Episode 3: Exploring the NJ STARS Club

Although NJ STARS is an organization for students ranked in the top 15% of their class at the end of junior or senior high school year, the NJ STARS Club is open to all RCBC students. Join cohosts Abby Crawley and Faith Ortega as we speak with Honors Coordinator Shannon Dorety and the club’s Vice President Keyirrah Wilson about all the semester-long community-based activities hosted by the NJ STARS Club.

Episode Transcript

Unknown (00:00):
Hi and welcome back to the students' choice podcast,

(00:02):
where we look at the many pathsyou can take as a student at
rcbc. Join us as we investigatethe different clubs, programs
and activities through the lensof our fellow students. It's
always your choice, your voiceour rcbc. Hi. I'm Faith Ortega,
and I've been a student at rcbcSince 2022 I will graduate in
2024 with an associate's degreein Communication Arts. And I'm

(00:24):
Abby Crawley. I'm a transferstudent here at rcbc, and I will
graduate in 2024 with myassociate's degree in
communications. Can you tell
this season on the studentschoice podcast will focus on
many rcbc clubs. Rowan Collegeat Burlington County has a
collection of over 40interactive clubs open to all
students, from music club tocomputer science club to

(00:45):
biochemistry club. Rcbc trulyhas it all to dive in. We'll
talk with a different Club'sadvisor and student leader for
each episode. Today, in thisepisode, we will talk with the
honors coordinator, Shannondoubtrey, please correct me if
I'm wrong, and the NJ stars,Vice President, Kierra Wilson,
NJ stars is an organization opento students ranked in the top

(01:06):
15% of their class at the end ofjunior or senior year. And
through this program, studentsreceive free tuition at their
home county college for up tofive semesters. Welcome to the
student choice podcast. Shannonand Kierra. Would you like to
introduce yourselves real quick.Just a quick little blurb. Yeah,
thank you so much. Thank you. Ohmy gosh, you were so close. It's
Shannon Doherty. No, it's okay.It's perfectly fine. I am the

(01:30):
current honors Coordinator hereat rcbc. I'm also the advisor
for the NJ stars club. The NJstars program is just as you
said, the top 15% of thegraduating class. So I've got
all the Smarties in my in mycohort, but our NJ stars club is
open to all. It's completelyopen. It's for all the student

(01:51):
body. And we are just startingit up this semester, but we've
already got some very excitingthings planned. So I'm very
excited about that. Mybackground is actually rcbc.
I've been at rcbc for forever.My associate's degrees are from
rcbc in psychology, and then Idid the three plus one program

(02:12):
for Psych, and got my bachelor'sfrom Rowan University. So I have
been an rcbc veteran Since 2019,forever ago. I've been working
full time at rcbc Since 2021
starting as an admissionscounselor, then financial aid
officer, and now I'm here as thehonors coordinator, which is
pretty awesome, and I lovedevery second of it so far.

(02:35):
That's awesome. My name isKiara, and I'm the Vice
President for NJ stars. This ismy first year at rcbc, and I'm
majoring in elementaryeducation, so I'm super excited
to get my associates next yearand just to learn more about
rcbc and what it has to offer.We're so happy to have you both.
Thank you. All right, so Shan,you gave us a little bit about

(02:58):
your history and how you startedhere at rcbc, but what drove you
to come here when you were justa student? Yeah, so when I was a
student, I went to BCIT Medford.I was did you go to BCI,
West Hampton? Oh my gosh. Lookat oz. I left out right now,

(03:18):
but I studied instrumental,instrumental music. I was a
little flutist for forever. Somy dream was to be a music
therapist. So my starting pointonce I heard about the stars
program, I was a stars studenttoo. I was like, that's a no
brainer. I'm obviously doingthat. So my dream was to start

(03:40):
with rcbc doing psych, and thentransfer to a four year program,
maybe at Rowan University, or Iwas looking at Montclair and all
these other things for musictherapy. Once I started at rcbc,
I made all these friends, and Iloved it, and I really just
couldn't leave once I got to myassociate's degree, and then

