It is a daunting task to try to blog about your experience at heaven on earth, so forgive me if this seems random and incoherent. I will do my best to try to describe all the most outstanding aspects of Notre Dame so far (although it really is not possible to cover all of them in one blog).
The first thing I’ll talk about is the classes because I’m sure it’s what my mom and dad, the ones graciously paying $50,000 for my education, want to hear about and because it is the biggest change from high school. Luckily enough for me, Archmere was a great high school to prepare me for the college work load and even better, the school allowed me to take APs to test out of the general requirements. It actually allowed me to test out of enough classes that as a Freshman I don’t have to take any math, science, history, english, or languages. Now before I get judged as a slacker, which my parents can attest that I’m far from (okay maybe not), one must understand I chose not to take these classes because I tested out and because in high school my curriculum was so set up, I never got to choose any classes that interested me. As a result, I looked at the classes and signed up for the ones that interested me: Theology (to meet the requirement for the University), Microeconomics, Intro to Philosophy, and my two favorite classes Social Psychology and a University Seminar on Civic Participation and Schooling.
Social Psychology is a class unlike anything I have ever encountered before because not only is it a class with 170 people (my previous largest class was probably 23 in high school) but also it is the first class I have actually enjoyed the nightly reading! Learning how and why society shapes our thoughts and interactions has been a surprisingly fascinating journey so far. The readings are informational and the lectures are . . . interesting to say the least. The professor talks about what ever she wants to, typically nothing to do with our readings, but she certainly makes psychology fun. The final reason this class is so different is because there are probably over 40 athletes in it including the number one football recruit, Manti Te’o, number one hockey recruit, Riley Sheahan, and number one basketball recruit, Joey Brooks, who is in my dorm and an extremely down to earth guy. I actually sat next to Te’o the first day of class and didn’t even know who he was and he seemed like a normal college student (if the average student was a 6’3” 240 pound Hawaiian that is).
My other favorite class is my seminar, a small, 14-person class, on Civic Participation and Schooling. Our whole grade is based upon 3 eight to ten page papers and each class is a student lead discussion. It is very interesting hearing peoples backgrounds in schooling and the different ideas on how to make schools better. We have covered topics such as School Choice, No Child Left Behind, differences between religious and non-religious schools, differences between urban and suburban schools, and many other things. I follow after my mother in having a passion for schooling and psychology I think, but its nice to get to take these classes and discover what my real passions are.
Outside of classes, I have been trying to keep myself busy. The most exciting thing I have done so far is meet with Coach Mike Brey (head men’s basketball coach) a couple times one on one. As many of you probably know he is a Delaware man himself, and used to coach at University of Delaware before Notre Dame and his whole family still lives in Delaware and has a summer house in Dewey. My dream as a kid was to play basketball at Notre Dame, but I now realize how highly unlikely that is due to the high skill level and body build needed to be a D1 athlete, so I decided to meet with him to see how I can be a part of the team in some other regard. As of now, it looks like I will be able to manage the basketball team possibly as soon as this year but almost certainly next year and the following years after that! I can not tell you how excited I am for this opportunity.
Other things I am involved with are the Ultimate Frisbee Team, which is a club sport and we get to travel around the country to play other schools. We were ranked in the top 5 in the country for a little last year and have another great team this year. I have also been looking into an undergraduate research opportunity to help my professor with his current research studies. He is studying the difference in how graduates from religious schools participate in society (jobs, political association, marital status . . .) versus those from non-religious schools. I would get paid a certain amount of money to help him gather information and collect surveys and do the statistics on the results. If I don’t manage basketball this year I will probably do this research program.
Finally, last but not least, one way my college experience is different from most other people is that I am blessed, truly blessed, to have my sister, Katie Weber Class of 2010, here with me too. I can not tell you how grateful I am for this. My sister and I have dinner at least two times a week together which is always a highlight of my week. I see her at least once every weekend and she always offers for me to come to her apartment off campus. We have grown closer in the past month and a couple weeks than at any other time in our lives. My best friend in my dorm, Charlie Renner, comes with me every other Sunday to my sisters apartment and we do our laundry. This way it is free and we get away from the distractions in the dorm and therefore can actually be productive and get a head start on the week. The swaying factor for my attendance at this University was the fact I knew I would never have an opportunity like this again, for the rest of my life, to spend a year with my sister and get to know her better and grow closer to her. I can not thank you, Katie, enough for being there for me this year and without even knowing it, helping me make one the best decisions of my life.
Notre Dame has been spectacular so far, exactly what I expected and more! Every home football game so far has given me chills and reminds me of why I love this school: for its tradition, passion, loyalty, school spirit, and so on. It’s been a great season so far, with some close games and 3 big wins! I think we played 4 games but I can’t remember the outcome of one . . . but it’s not important and I won’t strain to try to remember because I do know we won three games and are looking forward to the national championship with our Heisman quarterback! Thanks to all who have supported me and made me feel at home out here and to the Club of Delaware for getting me excited for the best 4 years of my life. A special thank you to my parents, Anne and Bill, who have sacrificed more than I will ever know to allow me to attend heaven on earth and live out my dreams. I love you Mom and Dad.

Love,
Tim Weber Class of 2013