Success Stories
Discover how Alvernia University students, alumni, and faculty turn education into action. Explore success stories of leadership, service, and innovation that reflect our Franciscan mission. Ready to see where your story begins? Explore how you can join a community that leads with purpose.
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Criminal Justice grad and retired adjunct continues to serve with bereavement-focused books, support group
It’s hard to put Dominic Murgido ’79 in one descriptive box.What lead him to Alvernia, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a double concentration in sociology and psychology? It may have been the talks he had with his fa...
Industry-focused faculty fuel COO’s career trajectory
Industry-focused faculty fuel COO’s career trajectoryWhen LeeAnn Smulligan MBA ’09 walks into a room, people listen, not solely because of her title, but because of the way she leads. With more than two decades at Mrs. T’s Pierogies, Smulligan has...
Community need sparks Alvernia grad's entrepreneurial spirit
As a student in Alvernia’s occupational therapy program, Mary Strausser MSOT ’08 did not anticipate a career that centered around children.“I remember telling my classmates I had no interest in working with kids,” she recalled. “I thought I’d be p...
Pre-professional program helps land spot at one of world's top veterinary schools
You might say Kaylie Rowe’s spark for animal care ignited when the town’s “crazy cat lady” walked into her mother’s workplace when Rowe was a child. “I have kittens that need homes!” she declared.One of those kittens, a black domestic shorthair na...