Elvia Rodriguez

I grew up in a small town in California’s Central Valley where the norm was to work in agriculture or the service industry. I knew I had to go to college, somehow, so I worked hard in school, I earned good grades and even won a scholarship.

When I was later offered the opportunity to be a Summer Bridge Peer Advisor, I took it! I saw it as a chance to give back to a program that had given me so much! Being a Peer Advisor was incredible; I loved my students, made life-long friends, and learned so much!

Earning a Ph.D. is an accomplishment I am very proud of. People like me —first generation college student, daughter of immigrants, from a poor community— seldom earn doctorates. I think that is why EOP is such an important program, it gives us under-represented students a shot. EOP opened the door to higher education for me. As I worked on my doctorate there were challenging times and though my days as an EOP student had passed, the friends I made while working with EOP were among my strongest supporters. That was yet another benefit I got from my time with the program. After completing my Ph.D. I was hired by Fresno State and I was able to return to my home campus, this time as a faculty member. Now, in the classroom, I smile every time I see one of my students wearing an EOP or Summer Bridge t-shirt. I smile and proudly tell them, “I was an EOP student too!”

I completed my B.A. in History in four years and with the Magna Cum Laude distinction. I had a Masters degree by the time I was 25 years old and a Ph.D. by 30, in no small part because my undergraduate career had a great start as a result of EOP.