David Bryant
Class of 2017
Life Before SBU
Born in Staten Island, N.Y., and raised in Utica, Bryant was an under-achiever in his AP classes in high school. He was affected by the disenfranchisement of minority students in Utica, which has one of the largest refugee populations in the U.S. Fifty-two languages were spoken at his school. One of nine children, “money was always an issue” for his family. After high school, he moved back to the city to attend St. John’s University, but wasn’t ready for college and withdrew, staying in Harlem. Then, “I realized I needed a proper education so I applied to St. Bonaventure’s HEOP program.”
Life at SBU
“I hit the ground running,” said Bryant. He joined the Gay/Straight Alliance, the Latin American Student Organization, was president of the Black Student Union, and a student liaison for #Race Matters. He was a peer coach, a tutor, a resident assistant, and junior class president. He was a coordinator for the Warming House soup kitchen and was heavily involved in activities at Mt. Irenaeus. A member of the Chapel Choir, he sang the National Anthem at basketball games. He also played trumpet in the Concert Band. He was a manager for the men’s swimming and diving team for three years, performed with SBU Theater, and was a lead student ambassador for the Office of Admissions. He also worked as a soundboard technician at the Quick Center and with the Reilly Center custodial staff.
An honors student with two majors, journalism and mass communication, and English, he was inducted into the HEOP and English honor societies and graduated cum laude. He studied abroad through the Francis E. Kelley Oxford Program. He became a Catholic while a student and was baptized, made his first communion and was confirmed, all in the University Chapel. With help from University Ministries, he went on service trips to South Africa and Cuba. Bryant won the Fr. Joe Doino, O.F.M., Student Life Award, the Brian Moretti Service Award from Athletics, and was named the Ideal Bonaventure Man.
Life After SBU
Influenced by his travels abroad, Bryant deferred his acceptance into the master’s program in African and museum studies at New York University in order to take a one-year position teaching English through English First Kids and Teens in Beijing, China. Calling it his “most rewarding experience to date,” he plans to stay on for a second year before returning to the U.S.
Reflecting on HEOP and SBU
“It truly is about the people,” said Bryant. “The HEOP staff instilled in us early on the importance of responsibility, and supported us in everything we did. They taught us how to walk through life unhinged by the sometimes harsh reality of America. They always reminded us of how smart, gifted and loved we all were. Our HEOP office was a true family like no other. Bona’s loved me unconditionally since the moment I arrived. I don’t know where I would be without HEOP and SBU.”