February Alumni Spotlight: Carla Gorosito Cox (Opportunities Plus)

This month’s Alumni Spotlight shines on Carla Gorosito Cox, an alumna from our Opportunities Plus program. 

Carla graduated from Virginia State University in 2014 with a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. She is currently a Sales Engineer at Unqork, Inc. She is responsible for configuring enterprise-grade applications for prospect clients and tech partners using Unqork’s No-Code platform.

Here is what she had to say:

“I was born and raised in Argentina. Growing up, we had a very rough time with my family. My mom, a single parent of 4, was not always available because she had to work a double shift to support us. The town where we lived was pretty small and college was a rare conversation among students. I always dreamed of coming to the United States because people here believed in potential, talent, and dreams. NASA and the space missions also inspired me. My biggest challenge was to undo a constructed mindset that all my peers seemed to be chanting, ‘I can't do that' or ‘I'm not that good.’ Once I overcame that, everything else just fell in place.

My professional highlights have been pretty recent. I landed my first tech job after an arduous but rewarding coding boot camp program through the University of Richmond in 2018. Since then I joined the Air Force in 2020, started a business in 2021, and began developing my dream mobile application. A personal highlight: I was able to make time to teach my 5-year-old daughter throughout the last quarter of 2020 and through 2021. I never knew I would be able to handle working from home and helping her succeed in school effectively. It empowered us as a family.

I completed LP’s internship program at NAMI in Arlington, VA. When I think back about the internship, I think it was the first time I realized that I was able to do whatever I wanted to, professionally speaking, because there really is ALWAYS someone who wants to help you get there. Liberty's Promise empowered me with that confidence. Additionally, the people I interned with were so great to me. I developed empathy for people affected by mental illnesses and I learned a ton of things that were useful throughout my life. I was able to help family members seek help and cope with their illnesses. This was in addition to learning how a non-profit operates to some scale and growing my soft skills. Overall, the biggest and best skill I learned was empathy and compassion.

The greatest part of the internship was feeling useful and knowing that my work was actually relevant to my supervisor. This was a while back, in 2005. I had only been in the United States for 11 months, I think, so my English was pretty broken and my confidence level was very low due to my lack of knowledge of the language. However, this opportunity was such a blessing, it was a boost in confidence along with a deep dive into some technical English terms.

I would like to tell younger alumni do not be afraid, you can do anything. And remember, there are always people out there whose goal and dream is to help you achieve yours. Find these people and stick with them. Stay away from negativity. Also, not knowing what you want to do is perfectly normal; don't let this thought cause anxiety or stress, stay positive!”