Adrienne Chen ’27
Adrienne Chen ‘27
Welcome Home– those were the words Adrienne Chen saw when she received her Notre Dame acceptance email, she was lying on her bed in Tennessee, checking to see where she landed with her college applications.
“That was the moment I knew this wasn’t just another college,” she recalls. “It was something different. It was community.”
A first-generation college student raised in the restaurant world, Adrienne was determined to chart her own path. Her brother, who had once applied to Notre Dame himself, encouraged her to consider the school. Even though she had never heard of Notre Dame before, something about the idea of stepping out of her comfort zone felt right.
Since that serendipitous welcome, Adrienne has embraced every opportunity Notre Dame has to offer — now a sophomore majoring in finance with minors in real estate and competing digital technologies, she got a head start through the Balfour Hesburgh Scholars Program, taking classes before freshman year began, moving into the dorms early.
“It was hard at first. I was homesick, but Notre Dame wrapped me up with support,” she said. “I met people who are still my roommates today. Professors who are mentors. It gave me roots.”
She quickly immersed herself in the business school community through clubs like Student International Business Council and Smart Women Securities, where she now serves as a board member and mentor to underclassmen. She also joined the Sheedy Family Program, which bridges arts and letters with business — a perfect blend for students who want to find meaning in numbers and narratives.
In the summer 2024, Adrienne interned at Notre Dame’s Office of Financial Planning & Analysis and Treasury. “That internship set the bar so high,” she said. “The people, the support, the culture — it made me realize how important that is in any future workplace.”
And that future is already unfolding. In the summer 2025, she’ll be working in New York City with WP Carey, a real estate investment trust whose CEO is a Notre Dame alum. And in summer 2026, she’ll join Capital One’s healthcare investment banking group — a space that combines her business interests with her passion for impact.
But what Adrienne values most is connection — and that’s what led her to apply for the Hesburgh Women of Impact Mentorship Program.
She first heard about the program from an upperclassman on the Smart Women Securities board. The idea of being matched with a mentor — someone who wasn’t just professionally accomplished but personally invested — lit a spark. She wanted guidance, but more than that, she wanted genuine relationship.
That’s exactly what she found in her mentor, Sue Willis ‘86.
“At first, I thought I needed to prepare like it was an interview,” Adrienne laughed. “But Sue made me feel so comfortable right away. She asked what I needed, what I hoped for. It wasn’t transactional. It was warm, real.”
The connection deepened when Sue’s son, Brian, happened to be Adrienne’s interviewer during a coffee chat for Alpine Investors. Adrienne immediately recognized his last name and asked, “Any chance your mom is Sue Willis?” What followed was a full-circle mentorship moment — a network made personal.
Even when Sue’s schedule was busy, she made sure Adrienne was supported — asking Brian to stay in touch and offer guidance during Adrienne’s recruiting season.
Recently, Sue visited campus and treated Adrienne to breakfast at Rohr’s. “That just solidified everything,” Adrienne said. “This isn’t just a mentorship program. It’s a friendship — a relationship that grows with time.”
As Adrienne looks to her junior year, she is looking at how she can personally give back.
“I want to be on the other side — the one giving,” she said. “I want to guide students who are just starting out, who might not have the resources or background in financial services. That’s how we make change — by pulling others up with us.”
