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Chaplains
Office Administrator
Fr. Peter Cebulka, C.O.,
Director
I am a native New Jerseyan,
having grown
up in rural Chesterfield Township in Burlington County. After
graduating college with a degree in religion, I entered the Fransican
Order as a brother, during which time I completed a Master of
Liturgical Music degree at Catholic University. After leaving the
Franciscans, I worked in nearby St. Joesph Church in Bound Brook as
director of music and as
a faculty member at the parish school where I also served for several
years as vice-principal. In addition to the M.L.M. degree, I hold an
M.A. in
Elementary Education from Seton Hall University and have done graduate
studies in liturgy and church history. Teaching is one of my deepest
passions
and it was no easy decision to give up the classroom when I began to
discern
the Lord calling me to priestly service.
I entered the seminary in September of 1990,
persuing theological studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Seton
Hall. Ordination was in May of 1993 at which point I was assigned
to St. Bartholomew Church in East Brunswick where I served as associate
pastor and, for three years, as principal of the parish school.
In September of 1998, Fr. Tom & I became two of the founding
members of the Metuchen Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri
and since that time I have served the community as Provost (superior).
St. Philip Neri, the founder of the Congregation of
the Oratory, had a great love for young people and enjoyed being in
their company. Ministry with college students is a work that is
truly in keeping with the spirit of St. Philip and the tradition of
the Oratory. My entire adult life has been spent in working with young
people in one way or another and I have been greatly enriched by the
experience. I am grateful to the Lord for giving me the grace to work
in
campus ministry and to be of service to the student community here at
Rutgers.
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Fr. Kevin Kelly,
C.O.
I was born in Silver Springs,
Maryland in
1964 but have lived most of my life in New Jersey. After graduating
from high
school, I attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City where I
received
a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in painting. I have
made
my living as an artist since that time. Aside from painting, I played
guitar
in a band for about 6 years. We recorded several records and toured
both
the United States and Europe. At the same time, I spent 5 years working
(on
and off) with the Bread and Puppet Theatre of Vermont. It was there
that
I learned about the power of art and its ability to convey the deeper
meaning
of the human struggle/experience.
In April of 2005, I was ordained to the priesthood,
serving in the Congregation of the Oratory, along with Fr. Peter
and
Fr. Tom. It is here that I continue to grow in our common life of
prayer,
charity, humility, and joy. It is both a challenge and a
blessing...filled
with great hope and unending possibility.
Included in my responsibilities is the coordination of Community
Service here at the Catholic Center, and am excited to be working
with the students
at Rutgers. I believe that we are called to assist one another in our
journey
of faith and to realize that everyone has something positive to offer.
The
students that I have met so far have been a source of tremendous
enthusiasm
and joy. I pray that the coming years will be filled with God’s grace.
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Br. Ken Apuzzo
My name is Br. Ken Apuzzo and I was born
in
the Bronx, New York City. I have two brothers and two sisters. My
family moved to Northern New Jersey (a small town called New Milford)
when I was in 3rd grade but it took awhile for “the city kid” to wear
off. I changed from a Public N.Y. school to a Catholic school. The nuns
were not impressed by my “street smarts” and I failed every class that
year. One Sister had mercy on me and actually gave me an F+.
Barely surviving Catholic grammar
school, I attended public high school and became really involved in
sports.
I played football, basketball and ran track. In the long run, (get the
pun) , I excelled at long distance running and was ranked in the State.
After high school I arrived here “On the
Banks”. If you ever need someone to counsel you in how to survive the
RU
screw, I am your guy. I was tripled on Livingston even though all
my classes were at College Ave. I had no meal card or I.D. card for the
first few days of the semester. I took 21 credits (yes-be amazed) my
1st
semester even though I had never read a book before in my life. I also
racked up quite a few parking tickets in my day. I could swear that RU
parking had secret agents that swooped in on you with “stealth
technology”.
You never saw them the tickets just magically appeared!
I joined a frat called “Squamish” had my
share of suds and parties and got bored of it all. That’s when I
finally decided to figure out what my Catholic faith was about. I went
on a student retreat and got blown away by God’s love. It was amazing
but
by my senior year most of my closest friends had all re-discovered
their
Catholic faith and God’s love. The impact of God’s love in my life and
on my friends was so awesome that I wanted to give something back to
God
and the Church in gratitude. I got to know the Brotherhood of Hope, a
Catholic
order of religious brothers, whose mission was to help college
students
get closer to God.
