An administrative coordinator for the Office of the Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean, Rodriguez was one of 16 community leaders recognized by Congressman Darren Soto\u00a0(FL-09)\u00a0during Hispanic Heritage Month. Awardees included business leaders, veterans, journalists and healthcare providers caring for Central Floridians during COVID-19. As part of their recognition, the honorees\u2019 names and accomplishments will be read into the Congressional Record, Rep. Soto said during a Zoom celebration on Oct. 6.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour life stories are part of our shared American history,\u201d he said during the celebration.<\/p>\n
A native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, Rodriguez moved to Orlando in 2012, joined UCF in 2014 and the College of Medicine in 2019. She has worked in the UCF President\u2019s Office and the university\u2019s Puerto Rico Research Hub. She has been passionate about helping new Hispanic immigrants to Central Florida learn English, get jobs, career licensing and higher education, and recover from natural disasters such as hurricanes in their native countries. She coordinated free English classes through a collaboration with the City of Orlando\u2019s Hispanic Office for Local Assistance (HOLA) and was the point of contact at the university for multiple programs, including the Latin American-Caribbean Scholarship, the Hurricane Maria Disaster Recovery Program and the English Language Institute. The Puerto Rico Research Hub and the English Language Institute are a part of UCF Global.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for being a welcoming face to new Hispanic residents to our region,\u201d the congressman said while presenting her the award.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez received her B.A. in Spanish from Brooklyn College at the City University of New York and says she has always tried to put her bilingual skills to use to help others. She still remembers her favorite teacher \u2014 a nun who started a buddy system in her class that had bilingual students assist with translating for new Spanish-speaking immigrant children so they could keep up their lessons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come from a family where doing the right thing is second nature,\u201d she says. \u201cWe need to be available to help each other. It doesn\u2019t have to be something big. Taking one small action can make all the difference in the world to that person you helped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are the other honorees:<\/p>\n
Anthony\u00a0Carillo<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Florida regional director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration<\/p>\n Angelita Seda<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Florida Department of Health in Osceola County \u2013 Senior Nurse<\/p>\n Arnaldo\u00a0Amoros<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Fraternal Order of Police of Central Florida \u2013 President<\/p>\n Command Sergeant Major\u00a0An\u00edbal<\/strong>\u00a0Albertorio<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Retired\u00a0Borinqueneer<\/p>\n Cramer Verde<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida, President.<\/p>\n Diana Mejia<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 President, Chief Executive Officer of\u00a0Nuevo Sendero<\/em><\/p>\n Jesus\u00a0\u201cJV\u201d\u00a0Roa<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Emergency Medicine Physician \u2013 Orlando Regional Medical Center Emergency Department<\/p>\n Luis Herrera<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Medical Director \u2013 Orlando Health Cancer Institute Thoracic Oncology Program<\/p>\n Jackie D. M\u00e9ndez<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Editor-in-Chief of\u00a0Tu\u00a0Revista\u00a0Mujer<\/em><\/p>\n Juana Diaz<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Registered Nurse<\/p>\n Olga<\/strong>\u00a0Aymat<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Anchor on Telemundo Orlando\/NBC Universal<\/p>\n Pedro\u00a0Brull<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Central Florida Artist<\/p>\n Ricky Rodriguez<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nursing Director<\/p>\n Sol\u00a0Hincapie<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Registered Nurse<\/p>\n Stephanie\u00a0Carrizales<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Patient Care Tech \u2013 Winter Haven Women\u2019s Hospital<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" College of Medicine staff member Teresa Rodriguez has received congressional recognition for her volunteer efforts supporting Central Florida\u2019s Hispanic community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":123575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[6,12],"tags":[979,18219,35966],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-123573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-health","tag-college-of-medicine","tag-community-impact","tag-inclusive-excellence"],"yoast_head":"\n