November 27, 2024

by Liz Mendicino ’26

Picture this: A weekend away at the nation’s premiere Army institution, working with some of the brightest minds in postsecondary education to solve the world’s problems. Five of Ramapo’s top students in Law and Society, History, Political Science, Economics, and other crucial fields of study received this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at the 75th annual Class of 1971 Student Conference on United States Affairs, colloquially known as SCUSA. This is the largest group of delegates that Ramapo has sent in recent years, as there were only three SCUSA 74 delegates and one SCUSA 73 delegate. Professor Jeremy Teigen additionally served as the co-chair of a roundtable for the SCUSA 73 conference. The prestigious military academy West Point is the conference’s annual host.

“The connections they develop from working in small groups with government, military and private sector specialists along with students from other institutions provides an excellent network for future success in the policy world,” said Assistant Dean Michael Unger. “The invitation to participate in SCUSA recognizes that Ramapo College students are among a select group of future policy leaders and on equal footing with those from elite institutions across the nation.”

The theme for SCUSA 75 was “‘Securing the Blessings of Liberty’: American Foreign Policy in an Increasing Multipolar World.” Many vital and pertinent questions will be addressed by the fifteen roundtables of SCUSA 75 as they debate how the United States should advance its values and interests in a turbulent world. The conference is the oldest and the largest of its kind, challenging delegates to work together and think critically about tackling the most poignant issues facing the country. It is attended by approximately 200 undergraduate students from over 100 institutions around the U.S., abroad, and across academic disciplines. SCUSA allows for America’s future leaders to develop civil military relationships that will strengthen their learning experiences and careers. Delegates come from all over the world, some joining as Fulbright Scholars or professionals in their fields. Victor Oluwagbemi ‘25, Stefanie Viera ‘25, Anayeli Hernandez Garcia ‘25, James Piscane ‘26, and Jeffrey Lacouture ‘28 were this year’s class of Ramapo delegates.

Anayeli Hernandez Garcia ’25

“My favorite memory would be when we went to the Firstie Club, it’s one of the West Point cadets hang out spots,” said delegate Anayeli Hernandez Garcia ‘25. “That was the best night because we got to actually interact beyond the policy making, but I also loved the round table discussions. It was all day, but it was a lot of teamwork, it was very nice to hear different perspectives. We had a couple graduate students, an economist, two foreign students, and a major there all with us so we got to see different perspectives from different states and different countries.” Hernandez Garcia is a Political Science major with an International Studies Minor, all while working full time for the Army National Guard. “I know that it will help me in my career because the compact policy that we made is very similar to one of the compacts that we use in the Army, and it was interesting to see those two things connect and how it relates to each other,”  said Garcia Hernandez, a current full time Army National Guard and full time student.

“It provided me with another perspective of the legal mindset, because I typically stray away from politics in terms of policy making and things of that nature, however being in this atmosphere made me realize that it’s not as uncomfortable for me as I thought,” said Victor Oluwagbemi ‘25. As Student Government Association president, Oluwagbemi was able to gain perspectives from student leaders across the country and gain a greater understanding of how to help the Ramapo community. As a Law & Society Major with a Sports Management Minor, it forced him to gain a new perspective on the world around him. “If you set expectations of things that you don’t know anything about, you’re going to let yourself down, just go with an open mind and be ready to learn a lot,” said Oluwagbemi. “It’s really informative and then a lot of it is also experiential, so you experience a lot of different things that you wouldn’t have anywhere else.”

“Overall my experience with SCUSA was really wonderful because I was surrounded with students from all over the country who are just as passionate as I am about making the world a better place and how we can leverage the United States power to do so,” said Stefanie Viera ‘25. “My favorite part of the conference was when we got to the topic of climate migration, which is something I’m currently writing one of my senior theses on right now, and it was just really riveting to have an open conversation with a bunch of bright minds and experts on what this topic of climate migration means what it what it means for the future migration studies.” As a History and HGS Contract Double Major, the week allowed Stefanie to critically apply the research she has been working on this past semester. “My favorite memory was the last night, we were all at the campus bar the Firstie Club and I feel like we really were able to connect,” said Viera. “The other people in my roundtable and I played a bunch of games and I spoke to cadets about what their life is like, and I think it together as a group it was symbolic for the connection of civil military relations.”