Success Stories

Success Stories

Discover how Ë®¹ûÅÉ 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.

Search for success stories at Alvernia

Wanda Cruz adult student comeback

Family support encourages educational comeback

 When Wanda Ivette Cruz ’22, MSW ’23 graduated in 1994 from high school in Philadelphia, she had her eye on going to community college. Then she got pregnant as a teenager, waylaying those plans.“I had to make a very tough decision—put a roof...

  • 2026
Ë®¹ûÅÉ DPT Graduate Aron Rodriguez

Lone wolf finds his pack at AU

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  • College of Health Sciences
  • 2026
Shannon Qualters Commencement 2025

Addictions caused her to lose everything — perseverance helped her recover

By Lini S. KadabaWhen Shannon Qualters ’23, MAOL '25 hit bottom, the survivor of child sexual abuse was hooked on heroin and crack cocaine, living on the streets of the Kensington section of Philadelphia and eating out of garbage cans, by her own ...

  • College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences
  • 2026
Nicole Reesur-Mazur Comeback Campaign

Brain aneurysm survivor creates her comeback at Alvernia

By the time Nicole Reeser-Mazur ’01 Ph.D. ’24 was writing her Ë®¹ûÅÉ doctoral dissertation in educational leadership in 2023, she had already overcome more than her share of challenges, any one of which could have easily derailed her ...

  • 2026