December 2, 2025

by Elizabeth Mendicino ‘26

An education is one of the greatest vehicles for social mobility; accessibility of premier education can be life changing for students whose parents did not have the same opportunities. Being first-generation means more than meets the eye, it defines students who exemplify their ancestors’ wildest dreams.

The six executive board members of Ramapo College of New Jersey’s new First to mARCH First-Generation Club, with help from Assistant Director of the First-Generation Student Center Uma Mahalingam ‘18, set out to create an inclusive space for students who are paving the way for themselves.

“The path in college is never linear,” said the club’s co-vice president, Ashley Hernandez ‘27, a nursing major. “You’re gonna make mistakes, you’re gonna feel like you’re having a breakdown, but you’re never truly alone; and knowing that you have a club here for you is comforting.”

A first-generation student is defined at Ramapo as a student where neither parent nor legal guardian have completed a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Nearly half of the class of 2029 is first-generation, with the proportion of first generation students at Ramapo steadily rising, with each current class having over 40%.

First to mARCH creates a space for students to come together and support one another as they navigate college life. The group was recognized at the Fall 2025 State of the College Address by College President Cindy Jebb for their hard work and the community that they have established along the way.

The club was first established by President Edith Torres ‘27, a biology major, Co-Vice President Hernandez, and Secretary Hayley Salazar ‘27, also a biology major. Their executive board is additionally composed of Co-Vice President Zara Syed ‘27, a biology major,  Treasurer Mishell Lema-Lema ‘27, a nursing major,  and Publicity Manager Melina Stamatiou ‘27, also a nursing major.

The executive board of First to mARCH were part of the inagural 2023 cohort of the Legacies in the Making pre-college program for first-generation students.

According to Salazar, the long-term goals of the club are “building that community with other people and knowing that other people are struggling, having the same situation [and] same struggles as you so that you know that you’re not alone.”

In her own experience, she shared, “people already knew how to do financial aid and I had no clue how to do any of it. Connecting with other people, [saying] ‘you went through that, me too’… it builds a lot of trust with others.”

Each member of the executive board participated in the inaugural class of Legacies in the Making pre-college program for first-generation students, wherein they met one another and Mahalingam. It was then wherein the six students discovered that despite their initial apprehension, college could be a second home for them. It is not easy to find one’s way alone and without a map; yet by meeting one another and creating a community of first-generation students, the First to mARCH executive board realized just how important their journeys are.

“I feel that with being a first-gen student, you’re obviously really nervous,” said Stamatiou. “You don’t have any experience and your parents can’t really give you advice about it, it’s kind of nice coming here and having a community. I also did the Legacies in the Making program, it definitely eased my transition into college and now I feel like I’m so involved on campus. I really didn’t think I would be.”

For more information on first-generation at Ramapo College, contact firstgen@ramapo.edu. For more information on First to mARCH, follow @rcnj_firsttomarch on instagram or email firsttomarch@ramapo.edu.