Beyond Boxes and Bows
First year student Anabel Castaneda ’12 will be spending her winter break enjoying time with her family and helping others. “I look forward to volunteering at a Brown Elephant resale shop in Oak Park,” says the political science major from Oak Park, Ill. The proceeds raised from the sale will fund services for more than 50% of Howard Brown Health Center patients who are under or uninsured.
When she’s not volunteering, she’ll be with her family, participating in their annual Christmas traditions. “At night we have dinner and play board games and just spend time telling jokes and catching up. On Christmas around nine we open one gift, then another at 10, and another at 11 and then the rest at 12.”During the school year, Castaneda is active in the College Academy of Tutoring (CAT) program, tutoring at the South bend public library, and she is a teacher’s assistant in a local kindergarten class. She’s also a member of Notre Dame’s Quiz Bowl club.
With a minor in communication studies , Castaneda has set her sights on being a politician. “Saint Mary’s has great political science professors and each of the classes are so stimulating.”