Stockton News - Dec. 20, 2024
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
Soaring Higher: A Look Back at 2024
As we close out 2024, we reflect on a year of celebrations, milestones and expansion at Stockton. Join us in counting down the days to 2025 by viewing highlights from the past 12 months.
Stockton Announces Transfer Agreement for Hospitality Students
Students interested in earning a four-year degree in Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management can now complete their first three years of study at Ocean County College (OCC) and transfer to Stockton University through an agreement signed by the schools Monday, Dec. 16.
The 3+1 agreement offers a distinct pathway for students who complete their associate degree in Hospitality, Recreation & Tourism Management at OCC to earn up to 90 credits that may be transferred to Stockton.
“Stockton is dedicated to empowering students to plan their full educational experience in a cost-effective way and delivering a direct transfer process,” President Joe Bertolino said. “Today, we are also proud to further our longtime Transfer Pathways agreement with Ocean County College.”
PHOTO: President Bertolino and Pam Monaco, president of OCC, celebrate after signing a 3+1 transfer agreement for Hospitality Studies students Dec. 16. Stockton Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Palladino, left, and Eileen Garcia, vice president of Academic Affairs at OCC, look on.
Stockton Esports Teams Advance to Garden State Finals
The Stockton esports team will compete for Garden State Esports (GSE) Collegiate Circuit titles after a dominating performance Dec. 10 at an in-person competition on campus.
The Ospreys’ Rocket League team defeated Camden County College and Rowan University, and the Super Smash Bros. team beat Camden County College and Atlantic Cape Community College. With the victories, both teams won the GSE South Conference and advanced to the Garden State Esports Collegiate Cup finals on Feb. 22 at ACX1 Studios in Atlantic City.
In Rocket League, Stockton will face Brookdale Community College, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Kean University, and in Super Smash Bros. the Ospreys will compete against Rutgers-New Brunswick, Brookdale and NJIT.
The Collegiate Circuit is the nation’s first face-to-face collegiate esports league, according to Garden State Esports, and is comprised of 16 schools divided into three conferences.
PHOTO: The Stockton University Super Smash Bros. esports team that competed Dec. 10 as part of the Garden State Esports Collegiate Circuit. From left, Justin Ritter, Jacob Hughes and Trevor Smith.
Speech Students Present Emotional, Motivating Final Projects
“The most beautiful things in life are not things. They are people, places, memories and pictures. They are feelings and moments, smiles and laughter.”
Melody Mercado, a junior in the Pre-Communication Disorders minor program, and her classmates in “Speech & Hearing Science” shared messages like the one above to their family and friends for their final project on Thursday, Dec. 12. The students utilized the speech science tools and technology they learned from Amee Shah, professor of Health Science and director of the Cross-Cultural Speech, Language and Acoustics Lab.
Shah, whose research in linguistics and speech spans decades, said her goal for the course and the final project is for students to develop technical/digital and emotional literacy.
"I wanted them to really understand different technology aspects, such as being comfortable creating high-fidelity recordings and creating waveforms through moving between different apps,” Shah said, mentioning that modern speech technology has allowed students to have clinical labs on their phones and computers.
FRAME-WORTHY
Pre-Kwanzaa Event Filled with Joy, Culture
As we prepare for the seven days of Kwanzaa (Dec. 26 – Jan. 1), we’re reflecting on moments from this year’s Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration on Dec. 6 hosted by the Unified Black Students Society.
The celebration was filled with unity, culture and community as we honored the principles of Kwanzaa.
Pat Reid-Merritt, Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies and Social Work, was also celebrated, recognizing her countless contributions to Stockton and the community as she prepares for retirement.
📸 View more photos on flickr.
WHAT'S TRENDING @ #STOCKTONU
Facebook: About 200 high school students came to the 8th annual #StocktonU Latin Day to participate in ancient world activities.
Instagram: For #StocktonU’s 40th anniversary performance of Handel’s Messiah, Professor of Music Beverly Vaughn brought her style, energy and enthusiasm to the stage and shared the mic with members of the audience.
LinkedIn: #StocktonU alum Chris Lipari Pazienza was already interested in service and volunteering when he attended his first #MLKDayofService as a first-year student. 🦅
FROM THE SIDELINES
Juengert Elected to South Jersey Soccer Hall of Fame
Stockton head women's soccer coach Nick Juengert has been selected for induction into the South Jersey Soccer Hall of Fame. Juengert will be one of 10 inductees for the 2025 class that will be honored at the annual South Jersey Soccer Hall of Fame banquet on March 23 at Valleybrook Country Club in Blackwood.
Juengert has been Stockton's head coach for 22 years, during which he has gone 282-132-63 (.657 winning percentage). His 282 victories rank 31st among active NCAA Division III women's soccer coaches while his .657 winning percentage is tied for 44th.
Juengert's teams have won at least 10 games in 17 of his 21 full seasons (excluding 2020 Covid year), highlighted by 11 consecutive years from 2006-16 with at least 12 victories. The veteran coach led the Ospreys to four straight NCAA Tournament berths from 2006-09. His 2007 and 2008 squads collected 18 wins apiece, one shy of the school record.
Roura Named ECAC Defensive Player of the Year; Four Earn ECAC Honors
Four Stockton student-athletes from two Osprey teams received postseason accolades from the Eastern College Athletic Conference for the Fall 2024 season. Three of the four honorees came from the Stockton field hockey squad, led by goaltender Erika Roura who was chosen ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-ECAC Team.
