Bergen Community College

Bergen Community College student-athlete Ruben Alvarez plays baseball and studies sports management. Alvarez’ goal is to be involved in the sports industry as a coach, director, or instructor.

“I chose Bergen because it was the right fit for me at the time,” said Alvarez. “Being able to play baseball while getting a degree was the goal.”

Alvarez, of Carlstadt, has a strong interest and passion for baseball. He enjoys that he can “build a bond with so many different people just by playing the sport.”

“What interests me the most about baseball is that you won’t always succeed on good swings,” he said. “You will get out, but on bad swings, you may get a hit.”

He also enjoys the unpredictability within the game. “It is a very hard game to control the outcome every time,” he said. “You have to do the best you can.”

Alvarez credits Bergen staff members, including Director of Athletics Erin Van Nostrand, Athletic Trainer and Coordinator Samantha Pletsch, Athletic Trainer Jeeves Osorio, and Coordinator of Athletics Deanna Fletcher, for helping him as a student-athlete. “I had people to guide me in the right directions,” he said.

As a club member in Bergen’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Alvarez takes an active interest in athletics and the student experience. “I try to voice my opinion on how to make athletics better here at Bergen and make it more fun for everyone,” he said.

“Some days are going to be stressful and difficult, but the good days will make it all worth it,” said Alvarez who offered some words of wisdom to current and future student-athletes. “Keep going,” he said. “The work isn’t going to do itself.”

When asked what has made him successful, Alvarez has focused on making sure that all his classwork is done and that he passes all his classes. “Passing all my classes takes a lot of stress off my everyday life,” he said. “I can focus on work and baseball.”

He expects to graduate in 2025.

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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