With three major institutions of higher education in Jersey City, local students have found that they don’t need to travel far to get a great education. Students from all walks of life have enrolled in St. Peter’s College, New Jersey City University and Hudson County Community College to earn their degrees and further their studies.
Antoinette Holmes – HCCC
Antoinette Holmes, a 32-year-old resident of Jersey City’s Bergen/Lafayette section, enrolled in classes at Hudson County Community College in the spring of 2003 as a Liberal Arts Psychology major.
“I was very apprehensive about going back to school,” Holmes said. “It had been almost 13 years since the last time I had sat in a classroom. It was the best introductory experience for someone like me.”
As it turned out, Holmes was more ready for college life than she thought. During her first semester at HCCC, she was encouraged to enroll in more challenging courses.
“I was advised by my academic counselor to take honors courses instead of the mainstream courses,” she said. Soon after, Holmes was inducted into Psi Beta, the National Honor Society for Psychology majors, as HCCC’s chapter secretary. She was also inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the National Honor Society, and became a member of the Student Support Services Program.
Holmes also attained a work-study job in HCCC’s Academic and Student Success department during her first semester. However, she was only allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours a week, which just wasn’t enough to cover her expenses.
“I am the poster-child for non-traditional students – there are no parents at home to help out when the financial noose gets a little too tight,” Holmes said.
Fortunately, Holmes was offered a position as an administrative assistant to the college’s Associate Dean for Student Services, a position which allowed her to continue her education.
By October of 2004, Holmes had just met her now-fiancé Ray and was successfully continuing her studies – when she hit another, more devastating roadblock. Her mother had passed away.
“2004 was supposed to be my year,” she said. “Everything was going great. I was in my last year of school. My mom loved Ray too. I was extremely happy that they got along so well, when tragedy struck.”
Despite the pain, Holmes decided to finish her degree. She was encouraged by the sympathy and support she received from her colleagues at HCCC.
“Deep inside, I know that’s what she would’ve wanted,” Holmes said.
After two years of financial uncertainty, personal loss and grueling class schedules, Holmes graduated from the two-year college in May of 2005 with Cum Laude honors.
Holmes is now enrolled at NJCU to obtain her Bachelor’s degree, and has her eye on eventually attending New York University to obtain her Master’s. But she credits HCCC for setting her on her way.
“HCCC is ideal for students that may need to improve their academic standing [and for] students like myself who have been in the workforce for years and realize that you can only go so far without a college degree,” Holmes said. “When you leave HCCC, you are prepared to be comfortable in any institution anywhere in the country.”
Gabriel Rumbaut – NJCU
For most of his time in high school, 23-year-old Jersey City resident Gabriel Rumbaut was home-schooled. This meant little exposure to diverse ways of life, and he wasn’t sure if he would thrive or sink in higher education.
Rumbaut’s college search ended when he was accepted into New Jersey City University in the fall of 2000.
“Living in Jersey City is very convenient,” Rumbaut said. “I really did not want to leave my life here to go to a college far away where I wouldn’t know anyone.”
Rumbaut soon realized that although he was prepared for college academically, home-schooling had taken a toll on his social life.
“I had few friends outside of my family and church,” he said. “I knew very few people. If there is one downside to home-schooling, it’s undoubtedly this.”
Rumbaut decided to use his college experience to broaden his horizons. Along with his cousin Nellie, Rumbaut helped resurrect the university’s long-defunct Tae Kwon Do club. He also joined the staff of the campus’s award-winning newspaper, The Gothic Times, when a professor offered him extra credit for publishing an article.
The writing bug stuck, and Rumbaut continued to write for the paper for the remainder of his time at NJCU. In 2004, he became the paper’s News Editor. He also received the paper’s Hart Award, a $500 prize, a few weeks before his graduation.
Rumbaut says his experience with the newspaper, along with some help from NJCU’s journalism department, helped him realize his life’s goal of becoming a writer.
“The person who really encouraged me during college was one of my journalism professors, James Broderick,” Rumbaut said. “He always encouraged me to move onward and strive to better my writing and my understanding of the world.”
Since graduating, Rumbaut has started writing a novel that he hopes to see published in the next few years. He recognizes how deeply his college experience has affected his life.
“I think NJCU has definitely altered my view of the world,” he said. “I am now more open to exploring new ways of thinking and living. I’m also more open to people and feel more comfortable expressing myself. I also have an easier time making friends. When I first came to NJCU, it was right after being home-schooled, so I sort of entered the university in a shell. After being at the university for so long, the shell broke.”
Steven Peisecki – Saint Peter’s
Steven Peisecki, a 22-year-old resident of the Greenville/County Village section of Jersey City, was accepted into Syracuse University, LaSalle University and Rutgers University, but in 2001 he chose to enroll at Saint Peter’s College.
“I chose SPC simply based on its location, scholarships, and recommendations from previous students and alumni,” Peisecki said.
Peisecki said his first few months at Saint Peter’s in the fall of 2001 were some of the most difficult he had ever faced.
“I will always remember that morning of the 11th of September,” he said, recalling how he watched “in total disbelief” from his position of the corner of Kennedy Boulevard as the World Trade Center crumbled. “Not more than a month after the events of 9/11, I lost both my grandmother and her sister, my great-aunt, [within] the course of two weeks.”
However, things soon settled down, and Peisecki became involved in Saint Peter’s campus life. He signed up as a Jesuit Volunteer and spent time helping out at places like the Franciscan home and a local food bank. Peisecki also joined the on-campus radio station, WSPC, as a disc jockey, which aided him in his quest for a Communications degree (he also minored in Psychology).
His time at Saint Peter’s made Peisecki realize the advantages a small college has to offer.
“The professors there are one-of-a-kind,” he said. “And with the smaller-sized classes, you get the opportunity to get to know these professors more as people than as someone who is there just to lecture you and leave.”
St. Peter’s also exposed Peisecki to many kinds of people from all walks of life.
“Attending a school like SPC, like almost any other school in Jersey City, exposes you to the melting pot that we live in,” he said. “A school like this helps you understand and realize where many different types of people are coming from. During the course of any given day, you can meet people from almost any country imaginable speaking languages that you never knew existed.”
After graduation, Peisecki snagged a job as a teacher at Visitation School in Jersey City. He is also putting his Communications degree to work part-time in his alma mater’s Public Relations office.
“I love living in Jersey City,” he said. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet an extraordinary amount of people and would find it extremely difficult to just pack up and leave.”
Peisecki added that Jersey City’s proximity to New York is great for students who want to establish connections, further their education, or look for employment in the Big Apple.
“Attending SPC has changed me,” he said. “It helped me open my eyes to the realization that the real world is something that we all need to join at some point in our lives, and that the time is now for me.”