"They Started Right"

Many residents are familiar with our "I Started Right" billboard campaign. We like to feature our most successful alumni, and in the process we often turn ordinary people into neighborhood celebrities.

Kelli Calabrese - Health and fitness expert
Tom Caltabiano - Writer and Co-Executive Producer, "Everybody Loves Raymond"
Jason Esposito - Clinical research scientist at Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation
Jamie Ryan - Sales Director with Avaya in Manhattan
Dr. Misty Sidoti - Dentist, Stanhope, NJ

Kelli Calabrese

     The knowledge that she came from a family prone to heart disease drove Kelli Calabrese, at a young age, to make health and fitness a top priority in her life. After attaining her first fitness certification at the age of 17, she made the decision to help others incorporate fitness into their lives.
     When it came time to choose a college, Calabrese found that CCM was just the right “fit” for her. After graduating from CCM in 1990, Calabrese earned a BS from Rutgers University, and then moved to East Stroudsburg University where she earned a master’s of science degree in cardiac rehabilitation and exercise physiology.
     Calabrese’s fitness career began in a local health club where she progressed from fitness trainer and aerobic instructor to partner of a four-club chain. Seeing a need for more qualified fitness professionals, Calabrese then opened the first school for preparing candidates for the American Council on Exercise’s Personal Training exams. In 10 years, her school prepared over 3,000 students to become group fitness instructors, lifestyle and weight management consultants, clinical exercise specialists, and personal trainers.
     Calabrese is the coauthor of “Feminine, Firm, and Fit,” a twelve-week fitness makeover program for women. Her website www.kellicalabrese.com, combines her passion for helping others with her quest to train professionals. Calabrese is published in many magazines and professional journals and she recently coauthored two books on fitness.

Back to top

Tom Caltabiano
     When Tom Caltabiano graduated from CCM with a business degree in 1983, a career in comedy was one of the last things on his mind. Little did he know that, when the curtain came down on the 2003Annual Emmy Awards, he would be part of the team taking home the Emmy for “Best Comedy Series.” Caltabiano is currently a writer and co-executive producer for the hit CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
     From business executive, to acting student, radio disc jockey, and stand up comedian, Tom Caltabiano’s career path has been full of twists and turns. After graduating from CCM with High Honors and an Associate’s degree in Business Administration, he attended New York University where he earned a B.S. degree in both finance and management. While still enrolled at NYU, Caltabiano entered the business world and served as treasurer of a local R & D firm for the next ten years.
     In 1988, still a full time executive by day, Caltabiano considered trying stand-up comedy at night. Within a year, Caltabiano made the commitment to become a full time comic. It was on the comedy scene in 1988 that Tom first met fellow comic, Ray Romano, and before long, Caltabiano became Romano’s opening act. Romano invited Caltabiano to move to Los Angeles with him to help write scripts for a new television sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond, and after four previous nominations, Caltabiano and the “Raymond” team took home the ultimate reward for being funny.

Back to top

Jason Esposito

     Jason Esposito, a resident of Succasunna, didn’t always know what he wanted to do, but once he made up his mind, there was no stopping him. He went from being a quiet underachiever in high school to a focused student at County College of Morris. After graduating with honors from CCM, Esposito earned a Bachelor’s degree with honors from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, and a Master of Science and Health Science degree in clinical leadership and clinical research administration, also with honors, from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington DC.
     Today, Esposito is a clinical research scientist at Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation. At Novartis, he is responsible for the conduct of Phase III and Phase IV clinical studies in gastroenterology – writing protocols, managing external vendors, preparing study documents, assuring integrity of data, and assisting in the publication of manuscripts and other commercial activities. Prior to his employment at Novartis, Esposito held positions in clinical research at Schering-Plough Research Institute, Quintiles Incorporated, and Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.

Back to top


Jamie Ryan
     After earning an Associates degree in Marketing at County College of Morris, Jamie Ryan attended Fairleigh Dickinson University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree, also in Marketing. Since joining AT&T as a new college graduate 16 years ago, Jamie Ryan has managed a determined and rapid rise in both status and responsibility within AT&T’s sales force and with its successive spin-offs, Lucent, Exp@nets and Avaya.
     Year after year, Jamie has exceeded his sales and management goals. On Eight occasions, he achieved membership in the company’s “Millionaires Club,” a distinction reserved for sales associates who reach 175 percent of their quota. In addition, Jamie has been named three times to the “Leaders’ Council, the companies’ highest honor conferred on members in the top 1 percent of the sales force. At present, Jamie is a Sales Director with Avaya in Manhattan where he leads a team of 10 Account Executives and continues to consistently surpass sales quotas.

Back to top

Dr. Misty Sidoti
     After graduating from Newton High School in 1988, Dr. Misty Sidoti decided it was best not to jump into the college routine without a plan of direction. Originally, she dreamed of becoming a special effects make-up artist, primarily working in the television and film industries. While in high school, she started making custom costume teeth and masks for Halloween. After graduation, she continued making costume teeth, working part-time at local costume shops.
     One day, a dentist stopped by one of the shops and asked Dr. Sidoti if she was a dental laboratory technician. Never having heard of the profession, she began to research it and realized that it would be a good match for her interests. As she shifted her focus to her new career, she dreamed of owning a dental laboratory.
     Dr. Sidoti began taking classes at Union County College to earn her technician degree. At Union County College (UCC), a professor who recognized Dr. Sidoti’s talent and ambition, told Dr. Sidoti that she may be able to secure her a spot in the doctorate program at New Jersey Dental School.
     With a new goal to focus on, after earning her associates degree from UCC, Dr. Sidoti applied to County College of Morris where she took prerequisite courses for dental school. “CCM has a great reputation, great professors, and is located close to home. Because of the vast availability of courses, I was able to complete three years of dental prerequisites in two years,” Dr. Sidoti commented.
     In May, 1998, Dr. Sidoti was awarded her Doctorate of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She opened her practice in February 1999 in Stanhope, New Jersey. No more special effects costume teeth for Dr. Sidoti. These days, she spends her free time with her husband and the many chickens, sheep, goats, turkeys, pigs, and even a llama, who share her farm land.


Back to top