HCND is sad to lose some of our best as graduation draws closer. One of these fantastic graduating seniors is Sarah Cahalan, an Indiana native with a quick wit and plenty of pop culture references! Thank you, Sarah, for your dedication to HCND and for sharing with us some of your favorite college (and Her Campus!) moments and memories.
About Sarah!
Name: Sarah Cahalan
Year: Senior
Hometown: Logansport, IN
Dorm Allegiance: Howard
Major: English, American Studies
NDH/SDH: South
Campus Activities: HCND, Folk Choir, PEMCo, Scholastic
What is the most played song on your iPod right now? Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” which is a weird anomaly that says literally nothing about my actual tastes in music.
What is a little known fact about you? I was hospitalized in the third grade for a nosebleed brought on by pure stress.
Who is your celebrity crush? Jonathan Groff, futilely. Among actual straight men – Shaun White, Aaron Tveit, and a bunch of other guys who are still pretty gay actually, now that I think about it.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Obsessive. Droll. Swaggy.
What’s your favorite movie quote? “My nana takes her wig off when she’s drunk.” “Your nana and I have that in common.”
Who would play you in a movie about your life? Tina Fey, voiced on all musical numbers by the girl who plays Mercedes on Glee.
Sarah and ND
If you could go back to freshman year and tell yourself one thing you know now, what would it be? During your junior year, you will start a Netflix account, and it will be the best and worst thing that has ever happened to you. Choose wisely.
What did you think you were going to do when you came in as a freshman? Make, like, so many friends and just, like, totally reinvent myself because high school is, like, totally the worst, you know?
It’s crunch time! What is the #1 item on your ND bucket list that you still want to complete before graduation? GO TO GLEE CLUB FORMAL. I’M NOT AFRAID TO BEG.
What is your best ND memory? Tie: Parkour Greg from the troupe that practiced outside our building climbing in through my bedroom window in London and watching the first half of the 2013 BYU game on TV from a hospital bed in Stadium First Aid
What are the best and worst things about ND? The best thing about Notre Dame is the number of big armchairs on campus with left-handed desks attached. The worst is our lack of on-campus cupcake bakery.
If you could change one thing about Notre Dame, what would it be? I would build it a damn cupcake bakery.
Best class you’ve taken/professor you’ve had at ND: Writing Literary Journalism with Josh Roiland
Favorite spot on campus: The upper right corner of the choir loft risers at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Great place to scope out hot, single groomsmen at ND weddings.
Favorite Domer – dead, alive, or fictional? The Most Interesting Man in the World, Father Theordore Hesburgh.
In 25 years you will be… Employed. Fingers crossed.
What activity do you wish you had gotten involved in on campus? The Latin Dance section of freshman PE.
What are you going to miss the most about ND? Flex Points.
Sarah Takes on Her Campus Notre Dame
What is your role in Her Campus ND? Staff writer/contributor of funny stuff sometimes
How did you first hear about HCND? Katie Fusco reached out to me about writing for HCND shortly after she, AnnaLee, and Lexi started the site.
Why did you want to get involved in HCND? The weekly writing schedule seemed like a nice way to push myself beyond my normally very lazy writing habits.
What HCND article was your favorite? I’m particularly fond of the “Blurred Rhymes” piece I wrote last summer about Robin Thicke, and among other writers, I think the Ask Gemma column is really cool and trailblazing for ND.
What is the best part of working with HCND? Being able to target my writing for a female audience that understands my constant stream of pop culture references, hopefully.
What’s your personal next step? Doing my homework. Eating dinner. Maybe taking a nice nap.
How has being a part of HCND impacted you? It’s pushed me to write a lot of articles outside of my typical “niche” that I would not normally have taken on.
What would you like to see from the chapter in the future? I’d love to see more hard-hitting journalism. I think HCND could be a great forum for really meaningful work in a way that campus publications don’t have the structural freedom to be.
What advice do you have for someone looking to get involved in HCND? Push yourself! Apply to write, and if you have an article in mind, pitch it – don’t wait to write on things you care about.
You’re about to graduate from the University of Notre Dame. Congratulations! Last thoughts?
If I trip and fall on stage at graduation, will I become Internet famous like Lizzie McGuire?
Thanks so much! We’re certainly going to miss you around here!
XOHCND
Pictures provided by interviewee