Small Campus, Big Spirit: How I Balance Classes At Bloomfield And Montclair Cheer

March 31, 2026

Small Campus, Big Spirit: How I Balance Classes at Bloomfield and Montclair Cheer

Since Bloomfield College became Bloomfield College of �ǿ��޴�ý University, students have more academic options and access to Montclair’s resources, with their home base still on a smaller campus

Posted in: Admissions

Bryce Antoine walks across the Bloomfield College of �ǿ��޴�ý University campus on a sunny day, wearing a red varsity-style jacket and carrying a backpack over one shoulder. — Informatics major and cheerleader Bryce Antoine splits his time between small classes at Bloomfield and game‑day energy at Montclair. (Photo by John J. LaRosa)

Informatics major Bryce Antoine ’28 is building real-world tech skills – coding, system design and ethical technology – in small classrooms where everyone knows his name. He also competes on the �ǿ��޴�ý University Coed Cheer Team, a cheerleading powerhouse just a shuttle ride away.

“Even though Bloomfield is a small school, we provide so many major opportunities,” Antoine says. “Everyone is connected. It’s almost like you know everybody from every major, every department, every office you walk into.”

Since Bloomfield College officially became Bloomfield College of �ǿ��޴�ý University, students like Antoine have gained expanded academic options, more student life activities and access to Montclair’s resources while still keeping their home base on a smaller campus.

Two photos side by side show �ǿ��޴�ý University Coed Cheer Team members performing stunts on a sunny campus quad, with bases supporting a flyer in the air as they practice ahead of their April trip to the national cheerleading championships. — �ǿ��޴�ý University Coed Cheer Team members show off stunts on the quad on a spring afternoon ahead of their trip to Florida in April to the national championships. (Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters)

Antoine says Bloomfield matches his personality and day-to-day life. “Montclair is a big school, and I’m low-key,” he says. Because of that, he appreciates how Bloomfield’s size lets him build close relationships with his professors, and those connections helped him rethink his academic path.

Supportive faculty have been central to Antoine’s experience, especially as he moved away from his family’s long tradition in medicine. He originally started at Bloomfield as a Nursing major. “My father was a doctor, my grandmother’s a doctor, my grandfather is a doctor,” he explains. “But even they told me to look more at a computer field because they know me. They thought it was better for me to do something I’m really good at instead of just following tradition.”

Bryce Antoine stands in a gym wearing a �ǿ��޴�ý Cheerleading T‑shirt, hands on hips, representing his role on the �ǿ��޴�ý University Coed Cheer Team. — Bryce Antoine juggles classes, an Admissions job and student leadership at Bloomfield – then heads over to Montclair to practice with the Coed Cheer Team. (Photo by John J. LaRosa)

Big-school cheer, small-school community

Some of Antoine’s most visible moments happen a short drive away at the Montclair campus. He takes his classes at Bloomfield and heads to Montclair to cheer on the �ǿ��޴�ý University Coed Cheer Team, one of the top Division III programs in the country.

For Antoine, Bloomfield’s home base and shared resources with Montclair let him enjoy the best of both worlds: a small, supportive college community and big‑school spirit. “I don’t have to choose,” he says. “I get both.”

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Big-school cheer, small-school community

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