A succinct but apt description of the professional career thus far of Simon Rodriguez Jr. ’13 might read: “In service to others.” Since he left Illinois State University, history degree in hand, Rodriguez has devoted his life to serving his community, especially when it comes to youth and families.
Rodriguez, who lives in Aurora with his wife, Thaise, and their first child, Simon, has remained connected to his alma mater. He’s come back to attend Homecoming, cultural dinners, and alumni events over the years. He’s also been a member of the Latinx Alumni Network (LAN) since its beginning in 2014 and is the current president of the group.
On September 30, as part of Latinx Heritage Month, he joined four other LAN panelists, along with moderators Dr. Rocio Rivadeneyra from Illinois State’s College of Arts and Sciences and Dr. Maura Toro-Morn from Illinois State’s Latin American and Latino/a Studies program for a discussion at the Multicultural Center.
“It was really full circle for me to share experiences from what seems like long ago since I’m 36 now,” he said. “But the discussion was really relevant. It was just fantastic and a real joy to hear other panelists tell their stories.”
Rodriguez said being part of the panel was a great experience, saying members’ messages were aimed at first-generation students and all underrepresented groups. As a first-generation college student himself, he said it’s important to share his story. While he was born in Aurora, he is the son of immigrant parents from Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. He said a theme of the panel was to share with students their struggles and to remind them that those challenges don’t magically end with a college degree.
“There’s relevancy with current students when you talk about hardships and challenges we faced after college,” Rodriguez said. “We discussed what you do when you graduate, the process of finding a good job, buying a house, starting a family. These are universal themes.”
As a result of his upbringing, Rodriguez is a native speaker of Spanish and English, which he calls a “wonderful” gift. He began his career as a bilingual social studies teacher at East Aurora High School, where he spent four-plus years in the classroom. And before that, as an undergraduate at Illinois State, he served the Redbird community as an Admissions ambassador.
He now works as the youth services manager for the City of Aurora. His job entails working with a variety of community partners to bring programs to the young people of Aurora. He works on summer camps, after-school programs, an annual sports festival, youth resource fairs, City of Lights tournaments, Youth Court program, the Aurora STEAM Academy, back-to-school fairs, the Aurora Youth Council, mentoring programs, and more. His job satisfaction is pretty high.
“Oh, sometimes there are not words to describe how rewarding and humbling it is to serve others,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve always served, and now serving in my hometown, it is very special. Like teaching, I get to advocate for youth and families, but now working in city government, it’s on a larger scale. I love it.”
He helped pay for college by joining the National Guard and was awarded the Mark Wyman Scholarship through the Department of History. He was named a Fulbright Scholarship winner, which combined with some student loans, allowed him to study abroad in England and Mexico.
Rodriguez said he and fellow panelists wanted students to know that their time at Illinois State has played a huge role in shaping their current lives and their successful careers. He recommended students take advantage of all the resources available on campus and to have big expectations for their futures. Lastly, he said being connected to Illinois State in this way, especially during Latinx Heritage Month, has been exciting for him.
“We’re always Redbirds, so coming back to campus to give back is a beautiful thing,” he said. “We are creating a new legacy.”
