Sometimes we hesitate to say yes to new opportunities, unsure of where they might lead.
Sometimes a single conversation can lead to opportunities we never could have imagined. During the spring of my freshman year at Notre Dame, this was true for me: a conversation with my friend Saige about becoming a Lilly Scholar Launch Cabin Leader pushed me to become more active in a network that has greatly shaped my college career.
I have always been the type of person who has preferred to remain within my comfort zone. That’s not to say that throughout my freshman year at Notre Dame I didn’t jump at plenty of new opportunities – I did. But often these opportunities often fell within my comfort zone.From roles within student media to finding ways to help out the varsity swim team, I had no issue jumping at opportunities that aligned with what I wanted to pursue postgrad. When I received an email my freshman year to be a Cabin Leader at the Lilly Scholars Launch, I thought it wasn’t for me.
At that point in time I didn’t see how the opportunity to be a Cabin Leader related to the things that I was interested in. Because I had never attended summer camp, wasn’t actively engaged with the Lilly Scholars Network during my freshman year, and hadn’t attended Launch, I felt I had little to contribute.
2023 Boone Country Lilly Scholar Saige Terwiske – who is one of my dear friends at Notre Dame – encouraged me to apply to be aCabin Leader over dinner. My friendship with Saige goes back to very early in my freshman year. While a mutual friend is how we officially met, we were first connected through a Class of 2027 ND LSN group chat on Instagram—born out of those who attended the 2023 Launch. She proposed we both apply to be Cabin Leaders because we would be able to hangout and create a meaningful impact on the next cohort of Scholars – I was convinced! At my core I am someone who values making connections and I saw an opportunity to do that through applying to be a Cabin Leader.
As Launch approached, I began to get a little more nervous. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I prefer to stay within the areas that I am most comfortable. Despite the fact that I was nervous, I knew that a great opportunity awaited me and soon began my four hour drive from Northern Indiana to Bradford Woods.
As Cabin Leaders, we arrived in Martinsville a day earlier to partake in training with our fellow Cabin Leaders and LSN Staff. On top of getting to know those around me, the team of Bryana Schrieber, Emily Morales, and Katie Goodrich helped us understand our role as Cabin Leaders, as well as learning about the Lilly Scholars Network and their mission to serve. Those pre-Launch nerves were a thing of the past as I began connecting with the other Cabin Leaders. From Preston Asher and his passion for business to Lucia Walker and her passion for music, getting to share what we love and why we decided to apply to be Cabin Leaders made me feel at ease despite everything new I was experiencing.
Our preparation before Launch officially began and we practiced the welcome icebreakers, walked around Bradford Woods, and participated in an intense scavenger hunt battle (which Preston and I won!). These activities helped build comradery between the Cabin Leaders, making us officially ready to welcome the next cohort of Scholars.
When I look back at this preparation time before Launch, one of my favorite memories occurred with my fellow Cabin Leader Beau Kenkel and Emily Morales. To preface, Beau and I look very similar – we are both around the same height and we both have curly brown hair. For half of Launch, Emily called me Beau and Beau, Cooper. To say Emily was set up for failure would be an understatement, but the laughs that were had between the three of us are some of my favorite memories. However if you ask me, I think Katie Swanson, who made the cabin assignments, is the one that set Emily up for failure!
Once the new scholars arrived, the weekend went very smoothly. From ziplining to yoga the weekend was extremely memorable and provided me with a new way to look at the Lilly Scholars Network. As a Cabin Leader I was able to connect with 2024 Scholars and welcome them into LSN and provide them with a better understanding of the network that I did not have when I was entering my freshman year.
There have been a number of unexpected bonuses from serving as a Cabin Leader. Attending Launch allowed me to truly understand how I can be actively engaged. Since my time at Launch, I have
attended more Chapter events, a Field Trip, and plan to attend my first Dine IN at the end of the month.
The best bonus? The relationships that I made. One of these relationships is with Destiny McManus, a fellow Cabin Leader who I am regularly in contact with via check-in text messages and the occasional funny photo on Instagram! Further relationships include Miles O’Shea, who was one of the scholars in my cabin, and Abby McKenzie, whom I first met briefly because she was in my zipline group but was able to really get to know during the South Bend Field Trip last summer.
Looking back, my time as a Cabin Leader truly changed my trajectory as a Lilly Scholar. Launch gave me the opportunity to build relationships with people I still stay in contact with, deepen my engagement within the LSN community, and better understand what it really means to be a Lilly Scholar. If I could offer one piece of advice to anyone considering applying to be a Cabin Leader, it would be: do it. You never know; it might just be the weekend that helps you discover the true meaning of being a Lilly Scholar and everything that comes with it.
