PARAMUS, N.J. – The Bergen Community College Foundation recognized a pair of alumni and a longtime professor at its sixth annual alumni dinner Oct. 22 at Biagio’s. (From left) Dr. Joseph Manno (‘76), of Wayne, became the newest member of Alumni Hall of Fame; Professor Celeste Finney, of Highland Mills, N.Y., earned the “Living Legacy Award;” and Angie Goldszmidt (‘14), of Cresskill, notched the “Rising Star Award.” Dr. Manno, a general and vascular surgeon on staff at Holy Name Medical Center and Hackensack University Medical Center, previously directed the College’s respiratory therapy program from which he graduated. Finney has worked at the College for the past 42 years, serving as a counselor and the grand marshal of commencement 2014. Goldszmidt currently works for the College as Phi Theta Kappa’s administrative adviser while pursuing her bachelor’s degree at Columbia University. Bergen continues to add more alumni to its ranks than at any time in its near-50-year history; the institution ranks No. 1 in New Jersey for associate degree graduates two years in a row.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 16,000 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.