Melissa Mugica

Melissa Mugica of Edison, NJ is a double major in Theater and Literature. She plans to pursue certification in Teacher Education. Her inspiration is a quote from the movie “A Cinderella Story”: “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” Even with an autoimmune disease, Melissa is very much in the game. She is a member of the National Theater Honor Society and served in several leadership positions including vice president. She helped form an improvisational/sketch comedy troupe and has performed in the Ramapo College Theater Program’s main stage productions. With one foot always near a stage, she works at the Berrie Center box office and travels to Manhattan to audition for acting roles in film, television and theater. Melissa has a 3.39 grade point average.

Awarded Scholarships

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2012

Hayes, Keith B. Memorial Scholarship

Keith Hayes transferred to Ramapo College in the fall of 2007. He was a Psychology major whose dream was to become a child psychologist. Sadly Keith passed away that semester at 20-years-old, the result of complications of several long-term undiagnosed illnesses.

After Keith’s death, his family and friends raised funds to create an endowed fund at the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan. One goal of the Keith B. Hayes Foundation is to provide scholarships in Keith’s name to Ramapo students. The award benefits students afflicted with muscular and skeletal myopathy, muscular dystrophy, heart disease or a similar disease. It is administered by the Office of Specialized Services.

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.