Giving back to the community runs in the family for this longtime Sandian

Raised by a single mother who worked two full-time jobs, Roberta Rivera grew up in a modest household.

“We didn’t have much, but I had everything I needed, and whatever extra we had, my mom would put right back into her community,” said Roberta, a community relations specialist.

Compassion in the classroom

Although Roberta was an only child, her mother, Esther Montoya, nurtured hundreds of young men and women over the years while working at West Mesa High School.

“My mom’s day job was at West Mesa, where she worked as a teaching assistant with at-risk students,” she explained. “Many of these students lived in group homes and came from difficult backgrounds. Some struggled with self-control and could be disruptive in class, but my mom loved these kids. She did everything in her power to make their lives a little easier and keep them out of trouble.”

If a student needed a haircut but couldn’t afford one, Montoya would take them. If they needed food, bus fare or clothes, Roberta’s mom would make it happen.

“She was determined to make sure these kids had their basic needs met,” Roberta said.

If Montoya heard there was going to be a fight at a park or elsewhere, Roberta said her mom would show up and break it up.

“She was tiny, just 4’11”, but she’d show up and say, ‘Nope, this isn’t happening,’” Roberta recalled. “Later, when I was a student at West Mesa, I came across my mom in the hallway breaking up a fight between two much larger students.”

“Her students loved her. I can just picture these big, tough guys coming into her classroom and just melting when they saw her,” she said. “She was so patient and made them feel heard. They’d talk to her about problems at home or when they didn’t know how to handle something. She was gracious and kind to these kids.”

Growing up, Roberta was in awe of her mom and, as often happens with children, picked up lessons along the way.

“She was always demonstrating acts of kindness,” Roberta said. “We didn’t have a lot of extra money, but my mom never hesitated to share what we had with others. She believed that you get what you put out into the world; you leave people better than you find them.”

Carrying on the tradition

This belief has carried into Roberta’s own life and work at Sandia, helping to foster a culture of generosity and support that enhances the Labs’ impact in the community and inspires the next generation of innovators who contribute to Sandia’s critical mission.

“I love helping people, and luckily, every role I’ve had in my 33 years here has allowed me to do just that,” Roberta said. “I started as a clerical intern in the student program office, and in 1997, I was hired as an office administrative assistant. A few years later, I got a new job back in student programs, where I worked for nearly 12 years.”

In that role, Roberta guided students through the process of getting hired as interns and was eventually promoted to lead the graduate programs, including Sandia’s annual student intern symposium.

“I connected students to fellowship programs that helped them pay for their master’s and Ph.D. degrees,” Roberta said. “I had accumulated debt from student loans when I was in school, so being able to help students secure these fellowships was really rewarding.”

Roberta would help hundreds of former interns obtain full-time positions at Sandia.

In 2002, Roberta signed up to assist with Sandia’s social mentor program, which helped new student interns acclimate to Albuquerque.

“We had interns coming in from all over the country, and our social mentors served as personal guides, picking them up from the airport, taking them to their apartments and helping them figure out where to buy groceries or get their hair done. Whatever they needed to make their lives easier,” Roberta explained. “I guess, following in my mom’s footsteps, I felt compelled to go the extra mile if it meant it would help someone.”

‘As long as I have my health’

Roberta describes her mom’s work ethic as exceptional; she never called in sick and only took time off when her managers insisted.

“She always said, ‘As long as I have my health, I’m going to work,’” Roberta recalled. “And then she got sick.”

In 2013, Montoya was diagnosed with cancer.

“She had retired from West Mesa but was working at Presbyterian as a diet aide and was on her feet a lot. She started experiencing a lot of pain in her legs and hips, and then one day, she just couldn’t walk,” Roberta said. “This led to some time in the ER and tests, which revealed she had multiple myeloma. Had she not gotten sick, I think she would have worked forever because she really loved what she did, but at 65, she had to retire.”

Montoya moved in with Roberta and her family after receiving a bone marrow transplant in 2014. And for a while her health was on the upswing, but in 2016 the cancer came back and metastasized all over her body.

“She died on my birthday, Aug. 18, 2016,” Roberta said. “I was an only child so I guess it’s fitting, like full circle, that she would leave this earth on the anniversary of the day she brought me into it.”

“My mom was the best. She followed the golden rule completely and had this all-in mentality, if you’re going to help, you’re going to help all the way, not just 100%, but 150%.”

Roberta says it is this and many other lessons learned from her mom that continue to drive her own work.

Leaving people better than you found them

The same year her mom passed away; Roberta began working with Sandia’s Community Involvement team in a formal community outreach position.

She has been a key player in Lab’s many efforts to give back to the local community, including Sandia Gives, the Holiday Gift Drive, the Read to Me! ABQ Network annual Book Drive and several other fundraising and volunteer initiatives.

“Sandians are such a historically generous group. I think we all feel fortunate to work here, to have well-paying and secure positions that allow us to give back to our community,” she said. “And I love that I get to help facilitate these efforts, helping our employees give back with their time or money. Making these connections is such an honor.”

Roberta’s enthusiasm for giving back and helping others is contagious. Whether it was nature or nurture, she inherited it from her mom.

“I love knowing that I made a difference. Like my mom said, you always leave people better than you found them, and I can only hope that one day, when I’m gone, people will remember what I’ve done for them the same way I know people remember my mom.”