Danielle Corcione

Danielle Corcione of Ocean View, N.J., is a literature major with a concentration in creative writing. She is enrolled in the Honors Program and was inducted into the Sigma Tau Delta Literary Honor Society. Danielle has a 3.73 grade point average.

At Ramapo, Danielle has been active in Residence Life, the Potter Library, the Educational Opportunity Fund, Ramapo College Democrats, Model United Nations and the Ramapo News.

Danielle particularly enjoyed participating in a Study Abroad program in Prague, Czech Republic. Danielle plans to attend graduate school to become a college professor.

Awarded Scholarships

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2015

Mytelka, Jeannette Krieger Memorial Scholarship

Jeannette Krieger Mytelka taught seventh and eighth grade English in the Jersey City public schools. “Before others recognized the need, she introduced black writers and poets in her classroom,” says her son Arnold Mytelka. “She was an excellent, professional teacher. Many teachers had discipline problems, but my Mom never did.” Arnold Mytelka served as chairman of the Ramapo College Board of Trustees from 1979 to 1980. At his mother’s death in 1983, Mr. Mytelka searched for the most appropriate way to memorialize Jeannette’s love of education and teaching. “I thought that a scholarship at Ramapo would be the most effective,” he explained. “It’s the kind of thing that my Mom would have been pleased to have set up.” The Mytelka scholarships are awarded to academically outstanding seniors of financial need who have completed three years at Ramapo College.

North Jersey Media Group Foundation / The Record Scholarship

For 25 years North Jersey Media Group staff worked closely with Ramapo College faculty member Helen Burchell to implement The Record Debate Classic. Each year debate team members from high schools throughout Bergen County competed in this prestigious event to hone their debating skills and build awareness of a timely public policy issue. Life-long learning, increasing the quality of public education and the ability to convey oneself effectively in the spoken and written word were very important to Helen Burchell. She was a member of Ramapo College’s founding faculty in teacher education and also served as director of academic outreach and grants advisor. In addition to coordinating The Record Debate Classic, Dr. Burchell served on the Donald and Flora Borg Merit Scholarship Award Committee, named for leaders of The Record. At Dr. Burchell’s death in 2005 the North Jersey Media Group Foundation made a generous commitment to the College in Helen’s memory, to be used for a scholarship for students in literature or journalism.

Warren Family Scholarship

Jeffrey Warren was a member of Ramapo’s first graduating class, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1973. He went on to leadership positions at Hackensack University Medical Center, Cathedral Healthcare System, Parke-Davis, and Pfizer and is presently the principal of JR Market Strategies, LLC, a health care consulting practice. He received the Ramapo College President’s Award of Merit in 1996 for his professional accomplishments and the Distinguished Citizens Award in 2006 for his commitment to the community.

Mr. Warren has served on the boards of the Epilepsy Foundation of NJ, Adler Aphasia Center, Gilda’s Club of Northern NJ, Health Enhancement Research Organization, and the American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations. Mr. Warren also served as a member of N.J. Governor Phil Murphy’s Healthcare transition committee.  He was also a Commissioner on the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research and is currently a member of the Profession and Technology committee of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute.

Mr. Warren created the endowment that funds these scholarships with a gift of stock. He and his wife, Andrea, determined the criteria, selection process and essay topic and the first Warren Scholarships were awarded in the summer of 2001. The intent of the Warren Family Scholarship is to recognize deserving students who are  pursuing  an undergraduate degree and have a documented physical or learning disability.

 

Alinsky, Saul David Scholarship

The Alinsky Scholarship was started by Mitch Kahn, a former Ramapo College professor. Professor Kahn was the long-time director of the undergraduate program in Social Work and taught many classes in the program. The intent of the Alinsky Scholarship is to recognize juniors or seniors who have demonstrated “an effort to organize people around issues of social, economic or environmental justice” and who are “committed to the practice of community organization as a part of his or her future role as professional and citizen.”

Pierson, Sharon G. Scholarships

This scholarship will be awarded in Spring 2024. Please check often for application opening dates. 

Bernard J. Milano, a former member of the Executive Committee of the Ramapo College Foundation, established two endowments in honor of his wife, Sharon Gay Pierson.

Dr. Pierson’s early educational and professional interests were in literature and theater, having graduated with honors from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After doing graduate work in Shakespearean studies in England and working in the entertainment industry, she transitioned to business and worked as a Management Consultant for Merrill Lynch in the Relocation Management Division, which handled human resource issues for companies experiencing relocation due to new business directions, mergers, or acquisitions.

Dr. Pierson retired from Merrill Lynch when she and Mr. Milano moved to New Jersey, where she enjoyed serving in leadership positions for non-profit organizations, such as the Junior League of Bergen County, the Boy Scouts of America, the Allendale Foundation for Educational Excellence, and Bergen County Academies, among others.

She earned her master’s degree in curriculum and teaching at Columbia University, Teacher’s College, her master’s in philosophy, and her PhD in History and Education from Columbia University, Teachers College. Dr. Pierson has presented her research at numerous academic conferences around the nation, such as the History of Education Society, American Educational Research Association, and the John Dewey Centennial, and published Laboratory of Learning, with Peter Lang Publishing (2014), as well as contributed chapters, including Schools of Tomorrow, Schools of Today: Revisited, and Using Past As Prologue (Information Age Publishing, 2016). Sharon Pierson teaches courses in the Communication Arts program in Ramapo’s School of Contemporary Arts. The Pierson Scholarships commemorate Dr. Pierson’s “love of teaching and her commitment to Ramapo’s students,” and benefit students majoring in Communication Arts.

