Alyssa Curto

Alyssa Curto of Staten Island, N.Y. is a Communication Arts major with a concentration in Global Communication and Media. Her overall GPA is 3.7 and is a part of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Alpha Lambda Delta. In high school, Alyssa worked hard in school and was able to move up into honors classes.

On campus, Alyssa is part of the Women’s Lacrosse team and likes to attend events that other clubs on campus host.

“Although there are times that I have wanted to give up I always continued to push through and focus on the positive. The challenges that I have faced in my life have made me into the person I am today.”  After graduation, Alyssa plans on working in a position in either advertising or media work.

Awarded Scholarships

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2023

Cara Mychelle Hirschman Memorial Scholarship

In the Spring of 1996, Ramapo College student Cara Mychelle Hirschman was ecstatic to learn that she had been named to the Dean’s List. The transcript for that semester hung proudly on her mom’s refrigerator and demonstrated a huge accomplishment for Cara, who had a learning disability. She spoke openly about the academic struggles she faced and the compensatory strategies she employed.

Though she was declined enrollment at other colleges, Ramapo recognized the potential in this caring, intelligent, dynamic and hard-working young woman. Cara worked closely with her counselor in the Office of Specialized Services, Ramona Kopacz, and succeeded in her studies while becoming an active member of the campus community. Cara was an officer in the Marketing Club and a tutor for the Office of Specialized Services. She volunteered for the Special Olympics and held a coop position at Trucolor Lab as a customer service representative and product advisor.

Tragically, only months after receiving her Dean’s List honors, Cara was killed in a car accident at age 21. The Eleanor B. Reiner Foundation, where Cara’s mother was a board member, provided annual scholarship gifts in Cara’s memory, and in 1997 made a substantial gift to permanently endow these awards.

Hirschman Scholarships are awarded to students of good academic standing who have a documented learning disability and, like Cara, are involved on campus and in the community.

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