The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture congratulates the 203 student Sorin Fellows who completed their studies at Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College in 2026. In all, 119 undergraduates and 84 graduate and professional Sorin Fellows participated in commencement ceremonies this year, joining more than 1,035 existing Sorin Fellow alumni.
“Our Sorin Fellows truly are the jewel in the crown of Our Lady’s University,” said Jennifer Newsome Martin, director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture and the John J. Cavanaugh Professor of the Humanities at the University of Notre Dame. “Throughout their years of study, they were eager to engage the Catholic tradition and pursue the life of the mind in community and friendship. These Sorin Fellows are men and women of service, compassion, and faith, full of the love of Christ and neighbor, and we look forward to seeing how they ‘make prayers of their education,’ in the words of Blessed Basil Moreau.”
Sorin Fellow Martin Soros ’26 was honored as the class valedictorian. In his commencement address, he spoke about his role in the design and construction of the St. Olaf’s ice chapel on Notre Dame’s campus in February, where more than 2,400 students braved 19-degree weather to pray at an evening Mass on the Feast of the Presentation. The ice chapel that he and fellow Sorin Fellow Wesley Buonerba ’27 built, he said, echoed the vision of University founder Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., who had “the courage to build something that would radiate warmth in this cold world.”
“Like Father Sorin, we stand before a world that has grown cold,” said Soros. “And though the people we encounter may know nothing about Notre Dame, we can leave a mark on their hearts with the warmth we have cultivated here. This may seem daunting. But we’ve been doing it for four years, and we are just getting started.”
Sorin Fellow Manny Uzobuife ’26 won a Marshall Scholarship and will pursue an M.Sc. in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Liverpool. Anne Griffin ’26 won a Fulbright Scholarship and will serve as an English teaching assistant in Turkey. Gabriela Sierocka ’26 was honored with first place in the 2026 Library Research Award from the Hesburgh Libraries.
Among the undergraduate Sorin Fellows, 43 graduated with academic honors of cum laude or higher (3.783 GPA). Following graduation, 26 are heading to graduate schools to pursue further studies. Three members of the class received commissions to enter into military service: one in the U.S. Space Force and two in the U.S. Army. Four are entering or continuing seminary studies and religious life. Ten are heading to medical or dental school; nine will begin teaching high school. Wedding bells will ring for at least 15 Sorin Fellows over the next few months.
Among the 35 graduating Sorin Fellows in Notre Dame Law School, Amanda Soto J.D. ’26 received the Anne C. Hamilton Award, recognizing the graduating student who has done the most to help his or her fellow Law School students. John Shaughnessy J.D. ’26 was honored with the Captain William O. McLean Law School Community Citizenship Award, awarded to those who have done the most to contribute to students’ lives. Simon Brake J.D. ’26 won first place in the Religious Liberty Student Writing Competition, and Mary Peterson J.D. ’26 won the Jessup International Moot Court Award. Eight Sorin Fellows are heading to clerkships with judges at the federal and state level. A full list of Law School awards can be found here.
Among our 49 graduate Sorin Fellows, 26 earned academic honors of cum laude or higher. Several Ph.D. students are going on to teaching positions around the country: Solomon Fellow Evelyn Behling will join the University of Tennessee’s Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs as an assistant professor in American civics, while Sorin Fellow Joseph Heston will stay at Notre Dame as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.
“The de Nicola Center has made my time at Notre Dame so beneficial and enjoyable,” said Behling. “The center has provided me with ample spiritual and material support, community through various events, a wonderful study space, and not the least, many snacks. Notably, the center funded a walking pilgrimage I took to Canterbury, England to the bones of St. Thomas More and St. Thomas Becket. I later realized that during that pilgrimage I walked quite near to the home of my now fiancé, whom I will marry at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, because Notre Dame, including the de Nicola Center, is so special to us.”
The de Nicola Center's Sorin Fellows student formation program, now in its twelfth year, provides Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College, and Holy Cross College undergraduate and graduate students opportunities and resources to integrate their social, intellectual, and spiritual values in the context of their collegiate experience and in the discernment and pursuit of their vocations. More than 800 students participated in the program in 2025–26. Learn more about the Sorin Fellows program on our website.
Congratulations to all of our graduating Sorin Fellows!