Laura Azar, Finance & Administration Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library. Photo by Kallie Stahl.

Laura Azar recently joined the Finance & Administration (F&A) Team as Finance & Administration Specialist. She assists F&A in providing Library leadership with support in financial operations, facilities management, talent management, and administrative services.

Born and raised in Bergamo, Italy, Azar moved to the U.S. in 1995. Earning her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Istituto Tecnico Commerciale “Vittorio Emanuele II” in Bergamo, she worked in several different fields—in Italy: fashion, construction, beauty products; in Florida: jewelry; in Portugal: Italian food and wine; in Oregon: music; in Pennsylvania: legal insurance, Italian travel agency, and school for young children.

“You can work in any type of business with a degree in finance and accounting,” she says. “I’ve learned from each professional experience.” She lived in Italy, Florida, Portugal, Oregon, and Montana before settling in the Philadelphia area, and worked for the Main Line Reform Temple and School in Wynnewood, Pa., before joining the Falvey Memorial Library staff.

Passionate about language education, Azar taught Italian for the America-Italy Society of Philadelphia and managed the Scuola Marco Polo Philadelphia, a non-profit school created in response to the need of Italian citizens and residents in the Tri-State area, for three years. She speaks four languages: Italian, English, French, and Portuguese [having lived in Portugal for five years]. “I understand Spanish and can speak quite a bit since it is very close to Italian and Portuguese.”

Since moving to East Coast, Azar has always envisioned working for a local university. “I wanted to work at an institution that was close to my faith, and I heard so many good things about Villanova—it is the perfect fit for me.”

In her free time, Azar enjoys spending time with her family and friends, playing tennis, practicing yoga, reading, hiking, and watching documentaries and movies. Every summer she travels home to visit her parents and relatives.

“It’s wonderful,” she says of her city. “The lakes, the mountains, the food…Bergamo is beautiful.”

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.