Bryant Young ’94 accrued awards like quarterback sacks — and the defensive tackle racked up 89.5 of those in a 14-year NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers. He was an eight-time winner of the franchise’s Len Eshmont Award for courageous and inspirational play — no other 49er has received it more than twice — and was named the NFL’s 1999 Comeback Player of the Year after recovering from a broken leg and returning to his dominant form. Named to the Pro Bowl four times, Young earned a place on the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s. His latest honor is a culmination of all that came before: Bryant Young, Pro Football Hall of Famer. In August, he’ll become the 14th player from Notre Dame inducted into the shrine in Canton, Ohio, proving that he more than fulfilled the potential that inspired the 49ers to select the 1993 Fighting Irish captain and All-American with the seventh pick in the NFL Draft. . . . Speaking of hall of famers, Shannon Boxx ’99 also received her sport’s highest honor. She was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, recognizing a career studded with gold and defined by physical struggles. A member of Notre Dame’s 1995 women’s soccer national championship team, Boxx did not represent the United States in international competition until age 26, long after most players who reach that level. The defensive midfielder went on to play in 195 games over 12 years for the U.S. national team, the most ever for an American Black woman and 13th overall among U.S. players. Boxx persevered despite suffering from Sjögren’s syndrome, lupus and severe hip and knee injuries, playing for three gold-medal winning Olympic teams and the 2015 World Cup champions, once finishing third in the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year voting. . . . Americans who ventured to France during a half-century period beginning in the mid-1800s had a major influence on art in the U.S. An exhibit curated by Timothy J. Standring ’73 chronicles the extent of the transformation. “Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France” debuted at the Denver Museum of Art, where Standring is curator emeritus. The show, which moves on April 14 to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, features over 100 works by well-known and obscure painters, revealing how “these Americans abandoned the grand, idealized landscapes of the then-dominant Hudson River School and adopted broader, modern themes and freer, diverse styles, including Realism and Impressionism,” a Wall Street Journal review noted. . . . Boo Corrigan ’90, the athletic director at North Carolina State, has been named chair of the College Football Playoff selection committee. Corrigan, the son of former Notre Dame athletic director Gene Corrigan and brother of Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan, joined N.C. State in 2019 after eight years as athletic director at West Point. As chair of the CFP selection committee, Corrigan succeeds Iowa athletic director Gary Berta who served for the previous two seasons. . . . Brian O’Connor ’09MBA, principal of Veteran Enhanced Technology Solutions, wants to help other former members of the U.S. military thrive after their service ends. That mission received a boost in January when O’Connor, who served in the Marine Corps, was selected as one of 60 members in the 2022 class of Presidential Leadership Scholars. Chosen based on “leadership growth potential and the strength of their personal leadership projects aimed at improving the civic or social good,” the scholars spend several months learning from former U.S. presidents and administration officials, as well as leading scholars. O’Connor’s company, VETS, serves as “a bridge and foundation for elite, transitioning veterans to continue serving by empowering meaningful change within IT.” . . . After seven months as interim CEO of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Daniel Florin ’86 was appointed to the position permanently in February. Florin joined the Catholic Charities board in 2020 after his retirement as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Zimmer Biomet. Announcing Florin’s appointment, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades said, “The service of the poor and needy is an essential part of the Church’s mission, and I have every confidence in Dan’s heart for the poor and his superb managerial skills to continue the growth of outreach of Catholic Charities in our diocese.” . . . Sarah Childress ’03 joined The Washington Post in February as deputy editor on the long-term investigative team. Since 2012, Childress had been a digital reporter and senior series editor on the PBS program Frontline. There she led award-winning multimedia investigations in collaboration with local and national news outlets on subjects such as the rise of the modern militia movement, the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, and the environmental impact of unsafe conditions at a lead smelter in Tampa, Florida. Previously a reporter at Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal, Childress covered Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War and spent five years as a correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya. . . . Former ESPN personality Mike Golic ’85 and Meadowlark Media’s Jessica Smetana ’16 will host a one-hour weekly video podcast for the online sports betting site DraftKings. The show, still unnamed at the time of its February announcement, is expected to debut in the spring with a focus on the intersection of sports and culture. “Jess is a bit younger than me,” Golic told Variety. “She is very talented. We both love sports, we both love Notre Dame, and with the generational gap we’ll have a good time doing it.” . . . Daniel J. Briceland ’81, an ophthalmologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, will serve as the 2023 president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. A longtime state and federal advocate for patient’s rights, Briceland was elected by the academy’s 32,000-member community. Active for years in professional leadership, Briceland also chairs the board of the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company, the largest insurer of ophthalmologists. . . . Jubril Dawodu ’18 has been chosen as the inaugural fellow in Notre Dame’s Advanced Opportunity Athletics Administration Fellowship, a program designed to empower minorities to become leaders in the sports industry. A cheerleader as an undergraduate, Dawodu worked in corporate relations and game operations with Spurs Sports and Entertainment after graduating from Notre Dame. The 24-month fellowship, which began in January, will connect Dawodu to a variety of athletic events and department initiatives, as well as professional development and mentorship opportunities. . . . Talk about studying abroad. As two of 45 recipients of the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, Irla Atanda ’20 and Amber Bryan ’17 will each spend a year working at the U.S. State Department and another at an overseas posting while completing master’s degrees. DeJorie Monroe ’16 became the University’s first recipient of a similar State Department fellowship named for former U.S. Representative Charles B. Rangel. Upon completion of the program, the three women, who at Notre Dame majored in American studies, accountancy and Spanish, respectively, will receive appointments as foreign service officers.