Undergraduate Student Perspective: Allison Elshoff ’26

For many, a great GPA and a degree in Business Analytics are markers of academic success. For Class of 2026 Salutatorian Allison Elshoff, they are also tools for transformation. A student in the Mendoza College of Business with minors in the Hesburgh Program in Public Service, the Business Honors Program and Impact Consulting, Allison has spent her four years at Notre Dame proving that the most important "bottom line" is measured by the lives one improves.

As co-president of the Innovation for Impact Club, Allison led initiatives supporting women’s education at Saint Bakhita’s Vocational Training Center in Kalongo, Uganda. This opportunity through the Powerful Means Initiative allowed her to move beyond theoretical problem-solving to hands-on global partnership. The turning point in her undergraduate career came during the winter break of her junior year, when she traveled to Uganda to connect with the students she had previously only known through a screen. “It was one of those moments when I thought, ‘This is why I’m here at Notre Dame, to do this kind of work,’” Allison reflects. “Getting to know the women of Saint Bakhita’s... was transformative in ways that classroom instruction alone couldn’t have been.”

The Power of the Narrative

While her major focuses on analyzing data, Allison’s passions also lie in storytelling. Since her first year, she has been a viewpoint columnist for The Observer. This year, she launched “Off the Dome,” a profile series highlighting the faculty and staff who form the backbone of the Notre Dame community. Her leadership extends across nearly every facet of campus life, such as:

• Serving on the Cabinet of University Policy in Student Government.
• Acting as a team lead for both the Student International Business Council (SIBC) and the Notre Dame Student Policy Network.
• Serving as a peer leader in the Moreau First-Year Seminar and a mentor for the "Early Bridges to Data Science" program for middle schoolers.

A Focus on Character

Allison credits Notre Dame’s unique environment for helping her find her "moral compass." Whether she was working as a teaching assistant in Mendoza or serving as a communications intern with the U.S. House of Representatives, her focus remained on the purpose of her education. “I think what sets Notre Dame apart is its focus on cultivating people’s character,” she says. “There has always been an emphasis not just on what we learn, but what the purpose of it is: How it will help us find fulfillment and help us improve the lives of other people.” That same spirit was also reflected in the professors and people she met along the way at Mendoza. "Overall, what I'll carry with me is how much the faculty cared across the board,” she said.

“My Mendoza experience wouldn't have been the same without the people in it!"

The Road Ahead

Following a successful internship with Deloitte in Washington, D.C., Allison will return to the firm after graduation to begin her career in government and public services consulting. As she prepares to represent the Class of 2026 at Commencement, Allison Elshoff has built a legacy of curiosity, empathy, and a profound understanding that business, at its best, is a Force for Global Good.