Republican Club president Jake Higuera ‘25, on his way to law school, is thankful the Ramapo community embraces ‘diversity of thought’

May 12, 2025

by Lauren Ferguson

The connections that Jake Higuera ‘25 made as a member of Ramapo College of New Jersey’s tight-knit and collaborative community have already taken him far.

Through networking opportunities and campus clubs and honor societies, Higuera has formed relationships with lawmakers and helped run local, county and federal political campaigns. He attained a dream internship at a local law firm gaining hands-on experience in civil litigation, and he even met a former vice president of the United States.

“From the day I got here, it’s just felt so welcoming and everybody has been supportive,” said Higuera, of Wayne, NJ, who will graduate with a BA in Political Science this month.

Being a commuter, he said, he found it easy to get involved in activities on Ramapo’s picturesque Mahwah campus. Higuera has served as president of the College Republicans, president of the Ramapo chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, vice president of the Law School Prep Club, student editor of the Ramapo Journal of Law & Society, and a member of the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity.

Being so involved has made all the difference in his life, and his future.

“I think the best thing I did for myself here was join Phi Alpha Delta, the pre-law fraternity. That’s where I met the majority of my friends. and they helped me along with the professors to get my resume in check and navigate the law school application process and study groups,” Higuera said. “It was just a really nice community that supported me.”

Jake Higuera found a community in the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity.

He also credited a few close professors – Professor of Political Science Dean Chen, Associate Professor of Law and Society Jeffrey Ellsworth, and Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Kaitlin Sidorsky – for “guiding” him and being “great resources for everything that I needed” while applying to law school.

All that guidance and support paid off when Higuera was accepted to law school. Come August, he will no longer commute to Mahwah, but instead to Newark where he will attend Rutgers Law School.

Higuera will treasure memories of his time at Ramapo, like when he and fellow College Republicans walked door to door to campaign for local and congressional candidates, when he helped bring Telemundo to campus to film student reactions to the Presidential debate, and when he invited New Jersey Assemblyman Dr. John Azzariti, R-39, to speak to the political science honor society. “He came and gave a great speech to our organization,” Higuera said.

His best memory of his four years at Ramapo, he said, was when the College Republicans attended a CNN town hall segment with former Vice President Mike Pence. Afterwards he had the opportunity to shake Pence’s hand. “I still can’t believe it happened,” he said. “I told him that I was the president of the Republican club and he was like, ‘You’re the future of our party, we need people like you getting involved.’ And he kind of gave some words of wisdom.”

Former Second Lady Karen Pence, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Jake Higuera at CNN’s studio in NYC.

During his time at Ramapo, Higuera also served as a commissioner on the Wayne Township Environmental Commission, treasurer for the Passaic County Young Republicans, and Field Director for New Jersey Republican State Committee.

Higuera said although college campuses can be progressive, he never felt discriminated against in any way for being a Republican at Ramapo – where he said professors have been “very supportive.”

“It is nice that the campus allows for diversity of thought. I very much appreciate that,” Higuera said.