Grant Van De Casteele

Classroom

Van De Casteele is a four-time dean’s list honoree and boasts a cumulative GPA of 3.69 as a finance major in Notre Dame’s nationally-ranked Mendoza College of Business. He posted a 4.0 GPA for the spring 2012 semester. He has been named a BIG EAST Academic All-Star three times and was an NSCAA Scholar All-Region selection in 2010 and 2011. He is on pace to graduate in three and a half years.

Character

Van De Casteele was chosen by his peers during his sophomore year to be the men’s soccer team’s SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Council) representative at Notre Dame and as a junior he was elected as Notre Dame’s lone BIG EAST SAAC representative. As Notre Dame’s BIG EAST SAAC representative, he was invited to the conference’s headquarters in Providence, R.I., to discuss some of the issues that currently plague college athletics. Van De Casteele has participated in conference calls where the group presented legislation that the NCAA would be voting on and were asked to give their school’s opinion. Van De Casteele also has been chosen to be a Peer Advisor for Notre Dame’s First Year of Studies department. In that role, he will meet with freshmen and conduct one-on-one interviews to make sure they are transitioning well into college life and that they are not overwhelmed with all of the new experiences. He also serves as a tutor for the Academic Services for Student-Athletes department. This summer he tutored athletes in accounting and macroeconomic analysis.

Community

Van De Casteele has given his time to numerous community service activities. Last year, he participated in the I-STEP program with Perley Elementary School in South Bend. He went to the school every Friday during the spring 2012 semester to tutor/help students for the I-STEP, which is the standardized test they take at the end of the school year. Van De Casteele has worked with Notre Dame’s “Lose the Shoes” soccer tournament to benefit Grassroot Soccer, an international non-governmental organization that uses the power of soccer to educate, inspire and mobilize communities against the spread of HIV. Van De Casteele also has taken part in soccer camps for the Salvation Army. He has helped with Notre Dame’s Pediatric Christmas Party for local children who have to spend Christmas in the hospital. In addition, Van De Casteele has worked with Special Olympics of Rhode Island when he went to Providence, R.I., for a SAAC conference. He and the group worked with kids at a regional bowling event that served as a qualifier for the state championships.

Competition

Van De Casteele will start in the central defense for the Irish for the third straight season in 2012. He has started all 38 career matches in which he has played during his Fighting Irish career. Grant has tallied six points on three goals, while anchoring the Irish backline to 12 shutouts during that time span. He has helped the Fighting Irish post a 30-19-12 record in his first three seasons with the team.