25 years ago, I was a student at Camden County College in Blackwood hoping for a chance to get a job in radio. My plan was to transfer to Rutgers and work at their radio station. I got my first radio job one month after the next semester and never did a moment of college radio.
Tyrone Johnson
Host, The Best Show Ever 97.5 The Fanatic
25 years ago, I was trying to figure out how I could manage a career, a new marriage and three stepchildren. It was all new to me, but thanks to support and prayer everything blossomed in its own time.
Rick Williams
6abc Anchor
I graduated from Southwestern Central High School in West Ellicott, New York in 1999 and then started my first year of college at Mount Union. So that year was the transition for me from high school to college. I was all about sports – in high school I played football, basketball and track – and I was excited about starting college in the fall. I was a pretty typical kid in a great family, and I had a lot of support for whatever I was doing. I’m here now, and I’m not sure back then if I ever even thought that far in the future. I was a kid and just stayed in those moments. I guess I was pretty typical. I wanted to someday have my own family to love, and I have that. I never thought to myself, “Some day I’m going to be a head coach in the NFL.” When you’re 18 years old, you just want to have fun and enjoy the things you are doing.
Nick Sirianni
Head Coach, Philadelphia Eagles
25 years ago I was a devastated 16-year-old soccer player recovering from meniscus surgery in my hometown of Clovis, California, mourning the loss of my dream to one day play for the U.S. Women’s National Team. Little did I know all the skills I’d acquired from participating in sports – grit, resiliency, time management, teamwork – would be the foundation upon which I’d build and grow my next dream, to cover them for a living. Oh, what sad 16-year-old Kate would think of the life we lead now. Never in my wildest dreams might be an understatement. #KeepGoing
Kate Scott
Play-by-Play Announcer
Philadelphia 76ers
Twenty-five years ago, I was a business agent for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 351, where I managed the day-to-day operations of my union here in South Jersey. But most importantly, I was relieved to have survived the Y2K scare and see that the world was still spinning!
Congressman Donald Norcross
25 years have flown by! I was a 19-year-old sophomore at Saint Joseph’s University studying political science, but spent a lot of time (homesick!) traveling to my hometown of Vineland to be with my family and friends, many of which I am still extremely close to even now. It was also the year I interned at the District Attorney’s office in Philadelphia, which helped me figure out I’d be a terrible, absolutely awful lawyer. Cheers to 25 years, SJ Mag Media!
Christina Renna
President & CEO
Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey
25 years ago, my husband Frank and I were living in Moorestown (in the same house as today!) and had two young sons, almost-6 and almost-3. We were alternatively delighted, worried, joyful, frazzled, energized, exhausted, certain, confused…but truly always happy. It’s wonderful to see what a really good young man each of those boys has become. And 25 years ago, I was working for my family business and celebrating our 75th anniversary, thinking that was quite a milestone. It was, but we celebrated our 100th anniversary in 2024 and while we honor the past, we are looking more to the future.
Mindy Holman
Chair, Holman
I was living in New York City, finishing my last year of law school, and I was writing 32 letters to 32 NFL teams four times a year. I was thinking my first job would be working in the XFL, whose most famous player was named Rod “He Hate Me” Smart, who ended up playing for the Eagles. I was dreaming about the opportunities we have right now – being in a position of going into the playoffs and having a chance to compete for a championship. I had rejection letters that were probably like floor-to-ceiling windows long. At the time, I was hoping for the opportunity I got in fall of 2000, to join the Eagles. I was only in law school because no team would hire me as a scout – they said I hadn’t had any playing experience, so they wouldn’t hire me. The salary cap in the NFL had just started so I felt it was a chance for me to be an expert in something new. The only person who ever wrote back was Mike Tannenbaum, who was the personnel director for the New York Jets, and he advised me to go to law school and get a degree, and then I could help a team with the salary cap. 25 years ago was an important point in my life.
Howie Roseman
General Manager
Philadelphia Eagles