New Face at IC: Mr. Jeffrey Rodriguez

Mia Guzzo '21

Mr. Jeffrey Rodriguez is the newest English teacher this year at Immaculate Conception. Since I do not have a class with Mr. Rodriguez this year, I wanted to talk to him and know why he decided to come teach at an all-girls Catholic high school. Not only did I learn why he came to teach at ICHS, but also: what to look for in colleges, when Mr. Rodriguez knew teaching was the right career choice, and how effective the teaching philosophy “Fun” could be. During the interview, Mr. Rodriguez said that he teaches in order to be a positive influence in a student’s life, and from the short time I spent interviewing him, I was able to witness how he actively does so.

1. Why did you start working at ICHS? What was different about this school?

“...I was actually painting at IC over the summer and the job was presented to me. At the time I was at a public school working with kids with special needs and the public school really didn’t have any plan with COVID. My grandma is very old and her health is very important. I want to continue seeing my grandma in her final years so I thought this would be a better opportunity. Then, I applied here, it all went well, and I’m blessed to be part of ICHS.”

2. What has been your favorite part about teaching and working at ICHS so far?

“The girls. The girls are great, funny, they’re a good time. The day goes by so fast because when you do what you love you really don’t feel like you’re working. The team as well, the staff, everything is very family-oriented. It doesn’t feel like “aw I have to go to work today”... I’m excited to go.”

3. Has social distancing and masks made your job harder in any way? Do you think it changed your experience at all?

“It is definitely a challenge with… having to project out your voice, not being able to see that you’re making somebody smile or not, little things like that are so crucial. I think as time goes on you get accustomed to things, so I think I’ve been very accustomed to the mask at this point. I would say that the greatest part about wearing a mask is I don’t have to worry about my nose getting cold- that’s a plus. Besides that... it’s the new norm for right now- and hopefully, it’s not forever- but hopefully, it’s just temporary.”

4. What hobbies or interests do you have outside of school?

“I coach football, I coach wrestling, I coach track. Just being a positive influence for somebody- I guess that’s kind of like a hobby. I also love spending time with my family, I have a very big family so being with my family is very important to me and the time spent [with them]. I was always the type that never wanted to miss out on something so I kind of always want to be there for someone in my family.”

5. What college did you go to? Why did you choose that college?

“I was going to go to Bloomsberg to wrestle and then my mom got really ill so I went to Bergen Community College. I made the decision to stay home to spend time with my mom since I am the youngest sibling. I was happy I went there because that’s really where I found myself, sort to say. After I got my associate’s degree in two years, I went to William Paterson and William Paterson was: local, fun, you name it. It had a lot of assets to help you, it’s a really great school.

6. What advice would you give to the seniors regarding their college search and choosing the right school?

“I would say don’t look at what you could do for the college but look at what the college could do for you. Many people make their decision based on the name and so on and so forth, but the overall goal you should have in college is to: find yourself, find what you want to do for the future, and accept any type of knowledge you can get… Your number one goal should be to get out of college with as little debt as possible. I sound like an old man here but it’s true, you don’t want to get out of college with a lot of debt because you’re just working to pay that off.”

7. Why did you want to become a teacher?

“I wanted to become a teacher because I wanted to impact the youth. Since I was a young kid, people always said “you have some leadership qualities” so I think at Bergen Community College was when I really started realizing that I had some type of passion for this. I was able to influence a lot of people in positive ways and I think that alone- being able to reach out to a student and guide them to the right path- is really important.”

8. What is your personal teaching philosophy?

“I would say fun. Let’s have fun, and I think if you’re able to have fun and impact the students individually and get to know them, that is crucial. Once they’re having fun it opens their brain to knowledge.”