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Laurie Riley Brubaker ’82 devoted her time to others. Balancing a robust career in the health insurance industry, active volunteerism and philanthropy as an alum, and a vibrant family life, she was “an absolute superwoman,” according to her husband, Lloyd, and children, Christopher and Jessica.

“She was loving and caring and strong,” says Jessica. “I never realized how hard she worked because she was such an amazing mom.”

Jessica says her mother gave to others every chance she could. Jessica recalls a holiday shopping trip, Laurie hopping out of the car at every street corner to hand out bags of food to the homeless. These kind acts were a way of life for Laurie, who created a sense of community throughout her life.

“She always had people in her corner,” Christopher remembers. “I think they were always drawn to her. She was so kind and so positive, and you just wanted to be around her.”

Even Laurie’s cancer diagnosis did not dim her light or her drive. The bonds she formed continued to bless her family even after her passing, particularly the lifelong relationships she maintained with the four roommates she met her first day on Moravian’s campus. “They’ve continued to support us in her absence and stayed very close to us,” shares Christopher. “It’s a testament to the strength of those friendships and the community they formed at Moravian.”

The Power of Opportunity

Laurie deeply believed in the transformative power of opportunity—how if someone is given support and the right resources, they can find success in challenging circumstances, says Lloyd. “She insisted that you can always turn it around.”

This belief guided Laurie's commitment to supporting Moravian students. While advancing to senior management roles at Aetna, based in Connecticut, Arizona, and Texas, she mentored students, donated to scholarships, and served on the Moravian Leadership Council, campaign cabinet committee, and board of trustees. Her dedication earned her the Comenius Alumni Award in 2010 for her professional achievement and service, and the Moravian Star Award in 2015.

Lloyd says he encouraged Laurie’s commitment to her alma mater, and after joining her for Moravian’s Homecoming and Reunion Weekend one year, he realized the school was special. “The uniqueness of the campus was just a draw for me,” recalls Lloyd. “I loved the intimacy of people just saying hello to people on the sidewalks and in the buildings. That’s not what I remembered from being in school.”

Laurie and Lloyd, both first-generation college students, understood the challenges many students face. Together, they established the Moravian Tomorrow Endowed Scholarship Fund in 2013 to support students with financial need.

After Laurie’s passing in 2019, Lloyd honored her legacy with two more impactful initiatives. The Lloyd and Laurie Riley ’82 Brubaker Endowed Internship Fund provides stipends to students gaining practical experience through internships.

“If I had not received the stipend, I would not have been able to commit to a 22-hour-per-week internship,” says Ava O. Piotti ’25. “This opportunity helped me develop essential skills in patient care, rehabilitation, and clinical operations, which shaped my undergraduate career and will continue to guide me as I enter Moravian’s master of science and doctorate occupational therapy programs.”

Lloyd also contributed to Lighting the Way: The Campaign for ˿����Ƶ, supporting the expansion of the Haupert Union Building (HUB) student center. His gift renames Moravian’s career center in the new HUB to the Laurie Riley ’82 Center for Career Success, purposefully using Laurie’s maiden name to honor her legacy at Moravian, and expands the center’s original footprint by three times its original size. The new layout provides more space for one-on-one career coaching, employer engagement, and student programming, as well as dedicated rooms for meetings and interviews, making it easier for students to connect with mentors, alumni, and potential employers in a professional setting.

Relieving Housing Insecurity

As Lloyd explored additional ways to support Moravian students, he discovered stories of students declining financial aid or dropping out due to basic needs insecurity. One student nearly left college after his bike was stolen, leaving him without transportation to his job, his lifeline to support himself. Another almost turned down a full academic scholarship because he couldn’t afford housing.

“I can’t even begin to imagine the challenges of simply finishing high school—let alone excelling—when you don’t know where you’ll be living from one day to the next,” says Lloyd.

Moved by these struggles, Lloyd, Christopher, and Jessica created the Brubaker Family Foundations Endowed Fund, the first at Moravian to specifically address housing insecurity.

“Accepting this scholarship will, for the first time, give [a] person a real address—somewhere they can share with friends and family, a place to call home,” says Lloyd. “And that’s something so many of us take for granted.”

Lloyd, Christopher, and Jessica hope the fund will empower students to seize every opportunity at Moravian, free from the burden of housing insecurity.

