Greg grew up in Scranton’s South Side, and the University was a bit of a Marx family tradition. His father attended the school, as did several aunts, uncles and cousins. The school was a little more than two miles from his parents’ house, so calling it close to home was an understatement. As a child, Greg attended several day camps at the University. Exposure at a young age made the University a familiar place, and Greg happily enrolled in the fall 2001. Despite living at home, Greg participated in intramural sports and the IEEE engineering club for four years, serving as president his senior year. Throughout his years at Scranton, Greg was continually inspired by the faculty and staff, and grew academically and personally in the Jesuit tradition. The University equipped him with the necessary tools to be successful in the engineering industry. Greg graduated in 2005 with a degree in computer engineering and minors in philosophy and mathematics. He is now happily employed by BAE Systems, where he started one month after graduation.
Angela, originally from Ellicott City, Md., was looking at colleges up and down the East Coast. During the summer before her senior year, her college decision was all but made. Scranton was in the “just another Catholic school in Pennsylvania” pile, literally. One summer vacation and a new family friend later, she was told she should visit the Scranton campus and she would have a change of heart. On a brisk September afternoon, that is exactly what happened. Angela knew she had found her school the moment she stepped foot on the Commons. As a freshman, she dove into any activity she could – student activities and orientation, Campus Ministry, band, intramural volleyball and varsity softball. Angela graduated with honors in 2007 with a biophysics degree, philosophy and mathematics minors and as a four-year varsity softball player. She became an optometrist in 2011 and uses the Scranton-instilled Jesuit ideals to better treat her patients every day.
We met one month before Greg graduated and began dating that summer. We continue to stay in touch with faculty and staff, visiting Scranton as often as possible. In August 2011, we returned to the place that has so greatly shaped our lives and married at the University’s Madonna della Strada Chapel.
The University transformed us into the people we are today, and we are grateful for the impact the school has had on our lives, our careers and our futures. We hope to one day send our children to the University so they can share in the same experiences we were fortunate enough to have. Scranton is no longer the school down the street, the school Greg’s father attended, or just another Catholic university in Pennsylvania. The University is our school, our home away from home, a place we hold dear to our hearts, and a place worthy of our pride, passion and promise.
– Gregory Marx ’05 & Angela Croteau Marx ’07
