Bergen Community College

Senior Financial Analyst

Bergen welcomed me as a non-traditional student and helped me to realize the potential I never knew existed within myself. The activities I was involved with while attending Bergen included: Student Government Association (I served as treasurer and chaired the Finance Committee); Alpha Beta Gamma Business Honor Fraternity (member); Graduated with ~3.9 GPA; made Deans List and/or Honors Roll every semester; Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society (I served as president). The awards and recognitions I received included: recipient of the Benjamin Labov Memorial Award for scholarly achievement and contribution the College; recipient of Phi Theta Kappa scholarship to NYU and was one of five students chosen to speak at the Bergen graduation ceremony. Bergen fostered a genuine sense of community involvement and provided the required academic training that gave me the confidence and credentials I would need to continue on to pursue a four-year degree. After Bergen, I was admitted to NYU as a Phi Theta Kappa Scholar which was offered to a select group of students who were transferees with excellent academic records from two-year schools. As a Phi Theta Kappa scholar, I was admitted into the Deans Scholar program that involved charity/community service work, an executive lecture series held by top corporate executives and received a stipend to travel abroad each semester.

Bergen Community College was the perfect fit for me as a returning student. I had worked after high school for a family business and decided after a few years that it was time to pursue a college education and Bergen was one of the first places that came to mind where I could accomplish this goal. Bergen appealed to me for many reasons; for example, the quality of its teaching staff, its transfer arrangements with four-year universities, its affordability and close proximity to home.

Bergen offered a rigorous Associates Degree program that prepared me for the academic challenges I would face upon transferring to New York University. I was also able to develop organizational and problem solving skills that would ultimately help contribute to succeeding academically while preparing me to effectively manage everyday work and life issues.

One of my favorite academic experiences while attending Bergen included achieving leadership positions in Student Government and Phi Theta Kappa where the thrust of focus was participating in charitable work and student camaraderie.

The most important advice I would give to new students is: be serious about your academics, stay committed to your goals and get involved outside of the classroom - it's equally as important.

Stern School of Business, New York University

B.S. in Finance and Marketing