My name is Levi Cherek, originally from Pensacola, Florida, and proud former resident of St. Edward’s Hall. I graduated this spring from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in biochemistry and a minor in scientific computing. Looking back on my time at Notre Dame brings a bittersweet feeling, but I find solace in realizing how much I have grown in such a short period of time and how excited I am for the future.
Through my time at Notre Dame, I have grown in faith. As a naive freshman, I went from barely considering God in my daily life—only praying in times of need—to becoming a fully practicing Catholic. I enjoyed singing with peers at Mass, participating in late-night Grotto visits, volunteering for service events, and participating in the newly established dorm-chapel crawls!
Coming to Notre Dame, I heard the cliche that the people I would meet would become lifelong friends. Though I doubted this, I now know it to be true. Through the Chemistry and Biochemistry Club, my dorm, the Glynn Family Honors Program, and even WSND (Notre Dame Radio Station), I’ve come to know and trust people I will remain close with until I die.
Lastly, I’ve grown academically—so much so that I have committed to pursuing a PhD in Chemistry (Theoretical/Computational) at the University of Chicago starting this fall! The passion my Notre Dame teachers brought to their teaching and research convinced me to follow in their footsteps, commit to research, and strive to change the world.
I come from a mid-to-low-income household with truly no assets. Supporting my education would have required me to take out over $200,000 in loans over four years, putting me into an irreparable amount of debt. Your contribution to Notre Dame allowed me to live the last four years to the fullest and helped permanently shape my career path and trajectory to becoming a force for good. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting my journey.