Bridging the Gap: Centenary University Graduate Senam Atadja Leverages Her Psychology Training to Pave a Smoother Path For College Students

Succasunna resident played key role in bringing students from Centenary and Sussex County Community College together as part of residential partnership between the two institutions

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ, Feb. 6, 2025—A year after Senam Atadja enrolled at Centenary University, the institution announced an agreement that would change residential life on the small Warren County campus: Students—predominantly football players—from Sussex County Community College (SCCC) were permitted to live on campus. In higher education circles, the pact between the two schools was hailed as an innovative way to provide community college students with a residential experience and a clear path to transfer to complete their four-year degree.

            At first, little changed at Centenary. While the SCCC students were interspersed throughout Centenary’s residences and could access the University’s dining halls, recreational and study spaces, and campus events, meaningful interaction with Centenary students was still infrequent. That didn’t feel right to Atadja. Encouraged to apply to Centenary by her father, an alumnus, the Succasunna resident valued the University’s warm and supportive campus community and she wanted to extend that to the SCCC football players. So she set out to help bring the two student communities together. The result: A fall pep rally for the SCCC football players—as well as Centenary athletic teams—held at the University’s annual bonfire. Over the next few years, the event has grown and taken its place among cherished Centenary University traditions.

“At first, I felt like there was an invisible line between the Centenary and Sussex students,” explained Atadja, who graduated from Centenary in December with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in biology. “We really didn’t interact with each other much. The pep rally and bonfire have built a lot of school spirit and enthusiasm for both schools. Students who used to go home every weekend now stay to attend. It’s been so fun and rewarding.”

The Roxbury High School graduate emerged as a campus leader during her years at Centenary. Her efforts to bring Centenary and SCCC students closer extended to her presidency of Theta Epsilon Nu, surveying students from both institutions to see the types of activities they’d like to attend on campus. Atadja also took part in community service projects as a member of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and decided to become a resident assistant to help other students adjust to living on campus. As a residence life social media manager, she made sure to include the SCCC football team in her posts. “I wanted to serve as a mentor and an advocate for my peers,” she explained. “It’s a natural outgrowth of my psychology training. It can be stressful to live away from home for the first time. I wanted to be there for them, providing advice and helping with anything they needed to settle in.”

That spirit of service will now extend to Atadja’s future career: She has been accepted to the Seton Hall University School of Nursing, and someday hopes to become a nurse practitioner specializing in psychiatric mental health or pediatric psychiatry. Reflecting on her years at Centenary, Atadja said, “Centenary offers so much. At larger schools, I think you’d get lost in the crowd, but here, you get a better education because professors can really focus on you. Thanks to Centenary, I feel like I’m ready to take on adulthood.”

ABOUT CENTENARY UNIVERSITY

Centenary University offers extraordinary learning opportunities that empower students to develop intellectually, emotionally, and interculturally—keys to career and personal success. Under the leadership of President Dale Caldwell, Ed.D., the University aspires to advance its reputation as a world class institution offering innovative programs, including the world’s first Master of Arts in Happiness Studies, to lift the future for our students and local communities.