FROM THE RECTOR
Brogan Ryan, csc
To the Newest Members of Keough Hall,
Congratulations on your acceptance to the University of Notre Dame and on being assigned to live in Keough Hall! We are thrilled to welcome you to our community and hope that it will soon feel like home. When you arrive at Marilyn M. Keough Hall in August, you will join 270 other Notre Dame men who work hard to make Keough a place where it is easy for one another to be good. Keough is a vibrant community whose men have earned their motto: “Brothers. Scholars. Champions.” Not only do we live together under the same roof, but we pray together, we study together, we play together, we celebrate together, we mourn together, we challenge and support each other, we strive to become close neighbors, trustworthy friends, brothers. This is both a gift and a challenge to you.
When you move into Keough Hall, you will gain the communal strength and support that is the unique hallmark of the residential tradition at Notre Dame, one that is guided by Notre Dame’s founding religious order, the Congregation of Holy Cross. I am in my second year here in Keough Hall, serving last year as an Assistant Rector. In addition to taking on the new role of Rector, I will also undergo some other significant life changes this year. In August, I will profess perpetual vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross and be ordained a Deacon. And then in April, I will be ordained a Priest. Although this might cause confusion for all of the men in the Hall (I will go from “Brogan” to “Deacon Brogan” to “Father Brogan” in the course of a year!), I am beyond excited to share in this process with you and to be able to say that Keough Hall will be the community that taught me how to be a deacon and then how to be a priest.
A few other things you should know about me: I have been at Notre Dame off and on since 2004, but I am originally from Columbus, Ohio, where I grew up with 10 siblings, including an identical twin brother. I am a big fan of Notre Dame sports, enjoy reading, spending time active and outdoors and l like to garden.
In addition to the men of the Hall, I am joined in our work of building community by our excellent Hall Staff: two Assistant Rectors and seven Resident Assistants, as well as many other student leaders and our Priest in Residence, Fr. Nate Wills, csc. (You can find out more about them on our website.). We are all committed to your flourishing here at Notre Dame and in Keough Hall and will be here for you throughout the year in every way possible. While every transition comes with bumps in the road, I trust that you will find living in Keough Hall one of the best aspects of coming to Notre Dame.
I hope you enjoy the remaining weeks in advance of your arrival here at Keough Hall. I trust that the information provided will prove helpful to you, but feel free to contact me if there is anything I can offer prior to your arrival. In the meantime, know of my prayers for you.
Peace,
Brogan Ryan, csc
Rector – Keough Hall
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Nick Schleith
Men of Keough,
On behalf of Hall government and all of the brothers here in Marilyn M. Keough Hall, congratulations on your admittance to Notre Dame. This is a huge accomplishment and will shape your life going forward. The next four years will be the most special of your life and ones that you will never forget. Great times are coming; over the next few weeks, take the time to thank all the people who helped you towards this awesome next chapter of your life.
My name is Nicholas Schleith, and I am a junior ACMS and Economics major from Long Island, New York. This year, I have the honor and privilege of serving as Keough Hall’s current President. First off, congratulations! The grace of God placed you in Keough Hall, the best men’s dorm on campus. We really cultivate an incredible community here and all of the residents love it.
Here in Keough, we live by the motto: Brothers, Scholars, Champions. We are brothers in the way that we live in a tight-knit community together. Sure, your college life will consist of the normal things: schoolwork, extracurriculars, etc. However, here in Keough, it’s a little different. There are always guys around to play you in FIFA, watch the game (or all of them since we have RedZone) on Sundays, or even go play 9 holes at ND’s golf course, which is a five-minute walk from Keough. Next, scholars. This builds off the way we are brothers. Have a challenging problem you’re having trouble getting through? Look no further than your brothers in Keough to lend a helping hand, always. The atmosphere of group work that is available to the men of Marilyn is unparalleled and has been a crucial part to my academic experience at Notre Dame. Lastly, we are champions both on and off the field. Our signature event here in Keough is our annual Chariot Week, a week in October during which we host athletic and dorm spirit events all culminating in Chariot races with homemade chariots and a toga dance. Also, throughout the year, there will be many dorm events that we will host: Marilyn Madness (a 3v3 spring basketball tournament), a formal come spring, and a host of other events with our sister dorm, McGlinn.
During your first year in Keough, you are going to have an abundance of opportunities to meet new people and try new things. My advice: embrace all of this. Talk to people, come to mass on Sunday nights, get involved in Hall government and/or the section in which you live. Keough Hall has presented my fellow Roos and I with so many opportunities over the last two years, and we want to share these with all of you.
We cannot wait for you to come home in August! Living in Keough is an incredible blessing that you all will come to realize very shortly. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out by texting me at 516-413-5054 or shooting me an email at nschleit@nd.edu. My door, 406, is always open. I wish you and your families all the best during this transition period, but I assure you that there is no more welcoming and electric atmosphere than what we have here in Keough Hall.
Welcome home,
Nick Schleith ’20
FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT
Will Henry
Newest Roos,
Welcome to Keough Hall! My name is Will Henry, and I’m a junior Finance and ACMS major from Dallas, Texas. I’m very excited to be able to serve all of you as Keough’s VP next year, and if you’re reading this, it means you won the random dorm lottery-congratulations! Keough is objectively the premier men’s residence hall in the greater South Bend Area, and there are many reasons for it. When I heard that I was going to live in Keough as a freshman, I did not know what to expect, and I imagine many of you are having very similar thoughts right now. Keough is not one of the first dorms that comes to mind when an incoming student is thinking about what dorm they are going to be in, but Keough is one of the few places that allows for you to have whatever experience you want, and that’s what makes it so special in my mind. Want to have a quiet night in and get ahead on work? Keough’s the place for you. Want to experience the “nightlife” of Party City, USA (South Bend), you can always find a group of Keough guys to join you. Looking for an electric atmosphere to watch Red Zone on Sunday’s? Check any of the elevator lounges but avoid the third floor if Cam Kaupp’s Saints are losing. No matter what it was, all of my favorite Notre Dame memories involve Keough in one way or another. I truly feel blessed to have been put in Keough, and I am very excited to welcome you all into our community full of amazing people. If you have any questions or concerns over the summer or anytime during your freshman year, feel free to text me at (214)-668-1116 or venmo me a few cents (@willhenry13) and include your question in the description. Last, but certainly not least, get hype for Domerfest.
Welcome Home,
Will Henry