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Turning ambition into achievement: Joseph Vercillo's remarkable journey into nursing

MOUNT LAUREL – Joseph Vercillo embarked on a remarkable journey of profound personal transformation through »Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ 20 years after his last educational experience. 

Vercillo, originally from Canada, started from scratch after spending years drifting from various jobs without a firm career path. With the encouragement of his wife, he decided to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter, attending fire school and joining volunteer fire departments while working toward a career in firefighting.

After nearly giving up, RCBC fashion design student Taiwo Adekunle earns President's Award

MOUNT LAUREL – Growing up in Western Nigeria, Taiwo Adekunle dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. However, this wasn’t an option in her home country, which considered fashion more practical and a skilled trade than a prestigious pursuit.

She studied more conventional academic topics—sociology and anthropology—before her family abruptly moved to the United States. The move wiped out three years of education, and any pursuit of higher education would have to start over in a country and culture completely different from her home.

RCBC Students Katriel Master and Charissa Foster Selected to Phi Theta Kappa All-State Academic Team

Academically advanced students Katriel Master and Charissa Foster accepted the Phi Theta Kappa All-State Academic Team scholarship award last month in Trenton, New Jersey alongside »Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ President Michael Cioce, and RCBC Assistant Professor and PTK Advisor William Whitfield. The successful students were picked for their exceptional leadership skills and community efforts.

RCBC grad overcomes cancer, earns paramedic award

A few semesters into her Paramedic Science education at »Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ, Jessica Bennett, 25, faced an unimaginable situation. After experiencing debilitating symptoms resulting from a lump in her neck, doctors told her that the lump, a mass on her salivary gland and not a swollen lymph node as she believed, possessed atypical cells - ones that were most likely cancerous. Immediately, uncertainty loomed over the rest of her college career. But thanks to her dedicated spirit, Bennett knew that continuing her studies was what she wanted to do.

72-year-old Air Force Veteran graduates from RCBC to teach paramedics

Stephen Hodsdon, an Air Force Veteran, spent nearly 40 years as a paramedic before finding a retirement job as a lab skills instructor with »Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ, where he shares his passion and experience with future EMTs. 

His skill for teaching was so evident that his co-workers encouraged him to earn his associate degree at RCBC so that he could qualify to be an adjunct instructor in the college’s Paramedic Science program. So, in his 70s, he went back to school, graduating last May. 

Hodsdon, 72, recently reflected on his journey.

RCBC Assistant Director of Student Accounts Jacinda Chaney reaches new potential after completing Emerging Leaders program

Jacinda Chaney is many things: a longtime Burlington County resident, a first-generation college graduate, and the newest assistant director of student accounts at »Æ¹ÏÊÓÆµ, to name a few. But as of April, she’s one thing more: a certified Emerging Leader.