Hall Staff
Rector: Sister Mary Donnelly, OP
I was born in New York, moved to Michigan when I was nine; leaving me without a New York accent! I am the product of 10 years of Catholic school education, having attended a public school for 7th and 8th grade. I attended Aquinas College graduating in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a history major, an English minor, and a secondary teaching certificate. Unfortunately in 1977 one could not beg, borrow, or steal a teaching position, so I worked in retail for the next 9 years. In 1986 I entered the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, completing a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis in 1990. I then spent the next 9 years at St. Paul Campus Parish in Big Rapids, Michigan as pastoral associate and campus minister. While at St. Paul I completed a Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan.
For 10 years, I served as the formation director for my congregation, guiding the women who entered the community on their journey to final profession. My years as formation director were both challenging and a wonderful gift; what a privilege to be invited into the process of discerning God’s desire for another. Sensing the movement of the Holy Spirit, I arrived at Notre Dame in July of 2008 to serve as Rector of Pangborn Hall. And what a wonderful “freshman” year it was for me! Each of my ministry experiences were challenging, grace-filled, and life-giving providing me with many graces and gifts. As the Rector of Flaherty Hall I wear many different hats: making sure the building is in working order, holding people accountable for their actions and inviting them to growth, to sharing life with an amazing group of dedicated and talented women. My advice to you is simple, be open to your surroundings, your classmates, your dorm mates, and your new roommate. College is one of the best times of your life! Mary Donnelly, OP [email protected] |
Priest-In-Residence: Father Steve Newton, C.S.C.
Father Steve Newton, CSC was born in Evanston, Illinois, the third oldest of eleven children. He is a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a Notre Dame graduate who majored in English. Currently, he serves as a Campus Minister at St. Mary’s College. Pastoral experiences include many positions in various schools, parishes and institutions throughout Illinois, Oregon, Indiana, and East Africa. He has been a teacher, Notre Dame Rector, founder of addictions treatment programs in the US and abroad, pastor, school president, and was the first director of the South Bend Center for the Homeless. In addition to his ND degree he has a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University, Chicago, IL and a Doctorate of Public Service (HC) from the University of Portland, OR, where he was also commencement speaker. He also claims the distinction of having been the last resident of the now demolished Corby Hall.
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Assistant Rectors
Kayla Gonzalez |
Welcome Flaher- Bears!
By way of an introduction, my name is Kayla Gonzalez. I am a recent graduate from Notre Dame with my Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) in Accountancy, supplementary major in Spanish, and a minor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. A bit more about myself is that I am originally from Edinburg, TX, I formerly lived in Lewis Hall, and this upcoming academic year, I will be pursuing ND’s Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) program while serving as your Assistant Rector (AR) in Flaherty Hall. I am a fan of anything that has to do with spending time with family and friends, meeting new people, going for a run/walk, playing volleyball, reading, and watching movies/TV shows. Throughout my time as an undergrad, I enjoyed staying involved with the broader Notre Dame community whether that be via my major(s)/minor activities, campus ministry, and other extracurriculars. A few of the highlights include serving as an accounting associate for the Jubilee Initiative for Financial Inclusion, a financial analyst for a startup competing in the Notre Dame Idea Center McCloskey Competition, a member of the Deloitte Scholars program, and (most importantly) a Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) sponsor/now (post Christ’s Resurrection aka Easter) a God-friend for a good friend/ my former roommate from Lewis Hall. Aside from these organizations, I have been a Girls Who Invest Scholar, a member of the Student International Business Council (SIBC) as a travel team analyst and project leader, a member of the Student Union Board in their special events committee, a member of the Sophomore Class Council as a spiritual and service coordinator, and the Magnificat Choir as a member/treasurer. Additionally, I served as a lector and eucharistic minister at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Outside of these student activities during the school year, I have served as an immigration legal services volunteer for the Catholic Charities of Dallas, a legal intern for a non-profit organization known as Migrant Legal Aid in Grand Rapids, MI, and as an audit intern for two summers