When Lipe Fernandes considered his education after high school, he wanted something more than career prep. He wanted the whole college experience — something that would develop him as a person, not just his resume. “Education shouldn’t be only a utilitarian thing,” he said. “In college, you have the opportunity to explore more than just what you think you’ll be doing in the future.” Fernandes’ appetite for something more drove him to leave his home country of Brazil to study in the U.S., and it’s why he’s glad he picked the University of Notre Dame. “I found something where I can cultivate both an intellectual life and a practical life,” he said. As an incoming student, he initially majored in economics and philosophy to better understand the forces shaping current social issues. But as he learned more about what he wanted from his undergraduate education, he swapped economics for political science — a field more qualitative and flexible. But there was still something missing. “At Notre Dame, we have to take philosophy classes, theology classes, literature, languages,” he said. “And I realized I wanted something that didn’t treat them separately, but tried to unify them.” In his second semester, Fernandes took a University Seminar class — Catholicism & the Disciplines: The Catholic Intellectual Life — with Thomas Stapleford, an associate professor in the Program of Liberal Studies. Stapleford saw how much Fernandes enjoyed the class’ interdisciplinary approach and encouraged him to consider PLS. Interdisciplinary by nature, the PLS major gives students exposure to the arts, history, literature, natural science, philosophy, politics, and theology through six “great books” seminars. Students also take tutorials that delve into specific disciplines of the liberal arts. It was just what Fernandes was looking for. “PLS isn’t just the academic part of philosophy — it’s giving me the tools to think about anything in a philosophical way,” he said. Now majoring in PLS and...