Franklin, Bonnie Driskill Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship was established by John Franklin to honor his late wife Bonnie, who served as assistant vice president for Marketing and Communications at Ramapo College. In creating this scholarship, Mr. Franklin sought to honor Bonnie’s passion for reading, and how she instilled that passion in her children and grandchildren. He also sought to memorialize Bonnie’s devotion to family, children, education, art, literature and democratic values.

In writing down his thoughts on the impetus for the Bonnie Franklin Memorial Scholarship, John Franklin wrote, “Bonnie Driskill Franklin was an early reader … who never stopped reading all her life.” He described how Bonnie passed this gift to her children, a tradition they continue with their children. “And so her children and grandchildren have learned much about art, literature and the interconnectedness of all humanity,” he wrote.

John describes how Bonnie translated this gift into her work life and as a volunteer. “In her career Bonnie was engaged in research, writing and public relations at the Cincinnati Public Library, County College of Morris and Ramapo College where she was assistant vice president for Marketing and Communications. She was part of many reading groups, the League of Women Voters, Women in Communication in New Jersey, The Unitarian Universalist Church and other organizations.”

“This scholarship is dedicated with the hope that others, especially men, will be inspired to take an interest in children’s literature and its use in helping children and parents enjoy life fully,” John continues. “It is hoped that through children’s literature we will find ways to promote tolerance and understanding of ourselves and others.”

Specifically, John’s purposes in establishing the Bonnie Franklin Memorial Scholarship are to encourage and support students who are interested in children’s literature as a means of helping children develop intellectually and emotionally; the development of social and emotional intelligence as a part of our education system; advocating for children’s literature as a means of helping parents do a better job of reading to their children; advocating for children’s literature as a means of helping men find their role in child development; developing knowledge and understanding of literature that helps children appreciate diversity of culture, ethnicity, race, gender, gender preference, and physical ability.

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2014

Century 21 Study Abroad Scholarship

Century 21 is one of the top general contracting and construction management firms in New Jersey, as evidenced in projects such as Newark’s Riverfront Stadium and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. The company has been a generous supporter of the College since 1999, in the area of student scholarships as well as the Distinguished Citizens Dinner and the Ramapo College Foundation Golf Outing. In 2016, the College presented Anthony J. Marino, Founder, and CEO, with the Havemeyer Presidential Leadership Award for his generous support and advocacy.

This award was created by Mr. Marino and his family to provide opportunities for Ramapo students to study abroad. (Pictured with Mr. Marino is his daughter Barbara, who also actively supports the College and its programs).

Pierson, Sharon G. Scholarships

This scholarship will be awarded in Spring 2024. Please check often for application opening dates. 

Bernard J. Milano, a former member of the Executive Committee of the Ramapo College Foundation, established two endowments in honor of his wife, Sharon Gay Pierson.

Dr. Pierson’s early educational and professional interests were in literature and theater, having graduated with honors from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After doing graduate work in Shakespearean studies in England and working in the entertainment industry, she transitioned to business and worked as a Management Consultant for Merrill Lynch in the Relocation Management Division, which handled human resource issues for companies experiencing relocation due to new business directions, mergers, or acquisitions.

Dr. Pierson retired from Merrill Lynch when she and Mr. Milano moved to New Jersey, where she enjoyed serving in leadership positions for non-profit organizations, such as the Junior League of Bergen County, the Boy Scouts of America, the Allendale Foundation for Educational Excellence, and Bergen County Academies, among others.

She earned her master’s degree in curriculum and teaching at Columbia University, Teacher’s College, her master’s in philosophy, and her PhD in History and Education from Columbia University, Teachers College. Dr. Pierson has presented her research at numerous academic conferences around the nation, such as the History of Education Society, American Educational Research Association, and the John Dewey Centennial, and published Laboratory of Learning, with Peter Lang Publishing (2014), as well as contributed chapters, including Schools of Tomorrow, Schools of Today: Revisited, and Using Past As Prologue (Information Age Publishing, 2016). Sharon Pierson teaches courses in the Communication Arts program in Ramapo’s School of Contemporary Arts. The Pierson Scholarships commemorate Dr. Pierson’s “love of teaching and her commitment to Ramapo’s students,” and benefit students majoring in Communication Arts.

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2013

Student Affairs Division Scholarship

Rather than exchange holiday gifts with each other, some staff members in the Division of Student Affairs have pooled their resources and created this scholarship fund. The award is for students who are active in student leadership or voluntary service. Recipients are selected by a committee of staff members in the Student Affairs Division.

 

Garber, Jackie and Paul Scholarship

Jackie Fain Garber graduated from Ramapo College in 1975 and became a kindergarten and Montessori teacher. In 2001 she and her husband Paul decided to start an annual scholarship to recognize good students with financial need who may need a little help in paying their college costs. “I’ve gotten so much from my Ramapo education,” Jackie said at the time, “I would like to give back.” Students who receive the Garber Scholarships can be studying any discipline, but must demonstrate financial need and be in good academic standing.  Sadly, Mr. Garber died in March, 2014.