Onanian ’24 Celebrated as Inspirational, Determined Journalist and Advocate

The Emerson College community came together to celebrate the life of Nora Onanian ’24 on January 24, as friends, faculty, and staff spoke glowingly of Onanian’s determination, kindness, and journalistic integrity throughout the ceremony.

Onanian died on December 24, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.

Though she was first diagnosed with cancer when she was 9 years old, she did not feel sorry for herself, said Senior Journalist-in-Residence Doug Struck, a professor of Onanian’s who spoke at the ceremony, held in the Bordy Theater. Struck recounted what Onanian had said about participating in a fundraising rally against cancer when she was 16.

“She said, ‘For the first time, I saw I could bring nuance to disability stories and elevate underrepresented voices,’” said Struck. Onanian was driven to creative positive portrayals of individuals with disabilities. “That really was a goal that she carried on through her life, nor did she hide her illness.”

She created her own blog, The Lymphedema Fashionista, as a guide to “keeping your personal style and living life to the fullest while managing lymphedema.”

At Emerson, she worked countless hours at 88.9 WERS as the station’s web services coordinator. In her role as the manager of the station’s writing team, she pursued her passion for music by interviewing artists, and reviewing albums and live performances. A former WERS colleague said that Onanian tipped everyone off to Chappell Roan before the musician became an international sensation.  

Onanian also loved swimming, and competed in adaptive swim meets as a member of Adaptive Sports New England at Simmons University. She attended the Paralympics in Paris this past summer.

She also served as the managing editor of the Independent Film Magazine at Emerson. That led to her role as an Entertainment & News Media Fellow in Disability Belong’s National Leadership Program this past fall.

“She really was a rising star in that organization,” said Struck. “By her senior year, she was part of the group’s consultation [team] with major Hollywood producers on how disabled characters were portrayed fairly and accurately.”

When reviewing a Jurassic World television series character who was an amputee, Struck said he believes Onanian felt like she was partly describing herself. “Just because [the character] had lost a hand, she didn’t lose her spirit. She’s fiercely independent and brave…sure she faces some extra challenges because of her disability, but she finds a way to get back to the lifestyle she wants.”  

While she did much of this work, she was also receiving treatment, and attended Zoom meetings and wrote many articles from her hospital bed in the ICU at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Avi Riviera ’26, a friend of Onanian’s who worked with her at WERS, said Onanian loved the children’s toys Calico Critters, and put a little Calico Critter on the lectern in front of her as she spoke because it reminded her of Onanian. Riviera said after Onanian passed, she invited people to share a memory or kind words about Onanian for WERS’ blog.

Read the WERS Community’s Remembrance of Nora Onanian

Riviera characterized Onanian as the “kindest and strongest person”, a passionate leader, and enthusiastic patron of music, and recalled Onanian’s time as WERS’ web services coordinator for three years.

“She was responsible for everything you read and saw on the blog, and was incredibly dedicated to every part of it, from recruiting writers who cared about music and WERS just as much as she did, to running that team with the utmost grace and kindness and continuously putting out quality pieces of writing that she knew better with every touch and pun that she added through her work,” said Riviera. “She undoubtedly changed the lives of dozens of students who were lucky enough to know and work alongside her. Nora had a gift for seeing the best in people and even if you thought your writing wasn’t anything special, Nora would make sure to tell you otherwise.”

Riviera said Onanian gave writers confidence to shine, and as good as a leader and writer as she was, Onanian was even a better friend.

“She lit up every group she walked into and always led with a smile no matter what. She was surprisingly humble, unwaveringly kind of very, very funny,” said Riviera. “Her compassion left a mark on everyone she met.”

Journalism Department Chair Lu Ann Reeb met Onanian for the first time via email when she reached out this past September, when she asked Reeb for help to complete her journalism degree.

“What impressed me, besides touching my heart, was that she wrote three or four paragraphs justifying why I should [help], which I did,” said Reeb. “And she said in the last email she wrote to me, ‘Thank you so much for your expression of sympathy and for your willingness to help me accomplish my life goal. It means so much to me.’”

“She was a bright light. Look at her, right?” said Reeb, pointing to Onanian’s image on the projection screen. “She was a really bright light and each of us should be super grateful that we had the chance to know Nora even a little bit.”