“The things that we love tell us what we are.”
With this quote from St. Thomas Aquinas, Amy McAuliffe (‘90) summed up her message to students in Notre Dame’s Sheedy Family Program at the program’s kickoff dinner, held at River Saint Joe in Buchanan, Michigan, on September 4, 2025.
McAuliffe, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) senior official, explained that pursuing a passion helped her remain open-minded after graduating and shaped her remarkable 25-year journey in the intelligence community.
McAuliffe discovered her passion for government at Notre Dame. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Studies with a minor in the Hesburgh Program in Public Service. She then earned a Master of Arts in International Relations and Affairs at American University and went on to hold numerous government positions, including Assistant Director for Weapons and Counterproliferation, Director of the President’s Daily Brief, and Chair of the National Intelligence Council.
Aubrey Keegan (’26) said hearing about McAuliffe’s career was both helpful and inspiring. “It was really interesting to get a perspective from someone who has been with one organization but has taken on a lot of different roles throughout the span of her career,” said Keegan, who studies sociology, digital marketing, and real estate. “It was valuable to learn how you can grow while remaining within one place and your job, impact, and responsibilities can be constantly evolving.”
While McAuliffe’s path to leadership at the CIA was relatively direct, it was far from easy. McAuliffe shared that her work in the intelligence community required her to develop comfort in the midst of uncertainty, and in her talk, she offered Sheedy students a behind-the-scenes look at some of the toughest moments and decisions she faced in her career.
Nate Butler ’27, who is double majoring in marketing and Spanish with a minor in anthropology, had the opportunity to sit with McAuliffe for dinner. Butler said McAuliffe was “unlike any other Sheedy speaker.” He expressed his gratitude to McAuliffe for her generosity in setting up an evening of robust dialogue and for helping to welcome the program’s new cohort of 60 to their first-ever Sheedy Dinner experience.
In addition to her remarks at the Sheedy Kickoff Dinner, McAuliffe led a seminar and lunch conversation. She is also returning to South Bend as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, where she will continue to share her expertise with students and help them engage in critical discussions about global security challenges.
Luke Donoghue (’27) is pursuing a double major in finance and global affairs with a minor in Chinese. Last summer, he worked as a congressional intern and conducted research on U.S. media portrayals of China. He plans to pursue his passion for problem solving through a career in consulting after graduation.
Originally published by at sheedyprogram.nd.edu on September 25, 2025.