Well, here I am a Brother and one of your
Catholic Chaplains at RU.(The Sisters I had in grammar school now
believe in God more than ever). I have been a chaplain at Florida
State University, Boston University and the University of
Massachusetts. My favorite thing to do as a chaplain is to meet with
students on a one to one basis. If you ever want to talk just give me a
call or drop me an e-mail.
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Br. Adam Neri
Hi folks…Few things are better in life than hockey, a good baseball
game and good eating! Before my life as a religious brother and
chaplain, that about summed up what my life revolved around. I
was born in
Teaneck, New Jersey, but my family moved down to Berkeley Heights, in
good
old Union County. I have a large family, and by that I mean there
are lots of us. Eleven siblings, in fact. I love my family
immensely. It’s kinda hard not to when there’s seven guys and
four
girls to rumble around with. Never a dull moment!
This is not my first time on the Banks, as I
graduated class of 2000 from RU, then again in 2001 with my Master’s
Degree in Education. I am well acquainted with the joys and
sufferings of being an RU student. After spending time
doing mission work in various parts of the world, including Africa,
Mexico, and Central America, I taught high school English and Spanish
for a time and loved it. I met a group of radical and fun-loving
religious brothers from the Brotherhood of Hope, and began to
experience an increasing desire to do something great for God. I
became a Brother of Hope in July of 2005. Through my vocation as
a religious brother I now have many opportunities to do just that:
attempt great things for God. It’s an awesome life!
I’m available to help you out in whatever way I
can. Some of my favorite things to do are sports (hockey, of
course!) and talking one on one with students. Whether you just
need an ear to talk to, a voice to challenge you, a guide to help you,
or an opponent to try and
beat on the court, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
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Colleen Donahue
I am a native of New Jersey, born and
raised in East Brunswick. I attended Corpus Christi Elementary School,
East Brunswick High School, and took some courses at Middlesex County
College, but then elected to go out into the working world. I worked
for several years, met and married my husband, and then moved to
Hillsborough and
started a family. I stayed home for 12 years, raising our sons.
God has blessed my husband and I
with two wonderful sons. My oldest, Ryan, is a graduate of
Rochester Institute of Technology, with a degree in Information
Technology. Helives in Rochester and is employed by the George Eastman
House in Rochester as
their Webmaster and I.T. Specialist.
My younger son,
Matt, graduated from Fordham University with a degree in Business
Asministration wih a concentration in Economics and Finance. While at
Fordham, he played D-back for the Rams football
team., who won the Patriot League Championship in Matt's Junior year!
Matt is employed by ICP Capital Partners in Manhattan, and is
completing his Masters degree.
My husband and I were always very active
in whatever our son's were involved in, particularly sports. Whenever
they were on the field, either for practice or games, we were there!
Pat coached, and I was either the Team Mom or, in the case of youth
football, was the team's Trainer. When the boys started high
school, were were active members of their sport's booster clubs.
I am a Eucharistic Minister, love Eucharistic
Adoration, and was a catechist for 12 years, getting my Certification
as a Master Catechist in the Diocese of Metuchen from Felician College.
I also served on my parish's Pastoral Council, was active in Renew, and
taught Adult Education.
I love football, reading, both fiction and
non-fiction, watching "vintage" TV shows , being by the ocean,
and SNOW!
I always had a great love of my Catholic
faith and was always active in ministry, so when my boys got older
and it was time for me to head back to the workforce, a job at
The Catholic Center seemed like a perfect fit for me! I'm in my
12th year at the Center and love working here. I am continually
impressed
with the caliber of students who grace us with their presence,
their ministry, their affection, and their wonderful faith. Stop in the
back office and say hello when you come by!
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Chaplain Annette Miller
Although I was born in Wisconsin, I spent most of
my life growing up in Middletown, NJ. After graduating from Red
Bank Catholic High School, I attended Saint Mary's College in Notre
Dame, Indiana where I majored in History. While at St. Mary's, I became
involved in their Campus Ministry program. As a result of that
experience, I chose to attend Seton Hall University's School of
Theology. During my time at Seton Hall, I earned my Masters Degree in
Pastoral Ministry while gaining expereince as a Graduate Assistant in
Campus Ministry. While there, I helped
facilitate retreats, small faith sharing groups, as well as their
annual
Stations of the Cross.
