October 16, 2026

by Lauren Ferguson

When Ramapo College of New Jersey marketing major Elisabeth Christman ‘27 was feeling a little homesick her first year on campus, her mother and grandmother decided to visit her together for Family Day – during Homecoming weekend.

“It was important to her that we saw what her life up here was beginning to look like,” recalled her mother Amy Christman. “She wanted to show off her room since I hadn’t seen it since move-in day, attend an Honors meeting, pick pumpkins … just spend the day together.”

Four years after that first homecoming, Christman, of Nutley, in Essex County, NJ, is thriving as a Roadrunner.

She spent last summer interning in Manhattan as a growth summer associate for WPP Media, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. She recently joined the College’s Office of Communications and Public Relations as a social media student assistant. Christman has worked as a marketing intern for Sodexo, Ramapo’s dining services, and served as a student ambassador for the Office of Admissions. She is also the marketing chair for Ramapo’s Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity, and the past president of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority on campus.

And each fall, she looks forward to her mother and grandmother making the drive north to visit her on Ramapo’s welcoming Mahwah, NJ campus during Homecoming weekend.

“My mom and grandma are my role models and support system. They’ve truly been there for me every step of the way throughout college and only want the best for me. I feel so lucky to have them in my life and be able to invite them to things like Family Day,” Christman said. “Being able to show off campus is always a perk, but I love letting them into my life at school.”

For her mother and grandmother, their family’s Homecoming tradition is also meaningful.

“Seeing the friends she’s making, the life she has up here, all the great things she’s a part of and contributes to – it’s all stuff we get to see on Family Day,” her mother Amy Christman said.

“We all look forward to it,” said her grandmother Pam Reisch. “I love the mountains up here and I pushed for Beth to go to Ramapo.”

During the 2026 Homecoming weekend, the three generations of women went to brunch off campus, then returned to take a family photo with Ramapo’s mascot, Rocky the Roadrunner. They visited the renewed Salameno Spiritual Center – on the edge of Kameron Pond, and walked to the Bandshell for cookies and soda. There, they painted a pumpkin, Elisabeth got her face painted, and her mother and grandmother got a caricature done.

“The campus is already so gorgeous in the fall, but you can really notice the time and energy the staff put into making this day special for families,” Amy Christman said. “It doesn’t go unnoticed – everyone is always so friendly, it’s very clean, the music is nice, and so are the activities.”

Elisabeth’s mother and grandmother made one more stop before dropping her off at her on-campus apartment and heading back to Nutley. “We visited the bookstore to buy Beth an alumni sweatshirt to give to her in May,” Amy shared.

For more on Ramapo College’s 2026 homecoming, read: Homecoming 2026: Ramapo Community Celebrates Together.