(04:01):
covid hit, but I also had thatconnection with all of my
friends, and rcvc was where Ifelt like home. So I continued
with my bachelor's throughRowan, and I've loved every
second of it. Was awesome. BestChoice I've ever made
at all. I know. What about you?How was your experience at BCIT
West tech, to hear it was reallygood. I know at BCIT that

(04:23):
emphasized on, like, career prepand really, like following your
major path. So I knew that rcbcwas a path that I wanted to
take. Because not only was it,like, affordable and close to
home, so like, had all thosekind of natural factors, but
also I saw, like the educationprogram was like, really good.
And I know Professor Denton cameto talk to our class and just

(04:45):
kind of tell us what the majorwas about and what we'd be doing
to further our education. Sothat was like, kind of browning
points for me. And as soon as Isaw education, I was like, Oh
yeah, rcbc, and then NJ starswas just kind of the cherry on
top. So it's been so fun.
So far, were you an educationmajor at rpcit? Yes, and I ended
up graduating with my CDA, whichis basically a certification,

(05:08):
which means I could lead teachand like, daycares and stuff. So
I've been like, Yeah, I've beengetting a lot of clinical hours
and just really working in thefield, just getting as much
experience as possible. It'sawesome. So happy for you. Thank
you. How accomplished peoplehere. We're trying our best.
So this one is for you. Shannon,so How and why did you first

(05:30):
start the NJ stars club here atrcbc? So actually, part of my
role as the honors coordinatorwas kind of to revive the NJ
stars club. So a little bit ofhistory for you guys. Way back
in my day, in 2019 there used tobe the NJ stars coordinator
specifically. So the NJ starscoordinators job was one to

(05:52):
advise all of you and then alsoto run the club. With the club,
it used to be this very bigthing. We used to have, you
know, these, like banquets andthings like that. We used to
have a bunch of events, and thencovid hit, and everything
paused. So my when they startedthe honors coordinator position,
it was their attempt, or, Iguess, our CBC attempt, at

(06:14):
resurrecting that position andresurrecting that club. So part
of my position here is to runthat club, which has been so
awesome so far. It's been one ofmy highlights of having this
job. So far, it's been so fun toget to know you guys. It's been
so fun to, you know, plan eventsand help think of fun things to
do. It's one of the things thatI love the most about my job.

(06:37):
But it's definitely a part ofthe position, but also
definitely a perk of theposition as well.
I feel so loved. You're welcome.
Thank you. You are loved. Thisone's for you. Kira, can you
explain the basics of NJ starsfrom a student perspective?
Because for me personally, I'malso NJ stars. It feels like
when I got in here, I was like,Okay, what am I doing? First and

(06:59):
foremost? What was yourexperience? So my experience was
kind of that it was like kind ofa prestigious kind of thing. So,
like, not anybody just gotpicked, but you had to kind of
earn it in high school. And Iknow it's like a big thing that
they stress. Like, you know, wewant our students to get into NJ
stars, try to do your best onyour grades, and try to be like
as well rounded as possible. Butbecause it's like the top 10 or

(07:22):
15% I feel like it's kind of thecream of the crop. So everyone
has a chance. But I feel likewith NJ stars students who want
to make the school environmentbetter, like give more
opportunities to branch out inservice, or just bettering your
experience at rcbc. So likeShannon said, coming up with
those fun activities, and

(07:44):
not so much like focusing justin school, but the experience
part of it. So I think thatintroducing it in high school
gives them something to lookforward to, you know, and that
just makes rcbc that much betterto just know that there's like,
a club for those smarties andstuff like that, they get to
work forward to. So I think thatwas like the thing for me, that

(08:06):
it's something that makes yourexperience at rcbc a little bit
more positive, because it'sstudent led, and it's you get to
give the ideas and just put yourown spin on it. So I think that
was really good. I think you putthat the best way possible in
high school, it felt like mostdefinitely was like, hey, like
you're doing all this hard work,you're gonna get something out
of it, I promise you. And thenyou come to rcbc, and it's like,

(08:28):
look at all the cool events youcan do. And I didn't know that
it was open to everyone, likehow you said, so that's even
better. I'm so happy to hearthat. Would you agree with that?
How she explained? Nj stars, Oh,absolutely. 100% I do want to
give a quick shout out to bcits,both West hamster. They are,
like the majority of my studentsare from bcits. So they are

