Joseph Dujmovic: “Long Island’s Best-Kept Secret”

by Kurt Gottschalk

During Joseph Dujmovic’s sophomore year at Adelphi, his father was laid off. With the family’s income significantly reduced, and as the oldest of three children, his future at his college of choice was suddenly uncertain.

“Being that my father had always been the primary breadwinner, things became a little bit tighter at home and conversations about my potential transferring from Adelphi started to take place,” he said.

Instead, Dujmovic arranged a meeting with Phyllis Greco, an assistant director in the Office of Student Financial Services.

“Phyllis worked so hard in ensuring that my application for federal student aid would be re-evaluated due to the change in my financial situation,” he said. “She was a tremendous help with all of the necessary paperwork and went above and beyond in answering all of my questions and finding the best options for myself and my family.”

Dujmovic was able to earn a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in adolescent education in just five years, through the Scholar Teacher Education Program (S.T.E.P.). The streamlined program was one of the school’s biggest appeals, he said.

“It was exciting to know that within five years, I would be able to complete both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees,” he said. “Over the course of my time there, I traveled the world and formed lifelong friendships. I got involved with different clubs and organizations and I enhanced my leadership skills. I found it to be such a remarkable place.”

Today, Dujmovic teaches at a middle school in Garden City, New York, not far from his old campus. He got the job, in fact, through an Adelphi connection and is considering returning for a doctorate in the near future.

“Adelphi is Long Island’s ‘best-kept secret’ in that it is able to offer so much for students, yet is also able to keep its small-school charm and have an affordable price tag,” Dujmovic said. “Even as an alumnus, I always find myself recommending Adelphi to prospective students and it will forever remain a place that was more than just a school: it was a family.”