Newark, Delaware - January 16, 2015: University of Delaware student Mark A. Rucci, 21, has his portrait made on the school's campus. In 2011 Rucci lived in Wildwood, NJ. Upset with the state's scholarship cuts and tuition increases, he called Chris Christie's radio show and asked “how do you expect me to want to go to college in New Jersey and afford it and how do you expect me to come back and work in New Jersey after obtaining a college degree?” Christie, who's alma mater is the University of Delaware Newark, and predicted “the reason you’re going to come back is because by the time you’re done with four years, this state is going to be roaring.” The University of Delaware gave him better financial aid. Now, with almost a year until Rucci is slated to obtain a graduate degree from the school of Public Policy and Administration he remains unimpressed with the state's recovery and has no plans to work in his home state.
CREDIT: Matt Roth for The New York Times
Assignment ID: 30169566A