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Respect. Integrity. Justice. Compassion. Service. These are just some of the qualities that make the Georgian Court University experience worthwhile. In the spirit of carrying these values forward, we want to share one way you can give back to your community and the people in your own life: writing a will.

GCU has partnered with FreeWill: a free estate planning resource to help you write your legally valid will and create other important estate planning documents. And as you create your will, you’ll even have the option to plan a gift to Georgian Court University, and make a generational impact for future GCU students at no cost today.

Click here to create your will today!

Jennifer Matthews ’23 has always loved science but didn’t always believe in her ability to make it a career. She attended culinary school and took web design classes before taking a chance on the scientific field. Jennifer earned an associate’s degree in biology at Ocean County College, where she was an honor student, and then enrolled at Georgian Court University, where she’s excelled as a biochemistry major. This summer, Jennifer’s unconventional path is taking her to Princeton University as part of the prestigious National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.

The REU has been offering summertime research opportunities at colleges across the country since the program began in the late 1980s. Jennifer is matched with a mentor, István Pelczer, Ph.D., director of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Facility and lecturer in chemistry at Princeton University. For nine weeks, she’ll work with this renowned expert on research, focusing on mixture analysis using NMR data. “We’ll use statistical methods and tools to identify correlated changes between metabolites across a dataset and determine the significance of these differences,” said Jennifer. Such information could identify a metabolic profile of some inflammatory or disease conditions.

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Following the tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, President Marbach shared a reflection with our Georgian Court community. He stated, “The mass shooting…in Uvalde, Texas, has evoked shock, sadness, grief, and a collective sense of loss. It feels like I just shared these same sentiments…following the tragedy in Buffalo, where families are still burying their dead.

We struggle to find words, but there are times when no words come to us.

We can, however, unite ourselves with the bereaved and broken-hearted. Please set aside a moment of prayerful silence today to “dwell” with the victims of the senseless and horrific school shooting: the 19 children and 2 adults who were killed, their devastated families and friends who now struggle to go on while bearing the unimaginable, and the devastated community of Uvalde.”

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May 18 was a joy-filled day at Georgian Court University that celebrated goals accomplished and new journeys begun for nearly 450 undergraduates and more than 180 graduate students during the Commencement 2022 Ceremonies.

The day began with a Baccalaureate Mass in the morning, with readings by graduating student lectors Meesha Samuels, Emily Salisbury, and Emily Humphries and a homily from Rev. Msgr. Joseph Rosie, pastor of St. James Parish, Red Bank, and Episcopal vicar for Monmouth County, as well as a GCU trustee. In the afternoon, the university’s 111th Commencement was divided into two celebrations, with undergraduates crossing the stage first, followed later in the day by graduate students.

In his remarks, GCU President Joseph R. Marbach observed that the new graduates were joining the ranks of alumni known for scholarship, advocacy and innovation, and expressed confidence that they, too, would be “change makers, truth seekers, and challengers of the status quo.” He remarked on the Class of 2022’s diversity in academic discipline, age, and background, noting that together, “You are Georgian Court.”

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Meticulous. It’s the word Emily Humphries ’22 uses to describe her NASA Space Grant research project efforts, “Comparing Algorithmic Efficiencies of MATLAB, Mathematica, and Maple.” And it’s what she loves about assessing differences among these three commonly used computer algebra systems (CAS) software programs.

“I enjoy sitting in front of my computer and entering data into a table, and I don’t mind waiting 6,000 seconds for a program to run. It’s all for the end goal,” said Emily. “It can be challenging when I can’t get the programming code exactly right at first, but when I finally do and everything clicks, it’s the most rewarding experience ever.”

MATLAB, Mathematica, and Maple are used all over the world as tools for doing scientific and statistical analysis and modeling engineering systems. The project Emily is working on consists of analyzing how well the algorithms in the programs work. Beth A. Schaefer, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics; coordinator of the physics program; and professor of physics, is one of Emily’s faculty mentors, and began the research several years ago.  She was using Mathematica, a research colleague was using Maple; they noticed that graphs produced by the two CAS with identical functions yielded very different results.  This intrigued them, and Dr. Schaefer thought this could lead to an interesting project with undergraduates. Click here to continue reading.

Eight Georgian Court nursing students went to Ghana in January hoping to make a difference in people’s lives. And they did, using their training to provide malaria testing/treatment, wound care, and blood pressure checks to more than 850 Ghanaians, as well as attending to two births. The people being served made a difference in the students’ lives, too.

“The Ghanian people, who have so much less than we do, seem to be so at peace and harmony with their lives,” said Lauren Fernandes ’22. “On our last day, when I was heartbroken to be leaving, the children we played with daily told me not to cry. One even gifted me with a bracelet he made for me. Kindness and love radiated from every Ghanaian we had the pleasure to meet.”  Click here to continue reading.

Angelina Monaco ’23, like many college students, has a lot on her plate. In addition to classes, the nursing student works part time as a patient observer at a local hospital. She even is looking to start a small Bible study with other GCU students. Still, when Eric Rosenberg, Ph.D., GCU assistant professor of applied computing and director of the computer information systems program, invited her to apply for a NASA Space Grant, Angelina was all in.

Dr. Rosenberg sought out Angelina to work with him for a few reasons. She was a standout student in his Making Sense of Data: Statistical Thinking course, earning an A and completing “a very interesting final project” that examined networking with respect to marriage and church attendance rates. In Dr. Rosenberg, Angelina would have an excellent mentor. He has authored three books and dozens of journal articles and is an inventor on 19 U.S. patents. Click here to continue reading.

Georgian Court University mourns the loss of Robert “Bob” Mulcahy III, chair of the University Board of Trustees and a steadfast champion of the GCU mission. Mr. Mulcahy, 85, died February 8.

“For nearly 10 years, Bob gave us his absolute best. This is a tremendous loss to the university and to all who were touched by his life of service,” said GCU President Joseph R. Marbach.

“He used his leadership savvy and commitment to the Catholic faith to move our university forward in so many ways,” said Dr. Marbach, “from financial and operational strategy to his passion for the Sisters of Mercy, student-athletes, and social justice.”

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Joshua Orgel ’21 spent his early career as a rabbi addressing people’s spiritual needs. Then came a change in interest, influenced by family members who work in health care. Today, the biology graduate, who headed to medical school in Fall 2021, tends to physical needs as an emergency medical technician (EMT)—a challenging call at any time, but especially during the pandemic.

“COVID-19 changed our protocols,” explains Mr. Orgel, a volunteer with the Hatzolah (“relief” or “rescue” in Hebrew) first aid squad in Lakewood. “We now gown up before approaching patients and wear N95 masks, which makes communication more difficult, especially with older people who have hearing loss. Children, too. The mask covers most of my face, so I smile with my eyes.”

Mr. Orgel is one of about 30 million Americans—including other Georgian Court University graduates and students—working on the pandemic frontlines. During his senior year, he balanced several priorities beyond his coursework: 5 to 10 EMT calls a week; a business partnership with his wife in Child SMART, a childcare center; and parenting five children under age 8, including an infant.

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