JSCC Student Hopes to Inspire Other Hispanic/Latino Women

October 30, 2024 sdawkins Blog

729A5946Kimberly Rodriguez remembers flying to visit her grandparents as a child during summers in California, and how the pilots would talk to her and make her feel comfortable. She admired these men who had the responsibility of flying the planes and still took the time to reach out to passengers like her.

Then one trip, a chance meeting with a female pilot planted a seed in her young mind that perhaps one day she could be the one at the controls.

Kimberly recalls the pilot saying, “I hope you know you’re a great kid.” “And just a little talk like that, I didn’t think would make me think about a career, but I think back to that moment,” Rodriguez said. “It was always sitting in the back of my head.”

After being named a recipient of a FIESTA 2024 Scholarship, Rodriguez, a second-year Jefferson State student, is one step closer to her dream.

Rodriguez graduated from Chelsea High School in 2022. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next but underwent some training at Over the Mountain Aviation, based at the Shelby County Airport.

After about a year, with some direction from aviation staff and others, Rodriguez reconsidered attending college. She had experience with Jefferson State from taking Dual Enrollment classes while in high school, so she enrolled.

Rodriguez’s mother, who is active in the Hispanic/Latino community in Birmingham, suggested she apply for a FIESTA scholarship.

Since its inception in 2003, FIESTA has celebrated the culturally diverse traditions of Latin America’s various Spanish-speaking countries in Birmingham with the largest Hispanic heritage festival in the state of Alabama. More than 15,000 patrons at the event journey through 20 represented countries and experience the best of Hispanic art, music, food and dance. This celebration culminates in an award to FIESTA scholarship winners with one of the highly sought-after scholarships presented by the organization.

As Rodriguez worked through the application, the essay portion had her “stumped,” she said. During this time, some health issues led to a diagnosis of lupus, which is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack healthy tissues.

Though presenting an obvious hurdle, Rodriguez suddenly knew what to write about for her scholarship application essay. She submitted the application and fell back into her routine only to eventually be notified that she was selected to receive some of the $25,000 in scholarship awards from FIESTA.

Rodriguez attended the FIESTA event on Sept. 28 and then a special dinner for scholarship recipients on Oct. 20 at La Brisa in Hoover, where she and four other scholarship recipients and their families were honored.

“The money from FIESTA will help me so I can finally get my license and hopefully transfer over to Auburn and go [into commercial aviation] or something from there,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said her instructors at JSCC have been “wonderful,” supporting her and working with her schedule. She advises other students who are balancing priorities and working toward their goals to lean on the support system available to students at Jefferson State.

“Communicate with your mentors, teachers and staff,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of times, we forget those people are there for us, to guide us through those tough moments no matter how much is on your plate, and simple reach out can take you very far. I’ve had teachers who were very loving and very respectful of the fact that you have a life outside of school.”

Throughout deciding on a career path and navigating health issues, Rodriguez has held close a mantra from her mother, Patricia: “Everything in life has its reason.”

“She always had that saying growing up, and I would be like, ‘Here it comes again,’” Rodriguez said. “But now I value it more, and I take it to heart. It has helped me through this health journey to be able to know it’s happening for a reason.”

Through determination and perseverance, Rodriguez wants to become a pilot not just for herself but for others who will draw inspiration from her the way she did from the female pilot from her youth.

“It really is something I want to do because I don’t feel like there’s enough women in that field, much less Hispanic women, and I always want to be a mentor—someone people can look up to,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve had people mentor me, and I’m grateful for that.”

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