What Our Students Say:

“I’m an international student from China. I met Rosanne at a student event, and since then Rosanne became an irreplaceable mentor who guided me through my study abroad experience.

She helped me with understand American culture and improving English language proficiency. She provided me with job-hunting tips and interview skills and helped to polish my resume again and again, which really touched me. I am so impressed by Rosanne’s professionalism and I know she has mentored scores of international students. She really likes her students, always listens to their needs and makes efforts to fulfill their demand.

Nowadays, Rosanne is a good friend of mine, and she is the one I can always go for help. I admire her integrity and like her personality. She is the person who makes me feel confident about living and studying in the United States independently. I think my words just can’t fully express my gratitude for what she has given me.”

Li Lingjun
Master’s Degree in Marketing, DePaul University, 2013

“I had the honor of meeting and working with Rosanne while at DePaul University. Rosanne completely transformed my experience at DePaul University. Having lived in the US for seven years before I met Rosanne, I thought I knew everything I needed to help me succeed here, yet from the very first conversation with Rosanne, I immediately realized that there would be a lot more to learn.
Her genuine effort, deep passion, and care for the well-being of her students along with her years of experience working with international students, made her the one person I know I can turn to for everything.

Rosanne offers thoughtful advice on both the personal and professional level, as she understands very well the challenges international students go through.

Rosanne put her students’ interest at heart and always tries to connect her students with other professionals for networking opportunities as well as professional development.

Her mentorship and wise words have continuously reminded me of my own passion and mission here in the States and to follow my dream.

Working with Rosanne has taught me the valuable lesson of doing something you love and care about. But I must say that being her student is perhaps one of the best things that happened to me as an international student here.”

Annie Nguyen
M.A., International Studies, DePaul University, 2013
Peer Career Advisor, DePaul University Career Center

Rosanne was my supervisor at the Office of International Student and Scholar (OISS). As the Director of the Office for International Students and Scholars, she spared no effort to help international students. With more than 20-years of experience working with international students, she is amazingly good at telling students’ talents. She was the one that noticed me among hundreds of international students, and invited me to work with her.

She gave me a lot of suggestions regarding my expectations and interests, which really helped in my job-seeking process. In a nutshell, she is the most dedicated, persistent, and caring supervisor and friend!

Junna Gui
Master’s Degree in Finance, DePaul University, 2013

I have lived abroad in the U.S. for undergraduate and graduate studies. During that time, I had to learn hard lessons from my own experience. I learned that many things are different in the U.S. from what we imagined when we are back in China. Due to the huge difference in U.S. and Chinese cultures, knowledge necessary to succeed here cannot be found online or from casual conversations.

I have talked to many other Chinese students about their experience in the U.S. They regret that they picked the wrong major, got into the wrong school, or made the wrong friends. Those mistakes often waste 4 years or more of students’ lives and have very negative effects on their futures.

However, those mistakes are actual preventable. I personally think that every student who plans to study in the U.S. should have a professional “future planner” like Ms. Roraback. She gave me great help regarding my career planning and graduate MBA program applications. I really, really wish I met Ms. Roraback earlier. Then I would not have had so much trouble exploring the path by myself.

I could have avoided mistakes that cost me lots of time and money because I did not understand the American system or plan far enough ahead about choosing a major and finding a job. Without expert guidance like Ms. Roraback’s in the admission to school or job hunting, students may miss great opportunities.

I also noticed that, like China, the U.S. is a country where personal connections play a very important role. The Chinese students don’t have any connection or networks in the U.S. to help them so they have a disadvantage. Ms. Roraback helps overcome this disadvantage because she has many professional connections with education experts in the U.S. She even helped me talk to someone high up in the admissions office so that I understand better what they are seeking in applicants.

Ms. Roraback is a very warm-hearted person whose sincerity and meticulousness really touched me. If she doesn’t know an answer to my question herself, she will ask a trustworthy professional friend of hers who is an expert to find the answers.

In brief, studying abroad is so important that every student should plan early. I wish potential students who have questions about school application or career planning will get advice and help from Ms. Roraback to same themselves from costly mistakes. I high recommend her mentorship.

