Success Stories

From student-athlete to emerging business professional and Army officer, 2nd Lt. Erika Ellison is a Saint Francis University graduate whose career journey is rooted in discipline, ambition, and a desire to serve. A native of Washington State, Erika came to SFU to play lacrosse—and left five years later with not only two degrees but also a clear sense of direction.

Fiaunna Bertha, a 40-year-old mother of two and traveling surgical technologist from Philadelphia, is set to graduate this May with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Healthcare Studies from Saint Francis University. Driven to pursue a career as a Physician Assistant (PA), she has embarked on a challenging educational journey that started online and eventually brought her to attend classes in Loretto to meet her lofty goals.

Three Saint Francis University entrepreneurs took their non-profit company EcoPrint all the way to second place in the 41st annual Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) Global Conference and Pitch Fest on November 2, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. Biology-Pre-med students Caleb DeBass (Forest, VA), Carson Elbin (Needmore, PA), and Nathan Poplos (Magnolia, DE) pitched their business EcoPrint.

Saint Francis University students Griffin Burt and Julianne “JJ” Dee started their podcasts for very different reasons, yet both are using their platform to inspire others to follow their dreams or to educate them on matters important to their communities.

Interdisciplinary, community-engaged program, Go Baby Go! benefits children with disabilities and offers hands-on experience for OT, PA, and engineering students at Saint Francis University.

4-year-old Ava’s weekly feeding treatments offer hands-on experience for OT students. Since fall 2022, she has been attending these feeding sessions as part of a hands-on, community-engaged lab with the students in the pediatrics course.

An empty plastic Powerade bottle kicked off an unexpected journey for three Saint Francis University Biology/Pre-Medicine majors. Their quest for free filament to use in their personal 3-D printers has blossomed into something truly extraordinary.

"My Life is a Miracle” A tale of service to God and country As a young boy growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, Blandin ‘Bill’ Karabinos would spend every summer and holiday at his grandparents’ home in Loretto. He would chat with the Franciscan TORs in his grandma’s kitchen, play basketball with Maurice Stokes in Doyle Hall, make friends with veterans attending college after their return from World War II, and eventually, attend the seminary and be ordained to the priesthood himself. Once, while picking blackberries with one of his mentors, Fr. Vincent Burke, TOR, Bill first learned the French

Abigail Cooper, a 2012 BSN graduate from Saint Francis University, was recently profiled by her employer, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. in the the article, A Nursing Story: Answering the Call to Serve one Patient at a Time, appearing on Aug. 23, 2023.

Andrew Krout, a 2013 SFU alumni in Finance, has been recognized by Forbes as one of the Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors: Best in State for 2023. Andrew is a Wealth Advisor and Co-Chief Investment Officer at DeGroote Financial Group in Boston.