April 17, 2025

by Liz Mendicino ’26

History and Humanities & Global Studies major Stefanie Viera ’25 can now call herself a New York Urban Fellow. The highly selective fellowship provides her with the opportunity to spend nine months working in a New York City government agency and participating in seminars about public policy issues. Viera will receive a $37,000 stipend for her work. She is the first Ramapo College student to win this prestigious award. Viera hopes to enter a career that contributes to reshaping American policy on immigration and refugees.

Fellowship fame is not new to Viera. In Fall 2024, she was named an ELLA Fellow. In Spring 2024, she became a Governor’s Hispanic Fellow. Viera is currently a finalist for the prestigious Fulbright and Truman awards. As she prepares for her life after graduating next month, her resume grows exponentially more impressive. This being said, when Viera began her time at Ramapo, she would not have thought that any of this could be possible.

Viera grew up in New Milford, New Jersey, as the daughter of a Puerto Rican immigrant father and a first-generation Colombian mother. “I’ve always had a really strong sense that I have to help people, and that translated into wanting to help people that I saw when I was growing up,” said Viera. “I don’t know how else to put it; you grow up and you hear the stories of triumph and failures through their migration stories, and I’ve always wanted to be a part of supporting people in that journey.”

Stefanie Viera ’25 visited Georgetown University in April after being admitted into graduate school

Viera applied to college and chose Ramapo, intending to become a high school history teacher after receiving her degree. Her plans were turned on their head during her second semester of her first year in Dr. Rebecca Root’s honor course “Honors Global Awareness”. You see, Root is the Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships director and associate professor of Political Science and International Studies in the School of Humanities and Global Studies. Root had brought the idea to her class about volunteering with the nonprofit Grupo Cajola that supports Maya mam immigrants and communities. Viera was drawn in, meeting with Root during her office hours who immediately provided her not only with the contact for volunteering, but with books and feedback, beginning a mentorship that would change Viera’s life. She also credits Associate Professor of Law & Society Dr. Sanghamitra Padhy and her course “Law, Power, and Inequality” for teaching her to think critically about the issues that she is passionate about.

“And now I’m at a point in my life where I might live abroad and work with refugee communities,” said Viera, pride never leaving her eyes. “That and the starting point and where I am now is just like, I feel so, so big, but I really couldn’t have done that without my teachers constantly putting new things in front of me to digest and consider how that’s gonna impact my life.” Through the relentless support of her parents and professors, Viera has a vast array of opportunities ahead of her. Whether she pursues graduate school, a Fulbright trip, the Peace Corps, or another of the many paths ahead of her, the future is undeniably bright.

Although it took mentorship for her to recognize her own potential, it took Viera an immense amount of hard work and dedication to earn all that she has accomplished. She completed multiple capstones in the same semester for each of her majors as well as the Honors Program, submitting the last of which alone in the middle of the night. “It was a self-learning experience, and also a moment to remind myself what I was capable of,” said Viera. “I discovered if I really put my mind to it, I can do it. Submitting my last capstone really at an unusual time of day was just a moment that helped me remind myself, I pushed myself and I did this as I was able to learn.” Viera’s dedication to her academics and to helping those around her has set her apart during her time at Ramapo, and has also encouraged her participation in a multitude of student leadership positions.

Viera at West Point as a delegate to the Student Conference on U.S. Affairs (SCUSA) in 2024

“A lot of it is tied to family,” said Viera, on her ‘Why’. “My whole personality is built and in conversation with these relationships that I have with my family members that have taught me community, that have taught me being considerate and taught me how to be motivated. I think it’s just genuinely in my core to help people. I don’t think that there is a version of Stefanie that exists out there where I’m not trying.” Without the support of her Ramapo community, Viera is unsure if she would have found the confidence to pursue the world-changing career she is now. In just three short years she has transformed into an ethical change agent, ready to get out and make a difference.

While becoming a New York Urban Fellow is the most recent of the doors Viera has opened, it is a further reminder of all that she has accomplished during her three years at Ramapo. She is an exceptionally dedicated and empathetic student leader, never failing to forget what it means to be such.