College LAUNCH Alumni Shares First-Year Experience at Notre Dame

Arielle Andrade-Ramirez is a first-year student at the University of Notre Dame and a College LAUNCH alumni from the Winston-Salem 2023-2024 cohort. Andrade-Ramirez served on the Youth Leadership Executive Board during her senior year of high school and participated in the 2024 Summer Immersion Law Institute. Needless to say, Wake Forest Pre-College Programs has made an impact on her life. We caught up with her to see how her first semester as a college student is going.

What college are you attending?

The University of Notre Dame.

What’s your major?

Accounting.

Tell us how your first semester is going.

So far this semester has been full of new things coming at me. There are so many opportunities to connect and develop here. Also, the community here has been so kind.

What has surprised you the most?

I was surprised by my homesickness and learned the importance of staying in touch by calling.

How has LAUNCH helped you get to where you are?

LAUNCH has made the ability to connect with professionals a more approachable experience, had I not done the program, I would have felt more nervous. 

3 words to describe the feeling you have as a first-year student.

Nervousness, receptive, and hopeful.

What’s your best advice for current LAUNCH juniors?

I would say my best advice would be try everything and anything to discover who you really are and what you are passionate about. This is the best time in your life to make mistakes and get back up again.

Photos below from her time participating in Wake Forest Pre-College Programs.