THE COUNTRY SHE NEVER EXPECTED TO LOVE

J'nae Player had never heard of Bulgaria.

Not in high school. Not when she arrived at the University of Notre Dame. Not even when she began searching for opportunities that would take her beyond the familiar.

Then she found an application.

The program was called Serving in Europe, a Notre Dame initiative that places students in Eastern Europe for eight weeks of service work. Students could rank their preferred locations.

Most students chose places they recognized.

J'nae did the opposite.

"I like to step outside my comfort zone and embrace the unknown," she said.

So she listed Bulgaria as her first choice.

Less than a year later, she would find herself working with refugees from Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan, helping children living in poverty, and wondering why she felt so connected to a country she had never heard of.

Today, the rising senior at Notre Dame is preparing for the University of Michigan's PPIA Junior Summer Institute and exploring graduate study in public policy and law.

Before graduate school, she hopes to continue gaining experience through service, research, and international engagement.

The country she can't stop thinking about?

Bulgaria.

The answer to why begins with a different decision entirely.

Walking Away From the Plan

When J'Nae arrived at Notre Dame, she thought she knew exactly what her future would look like.

She was a neuroscience major on the pre-med track.

The goal was simple.

Become a doctor.

Three months later, she changed her mind.

"I told my advisor, 'I don't want to be pre-med anymore. I can't do the chemistry. I don't want to do it.’"

Her family was shocked.

The path she had envisioned for years suddenly disappeared.

J'Nae moved from the College of Science to the College of Arts and Letters and began exploring subjects she had never seriously considered before.

One stood out.

Sociology.

"So I picked sociology," she said.

What felt like a dramatic pivot at the time became the first of many decisions that would shape her college experience.

Instead of following a carefully mapped-out plan, she started saying yes to opportunities that challenged her assumptions, stretched her comfort zone, and exposed her to communities very different from her own.

The farther she moved away from the future she originally imagined, the more curious she became about the world around her.

Learning Through Service

The first major turning point came after her freshman year.

Through Notre Dame's ND Bridge Program, J'Nae spent eight weeks in Canada working with adults with disabilities.

The experience left a lasting impression.

"It was very enriching," she said. "That's when I realized I was really interested in service work."

Back on campus, she looked for ways to continue that work.

She joined a student consulting organization that partnered with nonprofit organizations. One semester she worked with RAD Camp, a California camp serving children with disabilities. Another semester she consulted virtually with the Sisters of Holy Cross in Uganda.

At the same time, she commuted into South Bend to support entrepreneurs from low-income backgrounds who were trying to start and grow businesses.

Each experience exposed her to different communities.

Each revealed different challenges.

And each raised larger questions about opportunity, access, and the systems that shape people's lives.

Then came Bulgaria.

The Summer That Changed Everything

At first, Bulgaria was intimidating.

Most teams in the Serving in Europe program consisted of four, five, or six students.

Bulgaria had two.

J'nae and one other student.

"We were on our own," she recalled.

The uncertainty disappeared quickly once the work began.

During the eight-week placement, J'Nae worked with refugees arriving from Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan.

She spent time at centers supporting children and young adults with disabilities.

She participated in therapeutic activities, physical rehabilitation exercises, and educational programs.

Language barriers were everywhere.

Few people spoke English.

Conversations often relied on Google Translate, hand gestures, patience, and a willingness to learn from one another.

But something unexpected happened.

Although J'Nae arrived believing she was there to help others, she quickly realized she was learning just as much from them.

"They were teaching us something too," she said.

The experience that remains most vivid happened at a center serving children in one of Sofia's poorest neighborhoods.

Every day, J'Nae traveled roughly forty minutes from her apartment to reach the center.

She encountered families living in severe poverty.

She saw babies walking barefoot through the neighborhood.

She visited homes held together by blankets and temporary materials.

She watched teachers do everything they could to support children despite limited resources.

The children wanted help with math.

They wanted help with English.

More than anything, they wanted opportunities.

"They told me they wished they were in my position," J'Nae said. "They wanted access to education. They wanted the chance to help others.”

The conversations stayed with her.

One day, after complaining about the summer heat, she caught herself.

The temperature had climbed above 100 degrees.

She could return to an air-conditioned apartment.

Many of the children could not.

"It made me rethink and be grateful for what I have," she said.

For the first time, educational inequality was no longer something she understood only through an American lens.

She was seeing it firsthand in another part of the world.

Why Bulgaria Keeps Calling Her Back

Most students return from an international experience with photographs and memories.

J'Nae returned with unfinished questions.

As she thinks about life after graduation, J'Nae hopes to gain additional experience before pursuing graduate school.

One possibility is a scholarship or fellowship opportunity that would allow her to spend a year abroad, returning to the questions about education and opportunity that first captured her attention in Bulgaria before continuing on to graduate school.

The decision surprises many people.

After all, Bulgaria was a country she had never heard of before applying to the program.

Yet it remains the place she thinks about most.

"I look back at the pictures I took with the children," she said. "For some reason, I'm just drawn to going back.”

Part of her feels unfinished there.

She still thinks about the students she met.

She still remembers their stories.

She still wonders what happens next.

"I feel like a piece of me is still there.”

She hopes to better understand education in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe while continuing to explore how policy can expand opportunities for underserved communities..

The Next Chapter

This summer, J'Nae will attend the University of Michigan's PPIA Junior Summer Institute, one of the nation's most competitive public service leadership programs.

Her acceptance came as a complete surprise.

While studying abroad in Shanghai, she added PPIA to a long spreadsheet of fellowships and opportunities she planned to pursue. She submitted the application and eventually forgot about it.

Months later, she was convinced she had no summer plans.

Then an email arrived.

"I got it," she recalled. "I started bawling my eyes out."

Out of more than 700 applicants, she was selected for one of a limited number of spots nationwide.

The next chapter of her journey is still taking shape.

Graduate school remains very much part of her plans.

Before taking that next step, however, she hopes to continue building experience in the field, potentially through an international scholarship or fellowship that would allow her to work abroad and deepen the interests she has developed through her service, research, and policy work.

Questions about law, public policy, migration, refugee populations, and education continue to evolve.

What seems increasingly clear is the approach that has guided her journey so far.

When opportunities appear, J'Nae says yes.

A few years ago, she thought she was going to medical school.

A year ago, she had never heard of Bulgaria.