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My name is Angel Rodriguez, and I proudly serve on the Valero AmeriCorps team at Lanier High School. I want to share with you why I serve.

I had the opportunity to work with children and youth as a volunteer for about seven years, which sparked my passion for what my future could look like. My previous job wasn’t something I could envision doing for the rest of my life, so I started searching for jobs that aligned with my values. I remember seeing ��ɫ��Ƶ back at Rhodes Middle School on the west side of San Antonio. The team members were always so cheerful and energized, which I never understood, especially so early in the morning.

A ��ɫ��Ƶ AmeriCorps member used to pull me aside into a small area near the band hall to help me with my reading. He always had a smile on his face and showed genuine passion for his work. Inspired by him, I sent in my application, and now, here I am, a proud Team Leader at Lanier High School.

After high school, I didn’t immediately go to college like most of my friends. I didn’t have a clear goal or purpose for my future, so I decided to take a year off. Even when I tried to convince myself to attend college, I lacked the motivation.

Education wasn’t as important to me until I started working for ��ɫ��Ƶ, and my students became the reason. They’ve laid the foundation for who I truly aspire to be and have set an example for me in wanting to pursue a future for myself. I kept hearing, “College isn’t for everyone,” “It’s too late to start college,” or “By the time I’m done, I’ll be older and it won’t be worth it.” But education is important. It can take us places we’ve never been or help us create pathways we never imagined. By setting an example for students who haven’t yet considered college, we can help them achieve what we wish or are striving to achieve ourselves. For instance, last year I demonstrated to my students that even though I hadn’t gone to college, I could still provide them with resources and advice because I see potential in them that the world needs to see.

When my students feel discouraged, unworthy, or alone, I offer words of encouragement that stick with them to this day: “I am here for you, and I am with you,” and “We are human; we mess up. But we pick up the pieces and move forward, never looking back.”

My job is not just to stand in the classroom but to guide my students, showing them their worth, importance, patience, and celebrating their victories. Many of them were once discouraged by negative labels, but I had the chance to change that perception. Now, they visit me, share their game schedules, and talk about joining extracurricular activities, getting tutoring, and most importantly, achieving amazing grades and attendance goals.

Growth comes with achievements, even the ones that come from failure. I continuously remind my students of how far they’ve come, especially when they felt like giving up, and how those efforts led to passing their tests and participating in their football or basketball games.

My parents have been the role models who made the kind of impact on me that I want to make on my students. Although there were times growing up when we faced real challenges and uncertainties, looking at our lives now feels like a miracle. What I once thought was broken has slowly been put back together. Nothing is perfect, and my parents taught me that. They were always real with me about the situations I might face in life, encouraging me to face the world without fear, keep my head high, and keep moving forward, even through tough times. They showed me that even when things get harder, perseverance is key to success.

Even though my parents didn’t both attend college, they still pushed me to have a solid plan for my future. My mom went to school for her nursing degree and now works for large companies here in San Antonio. My dad, who didn’t attend college, has worked for the City of San Antonio for 27 years. Their dedication to providing for our family, even while living paycheck to paycheck, inspires me. They may have wished they could’ve done more for themselves, but they’ve created a stable life for us, which motivates me.

Their influence on my life has taught me patience, guidance, preparation, and support—values I now pass on to my students. Lastly, my students have shaped me into a version of myself that I never thought I could become. They give me the reasons and the motivation to continue my education, including applying to college so that I can keep making an impact on the students I work with.

This is why I serve.������