What is a W.I.L.D. Woman?
You may be thinking...why is the mascot of Walsh the WILD women? As almost everything is at Notre Dame, WILD is an acronym. It stands for Wise In Life Decisions. Here in Walsh, we try to both model and inspire living a life of healthy and wise choices. Similarly, with a housing model that allows us to stay for four years in Walsh, the first years and underclassmen inevitably seek out the Walsh upperclassmen for help, for advice, for tutoring, for a fresh perspective, for ideas about internships, majors, and classes, for sports, for mission trips, for service opportunities, and so much more. In this way, the Walsh community serves each other as "wisdom figures," either in formal roles (like the RA) or informal roles (neighbors, floormates, teammates, etc...). We have a culture here of sharing our collective wisdom, connecting with each other, and empowering wise choices.
Our Motto
BE STRONG. BE FREE. BE WILD.
Our Mascot
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The "Wild Woman" of Walsh has existed since 1972 as a tribute to Walsh as one of the first homes of the Daughters of Notre Dame, but it didn't have a corresponding graphic. Much later, in 2001, the image of the girl in the triangle dress with the curly hair was created by student leaders for the freshman orientation of the class of 2001 and has remained ever since. W.I.L.D. is an acronym for: Wise In Life Decisions
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Our Logo
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This crest was created by a former Walsh RA, as she redesigned the first year orientation booklet for the entering class of 2014. Its simple, elegant concept with a single "W" combined with the backdrop of zebra print (as a shoutout to the "wild") was adopted quickly and enthusiastically by the larger Walsh community. This is the logo seen on many shirts, emails, notifications, decorations and banners.
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WALSH PRAYER
For Walsh, being WILD means that we are FREE.
It means that we are working to be free from
the cages of fear and comparisons.
Being WILD means being free for authenticity,
free to make mistakes and free to not be defined by them.
Wild ones are free from the prisons of perfectionism
to become who we were created to be.
We love with abandon, we are outrageous in our generosity;
there are no shackles on the passion with which we live life.
But at some point this year,
we may experience moments of defeat.
We may be tempted to think everyone here is perfect and more put together
and smarter and more gifted than we are.
That everyone else has good friends and we don’t.
We will wonder if this Notre Dame thing was a good idea.
We will doubt ourselves. We will wonder if we are enough.
In those moments, remember that we are WILD.
WILD ones live in abundance.
WILD ones see the love in each other and remember that there is enough.
There are enough people to turn to, enough questions to ask,
enough hearts to hold them, enough forgiveness to receive,
enough giftedness to share and enough laughter to enjoy.
We have enough.
You are enough.
You always have been.
For us and for God.
Walshies are strong. We are free. We are WILD!
Walsh means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.
It means that we are working to be free from
the cages of fear and comparisons.
Being WILD means being free for authenticity,
free to make mistakes and free to not be defined by them.
Wild ones are free from the prisons of perfectionism
to become who we were created to be.
We love with abandon, we are outrageous in our generosity;
there are no shackles on the passion with which we live life.
But at some point this year,
we may experience moments of defeat.
We may be tempted to think everyone here is perfect and more put together
and smarter and more gifted than we are.
That everyone else has good friends and we don’t.
We will wonder if this Notre Dame thing was a good idea.
We will doubt ourselves. We will wonder if we are enough.
In those moments, remember that we are WILD.
WILD ones live in abundance.
WILD ones see the love in each other and remember that there is enough.
There are enough people to turn to, enough questions to ask,
enough hearts to hold them, enough forgiveness to receive,
enough giftedness to share and enough laughter to enjoy.
We have enough.
You are enough.
You always have been.
For us and for God.
Walshies are strong. We are free. We are WILD!
Walsh means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.
