Rossmeri has emerged from a childhood fraught with emotional, financial and family, and challenges to become an empowered and confident young woman.  Every obstacle that presented itself seemed to only make her stronger, more resilient, and more focused on a path to success.  In high school she began to seek out leadership opportunities in her school and in the community and she is the first in her family to pursue higher education at a four-year university.  “POE has made the entire difference in my college experience.  Not only have they provided me with monetary aid that allowed me to move out from home, but they also matched me with a mentor who has helped me through these years. POE knows the importance of gaining experience before graduation and they provided me with a stipend for a summer internship which allowed me to work for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Peninsula as their Development Intern, where I learned invaluable skills in effectively running a non-profit, which is a goal of mine.”

In college Rossmeri has excelled in her studies while working for various community organizations helping immigrants and was also President of Mujeres Ayudando la Raza, an organization that provides a network of support to Chicana and Latina students.  She spent her junior year abroad in London, thriving and loving the opportunity to travel and learn about other cultures and communities.  She wrote, “My leadership and involvement on campus and in my community have enabled me to aim high in life.  Being an undocumented Latina, navigating through the education system has not been easy, but persistence and resilience have guided me to reach every goal that I set for myself.  After college I plan to pursue a master’s degree in public policy with an emphasis on immigration.  I want to gain more knowledge to know how to better assist my community and become the helping hand that others have been to me.  My goal is to start my own organization focused on helping undocumented youth reach and excel in higher education.”