Perliza D. Emde

“I graduated with my BSN in 1997 from Las Pinas College of Nursing in the Philippines. My husband was encouraging me to return for my master’s degree in nursing after three years of working at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey, in the critical care department. While I was precepting a new nurse who graduated from Ramapo College, we were discussing our future professional plans. He encouraged me to go back for my MSN at Ramapo College. He was so emphatic that he signed me up for the open house at Ramapo the following week, and then told me about it.

Being away from school for 20 years, Professor Kathleen Moskin sensed my apprehension and realized that English was my third language. She kindly took me under her wing, so to speak, and mentored me the whole time.

Ramapo College has been instrumental in my professional journey giving me a strong foundation in attaining my FNP master’s degree under the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Kathleen Burke, Dr. Elaine Patterson, Dr. Donna Cill, Dr. Shantha Franks, Dr. Margaret Greene and Dr. Julie Fitzgerald.

I was offered a job at every clinical location while doing my rotation for the FNP program at Ramapo. St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., has already offered me an APN position in a cardiac specialty unit that I have accepted.” – Perliza D. Emde ’19 graduated with her Master of Science in Nursing in the Family Nurse Practitioner track from Ramapo College. She is a Critical Care Nurse at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center. She holds numerous healthcare certifications and is a proud member of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society. Perliza would like to thank her husband Stephen, family, friends, professors and mentors who inspired her in her success at Ramapo College.