NJ Natural Gas supports scholarship for Environmental Science majors
New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) recently established the New Jersey Natural Gas Scholarship at the County College of Morris. The scholarship, which will be available to students starting this fall, will support a full-time student majoring in Environmental Science within the college’s Division of Health and Natural Sciences. In addition to being a full-time student, the recipient must have completed a minimum of 12 hours of full-time study at the County College of Morris, maintaining a GPA of 2.8 or higher.
“With this scholarship, we are pleased to help support the development of New Jersey’s future leaders,” said Thomas Hayes, Director of Customer and Community Relations at NJNG. “We believe that education is one of the most important investments we can make for our company, our environment and our future.”
“We are very pleased and honored that New Jersey Natural Gas has established a fully-endowed scholarship here at CCM,” said Joseph Vitale, vice president of the foundation. “By choosing to support environmental science education, New Jersey Natural Gas is making a significant statement about the importance of environmental concerns as well as helping to promote America’s energy independence.”
For more information call Financial Aid at 973-328-5230 or email finaid@ccm.eduHe describes himself as competitive, but at the same time loves the camaraderie that comes with playing team sports.
Almin graduated Cum Laude with a GPA of 3.57 and an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice. He plans to continue playing basketball and complete his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice at Dominican College in New York where he was accepted with a full scholarship.
John Fitzgerald is known around campus as a great student athlete and an all around “Nice Kid.” Like Almin, John is also one of those quiet laid back sort of guys who becomes very competitive on the soccer field. As the team captain in his last year, John has learned very valuable leadership skills that he will carry throughout his life. One of his (and CCM’s) proudest moments was taking our soccer team to the national finals in Dallas, where they finished third in the nation.
John will tell you that secret to his success at CCM was the ability to live at home for a few more years. As enticing as it is to many young people to go away to college right after high school, John will tell you that living at home gave him the opportunity to focus on his studies AND his sports. In addition to playing soccer, John had the chance to play lacrosse, a sport he had never tried before.
In the fall, John is headed for Bloomsburg University where he plans to major in criminal justice and eventually earn his master’s degree. John graduated with an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts.
Two non-traditional students were also highlighted in the commencement speech. At age 77, Evelyn Aiken is an example that learning is a life-long quest. She has always had a burning desire to learn new things, but it wasn’t until she started to help her high-school-age children with their homework that she decided to return to school. By the time her son went off to college, she was already taking classes.
Evelyn started at CCM in 1973 and earned her first associate’s degree in Humanities in 1980. During that same period, she also became a Licensed Practical Nurse. In 1982 she earned her second associate CCM degree in Computer Science. Then in 2006, she graduated from the College of Saint Elizabeth with a bachelor’s degree in Theology. Evelyn is currently part of the ministerial staff at the Calvary Baptist Church in Morristown where she has been a member for 59 years.
Evelyn received her THIRD degree from CCM, but this time an Associate in Fine Arts degree in Art. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.77 GPA.
As the mother of four and grandmother of three, Evelyn plans to continue educating herself. Her greatest ambition is to inspire confidence in others by sharing her knowledge and experience. Since she plans to live to be 100, she has many years of teaching and learning ahead of her.
Our second non-traditional student is Chris Antholis. Chris is 65 years-old and graduated with an associate’s degree in mathematics. Next fall he will continue his education at NJIT where he has been accepted into its Engineering Program.
Seven years ago Chris had to take a national exam on fire protection in order to get a first class fire protection license from the State. After studying hard for the exam, he gained the confidence and determination to go back to school for an Engineering degree. At CCM he took very demanding courses in mathematics. I am told that a substantial number of students drop out or fail Differential Equations and Linear Algebra, but Chris never gave up. He was always positive and enthusiastic, often encouraging others not to quit. In the end, his effort and perfect attendance record paid off, and he managed to succeed in both courses. He was so excited about the math courses that he even encouraged one of his co-workers to take Calculus III. Chris is definitely a great example that it is never too late to learn more and challenge yourself.