Bergen Community College

Bergen Community College alumnus Pablo Alvelo, ‘25, entered college for a second time to earn his associate’s degree in dental hygiene.

Prior to attending Bergen, Alvelo, of East Rutherford, was a member of the United States Marine Corps since he was 19-years-old. “I reached the rank of Sergeant and was honorably discharged after my term of service,” said Alvelo. 

Alvelo earned his associate’s degree in liberal and theatre arts from Hudson Community College in 2015. However, he later enrolled in Bergen’s dental hygiene program to pursue a new career in the health professions field.

At the beginning of his enrollment at Bergen, Alvelo had to defer for a year to help care for his newborn daughter. “Once I started the program, a year later I was working two jobs,” said Alvelo. “It was definitely a struggle to juggle that while having to take care of the baby and dog.”

Alvelo gave accolades to the faculty and staff from Bergen’s Division of Health Professions and dental hygiene program. “Thank you to Dr. Lisa Duddy, Dr. Tomira Rozar and Dean Susan Barnard for helping me every step of the way,” he said. “I enjoyed working with my classmates and faculty.”

At the May 2025 Commencement ceremony, Alvelo was one of five students who received the Perino Scholarship from the Bergen Community College Foundation. The scholarship will go toward funding Alvelo’s education along with the professional fees associated with becoming a dental hygienist.

“Don’t give up,” Alvelo advises current students. “Not everyday is the same, and you will not always overcome the obstacles that life will throw at you,” he said. “But if you apply yourself on a daily basis and reflect at night on how you could improve, then you will only get better each day. And some progress is better than no progress.”

Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 24,000 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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