A 'BEST DECISION' TAKES ALUM TO DURHAM

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March 5, 2025

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Addison Bellows, a member of last year's NDP graduating class who earned the IB Diploma, now is in Durham, North Carolina, learning and loving life at one of the top research universities in the country.

Universities in the United States truly are international communities. They’re committed to educating the youth of today to solve the global challenges of tomorrow. They also seek to encourage students to learn from one another, to recognize their common humanity and to reflect on globally significant issues across the curriculum.

The key aim of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program is for students to develop an international mindset that will enable them to build a better future. IB students learn to see the world from different cultural perspectives and they study languages that enable them to communicate with peers from different backgrounds. As an internationally recognized qualification, the IB also prepares them for a career anywhere in the world. IB students are global citizens and this makes them an asset to international academic communities anywhere. Perhaps more so than many other great reasons, it’s this that makes IB students so appealing to universities.

IB graduates typically are very eager to share their experiences with schools, teachers and parents exploring the Diploma Program. We have been meeting a number of Notre Dame Prep's more recent IB graduates who look back at the impact of the DP on their lives and especially on their college experience.

After high school graduation last May, Notre Dame Prep alum Addison Bellows NDP'24 moved to Durham, North Carolina, to attend Duke University. She said choosing Duke was the best decision she's ever made. Read more about her first year in college below.

"I moved to the southern part of the country in August and at first was super nervous. However, that quickly changed and I could not be happier with my decision. This new place has become my second home and I love everything about it. Everyone on campus is so kind and helpful and I have met an amazing group of friends, people who I know will even be in my wedding someday. 

"My professors are so knowledgeable and insightful and I have never been more excited to attend class and learn. There are so many niche classes that are so interesting as well. For example, my writing class last semester was a sports writing class and we got to interview professional athletes, which was such a fun experience. 

"The campus also is so beautiful and I often spend my free time in the gardens with my friends, hanging out on the plaza, playing games in the quad, or eating the delicious food in West Union. I recently rushed a sorority, which has been such an amazing opportunity to meet more girls and upperclassman. I am also involved in a pre-law fraternity as well as currently having the opportunity to be a student intern for recruiting for the Duke football team where I watch film and help scout incoming players. 

"All things considered, my decision to come to Duke was the best decision I've ever made in my life! It has opened up so many opportunities for me and made me so aware of how much more there is in the world beyond my hometown in Michigan. There are so many people and so many places that we don't know of and haven't been to, and I am so excited to continue to explore that world and meet even more people."

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.