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24 The College of New Jersey Magazine vary. The only constant is that I engage with my community to do the best we can to make sure that 1.4 million students have the best education they possibly can." Though Repollet was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and spent his very early years growing up in Middlesex County's Carteret public school system, by second grade, he'd find himself in Germany. His parents were both in the U.S. Army, which allowed them to live a middle-class life complete with a Mercedes-Benz. Repollet cheerfully describes his life in Germany as "the great times" when his parents "worked and were happy." His parents' work would take his family to Brooklyn, New York, then to Louisiana, then back to Carteret. But when his parents were honorably discharged from the Army, he was confronted with a new reality. "My upbringing was enriched in love. However, there were times that I knew we were poor," says Repollet, the eldest of eight children. Veterans, particularly black veterans without college degrees, were practically invisible in the job market. In Virginia, Repollet's father was told he wasn't qualified for a position in communication intelligence, though he ran such systems for the U.S. Army. When he took Carteret's police department assessment to become a cop, he wasn't hired despite his standing as one of the top applicants. "Veterans of color have a hard time assimilating back into society," Repollet says. The new pressures of life outside of the military for his parents led Repollet L amont Repollet's calendars for two recent months resemble Tetris game boards — meetings and conference calls in color blocks are intricately stacked atop one another for each day of the week. The level of detail and order makes sense given what Repollet '94 has been able to accomplish. In fewer than two years since being appointed commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education, Repollet has visited more than 60 schools across all 21 counties of the Garden State. It's not uncommon for Repollet to crisscross New Jersey during the day and end up in an entirely different state that night, starting with morning meetings in Newark, then reading to kindergartners in a Trenton school, and finally landing in D.C. for an evening event where he's the honored guest. In between, he might meet with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy at the State House or with legislators in any of the state's 584 school districts. Repollet describes his hands-on approach to leadership, which he's developed over more than two decades as a teacher and administrator, with an urgency that proves he believes in his mission to level the playing field for all students through funding and proper resource allocation. It's that recognition of the value of equity and strong relationships that's enabled him to blaze a path from high school principal to superintendent of Asbury Park Schools to the state's first black commissioner of education, all in just over a decade. "I'm on call 24 hours," he says in a focused tone. "The days vary. The times Repollet admits he's so pro-New Jersey that he told his team ahead of time they would beat Massachusetts. — referring to the Garden State taking the top spot last year in Education Week's annual state report card

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