Alumni Spotlight: Tina (Fox ’98) Rose
While at Vanguard University, Tina (Fox ’98) Rose spent her free time on the weekends working at a group home for teenage girls, a role which she describes as both challenging and incredibly rewarding. It was this experience as a senior in college, along with the mentorship of Dr. Phil Robinette ’64, that sparked in her a passion for mentoring youth and servitude toward others.
After graduation, Rose went on to work in an administrative capacity for Olive Crest, a nonprofit organization that supports families in crisis. She opened the organization’s first San Diego branch at just 24 years old, and then, during an international trip around the world, came to terms with a personal calling to return to mentorship. “It was like a bell went off in my head, awakening me to the incredible impacts of mentoring that I had known my whole life, but I didn’t see the cross-section to my own story,” Rose said.
In 2005, Rose became the Director of Marketing and Events for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of San Diego Countyhttps://sdbigs.org/. This significant step in her career launched her on a path toward mentorship and service as a pillar in her professional and personal life. Today, she is the President and CEO of the BBBS San Diego County branch, and she has played a pivotal role in the institution of Operation Bigs, a program that provides extra support to children of active duty, veterans, and Gold Star families.
As the child of a veteran, Rose feels a deep sense of commitment to these families, whose experiences are so unique to their peers. “For a child who experiences the stressors of the military lifestyle, the connection and friendship forged with someone who ‘gets them’ and seeks to know them and spend time with them can truly have a profound impact,” Rose explained.
While there’s no doubt that Rose’s compassion for youth and tenacity in the workplace have played a significant role in her professional path, she recognizes that her experience at Vanguard equipped her to serve others in a Christlike way. “My time at Vanguard, specifically as a sociology major, prepared me for service to my community and reinforced my passion to exemplify God’s love by being a part of positive, life-changing organizations and programs that exist to support and better the lives of others,” Rose said.
The value of mentorship is something Rose has established as a mainstay in her personal life, as well as her professional one. “We have made mentoring our family mission,” Rose said. Her husband, Jeff Rose ’97, shares similar values and exemplifies them in his work as a strength and conditioning coach for high school students for the past 18 years. Together, they make it a priority to demonstrate the importance of serving others to their two young children.
Rose’s profound impact on the San Diego community is just one example of how Vanguard equips students to love others and serve wholeheartedly in their home and professional lives. Her experience as a mentee and her educational background in the sociology program prepared her to exemplify Christlike love to others and empower them to create lasting, generational change that multiplies time and time again. “I strive to lead with the qualities of compassion, self-sacrifice, gratitude, integrity, and a commitment to service that mirror the values that Jesus exemplified,” said Rose. “While I’m far from perfect and have learned many lessons along the way, I recommit to these values daily so that I can best serve my community.”