March 3, 2026

by Lauren Ferguson

A Ramapo College of New Jersey political science student is taking the skills and insights she learned on campus and applying them to a real-world campaign, with the ultimate goal of serving her hometown.

Abigail Rojas ‘26 – a first-generation college student from Lodi, NJ – has filed to run for the Lodi Board of Education.

Rojas is not only a product of Ramapo, but also of the school system she is vying to serve. She started in the district as a kindergartener and graduated from Lodi High School in 2022. Her three running mates also went through the district’s schools. Together they are on a mission to “enrich the student experience,” she said. Their policy priorities include advocating for competitive teacher salaries, modernizing schools, investing in the arts, involving the community in their work and ensuring transparency in government.

At Ramapo, “Political science majors are uniquely equipped to do a whole lot of different kinds of jobs and professions, but also to be leaders in their communities,” said Political Science Professor Dr. Jeremy Teigen, who served on the board of education in Emerson, NJ for about a decade.

Abigail Rojas ’26, left, and her running mates Omar Lopez, Angie Lopez and Kyle Crouchelliare are on the Champions for Change ticket.

Ready to Run

At 21, Rojas said she is ready to run for and hold public office. “I feel prepared. I feel that Ramapo really taught me a lot not only about campaigns, but also interacting with students,” she said.

Her experience tending to the needs of students as a Resident Assistant (RA) will translate well to the school board, she explained. She also said Teigen’s Campaigns and Elections course prepared her to run. “It really taught me a lot about research and the data that goes behind voting and voting behavior,” Rojas said.

The upper-level course looks at how to put together a campaign. “The class size is small enough that I can give every kid a U.S. Senate race, a gubernatorial election, or if it’s a Presidential election year, a battleground state,” Teigen explained.

Dr. Jeremy Teigen has been a political science professor at Ramapo College of New Jersey since 2005.

Roadrunners spend the semester becoming experts in their states – delving into the intricacies of crucial aspects such as fundraising, the media environment and dynamics of the primary. Then after Election Day, they each undertake a data-driven, post-election reflection. They take the side of the losing campaign and report on why the campaign lost and what could have been done better.

“It is data-driven, but it is also, I hate to say it, fun,” Teigen said. “It seems like the students get a lot out of it.”

Rojas certainly did. And it is hardly a surprise to Teigen that she decided to run for election.

“She is a joiner. She is a belonger, and she has been that way since the day she showed up. She is the kind of kid who helps other kids. She’ll stop by and say hello and have a chat with any professor that she’s had before. She shows up at the meetings … She is a citizen of Ramapo College, and an upstanding citizen,” Teigen said of the graduating senior.

Getting Involved

Rojas got her start in community service in Lodi, serving on the town’s ambulance corps. During the pandemic, she organized elementary school students and Boys and Girls Club members to donate about 200 letters to elderly nursing home residents.  “Building that community was something that I wanted to do, and something that I brought to Ramapo,” she said.

At Ramapo, Rojas participated in Leaders in Service, a program that gives new Roadrunners the opportunity to get involved with service projects, political engagement and leadership opportunities. Then she became a peer mentor for the next class of Leaders in Service students. She is president of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, vice president of the Law School Prep Club and College Democrats Club, serves on the School of Humanities and Global Studies Student Advisory Council, and is a member of the Ramapo Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity.

Abigail Rojas ’26 is an actiive member of the Ramapo College community.

On the advice of Dr. Rebecca Root, director of prestigious fellowships and scholarships at Ramapo, Rojas applied for and was awarded a competitive Gilman Scholarship, which allowed her to study politics in Italy. With Root’s support, she also took part in the Susan N. Wilson NEW Leadership New Jersey program, a public leadership training program run by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

During her time at Ramapo, Rojas has interned for the office of the late Congressman Bill Pascrell, who represented New Jersey’s 9th congressional district, covering parts of Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties, the Office of New Jersey’s 38th Legislative District with State Senator Joseph Lagana, Assemblywoman Lisa Swain and Assemblyman Chris Tully, and the congressional campaign of former New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way.

Encouraging Others

Now, between all her activities, studying and applying to law schools, she is hosting volunteer orientations for her own campaign to get moving with canvassing, knocking on doors, handing out lawn signs and literature, and launching social media sites. Rojas also plans to go to Lodi school events, and talk with students, parents and teachers to listen to what they want from their board.

She hopes her actions inspire others to run for public office.

“I would like to encourage more young people to run, more people of color to run, more women to run because our government needs to represent us, and, being young also is an advantage because you can relate more to the students. You can see what they need … Government should be close to you. Government shouldn’t be far away,” she said.

Teigen is proud of Rojas and other Roadrunners who have built upon what they learned in the college’s political science program to serve their communities. He said students and alumni have been elected to school boards, town councils and most recently appointed to Ramapo’s Board of Trustees.

“It is extremely satisfying to see the civic mindedness and community building sentiments that we hope to instill in our students, but it’s very gratifying to see when the rubber hits the road and students end up actually engaging those institutions and stepping up to serve their communities,” Teigen said.

For more on Rojas, check out First-Gen Scholar Seizes Opportunities to Succeed.