When I was 5, I wore a Notre Dame cheerleading costume during football games on Saturday afternoons, and I taught myself how to play the Notre Dame fight song on the piano only a few short years later. Now that I’m a senior preparing to graduate from Our Lady’s university, my love for the school has not diminished. My formerly unqualified admiration has been tempered by the realization that the university’s Catholic identity is in jeopardy, but I know from experience that it is possible to both maintain and grow in one’s faith as a student at Notre Dame.

After deciding to attend Notre Dame, I found that a number of acquaintances didn’t approve of my choice. My friends’ parents frequently noted that Notre Dame wasn’t a real Catholic university, and several people insisted that I consider going to the University of Dallas or Franciscan University of Steubenville instead.

But I felt confident both in my faith and in the spiritual life of Notre Dame, and, though I knew these detractors certainly had a strong case against some of the university’s decisions, I was determined to play a role in the ongoing fight to preserve its Catholic mission.

I can’t say I’ve always succeeded, but I have strived to live up to this goal through campus leadership roles and by seeking to influence others through a life of kindness and virtue.

Writing for the Irish Rover — Notre Dame’s independent student newspaper — was the first step I took into the “underground” Catholic world at Notre Dame. I discovered a small community of Rover editors who attended daily Mass in the law school chapel, and even now I try to attend this Mass as often as possible. In this community, I found like-minded friends, older students who guided me into solid classes and to the right professors, and a social space that made the school’s “partying” mentality seem less overwhelming.

This work with the paper quickly led to my involvement with the Edith Stein Project Conference. The conference is an opportunity to bring Catholic speakers and hundreds of students together in conversation, and I was sure that our work would change minds and hearts on campus.

Despite the countless hours I have spent working on these projects, however, I have come to believe that individual efforts to live a Christian life are the most successful way to influence campus culture. Of course, the Irish Rover is responsible for investigating and disseminating essential campus news, and the Edith Stein Project is the chief Catholic voice in campus conversations about sexuality and human dignity.

But I believe it has been far more powerful to practice virtue and cultivate quality friendships, leading others to the truth by presenting a joyful witness.

My time at Notre Dame has shown me through trial and error that it is best to lead by example. There certainly is a place for rational arguments, but it is far more difficult for people to deny the truth when you present it with joy and kindness.

For me at Notre Dame, this means maintaining friendships with those who don’t share my values and offering advice and consolation even when it feels fruitless. It means patiently listening to a friend or acquaintance’s perspective, even when I feel completely certain that they’re wrong. Sometimes, it even means biting my tongue and not deafening others with countless proofs of my own accuracy.

When striving to live this kind of life, it is invaluable to have both the support of a tight-knit Catholic community and the resources to cultivate an active spiritual life.Despite its flaws, Notre Dame boasts innumerable opportunities to grow as a Catholic, whether in faith-based campus groups, with daily Mass and confession at the on-campus basilica or by lighting a candle each evening and saying a prayer at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

It can seem that life is difficult for young Catholics at Notre Dame, and it often is. We have a campus culture opposed to Catholic values, and even those who should defend the faith can be lukewarm or antagonistic toward the truth. But by taking advantage of opportunities to grow in faith and virtue, it is possible to witness to Christ and contribute to the university’s Catholic mission at the same time.

Alexandra DeSanctis is a senior at the University of Notre Dame.