James Van Der Beek mourned by fans and NJ college he attended

🎓 Drew University remembers James Van Der Beek, who briefly attended the NJ college.

🎬 NJ native Kevin Smith shared heartfelt memories of working with the "Dawson’s Creek” star.

🕊️ The actor, who battled colorectal cancer, leaves behind his wife and six children.

James Van Der Beek’s death at just 48 has left fans heartbroken — and many New Jersey folks mourning his brief, beloved time at college before his “big break.”

Drew University, in Madison, shared a photo of the actor in a cap and gown to the school's Instagram page on Wednesday.

The actor delivered Drew University’s commencement address in 2024 and was presented an honorary degree from the school — which he briefly attended until leaving in 1998 for television stardom with "Dawson's Creek."

(For those of us in our 40s, Dawson, Joey and Pacey were the love triangle to obsess over — well before Conrad, Belly and Jeremiah in "The Summer I Turned Pretty.")

“May you approach (the future) with openness, presence, awareness, optimism, and a healthy sense of awe. After all, unpredictability opens up a world of possibility,” Van Der Beek told the graduating class, according to the university.

The actor also shared a sweet video reel from the 2024 ceremony to his own social media.

“Guess who graduated today? Only took me two years of school and 27 years of working in my industry… but @drewuniversity gave me an honorary Bachelor of Arts degree AND the honor of being the commencement speaker,” Van Der Beek wrote.

“SO great to see my old friends, professors, and roommate, and take my kids around such a special, beautiful campus that holds so many formative memories from another lifetime ago,” he continued. “Deeply humbled and grateful to have closed a loop I hadn’t even realized needed closer. Life is crazy… and beautiful.”

New Jersey native, director Kevin Smith has also paid loving tribute to his fleeting times working with Van Der Beek — starting with his movie “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”

“James was already super famous” from both Dawsons Creek and Varsity Blues, Smith said, but was a delight on set in 2001 and then in 2019 for “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot."

“We live under a fairness fallacy, as if we’re somehow entitled to long lives. That being said, at the risk of sounding stupidly obvious, James was simply too young to die. My heart goes out to his family, friends and fans,” Smith added.

Van Der Beek had been battling colorectal cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek and their six children.

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