Michael Bradley, Editor-in-Chief

Many of you will immediately recognize the friendly fellow in this picture. Jerry Miller, or “Jerry from LaFortune” as he is sometimes recognized, is a member of an elite echelon of campus figures who can be known by a single moniker. I first met Jerry my freshman year here, and since learning that he is not a student, I have often wondered what his story is. So I sat down with him a few weeks ago in the LaFortune basement to find out.

Jerome “Jerry” Miller, who shares his name with his grandfather (the mayor of South Bend from 1972 to 1976), has grown up in South Bend. After graduating from Adams High in 2010, Jerry decided to forego college for the opportunity to work and grow outside of academic commitments.

“I’ve got a big future ahead of me, without college,” he told me. “I have a future in the South Bend Mishawaka area. I have a big future ahead of me.”

“I see myself maybe getting into the power plant industry in the future,” he continued. “I’m going to be fine either way.”

I asked Jerry about the source of his confidence in the future. He told me that he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (AS), an autism spectrum disorder characterized by difficulties in navigating social situations and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior or interest, in 2002.

“It was hard growing up,” Jerry admitted. “It was harder to understand things. I couldn’t really understand much about myself growing up, even though I’m more high functioning than others with my disability.”

Jerry’s AS medications didn’t seem to be helping much. He gained a lot of weight and struggled to overcome his Asperger’s and its associated side effects. But since switching medications two years ago, things are looking up. He lost a “ton” of weight, he told me, has felt “much happier” and considers his “mental illness beaten.”

“I guess you could say my confidence in the future comes from what I’ve accomplished so far,” he responded in answer to my confidence question. “If I can conquer that, I can conquer anything. I’ve got it really good. I believe in second chances. People mess up.”

So how did it come to be that Jerry is a fixture of the Notre Dame student center? How did he start hanging around Notre Dame?

Turns out that Jerry was neighbors with a certain former student, named Brady Quinn, in 2005. Brady invited the Miller’s to a backyard barbecue, and a love for Notre Dame was born.

Getting to know Brady and other ND students “drew me towards Notre Dame, kind of just made me curious about college life,” Jerry reflected. Getting to know Brady also had another lasting effect—Jerry now volunteers with the first aid team at home football games and describes himself as a “fan of any sport.”

Notre Dame quickly became a place that Jerry felt at home amongst the campus community. And the feeling is reciprocal. “A lot of people do think of me that way,” admitted Jerry with a slightly sheepish chuckle when I suggested that he is a local legend of sorts.

What has being a part of the Notre Dame community meant to Jerry? In a hyperbolic word, everything.

“I never had many friends in high school, but I always had Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross,” he said appreciatively. “I’m still in contact with friends who have graduated from these schools.”

Despite not being a student, Jerry seems to have a good grasp on the nature of student life here—and the ways to cope with stress.

“ND’s tough, it’s stressful,” he said. “It’s supposed to prepare you for the real world, and not just academically. It’s kind of scary, but you have to have fun. But I’m hoping I can brighten people’s days, make them smile with a joke,” he said when asked about his self-perceived role in the community.

“It’s just the right thing to do. You do good. I understand the simple things in life, right from wrong. And I’ve seen kids mature here really fast. I’ve even told people I’m proud of them, making decisions of knowing right from wrong.” In connection with these statements I asked Jerry about whether, or how, the centrality of faith at Notre Dame has affected him.

“It doesn’t matter what religion you are, you can find good people here. A lot revolves around character. That’s what the ND family is about though—character.”

Aha. The ND family: A phrase that has come up in each and every “Who’s Who” interview I’ve conducted, and one about which I was planning to ask Jerry. He beat me to the punch.

“People who work here, students who go here. . . I think it’s great. People are friendly. These are the values of the Notre Dame family. Friendliness, good character. In the dining hall, here [LaFortune], the athletic department [where Jerry is not an unfamiliar face], people are friendly.”

“This is what I appreciate most about the Notre Dame family. The friendships, the opportunity to learn the costs of things through my job, learning the values of life,” he continued. When asked about his least favorite facet of Notre Dame, he paused for a while. “Nothing really comes to mind.”

I asked Jerry what he would say if he were selected commencement speaker for the graduating class.

“Believe in yourself, have faith in yourself and always keep a good spirit,” he began. “In your four years here, work as a family and a team, that’s what we do at Notre Dame. Whether you’re an athlete, an average joe, on a scholarship or not, we’re a team.”

“There’s no ‘I’ in team but there are two in spirit. One is having a good spirit towards others, the other is a good spirit about yourself.”

He said this so smoothly and without hesitation that I asked, suspicious, whether he had come up with that on his own. He had indeed. But then again, knowing Jerry a little better now, that doesn’t surprise me at all.

Michael Bradley’s day has been brightened many a time by chance encounters with Jerry. Contact him at mbradle6@nd.edu.