‘Just Do It.’ Kean Student Perseveres to Earn Degree 48 Years Later

Bernie Moriarty will be one of thousands of graduates taking part in the Kean University Commencement, wearing a cap and gown and beaming as she crosses the stage at the Prudential Center in Newark on Thursday, May 18.

But Moriarty, who will pose for pictures and celebrate like any other Class of 2023 grad, stands out on several fronts. She is 65, a grandmother and the CEO of a charitable foundation, and is graduating 48 years after she first began at Kean.

“It has always been a goal of mine to complete my degree,” said Moriarty, who will receive her bachelor’s degree in English literature. She lives with her husband, John, in Elizabeth and has one son, a daughter-in-law and four granddaughters.

“I didn’t need to do it, but I wanted to. If you’re an older student and you want to go back, do it. Just do it,” she said.

Moriarty enrolled in 1975 as a freshman at what was Kean College. She went to class and enjoyed student life, going to the library and hanging out on Kean’s campus with her boyfriend and now husband, who attended Rutgers University-Newark.  

A job offer in 1978 put an end to her college plans. Struggling in school while working two part-time jobs to pay tuition, she left Kean for a job in sales and bookkeeping. Her career took off from there; she went to Merrill Lynch, where she worked as an analyst and rose to become assistant vice president. She joined The Hyde and Watson Foundation, which supports healthcare, education, social service agencies and the arts, 27 years ago, and is now its president and CEO.

All along, she never gave up the thought of finishing her degree. In 2011, she returned to Kean, which supports thousands of nontraditional students.

“At Kean they really encouraged me. I said, ‘I want to go back, but I don’t know if I’m allowed,’” Moriarty said. “I was told, ‘We can work on that. But you’re going to have to work at it.’”

She has taken classes every semester since, while working full time, managing her family and caring for her elderly parents. She took summer and winter break classes, and attended Kean virtually when the University went remote during the pandemic. 

She was also inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, and served as its president.

Moriarty enjoys campus events like soccer games and poetry readings and brought her granddaughters to Homecoming. “I said, ‘Grandma is a student here!’” she laughed.

Her classmates call her “a true inspiration.”

“Sometimes as a woman the world likes to put you in this bubble. But Bernie has shown me that as a woman in this world, it is my job to escape that bubble and truly shine,” said Kean senior Gabriela Perez of Bridgewater, an exercise science major who has class with Moriarty.

Associate Professor Norma Bowe, Ph.D., who teaches Moriarty in her Death in Perspective class, said other students love her. During a recent outing, Bowe’s class crowded into an elevator and took a selfie – with Moriarty in the middle of the group.

“She brings so much to the class,” Bowe said. “She has a lot of experience in the real world. She paves the way for other students to tell their stories.” 

Moriarty will celebrate her graduation at a small dinner party planned by her husband. He calls his wife “nothing short of amazing.”

“Running the foundation is a full-time, rewarding job that makes a difference, and that would keep anyone occupied,” John Moriarty said. “The fact that she was able to carve out the time to make what’s been a long-deferred objective real, is amazing.

“She’s a star,” he said.

After graduation, Moriarty will keep working, and said, “I’m thinking hard about doing graduate work.” 

She already has a frame ready for the diploma.

Her advice to other students is, no matter how long it takes, finish your education.

“For younger students, of course I encourage you to stay in school,” she said. “But if you’re an older student, and you want to go back, do it. Look at me. I did it in one or two classes a semester. It has taken me a lot longer than I’d have liked, but I can still say I got it done.”