March 17, 2026

by Lauren Ferguson

Back in October, Cesar Vivas ‘27 already knew exactly how he would be spending his next summer.

The Ramapo College of New Jersey accounting student would be commuting to Manhattan to work as an audit and insurance intern for Grant Thornton, one of the most prestigious and highly respected accounting firms in the world.

When the first-generation college student from Freehold, NJ, told his parents he landed the coveted position, he said they were surprised he had a concrete plan eight months in advance.

Then he showed them the offer letter, on official letterhead, and they were like, “Wow, this is incredible,” he said of his parents, a seamstress and a construction worker.

“I told them … I worked very hard for it, and now this is just the beginning,” Vivas recalled.

Seizing Opportunities through Networking

Vivas landed the internship after Dr. Ed Petkus, dean of Ramapo’s Anisfield School of Business, gave Vivas and economics major Oliver Mejia ‘25 of Bergenfield, NJ and management major Naydelin Reyes Rodriguez ’25 of Ocean, NJ, the opportunity to attend the national convention of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) in Las Vegas, NV.

The convention for the country’s oldest, largest and fastest-growing professional Latino association “was all about pursuing excellence, pushing for Latino excellence, because we are the future and everything we are doing is shaping the brighter future,” Vivas recalled.

The week was full of workshops, presentations, award receptions, private networking events and a two-day career fair with companies like Grant Thornton, Microsoft, Deloitte and PWC, recruiting students.

Vivas seized the opportunity to network and interview. “I was able to set up an initial interview with the recruiters, then I had coffee chats, then I landed two final interviews with two established companies, and I walked away with a summer internship,” he said.

He not only came out of the experience with his dream internship, but also a solid plan to help others succeed as well by establishing a student chapter of ALPFA on Ramapo’s Mahwah, NJ campus – where about 25 percent of undergraduate students identify as Hispanic.

Cesar Vivas ’27 spoke about ALPFA at Ramapo College’s 2025 Latinx History Month proclamation ceremony.

Bringing Others Along

Vivas now serves as president of ALPFA at Ramapo College. The club’s mission is to “create a pipeline of opportunity, offering Ramapo students direct access to networking events, industry panels, career readiness workshops, and national conventions that lead to real internships, mentorship, and leadership growth.”

The Roadrunner is grateful to be able to make an impact on the college that has given him so much.

“I chose Ramapo because they were the ones to give me the best package in terms of financial, in terms of community, in terms of academic support,” he said. “So I told myself, freshman year: ‘They’re giving me the best opportunity … I’m going to do something that’s going to pay for it tenfold.’ Now here we are.”

Vivas’ vision for leadership is not only about his own success, but about helping others succeed as well. “It’s always been, ‘I want you to be with me. I  want you to be under the same roof, and I want all of us to go,’ because that’s real leadership,” he said.

Club leaders Cesar Vivas ’27, president of the ALPFA, and Isabella Taveras ‘27, secretary of the Association of Latinos Moving Ahead, are active members of the Ramapo community.

He plans to spend his summer working hard to try to secure a fulltime offer, post graduation. And he has big dreams for his future.

“I want more for myself… I want to become a manager, and then a director, and then even a partner, and at this rate, at the end of the day, I really see myself as a CEO … if people are not saying no to your dreams, then you are not dreaming big enough,” he said.

Vivas also wants to give back – whether through mentoring students or through non-profit work. He is already well on his way.

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.