Since graduation, I've been fortunate to minister
with high school students in both a parish and school setting. While I
worked with these students, I helped organize a wide variety of
community service events and retreats as a way of helping them grow
deeper in their fatih.
Some of my hobbies include reading, sports and
traveling. A few years ago, I was able to spend time in Rome and loved
the experience!
I'm very excited to be here at Rutgers and to
have the opportunity to minister with the students. Our Catholic faith
is something that is so important and I'm happy to share that with
others.
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Sr. Ellen Kraft, SJH
I belong to the Sisters of Jesus Our Hope, a closely-knit
Community of Religious Sisters whose mission is to bring hope in Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, and to lead others to know Jesus as their hope.
Life has been exciting since I joined the Sisters! I studied at the
Franciscan U. of Steubenville, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in
Education, taught pre-school, Kindergarten, and 2nd Grade, and was sent
to World Youth Days in Rome and Toronto. Like Jesus, I live a life of
obedient love, and I am thrilled that the Good Lord has sent me to
serve you here at The Catholic Center.
Some background: My family still lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,
where I was born and raised. I am the eldest of four, a nicely balanced
mix of two boys and two girls. I enjoyed singing in a variety of
choirs, taking ballroom dancing lessons, reading, horseback riding,
canoeing, hiking, skiing, and traveling. Since my dad had his own
business in prosthetics and orthotics, that was the field I entered. My
college years at the George Brown College of Applied Arts and
Technology in Toronto, Ontario were my first years really away from
home. I made many friends, and did many things. I did go to Mass
every Sunday, but only so that I could truthfully tell my mom that I
had. A relationship with God was not high on my list of priorities.
When I returned to Ottawa, I began working for my
father and looking for “the God of my youth”. I realized that while the
world that God had created was wonderful, beautiful and so exciting to
live in, it really was rather empty without Him. One Friday evening,
after attending an evening Mass, I followed the sound of music, and
discovered a large group of young people singing religious songs. Many
of them were really good-looking young men, and since I was planning on
getting married and having 12 children, I joined the group because of
the prospect of finding a good, Catholic husband. They called
themselves the “Prayer & Share” group, so, besides getting to know
some very fine and holy young men (and young women), through them and
with them I also came to know and love Jesus in a very real and
personal way.
Now I am a (very happy and content!) Sister of Jesus Our Hope, and if
you want to know how that happened, come and ask me. I love to tell the
story!
Paula Rozofsky, Intern
Hey
everybody! My parents are both
from the Midwest so I was born in Omaha, NE. Soon after I was born, my
family
moved to Perry then to Tallahassee, FL. For most of my life I have
lived in
Tallahassee, so I decided to move away to get my AA degree. I received
my AA
from Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, FL. When my time in
Community
College was coming to an end, I prayed long and hard to find out where
the Lord
wanted me to finish college. UF and FSU both have amazing Colleges of
Education, but the Catholic Student Union (CSU) at FSU pulled me back
to Tallahassee.
While
at FSU I was working, taking
classes, doing field work in elementary schools, and participating in
the CSU
group. Some of the things that I helped with in CSU were: retreats,
women’s
events, respect life, and being a Eucharistic Minister.
I LOVED seeing my peers at daily mass, CSU
events, reconciliation, adoration, and anything else that was going on
in the
local church and student center. Not only was I blessed by the
Brotherhood of
Hope, the church staff, and the students, but I was also blessed by the
married
couples and families at the church. My prayer life and relationship
with the
Lord are at very good places, and I know that the support of the CSU
community
helped me get to where I am now.
As
graduation was approaching, and
many of my friends were finding jobs in elementary schools, I wasn’t
excited
about hunting for a teaching job (even though I LOVE teaching). My
heart was
set on coming up here to New Brunswick and interning with CSA at RU.
The Lord
answered my prayers by saying “yes” to my internship. CSU and “The
Bros” have
blessed my life in countless ways, and I am so grateful to be able to
give
back. You will see me around campus, the catholic center, and CSA
events and I
can’t wait to meet you, so come find me! If you ever need someone to
talk to,
pray with, walk with, eat with, or you just need a friend, please don’t
hesitate to let me know!
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