{"id":3970,"date":"2025-05-01T15:02:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T19:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/?p=3970"},"modified":"2025-05-01T15:02:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T19:02:50","slug":"retired-firefighter-ralph-castellano-earns-montclair-state-university-degree-50-years-after-starting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/2025\/05\/01\/retired-firefighter-ralph-castellano-earns-montclair-state-university-degree-50-years-after-starting\/","title":{"rendered":"Retired Firefighter Ralph Castellano Earns Montclair State University Degree 50 Years After Starting"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story is part of a series celebrating Montclair State University\u2019s\u00a0Spring Commencement 2025<\/a>\u00a0graduates \u2013 students who embody the University\u2019s mission to broaden access to exceptional learning opportunities and contribute to the common good.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like to leave things unfinished,\u201d says Ralph Castellano, a retired firefighter who just completed a journey nearly five decades in the making \u2013 earning his degree in\u00a0Business Administration<\/a>\u00a0from Montclair State University.<\/p>\n

Castellano has worn many hats: mason, firefighter, small business owner, husband, father \u2013 and now, proud college graduate. He began taking night classes at Montclair in January 1975 while working full time in construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was accepted part time and went at night for about six years,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThen I got on the fire department and said, \u2018I\u2019ll finish this some other time.\u2019 And I did \u2013 50 years later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he initially pursued a degree in accounting, Castellano wasn\u2019t sure how he\u2019d adapt to corporate life. \u201cI was never one for sitting,\u201d he laughs. But following advice from his father \u2013 a mason and deputy fire chief \u2013 he took the firefighter exam. \u201cThe benefits were good. It was a solid job. I took the test, and I\u2019m glad I did \u2013 I stayed 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Life of Service<\/strong><\/h2>\n

His roots in the Belleville Fire Department run deep, even helping as a mason to build parts of the station with his father before officially joining. Over the years, Castellano became a fire prevention specialist, giving safety talks in schools and community centers, and collaborating with The Burn Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Castellano received the prestigious Valor Award, which honors first responders who go above and beyond in life-threatening situations. While en route to a fire inspection, he responded to a call about an apartment complex fire in Belleville. Without protective gear, he rushed into the smoke-filled building, knocking on doors and helping residents escape \u2013 including an older woman overcome by heat and smoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the right place at the right time,\u201d he says humbly. \u201cI believe any firefighter would\u2019ve done the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he considered retiring after 30 years, life had other plans. \u201cToday is actually a sad day,\u201d he shared during his spotlight interview. \u201cIt\u2019s been 15 years since my first wife, Marianne, passed away from ovarian cancer.\u201d Together, they raised two children, Kimberly and Christopher. Castellano extended his career after her passing, finally retiring in 2020.<\/p>\n

Retirement brought time for reflection \u2013 and renewal. He remarried. His wife, Joan, a certified Laughter Yoga teacher and adjunct professor, along with his sister Marion Bergenfeld, encouraged him to finish what he started.<\/p>\n

Many of his original courses \u2013 including one in key punch computing \u2013 no longer exist, but Castellano learned he was fewer than 30 credits away from earning his degree. Over the past four years, he took one class per semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere I am,\u201d he says, smiling. \u201cIt\u2019s been great \u2013 the professors, the students. Coming in as an older student, I wasn\u2019t sure how I\u2019d be accepted. I studied every night to keep up with the kids. But I loved it. It kept my mind sharp.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not done learning. Castellano is now enrolled in a hybrid MBA program at New Jersey City University and is planning a safari next year in South Africa.<\/p>\n

He remains active in the community through his local Knights of Columbus chapter and continues working part time at the firehouse.<\/p>\n

His advice to other older adults thinking about returning to school? \u201cDo it. It\u2019s absolutely worth it. You\u2019re never too old.\u201d<\/p>\n

The University will celebrate its graduates at Commencement exercises on Wednesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 8, 2025, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.<\/em><\/p>\n

Story by\u00a0Marilyn Joyce Lehren,<\/a>\u00a0University Communications and Marketing<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story is part of a series celebrating Montclair State University\u2019s\u00a0Spring Commencement 2025\u00a0graduates \u2013 students who embody the University\u2019s mission to broaden access to exceptional learning opportunities and contribute to the common good. \u201cI don\u2019t like to leave things unfinished,\u201d says Ralph Castellano, a retired firefighter who just completed a journey nearly five decades in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":3971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-friends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3972,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970\/revisions\/3972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}