Rahim Charania

“The idea of enrolling at Ramapo College first came to me from a dear friend of mine Jonathan Marcus, who is on the Board of Governors at Ramapo and is the Immediate Past President of the Ramapo Alumni Association. I was serving my third combat tour and Jonathan, his wife Tammy, and I started exchanging emails about the possibilities of enrolling at Ramapo College after I finished serving my deployment and would be leaving the Army. It was during my rest and relaxation leave that I visited the Ramapo campus with Mr. Marcus who then introduced me to the President of the college, Dr. Peter Mercer, who graciously sat and spoke with me privately for a length of time to get a better understanding of my past experiences, credentials and what I had hoped to accomplish in my future. After filling out the proper college applications, Dr. Mercer at his staff made enrolling into Ramapo as smooth and as easy as possible. I knew immediately after that moment that this college knew how to take care of veterans. This was confirmed even further when I met Dorothy Gillman in the financial aid office. Mrs. Gillman processed my Chapter 33 GI Bill paperwork. She was so efficient at her job that my GI Bill kicked in exactly on the first day of school. I had previously heard of nothing but horror stories about educational benefits from my peers who had left the Army before I did. However, Ramapo College made my life as a veteran easy and stress free. Once I took care of all my proper paperwork, I flew back to Afghanistan to complete the remainder of my deployment knowing that I had a new life awaiting me upon my return. After finishing my deployment, I returned to the United States and officially left active duty on August 1, 2010. I started college on September 1, 2010. The transition from soldier to civilian is a very challenging process. Ramapo College made that transition very easy for me. After 4 years, I graduated from Ramapo College in May of 2014 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. I am pursuing a career in physical therapy and am awaiting word from several different Physical Therapy schools were I look forward to pursuing my post-graduate education. Gaining entrance to Physical Therapy school is a tremendously competitive process which I feel Ramapo College left me well prepared for. All this would not have been possible without the help of the Marcus family and Ramapo College.” – Rahim Charania ’14