Senior Spotlight: Jasmely Dejesus

By Jasmine White

Once a timid freshman from Manhattan, New York, in a foreign area without her mother,  senior psychology major Jasmely Dejesus found herself taking on new heights at Rider, blooming into the woman she is today. 

“My mom had a very big influence on [what school] I chose,” Dejesus said. “Then we came to Rider and she loved it.”

Dejesus has held numerous leadership positions during her educational journey from being president of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. from spring 2023 to fall 2025 to now being the executive vice president of Rider University Greek Life.

Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. was founded in 1975 at Kean University, being the first and biggest Latina sorority in the United States to give women in higher education a support system to lean on.  

Dejesus remembers her first few weeks at Rider being tough, until being exposed to sisters of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc: her now pledge mistress and her assistant pledge mistress. 

“I passed by the Greek barbecue and there were two sorority sisters that were there and they came up to me,” Dejesus said. “This was the first time that I felt seen at Rider.”  

Dejesus pledged to her sorority during her freshman year in spring 2023, known in her sisterhood as “Volcanic Prophecy,” crossing solo, which made history for her chapter.

Dejesus held the position of being the Multicultural Greek Council’s public relations chair from fall 2023 to spring 2024. 

Dejesus said “leaning on people who are there for you,” such as her mother, was the key to her thriving in all of her leadership roles and being pertinent to all of her successes.

“A really big person [throughout] my entire life here [has been] my mom,” Dejesus said. “I don’t think I would be able to do half of the stuff that I am or [be] the woman that I’ve become if it wasn’t for my mom.”

Alongside her mother’s influence and support, Dejesus credits her academic adviser Michael Carlin and her sorority adviser Angelica Benitez. 

Senior psychology major Wisleidy Marte met Dejesus during her sophomore year through her interest in becoming a sister of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc., stating they “grew a bond” from that point forward. Marte joined the sorority in spring 2024, taking over as president for the chapter, upon Dejesus taking on other responsibilities. 

“She’s basically like a big sister to me and someone that I have the strongest connection to for my chapter,” Marte said.

Originally a commuter, Marte described how her college life consisted of her just going to class and driving straight home, until she and Dejesus “just clicked.” 

“She’s very caring and a [great] listener,” Marte said. “At the time I met her I was going through some things [and] she was just someone that I could tell all my problems to.”

Outside of Dejesus’s obligations and roles in her sorority and Greek life, Dejesus is president of the Latin American Student Organization as of fall 2025 and works as a representative for the “Bronc for A Day” program, wanting “people to fall in love with Rider” the same way she did. 

After graduating from Rider, Dejesus plans on attending graduate school and wants to ultimately gain her doctorate degree. In the meantime, she is applying for jobs, hoping to acquire a job working as a child psychiatrist or a developmental disability psychologist in the future.

As a Latina woman of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, Dejesus leaves the following words of encouragement.

“Don’t let your background, your ethnicity, [or] your skin complexion get in the way of you being great,” Dejesus said. “Don’t let the expectations that you are given or the standard that people say that you have to meet let you not do what you want to do.”