Carmen Rojas, Business Major

In May 2010, Carmen Rojas returned to college after a long absence to pursue her lifelong dream of obtaining her bachelor’s degree. She is not only a University College student but also on the University College Student Advisory Board. A frequent business traveler to meet current and potential investors in the United States and abroad, she said the schedules at UC fit her busy lifestyle and her professors understand and accommodate her demanding duties as investor relations manager at GenNx360 Capital Partners. Carmen, who had arrived in New York City from the Dominican Republic in 1963 at age 7, struggled with the language barrier until high school, when she excelled in English and math, graduating as an honor student. Eager to help her family financially, she attended LaGuardia Community College, becoming an accounting major because of her math skills. While there, she completed three paid internships at TIAA-CREF and McGraw-Hill Companies. Armed with an associate degree (’76), she worked four years as secretary and executive secretary to McGraw-Hill magazine editors. In her 20s, she took courses at Pace University and Baruch College but stopped in 1983 to get married. Carmen was executive secretary to the chairman of Mitchell & Titus for 20 years. She then joined Blaylock & Partners as executive assistant to Ronald E. Blaylock, chairman/CEO, from 2000 to 2007. In July 2007, when he launched GenNx360, she became his executive assistant and administrative director. In Fall 2009, she became investor relations manager at the private equity firm. Despite the demands of her career and being a single parent of four children (ages 17 and up), Carmen has a perfect 4.0 GPA and hopes to graduate in 2013.

Carmen attended University College as a part-time student since 2010. She was able to accelerate her degree by earning 38 credits through prior learning. She earned these credits through a combination of work experience and foreign language skills.