WE ARE YOU

Rutgers Excellence across
New Jersey and Beyond

WE ARE YOU is an ongoing series of stories about the people who embody Rutgers University’s unwavering commitment to academic excellence, building community, and the common good.

‘Together, WE ARE YOU’

With more than 600,000 alumni worldwide and almost 360,000 living in New Jersey, Rutgers University’s powerful influence resonates throughout the state and around the globe. Every day, more than 67,000 students, 8,000 faculty members, and 14,000 staff on our campuses and in the field embrace excellence in the pursuit of education and research. Their explorations and expertise range from the arts to engineering, the sciences to the humanities, business to health care, farming to teaching to public service, and much, much more.

We hope you enjoy this video and the many WE ARE YOU stories to come. Keep the momentum going and share on social: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X.

Chehrazade Chemcham RLAW’06

A Rutgers law degree, earned at night, was the “passport to success” for Chehrazade Chemcham RLAW’06. “It opened doors for me that would have otherwise been closed,” she says. Today, Chemcham leads a team in the U.K., specializing in intellectual property at a global consumer health company. Watch her video as she reflects on the difference one person at Rutgers made for her along the way.

Chris Markus RC’91

Step behind the scenes with Chris Markus RC’91, the Emmy Award-winning screenwriter of some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, as he reflects on his Rutgers roots and the creative process. Discover why archetypes like those in the Marvel Cinematic Universe remain essential to storytelling today.

Peter Seligmann AG’72

Alumnus Peter Seligmann AG’72, Hon. Doctorate 2003—a leader in conservation—credits Rutgers with giving him his start. As founder and chairman of Conservation International, he works with luminaries like actor Harrison Ford to protect oceans, forests, and other living ecosystems for the well-being of humanity. Through Conservation International, Seligmann has helped to protect 1.5 billion acres of land and sea, benefiting millions of people. “For conservation to work, it had to benefit communities,” says Seligmann. “It needs to be understood as enlightened self-interest of all people.”

Marty Siederer LC’77

Marty Siederer LC’77 honed his journalism skills at Rutgers, but the real story was the life lessons he uncovered along the way: “Tenacity. Flexibility. The value of a good network.” Those lessons fueled a career pivot into the nonprofit world, where he has helped raise millions to support people facing life-affecting and life-threatening conditions like leukemia, lymphoma, colitis, Crohn’s disease, and ALS.

Stories