The College of New Jersey celebrated veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces in the campus community with a Veterans Day appreciation event in its new Military and Veterans Lounge.
Adjacent to the ROTC office on the third floor of Forcina Hall, the newly renovated lounge is a welcoming and collaborative space where TCNJ’s military and veteran students can study, relax, and connect.
“We wanted to create a space that would be beneficial, useful, and build community for our military and veteran students,” Avani Rana, director of co-curricular and leadership development, said.
The lounge will also serve as a meeting area for the recently formed Military Science and Veterans Association student organization. MSVA provides students who have served, are serving, or are generally interested in the military, with opportunities to volunteer through philanthropy, share experiences related to the military, and learn about the study of military science.
“We are looking forward to utilizing the lounge space to host coffee talks and bring in speakers with military backgrounds to present on a multitude of topics,” Leah Lavender ’25, criminology and psychology double major and Army ROTC cadet, said. “We are looking forward to using the space to build community between all military affiliated personnel on campus.”
TCNJ was recently ranked as the best college in the region for veterans in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Colleges rankings.
Rana, who also advises TCNJ’s ROTC program, is part of the college’s extensive support system, assisting active duty and veteran students with their transition to college, advising, financial aid processes, and more.
The lounge will be named for Major General Maria Falca-Dodson ’75, former member of TCNJ’s Board of Trustees, who advocated for this kind of space on campus during her tenure on the board.
Learn more about veterans benefits at TCNJ by visiting veterans.tcnj.edu. For more information about ROTC or military programming, contact Avani Rana at ranaa@tcnj.edu.
— Emily W. Dodd ’03