Alberlin Del Orbe Rodriguez, the first Spanish-speaking admission counselor at 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校, finds that she connects easily with prospective students 和 their loved ones since she faced similar challenges 和 concerns as a first generation college student.
阿宾顿,爸爸. — Alberlin Del Orbe Rodriguez was hired last fall as 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校's first Spanish-speaking admissions counselor. Her journey to earning a college degree in 2020 from 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 mirrors that of the large population of first-generation college students at the campus, 和, 她说, she is grateful for the opportunity to support them.
“For me, this job is so personal," 她说. "There are students who don’t know where their path will lead them, 和 I want them to know it’s okay to be confused 和 frustrated. There are so many people at 阿宾顿 to help you including the admissions office, 教授和顾问.
“Sometimes I sit down with parents, 和 they are so worried, 但 we have a conversation. I’m someone who knows where they’re coming from. 这是一次非常谦卑的经历, 和 I can connect with them 和 reassure them,Del Orbe Rodriguez补充道.
As the oldest child of parents who immigrated from the Dominican Republic, 她有一个强大的支持系统, 她说, 但 her family lacked the experience to help her navigate higher education processes.
“I was at a disadvantage when it came to applying to colleges, 但 I was really resilient 和 figured it out,她在谈到招生管理时说, financial aid 和 scholarship applications.
在阿宾顿的那些年里, Del Orbe Rodriguez marshaled every resource at her disposal 和 with that support she earned a degree in corporate communication in three years, despite multiple challenges that could have derailed her dream.
“I had health issues 和 couldn’t go to class, which led me to being on academic probation. It was so scary, 但 I went to the 学生成就中心 to help me get back on track. At one point, I couldn’t afford books so my adviser sent me to the financial aid office. They provided me with gift cards for books, 和 I made it through the semester,” 她说.
还有其他的, loving pressure from her parents to earn a degree as a stepping stone to better economic opportunities, 她说.
“My goal was to work as hard as possible to get to the finish line, make my parents proud 和 be an example to my siblings. 我参加了暑期班, 做两份兼职工作, 逼迫自己,Del Orbe Rodriguez, 在费城长大的人, 说.
She became more confident as she progressed toward her degree despite setbacks 和 the impact of the p和emic on her final two semesters.
“I felt more comfortable 和 not so alone as I progressed,” 她说.
Despite graduating during the p和emic, Alberlin Del Orbe Rodriguez's family proudly pulled out all of the stops to mark the occasion.
2020年秋季毕业后, Del Orbe Rodriguez在零售业工作, 银行业和汽车业, 但, 她说, her husb和 urged her to find something that would be more personally fulfilling.
“My sister was going through the college application process, 和 I realized that higher education was where I wanted to work. When I found this opening at 阿宾顿, I knew it was meant to be. I am so excited to be on the other end of the process 和 supporting families 和 students. 我又回到了原点. It’s good to be back at 阿宾顿,” 她说.
关于宾大阿宾顿
宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 provides an affordable, accessible 和 high-impact education to its diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. 有3个以上,100名学生, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 is a residential campus that offers bachelor’s degrees in 25 majors, 本科研究, 施赖尔荣誉学院, NCAA三级田径和更多.
