Joe Azzarano, MsEd

Current Position: Math Specialist at Gwynedd Mercy University

Story Last Updated: Summer 2024

“My favorite part about GMercyU is that the community has open-minded values and adapts to the ever-changing world around us. As an agnostic/atheist, I was originally uncertain about attending a Catholic institution. However, since GMercyU celebrates diversity and holds the same core values as I do, that uncertainty quickly faded,” Joe said.

Journey to GMercyU

Joe Azzarano graduated from Central Bucks High School South in Warrington, Pa in 2014. He was first made aware of GMercyU from his dad, also named Joseph, who had taken classes at Gwynedd years before, and his aunt, Janine Mohan, who works as a part-time nursing lab instructor.

“I attended GMercyU for the personable people I met and the scholarships that allowed me to afford a higher education,” Joe said.

Involvement on Campus

During his four years on campus, Joe was a member of the E-STEM program and served as a peer mentor.

I am especially proud of the mentoring aspect since the program designates that seniors be mentors but the head of the program, Michelle McEliece, started me as a mentor in my sophomore year.

Joe was also a four-year member of the Psychology Club and served as Treasurer for three of those years.

“Towards the end of my senior year, we rebranded to Psychology and Student Services Association (PASSA) to be more inclusive, and I am pleased to say that ‘PASSA’ was my name suggestion,” said Joe.

Joe was also a member of the Student Association of Science for four years and served as the organization’s President for three years. He originally thought he’d be a member, but applied to be Treasurer.

Joe remembered how “the existing President asked how I felt about being the President instead, which I saw as an honor and accepted the challenging new experience.

He was most involved as a peer tutor in the Student Success Center. He started his position during his sophomore year and focused on helping his peers in math, physics, and chemistry.

“It was excellent for reinforcing the material for myself and it felt awesome making a positive difference in other students’ college experience,” Joe said.

Experience in Mathematics

Joe graduated from GMercyU with his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a minor in Chemistry.

“I absolutely loved both pieces of the program,” said Joe.

He never felt he had to shy away from asking questions and expressed that the professors would not only answer the questions, but teach him how to answer them on his own.

The professors understood that students are not just students and that family, jobs, and extracurricular activities can influence their education. The professors see a human being first and a student second, which truly makes a world of difference.

Internship Experience

During his senior year, Joe interned at Gateway Specialty Insurance (GSI). In his role, he was responsible for submitting quotes and managing/assisting with outreach projects using tools like Google Analytics, Excel, and LinkedIn.

His supervisor encouraged him to attend as many of the trainings offered as he could.

“Some of the offered trainings were designed to enhance your qualifications in your department, but most of them were designed to enhance your qualifications as a working adult in general. I appreciated that the company and my team placed emphasis on personal growth as well as professional,” said Joe.

Post-Graduation

After graduating from GMercyU, Joe had originally planned to go into the pharmaceutical industry to help run and analyze clinical trials. Instead, Joe “fell in love with tutoring and changing people’s negative perceptions of math.”

His first job out after graduation was as a summer SAT math prep teacher at The Dream School in Ambler, Pa. While in this role, his old supervisor, Stephanie Alderfer, Director, Tutoring Services & Placement Assessments, reached out about a Testing Coordinator position that was about to open up at GMercyU.

He accepted the position and has since become the Math Specialist and has since earned his Master of Science in Education at GMercyU, “which directly enhanced my abilities as the Testing Coordinator and even more so now as the Math Specialist.”

“I would recommend GMercyU to students because there is an opportunity for everyone to get involved, find their niche, and make a difference,” said Joe.