with PricewaterhouseCoopers. If any of these are of interest to you, please do not hesitate to reach out to me about it! A couple of fun facts about me is that during my middle and high school, I had the privilege of being taught by amazing ACE teachers. Not only did my ACE teachers present the course material in an engaging and understandable way, but they also demonstrated a genuine commitment to our school community, despite their limited time at our school. It was through my ACE teachers that I was first introduced to the University of Notre Dame. Although my curiosity about Notre Dame began in middle school, it was not until I attended Notre Dame’s Vision program (right before starting high school) that I knew I wanted to be here in four years. With that in mind, I am an advocate for the ACE program and as a recipient of ACE myself, I am always happy to share more about it from a student perspective. Also, I had the fortunate opportunity to study abroad in Toledo, Spain during the spring semester of my junior year. During that time, I was able to live with a welcoming host family, and I had three older host brothers and two host sisters. At the end of my spring semester, they invited me to extend my stay to attend a family wedding with them. I had an amazing time at the wedding and will always be grateful for having been introduced by my host parents as their “Hija Americana.” Before applying to Notre Dame, I recognized that the quality of education provided by Notre Dame was only exceeded by the demonstrated devotion of its students to serving the common good, one another, our beloved school, and Christ Himself. Attending Notre Dame these past few years has felt like an extension of home, and I am grateful for the many who have helped me along my journey, for the opportunity to further my education here as part of the MSA program, and to have the honor of serving as your AR. As you embark on or are already on your own journey here, I sincerely hope that you too embrace the opportunities that are presented before you and make the most out of your time here, as it truly does fly by! If you ever have any questions for me or recommendations for helping to make Flaherty feel a bit more like home for you, please do not hesitate to reach out – I am here and happy to help in any way I can. Looking forward to meeting you soon! Sincerely, Kayla |
Resident Assistants
Gracie Wetli - 1st Floor
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Welcome home Bears! My name is Gracie Wetli, and I am incredibly excited to meet each of you! This year I have the privilege of serving as the First Floor RA. I am from West Lafayette, IN, but spent my junior and senior years of high school living in Frankfurt, Germany. My major is Chemical Engineering with a Biomolecular Concentration. Some of my favorite things to do are run, hike, bake, lift weights, and play sports. I love peanut butter, bread, chocolate, and baked goods (especially chocolate baked goods). In my time on campus, I’ve gotten involved in both the Flaherty community and the broader Notre Dame community. In Flaherty, I served as the hall president my junior year, the liturgical commissioner my sophomore year, and have played on our interhall flag football, basketball, and soccer teams (even though I have played limited organized soccer). In the broader campus community, I serve as a student assistant in the First-Year Engineering program, which means I will attend one section of the course all semester to help students learn the material and grade assignments from the course. If you’re majoring in engineering, I hope to see you in my class! I am also the VP of the Running Club, a tour guide, a supporting chair for the Engineering Leadership Council (ELC), a volunteer at Holy Cross House (an assisted living facility for Holy Cross Priests), and an intermural sports enthusiast. I’ve played intermural flag football, basketball, and indoor flag football and am hoping to expand my list to include broomball (hockey without skates) this year. With the help of my big from Flaherty, I have had incredible internship opportunities the past two summers, both with Roche Diagnostics. Between my sophomore and junior years, I worked in Santa Clara, CA implementing a statistical algorithm into manufacturing operations. This past summer, I worked in Tucson, AZ, helping streamline quality assurance product approval. Along with meeting great colleagues at work, I enjoyed the beauty these cities offered and the endless hiking to be done in both areas. My first three years at Notre Dame have been the best years of my life. I have met my best friends, made some of my favorite memories, and grown beyond measure. I am sure you will all feel the same way three years from now and hope your new home in Flaherty Hall is a part of that! Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and be authentically yourself – it’s the fastest way to find “your people!” If you have any questions, or just want someone to talk to over the summer or after we are back on campus, please reach out! I am so excited to meet each of you! August can’t come soon enough! Gracie Wetli :) |
Olivia Harle - 2A |
Hey Flaher-Bears!
