Makeda Loney

Class of 2014

Life Before SBU

The first member of her Caribbean family born in the U.S., she grew up in Brooklyn. Facing personal struggles and a misguided notion that she wanted a career in business, she underperformed at New York’s High School of Economics and Finance. “You came here with a bunch of potential, where did it go?” a counselor asked her.

“When he told me there were still options for me, a program that takes students from not-well-off families and that don’t have the greatest grades, and gives them a second chance, a light bulb went on,” she said.

Loney went into “full turnaround mode,” determined to win a seat in the HEOP program at St. Bonaventure. She still cries when talking about getting the acceptance phone call in the spring of her senior year. “I’m sorry,” she says through sobs, “but it was a really great moment for me.”

Life at SBU

A shy and reserved freshman, Loney became connected, aware, involved and passionate. In a word, she became extraordinary. A budding poet and passionate writer, she chose journalism and mass communication as her major. She is the first HEOP student to win the program’s prestigious Dr. Mary A. Hamilton Woman of Promise Award.
She was a member of campus radio station WSBU 88.3 The Buzz; active in SBU Theater, twice being nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition; the Slam Poetry Club, serving as co-president, secretary and an enthusiastic performer; Kwerkworks, a student-run ad agency through the university’s chapter of the American Advertising Federation; and studied in England through the university’s Francis E. Kelley Oxford Program. She was inducted into Chi Alpha Epsilon, the HEOP national honor society.

She was chosen to deliver the student address at Commencement.

Life After SBU

She studied copywriting at The Creative Circus in Atlanta, Ga., for two years, then moved to Chicago where she works as a junior copywriter for Burrell Communications, one of the nation’s leading black advertising agencies. She’s written ads for Walmart, McDonald’s and Comcast.

When she’s not working, she serves as a content creator for Coalesce Chicago, an organization dedicated to cultivating young, diverse talent in Chicago’s advertising scene. She also runs Keda’s Poetry Service, a project she created to produce poems for commission.

Reflecting on HEOP and SBU

“I can’t even think of where my life would be without HEOP. It’s left a long-lasting impression on me, from the welcoming vibe to the caring attitude, not only from the HEOP family but from everybody in general. St. Bonaventure is my second family. It’s home.”