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BRISTOL, R.I. – Saying Raphael Raposo has made the most of his time at Roger Williams University is an understatement. He matriculated from a small high school class in Woonsocket, R.I. where he focused on the culinary arts, only to change course and go into Finance, a decision that took him on an international academic journey across four continents.

With a double major in Finance and Spanish, Raposo has created a powerful combination of his business-savvy mind and love of culture to forge a community-based direction. That path has led the first-generation college student from Central Falls, R.I. to a full-time role as a corporate financial analyst at Citizens Bank, and inspired future dreams of supporting community-driven entrepreneurship.

But Raposo’s time at С����Ƶ goes beyond academics and into the realm of helping others. He was heavily involved on campus, from being a Resident Assistant and serving on the executive board of the Multicultural Student Union, to finding homes in the Intercultural Center and Tutoring Center, helping at the Center for Career and Professional Development, and joining the Spanish Honor Society. As Raposo puts it, “I tried to make my mark.”

What got you into Finance?  “I realized that I am an extremely numerical person. I've always joked with my mother that generational wealth starts with me. I started as Undecided Business, took a Finance class, and said, ‘I could do this. This is my type of math.’” 

Do you want to stay in the banking world, or do you want to take on Wall Street?      “I cannot do Wall Street. I learned that so quickly… As of right now, I plan to stay at Citizens Bank, but I'll never give up on my culinary dreams. My long-term goal would be to open up a restaurant. I took on finance because my high school chef told me some chefs are taken advantage of because they don't know the business side.”

Why did you choose Spanish as a major?  “Being Hispanic myself, growing up in a Puerto Rican household, it's different Spanish everywhere. I came here in hopes of refining grammar and utilizing study abroad programs as a way to practice my Spanish. Besides, you can never go wrong combining a language with anything!”

How was your Study Abroad experience? “I have studied abroad in four countries through Roger. My sophomore year I went to Spain and Morocco. My junior year, I spent a semester abroad in Costa Rica. There, I was able to take classes in Spanish about business, and that sparked another flame in me. I worked with small businesses and helped them reevaluate their business plans. Adding the community really redefined what business is around the world, and what that can look like… I also just did the winter session in Vietnam. It was more for political science students, but many programs here are open to everyone. So, if it’s open, I gave it a shot! I definitely took advantage of that.” 

How has your interest in Finance and Spanish evolved since being at С����Ƶ?  “I first viewed it as just two random majors that I had the time to do. But after my time abroad, it really showed me that in order to have business, you need to have community, and a really flourishing business is focusing on that community. Growing up in Central Falls, a lot of people have Spanish as their first language, so really trying to reach out to as many people as possible about finance, which is a skill that a lot of people around me didn't have growing up.”

Do you want to help underserved communities with that finance knowledge? “Absolutely! I would love to do it on an international level. Helping people with their businesses and finances was something I really came to love through my study abroad.” 

Tell us about your internship.  “This past summer, I had an internship at Citizens Bank, the corporate office in Johnston. I was a Finance and Accounting Corporate Training intern. They put me in regulatory reporting where I really got to practice more of my analytics. I had daily and weekly reports … that I sent to the Federal Reserve. It definitely freaked me out at first, but by the end of it, I was able to really notice trends and find outliers.” 

What is your greatest С����Ƶ achievement?  “For me, it's to study abroad. I've studied abroad three times in four completely different areas…I'm so proud of that. I'm proud of my hard work to get the scholarships that helped me with all of that.” 

Any non-school-related interests?  “Honestly, my biggest thing is I'm still really into cooking. That is my therapy. After a long week of just battling academics, I’m either watching Gordon Ramsay shows or just sitting down and baking way too many pastries, way too much bread. I even started a sourdough journey!”

Has anyone in particular impacted your experience here?  “The first one is Karen Bilotti, Director of The Tutoring Center. Every semester I've gone to Karen if I need tutoring. Being a first-generation college student and not really knowing the expectations, Karen helped me figure it all out. Also, the Center for Career and Professional Development, when I was looking for an internship. They were there from start to finish. And my last one is The Commons and Facilities staff. These people work so tirelessly to ensure that every student here is having the best experience, that we are fed, and that we have a beautiful campus. These people truly are the backbone of my college experience, because they're always there to help. My biggest advice for incoming students is to befriend Commons workers and know who your facilities person is. Say, ‘hello,’ ‘good morning.’ We're college students, we do dumb stuff, and they pick it up.”