Bergen Community College

It is never too late to earn an associate degree at Bergen Community College! Nicholas Gatti, former cook, executive chef, and founding member of North Jersey food rescue organization Table to Table, will graduate at the age of 71 with his associate of science degree in general studies from Bergen at MetLife Stadium this May. Gatti, an end stage kidney disease survivor, celebrated his 2-year kidney transplant anniversary at the end of April.

“Bergen Community College serves all of the ‘community.’ Not just the young,” said Gatti who is proud of his accomplishment to earn an associate degree.

“To be honest, I had no intention of going for a degree, although I had always told my staff and coworkers that when I retired, I would go back to school,” he said.

During his career in the hospitality industry, Gatti would think about taking college courses and even had a thought about switching careers in the 1980’s by taking course work in computer science at Bergen. However, his culinary career took off and he put any thoughts of a career switch aside at the time. Gatti served as founding member of Table to Table, the North Jersey food rescue organization which takes leftover food from clubs, restaurants, supermarkets, and others and distributes it to various charitable organizations to combat food insecurity. He served as the Restaurant Chair of Table to Table during its fundraising efforts.

When Gatti retired from the hospitality industry in 2019, he recalled how he had told his staff and coworkers that he would go back to school. “I was not a successful high school student and upon retirement in 2019, I started to wonder what if,” he said.

That “what if” feeling ignited a spark in Gatti. He recalled how he started to “grab an available class here and there” under senior citizen tuition waivers at Bergen. In 2020, he registered for continuing education courses. “As an adult student, I found the continuing education learning experience to be a drug that I couldn’t get enough of,” he said. One thing led to another, and he eventually accumulated enough credits to graduate. “It turned out that I could graduate with the A.S. degree by only taking two more classes, so I decided to do so,” said Gatti.

“Bergen Community College is not the common pejorative ‘13^th grade’ ascribed to many community colleges,” Gatti said. “I found it to be an academically rigorous institution and am quite proud and happy to have attended and loudly say so whenever I speak of it.”

When asked what made him successful at Bergen, Gatti credits “the entire organization, from the professors to the administrative staff.” Gatti’s favorite professors were Dr. Kevin Olbrys for Introduction to Philosophy, Dr. Chung for Introduction to Physics, and Dr. Christina Mouser for Linear Algebra. “One gets the sense that they all work hard at what they do,” he said.

“All three have clearly demonstrated pedagogical competence as well as an overarching expertise with each of the subjects that they teach,” said Gatti. “In addition, all are personable and generous with their time in regard to me as a student.”

“It’s a combination, that in my view, helps to vault Bergen Community College into the academic stratosphere,” said Gatti. “Simply put, they are all excellent teachers/professors.”

Gatti further recalled how the Student Center counseling staff, and the Cerullo Learning Assistance Center were extremely helpful to him.  “I practically lived in the math center during the past year or so,” he said. “The math and science tutors helped greatly with my Linear Algebra and Physics courses, and I made heavy use of that resource as well as the Writing Center when I had Philosophy papers to write and polish up.”

During his time at Bergen, Gatti attended classes during the COVID-19 pandemic and went through end stage kidney disease, a mini-stroke incident, and then a kidney transplant. “I came out on the other side of it all with an A.S. from Bergen Community College,” he said. “Let perseverance be your watchword.”

Sharing his words of wisdom to fellow Bergen graduates, he recommended that they deeply read Sydney Hook’s “What is a Liberal Education” and Polonius’ speech to Laertes from Hamlet. Gatti quoted the last lines from Polonius’ speech:

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Allowing his education to fuel his passion, Gatti continues to persevere and remain true to himself. With the accumulation of Bergen Community College credits, Gatti accepted a job as a substitute teacher to work with middle school students within the Dumont School District. “At my age (71), I have no career aspirations,” he said. “I have to admit, that I missed my calling, as it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.”

Gatti has not disregarded the idea of attending a four-year institution to earn a bachelor’s degree though. “I started to entertain thoughts of attending a four-year school,” he said.

Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.

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