My name is Olivia Harle. I am very excited to meet everyone and serve as the RA in 2A this year! I am from Syracuse, NY, right in the middle of the state. I am a true upstate girl! I am majoring in Neuroscience and Behavior with a supplemental major in Education, Schooling, and Society. I absolutely love anything to do with the brain, human interaction, and personal development. The focus of my capstone this year is on the protection of spirituality when it comes to the experience of anxiety and depression of college-aged individuals. Around campus, I am involved in Young Life and TA multiple classes! You will probably see me in Jordan Hall of Science or Tuesday nights in Duncan before heading to Hall Council. Some of my hobbies include yoga, pilates, Pure Barre, hanging out at coffee shops, reading, and watching reruns of NCIS! I love game days (literally any sport, if you tell me I’ll be there!), coffee, bible studies, and hanging out with my friends. Since high school, I have worked for Anthropology. I am now a manager and spend most of my summers there working. I will most likely tell you that half of my wardrobe is from that store. I got the amazing chance to be in London, England for six months to study abroad in both Summer and Fall 2022. During the fall I was a teaching assistant at a high school. It was an amazing experience building lesson plans and seeing the kids grow. They were also the best ones to ask when it came to recommendations! I am so thankful for the opportunities Notre Dame has given me. Since I stepped on to campus for my visit Junior year of high school, I knew this was going to be a forever home. I have met some of my best friends in the dorm and on campus. I cannot wait for everyone to have the chance to meet some great people and have experiences that will last a lifetime. I encourage you to try new things and make the most of all the possibilities. It sure does go fast, but I would not do anything differently. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out! I cannot wait to see everyone in the halls of Flaherty and walking around campus! Olivia Harle P.S. I love to go on lake walks so if that is your jam put a note on my door! |
Karina Solman - 2B
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Hey Bears!
Welcome home to Flaherty Hall! My name is Karina Solman, and I am so excited 2B your RA in the best dorm on campus this coming year. :) I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA (go Pens!), but I have been so blessed to call Flaherty my home since freshman year – the community really is unparalleled, and I have made the best memories with the incredibly loving, supportive friends who I met here. I am a Neuroscience and Behavior major in the College of Science, and I also have minors in Theology and Compassionate Care in Medicine. I hope to become a dentist/orthodontist in the near future, so I am currently in the process of applying to dental school. Some of my favorite things to do are running, walking, making friendship bracelets, and spending time with my friends. I’m always down for a walk around the lakes (as long as they aren’t covered in a sheet of ice), Trader Joe’s runs, and ND hockey games. On campus, I love staying involved – whether it’s in the dorm, for my major, or in other extracurriculars. Flaherty has always been a big part of my life, as I served as the Flaherty representative on First Year Class Council, Grace and Gratitude commissioner as a sophomore, and as Vice President of the dorm this past year. This year, I will be serving on the Senior Leadership Committee for the Neuroscience major which I am very excited about. I also completed an SSLP, an initiative held through the Center for Social Concerns, two summers ago in my hometown with the Notre Dame Club of Pittsburgh. I volunteer weekly at the Holy Cross House with retired priests as a patient companion, which is an incredible way to give back to those who have shaped our community on campus and hear their stories. Outside of extracurriculars, I am an undergraduate research assistant in the Family Studies Lab on campus and presented a project at a conference last spring. If any of these things interest you, please don’t hesitate to ask me about any of it! In previous summers, I have worked as a camp counselor and camp director. I spent this summer shadowing an orthodontist, applying to dental school, and spending time with my family at Treasure Lake (hence the section theme)! I am passionate about pursuing a career in dentistry for several reasons, so if this is something you are considering, I’d love to tell you more about it! Coming to Notre Dame has blessed me with so many wonderful opportunities and with even more amazing friends who have become family over the years. Being in Flaherty Hall has truly made me feel welcome on this campus, and our vibrant community is full of the most welcoming and fun-loving people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I am counting down the days until I get to welcome you into your new home, and I am looking forward to getting to know all of you as you begin your journey here at Notre Dame. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to me via email ([email protected]) or stop by my room when you get to campus (room 226). See you in August! Karina |
Kayla Nguyen - 3A |
Hey Flaher-Bears!
