{"id":63,"date":"2017-12-01T14:10:45","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T19:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ramapo.edu\/enhance\/?page_id=63"},"modified":"2026-03-19T10:38:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:38:35","slug":"enhance-news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ramapo.edu\/enhance\/enhance-news\/","title":{"rendered":"ENHANCE Program News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Career Readiness Workshop with Sharp Electronics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

November 20, 2025<\/p>\n

\"Ramapo

Ramapo Students in a classroom with Sharp staff presenting information on a projection screen<\/p><\/div>\n

ENHANCE students recently participated in a Career Readiness Workshop presented by Sharp Electronics. The session was thoughtfully designed to support students\u2019 unique strengths and needs, with the Sharp Human Resource team delivering an exceptionally relevant and engaging presentation focused on the job search process and interviewing skills.<\/p>\n

Sharp\u2019s commitment to inclusive hiring practices and to empowering neurodiverse students will have a lasting impact on our community. We are truly grateful for their partnership and dedication to student success.<\/p>\n

Together, we\u2019re building more pathways, more confidence, and more opportunities for our students.<\/p>\n

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Group photo of Ramapo and Sharp Electronics staff<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ramapo\"<\/div>\n

A Place to Belong: ENHANCE Helps Students with Autism Thrive<\/h2>\n

In honor of Disabilities Awareness Month, Ramapo College of New Jersey shares how the<\/em>\u00a0College\u2019s nationally-ranked ENHANCE program is supporting and empowering students on the Autism Spectrum.<\/em><\/p>\n

October 31, 2025\"A<\/p>\n

by Lauren Ferguson<\/p>\n

Julianna Mayer \u201827 was at an open house at Ramapo College of New Jersey when she first learned about the College\u2019s ENHANCE program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my dad who pointed it out,\u201d she recalled, adding her father said he\u2019d never seen a college program dedicated to students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. So she walked right up to the table on Ramapo\u2019s welcoming Mahwah campus and asked about it.<\/p>\n

From that first conversation, Mayer decided, \u201cI want to be in this program. I want to be at this school.\u201d And over the last three years,\u00a0ENHANCE<\/a>\u00a0has made all the difference for her. Mayer met all three of her suitemates through the program. \u201cPretty much 80 percent of the friends I have on campus, I met through ENHANCE,\u201d said Mayer, a\u00a0filmmaking<\/a>\u00a0major with a concentration in\u00a0post production<\/a>, from Scotch Plains, NJ.<\/p>\n

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Julianna Mayer \u201827 is a proud member of the ENHANCE program at Ramapo College.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Launched in 2018, the therapeutic support program takes a holistic approach and focuses on social, emotional and organizational growth to assist students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in transitioning to and flourishing in college and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started the program because we saw a lot of students on the spectrum, while they\u2019re academically very capable, sometimes, not with all students, but sometimes, it is a little harder to connect socially and a little harder to find your people,\u201d said\u00a0Suzanne Calgi<\/a>, a licensed clinical social worker and assistant director of the ENHANCE program at Ramapo. Calgi said some students were going straight home or to their dorm rooms after class. \u201cWe thought, \u2018there is more you can do,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Suzanne Calgi, assistant director of the ENHANCE program, is also a member of the College Autism Network (CAN) Practitioners\u2019 Advisory Board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gaining Support Through Weekly Meetings\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The program features weekly individual therapy for each student. In addition, peer mentors \u2013 Ramapo students usually studying social work, psychology or sociology \u2013 meet with the students individually to help them foster a social connection, get acclimated to college life, and find clubs and activities of interest. The peer mentors and ENHANCE students meet weekly to do things like walk around campus and talk, meet for breakfast or lunch, or go to the library to study, Calgi said.<\/p>\n

Peer Mentor Kirara Fried \u201825 \u201826, who is pursuing her\u00a0Master of Social Work<\/a>, likes to plan meetings at the commuter lounge, where her mentees can play video games or pool and work their way up to inviting others to play too. She said she first talks with them about how to interact with other students, to help them eventually build up to inviting others to join in group activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey see me as a student too, so we have that mutual understanding or foundation,\u201d said Fried of Montville, NJ.<\/p>\n

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Kirara Fried \u201825 \u201826 is a peer mentor for ENHANCE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Each week, ENHANCE students have access to an academic workshop focused on topics such as time management, executive functioning and strategies for doing well in class. Peer mentors and staff help students put assignments in their planners so students know what work is due that week, Calgi explained. In addition, weekly social events with activities and games are held \u201cso our students can realize school is not all about studying,\u201d Calgi said.<\/p>\n

