Student Support Program Helped Graduate Reach Her Dream
Jodiefoss Ramos, who is set to graduate from Rutgers and begin a career as a U.S. Air Force nurse, faced challenges that caused her to worry that she would never complete her degree. She says a program backed by donors to the university gave her “the support I needed to keep going.”
How does Jodiefoss Ramos feel now that she is only a few steps away from holding her Rutgers School of Nursing bachelor’s diploma?
“It’s crazy,” she says. “I didn’t think I would make it this far.”
Ramos, a 2022 graduate of Bergenfield High School in northeastern New Jersey, says that Air Force ROTC helped her get into Rutgers School of Nursing in New Brunswick, but she found challenges in paying for “housing, food, and everything else.”
During her junior year, she was unable to afford a meal plan and ineligible for food stamps. “There were times I had to skip meals just to get by, and it took a real toll on me—physically and mentally.”
She considered dropping out, but her discovery of the Rutgers–New Brunswick Food Pantry, the predecessor of the Rutgers Basic Needs Center on the College Avenue Campus, turned her semester around.
“It gave me the support I needed to keep going when I wasn’t sure I could,” she says.
After benefitting from the support, she became an advocate for the Basic Needs Center, advising Rutgers students to ask for help. “I know asking for help can be uncomfortable—there’s a lot of pride, fear, and even shame that can make you hesitate,” she says. “But there are people at Rutgers who genuinely want to see you succeed and are ready to help.”
Up next for Ramos will be passing the national exam required to become a registered nurse, followed by a 10-week training program at Tampa General Hospital in Florida in association with MacDill Air Force Base. After that, she will be stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, for a one-year nurse residency program that will complete her qualifications to becoming an Air Force nurse.
For more about Ramos, watch this video from fall 2025 that focuses on her story.
Support Students
Your support is urgently needed. Please make your gift today to make an immediate difference in the lives of Rutgers students.
