Oct. 5, 2011

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse team will co-host an event titled “Finding yourself; Discerning vocation in a world of expectations” with Notre Dame’s Gender Relations Center and Student Welfare and Development from 4-5:30 p.m. (ET) this Friday at Arlotta Stadium.

Following a short scrimmage, there will be live music followed by a panel discussion and conversation focused on discerning vocation and calling in a world where outside expectations can often suppress the voice of the Holy Spirit that calls us to follow our passions. This will be a guided conversation and the panelists will encourage questions from the audience.

Panelists include:

Eric Byington
Eric is currently assistant director of Calling All Crows, a women’s right organization started by the popular band State Radio. Eric co-founded the Elias Fund (a non profit focusing on community development in Zimbabwe) with former Dispatch front man Chad Stokes.

Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Corrigan will be entering his 24th season as Notre Dame’s head coach for men’s lacrosse this spring. After graduating from the University of Virginia, Coach Corrigan worked as a part time college lacrosse coach for years, following his dreams and living off his passion for coaching. He is a committed husband and father of three children.

Peter Friedman
Peter is a former college lacrosse player (Bates College,) who now works as a teacher, coach and social entrepreneur in Boston, Mass. Peter is the founder of Triskallian Tours where he organizes and leads creative service learning adventure trips for high school students across Central and South America. Peter is joining forces with panelist Kevin Dugan on a Surf, Serve, Lax, Learn program in Costa Rica.

Kevin Dugan
Kevin is a former men’s lacrosse player at Notre Dame who now works at the Manager of Youth and Community Programs in the Athletics Department. Kevin also is the founder and director of Fields of Growth, a non profit organization that take college athletes to Uganda, East Africa for service trips where they partner with community based organizations.

This event is just one of several career and character-building opportunities that the men’s lacrosse team will take part in this fall.

The squad held a “barnstorming” trip to central Indiana on Sept. 24. The Fighting Irish held a practice/instra-squad scrimmage at Carmel High School in Carmel, Ind., to help energize the growth of lacrosse in the Indianapolis area. The event was free and open to the public.

Later this month, Corrigan will take the team’s sophomores and juniors to New York City to explore networking opportunities with Notre Dame alums, including former lacrosse players. This will mark the fourth straight year that Corrigan has taken this kind of trip to the Big Apple with members of his squad. The contingent visited the New York Stock Exchange, BlackRock, MTV headquarters and NASDAQ last fall.

The week after the New York trip, Corrigan will take some of his student-athletes to Chicago for additional networking chances. Chicago will be the third city in the past two years alone that Corrigan has taken members of his team to help them explore future employment opportunities. In addition to last year’s New York visit, upperclassmen on the team were able to network at Google and EA Sports in San Francisco during the fall ball trip out West when the Irish faced Johns Hopkins.

“The networking trips are tremendous opportunities for our guys to get exposure with our alumni and to explore career possibilities,” says Corrigan. “This is a time for them to gain access to internships as they move into their junior year.”

–ND–