When Auriana Roos recalls her time at Brantner Elementary School, she remembers always feeling welcomed and included at the school. That caring environment made a lasting impression on Auriana as it gave her confidence to embrace challenges.

Auriana cultivated meaningful relationships from those early elementary years. In fact, she stays in contact with the former principal from Brantner, Ms. Saller. “I developed a close relationship with Ms. Saller during my time at Brantner. It wasn’t just her that I would come back to see. Everybody that I interacted with during my time there was great.”

Ms. Saller and the teachers at Brantner encouraged Auriana and pushed her academically. Those supportive relationships helped her discover that she was well-suited to take on challenges and she became more comfortable stretching her talents. These were the building blocks she needed to succeed in high school, too.

Auriana was a part of the inaugural graduating class from Riverdale Ridge High School where she graduated with high honors, an academic letter, and an outstanding physics award. She was a 2-time all-conference athlete, twice she received a “best flyer” award which was recognition for her cheerleading athleticism in performing stunts and pyramids, and she lettered in cheerleading three years in a row.

Physics turned out to be a strong suit for Auriana. Her understanding of physics and other math-centered subjects were favorite classes which led her to set her eyes on pursuing a career in architectural engineering.

“When I took physics, the material just made sense,” recalls Auriana. “It led me to realize that I could combine something that I am good at (math) with something that I love, which is designing floor plans and houses.”

Her interests were further fueled by popular TV shows about flipping houses, and redesigning spaces to make them more efficient and effective spaces. Auriana was so fascinated with those concepts that she would binge-watch house renovation shows for hours. She loved the creative sides of what the interior designers would do and how their teams transformed floor plans to meet the modern day needs of the homeowners. She realized she had the skills to combine the creative and the functional aspects of architecture.

Today, Auriana understands her aspirations are still long-term goals and that she has a lot of work ahead of her. But she’s confident in her ability to reach her goals. That confidence was seeded during her foundational years in elementary school when she was first put on a path to reaching her dreams. She credits her ability to set meaningful goals and to relentlessly pursue them to Brantner Elementary School where its caring staff gave her a solid academic foundation and the confidence to tackle any challenge.

“I believe in 27J Schools because they care about their students and community, and they nurture students’ skills to meet challenging pursuits.”