Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023
Terryann Cantalupo ’12 received a Graduate Merit Award Program scholarship
by Adam Grybowski
Terryann Cantalupo ’12, a graduate student studying clinical mental health counseling at ý, was named a recipient of a scholarship serving women who are pursuing non-traditional educational paths.
Cantalupo received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from ý more than a decade ago. She has returned to the classroom with the hopes of ultimately becoming a licensed professional counselor and opening her own practice.
The award was one of nine distributed this year by Executive Women of New Jersey (EWNJ), the state’s leading senior-level executive women’s organization.
“I try to look at all of the scholarship opportunities I’m aware of, but I don’t qualify for most of them,” Cantalupo says. “I was really excited that I could apply for this and I was very happy when I found out I was chosen. It means a lot as a woman coming up and trying to build her own career.”
Limited scholarship options can discourage women from pursuing advanced degrees, says Marianne DeAlessi, chair of the EWNJ Scholarship Committee and lead healthcare consultant at DeAlessi Enterprises. “We firmly believe all women should be afforded the education necessary to achieve their career goals,” she adds.
I was very happy when I found out I was chosen. It means a lot as a woman coming up and trying to build her own career.”
Before returning to school, Cantalupo held positions in various organizations, including a group home and an auction house. She now works for a medical company full-time while pursuing her graduate degree part-time at ý, where she is the vice president of the counseling honor society. By becoming a counselor, she is returning to her original motivation for studying psychology as an undergraduate: to help people in New Jersey.
ý's CACREP-accredited clinical mental health counseling program trains aspiring counselors with the skills to help clients who struggle with anxiety, depression, addictions and more. Seeking as much hands-on experience as she can get, Cantalupo is looking forward to beginning her field experience at CPC Integrated Health in Monmouth County.
Her path places Cantalupo squarely in EWNJ’s definition of a non-traditional student. In addition to awarding scholarships to students who return to their studies several years after receiving an undergraduate degree, the organization also supports students who may have completed their undergraduate degree at a later date, those who change careers and return to school to retool careers, and those who come from non-traditional educational or socioeconomic backgrounds. Since its inception, EWNJ has distributed over $1.4 million in scholarships to collegiate women pursuing a non-traditional educational path.
“At the heart of EWNJ’s mission is our unwavering commitment to elevating women with exceptional potential into leadership spaces, and for many women, an advanced degree is key to unlocking those opportunities,” says M. Courtney McCormick, EWNJ president and senior vice president of Audit, Enterprise Risk & Compliance at PSE&G.
For Cantalupo, who is paying out of pocket for her education, the unexpected support has alleviated some of the financial stress of investing in her future. “For graduate school, I refused to take out any more loans,” she says, “so to receive any kind of award to ease that burden for me is so nice.”