Class Notes

Jomayra I. Torres ’10 with her homeroom students

Jomayra I. Torres ’10 is a fifth-grade head teacher, Saturday Academy program coordinator, and Scholastic Reading Club coordinator at BelovED Community Charter School, a public charter school in Jersey City that enrolls more than 600 children in grades K-5. A staunch advocate for charter schools, Torres’ articles and blogs on the subject have appeared on nj.com and in the American Association online programming that promotes mathematical literacy and engages students. In 2014, Torres was named Teacher of the Year by the New Jersey Charter Schools Association and received her school’s You Make a Difference Award. Torres holds a bachelor of arts in history and secondary education from NJCU and a master’s degree in elementary reading and literacy from Walden University. She is currently pursuing national certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. She will return to NJCU to begin work towards her ESL/Multicultural Education certification.

Dhyana Velez ’15, an RN-BSN graduate of the first cohort of the HRSA grant-funded program, is coordinator of Hospital Enterprise Hospital, a program that provides care for older patients. She is featured on the National Association of Hispanic Nurses website as a “Hispanic Role Model in Health Care Careers.”

Deborah Horan Morales ’75, M.A. ’76, associate director in the Office of Facilities and Construction Management, is serving as a director-at-large for the New Jersey Chapter of APPA, a national organization that provides education, training, and networking for higher education facilities professionals. Morales is serving a two-year term that began last spring.

Ernesto Espin, ’14 was the first NJCU to receive a Public Policy Fellowship with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, DC. He delivered a message to the graduating class of interns at the Library of Congress, in front of peers, elected officials, and members of Congress.

Richard Dinges, ’67, is retired and living in Hawaii after serving 30 years as a guidance counselor. At 71, he advocates a six-day- per-week gym regimen, and is active with community service volunteer work, especially efforts to support the homeless through the Salvation Army and the Community Alliance Partners. After persevering through life-threatening health issues, Dinges’ advice to others is that good health is possible through a positive body/mind connection and a good dose of hard work and self-discipline.

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