Storybook Ending: How Rutgers at Atlantic Cape Helped Storybook Land's Owner Write
the Next Chapter
Mays Landing, N.J. -- On the home page for Storybook Land, a beloved children’s amusement park in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., visitors are encouraged to “Create Your Own Story At Storybook Land!” And park owner J.J. Fricano has done just that, but with a twist. He credits Rutgers, which offers bachelor’s degree programs just a few miles away at the Atlantic Cape Community College Mays Landing campus, as the place where a new chapter began for his family business, and for himself.
After earning his associate’s degree in business administration from Atlantic Cape Community College in 2012, going away to school to complete a bachelor’s degree was not a realistic consideration for Fricano. He was too integral to the family business, where he and his sister assisted their father and aunt with day-to-day operations and where his grandparents, who first opened Storybook Land in 1955, were starting to take a step back. At the time, Fricano was involved more in the hands-on, technical aspects of the work, such as ride maintenance, food and beverage service, and groundskeeping.
When Fricano enrolled in the Bachelor’s of Administration degree program at Rutgers School of Business—Camden, one of 11 bachelor’s programs offered through a partnership between Rutgers and Atlantic Cape, that all began to shift.
As I studied business theory, I was relating it to the day-to-day realities of helping to run the family business—I was being educated in both ways, which was a very enlightening experience.
J.J. Fricano
He points to two courses in particular that reshaped how he approached his work. In his management course, he learned the POLC framework—Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling—a model he now applies directly to running Storybook Land. He also came to appreciate the value of structured problem-solving through the business calculus course. "Many times, a real-life problem that needs to be solved can be formulated into some type of an equation to help you understand it better," he says.
Fricano also found his coursework in business communication to be particularly fruitful. He developed skills for managing people and became adept at providing direction, “without barking orders or making people feel inferior,” Fricano says. He also learned how to build and manage a team, working with different talents and personalities to create a work group and schedule that suited staff, as well as business needs.
As his studies progressed, Fricano took over more managerial responsibilities at Storybook Land: bookkeeping, budgeting, planning, and leading. He considers not only the business coursework to have made the difference in helping write this next chapter in the family business, but also the people he encountered along the way, including Rutgers faculty, staff and especially fellow students. Fricano called them a tight-knit group of adults seeking to advance their careers and learn more.
“They were driven; they wanted to be there,” he says. “This had meaning for them other than being the expected next step in life. You could feel that energy in the room.”
Psychology lecturer Emily Wood, MSBA, MA, agrees that the students enrolled in Rutgers at ACCC are special.
“The Rutgers students have their own building, and there’s a sense of community, apart from the rest of campus,” Wood says. “The cohorts are small, so many students are in the same classes and progress through the program together, which builds a sense of camaraderie. They freely exchange resources and ideas, and encourage each other.”
“They are motivated, with goals of their own, and this program helps get them further along that path. This is not their final destination,” she explains.
Rutgers and Atlantic Cape Community College work together to transition students from associate’s to bachelor’s degree programs seamlessly, guided by knowledgeable staff on-site who connect students to coursework and resources best suited to their goals.
The thoughtfully designed educational partnership with Atlantic Cape, as well as the four other community college partners, reflects Rutgers’ longstanding commitment to student access. In addition to the personalized advisement services, the partnerships provide an exceptional educational experience that allows students to stay close to home on an already-familiar campus. Importantly, anyone who holds an associate’s degree—including those earned at a community college or college outside of New Jersey—can benefit from these resources and the support they provide when enrolled in a Rutgers statewide program.
The Rutgers and Atlantic Cape Community College partnership also has broad appeal for students who would not ordinarily have considered Rutgers a viable option, offering flexible schedules for working adults, such as Fricano, who was able to work within the park while completing his coursework.
“Earning a bachelor’s degree in my home community was the right choice for me,” he reflects. “The financial factor is huge—it was such a benefit to work and study simultaneously, have lower expenses by living at home, and not worry about debt once out of school. I stayed close to loved ones, and got to know people in the area better.”
The leadership and management principles Fricano learned at Rutgers have extended well beyond his professional life. He also volunteers as a firefighter for the Cardiff Fire Company in Egg Harbor Township, where he holds the rank of Captain.
While acknowledging that everyone’s educational story is different, Fricano finds it hard to imagine a different, or more personally fulfilling, outcome to his own. Today, he and his sister Jessica Panetta, jointly own and operate Storybook Land, which celebrated 70 years in 2025.
