Since the founding of the Elevate program in 2021, the Career Center has been a place where students prepare for life beyond college through meeting with advisors, polishing résumés, and practicing interviews. 

But this fall, the Center carries a new name that reflects both the personal history of a Moravian alumna and her enduring commitment to student success: The Laurie Riley ’82 Center for Career Success.

The decision to rename the center honors the life and legacy of Laurie Riley ‘82, who left a lasting mark on her alma mater through her generosity, vision, and belief in experiential learning. Riley made continuous investments in the Career Center until her passing in 2019, but her husband and family continue to donate to the school. 

Her husband, Lloyd Brubaker, wanted to ensure the renaming would be in her maiden name, which she was known by during her time at Moravian.

Kristin Eicholtz, Dean for the Riley Center for Career Success, has worked closely with Brubaker to share updates on the progress of the Center and ensure that his family remains connected to its growth. 

“Her husband, Lloyd, said he wanted the center to carry Laurie’s maiden name—the name she had as a student here,” Eicholtz said. “That way, her legacy is tied directly to Moravian as she experienced it.” 

For Riley, internships and hands-on learning experiences were pivotal to her success. After graduating with a BA in clinical psychology in 1982, she began working in the health insurance industry, ending up as the Senior Vice President of Aetna Pharmacy.

Riley wanted to ensure that future generations of Moravian students would have access to the same opportunities that shaped her own career and life. To make that possible, Laurie and Lloyd began funding internship stipends long before the renaming of the Center was considered. 

“It’s such a special story of someone so passionate about her success as a student with experiential learning and wanting to give back, that even before her passing, she and her husband were giving stipend funds to the University. Her husband’s still doing that, and in her honor,” Eicholtz said.

These stipends, valued at approximately $2,500, enabled students to undertake internships for credit without being burdened by the financial strain that often accompanies unpaid or underpaid work.

The renaming has already inspired others who were close to Riley. Her former college roommates, touched by the gesture and their own memories of life at Moravian, have also donated funds to support the center. 

Two new interview rooms within the building will carry the names of her roommates, creating spaces where future students can prepare for job searches while also being reminded of the lifelong bonds that college fosters. 

Many students have been forced to conduct virtual interviews from cars, noisy dorms, or public spaces with unreliable Wi-Fi. At the new Riley Center, they will have access to quiet, professional environments designed to help them succeed.

Eicholtz notes that Lloyd has been deeply proud of the Center’s direction and that he, along with their two children, will be present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony this November.

The renaming also coincides with broader shifts in the way Moravian structures its career support. While the Career Promise requirements remain the same, the university has adjusted its advising model to serve students better. 

Instead of assigning strategists by class year, the Center now operates in cohorts: first and second-year students work with one team, while juniors and seniors connect with another. 

Each cohort is supported by three career success team members, allowing for greater availability and more intentional programming. The shift, driven in part by student feedback, ensures that the Center remains accessible while meeting the distinct needs of students at different stages of their academic journey.

“We realized that having just two strategists per class year didn’t give students the best accessibility,” Eicholtz explained. “If someone’s strategist was out, or their schedule was full, students were stuck.” 

New resources are also on the horizon. The Center plans to install a Moravian-branded photo booth for professional headshots, providing students with an easy and free way to capture images for LinkedIn profiles, applications, and student organization needs. The booth is portable and customizable, and can be brought to events like career fairs. 

“This center isn’t just for current students. Alumni — even those who graduated decades ago  —  can still tap into our services. We want people to feel like the center is a home that never leaves them,” Eicholtz said.