November 5, 2025

by Lauren Ferguson

When Madelin Benitez ‘26 is not in class at Ramapo College of New Jersey, she is working as an emergency medical technician for Englewood Hospital, or volunteering for the Waldwick Volunteer Ambulance Corps or the Hackensack Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

The busy Benitez – who is enrolled in Ramapo’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program – is hoping her experience as an EMT combined with her nursing education from Ramapo will help her big dreams take flight.

“I want to be an ICU nurse, and then work my way up to become a flight nurse,” said Benitez, of Waldwick, NJ.

Benitez recently seized the opportunity to learn from Flight Nurse Amy Holland, who works for the University Hospital in Newark. Holland was aboard a New Jersey State Police NorthSTAR medevac helicopter that landed on Ramapo’s Mahwah campus for a special demonstration last month.

Madelin Benitez ‘26 learns from Flight Nurse Amy Holland.

“It is my first time really talking to a flight nurse,” Benitez said, as she looked into the cabin of the helicopter where trauma patients are treated and transported. “I’ve talked to flight medics before, but this is my first time seeing the helicopter and this format. And it’s really like, wow, I’m impressed and it makes me want to pursue my goals even more.”

As Holland showed Benitez and fellow Roadrunners around the medically-configured AgustaWestland AW-139, she explained the medical features of the aircraft and answered questions about her career.

The helicopter is part of JEMSTAR, the New Jersey Emergency Medical Services Helicopter Response Program, a partnership between the New Jersey Department of Health and the New Jersey State Police established to provide rapid emergency transport and care for trauma patients in the state. NorthSTAR covers the northern portion of New Jersey, and is medically staffed by University Hospital in Newark.

The demonstration was held to expose Ramapo College students to prehospital nursing careers such as flight nursing and critical care transport nursing.

Students also heard from Ramapo alumnus Vincent Cisternino ‘09, now a senior flight paramedic for JEMSTAR. He told them when he lands at a scene, he tries to be “a calming voice and a conductor,” to ensure patients receive the best care.

The event was organized by the Ramapo EMS Club to expose students to prehospital nursing careers, such as critical care transport nursing, mobile intensive care nursing and flight nursing.

For Benitez, it cemented her dream of becoming a flight nurse.

“I like the idea of being in the hospital, but I do want to go out and help people,” Benitez said. “Lifting people from the air and helping transfer critical patients to hospitals, I think it’s just pretty cool.”

Ramapo College President Dr. Cindy Jebb met the flight crew, including Vincent Cisternino ‘09, right.

Ramapo, a top nursing school in New Jersey, recently graduated the first cohort of its ABSN program. The innovative, full-time program – which Benitez is enrolled in – enables qualified candidates to complete degree requirements in only 16 months. It is beneficial to those with an undergraduate degree who are interested in a career change into nursing, those currently working in healthcare who wish to become RNs with a BSN, and community college students with a non-nursing associate’s degree who want to earn a BSN. For candidates who might not have the necessary prerequisites, a bridge program that offers the required coursework for the ABSN is available, making it possible to earn the degree in just two years.

To learn more about nursing at Ramapo College, including the BSN, RN to BSN, MSN and DNP degree programs, visit ramapo.edu/nursing.