Annemarie Bednar

Blazing Her Own Path

With both parents being graduates of the same college in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Bednar applied to both Immaculata and her parents’ alma mater. Feeling like she should follow in her parents’ footsteps, Bednar enrolled at their school. However, after her freshmen year and several disappointing episodes and encounters, she realized it wasn’t where she wanted to be.

“I called my dad crying and my dad said ‘Well, what do you want to do? Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow and take you straight to Immaculata?’ I didn’t even think that was an option,” she adds. She explains that Christine Rhine, director of Admissions, helped with her transfer to IU and made Bednar’s transition to her new school very smooth. “I went down first thing in the morning, applied and got accepted on the spot.”

Living back home in Springfield (Delaware County), Bednar’s parents gave her an option: she could live on campus or she could have a car. She chose the car and commuted to Immaculata during her sophomore and junior years. Since she wasn’t a residential student, her parents were adamant that she spend time on campus and get involved as much as she could. Her mother encouraged her to hang out with friends…”just stay and get to know the school,” she advised.

“As a commuter, it’s very important for you to get involved, I say it all the time, but for commuters, it’s just as important for them to feel that this campus is just as much of a home as the residents,” Bednar emphasizes.

During her first two years at Immaculata, Bednar became a student leader and took on progressively advanced leadership positions on campus including serving as a New Student Orientation (NSO) leader and then, in her junior year, co-chair of NSO. In addition, she is secretary of the Business Club and a member of Alpha Xi. As a senior, Bednar is the executive treasurer for the Student Government Association, an admissions ambassador, FYE mentor and with her experience as a commuter, she is serving as a commuter assistant, which comes with free room and board!

Gaining valuable management and people skills, especially by serving as co-chair of NSO where she planned, executed and evaluated the entire new student orientation experience with her fellow NSO chairs, Bednar is also thriving in her classes. As a marketing major with minors in finance and business administration, she is weighing her career options. She likes to be organized, prepared, and in charge, so Bednar admits that maybe she would like to become CEO of a large company.

Taking her own advice to get involved, Bednar is blazing a new path and starting her own tradition at Immaculata University.