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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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...
New Jersey couple become Alvernia parents for third time
While Thomas and Christina Figurelli of Mullica Hill, N.J., saw all three of their children attend Catholic school growing up, they likely would never have imaged they’d all choose the same Franciscan college post-high school.But it was kismet.“We...
Major switch leads to major viral moment with Reading Royals
When Emily Barrett '25 enrolled at Alvernia University, it was the school’s nursing program that caught her attention. As a caretaker for her grandfather while growing up, nursing seemed like a natural fit. She was also touched by the personal, ha...
Online-program flexibility helps ambitious adult student create her comeback
English Bradley ’26 has “this happy, delusional optimism all the time,” as she put it, and a firm belief that everything will work out, even when hope might appear slim.At her lowest, the Reading native was forced to drop out of college when finan...