Joshua Ontell
B.A. in Economics, Rutgers College, New Brunswick
Hometown: Clifton, New Jersey
As Josh Ontell sees it, a Rutgers education isn’t just about what happens in the classroom—it’s also about the chance to “get your hands dirty” with projects like fixing up homes in hurricane-battered New Orleans or rural West Virginia. Josh participated in two “alternative breaks” at Rutgers, but he also found the time to cofound the Rutgers chapter of the Roosevelt Institution, a student think tank devoted to policy research, and to head out on adventures with Rutgers Recreation, like an ice-climbing trip in the Adirondacks.
The “energy of the students” at Rutgers makes all the difference. Or, as an email thank-you from a mom displaced by Hurricane Katrina puts it: “Your kids gave us the most valuable and priceless gift—the gift of hope.” In that spirit, Josh’s next adventure will be as a participant in Avodah, a Jewish-based service and antipoverty organization.
