In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Ramapo College of New Jersey looks back at the College’s 2025 Opening Convocation featuring Morgan Talty, award-winning author of the novel Fire Exit, and a member of the Penobscot Indian Nation.

November 28, 2025

by Lauren Ferguson

Isabella Marler ‘29 had never interacted with an author before enrolling in Ramapo College of New Jersey. But that all changed when the aspiring writer and first-year English and Literary Studies major’s essay was chosen as one of three winners of Ramapo’s summer reading essay contest.

As a result, Marler, of Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ – and her fellow winners nursing major Isabella Rivero ‘29 of Weehawken, NJ and accounting major Syeria Palmer ‘29 of Elmwood Park, NJ – were given the opportunity to meet and converse with Morgan Talty, award-winning author of the novel Fire Exit.

“I haven’t gotten to talk to an author before, especially not in this part of my life, where I know that I really want to write. So that was really inspiring,” said Marler.

Talty visited Ramapo’s Mahwah, NJ campus for the College’s 2025 Opening Convocation. He joined the three essay winners, as well as Ramapo President Dr. Cindy Jebb, Provost Dr. Michael Middleton, Director of the First Year Seminar Dr. Peter Campbell, Faculty Assembly President Dr. Ken McMurdy, Trustee A.J. Sabath ‘93, and Student Trustee Sarah Glisson ‘27  on stage at the Bradley Center Arena. Talty read from and discussed his debut novel in front of a packed house of first-year Roadrunners.

Author Morgan Talty read from his novel, Fire Exit, at Ramapo’s 2025 Opening Convocation.

Talty, a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation in Maine is also an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. In Fire Exit, he tells the story of a white man who spends his childhood on a Native American reservation, before being forced to leave when he becomes an adult because he is not Penobscot by blood.

The novel was chosen as Ramapo’s 2025 summer reading pick. As such, all incoming first-year students were required to read it over the summer, and arrive on campus prepared to discuss it in their First-Year Seminar courses. The First-Year Seminar courses were created to develop students’ critical thinking skills using open discussion, reading, writing and experiential learning. Each seminar focuses on a different topic, but professors use aspects of the summer reading novel to teach and spark conversations.

While on campus, Talty met separately with professors who teach the seminars.

“He really offered nice insight into his own process, but also ways to think about the creation and reception of fiction and its relation to history and legacy and culture,” said Campbell, a professor of Theater History and Criticism, who oversees the First-Year Seminar Program at Ramapo.

Over lunch, Talty also met with the three essay winners whose winning entries were on his novel.

Marler said they spoke about the plot and the themes of Fire Exit. They also spoke about a novel Marler wrote during middle school, feeling attached to characters that they create, and the kinds of things Marler may do to pursue writing further.

Isabella Rivero ’29, Syeria Palmer ‘29, Morgan Talty, and Isabella Marler ’29 participated in Ramapo’s 2025 Opening Convocation.

Campbell said giving Ramapo students access to people in fields they desire to pursue is empowering for them.

“Giving our students the kinds of experiences where they are meeting people who are doing the things that they’re dreaming about doing, or trying to find a pathway to do, that is really cool,” Campbell said.

Campbell was ultimately thankful for the experience that Ramapo was able to provide to first-year students.

“To see people who are so accomplished and who are doing such important things in the cultural sphere be so approachable and really interested in wanting to have conversations with our students, I think is great,” Campbell said.

To learn more about Ramapo’s summer reading program and First-Year Seminar, visit the First-Year Seminar webpage.