PHOTO: ADRIENNE GRUNWALD
“It really helped me be successful at what I do by giving me a strong problem-solving background,” says Sikoscow.
Not least among the problem-solving skills he learned at MIT, where he double-majored in mathematics and in electrical engineering and computer science, was the ability to navigate a five-story-tall Christmas tree through the front door of a Back Bay brownstone.
In keeping with annual holiday tradition, he says, he and his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers would acquire the biggest pine they could find, transport the tree back to Boston, and somehow squeeze the massive fir into their building at 532 Beacon Street.
His senior year, the Boston Fire Department showed up, not to stop the tree-raising but to settle a firehouse wager: Some of the firemen “didn’t think you guys could shove a five-story tree up a house,” the captain explained.
“That’s an insane thing to do,” Sikoscow acknowledges with a laugh. “My fondest memories of MIT are of epic stories like that, of working hard and having crazy adventures while doing it.” In addition to his studies, he played three seasons of varsity soccer at the Institute.
“The people at MIT are the most remarkable group of people you’ll ever be with,” he says. “Everyone’s interesting, everyone’s unique and curious and inspired, and you’ll never be anywhere again with so many people like that concentrated in one place. That’s by far my reason for loving it.”
“One of the most pivotal experiences of his life”
He and his wife, Jill Durso, an actress, live in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan with their two children. Sikoscow grew up in Westchester County, New York, the son of a Bronx plumber and a dietician at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Queens. He volunteers as an educational counselor interviewing prospective MIT students from the Bronx.
“Joe talks about going to MIT as one of the most pivotal experiences of his life,” Durso says. “I’ve had the pleasure to get to know many of his compatriots, and I haven’t met many people who are that close, which I think was a function of their environment.”
The couple recently made a significant gift in support of MITES Summer, a six-week, on-campus program that immerses high school juniors from across the country in life at MIT. Participating students take five rigorous courses in math, science, and humanities; receive college admissions counseling; and gain firsthand insights into the value of STEM degrees while developing academic and personal skills to set themselves up for success.
The couple say their gift was motivated by a desire to have a positive impact on the future and provide opportunities for students from underserved backgrounds.
“I liked the combination of the mission and the ability to change an individual person,” Sikoscow says of MITES. “It makes a singular difference to kids who have that experience. Here you’re getting an expense-paid trip to go explore the world.”
SUPPORT MITES
Marking its 50th anniversary in 2025, MITES provides students in grades 7–12 with the opportunity to develop skills and a sense of belonging in the STEM fields while empowering them to use their knowledge to address challenges facing their communities and the world. More than 5,000 students have participated in MITES’ programming, which is offered free of charge to participants. MITES is working, one student at a time, to advance access and equity in STEM. Give to MITES.
He and Durso, a 2005 Harvard graduate, expressed concern about current challenges facing higher education in the United States. They believe universities must remain focused on their core educational mission.
“I think it’s very important for all of these institutions to hold dear to what they feel are their strengths,” Durso says.
Sikoscow says, “I have faith that these places have been around for generations and will be around for generations to come. Humanity moves forward through research and ideas and education, and you don’t move forward by going backwards. You can’t put science back in a bottle and go back a thousand years. We’ve got young kids: What does it look like in the next 20 years for them? What do their jobs look like? What does the environment look like? What does the world look like?”
They support higher education as a way of being “good stewards for the future,” they say. “The only way these experiences are going to continue is if people make sure they are available for others,” Durso says.
Sikoscow says, “It’s important to think about what you want the world to be. If you’re lucky enough to be successful, give back. You are not successful on your own, independent of everything around you, but a product of the path you took. So build the path for the next person.”