This May, more than 50 participants in the Center for Ethics and Culture's Sorin Fellows student formation program will graduate as part of the Class of 2018 from the University of Notre Dame. Established in 2014 and named in honor of Notre Dame’s founder, Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., as part of the university’s bicentennial celebration of his birth, the Sorin Fellows program provides students with opportunities to build lasting relationships with other fellows and Notre Dame faculty; participate actively in the intellectual life and programming offered by the Center; and gain access to a wide range of unique opportunities including leadership development, professional and career mentorship, and funding for internships and research projects with partner organizations around the world.

"I most certainly would not be where I am without the support of the CEC and my participation in the program," said Molly Weiner, a Sorin Fellow finishing her B.A. in Theology and Italian Studies. "Without the support and guidance of the CEC, my college experience would certainly not have been as enriching and helpful as it has been. Being a Sorin Fellow has been one of the biggest blessings of my college career and it is bittersweet to be moving on from it," she concluded. Weiner will continue her studies in the fall at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, seeking a licentiate in the cultural heritage of the Church.

Graduating Sorin Fellows in the Class of 2018 include undergraduate and graduate students who have studied theology, law, economics, Italian Studies, aerospace engineering, biology, and the Program of Liberal Studies, among others. Many of the graduates will pursue additional degrees, including a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at UNC Chapel Hill and an M.Div. as a seminarian with the Congregation of Holy Cross.

The Center for Ethics and Culture hosted an end-of-year Mass at the Grotto on Friday, May 4, celebrated by CEC Chaplain Rev. Terrence P. Ehrman, C.S.C., and concelebrated by priests affiliated with the Center. More than 100 students, faculty, families, and friends prayed together and then joined in a picnic on the lawn in front of Geddes Hall to celebrate with the graduating Sorin Fellows.