Cindy Rodriguez, the administrative assistant in the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (RSL), loves her work and the people she is surrounded by every day. She has worked for TCU for seven years and encourages students to come to RSL as a place to talk to ministers, pray, mediate and meet other students, among many other things.
How long have you worked for TCU, and when did you start?
I started here seven years ago; it was in July, so right after the school year ended. I have enjoyed it. I came from Radio Shack where I had been for 16 years working in corporate offices. I thought, ‘You know it is time for a change.’ I could see it coming. And I always thought TCU was a great place, so I thought working here would be awesome.
Did you choose to work for the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life or just TCU in general?
TCU in general, I came to see what was available just as a chance. This was one of the two places that had called me for an interview. I just really loved it…
What are some of the things provided by RSL that students may not know about or have overlooked?
We have an awesome prayer room and anybody can use. [They can] come in for some quiet meditation or prayer, whatever they would like. We have ministers that are here full time for counseling, just to sit down and talk if they need somebody to talk to. It is a great place to work. It is a wonderful place to meet people from different backgrounds, religiously and culturally, that maybe you would not meet anywhere else.
What is your favorite part about your work?
The people! Not just the people I work with, but the students; talking to the students everyday to see what is going on. Sometimes I have to take off my “mom hat” because I have two grown daughters who are now married and have their own families. I hear students saying, ‘I’m going to go out, I will meet you at 11.’ I’m like, ‘What? You are going out at 11? Oh wait, I’m not your mom.’ I have to put that aside, so I have to take off the ‘mom hat’ and say, ‘Oh great, y’all be careful!’ It is a lot of fun being around young people, and like I said, the people I work with are really awesome. It is a great place to be.
Do you associate yourself with a religion or a belief?
I’ve grown up Catholic and that is my faith tradition. But I love learning about all the other faith traditions, of how basically it is the same down to the very bottom. One of my daughters was not sure if she wanted to be Catholic, so she said, ‘I do not know if that is right for me.’ I said, ‘As long as you believe, as long as you believe in something, that is all that matters. Whether it is as a Catholic or as whatever you choose to be, as long as you believe — that is what is important to me.’ She looked around and went to church with friends and stuff and decided she would stick with being a Catholic.
During finals time, do you have any advice to students about how to stay stress free?
I do see a lot of students that come through that are really, really stressed, and I tell them to just take care of themselves, whether it is eating right or trying to get enough sleep. I know there are not enough hours in the day for everything that you have to do, and I understand that. But really try to take care of yourself as much as you can. If you need a place to nap, we have a sofa right here if you can’t make it back to your dorm. Come and sit for a while and take a little nap. Tell me what time you want me to wake you up, and I will wake you up for you to get to your next class.
