(Standing) Tracy Rand, John Di Nardo, Vincent DiNardo, Darrilyn Di Nardo; (Seated) Maria De Abreu Pineda, Denise Cosentino, Nicholette Corrie and Diane Coluzzi.
PARAMUS, N.J. – Bergen Community College applauded alumni and contributors Nov. 17 – including a family of eight Bergen graduates.
Hosted by the Bergen Community College Foundation and Alumni Network at the Terrace at Biagio’s, the “Annual Recognition Dinner” highlighted the Di Nardo family, of Ridgewood, with the Living Legacy Award; 2014 valedictorian Maria De Abreu Pineda, of Hackensack, with the Rising Star Award; and Managing Director of the Office of Specialized Services Tracy Rand with the Distinguished Achievement Award.
The Di Nardos – Estelle “Chickie,” John, Gerard, Denise, Darlene, Diane, Vincent and Darrilyn – began taking classes at Bergen in 1972; the final member of the family graduated in 1998 … unless you count a ninth, Nicholette, who graduated from the institution’s Child Development Center in 2000. Darrilyn now works at the College, overseeing its Institute for Learning in Retirement.
Past valedictorian De Abreu Pineda graduated from Bergen with a 4.0 GPA and as one of only 85 students in the U.S. to receive the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, which provides a scholarship of up to $90,000 for college. Originally from Venezuela, De Abreu Pineda emigrated to the U.S. five years ago. She now attends Stevens Institute of Technology, where she founded the Transfer Student Association while studying biomedical engineering. She has completed research at New York University’s Biomedical Chemistry Institute and an internship at Stryker.
The parent of three Bergen graduates – and six children in all – Rand joined Bergen’s Office of Specialized Services in 2002, ascending to her current role as managing director in 2013. Among her accomplishments, she served as the project director for two Transition and Postsecondary Education Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities grants, which enabled the establishment of the College’s Turning Point program. The two-year non-matriculated college experience for young adults with intellectual disabilities began in 2012.
In each of the last three years, Bergen has led the state in associate degree graduates and ranks No. 32 in the U.S. Bergen alumni rank No. 11 in the nation for mid-career salaries, according to online salary database PayScale.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 15,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. 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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