Name: Rosaura Wardsworth
Twitter: https://twitter.com/home
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosauraxsimone
Instagram: @storiesbyrosaura
Website: https://rosaurasimone.wordpress.com/
Title: Graduate Student
Married/Single: Single
Kids: None
City you live in: Phoenix, Arizona
A typical day in my life includes:
A coffee run, writing articles for my company’s nonprofit partners, building websites, developing social media campaigns, making broadcast packages, an actual run around my neighborhood, and then back to building websites.
I was born in: Los Angeles California
My favorite thing about Arizona: Is the salsa dancing community. Pre-COVID, you could catch me at a local salsa hang out any given Thursday, haha.
I’m listening to… SuperSoul Sunday’s by the great Oprah Winfrey. I’m not sure if that makes me an old lady but hey Big O is deep.
My family… made me who I am today. 100% African American. 100% Belizean. Two beautiful cultures merged together that I am grateful to call my own.
If I could have dinner with anyone, it would be… Toni Morrison.
One thing I cannot live without… is my MacBook Pro. I’ve had this old girl for more than ten years, and she’s still kicking.
When I was younger, I wanted to be…
A paleontologist, can you believe it? My mom got me hooked on this computer game called Dino Dash, where you would excavate fossils and match dinosaurs to their food groups. I was hooked.
I’m inspired by… black women. All black women. The ones in political spaces like Stacey Abrams, the TV journalists like Tamron Hall, the essential Walmart workers, the Air Force veterans, the nurses, the office managers, the janitors, the teachers, the students. All black women are an inspiration to me and all are fighting and winning their own battles.
The one person who motivates me is… my grandmother. To immigrate to the United States from Belize was no small feat. To battle racism, sexism, and still manage to not only survive but thrive in the United States will always motivate me to work a little harder. Against all odds and naysayers my grandmother persevered and because of her I know I can face any challenge thrown my way (but let’s be honest I’ll probably cry a lot more than she did).
If I could change anything in the world, it would be… racism. I’ll admit, it’s sometimes hard to imagine the life that others live. An experience where you don’t have to check how racist a place is before booking a vacation. A life where you don’t face discrimination in the workplace or microaggressions at your university. An experience where you are not always hyper-aware of how the color of your skin affects you. But this is the life I dream of for my nieces and nephews. I will do everything in my power to make this life a reality for those who come after me.
The perfect day would be… margaritas and the beach.
My first job was… as an Accounting Assistant when I was 13 and boy let me tell you I hated it lol, but it showed me what it takes to succeed in the corporate world at a very young age.
My favorite escape…
Travel. Travel. Travel. I’ve been to over 20 countries and can’t wait to see more but since travel is currently not available my next favorite escape is T.J. Maxx. Anybody else a Maxxanista?
My life… is a work in progress.
I’m currently working on…
A million things, but I suppose the most current is my clothing line Aura Noire (think Zara meet Black Lives Matter). I want to create a functional line that could be worn everywhere, including work.
Always… be humble. There is so much to learn from others, try not to let your ego get in the way.
Never… allow someone to put you in a box. In life, there is always going to be someone who will tell you no, you can’t do this, you can’t do that, that’s not how things work here sweetie. But you cannot allow people to put you in a box. If someone is telling you No find someone who will tell you Yes. You have to find people who are asking, how are we going to get you there? Not telling you, No you can’t go there.
Favorite Quote…
“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” – Audre Lorde
Biggest Dream…
To own my company.
My Pet Peeve(s)…are Silos. I think Silos serve no purpose in life other than to kill creativity.
More About Rosaura Wardsworth
Hey, I’m Rosaura. I’m a graduate student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and you can find me where Broadcast meets PR. Before grad school, I had many roles.
Think health science nerd turned multimedia junky.
From a Bachelor’s in Public Health to a Master’s in Mass Communication, it’s been a wild ride.
My first degree took me to Spain to conduct cross-cultural research on sexual harassment in college campuses in Vigo vs San Diego, shortly after that I taught English in a pueblo. The journey was not easy pero ahora yo puedo hablar en español.
Shortly after returning stateside, I landed a job in Marketing at the American Heart Association fast forward to now and I’m in my last semester in grad school.
