January 30, 2026

by Lauren Ferguson

By the time Thomas Joseph “TJ” Franzese transferred to Ramapo College of New Jersey, he had been through a lot.

The gifted athlete from Allendale, NJ, had been a standout running back on Don Bosco Prep’s 2009 national championship football team, and an outfielder on the high school sports powerhouse’s baseball team that ranked #2 in the country, before becoming a star running back at another Division III college.

He also broke his collarbone once, his thumb twice, his nose several times, suffered concussions and an excruciating high ankle sprain – all from playing football.

After the high ankle sprain, “he leaned on what he was prescribed when he was diagnosed, and it helped, but it didn’t help enough … he found a way to get opioids after prescriptions,” said his mother, Lauren Franzese. “This is how it happens. They’re in pain. But opioids are so addictive, and we know that now.”

TJ left college, and was in and out of rehabs in Florida, trying to make recovery stick.

He eventually came home to New Jersey, and earned his associate’s degree from Bergen Community College, before transferring to Ramapo.

“He got himself into the business program, and he was experiencing success. I am really glad he got to experience that before we lost him,” Lauren said. “It was a Godsend for us for him to end up at Ramapo.”

Then on April 19, 2017, a month shy of his 25th birthday, TJ died from an overdose.

Turning Pain into Purpose

TJ’s father, Tom Franzese, coached TJ and his friends throughout their childhoods. In his grief, he thought, “Maybe I can keep my son’s name out in front of everybody, so they don’t forget this, and make a difference.”

Together with his wife, he established the Thomas Joseph Franzese Foundation. At first, the couple wasn’t sure exactly where the funds they raised would go. Then a neighbor told them that Ramapo received state funding to establish on-campus recovery housing, and suggested they may want to partner with the college.

“It was a beautiful fit,” Lauren recalled.

The Roadrunner Collegiate Recovery Program launched in 2019. Since then, the foundation has partnered with Ramapo to provide housing and need-based scholarships to students recovering from substance use disorders who are part of the college’s comprehensive program.

To date, the foundation has donated $125,000 to assist students with substance use disorders through scholarships that can be used for tuition or housing in the college’s on-campus recovery housing. Since 2019, seven students in recovery have benefited from the scholarships.

Lauren Franzese presented Christopher Romano, vice president of strategic enrollment, outreach and engagement and executive director of the Ramapo College Foundation with a check in December.

Each year, the foundation holds a dinner, where a student benefiting from the scholarship shares their story. “It is hard to hear … young people in such despair … but again, it is really uplifting, because you hear that story, and then you look at the person before you, healthy and happy and stronger than they ever thought they could be,” Lauren said.

Christopher Romano, vice president of strategic enrollment, outreach and engagement and executive director of the Ramapo College Foundation, called Lauren and Tom’s strength and commitment to the cause after losing their own son “inspiring.”

“Thanks to the extraordinary commitment and generosity of the TJ Franzese Foundation, and Lauren and Tom, Ramapo students in recovery can continue to heal without the financial stress of tuition and housing costs, and ultimately achieve their goal of a college education,”  Romano said.

Recovery at Ramapo

Many of the students in the Roadrunner Collegiate Recovery Program have been in and out of college, and in and out of treatment, and have had to deal with emotional and mental trauma, according to Cory Rosenkranz, Ramapo’s coordinator of substance use disorder prevention/recovery programs.

They “have a negative outlook on life, but they don’t want that. They want to be healthy … recovery is recovering the goals and the dreams that they had as kids, and putting it to life,” Rosenkranz said.

The program – managed by the college’s Center for Health and Counseling Services – features group meetings, individual counseling appointments, one-on-one sessions with academic advisors, and healthy programming for students in recovery.

This comprehensive support system has assisted students in raising their GPA’s from 1.0 or lower to a stellar 3.5 or above. “Every one of our graduates has done exactly that while developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” Rosenkranz said.

Paying it Forward

One of the program’s graduates who has been supported by the Thomas Joseph Franzese Foundation is Arielle Gromack ‘24 ‘25. She said she started using substances as a teen, as she worked through unresolved trauma without a support system. At 18, she turned to heroin. Then she got arrested, she said, and “finally decided to choose recovery and actually work at it.”

The scholarship allowed her to worry less about finances and concentrate on her academics. She graduated from Ramapo with her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in 2024 and then her Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2025. Now she is an intake coordinator and clinician. Part of her role is to support clients struggling with substance use disorders by providing individual therapy.

“If I could take on a client that’s struggling, I may be their only outlet or source of support. So I think that is very important,” said Gromack. At Ramapo, she also participated in Ramapo’s Recovery Allies Fusion program, where she worked with others on campus to address and fight stigma linked to substance use and mental health disorders.

Gromack, like the other scholarship recipients, has shared her story at the foundation’s annual benefit dinner. Another recipient who spoke at the dinner wrote a letter to the Franzeses, stating their “generosity inspires me to work harder and to be that light for others the way you have been for me.”

Arielle Gromack ‘24 ‘25, right, graduated with her Master in Social Work in May.

The Franzeses see the scholarships as having a compounding effect.

“It’s interesting, that ripple effect to see that they are going to help,” Lauren Franzese said. “They are like, ‘I made it. I am here. I want to give back because I want to show people that it can be done.’ And who can counsel somebody in trouble better than someone who’s been in trouble?”

Lauren Franzese said she and Tom are “thrilled” the young people they have assisted are doing okay, “and this is just a small thing that we can do to help them.”

“Maybe if there had been a program like this for my son, maybe he would have had a better chance. We’ll never know,” Lauren said. “But if we can do this, we can maybe turn a crummy situation into a situation where there can be hope.”

For more information on the Roadrunner Collegiate Recovery Program, visit its webpage.

*Top photograph of TJ Franzese is courtesty of the Thomas Joseph Franzese Foundation