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Team

Jeffrey Thibert, Paul and Maureen Stefanick Director

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Dr. Thibert joined the CUSE team in July 2013 and became Director in August 2017. His primary role is to oversee CUSE operations. He also advises students who are preparing applications for the Rhodes, Mitchell, and Schwarzman Scholarships.

After earning the B.S. in Cognitive Science at Carnegie Mellon University, he earned the M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of South Florida and the Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When not working, his favorite activity is taking long walks with his wife, son, daughter, and dogs.

View Dr. Thibert's Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

Kathleen Schuler, Associate Director of Scholarly Development

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Kathleen joined the CUSE team in August of 2013 as the Staff Assistant, and has worked several other jobs during her time at CUSE before taking on her current role in August 2023. Her main focus is on the Sorin Scholars Program, where she works as the program director, providing the cohort with programming, advising, and the sophomore seminar. She also provides advising and support to students participating in undergraduate research grants, coordinates campus partnerships, manages scholarly development advising practices, and runs office data initiatives. A native of Illinois, Kathleen earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Illinois State University (2009) and her Master of Science in Communication from Purdue University (2019). Before coming to Notre Dame, Kathleen worked at both Illinois State University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

 

Elise Rudt, Associate Director of National Fellowships

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Elise joined the CUSE team in June 2017. She advises students applying for global and political awards including the Truman Scholarship, Boren Scholarship, Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, and Gilman Scholarship.

To best help her students write about themselves, Elise began studying autobiographies and undertook an MA in technical communication from Texas Tech University, with a concentration on writing and self sponsorship. Prior to joining CUSE, Elise worked for CASA de Maryland as an Immigrant Integration Specialist AmeriCorps, where she mentored legal permanent residents preparing for their naturalization interviews. She also served as an Adjunct Citizenship Instructor/Program Assistant at Baltimore City Community College where the furthered her skills in helping others through applications and helped maintain the program through grant applications.

Emily Hunt, Assistant Director of Scholarly Development

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Emily joined CUSE in March 2020. She specializes in scholarly engagement activities related to research and graduate study beyond Notre Dame. These include Fulbright Study/Research grants, the Marshall Scholarship, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program, the McCall MacBain Scholarship, the Goldwater Scholarship, NSF REUs and other summer research programs, STEM graduate fellowships like the NSF GRFP and Churchill Scholarship, the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program, the Yenching Academy, and the Michel David-Weill Scholarship at Sciences Po.

Prior to joining the CUSE team, Emily worked for the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, supporting student and visiting fellows programs. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Pitzer College in Claremont, California. Outside of work, Emily enjoys hiking, running, and spending time with her husband and sons.

Mathilda Nassar, Assistant Director of National Fellowships

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Mathilda joined CUSE in September of 2021. She develops, manages, and evaluates campus advising processes for national fellowships. Her favorite part of her job is working with undergraduate students to achieve their fullest potential by advising them on national competitions. Her advising portfolio includes fellowships such as the Fulbright ETA, the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, the PBK Key Into Public Service award, Fulbright US-UK, the Gaither Junior Fellowship, the Critical Language Scholarship, the U.S. Peace Corps program, and others.

Mathilda holds a Master of Global Affairs with a concentration in international peace studies from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. Mathilda held a Kroc Institute Fellowship during her master's work, and she received both the Gilman Scholarship and the Freeman-ASIA award as an undergraduate. In between her undergraduate and graduate studies, she worked at a grassroots peace project in Palestine and served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Dubno, Ukraine. In her free time, Mathilda enjoys traveling, baking, dancing, reading Harry Potter, doing yoga, cuddling with her dog, and watching The Walking Dead with her husband.