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There are many differences between South Bend, Indiana and my hometown, located deep in the heart of Texas. I’m still confused when someone refers to coke as “pop,” and I never quite defrost from the winters up here, but something about this city keeps me coming back for more. You could call it wanting to seize opportunities to stay close to friends, or maybe call it being too lazy to move somewhere else … or you could call it having pride in my city.If you ask all of my Notre Dame friends to describe me using five words, you can bet one of them will be “Texas.” I may not have the Texas drawl, or run around in my cowboy hat and pick-up truck (they’re back home) or ride my horse about town (also back home), but I sure as heck am proud to be from Texas. In fact, from what I've gathered from friends at school, most Texans are pretty damn proud of their homeland- and they’re usually obnoxious about it.


 
I grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania – the state’s third largest city. It shares a history similar to South Bend’s. Once an epicenter of silk manufacturing, it was filled with bustling industry and thriving economy. But like many other mid-sized cities, Allentown experienced tough times as American industry shifted to overseas production. Chances are, if you’ve heard of Allentown, you know of it as the economically depressed image immortalized by Billy Joel’s song, “Allentown.” The lyrics paint a dire picture of the greater metropolitan area known as the Lehigh Valley:
“Well we’re living here in Allentown/
And they’re closing all the factories down/
Out in Bethlehem they’re killing time/
Filling out forms/
Standing in line.”


 
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I’m a Southern gal, born and bred. I love grits and say “y’all” every day. If it’s fried, it’s my friend. My Southern is deep and strong and includes a stint at a small university in Alabama. (Don’t worry, Irish fans. It wasn’t THAT university.) The University of Montevallo is where I earned my B.A. in English and History. This quite naturally led to my pursuing a Ph.D. in Mathematics at Notre Dame. It didn’t take me long to realize that Notre Dame is a great university that shares space with an amazing city. South Bend has won my heart. In doing so, the city created a desire to stay here. Fortunately, enFocus came along.