Adviser’s Note: Journalism I students interviewed Mr. Conrad about his return to NDA and learned about his intriguing career path. The following is a kind of compilation of their feature story work.
“I found happiness doing simple things,” said Mr. Chris Conrad, Notre Dame’s newest member of the maintenance team and one of six new staff members at NDA.
Conrad, who played football and did track under Coach John Nowak, graduated from NDA in 2007 and said that not much has changed at the school.
“Notre Dame feels largely the same,” he told the Journalism I students, “but the tennis courts are older than I remember.”
Conrad returned to NDA after an interesting course of study. First attending the University of Minnesota and then UW-Madison, he ended up with a degree in biology and a doctorate in pharmacy.
An unexpected career change occurred shortly thereafter.
“I was physically exhausted after eight years of school. I wasn’t keeping up physically with the demands of my job,” said Conrad. “Multi-tasking, being pulled around, I just wanted to do more chill stuff with my time.”
Returning to Green Bay, Conrad did landscaping with his father and discovered his affinity for working outdoors.
“Landscaping is more chill,” said Conrad. “I don’t mind manual labor.”
In addition to landscaping, Conrad, after his return home to Green Bay, did a variety of jobs from bartending to setting up concerts.
It was in the music business where he met NDA’s Michael Hibbard (Flaggy) and created a connection that would lead him back to NDA.
“Your network is really important in life. That will get you a lot of open doors,” said Conrad.
The ex-pharmacist, who acknowledged his love of philosophy–as well as Indian food–gave more such thoughts and advice to the class.
For example, he told how he is still good friends with someone he didn’t talk to until his senior year of high school.
“Be open to talking to people you might not think to talk to,” he said. “Be involved in groups and sports and be open to try new things. . . and having a good reputation will get you farther and farther in life.”
If you’re looking for Conrad, you will probably find him outside putting his landscaping skills to good use.
“The gist of my job is to make it look nice outside,” he said.
