Gaby Contla ‘25 earns accolades for her passion for making new Roadrunners and their families feel welcome on campus 

June 10, 2025

by Liz Mendicino ’26 and Lauren Ferguson

As a student orientation leader at Ramapo College of New Jersey, Gaby Contla ‘25 strived to make everyone feel comfortable on campus.

“It’s not just for students, but for families. Because during family orientation I’ve seen a lot of families who feel out of place. I just wanted to make everyone feel welcomed and just feel like there’s support for them wherever they go,” said Contla, a social science major from Union City, NJ.

So when she witnessed some Spanish-speaking families struggling at orientation, she stepped up to make a difference. She spent time translating orientation materials into Spanish to ensure families “were also getting the information that they needed to help their students,” she said.

For those efforts, and all she has done to improve and assist the College’s New Student Experience, Contla received a 2025 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Leadership Award from the Association of Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education. The association, also known as NODA, has a mission to create an accessible community which enhances and elevates orientation, transition, and retention practices in higher education institutions throughout the country.

Gaby Contla ’25 leads an orientation session.

The regional award, for NODA’s region VIII – covering higher education institutions in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia and Washington DC. – puts Contla in the running for an Annual NODA Award. Those will be announced at the organization’s annual conference in San Francisco in October.

The award Contla earned “is designed to give special recognition to students for their creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and outstanding abilities, which are the backbone of any successful campus programs,” according to NODA.

Meghan Gregory, Ramapo’s assistant director of New Student Experience, said Contla has spent her college career making sure incoming Roadrunners and their families feel welcomed. She has served the College as an orientation leader, orientation program coordinator, and a student assistant for New Student Experience.

“Gaby takes ownership and pride in her work. Whether it be a new student she is working with, an event she is hosting or as a student in the classroom, Gaby gives her whole self,” Gregory said. “Her goal is to make sure that each and every student and family member that attends a New Student Experience program feels welcomed and heard.”

Yanisley Perez-Borroto ’25 and Gaby Contla ’25 ensure new students and families feel comfortable on campus.

Contla said her work for New Student Experience helped her “break out of my shell” and also cement her own career goals. Prior to working as a student orientation leader, she thought she wanted to be a teacher. Now she plans to pursue a career in higher education.

She said she is satisfied when she can help people.

“A lot of people struggle silently and they don’t want to say anything, and I get that because I was like that … even if I could just help one person, that was my goal,” she said. 

“I really have helped a lot of people in any type of way that I could,” she added.

This summer, Contla will return to her position as a New Student Experience summer assistant. She will once again assist Gregory by leading the parent schedule of orientation and helping to supervise two orientation student coordinators and 16 orientation leaders.

Beyond her work with New Student Experience, Contla has been an involved student leader on campus. She was a Peer Facilitator, the secretary of the Association of Latinos Moving Ahead, and president of both the American Cancer Society and Spanish Club.