Written by Rod Granger

Rosa Asprilla credits Riverside as the invaluable catalyst for her continuing American success story. Arriving from Colombia in 2021, where she served as a Spanish teacher with the Secretaria De Educacion De Jamundi, Rosa began English classes at Riverside with the goal of also becoming a Spanish teacher in the U.S.

She quickly stood out. “Rosa was an excellent student,” says ESOL teacher Doris Athineos. “I still use questions that she asked in my classes.” “Doris supported me constantly,” says Rosa, “she said, ‘You can do it, you can do all of it.” Rosa also cites Riverside volunteer Robert Boatti as an important mentor through her journey.

As part of Riverside’s efforts to engage its participants with conversation partners, Doris’s class was visited by students from Barnard College, led by Dr. Maria Lozano, Senior Lecturer and Program Director of the College’s Dept. of Spanish and Latin American Cultures.

Rosa and Dr. Lozano sat together, and in one of life’s mysterious circumstances, they discovered that they were both from Cali, Colombia. “That is the first miracle in the story,” says Rosa. Through the Riverside connection they stayed in touch, with Dr. Lozano also becoming an important mentor. “That was the beginning,” she says. “Rosa told me she was interested in earning her master’s degree, and I let her know about some programs in Spain.”

Rosa began her online studies with the Universidad Internacional de Valencia. To help her complete her practicum requirements, Dr. Lozano also provided Rosa with an internship as an assistant teacher in her classroom.

In 2024, three years after her arrival in New York City, Rosa earned her Master’s Degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language and has since gone on to work full-time as a Spanish teacher in New York.

Congratulations Rosa!!