Thx to @adrianamperezr & @evanjmckenna for the great story & video today in the @NDSMCObserver w/my reflections on the lessons, tough challenges & thrilling memories of being the 1st female on @NotreDame's Irish Guard.

https://ndsmcobserver.com/2020/09/we-have-to-evolve-tradition-20-years-later-molly-kinder-reflects-on-her-experience-as-first-irish-guardswoman/

Now, Twitter, I need your help! 1/

I need everyone's help tracking down the man pictured here in a white shirt & holding his daughter. He is a @notredame alum & former Irish Guardsman. Photo was taken during @notredame's season opener vs @TAMU in Sept 2000.

For 20 years, I have wanted to meet & thank him. 2/

The man and his daughter are photographed standing in front me during my first ever Irish Guard inspection -- an old tradition before ND football games when the Guard captain would inspect the uniforms of each member of the (10-person) Guard while the marching band played and 3/

hundreds of onlookers gathered. At the end of his inspection, the captain would welcome returning Guard alum (like this man in the white shirt) to step forward & do their own (often rowdy & taunting) inspections of current Guard. It looked like this: 4/

While my experience that day marching into Notre Dame's stadium for the first time as a member of the Guard was absolutely thrilling, the Guard inspection was a different story. Days earlier, in a meeting with a senior administrator from the university, I learned that alum of 5/

the Guard had placed angry phone calls to the university about my selection. Dozens of furious Guard alum planned to attend my first inspection. The university went as far as placing priests with collars and police officers at the inspection to try and deter bad behavior. 6/

As I stood at attention that Saturday morning, I looked out at the crowd as I heard the ever-louder jeers and grunts from the tall Guard alum waiting their turn to inspect. Looking back at me were my family, friends, roommates, classmates, supporters, TV cameras, and most 7/

worryingly, lots of little children. Like this red haired girl, who looks about the same age as my daughter Bridget is now. I had no idea how I would be treated by the Guard alum. And I could do nothing else but stand stoically at attention & await their inspection. 8/

When the Guard captain called for the returning Guardsmen to step forward, I saw from the corner of my eye a large group of men emerge. With a sigh of relief, I saw them crowd boisterously around the Guardsmen to my right -- leaving me alone on the end. 9/

The message to me from these Guard alum -- and echoed by my 9 fellow guardsmen all season - was clear: you are not welcome in this brotherhood.

Then, a few tense minutes later, I was no longer alone. 10/

As I looked straight ahead at attention, the man in the white shirt walked toward me w/ his daughter.

"Molly, welcome to the Guard," he said. "This is my daughter. She hopes to be on the Irish Guard someday."

His kindness brought tears to my eyes then, as it does now. 11/

For 20 yrs, I have wondered who this man is.

This w/e, as my mom and I searched for old Guard photos for the @NDSMCObserver story, we discovered his photo.

Twitter usually brings me Doom. Perhaps this time, it can help me thank a stranger for his warmth, grace & class. 12/

Success! Thanks to so many tweets & RTs and help from @NotreDame alum, I am beyond grateful to find
@PaulReuvers & his daughter @cottoneyedcourt. They make me so proud to be a @NotreDame and Irish Guard alum.