Rosa Figueroa (SEAS'25) on Resilience and an Unconventional College Experience

New York City sirens sound through the windows of the classroom, but the girls’ fingers continue to dance across the keyboards. Guided by their mentor’s encouragement and expertise, they trace each line of code on the screen, watching their ideas flicker into life. Together, they program websites, apps, and tools, building technology, and the confidence to create change.  

Rosa Figueroa (SEAS’25) is an engineering major driven by her interest in computer science. She spent three years on the Engineering Student Council, two years as a student worker for University Life under the communications team, volunteers with Girls Who Code, and is involved in several campus cultural organizations. 

“I grew up in Georgia, about an hour north of Atlanta, in a rural town with a large Hispanic population. I grew up on a farm, so we've always had cows, sheep, chickens. It was a very peaceful small town in Georgia,” Figueroa said. “I still love it, but I felt that I had aspirations that I couldn't achieve there. When I figured out that I wanted to pursue computer science or something technology-related, I figured that wasn’t the place to be. Since middle school, I have dreamed of visiting New York City, and when I started looking into schools, I looked at Columbia and found out they had a good engineering program.”

That leap—from a quiet farm town to the fast pace of New York City—marked the beginning of a transformative journey for Figueroa, one that continues to shape her in unexpected ways.

“I feel like I just moved into my freshman dorm, but at the same time like that feels like forever ago, and I feel like I've gone through so many different stages and eras of my life,” Figueroa said. “I've changed so much since I started, but at the same time, I’m excited. I’m excited to explore the world out there.”

Figueroa is excited to explore another part of the country, specifically, San Francisco, California, where she will begin her career in Silicon Valley.

“I’m moving to California post-grad, and that’s all the way across the country. One thing that makes me a little bit sad about my time here at Columbia is that I’ve been so busy with academics and my commitments that I haven’t had an opportunity to explore New York as much,” Figueroa said. “This campus has been my whole world, and I want to feel like part of something bigger.”

Still, within the bounds of campus life, Figueroa found meaningful ways to engage and make an impact, especially through student leadership.

“I’ve been a part of the Engineering Student Council for three years now. I was the representative for first-generation, low-income students last year, and then this year, vice president of diversity,” Figueroa said. “So that's been quite a challenge in terms of knowing what and how to advocate for students, and how to be the liaison between students, faculty, and administration.”

A staunch advocate for girls and women in STEM, Figueroa spent many weekends devoting her time to helping teach young girls how to program.

“I was also involved in Girls Who Code. In Atlanta, I had to drive three hours every day to go take these coding classes that were hosted by Girls Who Code,” Figueroa said. “So when I got here, I decided to pay it forward. I helped organize classes every Saturday to teach high schoolers in the city, usually from underrepresented communities – teaching them different languages.”

After graduating, Figueroa hopes to explore as many new beginnings as possible and eventually start searching for ways that technology can benefit people. 

“I'm pursuing software engineering, so I'm going to work in Silicon Valley. I was interning there this past summer and I liked it,” Figueroa said. “But what I’m mostly excited for is that it’s an experience and I’m going to be able to see so much nature, have long weekends, vacations, and road trips. There’s so much opportunity. I want to do something that does good for people, especially with how technology companies are kind of shifting gears toward AI.”

With a passion for service, Figueroa has also devoted much of her time to the Broadway Community – aiding in food distribution at their soup kitchens. This experience has opened up a new passion for civic engagement and advocacy. 

“I'm currently in the Frontiers of Justice class, which has been really awesome,” Figueroa said. “We’re learning about what is in our power to change, like structural injustices that exist around us and in our community. And I think that's when I realized that is something I do want to keep at the core of what I do after I graduate. I want to make sure I can help people in some sort of way.”

That commitment to helping others began to take shape through the lens of her own experiences, naturally extending into her work on campus.

“During my time here, most of my work, or a lot of my work, has been around first-generation low-income students," Figueroa said. “I grew up low-income, and my parents were also very poor, so I think it's an issue that I hold very closely. It's something that I just find important. I realized recently in the past year or two, that I want to be an agent for change.” 

Reflecting on her own college experience, Figueroa wishes that she had more confidence when trying new things, but her boldness grew over time. 

That fear of not fitting in or not being “enough” didn’t disappear overnight—but with time, Figueroa learned how to navigate those feelings and find her footing.

“When I got here, I felt so behind, like I couldn’t perform the way that other students here could perform. It was very difficult, but I got over that. I got used to it. It took a lot of mental work, willpower, and affirmations to believe that I was here for a reason,” Figueroa said. “Coming from a different background, where I didn’t have the same access to resources was hard, and I still feel like that to this day sometimes, but I’m happy with the community I’ve found. We’re all in the same boat – we all feel the same.”

Now, as she prepares for her next chapter, Figueroa is ready to carry that perseverance with her, embracing the freedom to explore new sides of herself.

“I’m looking forward to engaging with San Francisco, with the city,” Figueroa said. “I’m going to see what’s out there. I have a vision in my mind to join a community theater. I want to try art classes, or even fitness classes, – fun things like that. I’m excited to do things that are part of the city, part of the community.”

Looking back, that journey was anything but typical—but it shaped her in powerful, lasting ways.

“Unconventional. My college experience has been very unconventional with a lot of unexpected things,” Figueroa said. “Our class of 2025 has seen so much at this university, with a lot of twists and turns, but I’m happy. It made me who I am today. Resilient.” 

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