Since he was young, Juan José (JJ) López '27 knew he wanted to pursue sports broadcasting. During his high school years in his hometown of San Salvador, El Salvador, he created his own YouTube channel (SirJJ88) and podcast (Fútbol en 8) to practice his craft, but he knew he wanted to take his studies further in college.

Now a sophomore in Keough Hall majoring in film, television, and theatre (FTT), López has taken full advantage of all of the opportunities Notre Dame has to offer, ranging from athletics to faith development.

As an international student, López admits he was nervous at first to make such a massive change in his life as going to the U.S. for college. But whether it was navigating snow for the first time or establishing new routines, López feels like moving abroad has helped him grow extensively as a person.

“I still miss my home, my parents, and my culture, but I definitely like the feeling of going through my own journey and crafting my personal story,” says López.

When it comes to crafting that story, López strategically chose his course of study to help him become as well-rounded as possible. As an aspiring sports broadcaster, he combines his FTT major with the sport, media, and culture (SMAC) minor to learn about all aspects of the television and media industry.

For continuous professional growth, he added the digital marketing minor to study brand management and audience engagement. For his own personal growth, he chose to minor in theology to develop his relationship with God in Notre Dame's theology department, which was recently ranked number one in the world by QS World University Rankings.

“I’m not sure if you can get it anywhere else—the ability to develop professionally, while also working on independent projects and fostering my personal spiritual growth at the same time,” López says.

A few weeks into his first year at Notre Dame, López learned that Fighting Irish Media (FIM), the in-house media agency for Notre Dame Athletics, was hiring.

Since then, he has worked for FIM’s Live Production division on live ACC Network Extra broadcasts in a variety of roles, like cameraman, audio operator, and, most recently, graphics operator.

This past fall, he was even a camera operator on football gamedays for the videoboard in Notre Dame Stadium.

“It’s awesome to find fans in the stands who are cheering for Notre Dame and seeing their reactions when they appear on the jumbotron!” he says.

His dream the whole time, however, was to be a play-by-play and/or color analyst on camera. After much preparation in the spring, López had the opportunity to call a few soccer matches in the fall for both the men’s and women’s teams.

The highlight of his college broadcasting career, though, was calling the men’s game on October 8, 2024, between the Fighting Irish and the Michigan Wolverines. Why? It was FIM’s first-ever broadcast in Spanish.

“Getting to do what I love and in my native language, so far away from home has been a blessing that I continue thanking God for. I’m sure that more Spanish broadcasts will be taking place in the near future, and it still feels like I’m living a dream,” says López.

As he reflects on his college experience so far, López has a couple pieces of advice for prospective and incoming students.

First, he says to let yourself grow each day and to celebrate the small wins along the way. He also emphasizes the importance of being your own best friend.

“As part of my check-in with myself, one of the last things I do every day before going to bed is asking myself what’s the one positive thing that I take away from each day, and it’s impressive how beneficial it has been for me to focus on the positive things from each day,” says López.

Lastly, López says to remember that everyone is writing their own story and a willingness to listen to these stories will foster friendships and connections to last a lifetime. “Stay true to yourself, walk alongside God, and write with him your own story!”

More Student Stories

• Maggie Enrietto '25: Bridging Business, Law, and Literature
• Riley Carlin '27: Engineering a Future in Innovation
• Faith and Friendship: A Q&A with Strategic Management Major Aleah Applin '27