156 Atlantic Cape students receive $322K in scholarships

MAYS LANDING —More than 150 Atlantic Cape Community College students earning a total of $322,841 in scholarships were recognized during a ceremony Monday, May 16 on the Mays Landing campus.

The 55^th Annual Scholarship Recognition Ceremony hosted by the Atlantic Cape Foundation celebrated the 156 scholarship recipients receiving 282 scholarships for the Fall 2022 semester, and the donors who made those awards possible. (Additional students receive awards each Fall for the Spring semester).

Since 1978, the Atlantic Cape Foundation has raised millions of dollars for scholarships, academic programs and campus improvements.

In Giving Year 2021 (which includes Fall 2020 and Spring 2021), the Foundation awarded a total of 675 scholarships worth $618,644 and received $876,942 from 442 donors and sponsors. About $75,000 was also awarded in direct support to Atlantic Cape to expand programming and services.

“For more than 55 years, Atlantic Cape has served Atlantic and Cape May counties with an unwavering commitment to student success and access to a high quality and affordable education,” said Dr. Barbara Gaba, Atlantic Cape president. “I commend our generous donors for their continued support of the college’s mission and vision which has made a college education affordable and accessible for the students with the greatest need in our region.”

Dr. Denise Coulter, dean of Professional and Liberal Studies and chairperson of the Scholarship Committee, and Jean McAlister, executive director of the Atlantic Cape Foundation and Chief of Staff/Chief Advancement Officer, served as hostesses for the event.

Speakers included Atlantic Cape Foundation President James Rutala and Atlantic Cape Foundation Board Secretary Stephen Nehmad, both of whom are donors to the Foundation.

Rutala, principal of the planning firm Rutala Associates, took night classes at community college to save money before receiving his bachelor’s degree from Seton Hall University and attended Atlantic Cape, when the college partnered with Rutgers University, to get his MBA. He said community colleges helped make earning his degree possible, which is why giving back was such an easy decision.

“Atlantic Cape creates experiences that are long lasting and can be life changing. The college has continued to change with the times and prepare for the future,” Rutala said. “All this cannot be done without the community’s support and your support; and we certainly appreciate your involvement in Atlantic Cape.”

Nehmad, a land use and real estate attorney, played baseball at Atlantic Cape in 1968-69 and earned his associate’s degree here in 1972. As part of the Foundation, he has made it a personal mission to help students in the region access education.

“The need exists at the grassroots level, at the community college level, where a real difference is made,” Nehmad said.

Scholarship recipients who spoke were Charlene Maycott, a Communication student who started college in 2019 - 40 years after graduating from high school - and Zachary Downey, a veteran and Nursing student who saw the devastating impacts of COVID-19 and knew it was his calling to help.

“Because of your efforts, and the generosity of the Foundation donors, students are afforded the opportunity to pursue their dreams,” Downey said, thanking the Foundation and donors.

Maycott said that after realizing that she couldn’t wait any longer to earn her degree, scholarships made it possible.

“I look forward to using my scholarships toward furthering my education and trying to change the world,” she said.

View photo album from event on flickr.