October 2025

For the 2025–2026 school year, the district rolled out the School Counselor Excellence Initiative, which lays out clear guidelines for best practices and strengthens the district’s foundation for years to come.

“We have excellence initiatives for teachers, assistant principals, principals, and executive directors. We hold counselors to the same standard of excellence we require from others,” said Joann Jackson, director of Counseling Services.

The SCEI is part of the district’s ongoing effort to set a standard that others can follow.

Through goal setting, annual reviews, and clear ways to track progress, it empowers counselors to build upon their professional growth while keeping open communication with campus leaders.

“Counselors sit in a unique space because they are quasi-administrators, but at the end of the day, the focus is to make sure students are taken care of, whether that’s academically, socially, and of course, overall well-being,” Jackson said.

From individual sessions with students to parent workshops and guiding high schoolers as they plan for life after graduation, a counselor’s day-to-day varies from campus to campus. The SCEI helps ensure that no matter where a student attends school, they receive the same high-quality support.

The counselors’ performance rubric contains four domains for performance criteria, including:

• Focus and Planning
• Program Delivery
• College, Career, and Military Readiness
• Professional Responsibilities

Each domain connects to professional development opportunities that help counselors continue to grow and refine their craft, said Stacy Owens, an administrative coordinator for Counseling Services.

“Everything ties back to the SCEI, so counselors understand the rationale behind it,” she said.

District leadership hopes the rubric will help administrators better understand the vital roles counselors play on campus, while also giving counselors a framework to align their goals with those of the district.

“We want to be intentional about matching goals so when counselors talk to their administrators, they are on the same page,” Owens said.

Even in its early months of implementation, the SCEI is leaving its mark: helping counselors balance caseloads and better serve students across every campus

“It’s all about supporting the counselor and helping administrators understand the scope of work they do,” Jackson said. “This rubric shows what excellence in counseling looks like.”

To learn more, click here.

At Cedar Crest Elementary School, keeping teachers and students together year after year has proven a winning strategy. 

Known as looping, the practice of keeping students with the same teacher for consecutive years, has become a powerful driver of growth on the campus. For Principal Stacy Ray, it’s not just a strategy, it’s a culture shift.

“Looping allows teachers to know their students deeply, track their progress more closely, and personalize learning in ways that build both confidence and consistency,” Ray said. “It’s that connection, year over year, that makes such a difference.”

The difference is clear in state accountability ratings. Cedar Crest Elementary earned an A this year, with gains in mathematics, science, post-secondary readiness, and closing opportunity gaps. Overall, student achievement continues to climb steadily each year. 

“I’m incredibly proud and energized by this year’s STAAR results,” Ray said. “Cedar Crest met our goal, and we’ve surpassed it by reaching a higher destination.”

Third-grade reading scores also showed significant gains under exemplary teachers, while sixth-grade math students demonstrated exceptional performance. Beyond strong teaching, strategies such as goal-setting, analyzing student work, and celebrating progress created momentum that kept students engaged and confident, she said.
Ray is determined to build on the school’s accomplishments by pushing for even stronger performance in math, reading, and science, while closing opportunity gaps across student groups.

“Cedar Crest is more than a place; it’s a purpose-driven community built on love, family, and a shared commitment to excellence,” Ray said. “We believe every person who walks through our doors deserves an experience like no other. Whether it’s a student stepping into a classroom, or a neighbor joining a community event, they’re met with warmth, encouragement, and a belief in their potential.”

Alessio Giudice, Italian teacher at Skyline High School, said there is nothing more Italian than making orecchiette pasta while watching Pope Leo XIV address the crowd on St. Peter Square in Rome. This is precisely what Giudice did with his junior class this past spring.

As students pinched the pasta into small ear shapes, and others stirred the sauce, the newly chosen and first American Pope appeared on television, a moment which Giudice called historical. The Vatican is located in the heart of Rome and what happens there is an intrinsic part of the culture of the city. 

“We were not watching this because it’s religious,” said Giudice. “We watched it because we were experiencing a historical moment. This man, whether he wanted to or not, is going to be part of history from this moment.”

This is representative of the way Giudice teaches Italian. He helps his students master the language but also navigate the subtleties of the country’s culture and history.

“I try to adapt the curriculum to my teaching style and to share the valuable cultural knowledge I want to give the students,” he said. 

Born in a small Tuscan town, Giudice studied archaeology in Italy but found jobs were scarce in that field. At his wife’s encouragement, he moved to Dallas in 2010 to pursue educational opportunities. Newly arrived and with limited English proficiency, Giudice enrolled in the ESOL program at Dallas College. His memories of the culture shock he went through the first months in Dallas—navigating public transportation, tipping, sales taxes, and such—are a reason why he feels strongly about including cultural aspects in his language lessons. 

Once he mastered English, he obtained a master’s degree in world cultures and literatures at the University of Houston and began a doctoral program at The University of Texas at Austin, which he did not finish. After teaching classes there and other universities, Giudice realized that was not his calling. 

However, teaching high school Italian in Wisconsin was a better experience, so when Dallas ISD called him to restart the Italian program at Skyline High School in 2016, he said yes.

“When I arrived at Skyline, the Italian program was inactive,” he said. “While Skyline has historically taught more languages than other Dallas ISD schools, Italian hadn’t been offered for several years.”

To revive it, Giudice built the curriculum progressively, starting with level one and expanding to level two, three, and eventually AP and dual credit courses. He sought support from the Italian consulate and the Italian Club of Dallas and even invested his own money in materials and resources. 

“For eight years, I was the only Italian teacher in the district,” Giudice said.

For almost a decade now, Giudice has been working tirelessly to enrich the Italian program at Skyline. He started a chapter of the Italian National Honor Society, oversees the Italian Club, sponsors the World Language Cluster, and organizes trips to Italy and Greece. 

He even encourages his class to participate in the Week of Italian Language in the World contest organized by the Italian consulate and Italian embassy. In 2022, Skyline placed top three in a scratch poetry contest involving 800 schools. The contest involved creating “scratch poetry” where students choose a book page, scratch out words, and leave meaningful words, creating an original poem.

“We went up against the 800 schools, and we were among the three victorious ones,” he said.

Last year, Skyline students created a video and competed at the state level in Houston, placing first, third, and eighth against other high schools, Giudice said.

He notes these contests are opportunities for students to engage with Italian culture and language beyond traditional classroom learning and sees them as a way to showcase his students’ talents and creativity.

Currently, he is also working to create a study abroad program that would allow Skyline students to spend time studying at Giudeci’s old high school—Liceo Scientifico Statale Galileo Galilei di Alessandria. 

“I’m trying to launch a project that will take our seniors to Italy for a couple of weeks around spring break. They’ll have a fully immersive experience, living there and attending school,” he said.

The trips abroad already have yielded some of the cultural experience Giudice hoped for, he said. Students often become so enamored with the Italian language and culture that they consider moving to Italy for college. In fact, four students were accepted to the American University of Rome last year.

“My goal is to get them interested, to let them see the world and the real-life results. One day, they can just go, get lost in a small town, and use their skills to speak with the locals,” he said.

Giudice’s passion for cultural exchange, personal connection with students, and a desire to broaden their worldview is at the core of his teaching philosophy. 

“Sometimes there are different ways to reach students,” he said. “The United States is a great nation, and they have a lot of opportunity, but the world is bigger than this. I want to teach them to look outside.”

But whether they decide to explore the world or remain local, Giudice treats his students like family, viewing the concept of strong personal connection as an essential part of Italian culture.

“I’ll start by saying this: I love Skyline. It’s become a home and a family to me,” he said. “After 10 years, I know almost everybody and have built great relationships. My legacy will be to bring cultural enrichment, not just for Italian students but to the Skyline spirit.”

One middle school in Pleasant Grove has been proving what girl power can really accomplish since 2016, as Young Women’s STEAM Academy at Balch Springs, an all-girls school, has been accumulating improved ratings and accolades. 

The change to an all-girls school was prompted by the need to deal with academic and behavioral issues at the school when it served boys and girls at a time when it was also going through a major rebuild. A transformation to a new model was proposed following the example of Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School. With support from Lynn McBee, president and CEO of the Young Women’s Preparatory Network, the district launched a parental opt-in pilot program in 2014.

“We were all on the third floor, and it was nothing but classes of all girls,” said Principal Bridget Ladipo, who began her career at Balch Springs Middle School as a seventh-grade science teacher. “Parents had to opt-in to the program, and most did. On the first and second floor we were pretty much co-ed.”

Following the successful results, the school officially became Young Women’s STEAM Academy at Balch Springs in 2016. Since then, the academy, according to Ladipo, has been taking girls where they need to be academically. The school offers comprehensive academic pathways that include an engineering pathway that starts in sixth grade and leads to an engineering certification, an advanced art pathway where students can develop artistic skills and even sell their artwork, and an advanced dance program. Extracurricular activities are diverse, featuring Gir

l Scouts during the school day; UIL competitive sports like volleyball, cross country, softball, and track; and special academic clubs focused on developing skills and talents. 

“Most of these girls are going to be first generation college girls,” said Ladipo. “We want to give them the skills, give them the knowledge, and also bring their parents in to collaborate.”

Among the unique opportunities the school provides are college campus visits, conferences with women in STEM, United Way events, and field trips. Additionally, students are required to complete service hours and engage in college and career preparation programs that start as early as sixth grade. 

Coach Keenanlan Clemmons, who has been with the school since its original version, said the single-gender model fosters more participation among the girls.

“I’ve been here since the school opened in 2012, 

and while I experienced the co-ed model, I love the single-gender environment,” he said. “For me, it’s particularly better on the sports and participation side. We see much more participation from the girls now than we did when the school was co-ed.”

Other teachers, like John Fore, have also noted increased participation, in both sports and academics, since the change. More significantly, Fore has witnessed the girls blossom into confident young women.

“We instill leadership qualities, constantly reminding them, ‘who rules the world? Girls.’ This helps them to blossom into the well-rounded scholar of the 21st century that we know they can be,” he said.

Ladipo remarked that Young Women’s Academy is gradually expanding into a full high school. Since last year, the school began its high school expansion by adding one grade a year and will see its first graduating class in 2028. Ladipo added that teachers are actively receiving training to support the high school level curriculum.

“We want to slowly but surely ensure that the needs of our students are being addressed,” Ladipo said. “

We want to develop our teachers to ensure that they have the skills to teach our high schoolers.”

To foster sisterhood and camaraderie, Young Women’s groups girls into four houses named after Greek and Roman goddesses—Gaia, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Athena—and representing specific values like leadership, perseverance, and wisdom. Ladipo notes this structure creates friendly competition that encourages students to excel. House assignments for both team members and students are determined by an escape room challenge, and each house competes in academics, service, and other activities to earn points. The house with the highest number of points is selected as the winner at the end of the academic year.

“The houses are named after goddesses because these figures symbolize power. Each house embodies a different value that mirrors our core principles: growth, innovation, responsibility, leadership, and service,” Ladipo said. 

The young girls who graduate from this school are consistently advanced in mathematics, more likely to participate in class, and often jump straight to varsity sports in high school, according to Ladipo.

“Even with academics, we consistently hear feedback from our feeder high schools that our girls are often far more advanced in math and use their voice more confidently. Once they return to a co-ed setting, they are far more likely to speak up and answer questions in class,” said Lapido.

Clemmons said that Young Women’s is a passport to the world. Here, girls don’t just learn—they prepare to lead, innovate, and change the world.

“If we could tell the girls one thing, it’s this: Young Women’s STEAM Academy is your passport to the world,” Clemmons said. “When you leave us, you will be prepared for life, whether that’s through academics, athletics, or essential leadership skills. Every student who comes to this school leaves with a valuable foundation for success.”

To learn more about Young Women’s STEAM Academy at Balch Springs attend Discover Dallas ISD on Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Automobile Building in Fair Park.

Being a middle school counselor can be a juggling act between providing social-emotional support and academic guidance to students at challenging ages, but Yolanda Sims, counselor at Piedmont G.L.O.B.A.L. Academy has mastered the task.

“In middle school, students are at an impressionable age, trying to find their way,” she said. “They are too old to be coddled, but they want to know that you care and that you are a safe person to talk to. The goal is to make sure that if they are OK emotionally, they will be OK academically in the classroom.”

Sims, who started her career in education in 2008 at Piedmont almost two decades ago as a social studies teacher when the school was called John B. Hood Middle School, moved with her family from Pleasant Grove to Cedar Hill and taught  at another district while her son, Mark, was small to spend more time with him. But when he entered high school, she decided she wanted to do something different but still help children.

“I felt I could do more than teach, something that could still have a positive impact on students,” Sims said.

She still remembers her middle school counselor, who was a safe person to her in those years, who encouraged and motivated her. While she doesn’t recall what it was for, she still vividly remembers that the counselor gave her an award her mother still has and how that award made her feel.

“We lived in San Francisco at the time, and it was a ceremony in the theater at a university,” she said. “It made me feel seen and appreciated. Kids want to be heard, want to be seen, want to feel that they belong.”

She said she wanted to be that safe person who was there for other children, so she went back to school to get a master’s degree in counseling. She came back to the school where it all began as counselor and has been the safe harbor for hundreds of students for several years.

“It’s important to students to have a safe person they can talk to because they don’t open up to just anyone,” Sims said. “You have to build relationships by having one-on-one meetings where you ask them how they are doing, who they hang out with, what they want to be when they grow up, what they are thinking about.”

Having quick check-ins in the hallways is just as important, she said, so she makes sure she is out and about during passing time to say a quick word to students, especially if she knows there is a student who is having a hard time.

“If we can help students learn how to socialize, make friends and have healthy relationships, especially in middle school, if they are happy at school, that impacts how they do academically, so we do have an impact in academic performance,” Sims said of the role of counselors.

Sims also makes sure that students at Piedmont G.L.O.B.A.L. are college ready by keeping up with their academic success. If they are not passing classes, she will meet with them to find out why. Because she has established herself as a safe person to talk to, students will often reveal they are having a hard time understanding but are too shy to say so in class. She’ll act as a buffer. Sometimes, there are external factors, and she will work with the school’s parent support specialist, Daniela Alaniz, to find resources.

“I tell students it’s OK to feel what you are feeling, but don’t let your emotions control you. If you need to release what you are feeling, come in here,” she said, making a sweeping gesture in her classroom. “It goes for adults, too. I had a teacher who was stressed out at the beginning of the year who came in here. We talked it out; she had a good cry and released that tension. It’s a safe place.”

Getting to know the students makes it easier to help them in the academic aspects, she said. To support her efforts, Sims uses SchoolLinks’ career surveys and guidance lessons, and meets with them one-on-one to explore their interests. In addition, she facilitates meetings between eighth graders and high school counselors.

“One of my favorite interactions with students is the one-on-one meetings where I share information about Career Institutes, early college, P-Tech, all the opportunities available to them,” she said. “I’m taking students to Career Institute East soon so they can see all they do.”

When it comes to her own feelings, her husband, Mark, who graduated from H. Grady Spruce High School is her safe person. Sims uses her drive home to process her day, and then talks to her husband.

“Sometimes some of the things I hear, that students are going through, are hard to process, and I have to close my door and shed a tear myself” she said. “But I think that empathy is what makes us good counselors.”

Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III Global Preparatory Academy at Paul Quinn College is a transformation school that is reimagining education in southern Dallas. Through partnerships with local institutions and a dedicated school administration, students are prepared to become global thinkers and thoughtful leaders. 

Now in its fifth year of operation, Haynes Global Prep is an International Baccalaureate World School serving students in grades six through 11. IB schools provide rigorous academic coursework that fosters lifelong learners with a global perspective. 

After receiving this accreditation early this year, Principal Jasmine Ervin said she is excited to continue developing the school’s global reputation and academic programs.  

“We are reestablishing what it means to have an IB World School in a southern Dallas community,” she said. “It’s one of the only ones in the area. This accomplishment was a huge win for us and for the community because our students are now being prepared to be global ambassadors.” 

While academics are central to the student experience, the school emphasizes personal growth and character development. Through their leadership program, Haynes Global Prep prepares students to become emotionally intelligent decision makers who hold themselves and others accountable, she said. This signature program encourages students to model the character and values of the school’s namesake.  

The Global Prep Academy is named for Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III, a community leader, social activist, orator, educator, and pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church. 

Ervin said that being a part of Haynes’ legacy carries deep meaning for both the campus and its students. 

The school’s theme this year, Dripped in Excellence, serves as a daily reminder for students to approach their academics and character with dedication and pride.  

“By the time students reach the end of the program, I hope they understand the importance of life,” Ervin said. “I want them to recognize the importance of their voice and their responsibility to advocate for themselves and others. We are preparing students for life beyond these doors.” 

Haynes Global Prep also offers a range of other programs and partnerships that provide students with a unique and well-rounded learning experience. These include robotics and the Panther Battalion Club, which provides training for students interested in military pathways.  

In an exciting new partnership with the Cedar Crest Golf Club, students will receive free golf lessons beginning next year.  

The school’s foreign language teacher also offers Spanish and Italian classes in a classroom on the campus of Paul Quinn College, giving students a glimpse of college life. Next spring, students will also be able to enroll in dual credit courses through Dallas College, an opportunity designed to inspire continued education beyond high school.  

The partnership between Paul Quinn College and Dallas ISD encompasses  more than academics. During homecoming, the university includes Haynes Global Prep in its celebrations, allowing students to share the experience of being part of a Historically Black College.  

This year, Haynes Global Prep is striving to earn an A rating from the Texas Education Agency. In support of this goal, the college will host a pep rally for students taking the STAAR test to boost morale and confidence. 

Ervin’s goal as principal is to create an environment where students are supported from all angles. The campus maintains strong communication with parents to ensure that academic and personal goals are reinforced at home, fostering consistency and accountability. 

That spirit of support extends to Haynes Global Prep’s partnership with Friendship-West Baptist Church, whose leaders provide valuable resources for students, Ervin said. Last year, for example, the church organized an Angel Tree fundraiser that ensured every student went home for winter break with a gift from their wish list.  

Being a small campus allows for the school to offer a more personalized learning experience, including building a closer relationship with a principal who is accessible and gets to know each student. Students who attend Haynes Global Prep can look forward to becoming independent, compassionate learners ready to make their mark on the world, Ervin said.  

“Our hope is that when our students go out into the world, they’re not just following behind,” she said. “When they leave Haynes Global Prep, they’ll be able to lead the charge to make a change in the world.” 

To learn more about Haynes Global Prep and its mission to build a legacy by inspiring students to become international change makers, attend Discover Dallas ISD on Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Automobile Building in Fair Park.  

October is National Principals Month, and The Beat is sharing profiles of some of Dallas ISD’s outstanding principals to recognize the work they do in leading their schools and students to success.

Growing up, Gabriel Guerra, now principal at W.W. Samuell High School, had expected to be the third generation to work in the family contracting business, but life had other plans for him. 

When his father encouraged him to go to college, Guerra, a graduate of W.T. White High School, could not foresee that it would one day lead him to a career in education, a profession to which his mother, a Dallas ISD teacher, had devoted her life.

“I saw the profound impact my mother had,” he said. “She had worked in education all her life, primarily in high school, and I witnessed the difference she made. Since I also had a deep love for history, I decided to put that passion to use.” 

After graduating with a degree in history from The University of Texas at Dallas, Guerra started teaching social studies and coaching at Samuell for nine years before joining the Teaching Trust Program at Southern Methodist University to become an assistant principal. He then transferred to Seagoville High School, where he served as assistant principal and piloted the first P-TECH Early College program in Texas. Over the next five years he steered three cohorts of first-generation students as they earned both their high school diplomas and their associate degree in applied science. 

“One of my favorite memories at Seagoville was building the P-TECH program. It was mapping it out, constructing it, and then watching that first group grow,” Guerra said.

In 2021, seeking to experience the rhythm of East Coast life, Guerra and his family moved to Springfield, Mass., where he worked as an eighth-grade assistant principal at a charter school. Although his primary experience was in secondary education, Guerra enjoyed preparing eighth graders for the challenges of high school. Yet, his heart remained in Dallas.

“After having worked in Massachusetts, I was eager to return to Dallas. I missed Dallas. There’s a lot of things that the district does to support students, and there are a lot of programs that are unique to Dallas ISD. I missed that,” he said. 

Upon returning, Guerra initially inquired about assistant principal positions within the district. When he learned there was a principal vacancy at Samuell, he applied. Since becoming principal, Guerra has steadily raised Samuell’s rating from a D to a C, and he hopes to continue raising it until it becomes an A-rated school.

“I love our students at Samuell. They are a great group who work hard but are often unaware of the opportunities available to them outside of Dallas or Pleasant Grove,” he said. “My favorite part of this job is being able to bring those opportunities to them, whether through educational partnerships, early college programs, or internships with local companies and the district.”

At Samuell, Guerra has expanded the course offerings—adding a video game pathway—improved the athletic program, deepened student engagement, and built relationships with parents. 

“This is a wonderful school. It’s a great community. It’s got a lot of history. And our kids are good kids, you know, they’re really good. They’re determined,” Guerra said. “They’ve been through a lot, and they know how to get things done.” 

One of Guerra’s favorite teaching memories involved a specific cohort of students he had the privilege of teaching at Seagoville from ninth to eleventh grade. This extended time allowed him to build deep, personal relationships with the students, who became very dear to him. He noted that one student from that group is now a teaching assistant in the special education department at Samuell. 

“Building those relationships and watching the students grow is rewarding, but what I’m most proud of is circling back with them later in life,” he said. “Seeing them return to the district, get jobs, and mature into adults is truly an amazing experience.”

Guerra said there is nothing quite like the feeling of watching each graduating class walk across the stage, knowing he played a part in their success.

“Over four years, you build relationships with them, watch them grow, and remember the difficult times when they wanted to quit,” he said. “Being there for them, keeping them going, and seeing them succeed is just an awesome, irreplaceable feeling.”

Looking at the educational and professional paths Mayra Rodriguez has followed, it would seem the new International Baccalaureate Programme coordinator at  Woodrow Wilson High School had been preparing all her life for the position.

A graduate of Dallas ISD, Rodriguez has experienced the magnet program as a student and has had experience in supporting struggling students and helping others navigate rigorous academic programs that prepare them for college and careers.

Rodriguez attended Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, was one of the first group of students to attend the all-girls Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, and was a dance major at Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts.

“Growing up, I had some of the best teachers the district has ever had,” Rodriguez said, sitting in her small office surrounded by positive messages about perseverance. “I had teachers who really cared about me and poured everything they had into me. I am also a legacy because one of my aunts was the first teacher at Bethune, and my mom and another aunt taught there, too. Education runs in my blood.”

Even though people tried to convince her to try another career, she knew education was in her soul and she needed to help create that spark in students that teachers found in her, she said.

“So many people poured so much of themselves into me so I could be where I am today, it would be a disgrace if I didn’t put that energy back into the world,” she said.

Rodriguez first taught at Rufus C. Burleson Elementary School which was then part of the ACE program, but in the spring of her first year, Dallas ISD and districts across the country shut down for the pandemic. When schools reopened, Rodriguez taught sixth-grade math at J.L. Long Middle School, where she helped newly arrived students from Latin America learn not only English but often the basics of reading, writing and math.  

After Long, Rodriguez moved to Woodrow as Advanced Placement coordinator. Last year, she was part of the team that managed the school’s P-TECH program and testing. She also worked with seniors enrolled in Texas College Bridge courses to make sure they were current in their classes, that they were taking college-rich courses, and that they were taking the necessary college exams. She also helped establish impactful partnerships that would help students find careers, helped them apply for scholarships and internships, and got them into summer programs.

“Collectively, I tried to find a path for every student,” she said.

She is tackling her position as IB coordinator with the same enthusiasm, hoping to expand the understanding of the program beyond it being rigorous coursework that demands a lot from students. And she would like to see more Woodrow students take advantage of the possibilities it offers.

“The IB program is about inclusion, culture,” she said. “When you go to a different country as part of the exchange program, you need to be at the same level academically as that country. It’s really important that this school year, we really understand that IB is about exposure as well as rigor. It’s about being a bridge with other cultures and countries, to develop a higher level of critical thinking and analyzing.”

The diploma coursework starts in the junior year, and having been AP coordinator, Rodriguez wants students in the program to take as many of those courses as they can in the ninth and 10th grades to better prepare them, she said.

“I have an energetic 2-year-old,” Rodriguez added. “I’m looking at his future and different schools and what pathways are available to him. I was one of those kids who wanted to study internationally, but I didn’t. I want him to have that option to pursue his education in Spain if he chooses, and to have every resource and support necessary to prepare him for success.” 

Rodriguez understands that for some students, it takes having someone in their corner to pursue unexpected paths, and she is glad she can be a role model for them in her position.

“My mom has a master’s degree in education and my father has a sixth-grade education, but they gave me everything I needed to be who I am,” she said. “I learned from them to treat everyone the same. And even though I have had multiple people at different times tell me that I don’t have the capacity to do a job, I have proven them wrong. I want students to see that. I want students to see me and know that if there is someone who can do it, so can they.”