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Sport, Service & the Common Good: A Conversation With Conal Fagan ‘21

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Location: 310 O'Shaughnessy Hall

Young man with short hair smiles, wearing a rust-colored and white polo shirt.

How can a love of sport serve human flourishing and the common good? What careers bring together sport and public service? Join Conal Fagan '21 for a conversation about building a career in policy, advocacy and nonprofit work. Conal went from a Political Science and Peace Studies double major (and Notre Dame's first Irish-born Leprechaun) to a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, a master's in disability studies at University College Dublin, and his current role leading global partnerships at Special Olympics International. Learn about how sport can advance human dignity and the common good, and what careers exist at the intersection of sport, policy, advocacy and nonprofit work.

This even is sponsored by the Minor in Sport, Media & Culture; Department of American Studies; Klau Institute for Civil & Human Rights; the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies; and the Institute for Social Concerns.

Conal Fagan '21 is Senior Manager of Global Strategic Partnerships at Special Olympics International, based in Dublin. A native of Derry, Northern Ireland, and a former Northern Ireland youth soccer captain, Conal came to Notre Dame as a Hesburgh-Yusko Scholar and became the first Irish native to serve as the official Notre Dame Leprechaun. As a student he coached soccer in the townships of Cape Town, helped deliver the 2019 Wheelchair Rugby National Championship in Sydney, and interned with Special Olympics' Global Youth Engagement Team. After graduating with majors in Political Science and Peace Studies, he spent a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest at St. Labre Indian School in Montana, then earned an MSc in Disability Studies at University College Dublin. At Special Olympics he has worked as a fellow on the 2023 World Games in Berlin and now builds the corporate partnerships that fund the movement's work around the world, including its athlete-led podcast, Inclusion Revolution Radio.

Learn more about Conal’s time at ND:

Man in green suit and hat cheers with mouth open.

Originally published at smacminor.nd.edu.