Kara Strass ’11
Director of Miami Tribe Relations, Miami University
MAJOR: BIOLOGY
In 2016, Kara Strass ’11 joined the Myaamia Center as a graduate assistant while pursuing her master’s degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) at Miami University. After graduating in 2018, Kara joined the Myaamia Center staff. In January 2020, Strass formally transitioned into the role of Director of Miami Tribe Relations, where she is responsible for strengthening the relationship between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University, as well as for providing advising and support to Myaamia students.
Originally from Huntington, Indiana, Strass attended the University of Notre Dame and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s in biological sciences. After graduation, she joined the Orr Fellowship, which places recent graduates in start-up companies in Indiana. In her time in the fellowship, she worked at BioConvergence (now Singota Solutions) as a Project Manager for clients working on pharmaceutical development.
Strass’ involvement in the Native American Student Association at Notre Dame impacted how she thought about support for Native American students on college campuses, eventually leading her to the SAHE program at Miami. Her graduate studies focused on Student Development Theory and how to apply these theories to make Myaamia students successful in their college endeavors. Her work at the Myaamia Center includes serving as a liaison between the Miami Tribe and Miami University, providing education and outreach to the broader Miami University community, and planning for programs including National Breath of Life Workshops and the Myaamiaki Conference.
Kara Strass ’11
Revitalizing Myaamia language, culture, and traditions
Jasmin (Simmons) Tow ’11
Assistant Principal of Instruction TK-2, Aspire Public Schools
MAJORS: SPANISH AND PSYCHOLOGY
After graduating from Notre Dame summa cum laude with a double major in Spanish and psychology, Jasmin (Simmons) Tow ’11 joined Teach for America as a corps member and moved to California, where she has spent the majority of her career serving low-income, predominantly Black and Hispanic populations in East Oakland.
After four years as a TFA educator, she joined TFA staff as an Elementary Specialist for almost two years, working directly with teachers to improve outcomes for ESL students and their families across the San Francisco Bay Area. After stints in the REALITY Revolve program took her to classrooms in Israel, Tow returned to California, where she is an Assistant Principal of Instruction (and the only bilingual administrator) at Monarch Aspire Public School in East Oakland.
She is frequently consulted by educators throughout California, and sometimes nationally, for her insight and knowledge of culturally relevant instruction, educating English learners and newcomers, interrupting the school-to-prison pipeline, dismantling systemic oppression in schools, and providing high-quality education during a pandemic. Tow was one of the first educators in the Aspire Public School system to recognize the need for a sustainable distance learning model during the pandemic and developed plans for educator and site leader training and collaboration.
Jasmin (Simmons) Tow ’11
Providing innovative educational solutions in low-income schools
Mary Kate Battle ’10
Business Development Specialist, Catholic Relief Services
MAJORS: POLITICAL SCIENCE, PEACE STUDIES, AND SPANISH
After graduating from Notre Dame, Battle served at Farm of the Child, a Catholic home for orphaned and abandoned children in Honduras. There, she taught math and served students with special needs, co-managed an after-school support program, and provided tutoring.
During her second year in Honduras, she took over as manager of the adolescent girl program, managing the overall program and serving as the primary caretaker for three Honduran teenage girls attending high school. When the program faced fundraising gaps, Battle started a local baking business to assure full funding.
After earning a graduate international economics and international relations degree from Johns Hopkins, Battle joined Catholic Relief Services (CRS). At CRS, she has supported programming in Uganda, Jordan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone. Her work ranges from village microfinance initiatives and supporting refugees from the Rohingya and Syrian crises, to supporting vulnerable children and youth and inter-religious and inter-ethnic peacebuilding projects. Battle’s work has allowed her to help build a brighter future for some of the world’s most vulnerable people, including refugees.
Mary Kate Battle ’10
Empowering vulnerable people
Scott Coppa ’15
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Puente Desarrollo Internacional
MAJOR: AMERICAN STUDIES
Following graduation, Coppa moved to the Dominican Republic for a volunteer stint with the Peace Corps, an experience that has led to a life-changing partnership to promote sustainable community development.
Inspired by the needs he came to know so well throughout his service with the Peace Corps, Coppa co-founded Puente Desarrollo Internacional, a nonprofit organization that connects international development organizations and local institutions with underserved communities more efficiently to make development work more collaborative, impactful, and sustainable. He has partnered with friend and classmate Paul Anthony ’15 on the groundbreaking initiative.
Puente, which means “bridge” in Spanish, addresses the lack of reliable health and socioeconomic data than too often proves challenging to development by using cutting-edge technology and data services. In addition to employing a data-driven approach, Coppa, working with Anthony and other colleagues, continues to empower local residents so they can serve as advocates for sustainable development that will improve and uplift their communities.
Scott Coppa ’15
Supporting sustainable community development
Adebola Giwa ’09
Pediatric Endocrinologist, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
MAJORS: SCIENCE PREPROFESSIONAL STUDIES AND SPANISH
Dr. Giwa, a pediatric endocrinologist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, works as part of a team that is researching a potential cure for type 1 diabetes.
Currently, Giwa and the team are working to identify targets in the immune system that are involved in the development of type 1 diabetes, a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. The team has discovered a new immune cell that is significantly elevated in people with type 1 diabetes, and is studying such cells to determine whether targeting them will interrupt the progression of the disease, protect high-risk individuals, and potentially stop the disease at its outset.
