North Jersey Rutgers graduates have pride, nerves

PISCATAWAY — Most Rutgers University graduates from North Jersey on Sunday said they felt relief that graduation had finally come and gone, and they were nervous about the next chapter of their lives.

Some planned for a gap year or a backpacking adventure through Europe this summer. Others are starting a full-time job. Regardless of their plans, that anxiety about what's next remained.

“It hasn’t really sunk in,” said Edmond Nu, 21, as he and his friends fixed their tassels and hoods before heading into the stadium.

Nu, a Paramus native, majored in computer science.

“It was something I picked up in high school,” Nu, who graduated from Paramus High School in 2013, said about his major. “They had a good computer science program.”

He has a full-time job lined up in Clifton. 

The Rutgers University graduating class of 2017 totaled 17,749 students from all across the Garden State, according to university officials.

For 27-year-old Dianne Barba, an Elmwood Park native and another member of the graduating class, her academic interest spurred from a life-altering surgery.

Two years ago, Barba suffered a terrible headache that landed her in the emergency room. Once there, she was told she had a brain tumor, which turned out to be benign but had to be removed in a four-hour procedure.

“I was in a lot of pain, but I also felt happy, because I didn’t have cancer, and I realized in that moment I would become a nurse,” Barba said in a university statement.

Barba, who was a teacher, then enrolled in a 14-month nursing program at Rutgers and received her degree this month.

Barba's unpredictable path to her career related to what commencement speaker Steven Van Zandt said during his 30-minute address to students. Van Zandt — who went from member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band to actor in "The Sopranos" to eventual political activist — urged the graduating class never to stop chasing greatness, and always to trust where a path leads them.

“What have I learned in this crazy life? When your ship comes in, you’ll probably be at the airport,” the Jersey-bred Van Zandt said, as the audience laughed. “You can make all the plans you want, but keep your eyes open for unexpected opportunities, because that’s where most of life comes from. Keep your standards high, no matter what.”

East Brunswick resident David Chwatel, 22, said Van Zandt’s idea of greatness resonated with him.

“You feel a lot of potential around you when you’re sitting there” during the ceremony, said Chwatel. “It’s crazy to be finished.”

Chwatel, whose parents are Bergen County natives from Cliffside Park and Old Tappan, said he has a job lined up in Maryland. Because he is going out of state, the computer science major said he feels obligated to represent his home state and alma mater proudly.

“I’m a New Jersey, home-bred native,” said Chwatel. “I feel it’s important to take of all of this and represent that well when I’m out there.”