MERV’s Alumni Connection is proud to introduce our Alumni of the Month
feature. Each month we will highlight a distinctive mercy graduate from our
growing network of 17,000 alumni that has inspired us in some way. We will
happily accept nominations for the Alumni of the Month via this form.
Based on the criteria, it is only appropriate that our first chosen Alumni of the Month (ever!) is a leader in her field who demonstrates her mercy values to
society in her daily life. Maria Bradley ’73 has come a long way since her days at Gwynedd-Mercy College. She worked very hard to put herself through school earning various scholarships and grants, and her success confirms that she has maintained a strong-work ethic.
From taking out a second mortgage on her home to relocating from Philadelphia to Chicago single-handedly with three children, Maria has taken many risks to become the successful entrepreneur she is today. In 2001, Maria launched her company, Benefit Express Services, with just two employees. The company was named one of the 50 fastest-growing women-led companies in North America. Benefit Express is a full-service employee benefits administration outsourcing firm offering human resources and benefits administration as well as enrollment tools. Always thinking ahead of the curve, Maria has developed an online enrollment communications tool, My Benefit Express.
While Maria began her company with just two employees, she is currently
staffing more than 100 and netting more than $9 million in annual revenues.
Despite Maria’s success, she remains grounded and humble implementing the lessons she learned from the sisters at Gwynedd-Mercy College in her everyday life, reminding her employees to be compassionate and practice empathy with one another and their clients. In addition to spreading her mercy values, Maria continues to give back to the College repeatedly.
Maria is truly a shining example of a “distinctive mercy graduate” and we are proud to have her as our inaugural Alumni of the Month and as a member of our GMC Alumni Association.
feature. Each month we will highlight a distinctive mercy graduate from our
growing network of 17,000 alumni that has inspired us in some way. We will
happily accept nominations for the Alumni of the Month via this form.
Based on the criteria, it is only appropriate that our first chosen Alumni of the Month (ever!) is a leader in her field who demonstrates her mercy values to
society in her daily life. Maria Bradley ’73 has come a long way since her days at Gwynedd-Mercy College. She worked very hard to put herself through school earning various scholarships and grants, and her success confirms that she has maintained a strong-work ethic.
From taking out a second mortgage on her home to relocating from Philadelphia to Chicago single-handedly with three children, Maria has taken many risks to become the successful entrepreneur she is today. In 2001, Maria launched her company, Benefit Express Services, with just two employees. The company was named one of the 50 fastest-growing women-led companies in North America. Benefit Express is a full-service employee benefits administration outsourcing firm offering human resources and benefits administration as well as enrollment tools. Always thinking ahead of the curve, Maria has developed an online enrollment communications tool, My Benefit Express.
While Maria began her company with just two employees, she is currently
staffing more than 100 and netting more than $9 million in annual revenues.
Despite Maria’s success, she remains grounded and humble implementing the lessons she learned from the sisters at Gwynedd-Mercy College in her everyday life, reminding her employees to be compassionate and practice empathy with one another and their clients. In addition to spreading her mercy values, Maria continues to give back to the College repeatedly.
Maria is truly a shining example of a “distinctive mercy graduate” and we are proud to have her as our inaugural Alumni of the Month and as a member of our GMC Alumni Association.
