Nothing Happens by Mistake: From Salisbury Street to South Bend 

Shekinah Kanamugire ’26 has always had an interest in planes. She had every intention of becoming a pilot–until one of her friends questioned if that was really her calling. 

“I love to see planes flying in the air,” she said. “But one of my friends was like, ‘really, Shekinah, you want to be a pilot? Monday, you’ll do something. Tuesday, you’ll do the same thing. Wednesday, the same…’ and I realized he was right on that point.” 

However, her love of planes continued, and led her in a different direction, to the study of aerospace engineering.  

“I remember in grade 10 back home, I took a course called planetary motion that I really enjoyed,” Kanamugire said. “It was amazing to see how the satellites move around, and to calculate all the physics and equations.” 

Born in Kigali, Rwanda, Kanamugire became an international student in high school, attending the Academy of the Holy Family in Baltic, Connecticut. It was there that her guidance counselor pointed her in the direction of Assumption University’s 3:2 engineering program.  

When Kanamugire toured Assumption she was struck by the campus environment, including the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, but the possibilities presented by the 3:2 program ultimately led her to become a Greyhound.  

Through the program, students receive a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree from Assumption after three years and then continue on to either the University of Notre Dame or the University of Washington at Saint Louis to receive a Bachelor of Science in an engineering field of their choice after another two years. 

Kanamugire chose to major in mathematics at Assumption and will be matriculating at the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 2025 to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering. She stressed the importance of her liberal arts education at Assumption, saying that it helped her think in ways she never imagined before.  

“The benefit is that you get to have a liberal arts education in a smaller, supportive setting and then go on to get the Bachelor of Science in engineering,” Kanamugire said. “A liberal arts education is not something I even knew about back home, and now I can’t explain how grateful I am for this degree.” 

Her favorite class, and the most challenging, was her very first theology course taught by Provost Marc Guerra. 

“I kid you not, I would finish that class, and I would just walk around campus and think about those interconnections like, ‘if that means that, does that mean that too?’ My mind would run in these beautiful circles,” she said. “That class showed me I shouldn’t take ideas and opinions for granted. Even if I believe something’s the right thing–why do I think it’s the right thing? Doing that abstract thinking can really affect who a person becomes.” 

Kanamugire has remained engaged in engineering research throughout her Assumption experience. She recently presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium on her experience assisting Professor Teresa Herd with creating a laser for her atomic physics research. But one of Kanamugire’s most rewarding opportunities came during her time with the Visiting and Early Research Scholars’ Experience (VERSE) program at Tufts University, where she worked with Professor Robert White on a NASA project. 

“Dr. White was making a balloon equipped with temperature sensors to fly over Antarctica, but because it needed to go so high, they couldn’t risk the sun affecting the sensor readings,” she said. “I got to design a reflective temperature cage that shielded the sensors from the sun’s interference while still allowing air to reach them.” 

Aside from academics, Kanamugire participated in several extracurricular activities, including the Student Government Association, campus ministry, club soccer, and serving as an orientation leader. She also recently sponsored a fellow student for RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, saying that she was able to learn a lot from the students participating and was inspired to see their willingness to continue in their faith.  

“Seeing their growth as people, even after they get their sacraments, showed me how God is working through their lives,” she said. “It’s very touching to see.”  

Kanamugire said that faith is important to her, and that it makes the study of math, science, and engineering more powerful for her. “It’s even more beautiful to think that there is law to creation. The world is not by chance–there’s nothing that happens by mistake,” she said.  

Kanamugire’s journey will continue in the fall, as she begins taking engineering-specific courses at Notre Dame. She will return to Assumption in the spring of 2026 to receive her degree in mathematics and walk at commencement alongside her friends in the Class of 2026. 

“I’m always excited about change when it’s good,” she said. “I’m nervous, but I’m glad I got this opportunity, and I am very grateful.”