Sarah Rodriguez Interview
"My experiences at Trinity Valley Community College set in motion my current career as an associate professor of engineering education at Virginia Tech, where I have an active research agenda focused on the promise of community colleges as transformative pathways for STEM students. I am forever indebted to my home community college."
Tell us about your background and about your life growing up.
I grew up in Eustace, Texas, a small, rural town in Northeast Texas, which had one stoplight and about 600 people. I was surrounded by family and friends, with my family’s roots there stretching back several generations. My grandfather baled hay and my grandmother was a mail carrier. My parents worked in the community as a teacher and social worker, and I was the oldest of three sisters. I was a bookworm and overachiever, you know the type: student council president, National Honor Society president, drum major.
What community college did you attend and why?
I attended Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC), now known from the famed show Cheer on Netflix. College was always the goal — how to pay for it was the question. I had an estimated family contribution of zero, literally. When I was 13 or so, my mom told me I was going to need to find a way to go to college, and pay for it, too. I had to get on it.
When dual and concurrent enrollment opportunities came about at my high school, I enrolled. At age 14 I began my community college journey, and I was absolutely terrified! I couldn’t drive yet, so my mom would drop me off and pick me up for night classes. I later learned how to drive solely for the purpose of taking community college classes.
Who were some individuals at TVCC that helped shape your success, and how did they do it?
Like all local students of my generation, I took one of Kay Pulley’s famed history courses. She taught history differently. It was about digging deeper and making history real. And, when I went looking for a summer on-campus job, she made it happen, inviting me to work in her office alongside Jeremy McMillen and Tina Rummel.
The magic began when I was 18. One day, Jeremy, then dean of planning and institutional effectiveness, asked me over lunch what I wanted to do with my life. I have no idea what I said, but upon leaving that day, he handed me a printed data file and asked me to come back and tell him what I saw. I stayed up all night looking at the charts and came prepared with explanations. It turns out that was TVCC’s Community College Survey of Student Engagement data, and it started my love of research.
How has attending a community college influenced your outlook on education and life?
I literally grew up at the community college. Attending a community college made me believe in the power of these institutions to change lives, families, and whole communities.
How do you view community colleges as being institutions that provide equitable opportunities for students who are pursuing a postsecondary education?
Community colleges do just what their name says. They serve the community. By design, they are nimble and responsive to everyone — from dual credit high school students and working parents to prisoners and returning veterans. They open their doors to literally everyone from myriad backgrounds — first-generation college students, immigrants, low-income students — and find a way to serve them. Community colleges are the real MVPs of higher education.
How did your learning and overall experiences at a community college lead to your further course of study and current career?
TVCC unlocked my future. It was my first exposure to research and meeting a range of student needs. It was my first higher education job and a place I kept coming back to for internships and mentorship. TVCC paved the way for my being a Community College Leadership Program Endowment Honors Scholar at the University of Texas at Austin and working at the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE). My experiences at my community college set in motion my current career as an associate professor of engineering education at Virginia Tech, where I have an active research agenda focused on the promise of community colleges as transformative pathways for STEM students. I am forever indebted to my home community college.
Tell us something fun about yourself.
I have journaled regularly for 25 years and keep these pages as prized possessions in my home office. Sometimes I look through them to remind myself of where I’ve come from, and for direction on where I’m going.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Among all the other things I do, I am a proud wife to Troy Jones, a community college graduate, and a mother to a beautiful 3-year-old girl. Watching my husband successfully navigate the transfer process early in our marriage is among one of my fondest memories, and it only reinforced my love of community colleges. We’re looking forward to our daughter taking advantage of our local community college soon!