Statements
Personal Statement
What I most look forward to when I think of my possible career path is the opportunity to work with the Latino community of the United States. What drives this desire is my identity as the daughter of El Salvadoran immigrants. My parents have been in the United States for 34 years and their struggles through language barriers and cultural differences have inspired me to want to work with this sector of the population. This is my drive, and as I have already worked with migrant communities, it is also my inspiration.
It is an amazing feeling to know that the work that I choose to do is making someone’s life a little bit easier. When my parents settled in the Washington, D.C. area there were no organizations to ease their transition. I think of my parents and what fear or insecurity they must have experienced and it makes me want to weep. At the same time I think of their courage and how hard they worked to make things better for themselves, their extended family and the family they would raise, and I couldn’t be more humbled. Simply put, it is my turn to give something back.
Rosslyn J Contreras
Professor
Rosslyn has been one of my most engaging and multi-faceted students at Guilford College. She took 4 classes with me, which gave me the chance to witness her intellectual and personal growth, as well as her ability to take various leadership roles at Guilford. In SOAN 331 “Latino Migration Patterns,” which she took with me in fall 2005, Rosslyn was the leader of a group project that required students to select a topic, write a literature review, conduct field research with the local Latino(a) community, and write up and present research findings to the class. Rosslyn was self-motivated and active from the beginning of this project, even though it was not easy for the group to coordinate meetings and distribute responsibilities. Her sensitive approach to multi-cultural issues and her insights were invaluable to the success of this experience. I have no doubts that Rosslyn will succeed in her career objectives and will make significant contributions in any place she chooses to invest her skills.
Maria Luisa Amado, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Guilford College
Employer
Rosslyn Contreras has been employed at The Washington Service for over 5 ½ years. But I write this statement not only as her supervisor but also as her friend. I became acquainted with Ms. Contreras when she was just a teenager. She was the favorite student of my mother, Mrs. Jeanne Y. Stevens. My mother always had stories about this remarkable young lady named Rosslyn. Once she finished high school my mother asked me to hire her and finally I gave in to her request. It has been my pleasure watching her grow into a beautiful and determined young woman. I have witnessed her struggles through many challenges and she always persevered. Rosslyn has been one of my most loyal, dependable, hard working, and diligent employees. She has a very pleasant attitude and an infectious caring way about her.
My mother has since passed away and she always had such high aspirations for Rosslyn and I can say with confidence how proud not only myself but my mother would be in what Rosslyn has overcome and accomplished in her life.
-Anna Anderson Research Associate Washington Service-Brick Securities
Peer
Rosslyn Contreras let me move into her attic bedroom the summer between our sophomore and junior years in college. She didn’t know me that well, and neither of us could adequately explain to her family quite why I wanted to live in their house. I was anxious, but Ros seemed unconcerned. She shrugged, laughed and began to show me how to enthusiastically love her home as she loves it. As the summer progressed, I started looking at situations the way I imagined she would look at them because I wanted to understand her delight with things I never bothered thinking about. Rosslyn, more than anything else, is good at living. She takes excellent care her life; this includes excellent care for her family and friends. She is deeply responsible in the least boring way. She is amazingly accepting. She is intelligent, generous, and the most fun friend that I have, and she has an impeccable sense of direction. Even though the attic bedroom is stiflingly hot, I didn’t want to move out at the end of the summer.
-Emily Hantz, Student, Guilford College
I have been Rosslyn Contreras’s friend for the past four years of college. I have seen her in good and bad situations, and must say she is one of the most dependable people I have ever known. Rosslyn has an amazing ability to connect with people, and she can interact with many groups of people from a variety of backgrounds. It amazes me to see her in public because she invariably will know half the people we encounter. I have enjoyed being her roommate for the past three years because it has allowed me to see her private side along side her professional life. In everything I've known Rosslyn to be involved she has worked diligently to complete the job. But she always takes time for a friend in need. I would trust her with any task no matter what it was because I know she would work to her fullest abilities to accomplish it. I have never known her to let someone down when they needed her, and to me that is one of the most valuable qualities anyone could have. I have really enjoyed being her friend, and I look forward to seeing her grow in the future.
-Allison Sullivan-Bashinsky, Student, Guilford College