Keough School of Global Affairs
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Clodagh McEvoy-Johnston, Class of 2025
Women's Rowing Team
Hometown: Greenwich, Connecticut
Major: Global Affairs, Peace Studies (Supplementary)
Minor: Civil and Human Rights
What is your favorite spot on campus?
The locker room for the women’s rowing team! I also love the Keough School’s Klau Lounge. The room is light and airy. I can do homework there while engaging with the Keough community. I love that I can have an impromptu conversation with faculty while I study.
What has been your favorite course(s) at ND so far and why?
Religion, Peace, and Development in Africa with Emmanuel Katongole.
I was able to travel to Uganda for a month for an experiential learning trip through this class. Professor Katongole started the Bethany Land Institute in Uganda and we spent time there learning and working while visiting sites all across Uganda. This became the most impactful course I have taken at Notre Dame.
Truth Commissions with Josefina Echavarría Álvarez.
This was an intensive course where I spent 3 days, 9 hours per day over the course of a semester, learning about truth commissions. This class mostly caught my eyes on the course listings, but spoke to my heart while taking this class. I had a prior relationship with the professor that I encountered through guest lectures in classes through the Keough School of Global Affairs.
How did you decide on your major/minor?
Having two mothers that were engaged in political activism with immigration, I knew from a young age that whatever I majored in college needed to be connected to these activities. At the dinner table, I always had to own my thoughts and opinions because my mothers would ask me about different political and social issues. This experience was also paired with my Catholic upbringing, investing in the common good. There were no other options that rang well with me other than majoring in Global Studies with a supplementary focus on Peace Studies and a minor in Civil and Human Rights. Global Affairs and Peace Studies relate to my Catholic social teachings and I am deeply invested in Human Rights.
What are your research interests?
I am currently researching amnesty in Northern Ireland– specifically about the discourses on the UK 2023 Legacy Act. There is disparity between the seminal Peace Studies literature on amnesty and what’s happening on the ground in conflict areas. The existing literature was a beneficial tool to get me started on this research, but what was happening on ground in Northern Ireland did not match up– they were denied justice.
My mother is from Ireland and because of this, I did not want to study anything that dealt with being Irish in the beginning. However, my Junior year, I took a seminar course for Peace Studies and decided to look at Human Rights Law and its intersection with Peace Studies. From there, I saw a case at the European Court of Human Rights between Ireland and the United Kingdom. I saw there was great civil unrest about the Legacy Act and its amnesty stipulations. What was going on in Ireland and Northern Ireland was different from what I was reading in peace studies literature and I wanted to figure out what was happening.
What kinds of extracurricular activities did you participate in and why?
I spend most of my extra time on the Varsity Rowing team. I was recruited to row at Notre Dame. This activity provides an order and structure I wouldn’t get anywhere else. This is essential for my academic success. I also adore my teammates. We are a community of 60 women hoping to achieve 1 goal. This cannot be found anywhere else and I love it.
I am also involved with the Kellogg Developing Researchers. This cohort helps me develop my own research and research skills. I get to work with faculty on some of their research projects.
Lastly, I find time to get engaged with the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights. The Klau Institute helps me get connected to the community circle in South Bend and keys me into issues that are important to the local South Bend community.
What are your future plans? How did you decide on this?
I plan to continue on with my studies by getting an MA of Philosophy in Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. I would like to go to law school following the MA program.
I decided on this pathway because I love learning. I wanted to be in an environment where I can continue to explore peace and conflict. My senior capstone project also pushed me to do more of my own research and I have been left with too many unanswered questions. I would also like to study abroad in graduate school and dedicate myself to my studies fully.
As for law school, I believe that a legal background is important for my longer term career goals. I would like to work in Foreign Affairs for the Government of Ireland. I am an Irish citizen and I align with Ireland’s foreign policy and their policies on conflict resolution for Ireland.
How did you find out about CUSE and when?
I first interacted with CUSE with the Sorin Scholars’ invitation to apply during my first year. However, I didn’t get in. That did not stop me from wanting to figure out what was going on at CUSE.
I began working with CUSE when I started applying for fellowships and graduate school during the spring of my Junior year. I worked with Dr. Jeffrey Thibert, the Senior Director of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement Initiatives and the Paul and Maureen Stefanik Director of CUSE, when trying to discern my future plans. I also worked with Emily Hunt, the Assistant Director of Scholarly Development, and with Mathilda Nassar, the Assistant Director of National Fellowships.
I was incredibly lucky to have these individuals as resources.
How has CUSE helped you?
CUSE helped give me direction in a way that I didn’t have access to before. Both my parents have college degrees and my mother has a JD. However, they never experienced applying for graduate school and fellowships. The landscape has also changed and developed so much since they were in college. No one around me really knew what this experience was like. I could have applied to graduate school and fellowships on my own, but CUSE helped with the process of each application. They always supported and pushed me to succeed.
Did you apply to any grants, scholarships, or fellowships through CUSE?
I worked with CUSE on the Marshall Scholarship, the Fulbright Open Study Grant, and the Gaither Carnegie Juniors Fellows Program. I never ended up applying for the Marshall Scholarship, but I went through the entire process of the application and I learned a lot from that experience.
I also worked with CUSE on thinking through and applying for graduate school.
What advice do you have for applying to grants, fellowships, scholarships, or internships?
Start early! Start making a list at least by the beginning of Junior year. Go to CUSE early to find out about these scholarships and fellowships. You can always come back to the application once you are ready to apply. But not going in early will cause you to miss out on certain opportunities that require you to start early.
It is also important to understand that applying to these programs is a testament to your knowledge. Even if you don’t receive any of these fellowships or scholarships, the process is incredibly helpful and just as important!!
What have you learned from CUSE that you will carry with you past your undergraduate experience?
At CUSE, I have learned how to tell my story for the purposes of these applications. This is an important skill that goes beyond applications and affects your professional work life, different community spaces you are engaged in, and even how you communicate your story to your friends. I have learned how to explain my narrative succinctly.
A lot of us feel like grants and fellowships are for the upper echelon of students in academia. However, that divide doesn’t really exist. Anyone with qualifications can apply to these, especially first generation, low income students! You do not have to have much experience in applying, but just support and encouragement to apply. Some of the most successful people are the ones who had never even considered that these scholarships and fellowships were for them.