Among the first to be eliminated from the Irish Bachelorette, NDtv’s newest Monday night feature, was Mike Blume. The junior hailing from Pittsburgh, PA went in with a game plan – to make it past the first round. Despite the disappointing rejection off the bat, this cutie is still looking for love here at Notre Dame. Line up, ladies, he’ll be back in the game before you know it!
Year: 2015
Dorm Allegiance: Duncan
Major? Finance and English; Major you wish you chose? PLS
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
What are you involved with around campus? SIBC, I volunteer by tutoring, and I’m involved in Hall Council. I enjoy volunteering the most, I love working with the middle school kids.
Relationship status: Single
Who are you? I’m Mike, 21 years old; I’m a whole lot more than single. I love people and I have six adorable sisters.
What does it mean to be a domer? It’s someone serious about their vocation in life and serious about promoting the general welfare. It’s a strong member of the community on campus and beyond, community meaning family, not just the student body.
What is your favorite/best ND memory so far? I’ve been on two Appalachia trips, same site both times. I had great groups and just really loved it.
What is the #1 item on your ND bucket list? Dating a Notre Dame girl
What are the best and worst things about ND? The best is the community; once you’re inside, you know. The worst is North Dining Hall (ouch).
If you could change one thing about Notre Dame, what would it be? I wish there were stronger relationship between the girls’ and guys’ dorm. We’re very isolated in the living spaces. More natural relationships between the genders would be great.
What’s the best class you’ve taken at ND? Humanities seminar with Prof. Brad Gregory in the History Department
What’s your favorite spot on campus? The diagonals on South Quad
What did you think you were going to do when you came in as a freshman? I was pretty open as a freshman – probably too open (to what I was going to study). I knew I would never do engineering or science, it was always arts and letters or business. And now I have a compromise!
Favorite Domer – dead, alive, or fictional? Fr. Hesburgh, hands down.
What do you wish ND girls knew? I wish they knew how open guys are about entering into serious relationships, even just friendships. What do you wish you knew about ND girls? What do you think about us? Do you think all guys here are arrogant snobs?
If you could go back to freshman year and tell yourself one thing you know now, what would it be? Never go to sleep before your roommates go to sleep, that’s when you miss everything! Always be the last one up because everything good happens after 2AM.
Ideal academic and professional endgame? Don’t know about my academic endgame – maybe I’ll get a professional degree. I’d like to move back to Pitt at some point and probably do something in financial services.
In 25 years you will be… happily married with six beautiful daughters and no sons.
Guilty pleasure song/band? Taylor Swift – pretty much anything there.
Why did you initially audition for the Irish Bachelorette? One of the producers mentioned it to me, and I was secretly happy I got on th show. I was happy to meet a beautiful girl and be a apart of something new and groundbreaking.
What was your reaction to meeting Kirsten for the first time? She had a nice smile and kind of nice look about her. It was initially a positive reaction.
Did you know any of the other guys on the show beforehand? James [Heisler] is my cousin and I knew one of his roommates, Sean [Gleason]. I knew Eli [Langson] because he’s an RA in Keenan and I knew of Wes [Terrasse].
How did you feel about the dynamic of the group? They were a lot of fun. I was disappointed I did not get to hang out with the guys for a while longer. We had good responses to each other; there was a good flow.
Did you feel like you had the opportunity to make an impression on Kirsten? Not really, I really didn’t. We had one conversation – if I knew we would only have a minute I would have shared more with her. I wish I had more time to make an impression.
How did you feel about getting cut from the show? Was it a shock or did you expect it? Going in, I had a busy weekend. I thought, “I’ll just go on and not really care what the outcome is,” but I wanted to stay in it once I started. I had a good game plan once I committed to staying on the show. I didn’t think I’d win but I thought I could move on past the first night.
Who were you rooting for to win once you left? Once I left, I was rooting for James. He didn’t have much of a chance once I was gone. I didn’t get the chance to talk to the guys about how much they wanted to pursue Kirsten, so I can’t say much for them.
Was it what you expected? More or less. You don’t know what to expect when they’re doing a pilot show on NDtv! It was really well done, the crew was very professional, as was production.
What do you anticipate for your love life going forward? I’m pretty afraid of rejection right now! I’ll be a little cautious in the days ahead. But I’ve had an outpouring of support. I’ll be back in the game shortly.
Was the experience worth it? Absolutely, despite the humiliation of getting voted off in the first round. Definitely worth it overall.
Thanks, Mike!
HCNDxo