PARAMUS, N.J. – Selected from 1,700 U.S. students, Bergen Community College’s Rhonda Richardsen has earned a spot on the 2015 All-USA Community College Academic Team. Only 20 students received the designation. Additionally, as New Jersey’s top achieving community college student, Richardsen ranks as the state’s 2015 Coca-Cola New Century Scholar as well. She will receive a combined $7,000 in scholarships.
“There is no more prestigious national award that a community college student can earn than being named to the All-USA Community College Academic Team,” Bergen President B. Kaye Walter, Ph.D., said. “The same holds true at the state level for the Coca-Cola New Century Scholar award. Combined, these honors establish Rhonda as one of the 20 best community college students in the country – and the best in the state of New Jersey. I, and the Bergen community, could not be more proud of her.”
Richardsen, of Paramus, accepted the awards at the April 20 presidents breakfast held during the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Among her accomplishments, Richardsen has served as the president of Alpha Epsilon Phi, the College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa – the honor society of two-year institutions – during a prolific period. Under her leadership, the international organization ranked Bergen’s chapter as one of the top 100 in the country and one of three distinguished chapters among 77 in the Middle States Region. Richardsen’s efforts led to her recent enshrinement in the Hall of Honor for chapter officers.
The All-USA Community College Academic Team is sponsored by Follett Higher Education Group and presented by USA TODAY with additional support provided by AACC and Phi Theta Kappa. The New Century Scholars program is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Foundation, Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, Phi Theta Kappa and AACC.
Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu) based in Paramus is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling nearly 16,000 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.
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