“My name is Patrick McNamara, I am from Dublin, Ohio, and I majored in Neuroscience. After graduation, I intend on pursuing a graduate program in Educational Neuroscience. One of my most rewarding experiences at DePauw was running the Best Buddies program. I also served as Active Minds’ President and as a Putnam County CERT Member. Over my time at Fiji I was Historian, a New Member Educator, and most recently I was the Community Service Chairman. Fiji was an important experience for me. It showed me the importance of commitment and that leadership is the best way to learn growth from failure. I learned a lot about people, how we are as individuals, but also how we work in a group. I learned about identity and found that it’s a confusing and continuous journey for myself and everyone. Most importantly, I learned that unity is necessary to have and that it is most challenging to achieve.”