My name is Kayla Nguyen, and I am very excited to meet you all and serve as the 3A RA this Year! I am from Wichita, KS, and I am majoring in Biological Sciences with the College of Science. Some things I am involved in on campus are Biology Club, GlobeMed, Scientia, and Multicultural Student Programs and Services (MSPS). In Flaherty, I help run Flaherty Fronana, which is one of our weekly dorm food services where we serve frozen yogurt made from bananas! I also played violin for our weekly dorm mass in our Flaherty Chapel. Some of my hobbies include baking, running, and scrapbooking. You might find me grabbing a pastry from my favorite cafe on campus, Au Bon Pain, in the library, or watching the ducks in the newly built benches by St. Mary’s lake. A few of my favorite days on campus are football game days, Flaherty Hall berry masses, tulip season by the Grotto, and food truck Fridays. Some really cool memories at Notre Dame were when I had the chance to see Yo-Yo Ma perform live and attend a meet and greet with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie! One thing I love about Notre Dame is that there is always something going on around campus from campus organizations and student groups. I am excited to be a part of the first to welcome you all to Notre Dame, your new home under the dome! I have met some of my greatest friends at Notre Dame, and have made some of the best memories that I will remember for a lifetime. I am grateful for all of the opportunities that have opened up to me during my time here, and I encourage you all to live your time at Notre Dame to the fullest, because it goes by fast. I hope your journey at Notre Dame will be filled with meeting new friends and wonderful opportunities. If you have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I am looking forward to meeting you all very soon! Kayla Nguyen |
Meghan Chouanard - 3B
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Hey Bears!
My name is Meghan Chouanard and I am so excited to be the 3B RA this year! I lived in 3B my first year, so this is a fun full circle moment for me. I am from Independence, MN (30 min west of Minneapolis). I am majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Sociology. I am currently in the process of applying to medical school and hope to eventually become a physician specializing in pediatrics. On campus I am involved as a biochemistry mentor and have had quite a few roles in Flaherty. I am also involved in volunteering at Memorial Hospital, The South Bend Center for the Homeless, and A Rosie Place. My senior year I will be especially focused on working on my sociology thesis. One of the highlights of my time at Notre Dame was studying abroad in South Africa the summer between my sophomore and junior year. When I am not in class or volunteering, I enjoy taking walks around campus, spending time with friends, baking, traveling, and representing Flaherty Hall in interhall sports. I am a huge soccer fan and spent part of this past summer in Australia and New Zealand with my family watching the World Cup. I’m hoping to bring as many of these interests into section events as possible but would also love to hear about all of your ideas and interests! Flaherty Hall has been the most amazing home I could have asked for the past three years. Many of my best memories come from my time with friends in Flaherty. I am so excited to get to know all of you and continue to build the Flaherty and 3B community. Please feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] or stop by room 326. I can’t wait to see you in August and welcome you home!! Meghan |
Maria Murphy - 4th Floor
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Hello hello!
My name is Maria Murphy and I am so excited to be the 4th floor RA this year! I am from Darien, IL, which is a suburb of Chicago. I am pre med, majoring in Neuroscience & Behavior in the College of Science with a supplemental major in Theology. Some of my hobbies include Irish Dance, baking, reading, crocheting, listening to Taylor Swift, and watching movies. I love brunch food (ask me for South Bend recs!), musical theater, talking about studying abroad in Ireland, and hanging out with friends. On campus, I am involved in neuroscience research and I am the President of the Irish Dance team! I have done Irish Dance for 16 years and love being able to continue dancing with people who share the same love for Irish dance as I do. Over the years I have been very involved in Flaherty and I can’t wait for another year with this wonderful community. If you find me getting bearly baked on a Monday night, on a long walk to my fruit fly research in Harper, or dancing in Washington Hall- please say hello! I would love to share any of these things with you! For the past two summers, I worked for Pre College programs as a Resident Counselor and Course Facilitator for Summer Scholars! I did Summer Scholars back in 2019, so I absolutely loved being able to help prospective students fall in love with Notre Dame. This last summer, I took the MCAT and volunteered at my local hospital. I also spent time with my family and friends, went to a few Cubs games at Wrigley Field, and went to the Taylor Swift concert in Chicago (I am still processing the Speak Now re-release). Now, I cannot wait to be back in Flaherty and meet all of you! Notre Dame has given me great friends, incredible opportunities, and a true feeling of home away from home. I hope that your time here is filled with wonderful people, amazing experiences, and a whole lot of love and joy! Your Notre Dame experience is what you make of it. The time goes by quickly, so I encourage you to put yourself out there and embrace all that comes your way. Flaherty is a very special place, and I am so happy to be here with you! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out (room 426, [email protected]). See you all very soon! Maria Murphy |