On June 1 , 2021 , Maria Bradley ’ 73 closed on the sale of her successful business and retired . She ’ d spent the last two decades building Benefit Express Services , LLC , which specializes in benefits administration and cloud-based technology services for companies of all sizes .
“ Fortunately , because our business is all online , we did well throughout COVID ,” she said .
It marked the end of an illustrious and admirable career . After graduating from then Gwynedd-Mercy College with a bachelor of science in Mathematics , Maria worked for an actuarial consulting firm , later renamed Aon Consulting . She eventually became Senior Vice President and Global Outsourcing Leader until Aon made her an attractive job offer in Chicago . She and her family took a leap of faith and moved to the Midwest in 1989 .
WHY I GIVE
By : Deb O ’ Reillly
Eventually , Maria decided to launch her own business to offer a service that her former company wasn ’ t interested in specializing in . Her top clients followed her . “ I had to tell them I didn ’ t even have software yet ,” Maria said .
Over the years , Maria earned her Certified Employee Benefits Specialist credentials from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and racked up numerous accolades . She was recognized as one of the top 25 most influential Women in Business in the Midwest and was inducted into the prestigious University of Illinois Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame , among many other awards and honors .
Maria credits GMercyU for providing the foundation that helped launch her career and has since given back to the place where it all began through the Maria Bradley Scholarship , which provides recognition and financial assistance to outstanding students with a demonstrated financial need who are graduates of Little Flower Catholic High School , which she attended .
Here , Maria shares why she ’ s become a loyal supporter of GMercyU .
What makes you proud to be a GMercyU alumna ? This is the biggest thing – the teachers back then were so approachable and available , and I know they continue to be . I ’ ve put four kids through college , one who went to a big research school and was only taught by TAs [ teaching assistants ].
Can you share a favorite memory from GMercyU ? I have a funny story that I ’ ve enjoyed telling my kids . I remember as a freshman , right after Christmas , students held a sit-in to protest to wear pants . At that time , we weren ’ t allowed to wear pants . It didn ’ t affect me because I was commuting from Northeast Philadelphia and worked at Sears after class — I had to wear skirts for the job , so I always wore skirts to school . Anyway , after the sit-in , students were able to wear pants and jeans !
Why do you give to GMercyU ? For two reasons – educationally , because of the classes I was able to take at GMercyU , and financially , because luckily , I had a scholarship . It was a working scholarship . One of my jobs was delivering the mail to students and faculty – we had to put the mail in boxes around campus . I really enjoyed that job ; I got to know everybody . I also worked as a teaching assistant in philosophy .
Ultimately , I give back to afford other students the chance that I might not have had without that financial aid .
12 PRESIDENT ’ S REPORT