Thinking back (and ahead) to warmer days during this winter season…

January 3, 2025

by Liz Mendicino ’26

Every summer, a select group of incoming Roadrunners have the opportunity to move in a week early and begin their Ramapo experience, performing civil service and engaging with their new community through the Leaders in Service (LIS) program. This program, spearheaded by Dylan Heffernan, Jack Nesmith, and Allie Shapiro in the Center for Student Involvement, serves as a way of bridging the gap for like-minded new students who want to give back. For the Summer 2024 program, they decided to extend LIS by an extra day, adding a trip to the New Jersey School of Conservation. The group consisted of 39 first-year and transfer students across all majors.

“So while at the School of Conservation, we admittedly didn’t do a lot of conservation,” joked Nathaniel Bergren ‘28. “It was the first day, and I think it was really beneficial. I mean, we went into that day not really knowing anybody, and we came out of that day all knowing each other. We came out of that day feeling like our little group had a chance. It broke the ice significantly, and I think it made us all closer.” The day truly encapsulated the essence of what it means to foster environmental education and action. The LIS program helps immerse new RCNJ students with civic engagement and a passion for helping others. Bergren recently presented research he completed in his First Year Seminar course on the impact of Mann v. Ford on local native communities at the annual Native American Heritage Banquet. He is planning on continuing his research and efforts to support local native communities during his time at Ramapo.

“I think the most rewarding part of being a mentor is seeing your students when the summer is done,” said Desiree Bounds ‘26. “It’s a really quick program, we’re really only here for five days, and we’re really forged by fire. And so for students, 18 year olds were coming into college, their very first collegiate experience, but by the last day at our talent show, and everyone’s singing around, dancing, cracking inside jokes. You get to see them throughout the fall and spring semesters taking on leadership roles and leading their own clubs and organizations.” Bounds has served as a peer mentor for the past two summers, inspired by her time in the LIS program prior to her first year. Her experience in LIS empowered her to become one of Ramapo’s Andrew Goodman Foundation Ambassadors for the Fall 2024 semester.

For Hope Dewitt ‘24, this summer’s cohort was her last as a student mentor. Dewitt is graduating this semester, three semesters early, and has been reflecting on her short time at Ramapo with a bittersweet fondness. “The most fulfilling part is being a stepping stone in kids’ journeys at Ramapo, because you’re the initial, first mentor that they really get for the program,” Dewitt said. “You become someone to look up to and introduce them to the different things that they can accomplish here, and you kind of get to guide them with not only being a college student, but also how to be a person in college. It’s more personal than just an academic mentor, it’s somebody to guide you through the most crucial stage of coming to college.” Dewitt began her college journey with Bounds in LIS 2022, and has a deep love for the program. As she looks ahead to her graduation, she also gets to look at the LIS students in the same place she’d been in two years ago.

“My favorite memory was probably kayaking with my friend Riley,” said Allie Mendicino ‘28. “It was really fun, and then we got to race everyone! We lost. It was kind of sad, but I feel like we learned a lot from it, and that helped us become friends early on, and we’re still friends now.”

“I remember there were a lot of team building exercises and it was such a safe and caring environment, there was also a lot of problem solving, which was really fun,” said Julia Rowan ‘28.

Not only does the program foster a heightened awareness and care for one’s community, but additionally helps students develop friendships and trust in others that will last them a lifetime. “One of the standout memories I remember is there was this little net where people would have to climb on and they would have to climb off, it was really simple,” said Peter Tunnicliffe ‘28. “However, it was off the ground, and the way you had to get on and off was kind of strange, you had to somersault on and somersault off. A lot of people were afraid to do it, because their feet have never gone over their head before. It’s a scary experience being upside down in the air. So there were some people that were, like, really nervous about it, really scared, but they were able to overcome their fear, and just being able to see that was really kind of transformative.” Tunnicliffe, along with Bergren, Mendicino, and Rowan serves as a senator for the Student Government Association. Their experiences in LIS not only bonded the four of them as friends, but additionally enabled them to quickly become civic leaders on the Ramapo campus.

“The best memory of it is our debrief after the activities and seeing that the students really did take what they needed from the team bonding, and the school of conservation, to really shape them as college students and civil servants,” said Dewitt.

The Civic and Community Engagement Center’s Leaders in Service program allows incoming first-year and transfer students the opportunity to get involved with service projects, political engagement, and leadership opportunities at Ramapo before their first semester begins. If you are a prospective student, be on the lookout for Summer 2025 applications.