When I returned to school at twenty-five, my first classes were at Cumberland County College, a rural community college near the peach farm where I had worked off and on since dropping out of high school, dropping out of college (at least three or four times), joining the Navy on a whim, leaving the Navy on a mission, and generally not doing much with my life. Once, I said to my now wife, then girlfriend, that I might want to attend Rowan, to study accounting or something, a field I had no real interest in but that would complement the financial planner position that I had weaseled myself into after taking a long hiatus from farm life. I liked wearing a suit. My wife must’ve seen something in me, because with genuine sincerity she said, “Go to Rutgers, Carmen. You belong at Rutgers.”
“I can’t drive up to New Brunswick every day,” I said.
“Rutgers-Camden,” she said.
Truth is, that was the first time I had ever heard of Rutgers-Camden. In the end, I ended up deciding to study English, as a pre-law major, taking community college classes that mirrored the general requirements for a degree at Rutgers. I turned down a full scholarship to LaSalle University (the only other college to which I applied because the application was free) in Philadelphia because I was so impressed with Rutgers-Camden’s English department.
I ended up getting both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Rutgers-Camden. Both degrees were in English; pre-law got replaced with an earnest love for literature. As a graduate student, I was fortunate enough to be awarded a teaching assistantship, and so I taught writing for two years —and learned quickly what I was supposed to do with my life.
Now I am finishing another graduate program at Columbia University. I’m writing a book that has a shot of being published. I am also one of the few graduate teaching fellows at Columbia, where I often rely on what I learned at Rutgers to teach students of the Ivy League.
For me, a first-generation college graduate who always loved to read and dreamed of being a writer, Rutgers-Camden was a godsend. To remove it from South Jersey means removing opportunity from those who already feel as though there are few opportunities, if any. Increase the reach of Rutgers-Camden. Maybe I wouldn’t have gotten in so much trouble when I was young had I known it was there (or maybe some aspects of life are simply unavoidable.)
About Carmen Adamucci
Hometown: Bridgeton, NJ
Camden College of Arts and Sciences Major: English
Camden College of Arts and Sciences Graduation Date: 2007
Graduate Program: English
Graduate School-Camden Graduation Date: 2009
A member of the Honors College, Mr. Adamucci was a recipient of the Rutgers University-Camden Alumni Association Writing Award. Mr. Adamucci graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English in 2007. In 2009, his master’s thesis earned distinction. He currently serves as a writing and teaching fellow at Columbia University. He has published short stories and poems both online and in print, including translations in Greek literary magazines.
That’s my son! Love you, Carmen!!! xxx ooo