“And it just hit my heart, honestly, seeing those children get the care they needed. It just looked like worthy work,” said Bedard, a clinical assistant professor of physical therapy at Quinnipiac. “I’m 41 years into my career, so I’m closer to the end than the beginning. PT wasn’t a booming profession back then, and I just held strong to thinking that that was my life’s calling.”


Bedard spent her youth focused on a singular path to clinical practice; her other calling was the result of an unforeseen detour: a colleague contacted her about a part-time teaching opportunity at Quinnipiac in 1994.

Now, three decades into her second act, Bedard will receive the ultimate validation for embodying such “worthy work” in the form of the university’s highest teaching honor — the faculty excellence award.

“In every profession, be it in teaching or something else, you just hope that you're making an impact,” Bedard said. “So if it’s a patient in a clinic, or a student who might be struggling to grasp the information — I just love the ‘aha’ moment. Those are those special moments where everything clicks. You just hope that on a day-to-day basis, you’re impacting humanity.”

Zoe Xanthopoulos ’27, an undergraduate clinical assistant who has worked under Bedard, was among the nominating voices who praised Bedard for her deep and abiding commitment to the students in her charge.

“She is someone students feel safe turning to in moments of stress, uncertainty, and growth,” Xanthopoulos wrote, “and she has an extraordinary ability to make every person feel seen, valued, and capable.”

Another student, Alyssa Campo ‘24, DPT ’27, referred to Bedard as “the heart and soul of the doctorate of physical therapy program” and “the most enthusiastic, passionate, giving and kind professor.”

“She is always working on building new community partnerships,” Campo added, “cultivating the latest resources, giving students unique opportunities while always placing compassion, altruism and excellence at the center of her work.”

Several nominations cited Bedard’s dedication to pro bono work as perhaps her most meaningful contribution to the physical therapy program at Quinnipiac. Through EQUIP, a student-led clinic delivering free physical therapy and other wellness initiatives to local communities with limited access to healthcare, a record number of clients have been served.

From senior exercise classes to the Go Baby Go program, which adapts ride-on vehicles for children with mobility challenges, EQUIP is a sterling example of how experiential learning bridges the gap between academics and human impact.

Bedard lives for the breakthroughs it provides for both patients and practitioners.

“I like to call it ‘the warm-fuzzies,’” Bedard said. “You have a moment where somebody from the community or a client in the clinic really needed something and all of a sudden the light bulbs go on for the student and that warm, fuzzy feeling makes your heart feel so full. You delivered something that has made that person’s life better. And the hope is that when they leave Quinnipiac, they carry that with them. They’re better clinicians and they’re more willing to give to the community. They understand that service is important, and that sometimes the greatest gift is from the heart and has nothing to do with money.”

When she’s honored at the Center for Excellence awards dinner on October 20, Bedard will be joined by her husband, David, and her two daughters, Michaela and Sophia, both of whom are recent Quinnipiac graduates. It will be a night for reflecting on the career she always wanted and the unexpected turn that made it even more rewarding.