“My parents imparted to us the importance of education to completely transform your life,” adds Christopher. “Through education, we’re giving others the chance to experience that same profound change.”

For Jessica, the initiative honors Laurie’s enduring spirit. “There was just so, so much compassion and empathy and kindness in my mom’s heart,” she says. “I just hope that what we do gets others to understand and feel what she offered to others.”

Growing Need 

Food and housing insecurity among college students has become a growing concern nationwide. According to the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study conducted in 2020 by the US Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics, 23 percent of undergraduate students and 12 percent of graduate students experience food insecurity, while 8 percent of undergraduates and 5 percent of graduate students experience homelessness. This study, conducted every five years, highlights the urgent need for support systems in higher education.

At Moravian, awareness of food and housing insecurity has largely come through personal stories. But Greg Meyer, dean of community wellness, is working to gather real numbers to better understand the scope of the issue. “We’re set to launch the Hope Center Student Basic Needs Survey—the nation’s largest, most well-established basic-needs survey—and soon we’ll have concrete data to support our efforts and drive meaningful change.”

Providing Critical Support

Moravian’s on-campus food and resource pantry, Mo’s Cupboard, has been instrumental in addressing food insecurity. Last year, 685 students visited the pantry a total of 6,505 times. Since its opening in 2018, student use of the pantry has increased by an average of 142% annually, reflecting the growing demand for basic necessities.

Additionally, Mo’s Fund, Moravian’s emergency-support fund, assists students experiencing financial hardship that affects their ability to meet basic living expenses, such as the death of an immediate family member, uninsured medical expenses, or damages from unforeseen disasters. Last year, Mo’s Fund provided more than $18,000 in aid to nine students.

To better strengthen student support, Moravian established the Helping Hounds Student Fund, offering flexible assistance to students who are facing difficulties accessing essentials, such as food, shelter, transportation, and other basic needs, or are navigating unexpected hardships.

Funded entirely by donor contributions and grants, the initiative aims to support students, ensuring they not only remain in school but also thrive.

“We don’t just meet needs—we empower students with knowledge, guiding them toward better planning and valuable resources,” says In-Chi Chow-Rivera, executive administrative assistant for student life. “Our goal isn’t just success at Moravian but a foundation for success far beyond.”

Taking the Worry out of Education

Placido “Pat” A. Corpora ’78 is a dedicated supporter of the Helping Hounds Student Fund, believing it makes critical aid more accessible. “Moravian has come a long way in supporting students,” says Pat, who also serves as a trustee. “When I was there, the support mechanisms were in place, but you had to go out and search for them.”

Pat immigrated from a small Sicilian village to the United States at the age of five, driven by his parents’ dream of providing their children with education beyond their own fourth-grade level. Following in the footsteps of his older sisters, Santa Corpora Zanchettin ’70 and Maria Corpora, Esq. ’72, Pat attended Moravian, where scholarship support played a key role in their decisions.

“Without the scholarships that were available, we would not have ended up at Moravian. We would have gone to another school, I’m certain,” recalls Pat.

His first year was challenging—he maintained a 2.0 grade-point average—but by his second year, he found a supportive community and a passion for running and grew more mature.

“One of the guys who lived in Clewell Hall was a distance runner, and he had the idea of starting a cross country club that later became Moravian’s varsity team,” remembers Pat. “That was really a great opportunity to develop some discipline. It gave me a lifelong interest in distance running, which helped me in school and after school in my career, business, and personal life.”

After graduating with degrees in criminal justice and accounting, Pat built a successful career in marketing and consumer sales. Grateful for the education he and his sisters received, they established the Santa & Vincenzo Corpora Scholarship Fund to support first-generation immigrant students.

Pat has supported student-need initiatives since 2022, but as a trustee, he was struck by the magnitude of student hardship. “I was always surprised to hear how many students show up for food at Mo’s Cupboard. There’s a need for food, for supplies, for books.”

In response, he and his wife, Sandra, decided to extend their generosity by creating the Corpora Endowed Student Fund to support the Helping Hounds Student Fund in perpetuity.

“When you go to college, you’re thinking about your education and paying for your room and board, but there’s so much in day-to-day needs,” explains Pat. “We want students to be able to focus on their education and not worry.”