Tian Zeng
MBA 2012, Southwest College, Kansas, U.S.A.

Rosanne Roraback was one of the people that influenced my experience at DePaul University the most. Her passion and complete dedication to help international students to adjust and adapt to American culture highly contributed to build a sense of community among international students at DePaul University. Her guidance, advice, support and words of wisdom helped me and many other international students to find our paths. She is an extraordinary woman with an even bigger heart.

Annabella Rojas Elias
Current Marketing Undergraduate Student, DePaul University
La Sorbonne, Paris, French Civilization Course

Rosanne is highly ethical, dedicated, and professional in everything she does. Her commitment to global education is evidenced through her leadership and management of the Office for International Students and Scholars. During her sixteen-year tenure, she successfully managed sincere assistance and mental guidance to a very fast- growing international student and scholar population, including many hundreds of new Chinese graduate students in accounting and finance.

I was able to witness first-hand Rosanne’s dedication as the director of the Office of International Students and Scholars. She provided insightful and encouraging advice to me and helped me land jobs within the school and also how to build a professional network for future job hunting.  She explained to me what “informational interviewing” is and how important it is as a way to eventually find a job in the U.S. She also gave me tips about how to avoid problems with the H-1B visa process.  Through Rosanne’s help and guidance, I was able to quickly grasp the American way of doing things and eventually received a full-time job offer and H-1B visa sponsorship with Deloitte’s Chicago office.

Rosanne is passionate at everything she does. She is down-to-earth and helpful. I highly recommend Rosanne Roraback! ”

Emilio Meng
Tax Accountant, Deloitte, Chicago Office
M.S. Accounting, DePaul University 2013
B.A. in Economics and Spanish, 2011
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ever since I met Rosanne seven years ago as a Freshman in college, she has been one of my greatest advocates in both my college and career journeys. She’s become one of the people I trust the most whenever I need academic, career, or even life advice! Rosanne’s expertise in both the educational and immigration fields has always impressed me. It’s been an honor to have her as one of my advisors, because there isn’t a better mentor anyone could hope for!

Rosanne is also one of the most selfless individuals I have ever met – her main goal is always to help others and to see people succeed, even if doing so inconveniences her!  Rosanne was the first person to offer me a part-time job in the United States, which ended up being the beginning of a successful professional journey for me.  When it was time for me to explore different career opportunities, she was one of my greatest supporters: she even wrote recommendation letters to potential employers without me having to ask her to do so!

Even though we both enjoyed working with each other, Rosanne knew it would be best for my career to move on to something else, and therefore went out of her way to make sure I would find another opportunity that would help me succeed.  And it worked!  She helped me find a job at the university in their Internal Audit office.  This first college job working for Rosanne ended up opening the doors for many other great career opportunities for me, both on and off campus.

Only a year and a half after the start of my employment for Rosanne I received an internship offer from Deloitte LLP, one of the four largest international professional services firms.  This led to a full-time position in their Audit practice.  This is something hard to achieve for a U.S. citizen, and even harder for a foreign student.   I know I couldn’t have done it without Rosanne’s help!

When I moved from Western Europe to the United States nine years ago, right before the start of my junior year in high school, it was a struggle to get an understanding of the U.S. immigration law, the American culture, and the American education system. 

I wish I had known Rosanne back then, because I know that her advice and guidance would have been invaluable and would have made my experience in the United States those first few years a lot more enjoyable and meaningful.  I would highly recommend Rosanne to any foreign student, because I can’t think of someone who’s more passionate, knowledgeable, and capable of helping foreign students succeed in the United States! 

Annelies Van Thillo
Senior Auditor at Reyes Holdings
Senior Auditor at Deloitte (past)
B.S. Accounting, DePaul University, 2010

I met Rosanne on my first day of graduate school at the international student’s orientation. I happened to start talking to her and within a few minutes I realized the depth of knowledge she had. She immediately understood some of my basic cultural challenges in succeeding in the U.S.  Instantly, she was able to provide me with advice and eventually this advice worked to help me succeed. The point is that she is so expert in her field of international, cross-cultural advising, that her advice was instantaneous and accurate.

