Grafton roots helped honoree grow

Grafton High School graduate Sara Rusch was recently inducted into her alma mater’s Hall of Fame.

Rusch has been the regional dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine’s Peoria campus since 2008 and credits her roots for where she is today.

“I have to thank the Grafton community and high school with providing me with the foundation to move forward into the rest of my life and have a successful career,” she said.

The 1970 Grafton graduate said a lot has changed in the community since she went away to college. Rusch attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1974 and a medical degree four years later.

“Grafton has changed remarkably. Back then there were nothing but fields past the high school and out to the freeway. It was mostly a dairy farming community,” she said.

Rusch was born in Greensboro, N.C. When she was in second grade, her family moved to Grafton, where she attended Grafton Elementary School. Her family lived on Lakefield Road for two years before moving to Sunset Court.

“When I came to Grafton, it was a very German community and it was the only (foreign) language taught in grade school,” Rusch said. “They used to have a German-speaking service at the Lutheran church.”

Rusch’s Hall of Fame induction took place in the school’s library media center, and she was later recognized at halftime of the boys’ basketball game against Homestead on Dec. 7.

“It was thrilling because your whole life is a journey and it unfolds before you,” she said. “It was definitely a homecoming, and it felt very rewarding to receive so much recognition.”  

While touring the school’s new facilities, which are part of a $39.9 million project, Rusch was impressed with how so much has changed down memory lane.

“I was really blown away with the facilities and by the people who were there,” she said. “They have these interactive rooms and are doing so much with education in technical skills.”

During her visit, Rusch spoke to Grafton High School students interested in pursuing careers in biomedical science. Accompanying her were her husband Dr. Tom Cusack, who is a radiologist, and their daughter Katie Longo, a medical resident at UW-Madison.

“We really enjoyed talking about what attracted us to medicine, and how to prepare to enter that field as a career,” she said. “We told them that you have to identify what your dream is and then you go for it.

“It’s not about can you do it, it’s how are you going to do it,” Rusch said.

Following one’s passion is what led Rusch to pursue medicine as a junior in college when she initially intended to become a high school math teacher.

“I like the intellectual side of solving complex problems and the emotional impact because you can really make a great impact in the life of a person,” she said. “It’s that combination that makes the career so rewarding.”

As a regional dean, Rusch oversees the education of 227 medical students and direction of about 300 residents and fellows. She helped UIC’s College of Medicine nearly double the size of its residency programs and build a $13 million cancer research facility.

When Rusch isn’t busy managing the inner workings of medical college, she finds time to be with her seven children and nine grandchildren.

They often visit their family cottage in Appleton, which allows her to drive through her old hometown.

“I have so many great memories of Grafton even though it has radically changed since I graduated high school,” she said.