This is the first in a series of articles highlighting Hispanic excellence at Ramapo College of New Jersey as the college celebrates Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15.

September 24, 2025

by Lauren Ferguson

“Aprovecha cada oportunidad que puedas tener.”

The Spanish phrase which translates into “take every opportunity that you can get,” is what Abigail Rojas ‘26 said her immigrant parents have instilled in her. And, with the support of Ramapo College of New Jersey’s mentoring, encouraging faculty and staff, that is exactly what Rojas has done as a Roadrunner.

The political science major’s latest accomplishment is earning a coveted LUPE Latina Leadership Scholarship. Each year, the scholarship is awarded to young women enrolled in New Jersey colleges based on their academic performance, civic engagement and financial need.

“Coming from a Hispanic family and growing up as a child of immigrants, I always witnessed my parents struggle to keep the family financially stable,” Rojas said. “Winning scholarships like this, honestly, it’s like a symbol that my work is paying off and a way of giving back to my parents.”

Doing Something Big

From the moment Rojas, a first-generation American and first-generation college student from Lodi, NJ, enrolled in Ramapo, she decided, “I want to do something big. I want to make something of this experience.”

She started by participating in Leaders in Service, a program that gives new Roadrunners the opportunity to get involved with service projects, political engagement and leadership opportunities before their first semester even begins. “That program set me up for all of the leadership opportunities that I’ve had,” Rojas said.

From there, she branched out to being a peer mentor for the next class of Leaders in Service students. She won a pair of campus leadership awards. Now she is president of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, vice president of the Law School Prep Club, serves on the School of Humanities and Global Studies Student Advisory Council, and is a member of the Ramapo Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity and the Indoor Soccer Club.

Abigail Rojas ’26 lives on Ramapo’s Mahwah campus and works as a resident assistant. She pitched in on move-in day.

Rojas, who lives on campus as a resident assistant, also helped revive and serves as vice president of the College Democrats Club. She has worked at Common Grounds, the Starbucks coffee shop in the Learning Commons on campus, as well as in the Office of the Provost. She also traveled abroad to Italy to study politics after being awarded a prestigious Gilman Scholarship, funded by the US State Department to support low-income students with Pell grants.

“Every opportunity that the school gave me to be a leader, I took, and I’m just so grateful,” said Rojas, adding that the support she receives from Ramapo faculty and staff pushes her forward.

“Working with the staff, working with faculty, and just seeing how much they care and how much they want me to succeed is what gets me going,” she said.

Dr. Rebecca Root, director of prestigious fellowships and scholarships at Ramapo, helped Rojas apply for the Gillman and LUPE scholarships. She “guides me,” Rojas said of Root, who she described as her mentor.

The pair first met when Rojas took Root’s politics & film class as a first-year student. Then as a sophomore she was in her comparative politics course. Rojas sought out Root during office hours and after class to discuss how she could prepare for a career in public service.

Gaining Hands-On Experience

During Rojas’ time at Ramapo, she has participated in a number of internships and jobs that provided hands-on experiences, helping to shape her aspirations.

The summer after her first year at Ramapo, Rojas interned in the office of the late Congressman Bill Pascrell, who represented New Jersey’s 9th congressional district, covering parts of Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties. “I actually got to work hands-on by interacting with real constituents about real problems that they were having in my community,” such as issues obtaining passports and visas, she said. That experience “opened the door to my passion for immigration,” she said.

“Their struggles kind of reminded me of my family and what they went through because my mom and my dad, when they immigrated here, my dad had his family here already, but my mom was the one who didn’t have family here,” she said of her parents who immigrated from Peru in 2001.

Rojas also interned at an immigration law firm in New York and the Office of New Jersey’s 38th Legislative District with State Senator Joseph Lagana, Assemblywoman Lisa Swain and Assemblyman Chris Tully.

Abigail Rojas ’26 has been honored with two leadership awards at Ramapo, and plans to run for local office after she graduates.

All of her experiences have culminated into her career goals. Rojas plans to apply to law school and ultimately become an immigration attorney. After graduation, she also plans to run for local office, then build her way up from there.

“My motivation comes from the people. I feel like government has kind of lost its sense of purpose,” Rojas said. “The purpose of government is for the people and to serve the people.”

A Family Affair

Ramapo College is not just propelling Rojas forward, but her family as well.

Her sister, Sofia Rojas ‘24, graduated from Ramapo with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and now works as an orthopedic-neurology nurse at Englewood Hospital.

And after earning her nursing degree in Peru, getting her credits translated and passing her National Council of Licensure Exam (NCLEX), her mother, Liliana Rojas ‘27, enrolled in Ramapo’s Master of Science in Nursing program to become a Family Nurse Practitioner.

“My parents always told me that the best thing you could do for yourself is get an education and learn and get your degrees,” Rojas said.

The Rojas family is now on the path to upward social mobility, like so many others who have graduated from Ramapo.

In the Best Colleges 2026 rankings released by U.S. News and World Report, Ramapo College broke into the top 100 schools in the Top Performers on Social Mobility category – an indicator of the ability to improve one’s socioeconomic standing through education and career opportunities. Ramapo’s 34-point jump to #85 in the category, the highest increase by a New Jersey institution, is a testament to its strong infrastructure to support upward social mobility and its commitment to enroll and graduate students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Sofia Rojas ’24, Abigail Rojas ’26 and Liliana Rojas ‘27 pose with their family by the Learning Commons on Ramapo’s welcoming campus.

To learn more about how Ramapo creates upward social mobility, check out U.S. News & World Report Names Ramapo College A Top Ten Public College.