Camarillo, Calif., April 21, 2015 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) 2015 graduate Victor Rodriguez had three older sisters who were teachers, so he was determined to enter another field.
“There was absolutely no way I was going to do teaching after my three sisters were doing it,” Rodriguez said with a laugh. “I was going to study business.”
The youngest brother who was not going to be a teacher just won one of five statewide awards for his work in bilingual education.
Born and raised in Oxnard, Rodriguez, 27, was awarded the Peter Chacon Teachership Award from the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) during the association’s annual convention in San Diego in March.
The awards are given out for each of the five regions in the state. Rodriguez won for Region Five and includes Ventura County and the High Desert area.
Named after the first California lawmaker to introduce a bill backing bilingual education, the Region Five award comes with a $2,000 scholarship.
“This is a tremendous help,” Rodriguez said. “With full-time student teaching and preparing everything for class, you don’t have a lot of opportunities for work.”
Rodriguez plans to use the scholarship toward his goal of earning his masters and doctorate in education. He graduates May 16 with his Multiple Subjects/Bilingual Teacher credential.
Rodriguez is currently student teaching fourth grade in a bilingual classroom at Tierra Vista Elementary School in the Ocean View School District in Oxnard.
CABE Chief Executive Officer Jan Corea said the CABE board decided on Rodriguez in the competition based on an essay he wrote expressing his passion for bilingual education.
“He just seems to have a really strong vision around bilingualism,” Corea said. “He knows how necessary it is to support students being bilingual and bi-literate. He spoke about his love for the Spanish language and really wanted to inspire and motivate students for the future.”
Rodriguez was won over into education while volunteering for his sisters’ after-school programs where the students crept into his heart.
“Little by little I started enjoying working with students,” Rodriguez said. “My biggest moment was when I had a group of fifth and sixth grade students and I saw how they responded to me as a mentor.”
After Rodriguez graduated from CI with a degree in liberal studies in 2011, he returned to get his teaching credential, becoming the fourth teacher in the family.
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About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands(CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CI's Social Media.