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Raritan Valley Community College was celebrated at a recent Somerset Patriots game with an evening honoring RVCC students, faculty, staff, and programs and featuring performances by RVCC students. The July 1 event was held at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, where the home crowd of 4,453 watched the Somerset Patriots beat the Reading Fightin Phils, 7-6.

With “The Big Picture” as its theme, the event brought attention to RVCC’s role in the greater community while recognizing some of the College’s leaders and signature programs. The evening also established the first ever “crowd-funded” scholarship at RVCC—with net proceeds from the 269 “RVCC tickets” sold used to create The Big Picture Scholarship at RVCC, which will be offered this fall at the College. The evening’s activities also featured the largest group photo ever taken of the RVCC community, with more than 200 participants assembled on the field. The photo was taken by an overhead drone, operated by RVCC student Amanda Moberg, who was trained at College’s Workforce Training Center.

“The Big Picture event was a wonderful celebration of our collective community, and an opportunity to feel genuine pride in our institution as we showcased the successes of RVCC students, alumni, staff, and key programs,” said RVCC President Dr. Michael J. McDonough. “It was also an important reminder of the generosity of our partners and just how important an anchor RVCC is to the counties we serve and New Jersey more broadly.”

Members of the RVCC community were featured prominently in the pre-game festivities, including RVCC students Ollie Johnson (Class of 2024), Katie Strong (Class of 2025), and Sarah Stefaniak (Class of 2023), who performed The National Anthem, and Conrad Mercurius, Executive Director of Workforce Development & Career Education, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

In addition, RVCC President McDonough; Lori Moog, Director of Service Learning and Community Outreach, Pray Family Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement at RVCC; and Rhonda Stewart, Program Specialist, Paul Robeson Institute for Ethics, Leadership, and Social Justice at RVCC, were all honored with the “Best of Bridgewater and Branchburg” award presented by Vincent Farraro, General Sales Manager of Bridgewater KIA. Serena Collado, Director of Community Health, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset—an invaluable supporter of the College—was similarly honored.

RVCC grad (Class of 2016) Osei Boateng was presented with the “Distinguished Alumni Award” by Dr. Aaron R. Fichtner, President of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges. Boateng, whose award was accepted on his behalf by his sister, Frema Boateng, because he is in Ghana working with his non-profit, the OKB Hope Foundation, was selected last year as one of top 10 CNN Heroes for his international humanitarian service.

Also featured during pre-game ceremonies were on-field check presentations to RVCC by Raquel Mura, Vice President of R & D at Sanofi, and Patrick Delaney, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of RWJUH New Brunswick, and Deirdre Blaus, Interim Chief Administrative Officer for RWJUH Somerset. The checks were in support of the Sanofi US Corporate Mentorship Program at RVCC and RVCC Nursing Program, respectively.

In addition, Rosemary Fellner, member of the Board of Directors of the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Co-Chair of the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Hall of Fame, announced RVCC’s upcoming inclusion to the Hunterdon County Business Hall of Fame.

Ranked by WalletHub.com, Intelligent.com, and CollegeEvaluator.com as the #1 community college in New Jersey, Raritan Valley Community College has been serving as an academic and cultural center for Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for over 50 years. The College has been nationally recognized for its service to the community, environmental stewardship, and commitment to diversity. It is home to  a Planetarium, Science Education Institute, and 3M Observatory; a Theatre offering professional performances for all ages; and an Honors College for high achieving students.

The College offers approximately 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training and professional development courses. RVCC is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 11, 2024

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383

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