Audrey Mooradian

Class of 2015

Life Before SBU

Diagnosed with auditory processing delay disorder and dyslexia at an early age, school was a big challenge for Mooradian, who grew up in Canton, a small, rural village in upstate New York, near the Canadian border. She applied to St. Bonaventure with a desire to major in physical education. Reluctant to accept a HEOP scholarship for fear she was taking it from someone with greater need, she was encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity, and to use it as a launch pad to do good things down the road. “I then made it my priority to take full advantage of what HEOP had to offer and never take this opportunity for granted,” said Mooradian.

Life at SBU

Attending the HEOP summer bridge program at St. Bonaventure was the last thing she wanted to do the summer before her freshman year. “I wanted to stay home and have fun with my friends. I had to tell myself that this was absolutely an opportunity I could not pass up,” she said. “I’m so grateful that 17-year-old me was able to recognize that this five-week summer program was a short-term commitment that would have a long-lasting impact on my academic, professional and personal journey.”

Mooradian started getting involved her sophomore year. She became a peer coach leader for the First-Year Experience program. She worked for Housekeeping, doing light custodial work around campus, work she found rewarding and that helped alleviate her family’s financial worries. She would become an RA. She served as president of the HEOP Honor Society, and as a HEOP summer program peer leader for the HEOP class that graduated in May. She studied abroad in Prague, in the Czech Republic, her senior year. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and was an honorable mention candidate for the Ideal Bonaventure Woman award.

Life After SBU

Mooradian attended the University of Denver, where she served as a graduate resident director for Housing and Residential Education and earned a master’s in higher education in 2017. She now works as a resident director at Boston College. She is passionate about advocating for students with underrepresented identities, promoting access to study abroad for all students, professional development, and creating inclusive environments for students living in residential communities. She hopes to one day work for HEOP so that she can give back to the program that gave so much to her.

Reflecting on HEOP and SBU

“When I was at DU I learned just how much at Bonaventure I took for granted — the Franciscan values and mission of being a good person and serving others, how the work you do impacts the greater good and the good of your community. I didn’t fully recognize that until I left,” she said.

“And this is something I reference all the time in my current role in higher education: I just always felt that I was a part of something at Bonaventure, that students came from hard-working backgrounds and, for the most part, were very open-minded, loving and caring. I never felt judged while I was there and that I could be my true, genuine, and authentic self. That was something that meant a lot to me and I will always have my HEOP family to thank for that.”