To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), we caught up with some of our recent alumni to see where they are in their journey as they launch their careers.
Amber Betances.
Amber Lynn Betances
SEBS’16 (Landscape Architecture), GSNB’17 (Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture)
Assistant Landscape Architect
NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
“When people ask me what I do, Landscape Architecture isn’t what they usually expect me to say. Designing parks, gardens, and plazas for a living isn’t something many people think about doing, or at least something I never thought about. It takes a lot of courage to think about accessible spaces and designing for all ages and abilities. My first professional project, Welton St. Park in New Brunswick, was a major accomplishment for me. The adjustment from school to professional work was a shock but an exciting transition. To actually be able to apply all that I learned and assist in creating wonderful spaces has brought an entirely new level of fulfillment.“
Read more of Amber’s post-grad experience: Graduate Amber Betances (‘17) Reimagines Abandoned Historic BeBop Space in the Motor City
Breanna Robles
SEBS’16 (Landscape Architecture), GSNB’17 (Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture)
Designer, Studio Zewde
Part-time lecturer, Rutgers Department of Landscape Architecture
“I was hired right out of school by MKW + Associates, LLC, in Rutherford, NJ. In my time there I worked on a wide-range of projects, including Dundee Island Park in Passaic County, NJ, as well as several NYC Housing Authority rehabilitation projects. The NYCHA projects were a real treat to work on because the design of public housing was a major area of focus for me during my time at Rutgers. I am currently working at Studio Zewde, with Sara Zewde, where I get to engage in a range of historical and cultural projects – one being Homewood Park in Pittsburg, PA! I am also a part-time faculty member in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers; it is great to come back and be able to teach LA where I was taught! Finally, as a member of the board of directors for the National Association of Minority Landscape Architects, we are looking to do some exciting new things and open up doors for all the minorities in and around landscape architecture!”
Kevin Guerrero
Kevin Guerrero
SEBS ’19 (Exercise Science)
Johns Hopkins University ’20 (Masters degree in Biotechnology)
Second-year medical student at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
“For many students from more advantaged backgrounds and established lineages, entering college may seem trivial and the expected thing to do. However, for many children of immigrants, entering college is a privilege. For my family, this meant hope, and for myself, this meant an opportunity of a lifetime. Ever since that acceptance letter to SEBS in 2015, I have continued to push forward, daring to be great, daring to challenge. Despite failing countless times, I have kept moving forward keeping my family, my ‘Why’ with me, always.”
Michelle De Freitas-Montes.
Michelle De Freitas-Montes
SEBS’18 (Exercise Science)
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons’20 (Master’s degree in Human Nutrition, with Honors Distinction)
Currently a first-year medical student at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
“I grew up in an underrepresented community where access to health is scarce. As a child, I got into sports and wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon in high school to work with athletes who were injured. My sophomore year of college, I attended a summer internship at New Jersey Medical School that made a major impact. It gave me a broader understanding of what medicine was and how outside factors like access to healthcare, food and environment played into individual health. From there, I was determined to become a physician to serve underrepresented communities like the one I grew up in, with a focus on community health and advocacy for those who are most vulnerable.”