Later, she offered to review my resume and was able to recruit and hire me at DePaul university in her department she worked as the Director of the Office for International Students and Scholars.   For the next two years I was working with her and she was a great mentor.  I learned more professionally from her in 2 years than I had learned in my previous 4 years of work experience. She guided me through the nuances of U.S. work culture and ethics. Today, I use her guidelines every day at my work.
Towards the end of my Masters degree and at the beginning of my job search, Rosanne took me under her wings and guided me from resume preparation to job search techniques along with interview skills.
I cannot thank Rosanne enough for her guidance, which led me to two U.S. job offers in just a few weeks of searching.  Having received two job offers at the same time, I was extremely confused as to which one was the better one for me to accept. 

Rosanne was the only person who helped me make that decision.  She taught me negotiation skills and helped me understand what factors I should consider in order to accept the best job offer for my long-term future career success.  She also coached me about how to handle the employer’s questions during the interview about the fact that I needed company sponsorship for an H-1B visa.  To summarize, Rosanne has been and still is a great mentor with years and years of experience and great amount of knowledge about how to succeed in the U.S.”

Anup Bhandari
Logistics Systems Analyst
Medline Industries, Chicago area
M.S. Information Systems, DePaul University, 201

I met Mrs. Rosanne Roraback when she hired me to work for her in the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS) at DePaul University, where she was the Director. I have never see any professor or school staff who cares as much about international students as Rosanne. She is extremely friendly, kind, and patient. She cares deeply about her students, so she teaches us at orientation how to protect ourselves from crime in the city. She also helps us learn more about American cultural life, how to make friends and professional connections with Americans, and how to prepare ourselves for a bright academic and professional future.

I still vividly remember Rosanne gave us an important explanation at orientation about how to choose a safe place to live, and how to avoid crime while living in a big city in the U.S. She knows our parents are worried about our safety, and she does everything she can to train us on how to avoid any problems, especially for girls. She tells us if anyone bothers us, we should make noise to be sure other people come to our assistance.

Rosanne told us many valuable safety tips, how to be “street smart,” and to assertively say “No, I’m not interested,” when strangers approach us on the bus or train. Unfortunately, this happens to many international students, especially girls. Often strangers bother us, especially when we are new. She understands that international students know nothing about the big cities in the U.S. We are especially at risk for being victims of crime because criminals know we are newcomers.

Fortunately there is something we can do to reduce the risk of being hurt. Rosanne is the person right there to tell you how and help you go through. She cares about her every student in a deep level. She shares with us the knowledge of the American social system, culture, communication skills and why people behave as the way they do. With all this knowledge, we are ready to step into American society safely, comfortably, and confidently.

She is committed deeply to her work, and always put students’ safety and success before anything else. She never hesitates to spend her time talking with students, understanding their difficulties and helping them overcome any obstacles to their success. If they have any problem, she works closely with them until their problems are solved. I am so glad to meet Rosanne in OISS and appreciate all the extremely valuable good advice she has shared and all she has done for me.

Shan Lu
Master’s in Finance, DePaul Unversity, 2013

The culture difference is one main issue for people who move to another country. It’s more difficult to adjust the environment with respect of the way of thinking and living of American. Mrs. Rosanne helped me a lot to adjust the culture here in America. Her 25 years working experience with international students makes her a perfect mentor for everyone who comes to US. She minimized my difficulties of adjusting environment by introducing me lots of friends and guiding me to a better career development path. Besides culture difference, safety is another main problem.

Mrs. Rosanne also taught me the safety tips and warnings. Not only stay away from dangerous area, but also pay attention to some girls’ problems. She is so amazing, caring and thoughtful. Her mom-like love makes me feel so warm and not afraid of difficulties anymore. I will definitely introduce Mrs. Rosanne to my cousins and friends.

Jiewen Wang
Intern at TransUnion in Chicago
Master’s in Accounting, Loyola University, 2013