(08:48):
awesome. We love them,
but yeah, 100% is especially forme, coming as a student as well.
The money aspect was the hugestaspect for me to come to rcbc
and join the Andre stars club,but once I got here, the
community was what made me stay.So it's definitely that
community and that, like sharedevents and like the excitement

(09:11):
and engaging is definitely thepart that kind of might go
unnoticed, but also is the partthat everybody loves community.
I think that's one of the bestthings about having all these
club choices at rcbc, is thefact that you can first of all
find a club that really keys inon some of your interests. But

(09:32):
once you do find a club, itreally is about finding your
community, and maybe you'll findsome friends or the type of
people that you want to hang outwith. So I think that's really
what being part of a club likethe NJ stars club is about.
Kiera, I know you mentioned thatit's your first year here at
rcbc. Would you elaborate on howyour journey here at rcbc has

(09:55):
been so far, and how you endedup becoming the vice president
for the NJ?
Stars club, yes. So I started inAugust, and, like, I explained
before, I already knew what mymajor like, wanted to be coming
to rcbc, so it was kind of justtaking a step back from, like,
all the school and studying andreally focusing on, you know,
how can I make my experience atrcpc, like, more memorable? So

(10:19):
not just remembering like theclasses I took, but like the
people that I got to hangaround, the clubs I got to be a
part of. So as soon as I saw NJstars, I was like, Okay, maybe
this is kind of like, you know,like in high school you have,
like, honor societies and likethings like that. So I was like,
Okay, this sounds like prettycool. And like you like Shannon
was mentioning, like, it's a bigaspects of, like, that financial

(10:42):
breakthrough and things likethat. So like, people get to
have, like, their first fivesemesters covered, and it's
just, like, has a lot of perks.So I knew, like, okay, like, I
want to make this experiencebetter for, you know, other
people. So that's kind of why Iwanted to be part of the
executive board, just so that Icould be a part of, like, making
those decisions and share myexperience. Because I feel like

(11:05):
when people are making thosedecisions coming to college,
like the student experience,like matters more than like an
adult just telling them, like,Hey, do this and then like, to
really hear someone's like astudent testimony, for me was,
like, very important. So Ireally wanted to be a part of
coming up with those fun eventsand just collaborating with
other students, so that was thehighlight for me. And you both

(11:27):
have clearly made such a hugedifference in so many people's
lives, including mine. I knowyou just got elected somewhat,
but what do you think you'vedone so far in your role? I
think just the collaboration,just not like, I know, like
there's structure betweenPresident, Vice President,
coordinators and things likethat. But I think just being
able to share kind of my ideas,and, you know, just from only

(11:50):
being here for a year, justseeing what's interested me,
what my interests are, I thinkjust sharing those and becoming
more confident and justcollaborating with other people
has been helping me as astudent, I think from a member's
perspective, I think you bothhave made yourself so available
to others. It was so easy tofind you and both you actually

(12:11):
was so easy. It was so easy toget in contact with you both.
And I was like, Oh, I'm a memberof this club. I can reach out to
somebody in case I need someone,and I love that. Thank you so
much.
Because of that. How importantdo you think extracurricular
participation is? Let's startwith you, Shannon, since you run
the Columbus
Well, I think extracurricularsare everything, just as you

(12:33):
said, like, you know, I can putall the facts and figures about
the money aspect of NJ stars,but that's not what's going to
draw people like people want tomake sure that they feel like
they're at home. So coming fromsomebody who's been in the club
and, you know, has thatexperience of, you know, coming
from being a student and nowrunning the club and running the

(12:54):
program, it's definitelysomething that I take and take
into consideration when I'mgoing out and recruiting
students to come to our CBC,because that aspects the, you
know, the events and the partiesand the the fun stuff, that's
what people really want to know.Like, that's it. We're not,

(13:16):
like, the money's going to bethere and, you know, it's great,
but that's not the part that ourstudents are going to want to
come day in and day out for.They want to know that they're
going to have a community.They're going to make their
friends. They're going to, youknow, you know, they're they
want to know that they're goingto have somebody that they can
connect with. So I think havingextracurriculars like the Andre

