The Annapolis community college leader who made nursing education more accessible

When Rosalind “Rose” Rivera talked about nursing, people listened.

If her audience didn’t know her personally, they probably knew her by reputation — a careful researcher and persuasive speaker who cared deeply about nursing education at Anne Arundel Community College, said Liz Mathias, a former colleague and close friend. She was known for creating quality programs and holding students to high standards, Mathias said.

“She was considered a leader among the program heads at the various community colleges,” Mathias said. “She was very respected for her work and her initiatives.”

Rivera’s accomplishments included an expansion of the school’s registered nursing program and the establishment of a radiology technician associate degree. She also influenced the design of the school’s health building, Mathias said. After Rivera’s death, her impact lives on through the students she taught and those who continue to benefit from the programs she created, according to Mathias.

Rivera, a longtime Annapolis resident also active in local politics and nonprofit organizations, died Aug. 10 after a three-year battle with dementia. She was 94.

She was born Rosalind Volotta on Jan. 22, 1932, in central New York. She was the seventh of eight children born to Raffael and Domenica Volotta, both Italian immigrants. They came to America in search of better opportunities. Rose didn’t grow up speaking Italian and usually heard it only when her parents argued, her daughter Janice Rivera said.

The family lived in a blue-collar town where many residents worked for a nearby Nestlé factory. Later in life, when Rose had children of her own, she’d drive them through her hometown with the windows rolled down “because, if the wind is blowing right, you’re gonna smell the chocolate factory,” Janice recalled.

Rose’s parents stressed the importance of education, but it was financially difficult to support all of the children through four-year studies. She’d always been interested in the medical field and decided to attend a nearby nursing school in Syracuse, and she graduated as a registered nurse in 1953.

While in school, she met fellow medical student Antonio “Tony” Manuel Rivera. They had a “whirlwind romance,” their daughter said, that largely centered on dancing. They quickly married and moved to Puerto Rico, where Tony grew up, for his residency.

During this time, Rose focused on motherhood. The couple had their first child, Denise, while in Puerto Rico; then, after Tony enlisted in the Air Force and moved the family back to the mainland, they welcomed Deborah, John and Janice. Tony’s job eventually brought the Riveras to Maryland, where they bought a home in Arnold in 1962 before relocating to Annapolis.

While Tony started a pediatric practice, Rose tended to her children and joined their school PTAs. She always knew she wanted to go back to school but wasn’t sure when she could. Finally, after Janice went to kindergarten, Rose finished her bachelor’s degree at the Johns Hopkins University.

Life changed dramatically when Tony left the family in 1972, leaving Rose divorced with four children to raise. She had a tough time, her daughters said, but grew even more determined to further her own career and provide for her family. She started working at Anne Arundel Community College while completing a master’s degree at Hopkins and a doctorate at the University of Southern California, which offered classes in D.C.

Rose was a trusted teacher and counselor, known for encouraging AACC students to apply for scholarships and find other financial means to stay in school.

“She just really helped people to believe in themselves, as she had to believe in herself,” Janice said. “But she didn’t have the helping hand that she was able to give some of these people. So I think that, as one of her legacies, that’s probably the thing I think she was proudest of, is that she really helped people get through.”

She offset her studies and work with a vivid social life, travel, theater shows and concerts. She started dating again and found a life partner in Salvatore “Sam” Firenze. Work-life balance was important to her and family topped her priority list, her daughter Deborah Rivera-Wienhold said.

She also was a pillar of strength during difficult times. The family was devastated when John, Rose’s only son, died in a skiing accident at age 24. Rose would never be the same but she was a survivor, Rivera-Wienhold said.

“Going through something like that, I think it just gives you hope you can endure the worst of times,” she said.

Rose also turned her failed marriage into a lesson for her daughters: Never depend on a man to provide for you.

“I just always admired her, and I just felt like she was the reason why I was as dedicated to a lot of things in my life,” Rivera-Wienhold said.

Rose retired from Anne Arundel Community College at age 65, just in time for the arrival of her first grandchild, Janice’s son. She was the babysitter who loaded the grandkids up on homemade cookies and brownies, Janice said.

In retirement, Rose became a passionate gardener and doubled down on her involvement in local politics and community events. She advocated for the education and health of women and girls and volunteered for Historic Annapolis. She led tours of the historic William Paca House and Garden and volunteered for the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, her daughters said.

She also kept up with friends and former colleagues, including Mathias. They’d reminisce on a “professors gone wild” trip to Costa Rica years ago when she sped down a zip line after many others had chickened out.

Mathias referenced the poet William Wordsworth, who once wrote of a perfect woman “nobly plann’d, to warn, to comfort, and command.”

“That was Rose,” she said.

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