This is the second in a series of articles highlighting Hispanic excellence at Ramapo College of New Jersey as the college celebrates Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15.

October 8, 2025

by Lauren Ferguson

Before Isabella Taveras ‘27 came to Ramapo College of New Jersey, she said she was shy and couldn’t picture herself leading presentations and talks before audiences.

But the staff of the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) at Ramapo saw something in her, believed in her, and pushed her to be a leader.

“They really encouraged me and pushed me and were like, ‘You can do this. Why not you?’” Taveras said of the staff of the transformative initiative that features a five-week summer program for incoming freshmen, one-on-one advisement, mentorship, academic support, tutoring and financial assistance.

Now in her junior year, the nursing major from Ridgefield Park, NJ, is a leader on campus with a mission to give back to and inspire others.

She has served as an EOF Peer Success Mentor, where she conducted both individual and group mentoring sessions, and delivered academic and personal support. She has been a Legacy Leader for the First Generation Student Center’s Legacies in the Making program, assisting first-generation students transitioning to college through workshops, activities and community building.

Taveras serves as secretary of the Association of Latinos Moving Ahead (ALMA), an academic and social Latino organization at Ramapo. “We value community, education, support and empowerment,” Taveras said of the club. She also works on a mentorship program for disadvantaged youth to expose them to college.

Isabella Taveras ’27 is a student leader at Ramapo.

And she is one of two Roadrunners – along with Political Science major Abigail Rojas ‘26 – recently awarded a coveted LUPE Latina Leadership Scholarship. Each year, the scholarship is awarded to young women enrolled in New Jersey colleges based on their academic performance, civic engagement and financial need.

Taveras said the scholarship will take pressure off of her, and allow her to focus on her studies without having to think of how she will pay tuition. The award is also an avenue for her to show other young Latinas what is possible, “because I feel like sometimes when we don’t have representation, you’re kind of like, ‘that’s not for me,’” she said.

“It validates my own personal journey and also the collective journey of first-generation students in general and Latinas, because the journey hasn’t always been easy for people,” she said.

Taveras’ mother, who dreamed of becoming a nurse, did not have the option to go to college, she said, and instead – like so many others – had to work to survive. “I feel like I’m kind of living out her dreams for her,” Taveras said.

Winning the scholarship is motivation for Taveras to keep moving forward, while continuing to support others along the way.

Isabella Taveras ’27 poses with family members following the college’s White Coat Ceremony, where nursing students were presented with white coats to signify the start of the clinical portion of their educations.

This semester Taveras is starting her nursing clinicals at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, NJ. Besides her love of science, she said she chose to study nursing because it will allow her to get to know patients, promote healthy living and address inequalities in health care.

She said through clinical experiences, she is hoping to discover exactly what kind of nursing she would like to go into, and ultimately aims to return to school to become a nurse practitioner.

She is more than confident that she chose the right career path.

“When I think back to the moments when I was most happy, it’s always been in service to others,” Taveras said.