(13:37):
stars club is an awesome,awesome and easy way for them to
do that, because, as you guysknow, I blow up your emails. I
am emailing you guys constantlytelling you everything that's
going on on campus. So I just mymain priority as the honors
coordinator is to make sure thatyou guys are aware of everything

(13:57):
available to you, and makingsure that if you guys have any
questions, you're able to reachout to me, you're able to reach
out to your friends, you're ableto get in contact with one
another, you know who each otherare, and you're able to see a
friendly face on campus, whichwas really important for me as a
student. So I kind of want tomake sure that you guys have
that too. You do that so well,too. And the guy that I
mentioned, we've mentioned thisearlier, the email she sends,

(14:19):
aren't they the prettiest thingever
I saw the one this morning,adorable little clovers. I try
my best. I try my best everytime, like every single morning,
we always have me and the CRNliaison. We have our own little
office right behind publicsafety. Come and say hi, but

(14:39):
every single morning, or everysingle Monday, I should say I'm
sitting there, like looking up,like the little quotes that I
put at the end, but I'm like,which one looks the prettiest I
want to make sure. I want tomake sure my students get the
best.
Again, I feel so loved. You areloved. You definitely are loved.
How do you think this is goingto help you in your future? For
me.

(15:00):
I think I definitely feel thelove again. And I feel like if I
ever need to get in contact witheither you, you're there faith
too, you're you can join theClub.
Everybody, yes,
come around, yes. Next meeting,just watch Yes. But how do you
think it's going to help you? Iknow, for me as a teacher, I

(15:22):
feel like kind of what youmentioned before, like just
being available and just makingyourself like there and present
for your students is like a bigaspect of that will determine
their experience at school. So Ifeel like if they know, like
Shannon said, there's someonethere that will support them, if
they know that there's somethingexciting at school that is going

(15:43):
to make them happy, I feel likeit'll make their experience so
much better. So for me, I'm justkind of, you know, putting it in
my little teacher toolbox andjust keeping it for the future,
and just really taking it allin, and I'm just allowing it to
mold me as a person and to justlike, kind of bloom out of that
young adult, but just kind oflike think towards the future

(16:04):
and just how it's going to helpme in my career. So I feel like
this aspect of leadership andavailability and just
communicating with otherstudents has really helped me
thus far, and I really thinkit'll help me in the future.
Love that Kiera, can I ask? Areyou a part of any other clubs
here at rcbc, I am, I am the COleader of cru, which is campus

(16:26):
crusaders for Christ. So I leadwith Jayla Gonzalez, and we're
part of, like the campus recruitin New Jersey. So it's a
Christian based club where wejust kind of preach the gospel
of Jesus and with otherstudents, and we just, it's just
a big community of believers.And yeah, it's been really good.

(16:46):
It's awesome theme of communityfor all our clubs here. Yeah, so
I know that this is a new club,but for both of you, do you have
a very specific favorite memoryor proudest accomplishment from
the rcbc, nj stars Club. Well,we are very new, so we are in
the works. We have many, manythings going on behind the

(17:09):
scenes, but my proudest momentwas definitely meeting with our
executive board for the firsttime and getting to, you know,
hear all your voices, and makingsure that you know all of their
ideas are being heard so that wecan kind of plan for the future.
We are we got a little bit of alate start, which is perfectly
fine, but we are definitelyworking up some things, hooking

(17:31):
up some things in the kitchen.Definitely have a bunch of plans
going on in the, you know, inthe background. But my favorite
memory by far, was definitelygetting to meet all of you guys
and getting to hear what youyour visions of the program
were. Because, you know, I kindof coming in, I got the skeleton

(17:52):
of what was the NJ starsprogram. And to meet you guys
and to hear your guys's inputwas just awesome to see where
this could go. So it kind oflike created the whole vision
for me, which was awesome. Yeah,I would agree. I think that
whole meeting was just like,very, very like, genuine. And
you can tell there's a lot ofstudents in there that cared,

