{"id":213174,"date":"2023-08-22T12:09:08","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T16:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/?p=213174"},"modified":"2023-08-22T12:19:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T16:19:32","slug":"tezeta-tez-roro-06-lives-by-her-own-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/2023\/08\/22\/tezeta-tez-roro-06-lives-by-her-own-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Tezeta \u201cTez\u201d Roro \u201906 Lives by Her Own Design"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tezeta \u201cTez\u201d Roro \u201906 is determined to do all she can to help others. She presents talks focusing on her transition from the corporate world to self-employment, workshops on buying and selling real estate, and a time-management session titled NinjaTime\u2122, where Roro shares her best \u2013 tested and proven \u2013 strategies for success. As a licensed real estate broker, she does more than connect hopeful home buyers to the property of their dreams; she builds relationships that form the basis of strong communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Roro contributes generously to those communities through volunteer leadership roles at the West Essex YMCA where she is a board of managers member, the West Orange Chamber of Commerce where she serves as president, and the New Jersey PTA where she is part of the field service team in her capacity as president of the West Orange Council of PTAs. The West Orange Council was honored with the New Jersey Advocacy Award \u2013 given to only one New Jersey PTA annually \u2013 for the work she led in bringing free, full-day pre-kindergarten to the town of West Orange. In 2002, Roro earned the West Orange Human Relations Commission Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award for her efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the course of her community service roles, Roro has also helped raise funds for a variety of causes in Ethiopia and the Middle East and has mentored others through New Jersey Youth Academy, Dress for Success Northern New Jersey, and the Northern New Jersey Chapter of Ellevate Network.<\/span><\/p>\n

Roro traces her strong work ethic and community spirit back to her youth in Ethiopia. \u201cI came to the U.S. in the 10<\/span>th<\/span> grade,\u201d she explains. \u201cGrowing up in a different culture gave me a unique set of values.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is the same set of values that led Roro to Montclair in the first place. \u201cAs the oldest daughter of a single mom, the reality was that I helped support my family in a lot of ways,\u201d she says. \u201cI felt I needed to be near home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Roro did manage to live on campus for her first three years at Montclair, working multiple jobs while attending classes. \u201cI was a Montclair Ambassador, worked part-time <\/span>in the Student Center, and had an off-campus job as well,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI signed up for as many internships and research opportunities as possible, and I also participated briefly in student government, volunteered for the annual appeal phone bank, and helped out with a multicultural event that featured traditional food and clothing from different countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roro\u2019s Montclair degree is in biology. \u201cI liked the smaller, focused community of the University\u2019s Health Careers Program,\u201d she notes. \u201cMy plan had been to go to medical school, but I was concerned about how that path would affect my ability to be part of my family\u2019s support system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill, I wanted to earn a higher degree,\u201d Roro continues. \u201cI just didn\u2019t want to be boxed in, career-wise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While considering her options, Roro landed a full-time job at a Verizon retail store during her senior year at Montclair. \u201cI had just bought a new car and needed to find a way to pay for it,\u201d she says with a laugh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She quickly moved up the ladder and into the company\u2019s corporate headquarters, where she was part of Verizon\u2019s business-to-business team and was involved in vendor management, product management, and contract negotiations. Ever open to avenues for encouraging others, Roro was active at the time in the Women\u2019s Association of Verizon Employees. By the time she learned of Verizon\u2019s tuition assistance program for employees, Roro was contemplating an MBA track at Centenary University which, she decided, would offer value in whatever direction she chose going forward.<\/p>\n

When Roro had her first child, she realized that she was going to need a better work-life balance. The idea of pursuing a career transition to real estate began to grow when she bought her first home. \u201cI saw an opportunity bring something new to the field,\u201d she says. \u201cI could bring empathy to my work with clients, empowering them at a very important and challenging time in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roro\u2019s energy and authenticity quickly led to success in her new field. She is a licensed broker with Keller Williams Realty, Inc., and \u2013 as is her way \u2013 she is an active member of the professional real estate community. In addition to being licensed by the New Jersey Real Estate Commission as a broker and a Real Estate Instructor, Roro is a member of the board of trustees of the North Central Jersey Association of REALTORS\u00ae, a member of the National Association of Home Builders, and the Women\u2019s Council of REALTORS\u00ae. She is also involved with the New Jersey REALTORS\u00ae Young Professionals Network and the consumer communications committee of the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae.<\/p>\n

Roro\u2019s experiences and expertise provide ample content for her public speaking programs, for the articles she contributes to media outlets such as Forbes and HuffPost, and for her involvement with her alma mater.<\/p>\n

\u201cMontclair gave me so many transferable building blocks,\u201d she says. \u201cThat is where I learned how to be independent and developed my leadership and presentation skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever passionate about building community, Roro connects with fellow Montclair alumni online and volunteers to help students hone resume-building and interviewing skills \u2013 often advising them to take advantage of the many academic and career development resources offered by Montclair. \u201cI am active with the Women\u2019s Initiative Network and I recently joined the Black Alumni Advisory Council, which hosts networking events,\u201d she says. \u201cI also guest lectured for a project management class at the Feliciano School of Business. I enjoy visiting campus with my children and have even brought them with me to Homecoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMontclair does a good job of engaging alumni,\u201d Roro adds, noting that she is especially excited about the University\u2019s recent partnership with Bloomfield College. \u201cI am glad to see this merger of Bloomfield\u2019s multicultural mission with Montclair\u2019s dedication to affordability and public service.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Motivational speaker, licensed real estate broker and community leader Tezeta \u201cTez\u201d Roro \u201906 is a wellspring of positive energy who has used her undergraduate education as the springboard for a successful career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":213177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-76_alumni-news-and-events","category-77_alumni-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213174"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":213663,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213174\/revisions\/213663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}