Libby Keady
Baltimore, Maryland
Associate since 2016
“I do know, for sure, that the times in my life that I’ve been the strongest have been when I’ve been close to the sisters and inspired by them.”
-Libby Keady
“The sisters have always been a part of my life,” Libby Keady says.
Libby comes from a family of Notre Dame Preparatory school graduates. Her mom and aunts are graduates, and in 1998 she joined them as a proud alumnus of the school. She remained in touch with the School Sisters of Notre Dame through her work at Institute of Notre Dame. She then joined our co-sponsored ministry Marian House as the grants manager.
“On a personal level, Marian House has been such a blessing to me because it is very empowering to have meaningful work,” Libby said. “Unfortunately, so many women, young mothers, have to choose between working intensely 40+ hours a week or not working at all. I have great balance here.”
Recently Libby became an Associate with the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She credits the strong women in her life who are Associates with making the decision to become an Associate.
“The main catalyst is that I’m raising two young girls and I am a Catholic,” she said. “At times it’s hard to identify as a Catholic but I’ve always found the sisters to be very inspiring because of their emphasis on caring for the poor and downtrodden, and ultimate message of unity amongst humanity.”
Raising a young family is taxing on Libby’s time and she said taking on another responsibility like the year-long process to become an Associate probably isn’t practical but she felt called.
“It doesn’t really make sense but I need this. I think that this may be the most taxing period of my life: caring for my children, my husband, and my career, and I need to be strong,” she said. “I do know, for sure, that the times in my life that I’ve been the strongest have been when I’ve been close to the sisters and inspired by them.”
She adds that she hopes to pass on the inspiration she gets from her sisters to her daughters.
Libby encourages those who are interested in becoming an Associate but are worried they don’t have enough time to take the chance.
“I would say that it is like anything worthwhile, what you put into it you get back tenfold,” she said. “Being an Associate is easy in the sense that it’s so welcoming, my commitment can evolve, and hopefully down the road I’ll have more time to do things as an Associate.
