May 12, 2025
Hope — and a door to opportunity held open — brought Anas Alami to St. Bonaventure University four years ago. Today, this once-shy Brooklyn native who navigated the foster care system has been selected as the student speaker for SBU’s
165th Commencement Exercises on May 18.
“Never in my life did I think I’d be standing at a podium talking about doors, let alone giving a college graduation speech,” Alami said.
His journey to higher education first began with an inner strength that saw him through the loss of his mother and a series of foster homes.
By senior high, that progress was significantly shaped by the combined support of his English teacher and her wife, whom he called “his aunties,” his basketball coach, who instilled discipline and teamwork, and his school counselor, who
provided essential guidance.
He also learned about the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). When he first saw the acronym, he misread it as “HOPE” — a fitting symbol of everything he envisioned for his future.
Determined to create a better life, Alami applied to HEOP and was accepted at St. Bonaventure, where new doors continued to open.
A Business Management major in the School of Business, he plans to focus his address on the “door-holding spirit” of St. Bonaventure — and the compassion and community he found here.
“I’ve always had a village behind me, but when I got to St. Bonaventure that village became 10 times bigger,” he said.
The friends, faculty and friars he met quickly became his community, and they continue to help propel him forward. The HEOP program and everyone involved with it has been instrumental to his success, while the mentorship of Dr. Matrecia S.L. James,
dean of the School of Business, has been invaluable.
“I’d love to give a special shoutout to Dean James, who has truly been a door opener for me in the School of Business,” he said. “And another big shoutout to the HEOP program — as we say, ‘HEOP Works!’”
It is his fellow students who most inspire him. “Every day they motivate me to do better,” he said. “When you see them leading big affinity groups or organizations, and working so hard because they love it and want to give of themselves,
how can you not give back?”
Alami’s popularity has become legendary on campus, as has his ability to lift others up. That spirit was on full display during the recent Student Affairs awards ceremony, when nearly two dozen students gathered to take a photo with him shortly
after he was named one of two Ideal Bonaventure Students.
“When I see someone down, I love to raise their spirits. Growing up the way I did, I understand what a hard day really is,” he said. “I always tell them that a day has 24 hours. You can have a bad one hour, but don’t make the whole
24 hours bad.”
A cum laude graduate and McAllister Business Scholar, Alami has been deeply involved on campus. He served as:
- President of the Business Student Leaders Enterprise;
- Peer leader and tutor for HEOP and SOAR, SBU’s access programs;
- Consultant for C4, the student-led consulting group;
- Member of the Enactus service leadership team; and
- Dean’s project manager for the School of Business.
His volunteer work includes service at the Warming House, the annual Move-Out Sale through the Franciscan Center for Social Concern, the Global Scholars program, and even donning the Reilly Wolf mascot costume.
For Alami, the journey hasn’t only been about the doors that opened — but also the ones that didn’t.
"Don’t ever worry if one door closes. Another will open," he said. “And when someone holds a door for you, know that it is okay to have help. I grew up on my own and it took me a while to say yes to that help.”
After graduation, Alami will remain at St. Bonaventure to complete his MBA and serve as an academic counselor for HEOP and SOAR.
St. Bonaventure’s 165th Commencement Exercises will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 18, in Reilly Center Arena on campus. The ceremony will be livestreamed.