When he was in sixth grade, a student from Artesia, NM—a desert town with five stoplights, Friday night football pride, and more churches than you’d think possible—told his P.E. coach he was going to Notre Dame.
At the time, admits Bjorn Mauritsen ’26, he wasn’t totally sure where Notre Dame even was. “I got Indiana and Louisiana mixed up,” he laughs. “But I knew the school stood for the same three things that mattered most to me and my hometown: faith, family, and football.”
Years later, that dream became reality. He encouraged his older sister to apply first, “at least partly to make me happy,” he says. When she was admitted, it made the dream feel more possible. “It wasn’t really a question of what I wanted,” he says. “It was whether or not I’d get it.”
Now a senior studying political science, Mauritsen has spent his time at Notre Dame embracing every opportunity to explore the world and his purpose within it. He has studied abroad in South Africa and Australia, worked with entrepreneurs and local nonprofits, and plans to pursue civil litigation law after graduation.
“There’s no shortage of people who need help, especially in New Mexico,” he says. “I’d like to be one of the people who goes back.”
But the transition to college life far from home wasn’t easy at first. He got a head start navigating change when he and his family made the difficult decision to send him and his younger brother to a small Catholic high school in Utah during the height of COVID-19.
The first six months, most of the school year in fact, were tough, Mauritsen admits. “But it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” By the time he arrived at Notre Dame, he knew how much mindset mattered.
“I told myself, if I don’t make friends here, that’s what I’ll regret most. So I put myself out there,” he says.
From climbing trees on the quad to running into future friends during football game watch parties, he found that connection came naturally on campus, and especially in the residence halls.
“Notre Dame feels a lot like a small town,” he says. “You can be yourself here and be supported in what you want to do.”
For him, some of those things included being co-president of Dillon Hall, helping to re-open and run the hall’s food stand, Bullwinkle’s, and he became a godfather through Campus Ministry’s RCIA program. He is also a rural and small town intern for Notre Dame admissions.
To students from rural or small-town backgrounds, Mauritsen’s advice is simple: “Don’t underestimate yourself. You have something unique to offer. And if you’re worried about leaving everything behind, know this: at Notre Dame, people care. You’ll find support. And more than that, you’ll be encouraged to live with purpose.”
Watch the video above to hear more about Bjorn Mauritsen's Notre Dame journey.
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Originally published by at admissions.nd.edu on October 14, 2025.