By Hannah Angle
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Dr. Robert William Ralph, 63, a philosophy teacher at Camden County College, has taken a varied career journey to teaching.
At a young age, Ralph was interested in life and why people act the way they do. It was not until he was grown up that he realized he could make a career out of it.
Ralph was born in Princeton, N.J. He graduated from Point Pleasant Borough High School. He later went to Johnson County Junior College, then Nazarene College, where he received a degree in business and a doctorate in theology and philosophy.
He had different jobs before he started teaching at Camden County College in 1995. He worked at a post office and for a minor league baseball team in Bowie, Md. called the Bowie Bay Socks. He was in the Navy for 26 years, five of those years on active duty. He is an ordained minister, now retired.
His real passion for teaching started when he was in college and a teacher let him teach a few classes. “I realized that I enjoyed teaching,” he said.
He now works at CCC, where he teaches Introduction to Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, and Ethics. He brings his good attitude to class every day to expand students’ minds to Plato and Descartes and everything in between. “I like to have a positive influence on students. If I can do that, then that’s fulfillment to me,” he said.
In addition to teaching, he keeps busy by running his own business, called Ralph’s Seating Company. He gets to work on different projects at different stadiums. His favorite by far is Fenway Park in Boston.
As to his philosophy on life, Ralph said, “I believe life has many challenges, but also many opportunities. Attitude and outlook will determine your success.”