"Joe Slovinec was an unusual Notre Dame alumnus. He died poor at a shelter for the unhoused. He was also a regular at class reunions and classmates tried to look after him. When he died, they arranged for him to be buried on campus. Several of them contacted me about this, and I interviewed half a dozen.
The story was told in our Letter from Campus feature, which runs adjacent to the letters to the editor, as a first-person piece from one of the editors. The piece provided a window into a little-known corner of campus. The piece received an unusual amount of mail, was shared widely on social media, and attracted a healthy, grateful response from those with loved ones who have lived similar lives."
From the Judges
The haunting and important story told through this column shows us the values that Notre Dame imparts on its students and how those values are put into action by alumni long after graduation. Engaging, well-written, and meticulously researched, this submission is moving and unconventional. It challenges traditional thinking about which alumni stories we choose to tell. The response generated from readers clearly shows its lasting impact.
