I am excited about starting research in artificial intelligence and/or machine learning soon. My favorite experience at Notre Dame has been the football games. I found that they really highlight the family aspect of Notre Dame. Although I knew nothing about football coming in, I eventually became a fanatic. There was something magical about 80,000 people cheering for the Irish and embracing each other to sing the alma mater after the game. Week after week, these games remind me of the strong and supportive community that we have at Notre Dame.
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STUDENT PROFILES
I chose Notre Dame because I loved the combination of strong school spirit, academics, and morality. Everyone I talked to, from current undergraduates to 30-year-old alumni, was adamant that it is the best college environment one can find. This demonstrated how Notre Dame inspires great pride and camaraderie in its students; that was also something I was looking for, and I have definitely found it here.
JACQUELINE BREBECK TAPEI, TAIWAN CLASS OF 2019 ACCOUNTING
At Notre Dame, I have had a variety of special opportunities. Currently, I am working at the Environmental Change Initiative on a tool to help U.S. cities understand their vulnerability to and readiness for climate change. Additionally, I have participated in and gained a leadership position in Unleashed Social Ventures, the premier impact investing club on campus. I also teach fitness classes at RecSports, play on recreational sports teams, and tutor students at the Writing Center. My favorite experience was working for Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem, a non-profit organization in South Bend, over the summer. I worked with a team of students and professionals to analyze the housing quality in southeastern South Bend and develop and implement solutions to improve the lighting in low-income communities. This internship was a great way to connect with Notre Dame’s surrounding communities, and it was very fulfilling to see how our projects made a real impact on many people.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY MINORS
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STUDENT PROFILES
I chose Notre Dame because of its rigorous academic curriculum as well as its strong sense of community. When selecting a university, I prioritized academic quality and school spirit and, from my brother’s experience attending Notre Dame, I knew that Notre Dame excelled at both criteria.
HERMAN TONG HONG KONG CLASS OF 2019 COMPUTER SCIENCE
As a computer science major, I am very involved with the College of Engineering. I have served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for the Discrete Mathematics course and, as an undergraduate researcher, have been partaking in a project to detect copyright violation on internet live streams. I have learned a lot by collaborating with bright professors and graduate students. My favorite experience was seeing the final result of the research project. After a long semester of hard work, it was great to finally see a working product. I never would have expected that I would be creating something so intricate as an undergraduate student. With the help of my experienced team, I was able to acquire skills that might have been beyond my reach had I limited my learning experience to the classroom. This project also helped me get an internship at Microsoft next summer, where I am excited to continue learning.
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ALUMNI PROFILES
LEE LIN
JAY JHAVERI
PEDRO NEMALCEFF
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LEE LIN CLASS OF 2009
ALUMNI PROFILES
ARCHITECTURE BANGKOK, THAILAND
WORK EXPERIENCE
FAVORITE THING ABOUT NOTRE DAME
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND INTERNSHIPS
HOW NOTRE DAME CHANGED ME
My work experience has taken me from a brief stint in Durham, North Carolina to all over Asia. Beginning with Kunming, China, where I owned a boutique design studio conducting work all over border towns in the Chinese Golden Triangle, then moving on to Beijing to work with some of the top designers in the world: MAD and ATKINS and the last three-anda-half years with BLINK DESIGN GROUP, a luxury hospitality design firm working on incredible resorts/urban hotels worldwide.
My internship experiences were amazing thanks to the help of the alumni network of Notre Dame. I interned three times with Astorino (now Cannon Design) in Pittsburgh and spent a long summer in Dubai after my year in Rome with Burt Hill (now Stantec). While at Notre Dame, I also briefly practiced with the women’s basketball team, another unforgettable memory.Â
Notre Dame is truly a family, and a family that encompasses all the right values a young person at that age needs to learn and possess. I appreciate how the circle of Notre Dame then transforms to one of the strongest alumni networks worldwide upon graduation. As the current regional director (Asia Pacific) of the Notre Dame Alumni Association, I am always humbled by the accomplished, yet humble, Domers I meet wherever my work travels take me.
Notre Dame has taught me to strive for and achieve greatness in whichever fields I am in whilst maintaining the values true to the University and life in general. Notre Dame taught that life is so much more than just than the day-to-day; it taught me to look beyond my own interests to make an impact on those around me.
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JAY JHAVERI CLASS OF 1987
ALUMNI PROFILES
MBA
SINGAPORE
WORK EXPERIENCE
After graduation, I enrolled in a Ph.D. program. After more than two years of rigor, I decided not to continue with academics and to enter the working world. The first phase of my working life, about 15 years, was largely that of a banking professional. I worked with some of the largest European banks in Bombay, London, and Singapore. The second phase of my working life, the next 15 years, saw me join a friend in his early stage data company in the area of fighting financial crime. We are now on our third early-stage company after the first two were successfully sold.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND INTERNSHIPS During my accelerated (one-year) MBA program at Notre Dame, we did not have the opportunity for summer internships. However, on the flip side, every year for the last ten years I have entertained a group of Notre Dame business students studying in the Asian–Pacific.
FAVORITE THING ABOUT NOTRE DAME
While my time, albeit brief, at Notre Dame was intense, it is the alumni reach and spread that is the gift that keeps on giving. On numerous occasions I have encountered Notre Dame alumni–while traveling, while interviewing and hiring, and while negotiating business propositions. There is an instant connection and trust based on a common and shared experience with Notre Dame.
HOW NOTRE DAME CHANGED ME
While there were many memorable ways Notre Dame changed my approach to the world, there is one area, in particular, that stands out. Notre Dame gave me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone. Being blessed with a strong personal support system, I am not reluctant to visit new places; not shy to make new friends; not hesitant to take on new challenges; and not afraid to try new ventures.
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PEDRO NEMALCEFF CLASS OF 1991
ALUMNI PROFILES
FINANCE
JAKARTA, INDONESIA
WORK EXPERIENCE
I have worked in the oil and gas industry for the last 25 years despite my finance major, which would have pre-designed me for a banking or investment career. My job has taken me from Ecuador to Texas to Argentina to Bolivia and finally to Indonesia. My work experience includes financial roles as well as commercial, operational and management roles in the latter years. I have been country manager for four different upstream oil and gas companies in Indonesia. Recently, I started my own energy services company with a preliminary focus on transportation through pipelines as well as natural gas processing and marketing (LPG and LNG).
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND INTERNSHIPS During my four years at Notre Dame, I was part of the Men’s Volleyball Team. I continue to play competitive sports: soccer, tennis, and volleyball. I am currently the president of the Notre Dame Club of Indonesia and am deeply involved in the project of integrating the Southeast Asia Notre Dame Alumni Clubs.
FAVORITE THING ABOUT NOTRE DAME
The thing that I like most about Notre Dame is the sense of family that the alumni have and the strong connection to the University. Even after 27 years after leaving Notre Dame, every time I visit campus, I get overwhelmed by a sense of joy and belonging. And when away from Notre Dame, the alumni family reminds me always about how fortunate I have been.
HOW NOTRE DAME CHANGED ME
Back in high school, I used to believe that University was just another part of education but after the experience at Notre Dame, I came to the realization that our alma matter has so much more to offer in our lives and consequently we also have a responsibility to give back to our community and our Notre Dame family.
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