Felician University celebrated Veterans Day with its 1st Annual Lodi to Rutherford Ruck March. Escorted by the Wallington and East Rutherford Police Departments, more than 50 participants including Veteran students, faculty, staff, and other veterans walked from the Lodi to the Rutherford campus. “For those who don’t know, a Ruck is typically how we travel in the military, with a backpack full of equipment, and it is a way to build camaraderie,” said Felician’s Veteran Recruiter Brady Fernandez, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2012-2016 before earning his BA in Computer Science, and an MBA from Felician. Anjali Patel, Assistant Director for Readmits, Veterans & Transfer Evaluations at Felician is excited about the University’s new Ruck March tradition saying, “We had a good turnout with the Associate Deans, the Men’s and Women’s lacrosse teams and staff all walking. We were so happy so many people turned out.”

At the end of the nearly 4-mile walk, participants were met with a luncheon celebration on the Rutherford Campus where Felician University President James W. Crawford, III spoke of the special significance of this Veterans Day which marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our nation. “I was in the Pentagon on that day, and I didn’t leave because I was sent to stand watch in the National Military Command Center along with some other colleagues, to begin to try to figure out what happened, what was coming, and what we needed to do to help give the best military advice. I was on the watch floor when we launched the first strikes into Afghanistan against Al Qaeda.”

President Crawford issued a challenge to the Felician Community to help raise funds to put together a draft for an appropriate Veterans Memorial near the flagpole outside of the Iviswold Castle on the Rutherford Campus. “I want this University, because of what it has to offer, to be a place where our Veterans come to be educated and further nurtured, and to go out into the world to carry our Franciscan Felician Values, and the honor, courage, and commitment that each one of them committed to when they answered the call of duty.”

Jason Fermin served in the Marine Corps from 2004-2011, then in the Army from 2011-2016. After graduating as a criminal justice major from Felician University in 2017, he became a Detective with the Narcotics Task Force of the Passaic County Prosecutors Office and appreciates that, “Felician University makes it a priority to take care of its Veteran Students and works to get them all the advice and guidance they need to be successful in their studies, just as they do for all other students. They have a special place in their hearts for the Veterans here at Felician.”

Davis Obi who served in the U.S. Army from 2011-2017, and is currently in the Felician MBA program agreed saying, “A lot of us came here because of how Veteran friendly Felician is, and Felician didn’t disappoint.”

The importance of Felician’s Veteran Ceremony wasn’t lost on the greater community-at-large. Rutherford Councilman Matthew Cokeley, spoke at the ceremony saying, “The reason we are all here is because of the Veterans who fought for us over countless decades to provide these freedoms so that students and members of the community could allow our history and our roots to run as deep as the trees that proliferate this campus in this community.”

Ingrid Dul, MA, Interim Executive Director for Mission Integration set the tone for the ceremony with a prayer saying, “Lord, bless our Veterans and all who serve our nation defending our freedom, for those who bravely gave their lives, grant them eternal rest, for those who are serving give them courage, for those who serve we offer our gratitude.”