AU Today - Student Stories

Student stories
Alayna Nosalik smiles at the camera in front of a Mickey Mouse shaped floral display in Epcot.
July 7, 2025

Alayna Nosalik ’26 is charting her own path — literally and figuratively. A double major in marketing and communication, Nosalik became the first AU student to earn an FAA Drone Pilot License after completing the university’s new exam preparation course. She also...

Kate Herrera and Zeb Koran
October 15, 2024

There are many reasons to want to change careers and become a nurse. For Kate Herrera, it was the call to make a difference, to travel to parts of the world in need of better health care, and to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, who worked as a nurse in Mexico. “I wanted more...

Joseph Dadara ’18
March 22, 2024

The sport of soccer has always provided a refuge for Joseph Dadara ’18. When he was in middle school, his family emigrated from Tanzania to the U.S. and settled in Aurora. Soccer was a way to fit in and stay out of trouble. But it was expensive—the uniforms, the dues, the...

Sophomore Ximena Bermudez at the White House
November 14, 2023

Sophomore Ximena Bermudez took her first trip to Washington, D.C. as a proud representative of Aurora University’s first-generation college students. And she came back home “more motivated than ever” to pursue her education and give back to the community. The...

Joshua Hunter
August 22, 2023

After hearing about the sense of community a coworker experienced as a student at Aurora University, Joshua Hunter ’24 decided to explore AU as an option for college. He learned that he could stay close to home, benefit from smaller class sizes, and develop relationships with his...