Matonich, a Hibbing native, is recognized at Alumni of the Month for October 2009

Hibbing native Marco Matonich, a resident of Chicago, has been named Alum of the Month for October 2009 at The College of St. Scholastica. The Alum of the Month designation recognizes alumni who are role models to current students and an inspiration to St. Scholastica alumni.

Matonich graduated from St. Scholastica with a degree in humanities with a music and theater concentration in 1974. He earned a Certificate in Liturgical Studies from the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1997. He has a master's degree in pastoral studies from Loyola University in Chicago.

Matonich was a musical director for Stephen Schartz's "Pippin" at Hibbing Community College in 1978. He also worked for 19 years as a musical director at De La Salle Institute in Chicago.

He is a pastoral associate serving the Divine Providence Parish in Westchester, IL. His other roles at the parish are the director of liturgy and evangelization, director of adult formation and the Web designer/manager.

"I have found that these [Benedictine] values are best utilized by just ‘being there,' " he said. "Being the arms that hug in happiness and sadness, the shoulder that becomes the prayer without words, the hand outstretched as a gesture of welcome to someone new to the community."

The College of St. Scholastica is regularly recognized as one of the finest colleges in the Midwest. The 2010 "America's Best Colleges" survey by U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks St. Scholastica in the top tier of Midwestern universities. The Princeton Review recommends it as one of the "Best in the Midwest," and The Washington Post has rated it one of the nation's 100 "hidden gems" among U.S. colleges and universities.