RVCC Student Honored by NJ Council of County Colleges

Stephen Evarts of Frenchtown, a Social Sciences major who graduated from Raritan Valley Community College in May, has been honored by the New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) as a recipient of the 2024 New Jersey Council of County Colleges Student of the Year Award.

Evarts was honored at the NJCCC’s Awards Dinner on June 11 at Bally’s Atlantic City.

Evarts, who graduated from RVCC Summa Cum Laude, is one of two New Jersey community college graduating students selected for the award. It is given to students who have excelled academically, have been actively engaged in their campus community, and have made significant contributions to collegewide initiatives.

Evarts grew up in Hunterdon County, where they were homeschooled in grades K-12. Attending RVCC was therefore their first experience with formal education, and they decided to become fully engaged in campus life. Evarts was actively involved with the College’s Student Government Association, winning a position as a senator for the 2023-2024 academic year. As a senator, their accomplishments included installing five Little Free Libraries across campus. Evarts also helped host several College events, including a fast fashion education panel and a pop-up thrift shop event.

Evarts’ honors include receiving the Nota Bene award, the Norman Somer Scholarship, and the U.S. State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship. The scholarship will allow Evarts to study Turkish at the TÖMER Institute in Ankara later this summer. Evarts then plans to transfer and complete a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics with a focus on language acquisition and cognition.

Ranked by Ranked by WalletHub.com, Intelligent.com, and CollegeEvaluator.com as the #1 community college in New Jersey, Raritan Valley Community College has been serving as an academic and cultural center for Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for over 50 years. The College has been nationally recognized for its service to the community, environmental stewardship, and commitment to diversity. It is home to a Planetarium, Science Education Institute, and 3M Observatory; a Theatre offering professional performances for all ages; and an Honors College for high achieving students.

The College offers approximately 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training and professional development courses. RVCC is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.

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