Teammates Carlee Thompson and Ameera Bilgrami joined Roura on the All-ECAC Team in field hockey. Nicole Palmer completed the quartet with her selection to the All-ECAC Second Team in volleyball.
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is an 86-year-old organization with well over 200 member schools across all three NCAA Divisions. The ECAC exists to enhance the experience of student-athletes by sponsoring championships, tournaments, and postseason honors for institutions throughout the Northeast.
Roura added ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-ECAC Team kudos to an impressive collection of honors that consists of NJAC Goaltender of the Year, NJAC First Team, NFHCA Region IV Second Team, two NJAC Defensive Player of the Week awards and NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 2.
🦅 For more athletics news and upcoming game information, visit here.🦅
OSPREY NOTES
Event Educates Students on Power-Based Violence
A collaboration between three classes, three offices, and a student organization produced a thought-provoking project centered on defining and exploring the impact of power-based violence in the Campus Center Coffeehouse.
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, students in the School of Social & Behavioral Sciences program’s “Peer Education: Power-Based Violence” course presented their research on various, power-based violence topics, such as “green flags” and “red flags” to look for in relationships, statistics on how often domestic violence can occur and the importance of looking beyond rose-colored glasses.
Once students pass the course, they are certified as NASPA Peer Educators, and they earn service-learning credit and elective credit toward the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies minor.
Students in Associate Professor Betsy Erbaugh’s classes, “Social Research Methods” and “Women, Gender & Sexuality,” developed the project’s learning assessment survey and ran an activity in which participants took out their anger and frustration on clay pigeons throughout the event, respectively.
In addition to the classes, the project received assistance from the Women’s Gender & Sexuality Center (WGSC), the Stockton Center for Community Engagement & Service-Learning, Stockton Police and the student organization Active Minds.
According to Teresa Barone, assistant director for the WGSC, over 40 people attended the program, and almost half of them completed the learning assessment survey – most surveyed students felt that their understanding of power-based violence was stronger than before.
“Overall, the event was a great collaboration between several organizations and students at the university and brought some important education about domestic violence and how to encourage a violence-free, safe and supportive culture at Stockton,” Barone shared about the project.
SCOSA Group Donates to Stockton Food Pantry
Each week, the Stockton Center on Successful Aging has hosted a Blue Zones: Living to 100 program, with SCOSA staffers Peppy Margolis and Gina Maguire as hosts. The Blue Zones are the five areas of the world with the most centenarians. The people in these areas almost all practice the Power 9, the evidence-based common denominators: “move naturally, purpose, downshift, 80% rule, plant slant, wine @ 5, right tribe, loved ones first, and belong.”
“In January 2025, we will begin the C’mon Let’s get Happy: Blue Zones of Happiness & The Happiness Project program. One of the tenets of the Blue Zones is working together and volunteering. Our group decided to personally donate to the Stockton Food Pantry to assist students with food insecurity, specifically those who remain on campus during winter break,” Maguire shared. “On Dec. 16, from just 14 generous people, this is what we collected, donated, and delivered to the Dean of Students Office. The donations included 20 full, plant-based meals (with attached Blue Zones friendly recipe) and healthy snacks in SCOSA backpacks.”
The Blue Zones group plans to continue assisting and supporting the Stockton Food Pantries. To get involved or learn more about the Blue Zones, contact Maguire at gina.maguire@stockton.edu.
PHOTO: From left to right, Margolis, Paula Uhland, gerontology student intern Nicole Zier, Diane Hulse-Hiller, Janet Reilly, Maguire, Ann Conelli and Ginny Palusky.
🎬 December’s Eye on Stockton is Here!
Our campus really came alive this fall, celebrating student success, alumni achievements and athletic triumphs, all while building community. The latest installment of Eye on Stockton - our video series recapping some of the great things happening at the University - includes highlights from October through Finals Week.
Stockton University 2024 Annual Report Now Available
The 2024 Annual Report highlights the Stockton community's dedication to teaching, learning and inclusive student success. Read more about what our students, faculty and staff accomplished in the 2023-24 academic year.
2025-26 FAFSA is Available Now
Attention faculty & staff! The 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available now at fafsa.gov. We ask that you please encourage your students and their families to not only complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA, but also utilize the resources and helpful information listed at stockton.edu/fafsa before they complete the application.
Any student or family member who needs assistance completing their section of the FAFSA is invited to attend one of two evening FAFSA Completion events hosted by the Office of Financial Aid this spring! Students and their family members will receive in-person assistance in completing their sections of the FAFSA during these events.
Please feel free to share the below registration links with your students. Please note that students will need to log in with their goStockton portal credentials to register.
Fun Fact Friday: Today is a day to honor the world’s greatest unsung heroes, runners up and unlikely winners who have pulled off the unexpected. It’s National Underdog Day! Established by Peter Moeller in 1976, National Underdog Day is the time to honor life’s unrecognized hard-workers.
Stockton News will return to your inboxes in January 2025.
UPCOMING EVENTS
👩💻 Professional Development Opportunities
🎭 Winter Programming at the PAC
Now-Jan. 5: “Still Here: The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape and Powhatan-Renape Nations of Southern New Jersey”
Dec. 18-Jan. 17: Winter Semester begins
Dec. 25-Jan. 1: ☃️Winter Break
Jan. 17-20: Murphy Writing Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway
Jan. 20: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
Jan. 21: Spring Semester begins