(18:13):
like, not only about theirfuture, but they're like
students future, so like thepeople that they're going to
school with every day. And Ithink that slide where you
showed, like, all of our ideasand things like that, like,
like, for some reason that justmade me really happy to see,
like, wow, there's some creativepeople in this club. Like,
there's, there's gonna be, like,some world changers. Like, 100%

(18:34):
Absolutely. That was like, thehighlight of the meeting. And I
was just like, wow. Like, Iwould have never came up with
that. Yeah, you're, you're sosmart.
I just so everybody listeningknows what's your meeting times
and, like, the days and thedates and everything. So right
now, for executive board, wejust had one, and we're actually
coming up with an event to dowith midterms. So be on the look

(18:55):
with that. But we are in theprocess of coming up with a set
base schedule for, like, ourgeneral members. So as soon as
we come up with that, we willlet you guys know for that.
Yeah, sounds good. Um, what doyou sound so established and
like so good to go. I hearthere's a schedule coming. So
I'm really curious. But
as far as you know, what's theirfuture goals, like any plans

(19:17):
coming up for inside the club?Yeah, absolutely. So for our
club, we are kind of built onthe foundation of student
collaboration, studentengagement, career development
and community service. So wehave lots and lots of plans. You
know, we're looking at somethingfor midterms for our students,

(19:39):
and we're also have a lot ofthings in the works for
community engagement andcommunity service as well, which
is pretty awesome, working withpeople in New Jersey and Philly,
and making sure that ourstudents in NJ stars club at
rcbc, for whoever wants to, youknow, get involved, are able to
give back to our community.

(20:00):
Which is pretty awesome
for me. I think that thecommunity aspect is very
important. And I think just notonly focusing on what we're
doing in our school, but reallytaking it outside, because those
are the people that are going tobe affected most, like we're
already here, but it's allabout, like Shannon said, like
bringing those future studentsin here and just really seeing

(20:20):
how their impact can make ourclub better. So I think just
like reaching out and going tothe high schools, even to the
middle schools, that's never tooearly to start and just
recruiting, you know, otherpeople, because it takes the
community to make the clubbetter. So I really think that's
important. I love that so muchfaith is going to lead you out
with one more question. Yes, wehave our last question. This is

(20:44):
for both of you. What would youtell a student if you could talk
to someone who is maybe on thefence about joining the anti
stars club? Do it? Yeah, pleasejoin. We need so many more
members, and I know that wehave, I want to say, upwards of
50 right now, which is awesome,but we are always looking for
more people. We definitely wantto make this as community based

(21:04):
and as school wide as we can,because, you know, the more
help, the more fun, the moreeverybody's going to love it. So
definitely, if you're on thefence, join and you know, if
you're considering it, butyou're on the fence, you know,
come to a meeting, come to anevent that we're hosting, see

(21:24):
what it's all about, and then,you know, hopefully your
decision will be to come more
that's so good to add on to thatI would say, you know, just know
that it's worth it. So I feellike, as students, you come in
here questioning, like, okay,like I know my major, I may not
know my major, but like, what'smy purpose? Like, why am I here?
And I feel like NJ stars reallyhelps you figure that out,

(21:47):
because it really gives you anopportunity to connect with the
student body and to feel athome, and to feel that you know
you're doing something, not onlyfor you, but for the people
around you. So I would say, alsodo it. It's so fun, and it's,
it's just life changing, like itmakes you feel so much more
better as a student, knowingthat you're getting the other

(22:08):
students involved, like you'recoming to school, knowing, like,
hey, like I did that. I plannedthat. So I think just do it and
to know that it'll be worth itin the end. You heard him, if
you're listening right now,think about joining the NJ stars
club. Yes, please. I want tothank you guys so much for being
here today and being part of oneof our first episodes. So thank

(22:29):
you so much. Thank you forhaving us. This is awesome. Yes,
it was so good. Thank you foradventuring with us today as we
explored the NJ stars club. Youcan check the student choice
podcast at wherever you go toget podcasts, and you can check
out the NJ stars club at rcbcCampus Labs. Don't forget to
tune in for future episodes. Ifyou have any topics relating to

(22:51):
student choices at rcbc, we'dlove to hear from you again. I'm
Abby Crawley and I'm FaithOrtega, and remember your
choice, your voice our rcbc,you.