Geoffrey Broadbent

A native of Olean, New York, Geoffrey Broadbent graduated in May with majors in biology and political science, and a minor in Spanish. A dean’s list student throughout his academic career, he was named the Class of 2019 Ideal Bonaventure Man and received the Political Science Award and Spanish Honor Society Award.

“I would not have been able to attend SBU without the STEM grant,” he said. “I was ready to attend a different institution for financial reasons when I learned I had received a STEM grant. It allowed me to come to St. Bonaventure and to get really involved on campus.”

Broadbent served as executive board president of the Student Government Association and SGA representative to the Faculty Senate, a lead student ambassador for Admissions, a resident assistant, a volunteer EMT with the campus Medical Emergency Response Team, an Orientation leader, and secretary-general of SBU’s Model United Nations chapter. He was also an inductee and senior adviser to Phi Eta Sigma, the national honor society for first-year college students.

Off campus, he was a swim coach for the Enchanted Mountain Aquatic Club, a lifeguard for the city of Olean, and a tennis coach at Archbishop Walsh Academy. He is also a junior staff member for the New York West chapter of HOBY, a global nonprofit that engages young people in service and leadership activities.

Broadbent was a tutor and supplemental instructor with the university’s Student Success Center, and completed the Career and Professional Readiness Center’s Competitive EDGE program. “The EDGE program helped me develop my professional skills, which will benefit me when I enter the workforce,” he said.

The NSF grant program “did help me prepare for my career,” said Broadbent, noting he was able to spend three hours a week shadowing an Olean pediatrician. He will be a first-year medical student this fall at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences.