The Citrus College Welcome Center is the first stop new students make when beginning their educational journeys.
The welcome center professional expert, Mariana Rodriguez, is the first face they see. She serves as the first point of contact for all students, a role she embraces with warmth and wisdom from her own educational journey.
As a mother of three, wife and recent Chico State University graduate, Rodriguez has firsthand experience with the challenges of juggling education with personal life.
As a kid, Rodriguez said she faced “many highs and lows, mostly lows,” during her primary education. Her eighth-grade teacher, Gina Martin, changed her view of school and encouraged her to do better.
“I’ll never forget, she told me ‘Mariana, you’re very intelligent, I think you just need to find something you’re passionate about’,” Rodriguez said, recounting Martin’s advice.
For secondary education, Rodriguez attended a continuation and night school. She said attending this school helped her stay motivated and focused on her goals.
“It just kind of awoke the person I needed to be,” she said. “If it wasn’t for that school, I’m not sure I would’ve done higher ed.”
Before working at Citrus, Rodriguez worked as a behavioral instruction aide for special education for six years at Duarte Unified School District. She said that experience was a huge fulfillment for her because it taught her extreme patience and showed her that communication is not just verbal, but also physical and emotional expression. Those are lessons she lives by daily and uses to guide her work at Citrus.
Aimee Cross, the college promotions specialist, said Rodriguez inspires her to be more patient and empathetic because the way Rodriguez interacts with students not only leaves them with a warm welcome but also makes them want to come back.
“If she can’t help you out or find a solution, she will go out of her way to communicate with other departments to solve your needs,” Cross said.
Mia Robles, an outreach completion specialist and former student, said working with Rodriguez has impacted her own education and work ethic in a positive way.
“Her energy is so contagious and makes you forget the outside world,” Robles said.
Despite any hardship or hurdles, Rodriguez credits her motivation and happiness to her children and family. She said she cannot pinpoint one specific person who has influenced her direction in life and is grateful to have that problem.
“My kids were always watching me, so I had to keep that positivity up,” Rodriguez said.
Her parents and husband are big motivators in her life. She wants to continue being that positive light for her kids, “and for everybody else. We already have enough ugliness, why not put some beauty in it,” she said.
In five years, Rodriguez hopes to have obtained her master’s in counseling from the University of La Verne and work at Citrus as a full-time counselor, guiding the next generation of students.
Until then, Rodriguez remains the crucial support system and first step for all incoming students, taking the hand she’s been dealt and using it to encourage others.