Students also participate in weekly Connections meetings, co-facilitated by the\u00a0Office of Specialized Services<\/a>, where they delve into topics of their choice and share strategies that have worked for them. Discussions have focused on topics such as how they feel about being on the spectrum, how to make friends on campus, how many questions are too many questions to ask in class, what to do if they need extra help and how to get along with roommates.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents feel comfortable talking to fellow ENHANCE students. It\u2019s nice because students really trust each other,\u201d Calgi said.<\/p>\n

For Mayer, the Connections meetings have served as an opportunity for her to both learn and help others. \u201cI have applied a decent amount of the strategies that I have learned through ENHANCE, and I\u2019ve also been able to help a lot of people, where I will raise my hand and I\u2019ll give advice or I\u2019ll tell them one of my strategies that I have used,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Kyle Desuza \u201826, a\u00a0first-generation college student<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0music<\/a>\u00a0major with a concentration in\u00a0music performance<\/a>, called the ENHANCE program a blessing. \u201cComing here to help me gain the knowledge I need to create a proper future for myself and my family, it\u2019s a pretty big deal,\u201d\u00a0 said Desuza, of Metuchen, NJ. \u201cI am making sure I can make the best of it and really do everything I can to make my family proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

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ENHANCE\u2019s weekly academic workshops, social events and Connections meetings have helped Kyle Desuza \u201826 thrive at Ramapo College.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Witnessing the Results<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Calgi said college is different from high school. \u201cFor many of our students, they\u2019ve really been able to branch out and make more friends and become more involved, which is great, because that is our goal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mayer did not know any other autistic students in high school. So at Ramapo being around \u201ca community of people that are like me,\u201d has been an amazing opportunity, she said. She has used ENHANCE as a springboard to become involved on campus.<\/p>\n

Mayer is the publicist for the Jewish organization\u00a0Hillel<\/a>, social media manager for\u00a0Ramapo College Television (RCTV)<\/a>, and has served as vice president of\u00a0Alpha Psi Omega<\/a>, Ramapo\u2019s theater honors society. She is also a member of\u00a0Geek and Nerd Culture Club<\/a>, the\u00a0Disney Club<\/a>, the\u00a0Astronomy Club<\/a>,\u00a0Ramapo Pride<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Midnight Book Club<\/a>, and she does as much theater on campus as she can \u2013 often auditioning for student productions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve absolutely made my college experience,\u201d Mayer said of ENHANCE. \u201cI would not be where I am or who I am without them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramapo College is ranked among the\u00a0top 25 colleges in the United States for students with disabilities<\/a>\u00a0by GreatValueColleges.net. The rankings prioritize colleges with top-notch disability services that allow their students to succeed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Ramapo\"<\/div>\n

Ramapo College Listed among Nation’s Best Small Colleges for Students on the Autism Spectrum<\/h2>\n

Ramapo College of New Jersey has been identified as one of the best small colleges in the nation \u2013 and the only New Jersey institution \u2013 for students on the Autism Spectrum, according to\u00a0AppliedBehaviorAnalysisPrograms.com<\/a>. The website, whose mission is to provide expert guidance about the top universities helping students reach their career goals and become board certified, selected 30 schools with fewer than 10,000 students that exhibited \u201cautism friendliness\u201d and strive to make their campus safe and comfortable for all students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to be included in this list,\u201d said Suzanne Calgi, LCSW, coordinator of Ramapo College\u2019s\u00a0ENHANCE Program<\/a>, a therapeutic support program which takes a holistic approach and focuses on social, emotional and organizational growth to assist those students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in adapting and flourishing in college and beyond. \u201cWe saw a need and created a program that fosters social inclusion, emotional and therapeutic growth and skill building to assist our students both in transitioning to college and having a college experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since its inception in 2018, ENHANCE offers additional services and resources to support our students over and above what is required under current disability law. \u201cIt continues Ramapo\u2019s mission of providing individualized attention for students. Students have a point of contact and a place to go when they need assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramapo College has long been at the forefront of supporting students with learning differences and the ENHANCE Program is an exciting opportunity intended to help new students transition from high school to college and keep current students academically and socially engaged in order to maximize their college experience.<\/p>\n

According to Applied Behavior Analysis, there are an estimated 1.8 million to 2.6 million current college students with autism, many of whom cannot attend large universities mostly because the school is \u201cjust too big and overwhelming.\u201d\u00a0In compiling its list, the organization considered the following factors:<\/p>\n