Graduation season always brings inspiring stories of persevering people — most of them in the prime of their youth — who’ve put in the work and can finally claim their diplomas or degrees.
This year, of course, the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic played a prominent part in nearly every one of those stories.
But this year also brought a story we just can’t seem to shake.
At 32, he might not fit the typical profile of a graduate, but Rodriguez has just been awarded an associate degree from Yakima Valley College’s Grandview campus. This fall, he’ll begin classes at the Tri-Cities campus of Washington State University — he wants to teach English language arts and help students explore and appreciate literature.
Since December, he’s also been working as a paraprofessional at the same Sunnyside middle school where his daughter attended classes.
But what really makes Rodriguez’s story stand out is the route he’s taken to get where he is.
As a teenager, he was a showoff who talked back to teachers and eventually got himself expelled from Sunnyside High School. After a stint at an alternative school, he dropped out altogether at 15.
Then he partied, raced cars, became a father and eventually landed a job with the Smuckers fruit processing plant in Grandview. There, he slowly began to develop a work ethic.
He also developed an interest in reading, and it didn’t take long for him to realize the value of words and the worlds they opened to him.
His passion for literature and poetry, along with his love for his growing young family, gave him the courage and determination to make something more of himself.
And this month, it led to him being handed that associate degree.
At 15, who among us was an angel? At that age, who truly grasped the enormity of the future — or how the decisions of the moment could affect it?
A guiding word from a teacher with Rodriguez’s life experience might’ve made all the difference. A teacher like that might’ve saved Rodriguez himself years of frustration and backtracking.
“A lot of people around me and around the world are their own worst enemy and the ones holding themselves back because of a lack of confidence,” Rodriguez told Retka. “I want to change that, because there are a lot of people who don’t know what they want to do, and I was one of them.”
Seeing Rodriguez’s story should give all of us hope. We can overcome adversity — even if it’s self-inflicted — and find a way to succeed. Our failures and setbacks don’t define us. And even people who fall out of the system can sometimes still make their way back.
Best of all, our community soon stands to gain a teacher who’ll encourage and inspire students with genuine, hard-won wisdom.
That’s about as happy a graduation story as anybody could ask for.
"Opinion" - Google News
June 24, 2021 at 03:00PM
https://ift.tt/3xQqTe0
Opinion: Grad's story gives us all some hope - Yakima Herald-Republic
"Opinion" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2FkSo6m
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment