Noelia Rodriguez, a communications senior, is the vice chair of programming for the Campus Activities Council Spark, vice president of advocacy and inclusion for the Multicultural Greek Council Executive Board, Hispanic Heritage Month chair for the Hispanic American Student Association, president of PE-ET Top Ten Senior Honor Society, programming intern at the Gender and Equality Center, student assistant at the Office of Student Life and vice president of program development at Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc.
Q: What are your plans for after graduation?
A: I just committed to the University of Tennessee. I will be receiving a master of science in college student personnel and working as a graduate assistant for the Jones Center for Leadership and Service VOLBreaks program.
Q: What have you learned from your time at OU?
A: I feel like I'm constantly learning about myself. I learned a lot about my identity for one, but I also learned that I need to give myself grace. A lot of the spaces that I've been in, I'm constantly thinking about my identity, and I'm constantly thinking about the people that are around me and the work that I have to do. Coming from this collectivist culture and … being first gen and whatnot, I feel like I really had to prove myself a lot. I feel like in the past, I would even say the whole time that I've been here, but just within the past year, I really learned that I need to allow myself to breathe.
Q: Who was your favorite professor/faculty member/staffer/adviser at OU and why?
A: My favorite staff on campus is the Office of Student Life, … Quy Nguyen and my direct supervisor Hunter Guarnera. … I am just constantly surrounded by so much love and so much support. And this office specifically, I know, is so intentional with the outreach they do for students. We know statistically that students will place their sense of belonging over their hierarchical needs, like food and water, and Hunter and Quy do an amazing job getting students where they need to be. Honestly, I could not physically, emotionally (and) mentally have made it this far without them.
Q: What are your post-graduation goals?
A: I'm going to take a break. I'm moving to Tennessee (and) my start date is during the summer. So, I will have about a month to not do anything and just exist and that's honestly what I'm so excited for. To just take a minute, reflect on the time that I had here, journal and then just keep going. After I get my master's, I do want to continue on to get my Ph.D. or my (doctor of education) … because I want to be a doctor. I've always wanted to just be at some level of doctoral degree, but also because I want to be in a position where I can have difficult conversations and have that authority and continue making programs better for different students.
Q: How has your time at OU shaped who you are today?
A: Working and being in this space, I realized that I really enjoy student engagement. I love working with students directly, specifically with minoritized communities (and) underrepresented identities. It truly has changed the trajectory of my life and what I want to do and also, I feel like, how I interact with other people. If it wasn't for my time here at OU I'd probably be in an office somewhere so miserable.
Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?
A: I would tell myself to give myself some grace, like chill out. It's going to be OK. … Read a book. Reflect on your experience. Also, maybe learn how to say no (and) learn how to maintain your own sanity when you're maintaining everybody else's, because you can't fill anybody else's bucket if your own bucket isn't filled.
Q: What is your advice for upcoming and current OU students?
A: Three things: Try everything, … don't be afraid to be uncomfortable … and don't be afraid to ask for help.
Q: What will you miss the most about OU?
A: This place is literally just home. … One of the first things that Quy asked me when I started working here was "how do you like to be appreciated?" No one has ever asked me that. No one has ever been so intentional with asking me that and I feel like depending on what office you call in the university, if you have a question and they can't answer it, they're going to be so intentional about getting you that right answer. And I've been visiting a lot of colleges this past year, and I can very confidently say that it's not like that at every university or at any college.
This story was edited by Alexia Aston and Karoline Leonard. Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.
