Born in the Bronx, Raquel grew up in the Philadelphia area as the youngest of 4 children raised by her extremely independent and determined single mother, Norma.
A brief glimpse of the people this Amazing Woman brought up:
Her oldest sister, Frances, is a community activist
Her big brother, Carlos, is a retired major in the Marine Corps and Scout Master
Her closest sister in age, Michelle, is a labor and delivery nurse that helped deliver her last baby!
After falling off track for a bit, Raquel heeded her very supportive mother and new fiancé’s encouragement and went back to school at age 25 when her little girls were only 1, 2, & barely 4, while they took turns watching her little ones.
She majored in Business and Marketing, minoring in English Literature and graduated Cum Laude from Albright College in June of 2008 with her entire family present. The very next month, an intriguing business opportunity arose for her fiancé and she took a leap of faith and moved to the Pittsburgh area with her entire family (mother and delivery-nurse sister and her full family included). After applying and being accepted to Pitt for their dual degree program to earn her MBA/Juris Doctorate, Raquel instead decided to dig in and help her fiancé build his business. Fast forward ten years later, after assisting in the creation of an extraordinary business, Raquel had a chance meeting of two very different but equally inspirational people, and decided it was time to go another path and take yet another leap of faith to start a venture on her own.
This metaphorical “dawn” in her life became the inspiration for the business name AURORA.
In her spare time, Raquel enjoys Netflix binging with her best friend (her mother) and going to scary movies with her girls. She has a taste for the adventure, with skydiving, cliff jumping, and zip lining checked off on her list. She has a passion for the sea, and has earned her advanced scuba diving certification.
Raquel’s dream is to watch all 3 of her wonderful young ladies earn their degrees in higher education in a field they have a passion for and to retire on a beach somewhere in a rustic log cabin big enough for her family to visit and stay if they’d like.
A brief glimpse of the people this Amazing Woman brought up:
Her oldest sister, Frances, is a community activist
Her big brother, Carlos, is a retired major in the Marine Corps and Scout Master
Her closest sister in age, Michelle, is a labor and delivery nurse that helped deliver her last baby!
After falling off track for a bit, Raquel heeded her very supportive mother and new fiancé’s encouragement and went back to school at age 25 when her little girls were only 1, 2, & barely 4, while they took turns watching her little ones.
She majored in Business and Marketing, minoring in English Literature and graduated Cum Laude from Albright College in June of 2008 with her entire family present. The very next month, an intriguing business opportunity arose for her fiancé and she took a leap of faith and moved to the Pittsburgh area with her entire family (mother and delivery-nurse sister and her full family included). After applying and being accepted to Pitt for their dual degree program to earn her MBA/Juris Doctorate, Raquel instead decided to dig in and help her fiancé build his business. Fast forward ten years later, after assisting in the creation of an extraordinary business, Raquel had a chance meeting of two very different but equally inspirational people, and decided it was time to go another path and take yet another leap of faith to start a venture on her own.
This metaphorical “dawn” in her life became the inspiration for the business name AURORA.
In her spare time, Raquel enjoys Netflix binging with her best friend (her mother) and going to scary movies with her girls. She has a taste for the adventure, with skydiving, cliff jumping, and zip lining checked off on her list. She has a passion for the sea, and has earned her advanced scuba diving certification.
Raquel’s dream is to watch all 3 of her wonderful young ladies earn their degrees in higher education in a field they have a passion for and to retire on a beach somewhere in a rustic log cabin big enough for her family to visit and stay if they’d like.