HOMETOWN: Bethel, Connecticut MAJOR: Justice and Law Administration – Legal Studies MINOR: History WCSU DEGREE:  Bachelor of Science in Justice and Law Administration ACTIVITIES: Vice President of JLA Honor Society, Alpha Phi Sigma; Ancell Learning Commons tutor for legal writing. Also referees high school football and has a part-time job as a security guard and supervisor at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield.

HONORS AND AWARDS: Dean’s list more times than I can count! My GPA is something like 3.9. I am also proud of winning the 2018 Ancell School of Business Justice and Law Administration Award.

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Ralph Deluca has law enforcement in his blood. “My father was a cop, a detective with some 30 years of total service; law was always a part of my family,” he says. “JLA was the only major that made sense, a clarion call if you will. I decided that I wanted to go to law school (I am) so I divined my deeper motives with a concentration in Legal Studies.”

The reason he decided to pursue those studies at WestConn, he says “was not a matter of choice, more so where my own infamous fear of communal living took me. I did not want to dorm, thus WCSU made the most sense. But, as I have grown here, I realize I made a good call. I spent all four years here, you better believe it, and I would not trade that time in for the world.”

Deluca says two professors in particular served as mentors. “Terrence Dwyer helped me hone my craft, both in my verbal and especially my writing skills,” he says. “He was a professor I saw eye-to-eye with. He taught me the basics and complexities of the law in both a thrilling, yet laid back, way. He is the top of his craft in the university system. I would be remiss if I did not mention my other mentor, Professor of History Dr. Martha May. She is a woman whom I have come to respect through our vast disagreements, and I would be a weaker person without her. I would be weaker without either of them. That’s a fact.”

Asked what he will remember most about his WestConn experience, Deluca says, “Having Coach Housemann (HOOOUSEE) for Tae Kwon Do.”

After graduation, Deluca plans to attend law school. “I have already been accepted to George Mason, but I’m still working out the logistics of where to attend.”

His advice to new students entering WCSU is: “They say plants grow better with music playing, so play some when you study/do your homework. For me it was ’80s New Wave. Other than that, have somewhat of a chip on your shoulder, take your wins but do not think the battle is over; do not grow lazy and let your schoolwork degenerate. Contrary to that point, do not make the mistake of Napoleon at Waterloo; hubris can be your downfall! Be humble, there really is no way to sugar coat it. Enjoy family and friends, especially the ones you make at school. Remember: ‘It’s hip to be square,’ so long as you are a success. Block out the doubters and you will rock the world.”