As Notre Dame welcomes the start of another school year, two residence halls welcome new rectors. Sr. Susan Sisko of Badin Hall and Fr. Matt Kuczora of Carroll Hall will take on new roles in the community as leaders and mentors of students in the dorms.
Margaret Morgan, director of Residential Life Recruiting, said that when hiring new rectors, she looks for people who will provide care and support to students throughout all of life’s situations.
“We search for people who will see their work as a ministry,” Morgan said. “I think that new rectors impact the Notre Dame community with a fresh energy and zeal for their work in the halls.”
According to a press release from the Office of Student Affairs, Sr. Sisko is a Connecticut native who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Duquesne and a master’s degree in theology from Notre Dame in 1991. She has worked as a teacher and administrator in various Catholic schools and institutions for over 25 years.
Sisko said she worked with young adults for number of years in previous jobs and is excited for the chance to return to the University and work with its students.
“I’m most looking forward to meeting the young women of Badin Hall and walking with them day by day,” Sisko said. “I hope to share life with these young women and help them be the people God is intending them to be, whether they are beginning or completing their journeys at Notre Dame. To see these students grow and mature, and to be even a small part of that experience, will be so rewarding to me.”
She said hopes to continue to foster the healthy community in Badin built up by her predecessors.
“I know that Badin has traditionally been a hall that takes pride in its warm, loving community,” Sisko said. “My goal is simply to build upon the foundation that was placed here before me. I hope use my energy, my enthusiasm and all of my gifts to continue and add to Badin’s great history and traditions.”
Fr. Matt Kuczora graduated from Notre Dame in 2005 with a degree in accounting and again in 2011 with a Master of Divinity, according to a press release from the Office of Student Affairs. He was ordained a priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross in 2011.
Kuczora said that Holy Cross priests and brothers have been serving as rectors at the University since its beginnings.
“As a Holy Cross priest, I can live out my religious order’s mission to be an ‘educator in the faith’ in a 24/7 role that impacts the lives of the future leaders of our society,” Kuczora said. “When I had a chance to apply for a position like that, I didn’t think twice about it.”
Kuczora said he remembered feeling incredibly welcomed since his first day as a freshman at the University and served as a resident assistant during his senior year.
“The dorm experience created a powerful network of brothers that remain some of my best friends to this day,” Kuczora said. “As the new rector of Carroll Hall, I’m most looking forward to passing on that great experience to future generations of Notre Dame students.”
He said he hopes to continue to promote the environment of welcome and respect he experienced during his time as an undergraduate student.
“My favorite part of the Notre Dame dorm system is the way we welcome all people and invite them to create lasting bonds of friendship and even of family,” Kuczora said. “I hope that residents find their dorm to be a place where they don’t have to perform or be perfect, where they can be themselves and be accepted just as they are.”
Morgan said she believes the new rectors will have a positive impact on the Unviersity community.
“Fr. Matt and Sr. Susan bring a wealth of rich ministry experience with them,” Morgan said. “I think their time in both Badin and Carroll will be filled with laughter as they work towards our Holy Cross Mission of cultivating hearts and minds.”
