Meet Our Scholars
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Peter Balluffi-Fry
County College of Morris
International Studies
He/Him/His
Community College
David C. Kleiman Scholarship
An avid Dungeons & Dragons player and gay man, Peter Balluffi-Fry is a 23-year-old International Studies Major at the County College of Morris in Randolph, New Jersey. After facing a severe physical illness in high school, Peter was hit hard as his academic and social life fell out from under him. With the added strain of harassment for his queer identity, Peter tumbled into a debilitating state of depression and had to drop out of high school. However, with the help of his family and relatives, Peter was able to recover as he came to accept his gay identity and learn to mentally thrive again. He completed his GED in 2020 and began attending the County College of Morris as the COVID-19 pandemic began. Given his newfound mental resilience, Peter quickly adapted to the virtual environment. He pushed himself into his studies with higher level honors courses, joined extracurricular clubs and honor society chapters, and re-founded his school’s Model UN as its president. Peter also began working as a peer mentor for students with social and learning disabilities in the fall of 2020, supporting his peers in acquiring their own degrees. Peter plans to receive his associate’s with honors in the spring of 2022 before he transfers to a university on the east coast. Eventually, he intends to either study international law or pursue a master’s degree in public policy so he can make a difference on the global stage.