Through collaborative medical research with his colleagues at Johns Hopkins and beyond, he is working to deliver a substantial medical advance that would yield a lasting impact on public health. The research is a natural fit for Giwa, a longtime volunteer who has worked on behalf of his local Notre Dame club, earning a club service award and helping the club to better serve the less fortunate in Baltimore. He has volunteered in an Adopt A Class program where he mentors inner city 4th and 6th graders, and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Loyola Early Learning Center, which provides free Early Start education to the children of single parents. He currently serves as diversity chair of the ND Club of Maryland and previously served as club president.
Adebola Giwa ’09
Striving to cure Type 1 diabetes
Ngor “Majak” Anyieth ’18
Founder and CEO, Education Bridge
MAJOR: SCIENCE PREPROFESSIONAL STUDIES
Born in a war-torn region, Anyieth lost his father at a young age in Sudan’s civil war and was raised by his mother, who emphasized the importance of education. Anyieth took her guidance to heart, embarking on a life-changing journey that now allows him to give back.
As a child, he walked an hour each day in order to attend school. His dedication enabled him to excel at his studies, including in the Kakuma refugee camp, and later at the African Leadership Academy, South Africa. There, he learned about Notre Dame and was inspired to apply.
Once on campus, Anyieth began work on his dream: To build a school back home in Bor, South Sudan. With the support of his classmates, professors, and University administrators, he turned this vision into reality. In 2016, he founded Education Bridge, a nonprofit dedicated to providing schools for South Sudanese youth with a focus on peacemaking, entrepreneurship, and access to education for girls. After taking a leave of absence to open the first school, Anyieth graduated from Notre Dame in 2018.
Ngor “Majak” Anyieth ’18
Building schools in war-torn South Sudan
Lucy Driscoll ’13, ’14 M.S.
Senior Mechanical Engineer, iRobot Corporation
MAJOR: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP EXCELLENCE MASTERS PROGRAM (ESTEEM)
Drawing on her experiences in technology development, Driscoll, a senior mechanical engineer at the Bedford, Mass. company iRobot Corporation, has become an influential advocate for STEM education aimed at empowering young women.
Driscoll, who holds two patents with the U.S. Patent Office, has developed and presented educational programs at more than a dozen schools, ranging from the elementary to college levels. She has partnered with her alma mater, Notre Dame Academy, a women’s Catholic high school in Hingham, Mass., as well as several Catholic elementary schools that are part of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education. In addition, she has been selected to represent iRobot at an influential women’s leadership forum and leads the company’s employee women’s group, organized to support and empower women in the workplace.
Through her work, Driscoll leverages her education and professional expertise to encourage young women to pursue meaningful STEM careers. In so doing, she helps to influence and inspire a rising generation of women scientists and engineers who will use their skills for the betterment of society.
Lucy Driscoll ’13, ’14 M.S.
Encouraging girls to pursue science & technology
Alex Jones ’15
CEO and Co-Founder, Hallow
MAJOR: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
In 2018, working with a team of young Catholics that included fellow ND graduates Erich Kerekes ’15, Alessandro DiSanto ’15, Abby Fredrickson ’15, and Bryan Enriquez ’15, Jones launched Hallow, a mobile app that helps users nourish their spiritual life through guided Catholic contemplative prayer and meditation.
The app aims to help users grow closer to God by guiding them through different ways to pray and meditate. Users can meditate on daily Gospel passages, pray the daily mysteries of the Rosary, and experience a variety of other prayers. Through “praylists” and challenges, they can explore topics like humility and discover the meaning behind traditional prayers such as the Stations of the Cross, as well as the lives of the Saints.
Jones left his job as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company to pursue this project, motivated by a desire to deepen his own spiritual life and a longtime interest in meditation. Now, he and his colleagues at Hallow are helping others harness the power of technology to discover new and enriching ways to grow deeper in their relationship with God.
Alex Jones ’15
Innovating the way we pray
Jane Lee ’09
Assistant Professor, University of Washington
MAJORS: SPANISH AND SOCIOLOGY
Through her research, teaching, and service work, Lee, the daughter of immigrant parents, focuses on helping underserved immigrant groups who lack access to health care.
After graduating from Notre Dame, Lee earned a Master of Social Work degree from Columbia University in 2011. During her studies, she started her work with immigrant and refugee populations and saw their health needs firsthand. While working toward her Ph.D. at New York University, Lee learned she would need open-heart surgery to replace a valve. The experience further strengthened her resolve to make sure everyone receives access to critical health services. After earning her Ph.D. in 2017, she became an assistant professor at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work.
Lee’s publications in scholarly journals have attracted media coverage, and she continues to pursue innovative research and volunteer work that helps improve health outcomes for immigrant communities. Her scholarship in service of marginalized and underserved people truly makes her a powerful force for good.
Jane Lee ’09
Educating immigrants on health and well-being
Mikey Maurer ’11
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
MAJOR: SCIENCE PREPROFESSIONAL STUDIES
Dr. Maurer, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, provides health care to uninsured and underserved teens, ensuring that they have access to the medical services they need.
Maurer works with the University of Miami School Health Initiative, a health care program that serves area schools, coordinating clinical care, program development, and health education activities. He assists schools in the medically underserved area of North Miami, treating a significant number of significant Haitian patients, many of whom lack health insurance. He also works with a mobile pediatric clinic that serves uninsured children and families throughout Miami-Dade County. In addition, Maurer advocates for children as a member of several committees and is building an international partnership between the University of Miami and a Brazilian institution to help create a clinical and cultural exchange for medical students and residents. He remains involved with GALA-ND/SMC as it provides support for other LGBTQ alumni as well students within the Notre Dame family.
Maurer has made a conscious decision to serve marginalized and vulnerable patients, using his medical training on behalf of those who most need it.