Reaching the light at the end of the tunnel

Escrito por: Alexa Figueroa 🇸🇻

Headshot of Daniela Rodriguez. (Ashley Neyra)

Early mornings can be dreadful for many, but for Daniela Rodriguez, eran un placer porque tuvo la oportunidad de servir a su abuelo, who relied on her as a caretaker while she was simultaneously starting her freshman year of college. She quickly became a master multitasker. 

Rodriguez kept a strict schedule as her grandfather was a military man. Her day started at 7 a.m. as she made her grandfather el desayuno típico de El Salvador con huevos estrellados, frijoles machacados, queso fresco, crema, y tortillas. 

“I had to do what I had to do... but I would say, ‘it’s okay, Daniela, calm down. It's okay. You know, he can't help it. It's the sickness talking. There's nothing you can do,’” she said. 

Her grandfather had Alzheimer’s and passed away in 2021, and this required her to complete an additional year at UMD.  

“He was like, ‘I am proud of you, because not only are you helping me, but you're bettering yourself,’” said Rodriguez. “I'm like, ‘yeah… I'm doing it for you.’” 

Rodriguez decided to major in sociology because she likes that she can work with people, although that wasn’t always her passion. Ella era introvertida en la escuela secundaria, but decided that she needed to venture out and break out of her shell. 

Rodriguez grew up at UMD as her mother worked at STAMP her whole life. She would spend her summers at the food court from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., waiting for her mom to finish her shift. Her whole family has worked at STAMP incluyendo sus hermanos, primos y tías.

Family of Daniela Rodriguez. (Courtesy of Daniela Rodriguez)

“My family has been at UMD for so long, as workers and as students, like, this is my life. This is all I know, and I'm scared to venture out,” she said. 

As a sociology major, Rodriguez noticed that it was a female-dominated major, but oftentimes she was the only Latina or person of color in the class. 

After attending the 2022 Latinx Heritage Month’s Kickoff Cookout and a Bienvenida, she became interested in being more active with the Latino community at UMD and eventually found the Latinx Student Union (LSU), which helped her connect more with her Salvadoran-Mexican heritage.

“Because of LSU, because of CLSO, because of the Bienvenida, it just made me feel like we are here. We are present. There are people that look like me here, and now I just have this big community,” she said. 

Después de graduarse, Rodriguez espera trabajar en recursos humanos o como coordinadora de programas.

“Everybody has their own journey. This is my journey. Something terrible happened to me, but now I'm reaching the good part of that terrible experience,” said Rodriguez.

“Deja que Dios guíe tu vida que te abra puertas que nadie puede cerrar alégrate de tus logros y aprende de tus errores levántate si caes y empieza de nuevo que Dios y tu familia siempre estaremos contigo te amamos y estamos muy orgullosos de ti tus padres y hermanos.” - Laura y Hector M. Rodriguez