Anthony Bertollo

Anthony Bertollo of Hawthorne, New Jersey is a Digital Filmmaking major and has maintained a 4.0 GPA. Anthony enjoys editing and writing as he feels both endeavors allow him to express his creativity and create projects he is proud of. 

At Ramapo, Anthony is an active member of the Cross Country and indoor/outdoor track and field team. Anthony loves to run, as he finds it incredibly therapeutic, and allows him to push himself beyond his limits. While participating in Cross Country at his previous institution, Anthony placed in the top seven at the NJCAA Regional Championships and was awarded First Team All-Region for this accomplishment.

Anthony has also been involved in off-campus activities, including the Boys and Girls Club of Hawthorne, New Jersey. At this organization, Anthony works as a summer camp counselor, supervising a group of young children, and planning fun activities for them to participate in throughout the day. Anthony truly enjoys working with children and hopes to continue this occupation for the foreseeable future.

After graduation, Anthony  plans on pursuing a career as either a cinematographer or screenwriter. No matter what career path he chooses, Anthony hopes that he can indulge in an occupation he will enjoy for years to come.

Awarded Scholarships

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2024

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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Cathy Davey Endowed Scholarship

The Cathy Davey Endowed Scholarship was created to honor the dedication of Ms. Davey, who served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the Ramapo College Foundation.

Cathy Davey began her career at Ramapo College in 1994, as Executive Director of the Ramapo College Foundation and Vice President of Institutional Advancement. She remained in that role for the next 26 years. As the College’s chief fund raiser, her efforts helped garner more than $56 million for the Further Our Promise campaign, helping Ramapo build or renovate some of its most iconic buildings: The Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for the Performing and Visual Arts, the Adler Center for Nursing Excellence, the Padovano Commons, the renovation of the Anisfield School of Business building and G-wing building. In 2016, she also spearheaded the College’s Power of Place campaign to renovate and expand the library building and create the Peter P. Mercer Learning Commons.

“Cathy has been an integral part of virtually every major development at Ramapo,” President Peter P. Mercer wrote in 2020. “In particular, her efforts in building the Ramapo College Foundation have been remarkably successful. I know that I am joined by many who will miss her energy, creativity, and integrity.”

To honor her success at Ramapo, the Board of Governors of the Ramapo College Foundation decided to surprise Cathy and create a permanently endowed scholarship in her name. Members of the Foundation Board, the College Board of Trustees, senior leadership of the College, and members of the campus community contributed to the endowment, which is a lasting reminder among current students of the tremendous impact Cathy had on Ramapo College.

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NDK Perseverance Scholarship Endowment

Nancy and Robert Kossowsky created the NDK Perseverance Scholarship in honor of their daughter, Nicole, and her success in meeting her own learning challenges. Nicole received a master’s degree in art education from Manhattanville College. She is currently a special education art teacher in the Bronx. The family’s intent in creating this scholarship is to “provide a scholarship for students who have demonstrated integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity.”

“Ordinary students often ask whether there are any scholarships available when they do not have an A average,” wrote Nicole. “Although this scholarship does not require a high GPA, it does require excellence in character, and that students be extraordinary and amazing in other ways. Candidates need to have a diagnosed learning difference and have learned how to self-advocate as well as embrace their differences. They need to be able to see their differences as a gift rather than a disability. Most importantly, the recipient should be someone who wants to continue to learn and knows the steps needed to reach their standard of academic excellence.

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